A/N- And I finally get another chapter posted. I'm sorry that this took so long. So you know, the flowers that appear in the story were chosen for their special meanings. According to this one site I looked at lilacs stand for first love, daisies stand for beauty and innocence, and mimosa stand for secret love. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it. Special thanks to Xero Wright for beta-ing this. Please let me know what you think. Reviews make me happy.

Apollo sighed as he left the detention center, feeling a mix of emotions as he walked away. He had gone there at the request of a prospective client and, although he was thrilled that the meeting had gone well and that he finally had another case after such a long drought, he was more than a little angry with himself over how distracted he had been during the meeting. The overcast sky did not help to improve his mood.

Earlier that day, Vera had chosen to accompany Trucy and Pearl to the mall and, although he was pleased that she felt confident enough for such an action, he couldn't help but worry about her. Shaking his head firmly in a vain attempt to clear his mind, he mentally scolded himself and tried to direct his thoughts towards his new client, but found that he could not quite banish Vera from his mind. He was being silly. Apollo could admit that to himself. Vera's confidence grew every day and one thing he had learned from spending so much time with her was that she was far from weak. There were few people who could undergo everything Vera had been through and still come out of it okay, but she was more then managing it. Vera was flourishing.

Apollo smiled as he thought about her, feeling a strange flutter in his chest as he pictured her lovely face in his mind. He then quickened his pace a bit as he walked towards the office, hoping that Vera would be back.

As he continued to hurry to the office, Apollo found himself so caught up in his own thoughts that he was barely paying attention to where he was going and, as a result, suddenly found himself falling to the ground as his foot connected with an object that he hadn't seen and he tripped. Groaning softly, he pushed himself off the ground. What was with him?

"Are you alright, sir?" An anxious voice came from beside him.

Turning to look at the source of the voice, Apollo saw a woman kneeling beside him, a concerned look on her face. She was older then he was, perhaps in her thirties, with short black hair and brown eyes. "I'm fine," Apollo responded ruefully, his face reddening a bit as the embarrassment hit him. "I... I guess I just wasn't watching my step." Smiling weakly, he rubbed the back of his head.

Seeing that Apollo was indeed okay, the woman smiled at him. "I'm sorry. This is my fault. I should be more careful where I lay my flower pots." Motioning at the shop behind her, she added, "This is my flower shop, but I often like to set up a small stand outside too. I have always believed that you can't truly appreciate the beauty of flowers through glass. You need to see them up close."

"I think that I can agree with that," Apollo responded with a smile. His eyes glancing back to the area where he had tripped, Apollo saw that he had in fact fallen over a small stack of flower pots which had been sitting on the sidewalk. Standing up and brushing himself off, Apollo walked over to the pots to look them over. Relieved to see that they appeared undamaged, he glanced back at the flower shop owner and said, "It looks like they survived intact. I'm sorry. I should have been paying more attention to where I was walking."

"Nonsense," the woman answered. "I should never have laid those pots so far from my stand. I'd like to try and make it up to you. Why don't you take one of these bouquets? You can give it to that special lady in your life."

"My s-special l-lady," Apollo stuttered a bit as he repeated this last part, caught off-guard by the way Vera's image floated through his mind at the thought. Shaking his head quickly, he added, "I-I'm afraid that I don't have one." Hesitating for a moment, he glanced at the flower stand. The various flower arrangements were truly beautiful. It wouldn't really hurt to get Vera a gift... just as a friend of course. "I actually will take one, but I want to pay for it. I'm to blame for this too, so there's no reason that should feel like you need to make anything up to me."

"Are you sure?" the flower shop owner asked, sounding surprised. Seeing Apollo nod, she smiled gratefully at him. Walking towards the nearby stand, she said, "Okay then. Why don't you come over here then? Is there anything specific that you had in mind?"

"Not really," Apollo admitted as he followed the store owner. Indecisively, Apollo examined the flowers, unsure about which ones Vera would like the most. "What would you recommend?"

