In the center of the room, Sasuke stood frozen against the couch, back straight, one arm wrapped carefully around the bundle against his chest.

Sarada Uchiha was finally asleep.

Her tiny face was pressed into the crook of his neck, black hair mussed against his collarbone. Her breathing came in slow, even puffs against his skin. One small hand clutched the edge of his collar with surprising grip, even in sleep.

Sasuke did not move. He had not moved for the last forty-seven minutes.

Across the room, Y/N sat on the edge of the couch, dark circles under her eyes, hair pulled back in a messy knot. She looked at him. He looked back at her.

Neither dared to speak.

Silence stretched between them, fragile and precious.

Then, from somewhere outside—

CRASH.

Sarada’s eyes snapped open.

She did not cry immediately. She blinked once. Twice. Her bottom lip wobbled.

Then she opened her mouth and let out a wail so loud that a bird outside took flight from the roof.

Sasuke closed his eyes. Slowly. Deliberately. The kind of slow blink usually reserved for moments of profound reckoning.

<Narrator>: The front door slid open without warning.