You didn't get how none of this bothered Shanks but at the same time, you were grateful it didn't.

He'd carried your feline ass back to the car like it was nothing and you'd laid across his shoulders limply, dozing off and on until you were in the safety of the car. From what you could tell, the pack stayed behind but the rest of your friends opted to follow you, Shanks, and Benn to your destination in their own vehicles.

The ride was quiet until you shifted back. It was much more painful this time, almost as bad as your first full moon since your wounds were still in the process of healing. As soon as you were human again, Benn glanced back to assess the damage before quickly focusing back on the road.

"How bad is it?" He asked.

You were too tired to respond but Shanks had assumed as much. He wrapped you up in his jacket which was thankfully, a long one, and helped you curl up in his lap before answering.

"It'll take all night but she'll be fine in the morning." His fingers swept along your neck carefully. "This one might actually scar."

"S'fine." You managed to mumble. "M'not dead."

Shanks chuckled softly. "No, you're not. That was still a close fight though."

"You did good against him." Benn added. "I don't think any other new blood would have lasted."

You closed your eyes and forced your head to jerk up and down into a rough nod, hoping he'd see the action in the rear view mirror. Then again, it didn't really matter whether he did or not.

You were stuck between the shift and fight having sapped you of your strength and needing to sleep and being in too much pain to be able to do so. It would've been nice to just pass out and sleep through the healing process but you doubted that'd happen. Not for a while at least.

Shanks was doing his best to soothe you though. His hand slipped inside the jacket to glide along your skin wherever there were no wounds, his energy seeping into you enough to relax your aching muscles.

"You're going to wear yourself out Shanks." Benn warned. You were sure he could feel the energy crackling in the air.

"It's fine, we'll have a few days to recuperate."

"Mihawk letting you stay that long?"

"He will once he sees (Y/n). He won't say it but he cares."

You let out a content sigh and nuzzled into Shanks' chest as the pain slowly began to recede bit by bit. His lips brushed your temple sweetly and you heard him whisper about how you'd feel better in the morning before you slipped under, grateful to be able to sleep through the worst of it.

----

It was warm, almost toasty, but it wasn't too much. The problem was it didn't match the scenery, not completely.

You were sitting on a beach and the sun was setting. The last rays of sunlight hit the sand just right and kept the cool evening air at bay. The ocean waves lapped at your toes but strangely enough you couldn't feel the chill of the water. You were just warm.

Gulls cried, the water slapped noisily at a pier and ship a little further down the stretch of beach. The ship's sails snapped on a light breeze that you also couldn't feel.

You looked down to the sand and ran your hand through it. It should have been coarse, gritty, but once again, you felt nothing. You let out a sigh and took in your appearance next. Your feet were bare and you were dressed in a soft, almost sheer white dress. When you stood, it reached your knees and had long sleeves that billowed at the ends. It didn't take much to notice if you checked yourself out, you could see hints of your shape under the dress, enough to create plenty of interest without showing everything off.

"Do you like it?" Shanks cooed in your ear. His hands settled on both of your shoulders and you jumped. Last you checked, he only had the one hand, the one arm really.

"What is this?"

"A dream. You're still healing, dealing with a full moon shift and a fight in the same night has left you drained. It's left you out longer than we thought."

"So I'm asleep?"

"Yes."

"And that's why you have both arms?"

He started chuckling and it quickly turned into full blown laughter. "I love how that's the most important thing to you right now."

"Well there's a few things I'm curious about, that just was the at the top of my list."

"Ask away then. We have plenty of time." He spun around in front of you and walked backwards towards the pier, motioning for you to follow with his new limb.

"Am I in danger?"

"No. We're at Mihawk's, in bed actually. And in case these are more things you were curious about; a little over a full day has passed and your friends are staying over as well."

"Mihawk must be pissed."

"He's doing alright." Shanks grinned happily as he walked you up to a plank leading on to the ship's deck. He took your hand in his to lead you up and surprisingly, he was warm.

You could feel his calloused palms run roughly along yours and the ticklish sensation as his thumb brushed over the back of your hand.

"This is the real you right? Not just a figment of my imagination."

"It's the real me. My kind can enter the dreams of others at will, though some people are easier than others. Your situation makes you vulnerable and doing something like this is simple enough."

He gestured to the world around you. The ocean stretched on in one direction and the land in another. From the looks of it, he'd created an entire island.

"It's beautiful but isn't it tiring to keep this up?"

"Yes and no."

You raised a questioning eyebrow at him before moseying about the ship, checking how thorough he was in creating it. From what you could see of the deck, he'd nailed every single detail you could think of.

"It does take energy to make but not to hold."

"Why are we doing this then?"

"Can't I want a conversation with my lover?" He quirked his head to the side charmingly and you couldn't help but smile. There was that ever present twinkle in his eye but it was dull around the edges, like he was strained.

