Chapter Text
You wake to warmth.
Sae is curled around you in that effortlessly possessive way he only allows when he thinks you’re still asleep. One arm under your head, the other slung around your waist like he’s anchoring you to him. His breath brushes the back of your neck, slow and steady, and you feel the tiny shifts of his chest against your spine each time he breathes.
It’s rare to see him like this, unguarded and almost peaceful.
Your eyes open slowly.
His are still closed.
He’s not asleep.
You can tell by the faint tightening of his fingers at your waist the second your breathing changes. By the way his thumb strokes once over your hipbone, small and unconscious.
Quiet morning.
Just you and him.
Your favorite version of Sae, warm, real, yours.
You shift slightly to face him, and when you do, his eyes finally open, that deep sea-green softness that exists only in the early hours, before the world intrudes.
He whispers, voice husky from sleep:
“…Morning.”
You smile. “Morning.”
He leans in, barely brushing your forehead with his lips. It’s not a kiss. It’s something gentler, a habit.
Then—
The sound of small footsteps.
Shuffling down the hallway.
A tiny pause outside the door.
A soft knock that’s more like a tap.
Sae closes his eyes, exhales through his nose, and you can feel the moment he shifts from your husband to your son’s father, still soft, but different. Warm in a way only a child could pull from him.
“Papa…?”
A small voice, sleepy and hopeful.
Sae doesn’t move right away.
You bite back a smile. “He’s waiting.”
Sae mutters, “He always waits for permission,” and sits up slowly, hair a beautiful mess across his forehead. You swear he does that on purpose, because he knows it makes you stare.
“Come in, Ren,” he calls, voice gentler than he uses with anyone else.
The door opens a crack.
Messy hair. Sleepy eyes. A tiny stuffed bear dragging on the floor.
Your son stands there, rubbing one eye.
“…I had a dream,” Ren mumbles.
Sae lifts the blanket without a word.
Ren climbs onto the bed instantly, crawling across your legs before pressing himself against Sae’s side. Sae’s hand finds his back automatically, fingers stroking through his hair in a slow, steady rhythm.
Your heart melts.
Ren leans over Sae’s chest, then peers at you with wide morning eyes.
“Mama… Papa took up all the space again...”
Sae stares at you flatly.
You raise your brows.
Ren, satisfied with his dramatic report, snuggles under Sae’s arm with a sigh so content it could break the sun.
Ren wiggles a little, settling into the warm space between you both. His breathing evens out, tiny hands clasped around the stuffed bear’s worn ear. He rests his cheek against Sae’s chest like it’s the most natural place in the world.
You brush a finger through his hair.
“What kind of dream, sweetheart?”
Ren perks up instantly, awake now, animated in that small, breathless way only children manage.
“There were—” he pauses for dramatic effect, eyes widening, “giant robots. Fighting. And I was inside one! Controlling it! And—and there was this big monster and it tried to eat me, but I punched it in the face.”
He demonstrates, little fist swinging through the air and thumping lightly against Sae’s collarbone.
Sae blinks once. Slowly.
Then he looks at you.
Then back at Ren.
Then, with the flattest expression imaginable:
“…You watched something violent again.”
Ren gasps, instantly defensive.
“No I didn’t!”
Sae lifts a brow. “Ren.”
Ren tries again, weaker this time.
“…Maybe just a little…”
Sae exhales, pinching the bridge of his nose like he’s preparing for a parent–teacher conference.
“Let me guess,” he mutters. “Uncle Rin?”
Ren brightens. “Uncle Rin said robots are cool.”
Sae mutters something in Japanese that is 100% a curse.
You bite your lip to keep from laughing.
Ren continues excitedly, “He also said if a monster ever tries to eat me, I should kick it in the—”
Sae covers Ren’s mouth with his hand so fast it’s almost comedic.
“No,” he says firmly. “Absolutely not. Your uncle is an idiot.”
Ren tries to speak but it’s all muffled under Sae’s palm.
You gently pull Sae’s hand away.
“Sae,” you scold softly, “he’s just talking.”
“He’s repeating Rin,” Sae replies, deadpan. “Which is worse.”
Ren, now freed, frowns seriously. “But Rin is funny.”
Sae stares at him like this is the greatest betrayal of his life.
“…We’re limiting your visits,” he decides, pulling Ren closer, protective and dramatic. “Your brain is still developing.”
Ren crosses his arms.
“You’re jealous.”
You choke on a laugh.
Sae looks personally offended.
“Why,” he says slowly, “would I be jealous of Rin?”
Ren shrugs, already snuggling back under Sae’s arm. “’Cause I said his robots were cool.”
Sae’s jaw drops a fraction.
Just a little.
You whisper, “Sae… he’s five.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he whispers back, dead serious. “He’s impressionable.”
Ren yawns, curling into him completely.
“Mama’s cooler anyway…” he murmurs sleepily. “Mama’s the coolest.”
Sae eyes you triumphantly, as if this settles some ancient rivalry.
And just like that, the room softens again, morning light warming the sheets, your family tangled together, Ren drifting back to sleep between the two people who love him most.
Sae’s hand strokes Ren’s back again, slower this time.
“…Robots,” he mutters under his breath. “I’m going to kill Rin.”
You kiss his shoulder.
“Don’t,” you whisper. “He’ll just haunt us.”
Sae huffs a small laugh, rare and precious, before pulling you closer.
“Fine,” he murmurs. “But no more monster movies.”
Ren, eyes closed, mumbles,
“But the monster was cool…”
“Absolutely not.”