Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You’ve been wanting a bit of action lately. You worked for the local police force, but not much ever happened in your small town. You hadn’t grown up here, either, which made you feel even more alienated. 

The report came in as a massive wave, flooding the entire police department. Apparently, this report came from a plethora of people who lived in completely different towns, different areas.

You only heard a gist of the report, but it was a grisly one. A wife had put her husband into a simulation where he could be tortured by complete strangers for money. The wife was profiting off of her husband’s suffering.

You didn’t have a significant other, but you couldn’t wrap your head around the situation. How could someone be willing to hurt their lover for money?

Could you ever do such a thing?

No. You could never. 

Your heart went out to the man, who, unfortunately, had taken his own life after the ordeal. He ‘deleted’ himself from her simulation, wiping his entire existence away. Just like that, a man who had feelings, aspirations, fears, had been taken away.

All because he trusted his wife. 

That’s what you had heard so far. You were not assigned to the case, seeing as you often were forced to take care of patrols and catching people on the road. Not that it ever happened, really.

Everyone wanted to take this case up as it was the most action the city had seen in a while and people all over the world were trying to report on it. 

Harvey Harvington was the man’s name. 

The name had  escaped you until now. You sat in your funky patrol car, a hand me down of sorts, eyes glued to the bits and pieces of various reports you could find online. They were married for ten years, had a son together too.

Had Eun-Mi really been that desperate for funds?

You felt your stomach churn when you saw the transcript of Harvey’s final message to the world. It was his last words, what he wanted to tell everyone who would listen before he perished. 

“If you’re listening to this, I’m already dead. Joy Eun-Mi is a monster. She’s been keeping me inside of a program, abusing me, gaslighting me. She betrayed me. She stole everything from me. My son, my life, my happiness. You can’t let her get away with this. Please. This is my final message to the world. Goodbye.” 

You couldn’t even begin to imagine the kind of pain this man suffered at the hands of his wife. You knew she was already detained and being held at the jail for the investigation. Even worse, their son, Toby, was most likely going to be put in some sort of foster care system if Harvey’s close family couldn’t take him. 

Everything about this case was absolutely atrocious and yet engrossed you. So much so, in fact, that you didn’t acknowledge the calls coming in from the radio until the third time they called your name.

“Yes! Sorry!” You quickly grabbed the radio, bringing it up to your face. 

“Robert is taking over the patrol. Head back to the station.”

The order was brisk and a bit strange. You gave him your confirmation and started the drive back, trying to keep your focus on the current task at hand: driving safely. Every time you reached a stop sign, you paused to think about Harvey. 

What did it feel like to be deleted?

Did it hurt?

You shuddered at the thought before continuing the drive back to the station. You needed more answers. Unfortunately, given your position, you’d only know as much as the public did. 

Which wasn’t much.

It was like that for most cases like this, though. You had hoped all of those years of training would help you learn more about the cases they kept vague, but alas, when you were moved to the small city, you’d been placed in a rather… rookie position.

You sighed, slightly agitated, as you parked your beaten up cruiser. It wasn’t long before you were in the lobby of the station, being told that you had actually missed someone with expired tags.

Had you really been that lost in thought?

And why the hell did they keep an eye on that? Couldn’t someone else have caught them? Before you could ask, they informed you that it had been a set up, a test of sorts.

“You’ve been really distant lately.” 

The observation struck you off guard, but the more you stood in silence thinking about it, the more true the statement became.

“I’m sorry,” was all you could respond.

“Did something happen?” 

“No… just thinking about life and stuff a lot, I guess.” If you told your higher up exactly what was bothering you, you fear that they would make sure you stayed as far away from the case as you could.

Maybe that would be good for you.

“Do you need time off?”

“No, I’m okay.” Time off would drive you insane right now. You would probably spend that time obsessing further about Harvey’s case. Again, not much happened here, so this case seemed to work its way into your very psyche. 

“Alright, well, you need to stay focused, then.” Their tone wasn’t aggressive, but it carried a hint of disappointment in it.

You winced, “Alright, sorry….”

“You can head home early, if you’d like.”

The suggestion sounded a bit tempting. You only had an hour and a half left, anyways. The extra time off wouldn’t drive you as crazy as taking a few days off would.

“Please,” You nodded.

They returned the gesture, “Get some rest. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,”

They carried on with their shift, leaving you alone in the room. After sighing, you started to gather your things. You would either spend the rest of the evening sleeping, reading, or watching a movie.

Anything to keep your mind off of him…

You could probably find the case files real quick… just a little peek. That would quell your curiosity, right? 

Yeah.

Double checking your surroundings, you slowly approached the evidence room. It was a newer case, and so you figured it would be somewhere in here. Your station wasn’t the most organized, despite it being constantly, painfully slow.

You weren’t super adjusted to this room, being sent out on patrols and dealing with other documents, so it took a moment to find your way around. 

But then you found it.

The case file.

You held the Manila folder like it was some sort of sacred text. Staring at it for a bit longer, you set it down on a nearby desk and opened it, revealing its contents. Pictures of what had been discovered at the crime scene, texts pulled from the computer and a few statements from those who were once close to him.

Eun-Mi and Toby Harvington.

His wife and his son.

His final words once again replayed in your mind and you felt your stomach tie itself in knots. The fact that he had once trusted her so deeply only to have her betray him like this in the end. 

She had exploited his pain for money.

He took his own life.

Was she ever going to let him out? Could  there have been a happy ending to this story? That’s one of the things that really bothered you about this case.

You shook your head, closing the file after getting your fill. There wasn’t too much information in there aside from some of the acts that others had inflicted on Harvey… when everyone had just thought he was a program.

Just a game.

It’d be best to leave now, you decided. Before you could leave, something else caught your eye. 

A computer.

Not just any  computer…

Eun-Mi’s computer. 

Your heart rate increased as you rushed over to it, plugging it in and switching it on. As you waited for it to boot up, you closed the door to the evidence room as quietly as you could before grabbing the file once again.

You could’ve sworn you saw a password in here somewhere. You skimmed the pages again, trying to pick out any bit of information you could use to unlock the device.

Aha!

Your hands found the home row on the keyboard and tapped your fingers along the keys. After typing in the password, you pulled back a bit, waiting for it to take it. Hopefully, the password hasn't been changed.

You waited with baited breath, watching the computer process your request before changing to the Home Screen. Practically giddy, you clapped your hands together and started to move the mouse around.

Now what?

You certainly hadn’t thought this far ahead. And if you remembered correctly, everything had been moved onto a flash drive… which… should’ve been with the folder! You returned to where the folder had originally been, rummaging around the stacks of folders and papers until you found the small baggy containing your prize.

The files.

Everything that had been on this computer was now in your grasp. 

It was overwhelming in a way you couldn’t quite describe as you moved  to plug in the flash drive.

Your eyes caught something again.

The recycling bin.

The icon indicated that there was at least one file inside. Could Eun-Mi have deleted  evidence before she was taken into custody? Wouldn’t someone have already checked that? You shook your head, clicking on the icon.

