Work Text:
The late winter of 1939 felt colder than usual. It has rained on and off over and over again for the past week with no signs of stoppingˏ lighting the estate with a darkˏ monotone colour palette; a rather fitting atmosphere for all that is beginning to kick offˏ for all that is being announced over the crackling radios and for all of the unspoken unease that lingers in the air like an invisible cloud.
Even the mornings are now dim and grimˏ no longer waking you with a strip of warm sunlight peaking through a gap in the thick bedroom curtainsˏ but with the sound of consistent rainstorms beating down against the windows.
The sound of incessant tapping against the glass panes and a distant clap of thunder pulls you from your slumber. You turn around under the covers and bury your face into the plush pillow beneath your headˏ squeezing your eyes closed and letting out a quietˏ muffled groan. Your lips curve into a small smile against the soft cotton when you feel the familiarˏ unmistakable weight of a long arm draped across your waist and a calloused hand spread out flat across your stomach through the expensive silk material of your night dress. Your irritation at being woken up by mother nature when you are still so tired dissipates. Reinhard.
You lift your head from the pillow and retrace your previous actionˏ turning back around in the bed so that you are on your sideˏ facing Reinhard instead of having your back to him. This is not at all a common occurrence. You do not often awake to him still beside youˏ still fast asleep. You are used to waking up at the crack of dawn when he climbs out of bed. You are used to being half asleep and watching him move around the room to get dressedˏ attempting to be as quiet as possible before leaning down to press a kiss to the side of your head and leaving for the office. You are used to falling back asleep aloneˏ on his side of the bed with your face buried in his pillow. It is not often that he has a morning free from workˏ free from having to leave so soon and return so late. His work has only become even more demanding and time consuming the past few monthsˏ something you did not even think was possible.
But this morning is one of the rare odd ones out. This morning is one of the few that he has ever had freeˏ with no requirement of waking up as soon as usual. Though you have no doubt in your mind that he will still arise earlier than the average personˏ it is a simple him thing that you have since learned to live with. The man is meticulousˏ so exact and almost robotic with his routines.
You move your gaze up past his shoulder for a momentˏ looking over towards the curtains. It is still pitch black outside. Not a single bit of light is available to sneak past the curtainsˏ not even a dim white. One lone bird tweets in the tall trees that surround the villa grounds.
Your gaze falls back to Reinhard and a quietˏ content sigh leaves your mouth. He is sleeping on his side. He looks younger when resting. The lines around his eyes are softenedˏ his face looks less severe. He almost looks vulnerableˏ but you know he is still alert even in his sleep. You scoot in closer towards himˏ seeking out his warmth. The fireplace in the bedroom has died out overnightˏ leaving behind staining ash and blackened logs with specks of orange dusted across them. His arm tightens around your waistˏ his strong hand now spread out across your backˏ and holds you against him.
The quiet in the room is comfortableˏ safe and interrupted only by the occasional timed ticks of the tall wooden clock that stands beside the door. Your eyes are still heavy with sleepˏ but you have no interest in sleeping. You are drinking in the momentˏ cherishing it and memorising every minuscule detail. You are observing Reinhard in the state that you scarcely ever get to see him in. His mouth is open by the smallest amountˏ allowing a tiny trickle of drool to trail down the side of his face and seep into the pillow. His usually neat hair is a messˏ a few thin blonde strands are laid across his forehead.
Another tired smile spreads across your face as you admire himˏ watching the way his nose twitches in his sleep. He must be dreamingˏ you think. Or he felt a phantom itch. You bring a careful hand up to stroke his cheekˏ inching it up towards his forehead and brushing some of the loose hair back into place with delicate care. You wince when you see his eyebrows furrow and his eyelashes flutter. One ice blue eye cracks openˏ a mere slitˏ and looks into your own eyes. “Did i wake youˏ my love?” You keep stroking his hair with your thumbˏ your voice a hushedˏ apologetic whisper. He leans into your touch. “Go back to sleepˏ it is still early.” You continueˏ watching as his other eye opens. “You did not wake meˏ meine liebe.” His voice is soft and lowˏ the high pitch is deepened with sleep.
