Gregory's ability to talk slowly and steadily came back. It wasn't as he imagined it in his dreams, as he never had his old voice back, and he sounded rather strange. Due to his injuries and the surgery that was performed on him, his intonation became a kind of monotone and emotionless, as he was an automaton, Christine was sometimes reminded of Cadence when she heard him speak, but she was ashamed of the thought later, and was happy to hear Gregory's voice at all. Greg was a bit of disappointed as well at first, yet he had to understand he was very ill, and it was impossible to get his old voice back – but his disappointment was washed away by the fact he was finally able to word his thoughts without help. For some months his voice was rather gruff and he needed to take care of not to talk too much in the first few weeks as Erik warned hi his throat was still too much vulnerable and not to be overstrained. Also, his voice sometimes faded away after a few sentences in a row, and he would need to start it again after he wasn't even able to whisper, but he LOVED to talk. And his family loved to hear him talk.

Love was around in the whole family, so peaceful, everyone was helping each other… And Gregory finally learned what love is.

Yet… there are different kinds of love.

A child loves their parents, parents love their children, siblings love each other, and there is that special kind of love that is felt for that one person on the world… well, in the right case, at least. Florian, however wasn't the right case in this matter. He was in love all the time, but not with the same person for too long. He was already 14 years old, a successful musician, of course, in the center of attention of both the aristocracy and young girls. Of course, Flo was much happier about the latter than the former. He loved to give concerts, of course, and music was his passion, but he had another burning passion now, which made him extremely happy. Since that concert on which he learned an important lesson, and he wasn't that prideful little brat any more, he noticed girls tend to like him a lot more, and he used it. Not in an immoral way, of course. He just liked to be with beautiful and kind girls, talking to them, smiling a lot, laughing and of course, slightly playing the role of a small Don Juan. He returned handkerchiefs, kissed hands, and sent tempting smiles with delight. He was in love with love itself. Each and every beautiful little girl set his heart on fire, and he thought he was in love.

- I can't hold your hand all the time. – Erik remarked once, when they were returning home after a concert and they sat next to each other in the carriage. – And I don't even want to. All I want to say is be careful, as I do not wish to be a grandfather for a few years still.

- I am too young for that, Papa. – Flo looked at Erik, blushing.

- We both agree. – Erik nodded strictly. – But it can happen if you go on like this.

- We only were talking with Marie. – Flo stuttered in utter embarrassment.

- About some secrets, eh? – Erik snorted.

- Why do you think…?

- Because only secrets require so little distance between the two of you. Her mouth must have been very close to your ear as it has rouge over it.

Flo nearly sank as he was wiping his ear with his handkerchief, trying to avoid eye contact with his father.

- As I said, I don't wish to be the guarder dame to you, as I can't be and don't even want to. You are old enough not to commit stupid things, or at least I hope so. You are young, and all of the young boys act like you do now. All I want to ask is slow down a bit and don't do anything stupid. We talked about this before and you know what not to do. Don't do that.

- And if we just kiss…? – He asked hopefully.

- If she won't slap you for it, then kiss. I don't care. But if I hear you do other things, I will bite your nose off. Understood?

- Completely. – He nodded.

Erik hoped this small talk did its job. He did not really wish to interfere with his son's love affairs. They were totally innocent anyway, and he had another love of his life in every month. Though when he was younger, he wished to marry Sophie, two years of living in distance made him change his mind about it, and he dared to search for other girls to court. He sometimes had two or three at once, and with his popularity he did not have to pick only one. He wrote smaller songs to serenade with, and gave one single flower to each of the girls he started to like. He was dancing with young girls at balls, sending out love letters which was mostly signed as "your loving Flo".

It was going on like this for a year.

No one bat an eye at his love life, and no one took him too seriously, from either his own family, or the families of the girls, he was an artist, he was just one of those boys courting their daughters, knowing none of the affairs were to be serious. A small Mozart, a boheme, a child of theater. His mother was an opera singer, to begin with, he was raised in the manner of opera plays, as they thought, and so, they were a bit more forgiving with Florian than they would have been with any other teenage boys. There is no chance for marriage, and the nurses of the girls were keeping an eye at the couples all the time, so they had no opportunity to do inappropriate things. Erik talked to him as a man to a man a few times, it was way easier to him than the one he did to Mahtab, as Florian was really, lawfully a boy, and they could discuss the same anatomy issues, and Erik wasn't embarrassed by that fact. Flo seemed to be mature and responsible enough to understand these talks, Erik at least hoped so.

