Soliloquy of the Broken Soul

Meetings and Eating

By the way! I can't remember if I mentioned this or not but Sabo still has his top hat!! Ya know, since it'd be weird if they let Luffy keep his but not Sabo. Just thought I'd tell y'all that in case It was unclear!

Enjoy the story!

***

It was the middle of the night, not that Luffy could tell. His breathing was fast and heavy as beads of sweat trickled down his horror struck face. Tired brown eyes stared glazed at the ceiling, trapped in their own realm filled with panic and fear.

A nightmare.

He'd had them before, but somehow they were worse now. Before, he'd have the nightmare only to wake up and find it to be real. This new thing where he dreamed of being burned with the slave mark, and then cramped into a box, suffocated and starving, but then waking to find himself totally fine was not okay.

A small whimper escaped his lips, though he tried to compress it so that he didn't wake his brothers. His mind was racing with images from a week ago when he really had been trapped in that horrendous white closet of a cell.

In pain, alone, hungry, alone, insane, alone.

He glanced swiftly to his right and reassured himself that his brothers were indeed here and not there. His brothers often hated him in his dreams. Hated him for being weak and pathetic and not being able to save himself.

Luffy wished he could escape the trap of his own mind. Wished he could simply forget what had happened. Wished he wasn't so desperately alone.

But he was, and no matter how hard he wished, the seven-year-old was powerless to his own thoughts.

He really did hate thinking inside his head.

Luffy manged a few calming breaths and he once again looked at his brothers. He longed for them, to be near them. To be near anyone really. He no longer cared. Even if he was being hurt, at least it was something. At least he was no denied the right to have contact with living things.

Shakily, he climbed down from his bed and crawled over to Sabo's. He quietly climbed up into it and lifted the covers just enough to snuggle underneath them. He could hear Sabo's breathing lighten a little as he climbed under. He tried oh so desperately to stay quiet and not move too much for risk of waking his elder brother.

Luffy worked his way under the sheets and reached his hand for Sabo's. Once he found it he pulled it close to him and nuzzled his head against it. He suddenly felt very tired, the warmth of his brother making his eyes droop and creating comfort in his once chaotic mind.

He heard a little moan from above him and thought he heard someone mutter his name, but he was already drifting off into a land of inky darkness, and soon, his own light snores filled the room.

***

Sabo blinked sleepily at the small child who was now in his bed.

"Luffy?" He questioned quietly.

When the only response he got was a soft snore, he sighed and smiled softly down at Luffy.

The smile wavered slightly however when he noticed the few beads of sweat on Luffy's forehead, and the slight tremor of the boys body.

So he had a nightmare then, Sabo thought grimly.

He wrapped his arm around Luffy's small shivering frame and settled into sleep again.

Before fully drifting off however, he made a mental note to tell Ace about this in the morning.