The Anatomy of Cross-Dimensional Pirates (One-shot Collection)

Nightmares

It was not often that something woke Lexi up in the middle of the night, especially after a long day's work. Law's bed was very comfy, much nicer than her bed at home ever was. There must have been an extra padded layer somewhere in his mattress, because Lexi never remembered having such good night sleeps before using his bed for herself.

Granted, she could be somewhat of a mattress-hog, but only because Law reluctantly allowed her. The way she saw it, if he wanted more space, he could always push her out of the way, or wake her up.

Not only did she hoard more space on the mattress, but it seemed she was in a perpetual state of feeling too cold, because on more than one occasion, she'd woken up wrapped like a burrito in the entirety of Law's comforter, leaving him uncovered with nothing but a pillow to his name. It wasn't her fault. How was she supposed to keep herself in check while lost in her subconscious?

So the battle for the bed was one waged on a regular basis, with Law sometimes resorting to pushing her onto the floor in order to have a reasonable amount of space to sleep, though more often than not without a blanket to keep him warm. He just couldn't seem to win.

Though, sometimes, when both of them were too tired to do much more than just lay there, Lexi wouldn't feel the need to spread everywhere her limbs would reach, and Law was in a better mood. The usual cause of this would be a tough battle earlier that day, ultimately leading to a Heart Pirate's victory, which always left the crew in good spirits afterwards. It was during those times that Lexi cuddled up close to him, leeching his body heat for herself, without having to fear that he would push her away or start something a bit more intimate.

Truthfully, she loved those moments most of all, just laying there, not having to say anything, and just feel him close. There were times when they'd even wake up still holding each other, which were even better, in her opinion. It afforded her a few minutes to see his sleeping face, without all the worry and stubbornness marking it.

But things were not always perfectly happy. Though Lexi did not know what exactly weighed on Law's mind, she could definitely tell there was something heavy dragging him down no matter how much he fought it. When she asked, he'd say he was fine, that the stress of the next battle, the next strategy were just getting to him. That might have been a part of it as well, but it didn't explain the apparent sorrow she could sometimes catch a glimpse of when he thought she wasn't looking.

Lexi worried. She couldn't help it, really, it was all she could do. Without knowing exactly what it was that plagued him, how was she supposed to help? All this secrecy...whatever had happened or whatever he'd done in the past certainly had taken it's toll on his mental state.

Sure, Law could keep it in check during the day, pretending everything was alright by hiding it behind that blank countenance, but at night when he wasn't fully aware the walls crumbled little by little, to the point where Lexi was able to glean bits and pieces of what was really going on. Not enough to understand, but more than she'd first known.

The first night it happened, Lexi had drank too much coffee, and couldn't bring herself to fall asleep no matter how much she tossed and turned, counting sheep or otherwise. Out of courtesy, she tried to keep the movement to a minimum so Law's own rest wouldn't be interrupted, but after several hours of nothing, she was beginning to get restless.

It was then she noticed that Law was shaking, and whispering things under his breath, low enough that she couldn't decipher the words. With a frown, she stilled and listened closer.

"Don't..." He'd said in a quiet hiss, and at that point Lexi reached forward to shake his shoulder.

"Law?" She asked quietly, trying to rouse him from the upsetting nightmare he was stuck in. If the deep frown and quick rise and fall of his chest was anything to go by, it must have been a pretty bad dream. Only a moment after her hand made contact with his skin, she was pushed forcefully into the mattress, Law's hands holding down her wrists to the bed, hovering over her with a panicked expression.