"You can.....but I feel like you're about to ask for something." You leaned against the railing and admired the view of the island, having never been to a place so tropical before. You'd enjoy this while you could.

"You already know me so well." Shanks sighed.

He sauntered up and stood in front of you, caging you in between his arms as he rested his hands on either side of you.

"Don't be afraid to tell me no if you'd rather not do this, but I used up more energy than I thought I would earlier."

"I would've passed out eventually, you didn't have to help me with the pain."

He shook his head. "I didn't like seeing you like that but it wasn't just for the pain. Sending one supernatural creatures energy through another can also stimulate and speed up healing."

"That wasn't necessary."

"I wanted to do it."

"But now you're spent."

"Very. I'm as stuck in bed right now as you are."

You paled at the thought of him unable to move. Last time he went without, he was an exhausted mess, he looked almost like a dead man walking. For him to be pushed so far did not sit well with you.

"And I'm supposed to be okay with that?" You hissed.

"It's okay, we can fix it."

"How?"

"With this." His gaze wandered about the scenery before landing on you once again.

"With...a dream?"

"I can promise you, you're asleep but you have enough energy to share a bit with me. All I need is enough to get on my feet and then I can make my way to a strip club or something, feed a little there until you're well enough later."

You frowned. There was no way in hell you'd be okay with him having to go to a strip club.

"No, take what you need to last a day or two. I'm sure I'll be fine by then."

"(Y/n) I can't–"

"I can't deal with the idea of you going somewhere else for this. Trust me, I'll be able to handle it."

He pursed his lips in disapproval but didn't argue. You hadn't been together long but it was long enough for him to know when you put your foot down, there was no changing your mind.

"You have my permission to do whatever you need to get your ass moving again." You said with a smile, lightening the mood. "That's why you're taking your time with this, right?"

He was one to initiate sex and ask questions later. This time, he was almost dancing around the matter and it was unlike him enough that you realized he wanted to be sure you were okay with it.

"It'd feel like rape to me if I didn't get your permission first. You are technically unconscious right now." He seemed to give in and you knew you'd won when he ran a hand under your dress to squeeze your thigh without arguing further.

"I appreciate the thought then."

"Now........" His hand trailed up further to pull you away from the railing and pinch your ass until you squeaked. "How do you want me to fuck you?"

----

There were actually a few places you wanted to try and as it was a dream, driven by an incubus, you were more than able to go multiple rounds in multiple positions and places.

He'd stared with bending you over the railing, "to get a good view of the ocean" as he put it, while thrusting into you roughly from behind. From there, you were shoved against a mast where he whispered only the dirtiest of things until you were beside yourself with pleasure. Eventually, you worked your way back onto the island to have sex on the beach. It had all the romantic qualities to it without having to worry about having sand stuck up your ass for who knew how long.

With each round, he went from rough, needy fucks to more slow, passionate ones. And while being in a dream meant you couldn't quite feel all your surroundings, you could feel every touch from Shanks. You couldn't get enough of it and were all the more grateful he wasn't making love to you like this in real life. Mihawk and your friends didn't need to hear it.

By the time you were done and knew he was sated enough to function for a while longer, you both collapsed in the sand with you happily laying on top of his chest. Your fingers traced along his muscles and the slick mess that covered him. The same mess was all over you and you were glad it wasn't something you'd have to worry about cleaning up.

"Shanks?"

"Hmm?" He did the same as you, fingers tracing along your spine to your lower back, hitting the curve of your ass before moving back up to loop around.

"Do you really think Lucci and his government pals are really going to leave us alone now?"

"They will if they know what's good for them. No full moon should ever go like that one did."

"I'm a little afraid of the next one."

"Don't be. I'll stick around with you and Bartolomeo has offered to let you hunt with his pack again. He's been aplogizing to Luffy nonstop about this and he wants to make it up to you."

"I'll have to think about it." You murmured. Shanks had taken enough from you that you were tired, exhausted even in a dream.

"Want me to leave?" He noticed your eyes fluttering closed and your movements had stopped but you hugged yourself close to him, not keen on him going.

"No."

"I took more than I planned from you, the mind needs a break."

"Just a little longer."

He sighed. "Okay."

"Shanks?"

"Yes?" You could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Thanks for caring when you didn't have to."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I was just a stranger at a bar, you didn't have to save me. But you did. And then you saved me again with the first full moon, and again with the second." You grinned to yourself. "But I don't plan on being a damsel in destress. I'm going to be the toughest kitty in town someday."

"I'll look forward to it." He kissed the top of your head, the same way he did so often in the past. It was sweet, caring, and somehow more intimate than any time you'd had sex with him.

You didn't remember it but the dream cut off at some point, like a switch being flipped and the lights being turned out. Like Shanks said, your mind needed a break and you floated back into a dreamless sleep.