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“Onii-chan? What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, Genji.”
“Han-”
Painpainpainpainpain what did Hanzo do why is there a sword sticking out of his chest what did he do wrong why is Hanzo just staring at him he-
“-zo!”
Genji gasped, gagging on his words as he choked on his breath, shaking and grabbing at his hair, curling up immediately and jolting painfully, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth, fighting down a sob best he could.
But of course, that just wasn’t going to work for him, would it?
“Whoa, hey, Genji…” Came that Southern-accented voice, and a hand slowly touched his, before their fingers locked together and he was gathered into a warm, solid chest.
“Shh, shh. You’re okay, you’re safe, just breathe.” Jesse cooed, and Genji shifted, shakily managing to move enough that he had his head on Jesse’s shoulder, and he was holding both of Jesse’s hands, fighting to breathe.
“Breathe, Genj. Here, mirror me, okay?” Jesse murmured, and Genji nodded, starting to follow Jesse’s breathing as the cowboy started to take deep, slow breaths.
Breathing like that calmed Genji down rather quickly, and he soon found himself settling down, closing his eyes and relaxing with a soft, relieved noise as he finally had himself under control. The other hummed approvingly, stroking over his head gently.
“There you go, darlin’. You doin’ better?” He asked quietly. Genji nodded, sighing quietly and pulling away, sniffling and wiping his face.
For a moment, it didn’t register that he had regressed. Actually, it didn’t register even slightly until Jesse reached out, stroking over Genji’s cheek, and murmuring to him gently as Genji melted into the touch.
“How old, sugarpea?”
Genji’s eyes snapped open as he opened his mouth, having almost responded with what he knew was not his actual age. Jesse must have seen panic in his eyes, because he pulled Genji closer, and spoke to him softly once more.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here, right? I’ve got you. You’re allowed to be little.”
Immediately, Genji melted. Relief overtook his chest, and he held up three fingers to show Jesse how old he was at the moment. Jesse nodded, smiling, and pulled Genji into his lap.
Once Genji was comfortable, Jesse started rocking them side to side, feeling Genji relax even more in his arms, curling close and nosing against him, mumbling incoherently and yawning sleepily, content to stay there a while, before he wiggled in Jesse’s lap. The cowboy gently let him go, and allowed Genji to shift out of his lap, shuffling to the top of his bed, by his pillows, to slip a hand into the pillowcase, pulling out a small container.
Knowing what was in there, Jesse couldn’t help but chuckle softly, watching as Genji popped it open, and slipped the pacifier into his mouth, clipping the clip that was also in the plastic container to his shirt and the loop of the pacifier, before shutting the container. From there, Jesse knew what Genji was going to do, and predicted every move perfectly.
Genji grabbed a stuffie (the white tiger with the hard blue eyes and black stripes and pink nose) and shifted around, getting comfortable by his headboard, and then reaching for Jesse with a soft whine, mumbling softly around the pacifier.
Jesse smiled, and joined Genji at the pillows, sliding under the covers with him, pulling the weighted blanket over them and gathering Genji into his chest.
“Get some sleep, love. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Jesse said softly, feeling Genji nod against him before cuddling closer and relaxing. Smiling, the cowboy stared at the wall, starting to pet Genji’s hair.
How lucky he was to be there for Genji, even if it meant comforting him through panic attacks and the aftermath of nightmares.