Erza wakes up with a start, breathing heavy as the nightmares recede and she regains her bearings. She's safe, in her shared bedroom, alone. The emptiness of the bed next to her take priority over the nightmare (which she doesn't even want to think about) so Erza rolls out of the bed and wanders off towards the office.
Just as Erza predicted, Lucy is still writing. Lucy's hunched over her messy desk, illuminated by the small desk lamp, alternating between typing out sentences and referring to her notes. Erza softly smiles, it's slightly amusing how easily Lucy loses track of the time due to her dedication to her story.
Erza turns on the floor lamp near the door, but even that doesn't faze Lucy. It usually doesn't. Erza saunters across the room up to behind Lucy's chair and drapes her arms over Lucy's shoulders. She leans down to kiss the spot on Lucy's neck, right below her ear, where she's ticklish. Lucy squirms, yet she still decides to acknowledge Erza's presence.
"Hey," Lucy speaks softly, craning her neck to look up at Erza. "I thought you said you were going to bed."
"I did," Erza counters. "It's two AM."
The quaint smile falls from Lucy's face, "Oh shit. Sorry. Shit."
"It's okay," Erza murmurs while she kisses Lucy's cheek. "Will you come to bed now?"
"Yeah. Let me save everything and I'll be right there," Lucy promises.
Erza pulls herself away from Lucy and returns to her spot in the doorway to wait. She watches as Lucy flitters around, jotting down her last thoughts on sticky notes, saving the document three times, marking her place in her notebook, saving her document one last time, and finally she's done.
"You didn't have to wait," Lucy insists once she leaves her desk.
"I wanted to," Erza argues as she turns off the light. They head into the bedroom in darkness, leaving the moonbeams as their only light, "Besides, the bed is lonely without you."
"Well, I still have to go to the bathroom so really, don't wait up," Lucy says as she disappears into the master bath.
Erza returns to their bed, only to sit on the edge. She would wait, because she didn't want to face her dreams again alone.
Lucy comes out of the bathroom about ten minutes later, dressed in her pjs and hair in a bun. She looks surprised to see Erza still up, but then understanding dawns on her face. She climbs into bed and Erza leans into the crook over neck. As Lucy starts to run her fingers through Erza's hair, Erza wraps her arms around Lucy's waist. They pause to settle before they begin to talk.
"Did a nightmare wake you up?" Lucy questions.
"Yes," Erza admits.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not particularly. I just need you here right now."
"Then I won't leave you for the rest of the night. I love you."
"I love you too."
They fall into a comfortable silence, and Erza slowly manages to push the nightmare out of her mind as she listens to the beating of Lucy's heart. Eventually, she drifts into a peaceful sleep.