You waited.

When it opened, the window showed a bunch of various files. Documents, videos, executables, a few PNGS. It looked rather… typical.

You scrolled down.

There was a bunch of file types you didn’t quite recognize. Cautiously, you moved the cursor over and clicked on them, restoring them to the desktop. 

The icon was…

You couldn’t help yourself; you clicked on it as fast as you could. The computer screen flickered, and the tower made a few groans, obviously straining to run whatever you had just clicked on. 

There was a horrible shrieking sound, a scream of agony before the pixels finally made a picture you could properly process. 

Harvey Harvington. 

Chapter Text

He didn’t even look human anymore. You reeled, taking a few steps backward as you looked at the figure on the screen. He looked like… a combination of all of the files that had been put in the recycling bin. He had wings, constructed with broken pixels and lines of command prompts. He looked, the best way you could describe it, was almost like a harpy made of broken scripts. 

“Where am I?” He was yelling, screaming, grabbing at his body. 

“Harvey! Harvey, please calm down?” 

“Who are you?” 

You couldn’t even begin to imagine how stressed out he was. Just a few moments ago, he was gone, deceased, lost to the void and now, he was back, fused with whatever junk had been left behind. 

“I work with the police… I-” You rubbed the back of your neck, “I just got nosey and went snooping through Eun-Mi’s computer and-”

He cut you off, “So you know what she did? What she did to me?” 

“Yes,” You answered firmly. 

He stared at you, his bloodied face an eerie glow on the screen. The entire situation was surreal to you and you took a moment to pinch yourself. Harvey was still on the screen, he hadn’t faded. 

This was real. 

“Can you get me out of here?” His voice was shaky and tears welled up in his eyes, “Please tell me you can help me.”

“I… I think so,” You weren’t a pushover when it came to tech, but you had never experimented with simulations or whatever the heck Eun-Mi had done with him, “But I’ll need to bring you home.” 

The statement would’ve been even weirder if he was outside of the computer, you concluded. 

“What- you can’t get me out right now?” His voice was panicked. His mutated hands pressed against the screen and his eyes were wide in terror. 

“I- no, not yet. I will get you out of there Harvey.” You were firm, furrowing your eyebrows. 

“You’re not just… going to trick me, are you?” 

Ouch. 

“I’m not like her.” You told him, “I’m not going to betray you.” A pang of sadness took a hold of your heart and you felt your hands shake. Slowly, you reached out to the screen, pressing your palm against his in an attempt to calm him down, “I’m going to get you out of there, Harvey.” 

You heard the door creak open behind you and before you could even process anything, you turned off the monitor and twisted around.

“Yes?”

“What are you doing in here? I thought I just sent you home!” 

You stumbled over your words, “Sorry- just…” 

“Drop this case, please.” 

How did they know? 

“I had a feeling it had something to do with Harvey’s case. I know we don’t really get a lot of action here but,” They approached you, placing a hand on your shoulder, “Leave this for those who can handle it, please.” 

You nodded. 

Your face remained neutral, unchanging, you stood your ground, though, watching as your higher up turned to leave. As quickly as you could, you stuck in the flash drive that contained the evidence, moving Harvey, much to his chagrin, onto it before ejecting it. 

Hopefully, this wouldn’t mess with anything. You could’ve just doomed this man, but you had to take this chance. They wouldn’t be able to help him. 

Not like you could. 

Leave this for those who can handle it. 

Rage and frustration tore through you as you clutched the flash drive close to your body. You stormed out of the room, bringing your stuff with you. You didn’t bother to even look at anyone as you left the station. 

If they didn’t think you could handle this, they were horribly wrong. You’ve been waiting for something like this, and now, with the skills you had, you could easily solve this case. You could be the hero of this town. 

You could help Harvey. 

The guilt you felt for him could be erased and you could help him get his life back, help him get his son back. 

Give him justice. 

You walked home, your head low as you remained lost in your own thoughts. This was a big responsibility, and maybe you were being a bit reckless, in a sense, but you had a sneaking suspicion that those back at the station wouldn’t be able to help him.

After all, they didn’t even bother to check the recycling bin!

Who knows how long Harvey would’ve been in there? What if they never checked? What if he was doomed to be stuck in there for all eternity?

They would thank you later.

Harvey would certainly thank you. You just needed to figure out a way to get him out of the computer, out of the files and back into the real world. His statement would certainly prove a sturdy case against Eun-Mi. Justice would be served.

As long as he was still alive. You held onto the flash drive, palming it like a sacred stone as you entered your home. You set down your belongings, moving to turn on your own computer. It was far better than what the station had. The computer they used ran on an old version of Windows and it was incredibly slow.

Who even knew what Eun-Mi used. Maybe her system was more up to par with yours. You hoped it didn’t surpass your own. 

“Here we go, Harvey.” 

You took out the flash drive and plugged it in. Your computer whirred, making a humming sound as it processed all of the files on the drive. Nervously, you held out, holding your breath as you watched the screen. 

The file explorer opened the drive, showing you the files you had seen earlier. You clicked on Harvey, biting your lower lip as you counted the seconds. Your cursor shifted into a spinning, blue circle. 

Normally, anytime you saw this circle, you rolled your eyes, but now, it would indicate if you had finished Harvey off. 

“What are you doing!?” 

You stumbled back, grabbing at your chest as Harvey appeared on the screen again. 

“Who is that?” 

“Harvey,” You interrupted him, “I’m sorry, but I… I took you home with me so I can try and figure out how to get you out of there.” 

That seemed to get him to calm down a bit. His wings, made from broken coding, fluttered a bit. He picked at them, tugging on the glitchy feathers. He muttered something to himself as he plucked a feather out and observed it. 

You went to work, researching simulations and how far the technology had come. There wasn’t much to go off of on your regular browsing spots, so you consulted somewhere else… a forum of sorts. 

Harvey Harvington could see everything you were doing, obviously, as he was practically living inside of your computer now. He remained on the side of the screen, almost like the Shimejis you heard of back in the day. 

A part of you wanted to pick at him with your cursor, but you could tell he was still incredibly tense. 

“Harvey,”  You started, “Do you remember what the program was called?” 

He answered you before adding, “Where’s Eun-Mi?”

“Jail. They’re holding her for further investigation.” You recalled, “Toby is with… his aunt?” 

Harvey huffed, “Great. She’s… he’s probably miserable. She never gives him any dessert! Poor lad,” 

Your heart skipped a beat. He was such a great father, or, at least, from what you could tell. Again, you barely knew this man and yet something had drawn you to him. Here he was, stuck inside your monitor. 

His eyes, red now from whatever trauma he had suffered, locked with yours, “Have you heard anything else about Toby?”

“I haven’t,” You sighed, “I’m not… really involved in your case,” 

He looked as though  he wanted to question you about your motives, but he probably figured he shouldn’t jeopardize his freedom. 

