Work Text:
Trafalgar Law was terribly familiar with nightmares.
He was just simply out of practice . In the months since Cora’s death he’d managed to avoid them through the obvious method — not sleeping. Throughout the week he’d catch an hour or so here or there, nothing deep enough to allow dreams to start playing. At the ripe old age of fourteen, Law had become well acquainted with coffee. It quickly became his first and most important vice, though with Shachi and Penguin around it was only a matter of time before he took to their habits.
It wasn’t lost on Law that at least two of his three new roommates noticed his lack of sleep. Bepo gave him worried looks when he’d yawn, Penguin would stir in the middle of the night when he needed the bathroom, catch sight of him, and toss a blanket over his shoulders before returning to his spot beside Shachi. It was easy to downplay, it’s not like the others slept much better than him. Much of their time together had been spent huddled in the woods of Swallow Island, scrounging together what they could to create a semblance of shelter. It was only recently that Law had discovered what must have been an abandoned barn. It was barely standing and covered in thick layers of dirt, but it was as good a starting place as any. It still had a far way to go, but the four boys were slowly but surely tidying and repairing according to Law’s vision for the place.
It was after a long day of using his devil fruit powers to move around larger debris that sleep finally took him in a way it hadn’t been allowed for some time.
Shachi woke first, and as far as he could tell he was the only one to do so. He remained where he was, pretending to not be disturbed by the choked sounds bouncing around their home. He could tell it was Law, the way the boy wheezed had been burned into his brain in their first few weeks together, before Law had managed to rid himself of most of his symptoms of White Lead Disease. Back then, too, Shachi had spent nights not telling his new companions he was a light sleeper. And as he did now, he saved Law the embarrassment of knowing he’d been caught. Instead, he kept an ear open to listen for his breaths to steady. Some amount of calm seemed to find him which satisfied Shachi enough to close his eyes and go back to sleep.
It went on like this, Law sleeping a little more as time went on and their home became homier. Bepo slept like the dead, and Penguin only stirred in the night when his body told him to. Law would gasp awake and Shachi’s eyes would fly open. The younger boy would struggle for breath, grasping at his chest as though he could lift the pressure off of it. Shachi would listen, still beside Penguin, waiting for the eventual sound of Law getting to his feet and dragging himself, wrapped in a blanket, over to the study corner he and Bepo were working on. When dim candlelight could be seen, Shachi would allow himself to drift away again.
Until one night when the calm didn’t come.
It began like every other nightmare Law had awoken from, a loud gasp that brought Shachi to. This time though, small but urgent words tumbled out. “Cora? Cora what are you doing out there?”
That was enough for Shachi to allow himself to shift, rolling over in a way that didn’t have to mean he was awake. He shot a look over to Law, the moonlight spilling in from their newly installed window illuminating the panic on the boy’s face. He stared ahead, unseeing, while his fingers clawed at the blanket in his lap. Tears burst from his eyes. For the first time since Shachi met him, he thought he looked like what he was — a kid .
Law cried loudly, and Shachi silently cursed the other two boys for being such heavy sleepers. Tears weren’t his forte. Shachi wasn’t a particularly warm person, he quite liked the way he mirrored his frigid homeland. It felt right. Though the other kids in their home village found him rude and off-putting, Penguin had never had a problem understanding what he meant.
As he watched Law’s panic grow, anxiety of his own built in his stomach. Now that he was thinking about it, Penguin really had been the only person who understood his brand of compassion. Even his mother, the one who had taught him to be this way, told him he was mean and cold . Though it hadn’t even been a year, this moment was solidifying something terrifying — he was beginning to care what his new companions thought of him. Or, even scarier, he was beginning to care for them. And laying there, watching the boy who had quickly taken responsibility for the four of them lose himself, Shachi was painfully aware that he couldn’t just let him suffer.
“ Cap ,” he hissed. “ You good? ”
If he was heard he certainly wasn’t acknowledged. This time, he pushed himself up to a sitting position. Penguin grumbled unhappily as his arms fell from his friend, and once again Shachi cursed the other for his sound sleep.
“Cap,” louder this time, almost at a normal speaking voice. “Hey, what’s goin’ on?”
Law’s eyes squeezed shut tightly, his breathing getting more and more ragged. Shachi could only watch as the other boy dug his nails into his own biceps, squeezing so hard Shachi was certain he’d draw blood. He was in over his head, that much was clear. Whatever this was went beyond any bad dreams Shachi had experienced, and he had absolutely no idea what to do. He remained frozen for what felt like far too long, staring and calling out to his friend and feeling useless.
That’s when he realized the easiest solution — he smacked Penguin hard on the shoulder. He stirred and grumbled, but didn’t come to. “Peng!” Shachi huffed, grabbing the older boy’s shoulder and shaking him violently. “Wake up, stupid!” At that an eye fluttered open, sleepily trying to focus on the source of his loss of sleep.
“What the fuck,” Penguin muttered, rolling like he was going to try to go back to bed.
“ Look , you idiot!” Shachi seethed, pointing across the space they’d all been calling a bedroom. Penguin rubbed his good eye and a particularly loud sob from Law seemed to hit him like a bucket of ice water.
“Hey!” he called, scrambling to his feet. In his haste he tripped over Bepo, disturbing the mink who groaned as he found consciousness. Bepo was a lot quicker on the uptake, the sounds filling the room demanding he spring into action. Penguin was already at Law’s side, gripping his shoulder. “Captain?” he asked worriedly. “Hey, hey — breath. C’mon.” At the instruction Law’s eyes screwed shut, and it seemed like he was perhaps making an effort to follow it.
That’s when Bepo found his target, coming around to Law’s side opposite Penguin and throwing his arms around him. The polar bear may have been the youngest of the four but he was undoubtedly the biggest. He squeezed his friend as though he were floating away and his hold was the only thing keeping him grounded. Worry washed over him and he could feel tears of his own building in the corners of his eyes, so he buried his face in Law’s disheveled hair. “It’s okay,” he insisted. “It’s okay, Captain.”
To the surprise of all three of them, Law gripped Bepo back just as hard. He let himself get lost in his fuzzy hold, pressing into him as he made a real effort to catch his breath. Upon realizing it was working , Penguin added himself to the hug.
Shachi remained under his blanket, his mouth in a tight line and his brows furrowed as he watched the scene unfold. Was it really that easy? How could he have not thought of that? As Law began to settle, Penguin cast a glance back to Shachi. Wordlessly, he nodded for him to join them. He was answered with a scrunch of a freckled nose, to which Penguin only nodded even more insistently. Slowly he relented, trudging over to the group and sitting beside them. He didn’t echo the enthusiasm of Bepo and Penguin, instead opting to rest a hand on Law’s back.
And like that, surrounded by these three boys who, in his mind, had no reason to show him such kindness, Law’s body finally relaxed. The three felt it happen, the tension they didn’t realize they were holding melting away too. Bepo looked up, resting his chin on the top of Law’s head so he could look at the other two. They all exchanged glances, an understanding growing amongst them as they hovered protectively over their usually fearless leader. The one who brought them together, the one who found them a home, the one who was already making grand plans to give their dreams legs to stand on. The one who was going to need to cry and be held some nights.
In that moment, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi solidified between themselves that they would go to whatever lengths necessary to be there on those nights. To never add to whatever brought their captain to this point. To always, each of them in their own way, keep him anchored here with them. They each nodded in agreement, and Shachi gave Law’s back a pat for emphasis. It was probably a little too hard to be comforting, and yet Law melted into it. All of them now stilled, a whisper found its way through the cracks of their embrace.
“Thanks guys.”