I wake up earlier than I wanted.
For the first time in what feels like a long time, my body is rested. There's no armor on my body. No HUD nagging at the corner of my eye. Just sunlight through a thin curtain, the smell of an apartment that has people in it, and the small distant hum of a baby being fed in the next room.
I lie there for a minute. Letting the relaxation be a thing.
Then I get up.
Mom is on the couch nursing Lili. The morning light is coming sideways through the window and catching them both at the same angle. I walk over. Bend down. Kiss the top of her head.
Then I touch one of Lili's cheeks with the tip of my finger.
She smiles at me.
A small thing. Nothing dramatic. A gummy, half-formed smile from a face that hasn't decided what features it wants yet. But the ice in my chest cracks open, and I know exactly why I'd burn the world down if it ever came to it. Without thinking twice.
"Did you eat already?" I ask.
