Sleep that night was unbearable. Anni was pulled into consciousness three times by her own yelps and screams before she gave up and decided to forego sleep for the rest of the night. She knew she was going to need all the energy she could get for the training that would start after work tomorrow, but she couldn't bear to let the terrors in her head run free anymore. She might be able to convince Shizuo to be her pillow again and scare the nightmares away, but she was too proud to ask unless absolutely necessary. So Anni spent her night switching between her laptop and doing more sketches. Hours passed slowly in the lonely darkness.

Maya seemed to be more cheerful and energetic at work that day, as if she wanted to rub off on the somber and tired blonde. It only served to irritate Anni, but she kept herself from snapping at her friend as best she could. Maya had no way of knowing what had happened two days ago, and Anni didn't feel like sharing the misery.

Anni got off work earlier than usual, as she'd rearranged her schedule to fit in training time. She stopped for food before heading to the dojo Shizuo had taken her to check out the day before. Sharaki Eijirou Rakuei dojo, owned by Traugott Geissendirfer. It was a self-defense gym. The very same gym Orihara Mauri regularly attended. Anni had done her research. It was a nice place too. It was a place she didn't mind working her heart and soul out doing simple movements. She would need to get the basics right if she was going to be able to build upon it, after all. So she was sweaty, exhausted and sore when she walked out the door, but she felt amazing. It was one step closer to being able to protect herself. One step closer to being able to break arms instead of being disarmed and controlled.

The walk home felt much longer and harder than Anni knew it was, her loss of sleep compounding with the long day, but she made it. She went right to bed, falling asleep in seconds. Then she was awake again, giving her vocal chords their workout. She didn't get much sleep that night either.

-!DRRR!-

Celty was happy to stop and talk when Shizuo called her over. She'd just finished a delivery for Izaya and was heading back home to Shinra, but she hadn't spoken to her friend for a while now. He ranted for a bit about the flea messing with his life again, and told her about what Izaya had done to Anni. He then went on about how he was worried she was taking on her new training without sleep, as he hadn't seen or heard from her since he'd shown her the dojo a few days ago. Celty did her best to calm him from his pacing, and succeeded only when she promised to keep her eye out for the little blonde when she was free. It was because of this promise that Celty waited around the corner from the dojo he'd described. She didn't have to wait long before Anni stumbled into sight, with dark circles under her eyes.

"Hello Celty! What brings you here?" Anni greeted cheerily as she spotted the transporter.

"Would you like a ride home? No offense, but you look like you're about to collapse" Celty typed out quickly. Anni somehow managed a light laugh.

"Did Shizuo send you to check on me again?" she asked with a small smile.

"No, he just said he was worried about you. He was right to assume you haven't gotten much sleep lately, by the look in your eyes."

"I… No, I haven't." Anni sighed. She seemed to ponder something for a moment, dropping the happy act. "Could you give me a ride to Shizuo's apartment instead?" Celty nodded and produced an eared helmet for the blonde to wear.

-!DRRR!-

After being dropped off and trading contact information with her favorite fairy, Anni waited for as long as she could, which turned out to not be very long at all. Turning on the TV would put her to sleep almost instantly, so Anni opted for trying to read a book she found. A few pages in, when she had to reread a passage for the sixth time, she gave in and fell asleep on the couch.

-!DRRR!-

Shizuo got home from work late to find the very person he'd been worrying about unconscious on his couch again. She was curled cutely around one of his books. He carefully traded the book for the blanket that had been reserved for her while she'd lived on that couch. He was happy to see she was sleeping peacefully, though the bags that were still under her eyes told him just how much precious sleep she'd missed over the three days since he'd last seen her. Because she was curled up, there was plenty of space left by her feet for Shizuo to sit and flick the TV on. He learned months ago that the noise from the TV wouldn't wake her. If anything it made her sleep more soundly. He stayed there for a while, hoping that he was helping to keep her dreams peaceful. He found out that he was wrong when Anni started twitching. It was after a more powerful jerk made her kick his side that he decided it would be best to wake her.

"Hey, Anni" he called, holding her ankle so she couldn't repeat the abuse. "'Morning" he said as she tried to bury her heel into him again. When he didn't let her leg move, she came alive all at once, lunging forward to grab his wrist with both hands. Once she'd accomplished that much, Anni sat and stared at his arm with eyes glazed over. A few blinks seemed to clear her vision, so she could follow the arm in her grip up to meet his eyes.

"Mornin'" she said sheepishly, releasing his wrist. He in turn let go of her ankle and let out a breath. He certainly didn't need her trying to beat him up in her sleep.

