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It look Lúcio a moment to place what exactly had woken him up. At first he couldn’t hear or see anything. The moon had moved behind the clouds, pulling the shadows across the room until he could scarcely see anything but the glowing numbers of his bedside clock. It was in the dark, when his eyes were least helpful, that he could finally hear it. Faint whistling, not like a song, but something flying through the air, and then the softest plink as it landed. He’d recognize that sound anywhere.
Lúcio lay in bed listening for all of twenty more seconds before he resolved to get up. He slipped on a pair of flip-flops and pulled on a tank. Boxers and a top were probably dressed-up enough for 3:23 AM.
The automated door opened for him with a soft hiss. The constant thrum of the air conditioning masked any sound he made while walking, which he was thankful for. He really didn’t want to wake up Hana or Aleksandra, his two neighbors. Hana was a heavy sleeper but an unpleasant person first thing in the morning. Aleksandra woke up to as little as the air pressure changing significantly, and she was intimidating without trying.
Once he was out of the barracks wing, it was a short walk to the door leading outside. The moon had decided to reappear, illuminating the sprawling green, trees waving gently in the sea breeze. This was his favorite part of the base, he decided just then. The rest of it was spartan, utilitarian, cold-- but this right here? This was peace.
A little bit of mental math, and Lúcio started off to where he figured the whistling was coming from. He shuffled his steps a bit to make some noise. He didn’t have to wait long to be found.
“....Lúcio? What are you doing out here?”
There was barely a whisper of sound as Genji landed from somewhere above him onto the grass below. Lúcio grinned and gave a little wave. For a man who literally glowed, he was pretty stealthy, and it always managed to impress.
“Tudo bem? I thought I’d go for a walk, is all.” Genji held his gaze a moment, long enough for Lúcio to raise an eyebrow, then sighed. He reached up, pulling off his visor and looking at Lúcio with a truly apologetic expression.
“I woke you up. I apologize. I should have constrained myself to the training room.”
“Hey, it’s okay, honest. I couldn’t sleep anyway.” It wasn’t really the truth, and Lúcio didn’t feel like waiting for Genji to call him out on it. “It’s a nice night to be out here. Can’t blame you for wanting to enjoy the night air. Figured, heck, why not join?”
“Oh.” Genji shuffled a bit, so Lúcio made a show of tilting his head back and breathing deep. The air was on the cool side, making him feel energetic.
“I love this spot. Clears my head, helps me think. You mind if I hang out with you a bit? You can keep doing what you’re doing, don’t mind me.” Lúcio waved a hand at him, giving him an encouraging smile, then scouted out a bench to sit on. He found each spot didn’t feel quite right, and eventually settled on a patch of grass, lying on his back and staring up at the moon as the clouds rolled past. After a moment of silence, he figured Genji must have left anyway, and began to feel a bit silly, when he heard the soft pad of footsteps on the grass bring Genji into view. Lúcio gave him a small smile, which he thought Genji returned by the movement in his eyes, before Genji sat cross-legged beside him.
“I, too, come here to think. It is quiet, and calming. Tonight, however, I was trying not to think, so I settled for distraction.” There was a mechanical shuffling as Genji reloaded the shuriken in his arm, drawing one. Lúcio watched him spin it between his fingers before he collapsed and resheathed it. “I should have relocated.” Lúcio shrugged.
“Hey man, you got as much right to this space as anybody, probably more than me.” Genji tilted his head at that.
“What do you mean?” The younger man hummed, sitting upright.
“Well, I mean, you got a history with it. You know? This place was your home for awhile wasn’t it? And I just got here…”
Genji gave a soft laugh, and Lúcio was hard-pressed to hear the humor in it.
“You have just as much a place here as I do. If anything, I am envious. It was my history here that would not let me rest.” The shuriken was out a again, and Genji let it play across his fingers, watching it leave scratches and scuffs across them without feeling a thing. Lúcio was unsure what to say, so for now he said nothing. He slid the flip flops off his feet, running his bare toes across the cool grass. “I’ve done much in my life, and made peace with it through hours of meditation.” Lúcio nodded. He’d seen the cyborg at it often, Tekhartha Zenyatta usually with him.
“Did you know I grew up hating meditation? I never wanted to sit still. Never wanted to close my eyes and do nothing. My brother, ever the suck-up, took to it like he took to everything else.” Lúcio snorted quietly.
“Hey, I don’t think I could do it either. Sitting still like that? I got a rhythm that can’t be contained.” As if to illustrate this, Lúcio’s fingers tapped on the ground, his shoulders having been gently swaying for a minute or so. Genji chuckled, and it just about knocked Lúcio offbeat. How often did he hear the cyborg laugh? It subsided quickly, however, as the other man’s thoughts were gathered.
“That wasn’t what I hated most about it, though. I… never wanted to be that alone with my thoughts. Never wanted to look inside myself, never wanted to hear only what was in my head and… try to make sense of it.” The shuriken was still, gripped tight between two fingers. “Some things I learned to live with. Parts of my life I came to terms with, voices I quieted… But being back here, in this place?” Genji’s hand panned the base, and Lúcio followed it. “When I last walked these halls I was a different man, but I still have… echoes of him. My actions will forever be a part of me.”
Lúcio didn’t say anything for a moment. He brought his arms around his knees, digging his toes into the soft, cool earth.
“I get it.”
Genji knew well enough the circumstances of Lúcio’s flight from Brazil. Why they kept him under wraps and protection. Vishkar was a powerful enemy to have.
“I got some thoughts won’t leave me too. I left a lot of friends back home. People I know are... “ He faltered a moment, then took a deep breath and brought his gaze back up to the moon. “People are hurting at home, and I’m here. Relatively safe, comfortable. I don’t ever, ever stop thinking about it.” Genji nodded. They lapsed into a heavy silence for just a brief moment, and Genji thought that’s where it would be left, two men heavy with regret lost in their own thoughts-- until Lúcio’s shoulder collided soundly with his, shaking him out of self-pity. “But you know, I’m not gonna leave it like that. I got people here supporting me, and soon I’ll be helping the folks at home with all I got. And you’re gonna be making a difference too.” Genji regarded him silently, and Lúcio grinned. “Don’t worry, I already know you are. We’re not just our pasts, y’know. We are our futures too, and we can write those any way we choose.”
Perhaps it didn’t really solve anything, yet, Genji felt… relieved, lighter. The words echoed in his mind, and rang true with all he knew, fighting back against the pull of his dark memories. Genji stared at Lúcio until the younger man blushed.
“Thank you, Lúcio. You’ve reminded me what I should have learned already.” Lúcio gave a small, nervous chuckle at the sincere thanks, though he seemed genuinely pleased he had helped. “Master Zenyatta would be most disappointed to hear I’d forgotten his lessons so soon after arriving here.”
“Aw hey, I won’t tell if you don’t.”
Lúcio beamed, holding out his fist, and Genji’s heart skipped a beat. Quickly he brought up his fist-- his real one-- and pressed it against Lúcio’s. Against the cool air, his skin was warm.
“Deal.”