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Reinhardt was, for all intents and purposes, a night owl. He would seldom be found in his room other than after mission exhaustion.
So, he found himself wandering the halls looking for something to occupy his time. Usually he'd find another night owl on the team (there were plenty to choose from), but they had all been sent on missions. Sometimes he wished he could go to sleep as early as everyone else, but he found that the most exciting moments happened after the sun went down.
He was just walking by Lúcio's room when he heard the dull thuds.
Reinhardt found that he got along well with the musically inclined healer. Despite their obviously different taste in music, they never ran out of things to talk about!
So, Reinhardt found it okay for him to be worried about the thumping. He knew Lúcio had just come back from a particularly long mission, so the healer should have been sleeping like a rock.
He twisted the knob on the door slowly to find it unlocked. So, he allowed himself entrance into the small room.
It was actually very decently sized for normal sized people, but the large man found he only had to take two steps to reach the small bed.
The dark skinned healer was curled up to the wall tightly. His arms wrapped around something that Reinhardt couldn't distinguish completely. His face was screwed up in a mix of fear and panic.
Suddenly, the smaller body jerked and a knee came in contact with the wall. There was a small dent in it showing the thudding was probably the cause.
Reinhardt felt bad for the musician. He knew that nightmares we're a hard thing to deal with alone.
The knight was surprised once again when Lúcio turned fast towards him. He was then able to see that the object he was clutching so close was a stuffed frog!
It wasn't uncommon to find stuffed animals in their rooms, but they were mainly just decorations. Even so, he thought Lúcio looked adorable holding the fuzzy little frog. The knight decided to wake the poor boy from his nightmare. So, he gently shook the boy's shoulder until he felt the body stirring.
“Wah?” The dark skinned man asked as his eyes opened. He didn’t relinquish hold of the frog as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
“You were having a nightmare.” Reinhardt said plainly.
Lúcio sighed in a way that made Reinhardt think this nightmare was not the first. It was a common occurrence for all the recruits to have nightmares. They’ve been through the mud and came out victorious, but the memories never fade.
Lúcio unintentionally leaned into Reinhardt’s side as his eyes drooped again. The larger man could see him trying to fight the sleep as he nodded off.
“You’re warm…” He mumbled.
Reinhardt rested a hand on the dark skinned man’s shoulder. “Go back to sleep, Lúcio.” He prompted.
The musician nodded robotically and let his head fall back to the knight’s side. His breathing slowed gradually and Reinhardt couldn’t help rubbing the shorter man’s back soothingly.
Eventually, the large man’s feet started to hurt as he stood in the same position watching Lúcio sleep, so he carefully tried to maneuver him to lay back in bed. The only problem was that Lúcio didn’t seem to want to let go of his hold on Reinhardt’s shirt.
“Warm…” He muttered sleepily.
“Shhhh, young one. Just lay down.”
Reinhardt watched as the musician obeyed and settled back into the bed. He allowed himself another minute of watching the soothing breathing before he picked up the stuffed frog from where it had fallen on the floor and placed it in Lúcio’s arms.
Lúcio unconsciously wrapped his arms around the soft plush and buried his face in it. Soon enough, the blankets were pulled back over him and Reinhardt was quietly closing the door on his way out.
“Reinhardt, what brings you here?”
The large man tensed and turned slowly to see the face of a certain blonde healer.
“Angela! You startled me!” He said sighing in relief.
The healer smiled slightly. “Visiting Lúcio are you?”
Reinhardt hesitated. “Something like that…”
Angela grew serious suddenly. “I come here most nights when I cannot sleep and I watch over Lúcio’s dreams…Is that what you’re doing?”
The large man never felt so intimidated even when he faced down hordes of enemies. “Yes.”
The medic nodded and turned to walk back down the hallway. “Take care of him, Reinhardt.”
She was gone before the knight could come up with a response. He was left speechless.
Reinhardt found himself back at the musician’s door the next night. He hadn’t had the chance to talk to the smaller man all day, but figured now was the best time.
He was caught off guard when he saw Lúcio curled up much like yesterday, but this time, he had a light green pacifier securely in his mouth. There seemed to be no nightmare this time, but Reinhardt didn’t leave yet. He walked over to the sleeping figure and pulled the blankets back up to the dark skinned man’s chin. His hand was caressing Lúcio’s cheek before he could stop himself.
“Hmm…” Mumbled the healer as he turned into the light touch. “Warm…”
The knight didn’t understand how he could feel warm to the Brazilian musician, but continued his touching anyway.
Lúcio didn’t settle like Reinhardt expected. Instead, he stirred awake and tried to stand.
“No, young one, it’s time for sleep.” Reinhardt said as he tried to urge Lúcio back to bed.
Lúcio paid him no mind as he wrapped his arms around the large man’s waist and buried his face in the hard stomach. “Lay with me?”
Reinhardt felt his heart thump harder. “Why would you want that, young one?”
“Warm…’n soft…Lay with meeeee…” He whined with a lisp.
The knight sighed amusedly. “Your bed is much too small for us both.”
His amusement was cut short by small whimpers coming from Lúcio.
Said hero was looking up at him with watery eyes as he clung closer. Those eyes could melt a heart of steel with just one look.
Reinhardt immediately scooped the Brazilian into his arms. "Shhh, young one. I have you now." He soothed.
Lúcio buried his head into the knight's neck and sighed. "Warm..."
It took Reinhardt only a second of consideration before he picked up the fallen toy and made his way to the door with Lúcio still in his arms.
