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Multi’s eyes hurt as he tried to focus on the papers in front of him. His head hurt from the countless calculations in his head.
Nacho was already fast asleep on the couch behind him, snoring quietly. The kid is a combination of Cucurucho's DNA and someone’s or something else's. The genetics didn't matter, Nacho forced his way into Multi’s numb heart and stayed there like a parasite.
Cucurucho was absent like most of the time. The bear was literally the mascot of the Federation, no wonder he had so much work. But it also meant that Nacho was left alone. And what's better than leaving your kid alone? Dumping him into Multi’s care.
What separates children from adults is that children are a blank slate. They are moldable, you can teach them good habits early, teach them good from bad. They will tell you every little thing no matter how wrong or insignificant it is, they trust very easily.
Most adult humans are already imperfect, unpolished in every way, while Multi can show them the right way, chip them, lead them they will always fuck up at some point. One way or another they make the wrong move and dig their own grave.
Nacho is an easy child to be around. He's quiet most of the time, he only speaks when he wants something really badly. He listens, he behaves, his eyes sparkle when he sees something he wants, his expression turing pleading. Very rarely is Nacho interrupting his work.
Multi himself has realised he is rather fond of Nacho, spoiled him most times than not, letting him play in the same room that Multi is working in, actually losing his stone cold face and feeling a smile appearing on his lips when Nacho does someone cute or gives Multi a drawing.
Multi blinks a few times, as he realises that he has been staring at the curled form of Nacho for a few minutes now. The kid is shivering in his sleep from time to time, clearly cold.
Standing up feels like a torture as many of Multi’s bones protest and screech in response.
He manages to walk over to the couch and as quickly as his screaming bones manage he kneels next to the couch.
He gently touches Nacho’s template and finds him warm. Not hot or that scolding hot that Multi feels whenever he touches an actual healthy human being. Multi runs concerningly cold. So the fact that Nacho is just warm is a warming sight in itself.
Rummaging through his office Multi’s finds a rather clean blanket in Nacho's chest with his toys and pillows and other blankets.
He tucks Nacho in and when he is about to just walk away he feels a small warm hand wrapped around his wrist, barely closing around the half of it but still gripping with surprising strength.
“Sorry Nacho, didn't mean to wake you up.” Multi says with a unexpectedly soothing voice.
“Book.” Nacho says with his high pitched voice and gestures with his free hand to a colorful book laying on the floor.
It was a thin book, on the cover Polish words said ‘Rymowanki’ or nursery rhymes. Multi didn't know how the small book got into the lab. He doesn't own any books like that.
Nacho must have asked someone from the Federation to get it. The book isn't even translated into Spanish or English.
Upon grabbing the book off the floor and looking through the pages he is indeed correct that the whole book is in Polish. “Nacho you won't understand anything. It's in polish.”
“I like it when dada speaks Polish.” Nacho says his voice is already sleepy, his eyes are pleading his grip on Multi's wrist tightens.
Multi knows he lost when those eyes glanced at him.
“Scoot over.”
Nacho beams at him and almost bursts with excitement, his small body shaking with happiness. Multi doesn't even attempt to stop the fond smile appearing on his face.
Multi sits where the kid was a few seconds ago and Nacho sits in his lap and covers them both with the pink blanket. Multi opens the colorful book so Nacho and he himself can see it clearly.
“Jan Brzechwa. ‘Na straganie.’ “ He starts and realises how stupid it is. Multi needs to work on the clones and not entertain the child of his employer. But at the same time it feels right to do so. The next words are gentler, more collected.
“Na straganie w dzień targowy
Takie słyszy się rozmowy.” He remembers how he was younger and read books, poems like this.
The next sentences came out easily, it was like reading the poem for the first time again, like he was freshly seven and barely knew how to read.
The more he read the more Multi himself started to slur through his words. His eyes started to close. Nacho was already snoring quietly again, probably in an even deeper sleep than before.
Multi’s limp hands let go of the book and he slowly leaned back on the couch and just fell asleep.
The time he started to wake a scolding hot hand covered his eyes.
In the background he could hear a ragged breathing, like whoever is covering Multi’s eyes is barely managing to breathe.
Multi’s own breathing studders and he hugs Nacho a little tighter.
Cucurucho’s robotic voice shushes him and he moves his hand off Multi’s eyes that stay closed and traces Multi’s cheekbones, his nose, template and at the end he grabs Multi by his chin and leans down to his ear and whispers. “I do not have my suit on. Go back to sleep.”
Multi could feel a studder go through his whole body as he felt the hot breaths next to his ear. He regulates his breathing and doesn't even attempt to open his eyes. Nacho didn't even stir in his sleep, still softly snoring.
Cucurucho grabs something off the floor and covers Multi and Nacho with it. It was probably the pink blanket, it fell after Multi and Nacho went to sleep.
While the gesture is somewhat sweet. Cucurucho is an enigma, while Multi can lick his ass every chance he gets, there's no guarantee to know what the bear really thinks of him. Most of the time Cucurucho didn't even spare him more than a glance, always busy, always working.
“Don't think too hard.”
It took everything for Multi to not open his eyes and see what is underneath the bear costume.
“Sweet dreams.” A soft kiss is planted on Multi's template, then probably on Nacho's.
“I will await the report about your research on the clones in the morning.”
Multi could hear the soft footsteps slowly leave his lab. He breathed out as a sign of relief and briefing opened his eyes to check up on Nacho.
“Co to kurwa było?"