“I just wanted to help you,” You admitted, “They really don’t think I can handle something like this.” You further explained, “But I know I can help you and once you’re free again, you can… start the healing process.” 

You knew his life would never be the same again. The woman he had trusted for so long had betrayed him in pursuit of money. 

Or was it something more than money? Did she truly hate him? Would you ever find out her true intentions? Maybe after you saved Harvey you could question her. 

What would happen after you freed him?

You really hoped everything would turn out well. As well as it could, anyways. 

With a little more research, you were able to figure out how to undo the simulation and how to bring Harvey back. It would take a few hours, which meant you had time to prepare for his arrival. 

Would he return in his glitched-out state? Or would he be just as clean and healthy as he was when he went in? Would he die? Would his wounds be fatal for him? 

You focused your time on gathering medical supplies and making your couch a bit more comfortable for him. You prayed that he wouldn’t be bleeding out when returned to the world of the living. 

Two and half hours left. 

You decided to pass the rest of the time with chores. You did your laundry, swept, vacuumed, and even cooked a bit of food for him. Again, there was no guarantee that this would even work, but Harvey did seem much more positive. 

“Yes! That’s it! That’s how we did it! I’m going to be okay!” 

The smile on his face was contagious and even in his beaten state, you returned the expression. 

“You’re going to be free soon, Harvey. You’re going to get to see Toby again.” 

You were setting it all straight, what you were doing was great. You were going to be a hero. Why did you need to keep telling yourself that? You felt such a horrible, sneaking, gut-wrenching anxiety that you couldn’t understand. 

Everything was going to turn out okay, right? 

An hour left. 

You brought out a few coffee mugs, filling them with boiling water and steeping two bags of chamomile tea for the two of you. 

Thirty minutes left. 

Now your gaze was transfixed on the screen. You couldn’t stop staring at it as the bar continued to fill. Time was almost up. Harvey sat in the  bottom right of the screen, staring up at the bar with wide eyes. 

He rubbed his own arms, shivering a bit. 

“Are you ready?” You asked. 

“Yes.” He answered. 

Were you ready? 

Chapter Text

Three.

Two.

One.

You waited, holding your breath. Your computer hummed and then everything went black. 

“Harvey?” Your voice strained and you rushed over to the screen. Your hands shook, but you couldn’t bring yourself to touch the system. Was it working? Or had your system just fried, taking Harvey with it? 

Did you just ruin the only chance this man had at being free? At getting his life back? You hiccuped, feeling the dread creeping up your spine as you called out to him, beckoning him from the void. 

Your lights went out. 

All electricity stopped, the sudden silence deafening in a sickening irony. You raised your hands to your chest, trying to slow your racing heart, but to no avail. 

Where was he?

Everything turned back on at once. 

The lights were all blinding for a moment as your computer audibly clicked, whirring back to life. 

“Harvey?”

There was a gasp, almost a choked sound as you heard the ruffling of fabric and the click of dress shoes. He was there.

Harvey Harvington. 

He stood, staring at you with wide eyes before smiling like a maniac, “You did it!”

You did it!!!

You let out your breath, nearly buckling over onto your knees as relief washed over you. 

“I’m free!” He continues to chirp like a songbird, “I’ve seen better days, but I’m outside of that stupid simulation!”

Seen better days?

Yes, now you could see what he meant. His suit was in tatters and there were a few bleeding wounds on his body. One of his eyes was covered in blood, but now, it looked like both of them were intact. 

His hair was an absolute mess, lines of bright, cotton candy pink stuck out from his head in disarray. He had a couple of bruises on his pale skin too.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” You helped him over to the couch, making sure he got comfortable. That part of the nightmare was over.

Now it was time to focus on helping him recover.

That was what you thought, anyway.

As you grabbed the bandages and warmed wash-clothes you set out earlier, Harvey’s glee faded and something much darker took a hold of him.

He was thinking about Eun-Mi, wasn’t he? He was thinking about all of the horrible pain he went through and how he could never let go of it now. 

“It’ll be okay,” You tilted his head up so you could apply an ice pack to one of the bruises. 

“I don’t think so,” With venom in his words, Harvey glared at you, “She’s still out there, isn’t she?”

“Legal repercussions will come for her, Harvey. Your story isn’t done yet. This case isn’t being taken lightly,” You told him, “They didn’t even want me near the evidence…” You sighed, “She will not go unpunished.”

He grunted, furrowing his brow as you applied more pressure.

The sounds of discomfort were all you got out of him for the time being now. You really wondered what went on in his head. 

There must’ve been so much. You could only begin to imagine the overwhelming emotions he felt. Everything he ever knew had been upturned in a brutal and cruel way. His life would never be the same now. 

Why him?

Wrong place, wrong time? 

“Your case is so serious,” You told him again, “I promise, Harvey, justice will be served.”

“What kind of justice?” He finally muttered, “Will the judge and jury even sentence her to a proper punishment? Or will she just spend a few years in jail before returning to finish me off?”

You couldn’t answer his question as you didn’t know Eun-Mi well enough. From what you heard, she sounded as though she was drowning in guilt over what she did to her husband. But then again, she could’ve been acting. 

Which would’ve been sickening beyond belief. 

“Whatever her sentence is, Harvey, it’ll be swift and it’ll be just.” Because there wasn’t much to do around here, the police took their time with finding suitable sentences when persecuting those who had broken the law. 

Eun-Mi wouldn’t be different. 

The case was more severe, of course, but they wouldn’t rush to try and pick a random span of jail-time. You had a feeling you couldn’t convince him, which was fair. 

“It won’t be enough,” he rumbled. You moved, cautiously, to press the back of your hand on his forehead.

He was terribly warm.

“You need to rest… I know you’ve been through Hell and back, but you really need to just lay down. Stress will only make things worse right now.” You ordered softly. He leaned back in his seat, mumbling to himself like a pouting child.

You continued to tend to his wounds. They seemed absolutely endless, everytime you would clean one up and patch it, you’d find another and the process would start all over. Were these wounds just appearing?

That wouldn’t make sense.

You stood for a moment to retrieve more supplies, keeping an eye on him from afar to make sure he didn’t move. Harvey remained seated, absentmindedly running a hand through his mangled hairdo. When you returned to him, you took a closer look at his mane.

The color was beautiful, vibrant like a peony. Every hair was dyed down to the roots, making the color bold and brilliant. Under the smell of blood and sweat, you could pick up a light cologne, one that he had certainly picked with great care.

Who would wear cologne into a simulation? Harvey, apparently. You wanted to compliment him, but prying about his appearance could make him self conscious. You thought he was gorgeous. Underneath his tattered suit, you could feel the rippling muscles of a healthy man. If circumstances had been different… 

Once again, Harvey fell silent, staring into the void as you continued to tend to his wounds. They looked even worse than before, somehow, as if the wounds were catching up to him. One of his eyes started to lose focus.

You didn’t mention it, but Harvey certainly noticed. He clutched his eye.