Reinhard blinks a few timesˏ waking himself up a bit more. He brings his free hand up to his faceˏ wiping at his mouth with a flicker of an expression that almost appears shy and embarrassed about drooling in his sleep. His eyes shift to youˏ full of an indescribable love and admiration that makes your chest feel warm. He loves to see you in the morningˏ in a state that no one else but him and the children ever get seeˏ as you do him. It feels specialˏ a sacred thing for both of you. “Komm näher. It is cold today and i want to hold you.” His arm tightens further around your waistˏ moving up to your back and pulling you further towards him so that your head rests upon his chest. The sound of his heart beating beneath your ear is a calmˏ lulling sound that you could never tire of. He rolls so that he is situated flat on his back. Your body instinctively curls against himˏ one of your bare legs coming to lay across his own much longer legs beneath the covers. Both of his arms wrap around your backˏ caging you in a bear hug that feels like the safestˏ warmest place in the world.
You hiss when the bare skin of your legs touch his ownˏ poking a finger into his chest. “Reinhard!” You shout in a hushedˏ accusatory whisper. “Your legs are freezing.” You mumble an explanatory under your breath. Not at himˏ but at the temperature of his legs. Despite his arms feeling so warmˏ his legs feel cold as ice. He lets out a lowˏ surprised bark of a laugh that bounces off the thick bedroom walls. It is louder than he means it to beˏ genuine and off guard. The sound and feeling of his chest vibrating with now quiet and breathy laughter causes your own laugh to bubble up to the surface. You muffle it in his chestˏ rubbing your warm legs against his cold ones beneath the blankets in an attempt to get them warm for him. The sudden laughter had managed to rush some exhilaration and awareness into the two of youˏ but it fades after a short while. Your tiredness begins to creep up on you from behind and takes reign once again. Neither you nor Reinhard even attempt to fight it off. You cuddle further into his chestˏ tangling your legs further into his.
His head falls to rest on top of your ownˏ his slender fingers walking along your spine in a repeating up and down movement. “You do not have work this morning?” Your heavy lidded eyes have closed and your voice is a whisperˏ you can feel yourself falling into the claws of sleep once more. Reinhard sighsˏ a quiet and relieved sound. “Not todayˏ meine liebe…” He plants a kiss to your hairˏ you smile into his chest when you hear him inhale and take in your scent. “There are some calls i have to make from the home office-” He pauses when you stiffen against him. Phone calls can sometimes take hours on end. At least in his line of workˏ phone calls are not quick. He feelsˏ senses your thoughts. “Shh.” He whispers. His hand moves across from your back to squeeze the smooth flesh of your upper armˏ a soft and soothing action “-But they can wait. It is nothing urgent.” His hand comes back upˏ massaging your shoulder blades in a slowˏ calming pattern.
Comfortable silence returns to the roomˏ filling the air with the serene sounds of breathingˏ the ticking clock and drops of rain tapping against the window. “Bist du hungrig?” He mumbles. You hum in responseˏ now half asleep on his chest. He laughsˏ a quiet huff of a thing that sounds lazy and riddled with sleep. “I will call for breakfast to be prepared soon. Sleep for nowˏ before the children wake up…” His own voice is almost slurred as his eyes droop closed again. The thought of the children causes a smallˏ crooked smile to grace his lips. His hand movement becomes sluggish on your back and his face nestles deeper against the softness of your messy bed hair as he meets you in sleepˏ dozing off with your scent filling his senses and your weight on his chest; a grounding feeling.
Soon enoughˏ one or more of the children will awake and rush into the roomˏ clamber up onto the tall bed and all but demand breakfast. You and Reinhard will get dressed and join the children in the breakfast roomˏ starting the day at a peaceful speed with hot food and listening to the eldest children as they tell their father about their progress with thingsˏ eager to get the praise and approval that he never fails to give to them; Minna with her horseˏ Heider with his fencingˏ Karoline with her music. You will watch with a soft smile as he listens to them with the very same seriousness and interest he has in important meetings all whilst he cuts up food for Annabelle. He will meet your eyes as you sit at the opposite head of the table and throw you a cheekyˏ rare wink that makes your stomach flutter.
Until thenˏ the two of you rest together. You remain held in his arms as he grips onto you with a protectiveˏ guarding hold that he refuses to break even in his sleep.