"You don't think that I've gotten any fatter, have I? I noticed that both Felicity and Iroha ate a lot more food than me, but both of them are a lot thinner. I swear I always overeat in summer," Tina had her head on her table, a half-empty glass of wine in her left hand. She and Allen were sitting at her kitchen table, where they usually drank together. They always drank together on Wednesday. Neither of them remembered when or why they started this, but it was alright with them. "It's so unfair."

"You look fine to me. If anything you got lighter over the summer," Allen absentmindedly swirled his own glass, still tired from his rude awakening this morning. He didn't expect Neil to come over to his house so early for such a stupid reason. He couldn't help what happens whenever he gets drunk. He didn't even really like Neil all that much. He just enjoyed teasing the hell out of him.

But he couldn't just ignore how red Neil had turned during their little encounter. Unfortunately for the poor animal seller, Allen had learned how to made him fluttered. All it seemed to take was just a kiss. And a little bit of foreplay of course. Allen didn't want to be in a relationship for a while, so he had expected to do those types of things so soon. He had practically made the blonde putty in his hands. Neil wasn't even his type of lover. But he wasn't interested in love. It couldn't hurt to make Neil his plaything. For now.

"Are you really sure, Allen?"

"Huh?" Allen glanced back up, not realizing that he had been lost in thought. Tina was frowning at him, one hand on her stomach and the other on the table. "Oh, yeah. I'm sure, Tina."

"I remember that time that Toni had said that I had gotten fatter. Sigh, I don't think I'll ever let that go. I wish Rio was still alive. She could relate to me about this. She was always so skinny. I miss her so much! Since she's gone, does that make you my best friend?"

"I guess so," Allen yawned. "It seems like we ended up being drinking buddies. I guess you can call me your best friend if you want to. I don't really care about that, no offense."

"I know that you and Rod have been friends since you were friends," Tina let out a sigh. "It's quite impressive that Rio brought both you and your childhood friend here. I guess that's fate, huh?"

"It is, hmmm? Rod's been a nuisance ever since we were kids. Our mothers were friends, so we practically had to be friends as well. If that's your definition of fate."

"I think it's quite charming. Anyone wants their child to get along with their friend's child. It makes planning events so much easier. You don't have to worry about not having any friends. And sometimes the parents get to play matchmaker. It's so cute."

"I guess so."

Tina took a huge sip of her wine before pouring each of them another glass full, "So I haven't gotten too fat? I feel like I've eaten so much pie. I can't help it, though. Olivia just has the best treats in town!"

"You look fine," Allen waved a hand. "Your weight is the last thing that you should have to worry about for a while. But you definitely should visit the salon for another haircut. You're starting to get split ends again. Nothing I can't fix, of course."

"Am I?" she placed a hand on her head. "I guess it has been a while. I'll have to come in tomorrow or Friday. I might do a different color. Maybe a lighter shade of brown. I'll have to decide."

"Who knows? Maybe you could try a whole new color on you. It'd be fun to experiment with it. I have been wanting to try a new dye that I had shipped to me."


Thursday had been a really slow day, hardly anyone wanting to walk through the sun's heat to get a haircut. It was early fall, so there was still a bit of heat left over from summer. Everyone seemed to be affected by the hot weather. Hana had complained about her hip pain, not liking how the heat was getting to her and her husband. Toni and Niko raced over to the traveling agency to get to Hina, both of them panting and sighing. Rod was usually in a good mood, but walked as if he had been poked in the eye repeatedly. He even snapped at him when they passed each other, the heat getting to him.

Using one of his magazines as a fan, Allen closed his shop around half an hour until six, counting the money as lifelessly as he could. He hated slow days, as it gave him nothing to do. He was the only one working at the salon, so he had to always be at the desk whenever he wasn't cutting hair. Since summer had ended, a lot of his customers had left town. The gardening tours that Rio had done had impressed some people so much that they came back to visit the town whenever they could. Fall and spring had the least amount of tourists, but some people lingered, intrigued by the hard work done to the town, each building placed with dedication and careful planning. It was a good thing that there was such a huge inn in town to fit all of the new people not wanting to move in.