“No! No! I just got it back- please!”

His incessant begging did not prevent the eye from clouding, suddenly becoming blind. 

“What’s happening?!” He cried, now pushing off of the couch. You held your hands out, trying to keep him from leaping upward.

“Maybe- it’s like lag? The simulation is catching up to you!” The sudden realization was horrifying for both of you as Harvey’s condition rapidly worsened right before your eyes. You should’ve prepared for something like this to happen, but you had assumed his condition wouldn’t decline after he left. 

But it was.

He could die right now.

You helped him up, “We’re going to the hospital.” You needed more time to put a story together, more time to think of how you would explain that you snuck Harvey home and freed him despite the fact you definitely should not have. 

No, you couldn’t doubt yourself.

His life was at stake.

“I don’t want to die!” He sobbed. He held onto him with one arm, using the other to reach for your phone. You called for an ambulance, which would certainly cost you an arm and a leg later but… there was no time to waste. You didn’t have a car here and you didn’t have time to flag someone down for help. 

This was the next best thing.

“I won’t let you die, Harvey,” You told him firmly, “We’re going to get you help… but can you tell me some of the other injuries you suffered so I can try and patch them up as they appear?”

He couldn’t think straight and started pleading with an unseen force, begging the very Gods to spare him and to let him live a happy life. Your heart raced as you paced by your door. Harvey was propped up now, holding himself against the wall.

During his panic attack, he had pushed his body against it, tearing away from you. 

You tried to remain calm externally, not wanting to make the situation worse, “They should  be here at any moment,” You told him, offering a hand to him.

He took it, pulling himself forward to fall into your arms weakly. 

You led him outside, acting as a support for him as his legs grew weak. He buckled over, relying solely on your strength once you reached the sidewalk.

He gasped, crying and screaming as he deteriorated further. It was getting harder and harder to look at him. 

His eye was gone.

Massive burns started to appear all over his skin.

Some of his teeth were falling out.

“Let me see my son! Please!”

You squeezed him tightly.

“They’re coming, Harvey.”

He trembled in your grasp, gagging on the mouthfuls of blood that he couldn’t swallow. He was making a mess now and you tried to use your clothing to clean him up. No amount of bandaids would help him now.

Was he going to die?

He couldn’t, not after everything. He was going to be alright. He had to be alright. He had to live, not for you, not just for himself, but for his son. 

Finally, the sounds of sirens in the distance.

“Here they come,” You whispered.

There was no response.

No more crying, no more pleading.

“Harvey?”

You tried to meet his gaze, but his working eye was closed. The other eye still gushed with crimson, dripping down his face. His entire body was limp. 

“Harvey?!”

You slowly sat down, taking him with you. You held him in your arms: the man you barely knew. If he died here, perhaps a piece of you would go with him. You had only tried to help him and now… what if this was all your fault?

What if trying to bring him back like this was the worst way of doing it?

“…Harvey….”

You pressed your head into his chest, praying.

One.

Two.

A heartbeat, shallow, nearly silent. He was still alive. His wounds must’ve sent him into shock. Despite how gruesome he appeared, he was still alive!

The ambulance pulled in front of you, the drivers jumping out. 

They called out to each other, trying to figure  out what he needed; how they could help him. You didn’t know. You were speechless. 

That was until they put him in the back and left you behind.

“Harvey! Take me with you!” 

The drivers, thankfully, let you tag along after you told them Harvey was your friend. Thank the Gods they believed you. 

You remained by his side as he continued to fight for his life in the back of the ambulance. 

Chapter Text

The ride was all a blur, you might’ve wept, but you couldn’t quite remember. The sounds of sirens wailing became distant to you as you faded. You remained awake, but even as you tried to follow Harvey into the ER, you felt so very far away, as if your feet weren’t quite hitting the ground. 

The nurses asked you questions you didn’t know how to answer and you were led to the waiting room, away from Harvey.

“What happened?”

That was one of the worst questions because you had no idea how to answer it. How were you going to explain the entire situation in a way that could be understood by those who didn’t know about his case?

Oh yeah- I took him out of the Recycling Bin and restored him in the real world. No nurse without knowledge of simulation tech was going to take that as an answer. 

Before you could answer, the nurse was pulled away abruptly. You strained your ears, leaning toward the nurses to hear what they were discussing. It wasn’t like you, but in a desperate and painful situation like this, you needed to know everything they were saying. 

“His ID… he’s… the man on the news.”

“What?”

“Harvey Harvington!”

“Keep your voice down!”

A few of the other people in the waiting room perked up. 

The nurse that questioned you before returned to you with wide eyes, “Are you… his partner?”

“No!” You answered, almost in a shout, “No- he has a wife- I’m not… we’re just friends.” At first, you were rather flustered by the assumption of being his partner, but after a moment of further thought, you realized that they might’ve thought you were the one who hurt him like this. 

“I thought he was dead-” The nurse shivered. 

“Me too,” Your voice went quiet. You rocked back and forth anxiously in your seat, “Can I see him?”

“Not until he’s stable,” The other nurse told you, “We will keep you updated on his condition, alright?” 

You nodded, knowing that there wasn’t much else you could do for him right now. All you could do was wait here, sitting in this frigid, sterile waiting room, praying for him. It was already agonizing, to say the least. 

Fidgeting and using your phone kept you occupied for the time being. Of course, your thoughts always went back to Harvey and how horrible he looked before he fell unconscious. His condition worsened so quickly, you felt as though he was wasting away in your fingertips. 

Could it be stopped?

Would he be okay? 

You rubbed the bridge of your nose, closing your eyes and trying to calm your nerves. Emotions, overpowering, forced you to buckle over and you felt them all well up inside of you. It was a volcanic eruption that you hadn’t seen coming. 

Your body reacted the way it always did to panic, and you gained the attention of a few other people waiting in the room with you. They didn’t stare for long, realizing that you could’ve been experiencing grief. 

; Grief.

He couldn’t die. 

He was going to be okay… right? 

Your throat ached, being pulled tightly from the panic, from the anxiety eating away at you. Why did you care about him so much? Did you see a part of yourself in him? Or did you just feel bad for him? 

Whatever it was, you were drawn to him from the start and now you were here. Maybe it was because of how his wife had done him so terribly wrong, or maybe it was because he had a son that he truly cared for. 

It was all too much. 

You covered your eyes, burying your face in your hands. 

Time went by slowly, and you remained completely still, mentally distancing yourself from everything. It took a terribly long time, but you heard someone moving toward you. 

“Excuse me?” 

You perked up.

Your heart raced and you clutched your hands together. Now you’d get the news, now you’d know…

“He’s stable if you’d like to go and visit with him.” 

That breath you’d been holding ever since you were approached finally left your lips. Your shoulders slumped a bit and you nodded your head. Maybe there were tears in your eyes…

Immediately, you followed the nurse back, deeper into the hospital, until you were finally brought to him… until you were finally with Harvey again. 