"Where we goin'?" The small boy asked.
"To my room, young one. I have a much bigger bed! All the better to cuddle in."
Lúcio giggled excitedly as the entered the hall. It was a short walk to the knight's much larger room and soon he found himself deposited onto the soft bed. It was huge and smelled just like Reinhardt. Lúcio crawled to the far end so Reinhardt had plenty of room to get in.
Reinhardt surprised the younger boy when he laid in bed and pulled the musican close. "There you are. I thought you had gotten swallowed by my bed."
Lúcio couldn't help the giggle. "Silly! Beds can't eat people."
The bigger man shrugged. "Either way I still found you. Now, it's time for all good boys to go to sleep. So you think you can do that?"
Lúcio gave a hum of approval before he laid his head down on the large man's chest and dozed off.
The only sound room the room was a small rhythmic sucking of the pacifier and the strong beats of a heart that only Lúcio could hear.
Reinhardt watched as Lúcio drifted off to sleep. The musician's hand would gently clutch onto the fabric of his shirt almost hypnotically. The large man didn't even know how much time had passed as he watched Lúcio dream. He found it fascinating.
Soon enough however, Reinhardt drifted off while pulling the boy impossibly close.
The next morning Reinhardt woke up to Lúcio trying to untangle himself from the other man's arms.
Unconsciously, the older man began soothing the restless boy much like the night before.
"Shhh, leibling. I'm here, just relax." He cooed.
Lúcio did so for a fraction of a second before he remembered his mission. "Reinhardt, I needed to leave."
Said man realized the boy in his arms was not the adorable little boy from the night before. So, he released his hold allowed Lúcio to get up.
"I apologize if I overstepped." Reinhardt said formally.
Lúcio froze. Reinhardt distantly realized the pacifier had fallen out sometime in the night.
"...You overstepped? I'm the one who..." Lúcio sighed. "Nevermind."
Reinhardt didn't let the subject drop that easily as he grabbed Lúcio's wrist in a gentle but firm grip. "You what? Tell me because I regret nothing that happen last night."
Lúcio blushed and turned away. "I acted...Like that... It's weird and gross..."
"That doesn't sound like your words, leibling. But regardless of who told you such lies, I enjoyed it."
This caught the Brazilian's attention as he met the larger man's eyes. "You did? Even the..."
The old man couldn't help it as his heart melted and he pulled the small boy in his lap. "I enjoyed it all. The fact that you felt comfort in my presence, the fact that you trust me enough to show me that side of yourself, and the fact that you looked so content just being in my arms."
Lúcio looked up teary eyed. "And you didn't think it was gross? Or weird?"
"No, leibling. I loved every moment of it."
The knight only had a split second to catch the boy as he jumped into his arms. He encouraged the boy to wrap his arms around his neck as he held him close.
"No one's ever said that before."
Reinhardt wanted to strangle every person that ever made this vulnerable boy feel like he's was any less than amazing.
They sat like that for a while until Lúcio pulled away and rubbed at his eyes.
"Let's get back in bed shall we? It's still early." Reinhardt mumbled.
Without waiting for an answer, he deposited Lucio back on his place in the bed.
Lucio stopped sleeping in his own room after that. Even when Reinhardt was out on a mission, he could be found cuddled up to the knight’s pillows. One day, Reinhardt seemed especially excited about something. When questioned, he’d only comment on how nice the weather was. This puzzled everyone seeing as how it had been raining for two day straight.
That night, Lucio headed to Reinhardt’s room like always. He had just gotten out of the shower and he was looking forward to cuddling the large man.
“Ah, leibling! I’ve been waiting for you!” Reinhardt said pulling the boy into his arms.
Lucio giggled. “I always come at this time, silly.” He felt himself regressing easily.
“Even so, I have a surprise for my darling boy.”
Lucio felt warm at the new nickname. His finger tucked itself into his mouth before he could stop it. Reinhardt quickly replaced it with his green pacifier.
“Lay down and I’ll get your surprise ready.”
Lucio did as told and laid on the bed. He watched as Reinhardt reached under the large bed and opened a box. With a whoosh, he was holding up something green. Upon closer inspection, Lucio saw that is was a frog onesie. He immediately made grabby hands for it.
“Papa! Want!” He said excitedly.
Reinhardt felt his heart quiver at the new name. He had discussed such names with Lucio before, and they both agreed to use it when he best felt comfortable. The knight was overjoyed that he had made the Brazilian comfortable enough to let his guard down.
“They’re yours, leibling. All yours. So, let’s get these clothes off so you can wear it.”
Lucio was wiggling out of his shirt before the last of the words were out of his mouth. Next came the pants that exposed the boy’s pull-up. It was a detail that the musician had introduced on his own. Reinhardt was glad to support it seeing as how it made the boy look even more adorable than usual. The onesie was quickly pulled over the Brazilian’s head and the snaps were secured at his crotch.
“How does it feel, leibling?” Reinhardt asked nervously.
Lucio beamed at the large man brightly. “So soft!”
Reinhardt smiled and picked the boy up. He held his boy close as he crawled into bed. Lucio tucked his head under the knight’s chin and asked sweetly, “Story, papa?”
“Well, I guess you deserve a story tonight. Which would you like to hear?”
Lucio perked up. “The lion! And the bridge!”
Reinhardt chuckled. He had told the boy many stories, but that one always seemed to be his favorite. “Very well, leibling. So, how did it start? Oh yes, I remember! There once was a lion who came across a broken bridge…”
Lucio listened attentively until he drifted off in the arms of his papa.