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Half asleep, Leon's arm instinctively stretched out across the bed, looking for that familiar warmth. Instead, he met something tiny.
Sleep evaporated in an instant as his hand registered the soft fabric, the small presence under his palm. His fingers curled reflexively, stopping short the second his brain caught up.
When he opened his eyes, he saw big beady eyes staring back at him from the pillow beside his own.
"Oh," Leon breathed.
Sachi lay tucked into Ada's side of the bed, blankets and pillows carefully arranged around her. She was wide awake, pacifier in mouth and wisps of hair sticking up, watching him like she'd been waiting for him to wake up. Leon shifted onto his elbow slowly, heart easing at the sight before him.
"Good morning hun," he murmured, voice rough with sleep.
Her gaze locked onto his face, studying him, staying perfectly still as she waited to hear more of his voice.
Leon smiled, just a little. "Mom let you sneak in here, huh?"
And Sachi replied by giving Leon the biggest, gummiest grin ever, so elated, her pacifier slipped free and landed on the bed, forgotten, as she started to flail her arms and legs in excitement.
He felt it then, that ache. The one that lived somewhere behind his ribs. The one no amount of training ever prepared him for. He’d faced bio-weapons taller than buildings and yet nothing disarmed him quite like this.
Slowly, almost instinctively, his hand lifted. One knuckle brushed gently against Sachi’s chubby cheek, tracing the soft curve with careful, reverent strokes. With the strength surprising for someone who could barely sit without wobbling, she managed to grab at his finger with both of her hands, ready to bite with nonexistent teeth.
Leon chuckled as his baby gnawed determinedly on his knuckle, her tiny brows furrowed in fierce concentration.
“Oh, so that’s how it is?” he murmured. “Teething monster already?”
She answered with an indignant squeal, still clutching his finger.
Careful not to jostle her too much; Leon slid one arm beneath her and lifted her from the fortress of pillows. She was lighter than she looked and warmer than the blankets she’d been tucked into. She wobbled the second she was upright, little hands immediately clinging onto the collar of his sleep shirt.
“Easy, easy,” he murmured, settling back against the headboard with her perched against his chest. “I got you.”
Sachi blinked up at him, studying his face again like she was committing it to memory. Leon raised a brow at her in mock seriousness.
“You’re staring. That’s rude, you know.”
He nudged his nose lightly against her cheek.
That did it.
A bright, bubbling laugh burst out of her, full of mirth, and completely unrestrained. Her entire body lit up with it, arms flailing, legs kicking wildly as she tried to grab at his face.
Leon paused for half a second, just to take it in. Her laugh was his favorite sound in the world.
He grinned helplessly and did it again, brushing his nose against her cheek, then blowing a soft raspberry against her jaw.
Another delighted shriek of laughter filled the room.
“Okay, okay,” he chuckled, steadying her before she toppled sideways. “You’re gonna launch yourself into orbit.”
From the doorway came a smooth, amused voice.
“Well,” Ada drawled, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed, already dressed for the day. Composed as ever, “Sleeping beauty is finally awake I see.”
Leon didn’t even look embarrassed. He just shifted Sachi onto one arm and glanced up at her with a lazy half-smile.
“Don’t start,” he said, voice still rough with sleep.
Sachi spotted Ada and immediately squealed again, reaching toward her with both hands, Leon quickly forgotten now that Ada was back.
Ada's mouth curved into a small grin, then pushed off the doorway and crossed the room.
“I was beginning to think she’d have graduated college before you got up,” she teased, relentless as ever.
Leon scoffed. “I've been awake. Just… monitoring the situation.”
“Mm.” Ada leaned down, brushing her fingers gently over Sachi’s hair before straightening. “Very heroic.”
Sachi broke into a series of babbles directed at Ada, still riding the high of their game.
Leon looked down at her, something impossibly fond settling into his expression.
“See?” he said quietly, almost to himself. “She's backing me up.”
Ada settled on the edge of the bed. "She slept through the night. Didn't wake up once."
Leon raised a brow. "Oh really?" he said, turning his attention to Sachi. "And why aren't you so gracious when I'm on night duty, hmm?"
To that, Sachi replied with a little smile. Then, as if possessed by all the energy in the world, Sachi's little body lunged forward, arms flailing wildly towards Ada. Her determination was confident, her co-ordination? Not so much.
Leon's eyes went wide. "Woah — Easy!"
But Sachi didn't wait. She wobbled forward and gravity reminded her who was boss as she toppled over, straight out of Leon's arms, and face-planting onto the bed in between Ada and Leon with a soft plop.
The silence that followed was palpable, with Leon only perhaps feeling his soul leaving his body.
Ada moved on instinct, already reaching. But, before either of them could react in time, the baby pushed herself up on shaky forearms, hair now standing in even more chaotic directions, with a big grin.
Leon exhaled so hard it was almost a laugh, one hand pressed to his chest. “Jesus Christ.”
"At least it was a soft landing," Ada observed, the fondness evident in her eyes. She reached down and scooped Sachi up in one smooth motion, sitting the baby down on her lap. "What was that about, hm?" Ada cooed, smooshing Sachi's cheeks with a string of kisses.
Sachi launched into a new series of babbles, sitting comfortably on Ada's lap, fiddling with Ada's sleeve as she explained her logic in a language her parents didn't understand.
And the way Ada spoke along, humming and speaking when Sachi paused, pausing when it was Sachi's turn to babble, was enough to kill him. 10 years ago, Leon would not have believed that this would be his life. But now, he could not imagine it any other way.
He got up instead, still alive. Ada handled the night shift, and it was his turn to handle the morning shift.
"Careful," Ada warned as Leon approached, Sachi sitting peacefully on her lap, "She's feeling bold."
Leon leaned down anyway, gaze softening as he reached toward Sachi like he meant to cradle her cheek.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he murmured.
Sachi tipped her face up, already smiling in anticipation.
He got close.
Closer.
Then, at the last second, he shifted smoothly and kissed Ada instead. And just when he felt her lean into it, the surprise wearing off, he pulled away.
"Good morning," he said with a smirk, utterly proud of himself.
"Or maybe it's you that's bold this morning," Ada said as she stood up, holding Sachi on her hip.
"You'll see that she's on my side," Leon said, gesturing toward the baby.
But when they looked down, that gummy smile had vanished. Instead, she was staring up at her parents with a deeply serious expression, lower lip pushed out into a tiny, betrayed pout.
Leon blinked. “Oh no.”
Ada laughed. “Our poor drama queen.”
Sachi made a soft, indignant noise, still glaring up at them like she’d just witnessed the greatest injustice of her life.
Leon leaned in immediately. “Hey. Don’t look at me like that.”
He pressed a quick kiss to one of her cheeks.
At the same time, Ada leaned in from the other side and kissed the other.
Sachi froze in the middle of her pout.
Then her face lit up again, the grievance instantly forgotten as she broke into a delighted giggle, grabbing at both of them with grabby hands.
“There it is,” Leon said with a quiet laugh.
Ada hummed softly. “Crisis averted.”