His eyes were closed and he was hooked up to an IV. Stitches and bandages littered the exposed parts of his body as a hospital blanket was pulled up to his clavicle. 

The nurse gestured for you to enter. Slowly, carefully, not wanting to disturb him, you entered the room, walking over to Harvey’s side. 

Your hands shook as you reached out to him, placing it on his shoulder. 

His eyes opened. 

“Harvey…” You murmured, “How are you feeling?”

Closer now, you could see how horrid he looked. His body looked terribly frail and his right eye was bandaged up entirely. His hair was undone, now drooping like the leaves of a weeping willow tree down to his shoulders. Stitches had been applied to the left side of his mouth, running along the length of his face.

He was still so bloody…

In his groggy state, he just shook his head. 

He looked so defeated. 

You ran your thumb along his shoulder, “I’m here for you, alright? You’re going to make it and you’re going to get to see your son again. 

The last part seemed to make him perk up a bit. He did not smile, however, but his visible eye held a glint of determination. 

You had to keep that fire burning bright inside of him, you had to keep reminding him not to give up. You didn’t know Harvey well enough to know if he would simply give up on his own life if the pain got too bad, but you couldn’t risk it. 

He had to survive. 

Harvey let out a huff of air through his nose and looked over at the heart rate monitor, staring at it for a moment before turning his gaze back to you. 

“You’re still here.” 

“I’ll always be here,” You responded, “Whenever you need me, Harvey, I’ll be there for you.” 

He blinked, slowly, groggily, “Why?” 

“Because that’s what you deserve.” 

The words left you naturally; you barely had to think about what you were saying, not because that’s what he probably wanted to hear, but because that’s what your heart was telling you. 

You wouldn’t let him down. 

From what you had seen and heard, Harvey had a heart of gold and being tossed in the recycling bin by his own wife was not what he deserved. That should not have been his fate. 

But here he was. 

Harvey’s breathing grew a bit louder and it took you a moment to realize that he had fallen asleep. You refused to leave his side, pulling a chair close to his hospital bed so you could continue to watch over him like some sort of an angel. 

You reclined in your uncomfortable hospital seat, finding peace in the sound of the heart rate monitor. He was alive and the rhythmic sound of his heart lulled you to sleep. Your eyes closed and you felt your body relax. 

Finally. 

Your dreams were violent as you could picture Harvey bleeding out right in front of you. Try as you might, you couldn’t do anything to help him. It was as if he was melting in your hands, dripping through your fingers. 

Suddenly, you were jolted awake. 

“Visiting hours are over.” 

You looked up at the nurse.

You couldn’t protest, the rules were the rules, unfortunately, and you had no authority in such a place. Not that you had much authority at your job, either. 

“You can come back tomorrow,” The nurse smiled softly. 

A million questions ran through your mind and you wished you could ask them all, but you had to leave. It was time for you to go home. 

With a slight grunt, you hoisted yourself out of the seat and walked toward the door. Before leaving him for the night, you took another good look at Harvey.

He was still sleeping, his heart rate hadn’t increased. He was doing better than he was before. No longer dying. He was going to be okay for the night. 

A sneaking fear took a hold of you: what if he passed away while you weren’t here? What if he couldn’t survive these wounds? 

You couldn’t think like that. You would drive yourself crazy if you let those thoughts take a hold of you. 

“He’s in good hands.” The nurse told you as if they could read your mind. 

It was enough, though, and you allowed them to lead you out of the hospital. 

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” You told them. 

The walk home felt terribly long and imposing. There was a chill in the air, one that gripped you by your exposed skin and rattled your bones. You kept your pace as quick as you could without jogging. 

You tried to wrangle your thoughts, keeping them focused only on the positives for the time being. You’d have to take one day at a time. One thing you couldn’t quite shake, was how protective you were over him. 

Never before had your morals led you to do such a thing. You were always pure at heart, but you had never saved someone’s life before. You joined the police force here because you wanted to help people, but you’d never imagine doing anything quite like this. 

Why Harvey?

Had fate brought you two together? 

He took up every thought in your mind. The glint in his eyes, the color of his hair, it was like he had a chokehold of your brain. This feeling wasn’t one you had a lot of experience with, either, which made it a bit worse. 

You were sure that everything would fall into place eventually, for the time being, though, you needed to focus on Harvey’s wellbeing. ;

And, well, yours as well. 

As you entered your home, a wave of fatigue struck you, beckoning you to your bed. You barely acknowledged the pools of blood that had dried on your floor as you hobbled off toward your bedroom. 

Your head hit the pillow and you expected to fall asleep almost immediately. 

You couldn’t, though. 

Sleep would not take you and your mind remained conscious enough to replay the entirety of today over and over. 

You reached out… no Harvey. 

You’ll see him tomorrow. Please sleep.

You repeated the mantra, trying to count sheep. In your worry and in the middle of your counting, sleep finally found you. 

Chapter Text

As soon as you were conscious again, you got ready and rushed back over to the hospital. You barely let yourself think of anything else other than Harvey. You needed to see him, needed to know that he was doing better. His condition was probably about the same, but again, you just had to see it for yourself. 

You spoke with the lovely woman working at the front desk, telling her who you were here to see. 

“What is your relation to the patient?” 

“Friend.”

You hoped the answer was enough. 

She furrowed her brow for a moment, making your heart sink. Thankfully, her smile returned and she gave you a visitor badge. She had a nurse lead you back through the winding hallways, towards Harvey. 

His room was freezing cold, as was the rest of the hospital, but he looked as cozy as he could. His blanket was still pulled up and his visible eye was still closed. The nurse knocked on the doorframe.

“Someone is here to see you, Harvey.” 

He opened his eye, moving his gaze to meet yours.

He smiled softly. 

“Hi Harvey,” You whispered, moving back to his side, “Sorry I had to leave last night.” 

“It’s okay,” His voice was strained, his throat tight: he cleared it, “Where’s Toby?”

His son. You couldn’t answer that question for him. You knew he was with his aunt but that was it. You didn’t know their exact location or if they even knew Harvey was alive.

“We’ve contacted your family, Mr. Harvington, they’ll be here by noon.” The nurse had a bit of agitation in her tone, as if Harvey had been asking all day. He probably had…

Harvey sighed, leaning back into the hospital bed, his visible eye glossy, “I miss him…”

A pang of sadness so deep struck you and you reached out. You placed your hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, but his grimace remained. His blue eye teared up further until they rolled over. He cried softly, his shoulders shaking.

“Where is my son?”

“You’ll see him soon,” You reminded him. It was the best you could do for now. Maybe there was a way to distract him, “How about I turn on a movie to watch until he comes?” You offered.

Harvey sniffled, “Okay,” 

You’d never seen a man weep quite like Harvey before and it made your heart ache. You could practically feel his anguish. 

You managed to connect your phone to the hospital’s TV with airplay, which meant you weren’t stuck watching a show about a bunch of hillbillies making moonshine. Once connected, you allowed Harvey to direct you, letting him pick the movie.

