Elizabeth
Word of Aki's illness had reached Florian by means of Freddie Lovejoy. The words of Owen echoed in his mind, _there is something we can all do, even if it is small_. The jar of soup in his bag was his small way of doing something, of bringing kindness. He was not a talented cook by any means, the cast iron stove in the kitchen of the Barca estate was not designed with his height in mind, but he had learned how to make it work. Florian had been to the Hirano's cottage quite a few times before. Mako and Aki had moved into Briar Ridge around the same time Valerian had left to work for S&C in Richmond. With his brother's departure, Florian was the only Barca left in Briar Ridge. It was just him and a nurse who came to help him with his daily functioning. Logically, he tried to find connections outside of the house, not wanting to be left to rot inside its walls. One such connection had been with Aki and Mako, who treated him with kindness and helped him overcome some of his bitterness regarding his situation. Not all of it, he kept plenty bottled away, but a good amount was drained out by the Hiranos over the years. 

Lucky for him, the cottage was fairly close by, the soup would still be warm when he arrived. He knocked on the door, greeted by the familiar face of Mako opening the door.

"I brought Aki some soup, Freddie told me she wasn't feelin' good."
Jean
A pool of blood, corpses in a pile of rubble. Her father's mangled corpse in her arms. That nightmare came and decided to repeat on loop ever since the first day after the full moon. 

Akira struggled to sleep, she struggled to stand up, her body violently reacted to something beyond her comprehension. She stood bedridden for s whole week, and it was her poor old man who take care of her.

The woman looked frail, she was frail, and ill. It seemed like every full moon punished her body more and more, with each scar multiplying, and now with a lasting fever and aches.

But the Hirano weren't alone. Mitica Lakatos paid her a visit, Ms Lorelai came panicked and offered assistance. Akira was in good hands, in Briar Ridge's hands. 

And despite everything, she smiled through the pain. 

Mr Hirano opened the door as he was just done with putting some dirty clothes away, revealing a familiar face on a wheel chair.

"Florian!" The aging man greeted with a smile that was highlighted by his expression marks. Perhaps the young man would still remember how his hair was still pitched black when they first met, as it now showed grey strings.

But it was still good ol' Mako, opening the door for anyone with open arms to visit their home.

"Let me help you .." He said, pushing the wheelchair to go over the few steps to enter the small cottage. 

The door led the two directly to the living room, and in a small couch Aki sat, in what seemed to be a fortress of blankets and pillows. It was the first time she had gotten out of bed since the full moon. 

"Flo..." The sickly woman moved her chipped lips, revealing her pale face as her father and the young man made their way. Her voice was weak, quieter even for her own standards.

She smiled despite her sorry state as her guest made himself comfortable.

"Glad to see you're going okay... "
Elizabeth
Florian returned the smile, Mako may have aged visibly, but his kindness remained firmly in place. After a terrifying few seconds where the old man pushed Florian (_please don't trip_) over the steps, the two entered the living room. Ill didn't seem an adequate enough descriptor to label how Akira looked and sounded. "Hey there Aki." He replied to the woman, who was tucked into a nest of sorts. It looked comfortable. 

Of course Aki, sick as she was, still found it in herself to comment on his good health. "It's goin' to take more than a pair of claws to the leg once to take me out, don't you worry about me. Focus on gettin' better yourself." He was a Barca, and they were stubborn to a fault. He could joke about it now, as he did with many things that had previously greatly affected him. It had been a month and the wounds were healing well. February's moon had passed without any attacks for Florian, for whatever reason the powers that be had decided to grant him and his a safe moon for once. Couldn't be said for everyone though, it never could here. 

"I made you some soup, it's vegetable-based. It always made me feel better when I was ill, I hope it does the same for you." He opened the bag on his lap and pulled out the jar. It hadn't spilled, luckily. "It's still warm." He said, holding the soup out for Aki, should she want to take it.
Jean
"Heh, I have no option but to focus on myself, now!" Akira laughed, followed by a small coughing fit, which she was able to recover from quickly with some hearty pats on her chest. "Ah, excuse me." 

Mako on his own spot in the living sighed in relief, being too close to interfere as his daughter couldn't stop worrying him for a second. 

And even yet, for someone in such a sorry state, Aki was in good spirits. As if being cursed was simply a minor inconvenience. 

"Soup...?" The woman's eyes lit up, almost wiggling in her nest. "For me?...Ah, Flo. That's so kind of you!"

