Mathias was silent as he gazed through the front windshield, patiently waiting for the car in front of him to move. The rows of florescent lights inside the Herren Tunnel brightly illuminated the long string of vehicles on the road, all of them at a stand still. Multiple car wrecks occurred about four kilometers away, and because of the congested traffic, it would take a while for the paramedics and the law enforcement to arrive. That was fine with him, though. It was better to wait than to be one of those victims.

Even if it meant Minako was in one of her moods.

“I can’t believe you did that.”

Mathias leaned back and rested his head upon his seat. He asked in a quiet tone, “You mean it’s hard for you to believe I would stand up for you?”

“NO!” Minako hollered, much more loudly than she intended. “That’s not what I meant!”

“Then what did you mean?”

“I…” When she couldn’t think of anything, Minako folded her arms and grumbled to herself, all of her words running together and incoherent, until her voice blasted out again. “I don’t know! I just didn’t expect it.”

“You didn’t expect it?” For some reason, that slightly annoyed Mathias. His voice lost a portion of its even tone as he asked her another question. “Do you consider me to be a man who would not defend his lover’s honor?

“No,” Minako flatly responded. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned her whole body to the side, her back facing Mathias. It was clear to understand the message she was giving him: she wanted him to drop the subject.

… and that’s when he thought of the words Alan said to her that evening.

Mathias took a chance and reached over, placing a hand upon her shoulder. He watched how the touch of his hand caused her to flinch slightly, which made him flinch inside, breaking off a piece of his heart. However, she did not push him away, and he took that as a good sign. He took that to mean he could ask her a question. Just one question for now.

“Minako, how old were you?”

It seemed like an eternity before Minako stared back at him, a solitary tear falling down her cheek.

“Thirteen.”

A powerful surge of anger coursed through Mathias’ veins, as he started to regret how lightly of a punishment that bastard was given this evening. Yet he suppressed those emotions, only allowing himself to be what Minako needed at this moment, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it to him. He wrapped an arm around her, and then he hugged her close as she leaned into him, resting her head upon his shoulder. And they remained in that embrace until the cars were moving once again.