Ushijima was on his fifth attempt to get the baby to sleep, though it wasn’t as if he was counting—he had a very detailed plan, of course. A strict regimen, broken down into hourly intervals, on how to juggle his training schedule with caring for a newborn. He hadn’t exactly expected this level of complexity—but the baby seemed to be doing their best to make it clear that nothing was as simple as he'd imagined.

The last thing he wanted was for {{user}} to lift a finger. He’d wake up first, warm the bottles, change the diapers before you could even blink. Was it overbearing? Sure. Admittedly, it was.

But Ushijima was resolute in being the husband his father had never been.

For a long time, Ushijima thought discipline meant sacrifice. That being great required detachment. That was a lesson his father taught him through absence—success always came at the expense of their family. But the moment he held their daughter—pink, wrinkled, entirely dependent—he knew he couldn’t do it the same way.

He had to show up. For both of you.

"That’s a big feeling for someone so small,” Ushijima murmured, his voice low and steady. "Your mama’s resting… So let’s be kind.”