It's Us Or Them

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Lexi allowed the boys to sleep for as long as they wanted to. She didn't see the point in waking them up in a hurry. No obligations, no alarm clocks, and certainly nowhere to really be anymore, they all deserved a long rest. The clothes they'd worn throughout the night were still mostly wet and cold, and Lexi shivered in her seat by the window. She really wished they had second sets of clothes to change into, but in an effort to save room for supplies, they'd ditched their secondary pairs at the last place they'd barricaded.

Since she'd been the last watch of the night, she felt well-rested already and surprisingly didn't feel the need to get any more sleep. It gave her an opportunity to have some time to herself to think, too. To...reflect.

Being in a group again was...new. Definitely not easy, per se. Sometimes, she surprised herself by seeing one of the boys behind her, or she'd turn the corner of a room and see all three of them and have a mini panic attack. Being solitary for so long had changed her outlook on other people. And after being captured by Damien's group, she'd been sure that she'd never integrate well with anyone else again.

Thankfully, that wasn't true. Despite her small moments of fear at seeing them nearby, Lexi was still very grateful that they'd taken her in. Traveling by herself was so very lonely, and it was a dozen times more stressful securing a place to sleep for the night when there was no one around to help keep watch. She couldn't recall a time when she'd had such a deep sleep like the one last night. It did wonders for her mental fortitude.

Not only that, but seeing that they weren't any different than how they'd been every time they'd encountered each other before was comforting. Their personalities were genuine. Real. She could be certain that they were indeed who they presented themselves as. Penguin and Shachi always bickered quietly between themselves, and Law was still the same, moderately distrustful and stoic man she'd always recalled him to be.

But she'd also seen an entirely different side to him as well. He still cared about people, and maintained some level of humanity. Though, she hadn't been around them enough to know exactly how they reacted to some harrowing situations...Rescuing her and the other women of Woodsfield had definitely shown that they are at least capable of kindness. He could have simply allowed them to be killed, but he'd gone out of his way to establish them somewhere else. She didn't blame him for not sticking around longer. His obligation had only extended so far, and it wasn't as if Lexi had any connections to them either. They'd resented her almost the entire time they'd known her.

Law intrigued her so much. Maybe that was why she trusted him so much. Maybe it was why she...wanted to get to know him so badly. Without really meaning to, she turned her head from the small hole in the duct tape and watched their unspoken leader's peaceful expression. When he was awake, it was always marked with lines of worry and concentration. His focus was never turned off. But while sleeping he...looked so handsome. Not that he didn't while he was conscious, but...there was something about his face that was so visually appealing to her when he wasn't thinking hard about what their next step would be. When he wasn't worried whether they'd live to see another day or not.

She caught herself staring and quickly jerked her gaze back to the window. Thank goodness he was still sleeping, because it would have been hard to explain why she'd been laser focused on him for so long had he asked her about it.

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After some time, the boys began to stir from their slumber. Shachi was the first, groggily turning over onto his side with a groan. With a hand swiping at his crusty eyes, he sat himself up.

"Mor'ing..." He yawned blearily, looking around at the others. "How was watch?"

Lexi shrugged, watching him. "Eh. Nothing worth waking up over. Just a few that came close to the window. They wandered away after a few minutes. Sleep well?"

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