Once he made sure that he had the right amount in the register, he flipped over his open sign and made his way out of the salon. He didn't feel like going straight upstairs so he strolled on over to Rio's farm. There was something depressing about passing the empty house, all of Rio's belongings still inside. Dunhill didn't have the heart to get rid of any of it, besides any food that was left. Not even her bed was touched after she died. It was as those the town wanted to believe that she was still with them. As if they could see her for one last day, full of energy and ready to help. Her barn and chicken coop were still in her yard, empty as well. Allen forgot what they did with her chickens and cows. It didn't really matter to him. Maybe Neil took them in? Or they were sold to a different farmer who would care for the ownerless animals?

He finally stopped at the grave near the edge of the river. Rio had always enjoyed fishing. And water in general. He didn't care for fishing himself as he couldn't stay still for that long. It was outside of his nature. Not to mention boring as hell. He looked down on the small grave, feeling a fresh wave of regret go through his whole being. He owed her so much. So much that could never be given. It was as if she had only died a couple of months ago. The place felt empty without her. She was the one to build it up from the ashes. How could they keep up her legacy? None of them had her abilities. He reflected in her memory, refusing to sit down in the dirty grass. He also wanted to avoid falling into the water.

"So you came out here to reflect too?"

Allen looked over his shoulder to see Hana walking up to him, a handful of flowers catching his eye as the elder placed them besides Rio's tombstone with a look of regret in her small beady black eyes. She picked up the old one from the ground, most of the flowers limp. The single white rose that was still alive was plucked off and placed with the new ones.

"Yeah. I guess it's been awhile."

"Indeed. She was such a sweet young girl. She was like a granddaughter to me and Kosaburo. He hasn't had a very good fishing partner in years. And she was so good with the kids. I even thought that her and Neil would end up together? It really is such a shame that she had to die so early. She had so much of her life ahead of her."

"Neil?" Allen frowned at the thought of the blonde. He and Rio had been single around the same time, Neil not having a girlfriend for all the years that he knew him. He knew that it was petty to be annoyed at him liking the deceased farmer, but he couldn't help it. What if he had a crush on her the whole time? They could have been dating without the town even knowing. "Surely she wouldn't have liked a grouch like him?"

"Only she could bring out a smile in him," Hana stroked the rose, a little light smile on her face. "They could have had a white wedding. She always did love wintertime. She always grew great winter flowers. I'd make the best bouquets with her flowers. Hers were more cared for the ones that I get delivered."

Only one that could? Allen knew how hard it was to get Neil to quit smile. Everyone knew that the animal seller didn't do well with people. Getting even a small smirk from him was hard. How did someone get him to even like them. Love?

A smirk grew on his own lips as he began to see a challenge in his head. Just how hard was it to get Neil to say the words, I love you? He hadn't fallen for anyone in a long time, and doubted that he'd start liking Neil. But he couldn't resist the challenge. He had flings with other guys, but had never dating another male. It couldn't be that much different than a female, besides the sex. Glancing down at the flowers with a bit of hope, he nodded. "Winter flowers certainly are the best."

Hana seemed to not notice the change in demeanor as she continued, "It's a shame that no one in this town are getting married anymore. It's been so long since I've been able to babysit a child. I really adore children since they are so cute and innocent."

"They are," Allen relaxed his face so that he looked a bit gloomy, not wanting to let his mischievous thoughts show on him. "I guess this town could use another romance."

"Maybe young Yuri and Soseki. I've noticed him hanging around the tailor's more often. Emma tells me that they have gone for walks in the woods on her breaks. It's quite charming. She can do him some good with all that walking. She's a sweet girl. He'll take good care of her."


When Allen knocked on Tina's door, he was surprised to see her in pajamas. She opened the door lightly, rubbing her eyes as she yawned. She pat down part of her hair that had been mused in her sleep. Considering it was eight at night, he must have woken her up from either a late nap or her rest for tomorrow.

"I didn't expect any visitors for the rest of the night, Allen. You woke me up."

"Sorry about that, Tina. I didn't expect you to be asleep just yet. But can you do me a huge favor?" He waved her over, a wrapped gift box in his hands. He handed it to her as he waited to tell her what he wanted from her. He had to keep it a secret. For suspense.

"Sure what do you need me to do?"