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When Robin woke up and reached out for Law in the dark, her hand passed over cold cotton sheets. It was not unusual for Law to exit their bed in the middle of the night; sometimes Robin would either try to fall back asleep or read in bed and leave Law alone to his thoughts, but tonight Robin was of a mind to find Law and join him. She slipped out of bed and into her slippers. She grabbed her robe out of the bedroom closet and pulled it on, tying it at her waist.
Law was most likely in the kitchen, at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee. He always offered her a cup when she came looking for him, but most times she politely declined in favor of a cup of herbal tea—and this was before her pregnancy. Nowadays he offered her a sip from his cup, and Robin was more inclined to accept that offering before making herself a cup of tea and taking a seat next to him.
Robin walked in the dark of their cottage. When she made it to the kitchen, she made out the dark mass of Law’s silhouette at the kitchen table, hunched over. The room smelled of fresh coffee, and Robin felt greedy enough to ask for Law’s cup instead of a sip when he offered.
Law’s head lifted. Wanting to see him more clearly, Robin sprouted an arm out of the wall and flipped on the light. They both squinted at each other as their eyes adjusted to the abrupt change in light.
“Hello, my love,” Robin said, stepping towards Law.
A tired smile curled Law’s lips as he watched her pull out a chair next to him. “Hi,” he said softly.
“Could you not sleep, or is something else going on?” she asked. Law’s quality of sleep had improved since he’d moved in with Robin, but it had been troubled in the past few weeks.
Law inhaled. He pushed his cup towards her with one hand and cupped his face in the other hand.
Robin looked down at the cup and wrapped her hands around the warm ceramic. She brought the mug closer to her, inhaling deeply. While she did not have to completely abstain from caffeine, cutting back on it did make her appreciate what little she could have. Smiling, she wrapped her lips around the rim of the mug and gingerly took a sip, testing the temperature on her tongue before swallowing.
Law watched her, his eyes soft. “You want the rest?”
Robin smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you,” she said.
Law nodded. They sat in silence. Robin savored the warmth of the cup and the robustness of the coffee while she watched Law think. She saw the way his lips parted as he prepared to speak, then closed as he discarded his thought.
Eventually he managed to say, “It was a nightmare.”
Robin watched Law over the rim of the cup. She sipped. She waited. When the pause developed into silence, she finished the last of the coffee and got up to replace the cup she’d taken. She crossed the kitchen to the countertop where Law’s coffee press sat, and lifted the beaker to pour coffee into the mug. She glanced at Law over her shoulder and found him staring into the open air.
Robin returned to her seat and presented her offering in front of Law, slowly pushing the mug towards him. He looked down at what she was doing and he reached out and grabbed the cup. He lifted it to his mouth and took a long sip before setting it back down again.
“I’ve been having dreams,” Law said, staring over Robin’s shoulder, “about our child.”
Robin laid her cheek in her hand. She hadn’t dreamt of their child yet. Perhaps she didn’t need to when much of her waking thoughts were dedicated to the little body she was growing inside her own.
“Tonight it was about…him.”
Doflamingo. Robin scowled. That name drew memories of a battered Law and the angry cries of an entire kingdom.
Law drew in a breath. “Tonight I dreamt that he kidnapped our child and groomed them to be the next Corazón.”
Robin reached out and laid her hand on Law’s. She softened her expression for him. “That man is no longer a threat.”
Law looked at Robin. He lifted the hand that was under hers so he could kiss her knuckles. “I know.”
“And even if he were,” Robin continued, “we wouldn’t let him near our child.”
Another kiss on her knuckles. “I know.” He paused, a haunted look on his face. “It’s stupid. It just felt real.”
Robin gazed at Law for a few moments before she took his hand and placed it on the swell of her stomach. Her body had only recently begun to show her pregnancy, right around the time she’d begun to notice Law’s troubled sleep. “You’re going to be a father soon,” Robin said. She waited until he looked into her eyes, and she smiled at him. “And that’s frightening, isn’t it?”
Law swallowed. “Yeah,” he admitted. He was silent for a breath or two. “But it’s not all scary.”
Robin laughed gently. “I should hope not.”
Law finally smiled at her; it was tiny and it was uncertain, and for that Robin leaned over and kissed him, tasting coffee on his lips. Law’s smile grew in size and confidence when they pulled apart. “Our child’s going to be a mix of the both of us,” he said, awed, as if this were the first time it had occurred to him.
Robin laughed again. Leaning over him, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I know. And they’re going to be so loved.”
Law laid a hand on Robin’s shoulder blade when he pushed his chair back. She stood up to allow him to move. He lifted her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom, his coffee forgotten. Robin used an extra hand to turn off the light.
Law moved carefully through the dark. He gently set her down on the bed.
Robin sat up and removed her robe. She draped it on the post nearest her, then got under the covers. She turned on her side and watched Law as he got into bed next to her. “It’s going to be okay, Law,” she whispered in the dark.
He laid his hand on her arm. “I know. I think I just need a reminder once in a while.”
“Well, I’ll be here to do just that,” Robin said cheerfully.
She heard Law chuckle next to her. “I know.”
Robin turned onto her other side and backed up against Law so they could spoon. He wrapped his arms around her, lacing his fingers so his hands cupped protectively against the swell of her stomach.