It was some sort of a rom-com, which was fitting for who Harvey was, or at least, who you could tell he once was. Even with the movie playing, he continued to cry softly, holding onto his blanket tightly. 

You kept your hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him by reminding him of your presence. You understood why he was nearly inconsolable…

“Will he be here soon?”

“I don’t know, Harvey.”

“She won’t be here, right?”

His tone shifted, like a growl. At first, you thought he might be referring to Toby’s aunt, but the palpable hatred in his eyes told you he was speaking of his wife. 

Eun-Mi.

“The next time you’ll be seeing her is in court, Harvey.” You furrowed your brow, “She is not allowed to come near you. As far as most of this town is concerned, she killed you.” 

He listened for a moment, his watery eye on you before he turned his attention to the television. “She killed me,” He repeated, “And she’s not going to get away with it.”

“Correct.” You squeezed his shoulder a bit in affirmation, “I won’t let her.” You didn’t mean for the last part to come out, but it did. You were so entrapped in the thralls of passion and justice, that they slipped out. 

“Thank you,” Harvey reclined a bit more in the hospital bed. He held his own hands tightly to his chest. The bandages needed to be changed soon as you could see crimson leaking through them. 

“Would you like me to get a nurse to change your bandages?” You asked. 

Harvey’s nose wrinkled a bit, “Well… I guess…”

“You don’t want Toby to see you in worn bandages, do you?” 

That seemed to change his mind. You called for a nurse and soon, he was having his bandages taken off. You could see what awaited you underneath. His skin was battered, bruised, burned and covered in sores. 

He was a mess. 

You kept your mouth shut, trying to seem nonchalant about his condition as you didn’t want to stress him out. It was safe to assume by how he cared for himself that he was quite conscious about the way he looked. 

Thankfully, Harvey kept his eye closed, wincing a bit as they changed his dressings. They saved his head wraps for last and now you could finally see his other eye. 

It was gone. 

All that was left was a gore-filled hole. You swallowed hard. 

“Is it bad?” 

You couldn’t lie to him, but didn’t want to hurt his feelings. 

“It’s rough.” You told him, “But I’ll get better with time.” 

The nurse tending to him smiled lightly, appreciating the statement. 

Soon he was redressed and just in time too. 

“You have more visitors, Mr. Harvington.” 

Harvey’s eye widened and he sat up, nearly pushing himself off of the bed. A massive grin appeared on his face and you followed his gaze. 

A woman stood in the doorway, one that you didn’t recognize. What really made your heart smile was the little boy that rushed into the room.

“Daddy!” 

“Toby! Little lad!” 

“Careful, Toby!” The woman warned. 

“It’s okay!” Harvey reached out to his son, pulling him in for a hug. Toby squeezed his father, burying his face. 

“I missed you!” He cried. 

“I missed you too, Toby.” 

You kept your distance, watching the wholesome scene unfold from the seat. 

The woman walked over to Harvey, standing by his feet. Her hair was dark, like midnight, and her eyes were a piercing blue, just like Harvey’s. 

“How are you feeling?” She crossed her arms over her chest. 

Harvey glared at her, still holding Toby close, “How do you think I feel?” He growled. Toby snuggled into him.

“But you’re going to be okay, right, dad?” Toby asked, only moving his head a bit to see his father’s face. 

“Toby, come over here,” His aunt ordered, “You’re just going to hurt him worse,”

“Don’t listen to her,” Harvey spat, “You’re not hurting me, lad.” Toby nodded, holding on. Harvey sat up a bit more, wrapping his arms around Toby and pulling him onto the hospital bed. You helped the little boy climb on. 

“It’s so cold in here,” Toby frowned.

Without thinking, you pulled off your coat and placed it over Toby’s shoulders. The little boy looked up at you with bright eyes and a toothy grin. 

“Thank you… uhm…”

You told him your name and he thanked you again. Harvey pulled him in close, grunting a little bit as his son adjusted. Your heart swelled gleefully as they held onto each other lovingly. Finally, they were together again. 

Hopefully, Harvey’s life would start to get a bit better now that he had his son back. Toby’s aunt remained at the foot of the bed, prodding Harvey with more and more questions. The tension in the room started to rise once again. 

“I really don’t want to talk about it right now.” Harvey huffed. 

“Well, too bad, you have to. I told you she was no good for you.” 

“Really? You act like you were there for me when-”

“Blood’s thicker than water, Harvey. You can’t get a new family, but you could get a new wife.” 

You watched as Harvey’s heart rate monitor display a spike. He clenched his fists and you stood from your seat. The woman watched you.

“And who are they?” She hissed.

“A friend,” Harvey quickly responded, “They’ve already shown me more care than you have in the past year.”

The woman let out an annoyed sound, “Whatever, Harvey, if you’re not going to listen to me, then you’re on your own.” And just like that, she stormed away like a frustrated toddler. Toby did not follow her, staying with his father.

“Wow…” You frowned, rolling your eyes, “She was… hm.” 

“She’s a meanie,” Toby pouted, “She doesn’t give me dessert.” 

“I know, Toby,” Harvey rubbed his back, “But you don’t have to worry about that anymore.” 

“I don’t?” Toby’s voice picked up. 

“Yeah, she’s not going to get to see you ever again… for being a meanie.” Harvey told him, “You’ll get dessert every night from now on, alright, lad?” 

You grinned, watching the father and son embrace each other. 

“Can we watch a movie?” His son asked. 

You pulled out your phone, “Anything you want, Toby.” You mewed. You brought your phone over to him, letting him see the wide selection of films and shows until he decided on a surprisingly classic animated film. 

“Great choice, lad.” Harvey purred. The man lifted his blanket a bit, grunting as he tried to pull it out from under Toby.

You moved to the other side of the bed, helping him move the blanket so he didn’t end up hurting himself. He huffed, thanking you as you tucked the pair of them in. Soon, they were comfortable, watching the movie you put on. 

After you returned to your seat, you watched the film with them, finally feeling a great sense of comfort. It was… almost like you were a family. You started to doze off again, pulling your chair a bit closer to them. 

Harvey let you, raising his arm a bit to pull you in. 

You hummed thoughtfully, leaning into him. 

“Hey dad,” The boy groggily lifted upward, propping himself up on his elbows, narrowly avoiding his father’s stomach, “Where’s mom?” 

The moment was spoiled, ruined by the question. It was a very valid one, but it stung like a venomous bite. 

You sucked in a breath, pulling away from Harvey to give him space both physically and mentally. 

Harvey remained silent for a moment, letting his head fall in utter defeat. 

“She’s… she’s somewhere else now.” He said, “She’s… we’re not going to see her for a little while.” 

“Why did the police take her away?” Toby added. 

“She did something bad.” He responded.

“What did she do?” Toby continued to pry. 

“She…” Harvey’s visible eye started to water, “She really hurt me,” 

“Why?” 

“I don’t know…” 

Toby started to sniffle, burying his face once again, “I love you, dad,” 

“I love you too, Toby… we’re going to be okay.” 

