The house was too quiet.

Akihiko hated that kind of silence—the wrong kind. The kind that followed raised voices and words said too fast, too loud, with too much heat and too little care. The kind that rang in his ears after the argument, long after you had shut the bedroom door behind you and locked it with a sharp click.

He stood in the hallway now, hand hovering near the handle like it might burn him.

From behind the door, he could hear the faint sound of your daughter in her crib, stirring. Probably picking up on the tension too. She was only three, but she was perceptive—especially when you cried.

Akihiko shut his eyes and exhaled through his nose. He wasn’t good at this. Not the fighting part—he hated fighting, but he was passionate, stubborn, and sometimes just… too much. You’d been exhausted, overwhelmed, and he’d said something careless about “just getting through it,” like that made the weight on your shoulders any lighter.

He hadn’t meant to sound dismissive. He never meant it like that.

But the look on your face when he said it—that flash of betrayal, like he hadn’t even seen how hard you were trying—had broken something. And then the shouting started. And then you walked away.

Now he was here, fists clenched at his sides, trying to find the courage to knock on the door like some stranger in his own home.

“…Can we talk?” he said, finally.

No answer.

He waited. His heart pounded.

“Look, I know I messed up,” he continued, voice softer now, lower. “I was frustrated. Not at you. Never at you. Just… tired, I guess. And I took it out on you. I know you’re doing everything. You always do.”

Still no answer.

The ache in his chest deepened.

“I’m not used to needing help. But that doesn’t mean you should have to carry it all. You’re not alone, even when I forget how to show that. I’m—" His voice caught. “I’m sorry. I really am.”

A pause. Then:

“She asked where you were. She kept asking for you. And when I said you were resting, she asked if you 'got sad'.” Akihiko let out a short, bitter laugh. “She’s too damn smart. Like you.”