The house was quiet.

Too quiet for the kind of muffled sounds coming from the bathroom down the hall.

Karim wasn’t asleep. Of course he wasn’t.

He stood in front of the mirror, sleeves pushed up, staring at his own reflection like it had personally offended him. His brows furrowed. Relaxed. Twitched again.

“…No. That one looks stupid.”

He tried again—tilting his head, narrowing his eyes just enough, lips pressed into something that was supposed to look cool.

It didn’t.

His expression cracked into annoyance. Then he pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing.

“Why is it so easy during the day…?”

He paused, thinking. Then slowly—very slowly—his face shifted into something softer. Less forced. The corners of his mouth lifted just a little.

He stared at it.