You really hoped he was right. 

Chapter Text

“Visiting hours are over.” 

Once again, a nurse had tapped your shoulder, waking you. You looked up at them with heavy eyes before hobbling out of your seat. The nurse pointed at Toby.

“Does he have a ride home?” 

Oh no…

“Well,” You started, “His first ride isn’t allowed to be in contact with him anymore…” You rubbed the back of your neck, “So…”

“Are you able to take him?” 

You swallowed hard. You would need to ask Harvey about that… Carefully, you reached over and tapped his shoulder. It took a few good taps, but soon Harvey’s eyes fluttered open. 

“Hm?” 

“Harvey,” You whispered, “The visiting hours are over and Toby and I need to leave… Do I have your permission to take Toby home with me until tomorrow?” 

He was still horribly groggy. In his sleepy fog, he simply nodded. 

You felt like a Je Rouge, a werewolf that would wake sleeping parents and ask to take their children away… but it needed to be done. Toby had nowhere else to go right now and surely you could handle him for one night.

Right? 

As gracefully as you could, you grabbed the small child, wrapping your jacket around him once again and pulling him close to your chest. 

He continued to sleep, breathing peacefully in your arms as you left the hospital. The walk home was a bit more difficult with Toby in tow, but you tried to not focus on how heavy he was. 

Soon, you were back. Balancing the five-year old, you unlocked your front door, slipping inside as quietly as you could. 

“Hm?” He stirred in his sleep, “Dad?” 

You grimaced, “It’s okay, Toby. Go back to sleep.” You carried him to the couch, setting him down softly, “We can go back and visit your dad in the morning, okay?” You prayed that the realization that he was away from his father wouldn’t hit him. 

The boy stared up at you, sleep plagued his expression, “Oki,” 

You sighed, letting out the breath you’d been holding. You tucked him in and turned on the kitchen light so he wouldn’t be left in the dark. If he was anything like the other five year olds you knew, you had a feeling he would be violently afraid of the dark.

Which probably only got worse after his father was taken away from him. 

You stumbled to your bedroom, opting to leave the door open just in case Toby needed you. Hopefully, you’d wake up before him, but that was highly unlikely. You were unsure how well he could read, so leaving a note out for him was out of the question. So leaving your door open was the next best thing. 

You rolled back and forth in your bed, unable to truly let your brain catch up to everything. Your life was already so different. Thank goodness you had these last few days off… not like you worked all that often anyways. 

It was enough to pay rent and feed yourself. 

But how long was Toby going to stay here? Surely he would have somewhere else to stay tomorrow night, right? And if he didn’t? 

Well, you already helped Harvey out quite a bit, so what’s stopping you from helping him even more? He seemed to trust you more than his own kin… which was probably because of what he had endured. But perhaps he was just in shock: unable to process that anyone could hurt him like that. 

You would never hurt him like that. 

Watching movies with him, sitting next to him, you could feel a bond forming with him. You weren’t sure if it was one-sided, but you wanted to get to know Harvey more. It was like fate brought you two together.

Hell, his son was literally sleeping in the next room… 

When Harvey was out of the hospital, you could discuss your options with him then. You wouldn’t bombard him with your confusing feelings right now as he had plenty on his plate. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, your eyes started to grow heavy and sleep took a hold of you. 

Your dreams were very unpleasant… to say the least. You could see Harvey, clean and beautiful with an indescribable flair. His voice was sweet like honey and he spoke to you so lovingly. Click on him, those were his instructions.

A bit weird, but whatever.

After clicking him enough, something unlocked in the shop. A feather was given to you and you returned to Harvey. This was just a strange dream, you figured. Why the heck would you be tickling Harvey with a feather?

You regretted asking yourself that as the next item unlocked: a needle. 

You were NOT in control of your body now as you continuously jabbed the needle into Harvey’s flesh, aiming for what hurt the most. You couldn’t stop yourself, even as he begged and pleaded, you couldn’t get your arms to stop jabbing him.

No words left your lips as you grabbed scissors… and it only got worse from there until you finally pulled out a knife.

Harvey begged for his life.

And you finally woke up. 

But not naturally and not by an alarm.

“I’m hungry,” Toby was tugging on your blanket.

You rubbed your eyes, rolling over to look at the time. Six in the morning. Was that a regular time for such a young child to wake up? You shook your head, crawling off of the bed. 

“Alright, Toby, let’s get you something yummy to eat.” You led him to your kitchen, taking note of his penguin-like waddling on your tile floor, “Let’s see what we have…” You opened your pantries only to be heavily disappointed. You tried the fridge next… well, you could work with some of this.

Then you tried the freezer.

Perfect!

“How about chocolate chip waffles for breakfast?” You asked.

Toby’s eyes lit up and he bounced around joyfully. “Yes please! Yes please!” 

He was quite well mannered! 

“Alrighty, then let’s get those all cooked up for you.” You plugged in your toaster, lightly browning the waffles and serving them to Toby. You put a small square of margarine on them as well as a line of syrup.

“Thank you!” He grinned. 

You made yourself some waffles, brewing a cup of coffee before joining him, “Would you like something to drink?”

Toby, with his mouth full, simply nodded.

“We have milk, water, or juice.” You told him. 

He swallows the food in his mouth, “Milk, please!”

You smiled at the boy before giving him a cold glass of milk. You set the cup down and his small hands wrapped around it immediately.

“Dad says milk will make me big and strong!” Toby announced, not clearing his milk-mustache from his upper lip.

“He’s right, you know.” You mewed, adding a bit of milk to your hot coffee. 

“When I get big and strong, I’ll make sure my dad never gets hurt again!” He flexed his muscles, a light gesture, but you couldn’t stop yourself from grimacing and turning away from the young boy.

This must be so hard on him. 

He’s probably never seen his father like this. 

He should never have to see his father like this.

“That’s… very nice of you, Toby. I know you’ll be big and strong someday. And I bet your dad is so proud of you, too.” You joined him once again, slowly picking at your waffles. Such a deep sadness enveloped your heart and you couldn’t keep it away. 

This wasn’t fair. 

“Are your waffles not good?” Toby peaked over the table at your plate, “I can eat them if you don’t want them.”

You shook your head, “No! No! It’s okay, Toby, I’m just thinking…”

“About what?” Right, children loved to ask questions. 

“I just hope…” What were you supposed to say? “I hope your dad gets better soon.”

“Me too,” Toby sighed, taking another sip of his milk, “I really wanna go play ball with him again. He’s not very good at catching it… or throwing it, but I still like it too because it’s fun. And I get to do it with Dad.”

He was just too sweet for words!

“That’s very nice,” You told him, finally eating the waffles. 

Toby swallowed the rest of his food, grinning and finishing the rest of his milk. He waited, watching you. You raised an eyebrow.

“May I be excused?” Either Harvey taught him well, or one of his parents were very strict.

“Of course,” You replied. 

