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They didn’t all share a bed most nights.
For one thing, things could get a little squishy with three bodies fitting into one bed, no matter what the size, especially when Kay sometimes liked to starfish, and Klavier was prone to tossing and turning. Sebastian was prone to crying out in his sleep, too, which didn't help matters either.
For another, sometimes their interests clashed. Sometimes two wanted to get a little rough before bed, while the third was too tired or just not in the mood to want to make it a proper threesome. Sometimes Sebastian wanted to finish reading a book, or Kay was in the middle of a video game, or Klavier had an amazing snippet of song come to mind that he needed to get down right now, and it was better to let them do their own thing rather than coordinate three ways.
And sometimes schedules just didn’t line up. It was a lot easier to have someone go to bed at two and another get up at five if they weren’t sharing the same bed after all. Plus, it wasn’t as though they were short on space. Klavier might have considered himself a former rock star, but royalties still meant he was raking in the dough. (And really, as Kay pointed out after Klavier scheduled yet another photo session, could a rock star ever actually be retired?) And that, on top of their more active incomes, meant that they had good money for a good house, with all the space they could ever want. They each had their own room, plus a few guest rooms that could be commandeered in a pinch. And even if Sebastian rarely slept in his own, enjoying the comfort of another human body when schedules and wants allowed, it was nice to have a place that distinctly belonged to each of them; to have that set space of boundaries, which could double as reminders and mementos when one or the other of them was forced to spend a couple nights away for work.
Tonight had not worked in Sebastian’s favour for a combination of reasons. First, Kay was getting in a little late after doing… something she hadn’t been quite clear about (Sebastian often refused to ask; what he didn’t know, he couldn’t be held culpable for in a court of law, should it ever come to it.) Sebastian himself had a court case the next day, and wanted to go to bed early so he could get up extra early and look over his materials one last time before making his way to the courthouse. And Klavier had been planning on getting some housework done, and then enjoying some private time with their master thief.
This was all well and good. Sebastian hadn’t minded as they’d laid the plans out, especially when he and Klavier had had the opportunity to spend the evening lounging together on the couch, the odd kiss shared back and forth as they went through some of what Mr. Edgeworth had declared Required Watching. (Or rather, a friend of Mr. Wright’s had, and Mr. Edgeworth had agreed? The entire thing had been complicated, but Kay had looked absolutely filled with glee as she saw them coming home with the Special Edition Heisei Era Metal Samurai box set.) They’d even had a nice dinner, ordered in from one of Klavier’s favourite places (high-end European; they’d have something a bit more down-to-earth tonight, as Sebastian got to control the menu on court days; either something nice to celebrate or something very comfort food-y to calm his nerves), and generally enjoyed the evening.
The bed was soft, he had been tired, and he had a large body pillow and weighted blankets just for nights like these, when having someone around wasn’t a viable or optimal option. So going to bed hadn’t been an issue at all.
No.
It wasn’t until after he was asleep that the issues started.
Fire. There was fire everywhere. Destroying the courtroom. Destroying his home. He could hear the voices of his defendants, of Mr. Edgeworth, of Klavier, of Kay all screaming for help, but his hands were on fire, too. Or perhaps they were melting? Could they be both on fire and melting? He could feel the skin burning, bubbling, his hand disappearing in the flame. He tried to find something to put it out, only for every movement to set more things ablaze.
And then, there was the voice of his father. Calling him a disappointment. Calling him a failure. Saying that the destruction was all his fault, and he deserved his fate either to live on, alone and disgraced and forgotten, or to die subsumed by the flames.
And then, there was another voice calling, calling, calling, and—
Sebastian awoke with a gasp, as Kay shook his shoulder.
“You were making a lot of noise in your sleep,” she explained. “Klavier and I thought we heard crying. Is everything okay?”
He blearily took in the words, lasting one moment, two, before his breathing began to get laboured and the tears started flowing.
“S-sorry; I—I don’t—I—”
“Nightmare?” Kay asked.
Sebastian nodded, and Kay lept on to give him a very tight hug.
"Let it out," she coaxed. "You're safe here."