She wanted to take it with both hands so badly, but she knew that this illness made even holding objects tricky for her due to the tremors she'd experience. Mako was the one who took the jar, with a good idea of what to do with it.

"Thank you so much!" He said, sharing the same enthusiasm as his daughter. " I'll pour some of this in a bowl, I'll be right back~" 

The man left the living room towards the kitchen that was only as big as a hallway. Clearly it wasn't wheelchair friendly, but it had everything a family as little as the Hirano needed. Wood for a fire, some old pots and pans, an ice box, and a cabinet with all kinds of pottery brought from their homeland in Japan. 

"I'm hoping your brother is also okay? How's Freddie? " Akira wasted no time with her questions. And who could blame her? She only wanted to make sure everyone in Briar Ridge survived the full moon.
Elizabeth
Concern showed on his face as Aki launched into a coughing fit. He smiled at her when she excused herself. "Of course, you're my friend Aki, and I want to see you better as soon as possible." He had ample experience being ill, he'd been bedridden for weeks when he was 17 and he had hated every second of it. He never fully recovered, having lost the ability to walk, and it had been a different illness than the one Aki had. Regardless of specifics, nobody liked being sick. "I hope you'll like it. If not, please tell me and I'll get you another jar with an improved version next time."

"Valerian is doing alright, still not fully his old self, but he's recoverin' well." Flashes of bloodied hospital sheets appeared in his mind, he forced them away. "The wolves passed by the estate this month, we were spared this time around." Florian didn't know if he believed in God, but something had protected them this moon, and he was grateful for it, whoever or whatever it had been. He knew others hadn't been so lucky. Blood had been spilled, as it always did, as he feared it always would.
_ _

At the mention of Freddie's name he couldn't help but smile. _Oh young love._ He wondered if Aki knew about the true nature of the relationship between them or if she was still under the impression that they were best friends. "Freddie's doin' good too, he's yet to come face to face with one of those monsters. I pray he never does." Freddie had promised Florian that he'd protect him, that any wolf who dared breach the walls of whatever safehouse the two would be in would be greeted with silver bullets. He knew Freddie was a good shot, and with Valerian's guidance, Florian himself had become decent at it. But he still did not want Freddie to see what haunted Briar Ridge during the full moon, he did not want any of the wolves to come close enough to the young Lovejoy that he might risk getting hurt. He didn't want anyone else to get hurt protecting him, be it directly or indirectly. 

"He comes by nearly every day, he does. Him and his pony Angel, after he finishes work he swings by the estate. He's even built a ramp into his house so I can visit him there too. He's a wonderful man, as always." Hope in small places. Despite the attacks life went on, people fell in love, and friendships formed. Briar Ridge relied on each other, even with the knowledge that its inhabitants might be the death of one another in the future. "He told me you two had met in the general store?"
Jean
"Glad to hear everyone is doing alright... And that your family has been spared this time around."

Was it really God's grace, though? How bleak was the situation at Briar Ridge where people could say that two casualties after the full moon was a relief? Akira couldn't stop thinking about it as Florian spoke, biting the edge of her nail. But if there was one thing that kept her at ease, it was the fact that there were still citizens who had yet to face the beasts, Freddie being amongst them.

"I pray he never comes near them, too." The woman sighed in relief, letting her finger go as she smiled weakly at the man. "No one has to bear that horror... No one."

If only nobody in this town could, including her own father, who had to watch her getting mauled at Alma's home. He saw it all, he heard it all, it was him who carried her to the hospital, almost bleeding out.

Akira tried her best to push those thoughts out of the way, even if they were already part of Briar Ridge's entire subconscious, instead she wanted to focus on Freddie, and the way Florian's face lit up by the mere mention of the man.

At first Aki thought the two men were simply best friends, but seeing Flo talk more about that sweet man she met at the store, the more she could see that look in his eyes.

It was the same look she'd see whenever someone talked about someone special. She saw it in Alma when she visited her ages ago and mentioned Rhett, she saw a sorrowful and distorted version of it when Jade cried on her lap over Arthur, she saw those same eyes whenever her father looked at her mom when she was still alive.

Love, the look of love. Love was a difficult concept for Aki, for she never felt attracted to men. She had crushes before, but she always kept them a secret, for the only people she had eyes for were women.

Now? She had no interest-No, that was a blatant lie, she yearned for love and to be loved back, but the times in Briar Ridge made it even more difficult to do so.

She had nothing to offer, no money, no name, she couldn't even marry if she wanted to.