And then, Florian found the ONE true love… or so he thought. That one girl was special because she did not follow him around like a fangirl, or did not show any sign of interest at all. Finally a girl that he has to work hard to get, and won't let him kiss her for the first ask, and not even for the tenth. Her name was Bonnie, and they met at a concert he gave. She politely congratulated him after the performance and gave a kind smile, but nothing more, and it was sympathetic for Flo. He felt he needed to have that girl, as she will be the perfect wife. He also knew he had to slow down with courting Bonnie. She wasn't like the others who fainted of happiness just because they received one single rose. Bonnie received many love letters from Flo, which were full of endearments, and described the impression the girl had on him, with her beauty and modesty. Bonnie was truly nice looking, with her deep brown eyes, brown hair and rose colored skin, with naturally cherry colored thick lips. She was graceful as a flower, all of her movements reflected true elegance, yet she wasn't a daughter of a noble family. She was from an upper middle- class family, her father was a teacher at a Secondary School he taught Latin and History. Bonnie was educated, she had a good taste in literature, art, music and she was talented in drawing and painting. She loved to paint in her free time, and once she sent a portrait of Flo, holding his violin to him, as a gift. This made Flo a bit more self- confident about the plan of making Bonnie fall in love with him, but he got disappointed about the girl sent a letter to him in which she clearly stated she never thought of anything more of Flo than a friend, that though, being a very close one. She also implied a foggy sentence of not being able to feel any more than friendship for any of the men, which Flo did not understand. She also informed Flo she never wished to marry, and apologized for the disappointment she was going to cause him with this confession. The truth was she did not dare to tell this to Flo in person, but she hoped they could still be friends. Flo decided to leave it at that, as he learned earlier that girls are able to change their mind about a relationship within time. It is better not to rush anything. He thankfully was better at handling rejection than his father and was able to take no for an answer. He kept the portrait on his wall above his bed, and would admire it many times. Not because he was so in love with himself, but because he loved to see how very talented Bonnie was with painting. Even Erik and Christine had to admit that the portrait was a very accurate one, focusing on Flo's most significant features, which made it very lifelike.

- Just as if I saw my father. – Christine sighed dreamily, upon looking at the picture, caressing the frame. – I bet Flo will look just like Papa when he grows up. Oh, how Papa would be proud, knowing Flo is a virtuoso with violin.

- He must have inherited it from his grandfather, I am happy we named him after your father, Christine.

- You always know what to tell me to make me feel good. You are a master of sweet talk if you want something. – Christine laughed at her husband.

- I want nothing special. – Erik shrugged. – Only love till the grave and beyond.

- Oh you. – Christine smiled and shook his head. She blew a kiss towards Erik who pretended to catch it in the air and blew one back at Christine.

Throughout the years, they learned to love each other so freely and as happily as two teens.

One morning, Flo was running to his father as excitedly as if he was just composing a masterpiece, at least, only that made him so excited before.

- Papa, Papa, look! – He jumped in front of Erik, who was trying to feed the cat and stopping Belle from climbing on his back at the same time.

- You, dear, are a bit of too old for this horseplay, you are already a small lady. What's that, Flo? – He lifted his head up to examine his son, but he noticed nothing special.

- Can you see it? – Flo went on with endless excitement.

- Can I see what, my son?

- My mustache! – Flo leaned closer with pride.

True, there were some brown hair under his nose, though it was hardly visible from a distance. Though he did not want to take Florian's enthusiasm away, so he nodded with a smile.

- Oh yes, my son, very nice.

- I am a man now! – He clapped.

- Being a man is not about your mustache or the lack of it, but the fact you are able to support yourself and your family. – Erik pointed out. – I don't have a mustache, yet I am a man, don't you agree?