"That depend on who these flowers are intended for," the flower shop owner answered. "Why don't you tell me a bit about this girl?"

Surprised by the question, Apollo paused for a moment to consider the question. How would he describe Vera? It seemed like such a simple question and yet as he stood there in silence, biting his lip gently, he found that the words seemed to elude him. Becoming painfully aware of the awkward silence that had fallen between them, Apollo forced himself to speak. "Well... she's really kind, gentle, and innocent. Smart, talented... she's just a wonderful person." Apollo smiled broadly as he spoke.

"You seem to be very fond of this girl," the shop owner commented with a knowing smile of her own, noting the way Apollo smiled and spoke so happily about this girl. "I thought you said that you didn't have a girlfriend."

"I-I don't!" Apollo stuttered, surprised by the comment. "Vera's just a friend. I like her a lot, but she's just a friend." Apollo could feel his heart sink as he said these words, surprised at how much the words hurt. But... it was true, wasn't it? After all, he couldn't imagine that she felt anything more for him than friendship. And... his own feelings certainly didn't extend beyond that, right?

"Is that so?" the shop keeper said, interrupting his thoughts; something for which Apollo was very grateful at that moment. Apollo was a bit nervous about following that train of thought any further, although he couldn't explain why that was so. The woman watched him quizzically for several moments before finally smiling again and shrugging her shoulders. "I apologize then. I just assumed... Well, I suppose that it doesn't matter what I thought. I think I have a decent idea what you should get now. If you'll excuse me for a couple minutes, I'll get the bouquet ready."

"Of course. Thank you," Apollo said quickly as the woman disappeared into the store. Waiting patiently for the store keeper to return, Apollo pulled out his notes from his earlier meeting, trying hard to distract himself so that he his mind wouldn't wander back to his previous train of thought. It was a complication that he definitely didn't need now.

After about five or six minutes, the store owner came back out holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Although Apollo didn't know any of the flowers by name, he could see that the arrangement included large lines of small pink flowers, larger white flowers, and small yellow flowers. Although he hadn't expected to be so impressed by the set-up, Apollo had to admit that the arrangement was stunning.

"Here you are," the shop keeper said with a smile, handing over the bouquet. "It has a mix of lilacs, daisies, and mimosas. I thought that... they fit you and your friend."

"Thank you. It's beautiful," Apollo said cheerfully, admiring the flowers. Pulling out his wallet, he quickly paid and bade the friendly shop keeper a good bye with a broad smile.

As he resumed his walk back to the office, it began to drizzle lightly. Pulling the flowers to his chest to protect them, Apollo broke into a jog, hoping to make it back to the office before it really started to pour. Luckily, it wasn't much further back to the office, and Apollo did indeed end up making it inside before the rain really started coming down. As he fumbled for his key, he felt a rush of excitement at the thought of seeing Vera. He dearly hoped that she had returned.

The disappointment that flooded through Apollo as he opened the door to the darkened office surprised him. Flipping on the light, he set down the flowers carefully on a nearby table, dropped his briefcase on one of the couches with a sigh, and flopped down beside it, not quite sure why he felt so upset. The office was just... so empty. Far more empty than he could remember it being recently. Over the past month, the office had never felt like this. Even when Trucy was off at school and Mr. Wright was out working on whatever project he was busy with, Vera had always been there with him, her smile and soft voice always brightening his day. It just felt strange to come back to back to an empty office. Strange and lonely. Biting his lip, Apollo tried to shove these thoughts away. Pulling out the notes he had taken earlier, he tried to bury these unsettling thoughts beneath his work.

The silence was rather stifling and time seemed to crawl by for Apollo. Finally after about ten minutes though, he heard familiar voices coming through the door. Setting aside his work, Apollo jumped to his feet and quickly went to open the door.