But what was scarier, was her fear of hurting those she loved the most. She didn't deserve the love of a woman, not if she was going to make her suffer like she was doing with her father... And that poor old man had enough.

"I met him at the store, yes!Such a lovely boy, he helped me carry the groceries after I embarrassed myself and dropped them."

But what gave her hope and joy was seeing people like Freddie and Florian, two young men ready to face the world together, ready to love. They had a chance, they were still young, they weren't like her.

They were nothing like her.

"Awww... That's so nice, though-I mean, to see you two are so close." The woman said with a giggle. "I'd say very close... Have you told him?"
Elizabeth
"I'm glad to see you two were safe as well. Apart from whatever illness has gotten into you, of course." He knew Aki had been attacked too, a while back. She'd seen those wolves the same as he had now. No-one deserved that, but he was glad it had been him and not Freddie. Stupidly. "We live to see another month, let's focus on that." He gave her a weak smile, clearly the topic of werewolves stirred many emotions in him, none of them positive. He wouldn't speak of it unless Aki brought it up. 

Freddie was kind, it was his kindness that had drawn Florian to him. The boy felt like the sun on a warm summer's day. It didn't surprise him at all that Freddie had helped out Aki. "He is lovely indeed." 

It appeared Aki saw through him just as easily as both his siblings had. He suspected Olivia had known for much longer than she'd let on. Florian had never been known to be a good actor. He tended to wear his heart on his sleeve. He smiled, they were close, _very close_ indeed. "I-" He had, they both had. It had started with Freddie soaked in rain and hiding a massive secret, Florian hiding some secrets of his own. Both of them not believing the other could truly want to be with him, not with their full self anyway. Both had been wrong. "Yes. Yes I have." He couldn't help himself from smiling widely. Oh how he loved that man. 
_ _

He looked at the kitchen nervously. He lowered his voice when he spoke. "Mako, he's, he's alright with uh..." _With me being in love with a man?_ Aki seemed to be, which somehow didn't surprise Florian. He knew there were others like him in Briar Ridge, which helped. "You know?" He gestured vaguely, evidently he was nervous about coming out. The only other people he'd told in so many words had been Valerian and Olivia. Both had made it feel like it was perfectly fine. But it was still very new to him, both being in love and having to potentially explain his love to others. Florian didn't even truly know how he was supposed to describe himself, all he knew was that he loved Freddie Lovejoy, and that was all that mattered to him.
Jean
To live another month, to be able to love. Those were the things that kept Akira going despite the hardships. Getting the confirmation of her suspicion over Florian's feelings for Freddie only made her smile grow wider. 

Oh, and they confessed? Now she wanted to know all the details! But she had to hold herself back from bombarding the poor man with all the questions. 

More importantly, Akira caught on quickly what her friend tried to imply. Her gaze turned to the kitchen, where Mako was focused on pouring the soup and making tea for their guest. She turned back to Florian, hiding her face with one hand while giggling in case she'd get another cough fit. 

"Oh, he's very open about it." Akira said, reminiscing the day after the full moon, when she told Mako about her infatuation for women. She felt so silly for thinking her own father would be disgusted or stop loving his own child. Yet her fears were understood by the man himself, the world was cruel to people like her and Florian. 

It had been so long since Akira felt so safe.

"I'm sure he'd be just as happy for you two. " She added, not wanting to make the conversation about how she came out to her only family left. She hated making things about herself.

"You have to tell me everything, though! Heh, if you're okay with it, I'm just a woman who loves seeing smiles on people's faces, is all."
Elizabeth
Mako wouldn't judge Florian for loving Freddie, another weight that fell from his shoulder. Florian wondered if this is what it would be like from now on, having to wonder if people he'd known for ages would still look at him the same way. He hadn't really heard anyone in Briar Ridge outwardly admitting they disliked people like him. Maybe he was just being overly cautious. He probably was. Part of why he was so cautious was because he wanted to protect Freddie. He wanted to keep his secret safe, to keep **Him** Safe, the way he'd looked that night, as though he was ready to be rejected by Florian... He could never, _would_ never.

He had his suspicions that Akira was like him, in all his years of knowing her she'd not once indicated being interested in men. He'd seen her look at women in ways that seemed to go beyond friendship. He wasn't going to ask her, if Aki wanted to tell him she would, on her own time. Until then, he'd hold onto the thought that Aki might just be a woman who loved other women, he'd support her regardless. 

