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Jolting up gasping desperately for air as tear spring to your eyes you clutch your blankets so tightly that your hands hurt. Frantically you look around trying to find whatever was scaring you moments ago but the only thing you are met with is your dark room that is the exact same as you left it when you had gone to sleep. The nightmare felt so real it felt like you were there but the actual contents of the nightmare is already slipping your mind falling away quicker then you can come to consciousness.
Taking a deep breath you try to slow your racing heart. Izou had taught you breathing exercises for when you get scared or anxious right now though either you weren't remembering how to do it right or it just wasn't working. Squeezing your eyes shut and pressing the palms of your hands into them trying to stop the tears slipping down as well as your racing thoughts that are sill hyper focused on your ever present fear.
You do that for what feels like forever but in reality was actually just ten minutes until finally your breathing somewhat levels out ever so slightly and your tears come to a full halt, your heart however is still pounding in your ears almost deafening you to your own breathing.
Laying down and attempting to go back to sleep right now is definably out of the question for you since fear is still right at the back of your mind waiting for the right moment to surge forward again.
Usually when you had any type of nightmare you would go to Thatch, Jozu, or Ace since all three of them were the best at calming you down and getting you back to sleep but they were all gone right now to diffrent islands in the territory for reasons you weren't privy to so that wasn't an option. You would attempt to wake someone else up but you don't want to bug them with this since they normally don't go to them and they might not want to. Maybe instead you could just sneak over to the kitchen and make yourself a hot chocolate like Thatch does? That would help.
Carefully slipping down from the bed with your blanket still tightly wrapped around your shoulders you tiptoe over to your door and slowly opening it only enough for you to slip though so it doesn't creak. Glancing around the hall you see nothing out of the ordinary. No one is walking around, no lights are on, no noise save for the loud snores coming from Rakuyo's room. So you begin slowly making your way though the halls almost tripping a few times on your blanket due to the darkness.
Half way to the kitchen though is when you start to see things moving in the shadows. At first you try to brush it off as a trick you mind is playing on you but then it happens again, and again, and again and now you can't ignore it as your heart rate picks up and your throat tightens up.
"Nothing there, nothing there, nothing there…" you repeat under your breath as you pause to lean against the wall staring wide eyed at the corridor trying to discern your imagination from reality. Now your really regretting not just staying in bed, then you could at least turn on the light in your room so your aren't bathed in darkness but out here there was nothing you could do about it.
The darkness is to much so you squeeze your eyes shut and try taking slow deep breaths to calm down.
You don't hear the footsteps slowly approaching or the call of your name to focused on the loud beating of your heart so when there's a hand suddenly on your shoulder you almost jump out of your skin as your eyes fly open. A monster ready to take you away is what you expected to see but instead your met with Marco who you can just barely make out in this poor lighting. The relief that you feel from seeing him is overwhelming.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you kiddo" he says most likely with an apologetic look on his face that you simply cant make out.
"Its ok" you mumble so quietly that you arnt sure if he would have heard you if it wasn't so quiet on the ship right now.
"What are you doing out of bed?" he asks gently as he crouches down to your level. You can make out more of him now and the sight makes you frown. His hair is dishevelled and out of place as well as there being eye-bags so intense that you can make them out even in this lighting under his eyes. He was probably up late doing paperwork again and was going to the kitchen for some more coffee if the mug you just spotted in his other hand ment anything.
"No…" you look down at the ground but snap your gaze back up at him just as fast as you think you see another squirming shadow "had a nightmare" you blurt out much louder then anything else you've said.
"Why didn't you wake anyone up then?" he asks concern filling his voice and you can vividly see him furrowing his eyebrows and looking at you the way he always did when he was worried despite not actually being able to see it.
"Thatch and Ace and Jozu are all gone right now and I didn't know if anyone else would be bothered if I woke them up so I thought I would go to the kitchen to make myself a hot chocolate" you pause only for a moment to take in a breath before continuing "but then I thought I say things moving in the dark so I got scared again and stoped here" its only after your ramble is done that you realize that tears are going down your cheeks and you quickly reach up to whip them away.
"Oh kiddo…" Marco say so softly that it makes your heart clench as he pulls you into a gentle hug "you can go to any of us if you have a nightmare ok? No one will be mad at you for waking them up" he starts to slowly rub circles on your back helping to sooth you.
Neither of you speak for a while after he pulls you into his arms instead settling for a comforting silence that you prefer over the deafening silence the ship carries at night. Even though its still as dark and the wispy shadows are still there you feel a lot better now that Marco is here with you. Soon your tears come to a full halt and you reluctantly pull yourself from his arms.
"Better?" he asks giving you head a gentle pat while hes at it.
"Mhm" you hum nodding and rubbing your eyes while you let out a yawn. Crying made your already present tiredness even worse.
"How about we get you to bed? hm?" Marco is already scooping you up into his arms and turning back the direction you had just came from.
"Can I say with you in your room?" you ask tiredly.
"I'm not going to bed yet, I still have some work I have to do" that makes you pout and pry yourself away from his shoulder to look him in the face.
"But what if I have another nightmare?"
"Then you can wake someone else up. Like I said no one would mind"
"But I want to stay with you" you purposefully make yourself sound like your gonna start crying again and that seems to do that trick as Marco lets out a defeated sigh and gives you a small smile.
"You need to stop being cute" you just stick your tongue out at him and lean back onto his shoulder.
The walk to Marcos room seems to take forever and no time at all at the same time as you drift in and out of sleep against him. The soul reason you realize you arrived at the room is because the doors loud creek.
"I really need to oil that" Marco mumbles to himself as he more carefully and slowly closes the door making sure it doesn't creek again.
He carefully places you and your blanket (which you are tightly wrapped in) down onto his bed and quickly changes into something more subtile for sleep. Slowly climbing into bed you instantly curl into his side and grip his sleep shirt making yourself comfortable against his side making chuckle fondly.
"I promise I'll keep all of your bad dreams away" Marco whispers while gently wrapping his arm around you and pulling his blanket up to cover himself.
"Thanks Marco" you groggily mumble.
"Course kiddo."