"How're you?" he asked as Anni sat up properly, wrapping the blanket back around herself.

"Not well" she admitted, her eyes wandering listlessly to the TV. "I haven't slept much at all in a few days. Me and my stupid vivid dreams…" she trailed off letting her eyes close. She was just barely conscious. He wasn't surprised when Anni fell to the side, landing propped up against his shoulder. Shizuo sighed. If it worked a few nights ago, it should work now. That was probably the reason she'd come here to begin with. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and held her so he could stretch out along the couch. The barely awake Anni provided little help. While he managed to get comfortable on his back, she snuggled into his chest. One final, relaxing sigh from the little blonde told him she was really asleep. Shizuo grabbed the remote from the coffee table and flicked the TV off. He would be sleeping like this again tonight, but he didn't mind it much. He enjoyed her company.

-!DRRR!-

Anni woke up alone, but she woke up peacefully. It wasn't the nightmares which woke her, but her own mind drifting gently back to reality. She wanted to cry out in joy, up until she looked at the time. She'd slept through her alarm. Not only had she missed her shift at work entirely, but her training session was nearly over. Anni groaned and fell back into Shizuo's couch, pulling the blanket over her head. Oh well. It was sleep she desperately needed, and it's not like she would have been at all productive today without it.

Anni grabbed her phone again and called her boss. She was thankfully let off for missing today, but she would be working more the day after tomorrow to make up for it, as tomorrow was her day off. Two days of missed training her first week didn't sound good, but Anni would have to deal. She got up and put the blanket away before heading home to change and eat. She would be coming back later, if only so she could actually have a conversation with Shizuo. Sleepiness had robbed her of most of her memories surrounding the night before, but she was aware that she'd said few words to him before passing out. He deserved more than those few words for sticking around and taking care of her yet again. Once Anni had taken care of everything she wanted to at her apartment, she grabbed her laptop and drawing pad and headed back to Shizuo's to wait for him to get home. She would hopefully be able to get some short naps in as well.

It was during one of her naps that Shizuo arrived. Anni opened her eyes to find him standing over her with his hand on her shoulder. "Mornin'" Anni greeted with a toothy grin, starting a couch-wide stretch. Her sketchbook and pencil fell off her belly, but she didn't care. They would survive.

"Feeling better?" Shizuo asked, taking up the space her feet vacated as she leaned down to retrieve her art supplies.

"Much. Thank you" she said, folding her legs under her as she put the sketchbook on the coffee table. "How are you doing?" she asked, earning a smile in response.

"I'm well enough. My little brother is coming to Ikebukuro tomorrow for work, and I'm looking forward to seeing him again" he explained, stretching his legs out and relaxing.

"Oh, it's tomorrow that Hanejima-san is filming here then?" Anni mused, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. That would be a very eventful day. Anni was glad she didn't have to ask Maya to cover for her tomorrow, because there was no way she was going to miss that action. She should still be able to attend her usual training, because the Orihara twins were regulars at the her dojo, and they were still present at the filming to bug Shizuo. Maybe if she rewatched the episode tonight she could catch exactly what time everything happened. Losing herself in her plans let her miss Shizuo's surprise at her recognition.

"Y'know about Kasuka too then?" he asked.

"A little bit" Anni replied, before realising her slip up. "Oh holy hell we haven't talked about your brother at all, have we?"

"No, we haven't. Do you know 'bout him through the 'Durarara' thing as well?" It was Anni's turn to be surprised.

"What? How would you… Did Maya tell you about that?"

"Sorta. After you left Russia Sushi in a huff over it, I asked her what it was" Shizuo explained, turning his attention to the sketch pad on the table. It displayed an unfinished outline of four people, two of which were recognizable as Anni and Alex. The other two figures didn't have much detail yet, but they both had long hair that was kept up in ponytails. "You're really not from around here, are you?"

"I… no, not at all, but I can't…" Anni muttered, pulling her knees up. A different country, a different continent, a different reality. In no way did her home fit with 'around here'. Shizuo surprised her again by messing up her hair. "Hey, what-"

"Don't worry too much. I know you can't really talk about it" he reassured with a warm smile. Anni smiled back at him and batted his hand off her head.

"I'll be 22 this march, you don't need to treat me like a kid" she argued half-heartedly. Shizuo only laughed at her and turned the TV on. They were able to hang out like this for a while, up until Shizuo insisted on walking her home again. Anni was getting the impression she wouldn't be trusted to be alone in the dark ever again. She didn't mind it too much though. There were good reasons behind it, and she enjoyed his company.

-A/N-

Edited by my dear friend Faded Phoenix