"He sent me purple violets, _purple violets_, famously flowers of love, he didn't even know that that is what those meant, can you believe that? He called me darlin', and I still didn't put two and two together, Aki. I had hope, of course, but I wasn't certain." He laughed. Valerian had laughed at him for that too. "And then uh, well, I uh, I asked him if I could kiss him." He was going to leave out the part where Freddie cried in his arms. That was between them two and nobody else. "And uh, he did-" He smiled "-he did, and then I was pretty certain." Florian could feel himself growing slightly red. This was all new to him, _very_ new. "It was wonderful, _he_ is wonderful. Bein' around him makes me feel like I'm standin' in the sun, he makes me feel warm, and safe, and happy. I just-" _I love him._ "He means the world to me, he does."
Jean
Not only Mako didn't judge Florian for being who he was, the old man was eagerly waiting behind the doorframe as he held the soup bowl with a huge smile on his face! The meal was more than ready, but much like his daughter, he wanted to know all the details.

Besides, he knew that Akira was fit best fit this kind of conversation. Even if she didn't say it out loud, she loved women the same way Florian loved men. The poor old man still felt like a fool for not realizing sooner, for not seeing the signs. No wonder his child looked so sad when her close friend Himiko fancied a boy back in San Diego, no wonder she never spoke about men the same way Florian did about Freddie. 

Akira at this point even forgot that her father was supposed to bring her soup, she was too invested in this love story, a story so real that nobody in the world would be able to take away, no matter what they said. 

Flowers? Pet names? All of that and it took them this long to finally confess? The woman blinked, giggling to the point she had to put a hand over her mouth to hide it. Not that she was laughing at them of course, she was laughing over the fact that her heart melted at such acts of pure, innocent love. 

Despite it all, they were able to live their lives, to love, to smile through their grief and pain. 

"Oh, Flo. Never change." Aki sighed, clearing her throat to avoid another cough fit. 

"What you two have is amazing, and I congratulate you both. I met Freddie just last month an' I can just say you were made for each other." 

Akira could only pray the two of them could spend their lives in peace, perhaps even leave this godforsaken town. But things weren't that easy. 

"Protect each other, alright? I don't think you need me to say this, but just in case... I hope you two never lose what you found in each other. I can only imagine how precious it is."

Indeed, Akira could only leave the concept of love to her imagination. She had other priorities in life, many things in her mind.
Elizabeth
He laughed with Aki who giggled at his obliviousness. _Never change._ He wished he could always be this version of himself, smiling with friends, talking of love, his heart full of warm feelings for the people he was around. But that self had learned to make room for a much more angry, much less compassionate self. A self who wished for violence, who was ready to lay finger on trigger and send bullets into cursed neighbors. That self wasn't here right now, Florian wouldn't allow it. This was a time of peace, there would be time for war again later. But he could feel that part of him lingering, taking root deeper and deeper every day.

"We will, I'll do whatever I can to protect him, if a wolf tries to come for us while we're hidin', we're not going down without a fight." He thought back to the January moon, where Freddie promised he'd protect him. Of course he'd prefer to not go down at all, but if worse did come to worse, he'd be dragging that beast down with him.
_ _

"Val is still bein' quite unrelentin' about me not stayin' at the estate durin' the full moons. Hole in the wall and all, I can see reason in that. But he won't accept _any_ discussion on the topic. I know it's because he worries for my safety, but still, I can shoot now, I've got silver bullets, I can help guard the house. I've tried tellin' him that but he just refuses to hear me out. It's frustratin' as all hell." He sighed, he didn't come here to rant about his brother, he came here to check up on Aki, to see how one of his closest friends was doing and to bring her soup. Help in small ways, _you bring hope, Florian._

"Freddie invited me to stay over with him and his parents for the moon, we'll both be armed, apparently he's quite the marksman. He even went so far as to build me a ramp so I could get in and out on my own. I can visit him whenever I want now. He's such a sweetheart, as I'm sure you noticed when you met him." He smiled. "But hey, here I am goin' on and on about me, how about you, anythin' I've missed?" Aki had been a bit more distant than normal, all the more reason for him to swing by more often.
Jean
Florian's change in attitude didn't go unnoticed. In fact, the more Akira listened, the more visibly uncomfortable she became, she tightened her jaw, she tried to cover herself more with the blanket as she felt a chill down her spine.

 Even Mako, who waited behind the doorframe, stopped on his way back to the living room, and found himself staring into the ground trying to process this young man's words. Florian was a man once filled with compassion, he was gentle, someone who found in the Hirano some sort of healing and comfort after Valerian left those years ago. Now? He was talking about inflicting violence against his potential neighbors, talking about how he learned how to shoot, how he learned how to kill. 