It wasn't a long episode, all told, not that he had a firm grasp on time as he sobbed and gasped and buried his head into Kay's shoulder. But it felt like only minutes, not hours, had passed by the time he'd gotten his breathing under control, and Kay pulled away again. She brushed the bangs away from his face, passed him a tissue, and gave a considering look as he blew his nose.
“Gonna be okay on your own?”
Sebastian hesitated. “If you need me to be, I’ll… I’ll probably montage, but—”
Kay sighed. “Manage, Bastian. And that’s enough of an answer for me. Give me a moment, and I’ll be back, okay?”
Sebastian looked at her, almost stunned out of his own tears. “But I—”
“I know what 'I'll manage' means when you're crying, especially when you start tripping up over your words again,” Kay insisted. “Five minutes. Less, probably. Do you want the light on?”
Sebastian considered. “Yeah.”
Kay planted one more kiss on his forehead, wiping away his tears, then rushed out the door, flipping the light switch on the way out.
It really did help. Things felt more real in the light, where there couldn’t be shadows lurking everywhere, where he could see the world around him for what it really was. Less chances of being sucked back into that hellscape. Less chances of his mind dwelling there, when reality was so clear around him.
That wasn't to say he felt calm, though. He could still feel the anxiety lurking. His eyes were stinging. His hands hurt. And he could feel his breath wanting to hitch in his throat again. So he scrambled to think of his breathing exercises, finding one that felt like he could concentrate on.
In, hold, out. In, hold, out.
He could hear them in the other room if he listened closely, a few murmured words, a few footsteps, a flash of Klavier going past, and then more footsteps growing closer as Kay made her way back in.
“Sorry I left you like that,” she replied. “I would’ve stayed right away, but Klavier would’ve been rather out of luck if I had. Feeling any better?”
“Yeah,” Sebastian replied. “My hands are a little sore, though.”
Kay sighed. “Fire dream again?”
Sebastian nodded. "Bad one."
“What was ablaise this time?”
“Courtroom, me, you…”
“Well, at least it wasn’t the house again,” Kay murmured. “Want some cream?”
“Yeah.”
She reached into the drawer in his bedside table and pulled out a small jar, kept for just this purpose. The scars were prone to aching when he moved in precisely the wrong way, or when something was too hot, or too cold, or the weather was going to change, or, yes, when he was panicking, or especially after his nightmares. Kay said it was psychosomatic. Sebastian just knew that it helped to have something to put on them, no matter what was making them sore this time. Even if it didn’t stop the pain, it at least gave a nice placebo effect of calming. The act of having someone apply the cream generally helped too, but maybe that was just because it meant that he wasn’t alone. As it was, Kay was gentle with the application, placing some of the cool liquid on his skin and gently massaging it in, paying special attention to his palm, the back of his hand, and each finger in turn. She was almost through with his second hand when Klavier came in, a tray with three mugs in hand.
“It’s herbal,” he explained, putting it down and handing them each a mug that smelled of lavender, mint, and lemon. (There were vague indents from rope running up and down his arms—so that’s what Kay had meant by “out of luck”.) “I put a bit of honey in, too. A sweet drink for sweet dreams, ja?”
“You forgot to mention sweet company,” Kay added. “Can’t think of any better than this.”
“Me neither,” Sebastian agreed.
They chatted a bit as they drank about nothing too serious. Kay asked them what they’d thought of the Nickel Samurai, Klavier shared a few bars of a song he was working on, seeing if Sebastian could harmonize his way along. And Sebastian even tried his hand at a bit of wordplay, trying to keep up with Klavier and Kay, who were always lighter with their tongues, but delighted when he tried to pun along with them. His hands still hurt, but with them around, his mind was elsewhere at least.
And then Klavier put the mugs away, and he and Kay went about their bedtime routines in turn, making sure that Sebastian was never left alone. Klavier came back with his hair loosely plaited over one shoulder, Kay came back in comfy pajamas and ordered them to move over to make room for her as she turned off the lights.
It still was squishy with three people in the bed, negotiating limbs and bodies and their various personal habits, but on nights like this, nestled between the two people he loved, it was worth it. Perhaps it wouldn’t be the good night’s sleep he wanted before a case, but when nightmares got in the way, then spending the night with his loves truly was the next best thing.