Disclaimer: Jeesh, way to remind me. I don't own anything here, okay? Okay? Okay. *Sulks* (And thanks for reviewing again, Looketh!)

Characters: For dewdrop6, darkstoneshipping! Platina X Gold.

Summary: Some fluff, and apologies.

Bouquet

~Day after day, time passed away

And I just can't get you off my mind

Nobody knows, I hide it inside

I keep searching but I can't find the courage to show, to letting you know

I've never felt so much love before~

The doorbell sounds. Once, twice. Three times. On the fourth I manage to rouse myself, blotting my nose and hastening over to lean against the door.

"Pardon me, but I am not taking visitors at the moment." Dear Arceus, is that my voice, so frightfully clogged? I sound ghastly. "Come back in a few days." Or quite possibly a month. Whenever my heart stops hurting.

The buzz of the doorbell answers me.

"Excuse me, didn't you hear?" It sounds as if someone's pressing it over and over, drowning me out. "Excuse me?"

It buzzes in reply.

"Oh, very well." I frown, opening it. "W-"

In front of me is a comically large bouquet, hiding the person that carries it. I blink, sure I'm imagining things.

Just when I think that I might be sleeping, that this is all some kind of nightmare, an all too familiar face pops out from behind the cluster of flowers. "'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'" he says, a grin stretching his lips.

My mouth opens and shuts a few times before I am finally able to spit out, "The nerve of you! You dare to slink back here, after you-"

"Platina, please. Please hear me out." His smile dies. I'm glad to see it go. "I came here to apologize."

"I don't want to hear it." To my chagrin, my eyes are leaking, and I hastily wipe them. I won't let him have the satisfaction of seeing me like this. "Get out. Now."

His topaz eyes are huge, his lips twisting down. "I'll leave, if you'll just listen to me first."

I half-turn away from him. "Very well." I blow my nose. "Say what you will, and then leave."

He takes a deep breath before beginning. "Platina. I'm sorry I haven't called you in so long; I know you were worried about me-"

"Worried? Worried?" The laugh that escapes from my mouth hurts in strange ways. "Gold, you didn't call me for a year. An entire year. Then you come waltzing back here without any explanation at all, and-"

"I'm sorry." His eyes are shining, and I have to look away before I begin to cry again. "I'm so sorry. It's complicated, and I'll tell you, I promise, but right now I just want you to know that I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't mean to make you worry. And I'm just wondering if you can forgive me." He gives the bouquet a gentle shake, and the petals glisten like ivory in the moonlight. "I come bearing gifts," he adds half-hopefully.

"That doesn't make things alright."

"No, but I was thinking that maybe it would help just a little." He places the bouquet down in front me and kneels down, black hair tousled, eyebrows drawn together. I don't think I have ever seen him so serious. "Each of these have a different meaning, you know. I was thinking that they would be able to get my message through to you." He beckons me, and I stiffly kneel on my skirts beside him, curious and wary.

"There are a few here that represent you. There's angrec for royalty; cherry blossom for feminine beauty; cowslip for winning grace; and lotus for eloquence." He picks each one up in turn and tucks them into my hair and behind my ears. I'm too emotionally drained- and hopeful- to refuse him. "Then there are others. Agrimony is for thankfulness, and I'm thankful that I met you; broom is for humility, since I'm humiliated that I'm actually whipped enough to go pick out all these flowers and memorize their meanings; white clover means 'I promise', and I promise that I won't ever make you worry again; mignonette is for worth, because even though I know I'm not worthy enough to be with you, I someday hope to be; peony is for shame, because I'm ashamed of what I've put you through; and then there's the red tulip." He retrieves that one last, closing my hands around its stem. "Red tulips are given as a declaration of love. I've loved you since the very first time I met you, Platinum Dawn Berlitz. And I'm asking you if you can forgive me, and if you love me back."

It feels like my heart is lodged in my throat, swelling until it's too large for my body to contain. "Yes," I manage to gasp, even as I begin to cry again. I reach forward and wrap my arms around him, abandoning my pride and simply relishing the feel of him being safe and warm and close to me again. "But don't you ever pull something like that again. You had me worried sick."

"Thank you," he says, his arms going around me.

We sat there like fools for a moment before I broke the silence. "You may compare me to a summer's day now, if you wish."

His laughter sends shockwaves through my body. "Whatever you want, Pretty Girl," he chuckles, and takes the chance to drop a kiss on my cheek.

~There's no one like you,

You speak to my heart~