Where You Belong

Late Night Talks

It was several days after the whole Walmart fiasco, and both Lexi and Law were fully recovered from their illness. Thankfully, there wasn't any majorly strange or bothersome occurrences in the time between, what with the engineers having to take care of three sick or mentally unstable people. With Lexi's direction and instructions, they helped clean and even cook for those occupying the house. Shachi and Penguin were pretty well-behaved, a grateful Lexi found, and it really made things easier for the rest of them.

Unfortunately, missing three days of classes couldn't be helped by the good behavior of the pirates. Her assignments began to pile up, and she had to haul ass the last day to even begin to catch up.

Lexi became a recluse after that, spending the majority of her time at the university or in her room studying. The only times she'd come out were to grab something to eat or make something for the rest of them.

Law began noticing the signs of exhaustion after the third full day of doing nothing but study. Though he had to admire her determination. Law and Bepo lounged around the living room, watching some strange program on the tv. Shachi and Penguin were in the backyard helping Nana with some gardening. Lexi emerged for only the second time that day, sluggishly descending the steps with half-lidded eyes.

"Um...Lexi?" Bepo pried, seeing her disheveled appearance.

"Hmm?" She replied, too much in a daze to meet his gaze. She was only reacting to the sound of his voice.

"Are you alright?"

"Mhmm." She reached the bottom of the stairs and went into the kitchen. She disappeared from sight, and Law watched the polar bear give him a concerned glance. They could hear her open the doors of the fridge, then a second later there was a loud crash of glass being broken followed by a feminine shout of surprise.

The two pirates jumped with a start, Law swinging his head around to gather the source of the noise. Rolling his eyes, he stood and went into the kitchen after her. There he saw a dazed and startled Lexi staring at the ground, where a glass baking dish with leftovers from the day before had shattered against the floor. The pieces had scattered everywhere, and the enchiladas, as she had called them, lay in a half-frozen pile in the middle.

Law looked to Lexi for explanation but she only rubbed her eyes furiously to get the sleep out of them. "It slipped out of my hand..." She said.

Sighing, he knelt down to start cleaning up the mess, but a quiet sob made him stop. Looking up, he saw her shoulders start to shake.

"Why are you crying?" He asked in confusion. Had she hurt herself? There were no visible wounds on her body anywhere...

"I'm just so tired...I can't fail my classes, but I'm so tired..." She sobbed, sniffing and wiping at her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt.

He stared at her a moment, unsure of what to do, but it seemed the universe would decide that for him. Lexi tried to take a step towards the stairs, most likely to go back up to her room, but she faltered. Law recognized something in her gait, something in the way she moved and instinctively stepped up to catch her before she passed out and fell to the ground in the broken glass.

Lexi's head lolled foward, and her full weight fell against the pirate. If he hadn't have been there, she would have face planted straight into a pile of jagged glass. He wrapped her arm around his shoulder, picking her up by her knees and back. With a sigh, he stood and walked towards the stairs.

"Bepo, will you clean up the mess in the kitchen?" He asked, and the bear stood.

"Yes, Captain."

Satisfied that the job would be done, he ascended the steps to the top of the stairs, pushing against her door that was slightly ajar.

Stepping carefully so as not to have her head hit the doorframe, Law moved towards her bed, gently lifting her from his hold and placing her on the comforter. She didn't wake up, probably feeling the full effects of her exhaustion. He was thankful of that, as if she'd been aware of his kind gesture, she'd probably mock him for it. He was not a hero, nor was he kind. It would do no good for her to be thinking that way.