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Erza was a light sleeper. Years of battle after battle, war after war, engraved in her a sense of constant danger. Even when she lays her head down at night, her body knows to keep guard because enemies can pop out of the shadows at any given moment.
That all changed when she and Mira brought their first house.
Their room with dark purple walls and a large king-sized bed lined with black sheets that always smelled of cake and Mira’s flowery perfume invoked a sense of calmness in her she never felt before. Even the stench of the incenses Mirajane brought at the carnival they visited a couple months ago wiped away all the tension from her weary body. They had put out the last incent before going to bed but Erza could smell it strongly in the room as her body drifted out of sleep.
Strangely enough, it wasn’t the loud clap of thunder from outside their partially open window that woke her out. No, it was the unmistakable sound of tiny socked feet hitting a carpeted floor in the room next to theirs that jerked her out of her sleep. No matter how comfortable or deep her sleep is, that sound would always wake her.
Blinking heavily, Erza squirmed out of Mirajane’s tight embrace and used the edge of the bed to lift her self into a standing position. Sneaking a glance at her still slumbering love, she quietly crossed their room and opened their bedroom closing it softly behind her as she stepped into the hallway. She got there just in time to see a little tanned hand reaching up to twist open the doorknob of the room directly across the hall from Erza and Mirajane’s. Sensing her presence, he let go of the door and dove into her wide stretched arms.
She lifted the small boy into her arms and balanced him onto her hip. Her heart gave a painful squeeze when noticed him visibly shaking.
“Andre, what’s wrong?”
No answer. He just pressed his face into her neck holding onto her tightly.
Her worry skyrocketed but she knew from past experiences that he could not answer her right away when he was having an episode. It was better to calm him down first then speak to him. That’s what Mira always said. She couldn’t show her worry either. Any negative emotion he felt in her would only further his panic and that’s the last thing they needed. Right now, he needed strong, stable, and warm and that’s what Erza was going to be for him. She would be the comfort child-Erza wished she had through those lonely frightening nights.
“Andre, would you like some hot chocolate? I could get the big gooey marshmallows out!”
It took a few minutes before she felt his small nod against her neck. Inwardly she let out a big sigh of relief as she carried down the stairs and into their tiny kitchen. Mira would kill her for giving him sweets so late at night, but hot chocolate never failed to calm Andre down when he was having an episode. Perhaps hot chocolate worked for Andre the way strawberry cake worked on Erza and a glass of warm milk worked on Rhea.
She mused about this as she prepared two glasses. Andre didn’t lift his face from out of her neck until she sat down on one of their kitchen chairs shifting him in her lap.
“Drink slowly okay?” She couldn’t help but remind him as he shakingly lifted the glass to his lips. She wanted so badly to reach out and pull him inside of her where she could keep him safe and warm and happy away from the nightmares of his life before Mirajane and Erza took him in. While Andre was normally such a bright and energetic 5-year old, nights like these always reminded them that he too suffered a horrendous past and it scarred him just like the rest of them.
It wasn’t until Erza became a parent, became a securer, a protector, a defender, that Erza realized just how unfair life really was.
The stairs creaked behind them drawing Andre’s attention. His little arms reached out as Mirajane plucked him out of Erza’s arms and into her own drawing up a chair to sit so close to Erza that their thighs and shoulders were touching. Andre was placed in between the two of them as Mirajane pressed multiple soft kisses onto his forehead.
“What’s wrong my little love?” She spoke softly between kisses. She didn’t expect him to answer given the way she turned her gaze to Erza. Although she didn’t show it outwardly, Erza could clearly read the worry in her wife’s soothing blue eyes.
“I found him trying to open Rhea’s door. I think the storm woke him up.”
“I figured. She just came into our room looking for him.”
That got Andre’s attention. “Rhea’s up?” He questioned in a low soft voice.
“Yeah baby she was worried about you.” Mira glanced at Erza “I think the storm woke her up too.” When Erza nodded she returned her attention back to Andre. “Do you want to see her.”
Finishing up his hot chocolate, the boy nodded. He was noticeably calmer but still not ready to walk yet evident by the way he raised his arms to be picked up. Lifting him again Erza glanced at the now empty glass Andre finished as well as the still full glass she poured for herself. The only time she would trivialize sweets is when her kids are involved. In some ways she guesses that’s what being a parent is about.
Mirajane grabs the full glass and puts the empty one into the sink. Together the 3 of them climb the stairs and enter Erza and Mira’s room where familiar red hair spilled out of the covers on Mira’s side of the room.
“I guess she fell back asleep.” Mira’s voice rang amused as she placed the glass of hot chocolate on the bedside table near Rhea.
Erza placed Andre onto the bedspread and watched as she crawled under the covers to join his adopted sister sleepily gesturing to his moms to join them. Erza allowed Mirajane to crawl in first then followed. Erza watched over them as the two quickly succumbed to the same deep sleep that casted over their daughter. As she allowed her eyes to drift closed, Erza wondered if the smell of her and Mira’s room was as comforting to her wife and kids as it was to her.