"Life goes on," Derek agrees, smiling softly before taking another bite, this one smaller. "A lot of bad things happened all at once."

He's quiet for a long moment, and not long ago that would have been the end of it. He would have swallowed back any other words or show of emotion and kept them bottled up. Things are different now. He's different. This place has changed him in so many ways and most of them, he thinks, might even have been for good.

"I miss Bianca," he admits quietly, looking down at his plate. "I hate that this city brings us people to love, but they could disappear at any moment. It makes it hard to keep on loving, sometimes."