AN: Co-written by CompletelyOtaku, TheMusicOfYourSoul, and Jennifer Rice (she doesn't have an account on here, but her tumblr is rwby-no-shana)
At an apartment complex in Germany, a young girl named Lisa saw a man laying gorgeous flowers in front of the apartment door next to hers. Distracted by their beauty, she then realized that the apartment behind that door was empty with no one living in it. Curious, Lisa approached the man.
"Excuse me,"she began, causing the man to turn around, startled. "Who are these flowers for?"
He didn't say anything for a moment, but then looked her in the eyes and gave her a sad smile.
"It's a long story," he said softly.
"I don't mind listening," she reassured. With that, the man began his story.
"My boyfriend Nine and I were at the pride parade last year, showing our support. There was a big turnout, with people in rainbow colors everywhere. He and I were wearing flowers in our hair and around our necks because flowers were a passion we shared." He paused and looked down, smiling at the memories.
"You can tell I love him. He loved me too, and that was the day we decided to tell each other. It was one of the best days of my life, but also the worst…"
Lisa's heart sank. She remembered that last year's pride parade was a target of a major hate crime.
The man continued. "On a day where the goal was to spread love and acceptance, we were greeted with hate. Some monsters decided to run into the parade with guns and bombs. Nine and I ran, but we only almost got away from a nearby bomb. Nine threw himself on top of me to shield me. The next thing I knew, I was being carried on a stretcher, being told that the man who was on top of me didn't survive. I found out that a piece of the bomb went right through his head."
The man began to cry with trembling lips. "He died to save me. That was exactly a year ago today. Because he loved flowers so much, I decided I'm going to place some in front of his apartment every year on this day, just like I did when we were together."
Taking a deep breath, the man composed himself. "Well, I must go now. Thank you for listening. Goodbye."
Lisa was left standing in front of the locked apartment door, where she stared at the beautiful bouquets. Then, she buried her head in her hands and wept.