She could see the fire in his eyes.

But Aki couldn't say anything, she was more comfortable being a listener, it fit her well. Now Florian talking about his brother Valerian, all his frustrations, not having control over his circumstances. The woman understood how he felt, even though she understood Val's intentions better. 

The younger Barca brother needed to let all of this out, like a kettle under pressure letting out steam. At least, Akira could help him with that, it made her feel useful, more at peace.

But now that Florian changed the subject back to her, she had realized how quiet she'd gone. An awkward smile curled up on her lips, scratching the scar on her cheek. 

"The full moons past have been quite merciful to us..." She said. "But only just a few days ago I woke up with this horrible flu! I mean, you probably know that hehe..."

She let out a shaky sigh, clearing her throat after coughing once or twice. 

What else was she supposed to say? Was she ready to talk about the fact that she began to drink more? Her escapades with women? Her days of spiral and isolation? Her darkest thoughts about herself?

No, she couldn't do that to Florian. She couldn't be anyone's burden. Nobody needed to know that Aki had been falling apart.

"...Been really worried overall. Spring is starting soon and I need to be in my best condition to go back to the farms, hopefully this illness will pass by then. You know me, I can't stay still." 

Finally, Mako returned from the kitchen with the bowl of soup. He gently handed it to Aki, not being able to make eye contact with Florian. He didn't want to look at him.

"If you need anything else, let me know." He told his daughter with a gentle pat on his back, walking back to the kitchen to do the dishes. 

Now that the soup was in her hands, Akira wasted no time to take a spoonful of it. Her eyes lit up, taking away some of the tension she felt from a few moments prior as she wiggled on her spot on the couch. 

"Oh, this is so good! I can already feel better~"
Elizabeth
The change in Aki's attitude didn't go unnoticed, he'd done it again, burned someone close to him with his hatred. "I'm sorry, I-" _You're one of my closest friends, I want to go back to how it was before, when there were no wolves, when we'd laugh at the dinner table, when trusting you with my secrets and feelings didn't cause hurt._ Aki wasn't a violent person, Florian hadn't been a violent person prior to all this. _Protect each other_ she'd said, and the only way Florian knew how to do that was through violence. Mako had every right to be disgusted by Florian's words, just as Aki had every right to judge him, even if Florian didn't realize that yet. 

He swallowed, pushing his discomfort down. Mako had avoided looking at him, Florian felt deeply ashamed. "I shouldn't have brought that up." He'd gotten so used to being around others who shared his views, who encouraged them, that he sometimes lost track of the other side of the coin. Running away wasn't an option for Florian, all he had was offense, if he had to rely on defense it would already be too late for him. "But we will protect each other, that I promise. I can't imagine a world without him in it." The only time he'd imagined that was in his nightmares. He similarly couldn't imagine a world without Aki in it. 

"I'm sure you'll be back on your feet come spring, you're strong Aki. Just be sure to get enough rest, no use in pushin' yourself when you're not ready." He smiled at her. "Even if sittin' still isn't one of your strong suits." He said, in a friendly teasing tone. It wasn't one of his either, he was impatient too, and nobody liked being ill. "I'm glad you enjoy it." He nodded at the soup. "I'll happily make you more, just say the word. And if there's anythin' else I might be able to help with please do tell me." He just wanted to help, to be useful, to do what he could while Briar Ridge continued to go through hell each month.
Jean
"Eh? No, no, you good!" Akira waved her hand, cursing herself for letting her emotions take a hold of her for a second. She slipped, almost showing what tormented her every night. Florian didn't need to know that.

"I understand you want to help protect Briar Ridge, I share the sentiment, too." She said, looking her faded reflection into the soup before she scooped another spoonful. The reality was that Aki had her own way of helping the town, and she knew deep in her heart that not everybody could agree with it. 

She could get killed for it. 

"I'm sure I'll need more soup later on." Akira chuckled, going back to her old self with each sip. Even if she was on a borrowed time, she could at least enjoy her time with her friends. 

"And then, you should give me the recipe because I'd love to make it myself!" She added after another spoonful. 

Her worries would have to come later, right now, it was the time to be herself with Florian. Who knew when her body would give out and fall apart for good. 

For Briar Ridge's sake, Florian and Aki needed to be standing. This was a town of survivors.
Steven
Forgot to reply but yes ender is good!!