- But you still have to shave some. – Flo baulked.

- True, yet I never had a mustache, only some pitiful excuse for a beard. – Erik shook his head with a forgiving smile.

- Still, I was the only one in the family among the men who did not yet shave. Even Noel shaves nowadays.

- Noel does not actually shave but steals my cologne water and dabbles his face in soap every morning for five minutes then washes it off to pretend he does. – Erik chuckled. - He is a good actor.

No matter what Erik said about facial hair and its insignificance, Flo still thought he was manlier with it. If it is not the right way to make Bonnie notice him as a man, then nothing. Flo was taking extremely long time in the bathroom before his next concert, to brush his mustache. It took a lot of time because there was nothing to brush, yet Flo liked challenges, and was determined in taking an impression on Bonnie.

Erik wasn't able to accompany Florian to that said concert. Belle fell ill that evening, and even though Christine wanted to take care of her and sit on her bedside, Belle requested Papa to stay with her as well with Mama, and she begged him to sing her to sleep. Erik did not mind staying home for once, and knew his young daughter needs his presence, but did not wish to let Flo leave all alone, as he still needed guidance, and well, he would have felt calmer if the small Don Juan was restrained and kept an eye at by someone else. Of course, said someone else was Mahtab, him being the oldest and most responsible of the siblings. Flo did not mind to go with Mahtab – on the contrary. Finally he was able to spend some quality time again with Mahtab, and he liked the fact that his older brother was socializing with others. He also hoped Mahtab will eventually find someone for himself. Yet he could not have expected who it might be…

After the concert Bonnie went to congratulate Flo, just as usual, and when she noticed Flo had another company, and Flo introduced his older brother to her, she could not have told why but she had a strange yet warm feeling as Mahtab smiled at her shyly and politely took her delicate little hand for a kiss. She found Mahtab's name a bit of unusual, but complimented it nonetheless. She did not know yet it was a female name actually, and that Mahtab wasn1t an ordinary boy she just met… yet she felt it.

They started talking, and Bonnie found out Mahtab was very educated and polite, yet extremely shy for some reason. He was nothing like his younger brother who grabbed her hand for a kiss so vehemently, and who was clearly trying to talk her into bed at some point. Yet Flo, thank Goodness, had already stopped acting so intrusively towards her, she appreciated Mahtab's behavior way more than Flo's.

Mahtab liked Bonnie a lot, and the smiles he gave her were surprisingly honest ones, not acted out, and not awkward. They spent some time together, until Flo finally got tired of the fact he wasn't paid attention of, and obviously Mahtab is way more to Bonnie's liking than him. Well, only once he takes Mahtab out, and the brother instantly tries to stela his… love interest? He grabbed Mahtab's sleeve some times and said.

- We shall go home, you know Belle is ill. – He sent an envious glance towards his brother, and Mahtab instantly realized the intents behind it.

As they were sitting in the carriage on the way home, Mahtab looked at Flo penitently, who slightly turned his back towards him, and did not say a word.

- Flo…- He started softly.

- Yes? – The younger boy groaned, not looking at Mahtab.

- I am sorry if I made you upset. Bonnie is indeed a kind and beautiful girl…

- She is. – He barked, not waiting for Mahtab to finish his sentence.

- Flo, you know how I am. – Mahtab started again, after some pause. – No woman will ever love me because of my oddity. You were smaller, but… do you remember my affair with… Julie?

- Yes. – Flo's voice turned to a compassionate one as he started to remember what happened and how depressed Mahtab was in those weeks. He turned to face Mahtab, who was obviously crying even now, recalling the events.

- Brother… I am not planning on falling in love with Bonnie. But… if you allowed me to have some other friends than my siblings… if she ever wishes me as a friend…

- Mahtab… - Flo sniffed as well and hugged Mahtab tightly on the neck. – Forgive my silliness… no girl could ever separate us… we are brothers and it means everything.

- So you are not angry with me? – Mahtab asked, unintentionally slipping into a girl1s range.

- But of course not… I love you…

- I love you too. – Mahtab smiled, and dried his little brother1s eyes with his handkerchief.