there was a knock from outside his dorm room sometime around dinner. harvey had been packing his things for a long night in the library, but paused in doing so and said, loudly, âyeah?â
âitâs me.â bruceâs voice was muffled by the door.
harvey pursed his lips. they had fought the last time theyâd spoken; he didnât remember what exactly it had been about, which was strange. usually every word of their fights stuck to him like a bruise he couldnât stop pushing on. but heâd been overtired lately, most of his thoughts darkly circling the lsat like a whirlpool at their center.
âharvey?â bruce asked.
harvey realized he had gone very still, hand frozen around the strap of his messenger bag, breath stuck in his throat. he exhaled. âdoorâs unlocked.â
bruce entered, in an unusual-for-him burst of color. he was carrying two different floral arrangements, one under each arm, and they stood out against his black peacoat as brightly as a neon sign. harvey raised his eyebrows, silently.
âi wanted to apologize,â bruce said, offering a lopsided smile. his face was pink; impossible to tell if it was from embarrassment or from the chill outside. âi feel bad about how we left things the other nightâi know youâve been working hardââ
ânobodyâs ever bought me flowers before,â harvey said.
âwell,â bruce said, effectively stopped in his tracks. âi guess i ought to do it more often.â
he offered one of the bouquets, hand outstretched, and harvey took it. he didnât have to be a genius to know they werenât grocery store flowers. each arrangement looked like it had been done by hand, at some florist bruce had gone off campus and paid god-knew-how-much toâ
âokay,â harvey said, making up his mind. âi forgive you. letâs not be mad at each other.â
bruce smiled wider, more sincere. âokay. letâs not.â
âtwo bouquets might be overkill, though.â
âi got talked into it,â bruce said. he was lying. harvey knew his tells. probably he was embarrassed about having gone too far, about spending in excess. âi couldnât decide what kind of flowers youâd likeâŠthe florist gave me a deal on them, anyway.â
harvey snorted. âwell. just flip a coin, next time.â