The car moved through the evening traffic. Derek sat in the back seat of the moving car, one elbow resting on the door as the city blurred past the tinted windows.
Beside him, Kai was lounging with his usual effortless grace, one leg crossed over the other, listening to him.
Derek had been talking for ten minutes, recounting the disastrous exchange he'd had with Kira that morning. He needed Kai to validate him.
"She's being unreasonable," he said.
"Oh, really?"
"I explained myself. I gave her a clear, logical reason why I wasn't there. She said she understood, and then proceeded to behave as though I had committed a criminal offence."
"Right." Kai nodded thoughtfully. "And you think the problem is her."
"I think the problem is that she won't accept a valid explanation."
Kai looked at him for a long moment. "Valid? Derek, you absolute iceberg. Is that really the word you used with her?"
Derek's jaw tightened. "I'm being serious."
"So am I."
