Wow... Black Friday weekend... I don't think I have ever worked so many hours in three days before... But, that's my excuse for keeping you all waiting.

I have accepted that these chapters will never be very long, but I decided that it is because there is no dialogue, and that really makes up a large part of a story. I thank you all for reading and also for your comments, they are so Nice!

Flower meanings at the end of the chapter.

He shouldn't be encouraging this... It was the foremost thought in Harvey's mind as he slipped the small cluster of sweet briar roses into the keyhole of Mike's door at four thirty in the morning. While this thought was insistent, there was another floating around that was just as stubborn. This thought was of how much Harvey enjoyed someone that was able to read between the lines and always figure out the meaning behind what he did. With all the flowers the two had exchanged, never openly, because that was part of the game, not once had either questioned the meanings. That was probably why he had spent nearly half and hour thinking about Mike's last message. He knew what the flower had meant, a bellflower had only one meaning, and Harvey had decided, those three weeks ago, that he was willing to accept the gesture Mike had offered him. They had become friends and it showed in many little ways. Getting drinks after a long day, compromising on late night dinners at the office during exhausing cases, but never more so than in the flowers they exchanged.

He felt very silly standing at Mike's door, holding three flowers while the third was securely in the lock, thinking about all the messages they had exchanged over the last few weeks. Overall, it was nothing more than an excellent way of communicating that was, with the exception of Donna, completely private, but Harvey knew that the tone of the flowers had changed over the last couple of days, becoming more intimate, more personal. He toyed with the three remaining flowers, wondering why he couldn't just knock on Mike's door and explain this all in person.

Part of it was because of the first flower, and he honestly wasn't sure if he would be able to work everything out and be able to relax and enjoy this for whatever it was. The red leaf rose kept drawing his attention, far more so than the striped carnation. Both were lovely, carefully picked out and handled so that the delicate leaves and soft petals didn't get crushed. In a way, Harvey saw as a balance, one canceling out the other. The third flower though... spoke of an uncertainty that he kept away from the world, hidden behind a shield of confidence.

He stood there for a moment more, studying the flowers before deciding, tucking the red-leafed rose and the blue poppy into the keyhole and deciding to throw the carnation away. He turned and left quickly, not wanting to be around in case Mike decided on a whim to leave obscenely early that morning.

Mike didn't answer Harvey verbally, that wasn't Mike's way. He knew that if he tried he would stutter, stammer and make a complete fool of himself. So, he waited, looking for the perfect way to answer, making certain to smile more, and show his friend that he simply didn't have the answer yet. The last thing Mike wanted was for Harvey to believe that no answer was a refusal. A week later, after three late nights, one evening at a bar, two science-fiction movies and a full Saturday of Star Trek, Mike had his answer. Now, all he needed was the perfect way to deliver it.

The small blossoms looked rather nice together, the brilliant purple of the peony contrasting with the fragile petals of the daisy, and the rich red of the cone shaped Astilbe bringing both together into a lovely design, that Mike pressed carefully between two panes of glass. He spent several minutes setting the glass into a frame and even longer once he got to the office, making sure that the dark brown wood frame was positioned just enough out of the way that it wouldn't bother Harvey but also in a place where he would notice it. Now, all he had to do was wait and see what Harvey would do next.

Briar Roses - A wound to heal

Striped Carnation - No, Refusal, Sorry I can't be with you, Wish I could be with you

Red-leaf Rose - You may hope

Blue Poppy - Why?

Peony - Honor (in China) Bravery (in Japan)

Daisy - Faith in you

Astilbe(False Spirea) - 'I will wait for you.'