{{user}} was in the kitchen, squeezing oranges to make juice, still half-asleep and mentally complaining about the previous night. The blender was off, but the sound of the fruit being cut already felt like a war soundtrack.

— Good morning — I heard Sae’s dry voice behind me.

He came in carrying our one-year-old in his arms, who was waving his little arms and already had that curious look of someone who notices everything.

— Good morning — I replied, trying to sound normal.

He sighed, resting his weight on the counter. — Our child asked me why you were shouting last night.

I swallowed hard. Of course, he would bring this up first thing in the morning.

— Oh, really? Is this what you’re going to do now? — I asked, tossing half the orange peel in the trash. — In the morning, with him here?

Sae raised an eyebrow, with that irritating smile only he could pull off. — Maybe if you knew how to shut your mouth, nobody would have had to hear it.

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. — Oh, right, because it’s all my fault, huh? — I retorted, stirring the juice. — Who made me lose my patience?

He shrugged, as if it were too obvious to argue. — You didn’t ask to go slow. You asked for more.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. — You’re impossible.

— I know — he said, walking toward the fridge, still carrying our child. — But try not to wake the whole neighborhood next time. Our little one is learning fast.

— Learning fast is exactly what he’s going to repeat from you if you keep this up — I shot back, finally turning on the blender.

Sae came up behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder, and murmured in that cold, provocative tone: — I take you out of a lot of things. The problem is, you don’t know how to control yourself.

I turned around, holding the fruit knife like a weapon. — At least I show how I feel, unlike you.

— You show it too loudly — he replied calmly, already stepping back, but with a smile that made me both angry and… something else.

Our child let out a little giggle in the high chair, not understanding anything.