"A-Apollo!" Vera cried when she saw him, her eyes shining happily. "W-We weren't sure whether or not you'd be back."

"So you are here, Polly," Trucy chimed in cheerfully. "Vera was hoping that you'd be back."

Apollo's heart beat a bit faster at this comment, but quickly scolded himself. Surely he was overreacting. "Really?"

"Well... yes," Vera said quietly, her face flushing under his steady gaze. Suddenly unable to look at him, Vera's eyes dropped to the ground. "I-I wanted to find out how your meeting went and..." 'I missed you' were the words she really wanted to say, but she couldn't. Instead she said, "I wanted to tell you about our trip to the mall. It was so much fun."

"I'm glad," Apollo smiled. "Where is Pearl anyway? I don't see her now, but I'm certain she went with you two."

"She had to get back to Kurain," Trucy volunteered. "We actually ended up staying at the mall longer than we thought we would, so by the time we left Pearl needed to head home. Speaking of the mall, I got the best trick at the magic shop! I'm going to practice a lot tonight and then I'll perform it for you and Vera tomorrow!"

"Sure, Trucy," Apollo said, amused by the young girl's enthusiasm. Glancing at Vera, he saw her smile and nod excitedly at the idea.

Just before they walked back into the office, Trucy's cell phone rang. "I'll join you guys in a second," she told the pair as she answered the phone.

As Apollo and Vera walked into the office together, he remembered the flowers sitting nearby. Feeling a bit nervous as he retrieved them, he turned to Vera and held them out for with a tentative smile. "I-I got these for you. I thought it might just a nice gift to celebrate how well you've been doing and how brave you've been." Apollo's voice trailed off awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed as he spoke.

"They're so beautiful," Vera whispered happily, taking the flowers from him. Her eyes were shining and her lovely smile lit up her whole face. Then much to Apollo's surprise, Vera impulsively stepped forward and hugged him. Surprised by her boldness, Apollo stiffened for a second, but then happily returned the embrace.

Much to his disappointment, Vera suddenly pulled away, looking shocked by her own behavior. "I-I'm so-rry," she whispered. "I-I don't... know where that came from." And that was true. What were these feelings rushing through her? Why had she felt compelled to do something so out of character for herself? And why did it feel so right when he held her?

"Don't be," Apollo said, trying to bite back his own dissatisfaction. Although the whole experience had been very brief, it had opened his eyes to a few things. The first was that he had indeed developed feelings for Vera beyond those of friendship, he could no longer deny this fact after the happiness that had come to him when he had held her close, and the second being... that she didn't feel the same. The way she had wrenched herself from his arms was proof enough of that fact. Although Apollo realized that this was important for him to know, it was still a bitter realization. Quickly covering up these thoughts, Apollo pasted on a fake smile, determined not to let Vera know. He wouldn't allow his feelings to harm the friendship they had developed. Even if that was all she could offer him, he would take it willingly. "I understand."

"Really?" Vera asked, unsure of how to proceed. Her emotions were now so muddled by this point that she felt paralyzed. As her mind raced and tried desperately to decide on her next move, an awkward silence fell between them.

The silence didn't last long though. Trucy came skipping through the door a minute or so later. "That was Daddy on the phone," she announced cheerfully. "He suggested that we should head over to Mr. Eldoon's noodle stand now and meet him for dinner." As she watched Apollo and Vera, Trucy suddenly came to realize that something wasn't right. "Is... is something wrong?" Glancing back and forth between them, she said, "Apollo? Vera?"

"No, Trucy. Nothing is wrong." Apollo had to take a couple deep breaths to maintain control of his emotions. This was harder than he had ever imagined. "I think dinner sounds like a great idea. What do you think, Vera?"

"I'd like to go see Mr. Wright again," she answered with a shy smile.

"Then it's settled," Apollo smiled at Vera and Trucy. Even as he said the words, however, they felt like lies. Things certainly didn't feel settled.