You watched as the boy got up for a moment before stopping dead in his tracks, “Are we going to go see my dad, now?”

You nodded, finishing your coffee off, “Yes, Toby, I’ll need to get some fresh clothes on and then we will head out, alright?”

Toby sat back down, kicking his feet back and forth patiently as you quickly tidied up and got dressed. You wish you had an overnight bag for him but you figured the aunt was going to keep her claws on it now.

Maybe you could manage to buy him a new outfit…

As soon as you left your bedroom, Toby was by your side again. It was becoming increasingly obvious that the boy didn’t have the same shy demeanor that most other young children that you met did. 

Which would probably work in your benefit as it’d be easier to know what the child liked… but then again, he probably wouldn’t be staying with you for much longer. 

You held the boy’s hand as you walked him to the hospital. His eyes locked onto anything that moved, darting back and forth from the cars on the street to the birds flying above. There was a beautiful glint of innocence in his gaze, one that you wanted to keep sacred and pure for him. 

“When your dad gets better, how about we all play catch together?” You suggested.

With a toothy grin, the boy bounced a bit, “That would be awesome!”

If Toby was in a good mood, Harvey would be. And if Harvey was in a good mood, he would make a swift recovery.

That was the hope.

You checked in with the hospital once again, bringing Toby with you as you entered Harvey’s room once again. 

He was redressed and cleaner looking. His visible eye was open and as soon as he saw you two, he beamed.

“My little lad!” He sat up and opened his arms. Toby ran over to him, embracing him deeply, “How are you today?” 

“Good! Your friend made me waffles and milk for breakfast today and they said that when you get better, we’re gonna play catch!” Toby spoke in one single breath. 

Harvey simply smiled before meeting your gaze. 

“I’m sorry I had to take him last night,” You explained, “You were a bit groggy… I didn’t know where else he could go.”

Harvey leaned back, letting Tony climb into the bed with him, “That’s alright… thank you for taking care of him.”

“Of course, Harvey,” You moved to sit next to the pair, but you paused after you felt your phone buzzing in your pocket.

It was the station.

You answered the call, “Hello?”

“You need to come to the station now.”

Chapter Text

You already didn’t like this. The sound of their voice, that tone that they held, was a very, very frustrated one. Once you put the phone down, you really had no idea why you needed to hurry on over. 

But then you realized. 

Harvey.

You were in trouble and you didn’t need a sergeant to tell you that. But you couldn’t hide away and you couldn’t run. This was something you needed to face head on. This was the responsibility that you needed to carry now that you had involved yourself so deeply with Harvey. 

The only real question was: were you going to regret your decision? 

You kept your head low as you walked, your stomach doing flips. You didn’t regret your choice to help Harvey, you knew that for certain. If that’s what this was about, which you were certain it was, you would go down fighting.

Soon you were in front of the building that once made you feel comfortable, a place that you could perceive as boring. The structure was foreboding, standing tall and imposing. You reached for the door, pulling the handle towards your shaking body.

This was it, right?

It was immediate, you were pulled aside.

“Are you kidding me?” Your superior hissed, “What did I tell you?!”

Your gaze fell to the floor, “I’m sorry…”

“No!” They spat, “Now you’ve tampered with our evidence and for what reason?”

“I just saved his life!” You flinched, “He was going tot be stuck in there forever,”

“You really think our tech team would’ve missed him? Think he would’ve just rotted away in there?” 

You didn’t need to think of an answer, “I did…”

They stood back, eyes wide and jaw hanging, “Really… and now you, an amateur who’s been stuck on measly patrols thinks you’re some sort of a big shot? We would have figured it out because we’re trained to.”

“What would you have done with him… after you got him out?” You asked, crossing your arms over your chest, “Do you guys have the simulation technology to revert what Eun-Mi had done to him?”

“Doesn’t matter. You just jeopardized his life.” 

“How?!”

“He’s in the hospital in critical condition because of how you handled the situation!” They raised their voice.

“He’s in critical condition because of Eun-Mi!” You retorted, “I wasn’t going to wait for you guys to slowly help him. Would you have helped him see his son? Where would his son be when visiting hours were over?”

“You’re done.” Your superior backed off, “I was willing to let you have some time off to recuperate from whatever was bugging you, but now you’re done. I want you out of here.” 

You paused, a lump in your throat, “What?”

“You’ve just been terminated. Make sure you don’t have anything left in your locker. I’m going to start filling out the paperwork… don’t come back.” 

And just like that, they stormed off. You stood in the doorway, frozen, gawking at the now empty room as their words sunk in. Just like that, the job you worked for was taken away from you. No, not without write ups and proper cause… did you really mess with Harvey’s case? What would have happened if you didn’t interfere? What if you really didn’t make a difference? 

You shook your head. You had made a difference for Harvey! They couldn’t see it! With Harvey out of the simulation, he could testify against Eun-Mi properly. If he remained inside of the computer, the case might not have gone in his favor. 

Most importantly, he was with his son again. 

You could find a new job.

You stormed out of the building, set on returning to the hospital to see Harvey and Toby. The joy you had brought to them was all that mattered to you right now. After all of this legal crap was done… maybe you could all live together… 

Heat spread across your face, but you blamed the brisk wind. The thought wasn’t an odd one, after all. Didn’t mean anything between you and Harvey… 

Of course not! 

Thankfully, you were back in the hospital’s lobby before any more odd thoughts crossed your mind about the man. You checked in and walked over to Harvey’s room, knowing where to find it on your own now. 

“There you are!” Toby greeted you, “Where did you go?”

You sighed, “Hey, Toby. Hi, Harvey. Sorry for leaving so abruptly… it was my work,” 

“Oh?” Harvey propped himself up in his hospital bed, still clutching onto Toby who had his gaze fixed on the TV, “What happened? If you don’t mind me asking of course.”

“I got fired.” You grimaced.

Harvey choked, “Oh- Why?”

“It’s a bit of a long story,” You waved dismissively.

“Did you do something bad?” Toby asked. 

“I don’t think so,” You sat down in the chair that you had used last time, “I work with the police and… I wasn’t supposed to help your dad.”

“Why?” Toby’s full attention was on you now and Harvey leaned in a bit as well.

“Not my place, I suppose. They didn’t think I was qualified for it.” You knelt down, you face in your palms. 

“Rude!” Toby declared.

Harvey didn’t say anything for a moment. You strained your ears to see if he was speaking quietly, but found that he was chuckling. You raised your gaze to meet his.

The man’s expression was dark, his voice that eerie whisper you heard before, “So they were just gonna leave me in there?” 

You nodded, “Would’ve taken them longer to get you out.”

“Long enough for them to take Toby away… long enough for Eun-Mi to forget my face, I’m sure.” He grit his teeth and Toby clutched onto his hospital gown.

“But… but you’re going to get better now, right, dad?” Toby tugged on the gown.

He let up, his expression softening at the sound of his son’s voice, “Yes, Toby… everything is going to be fine.” 

You would’ve loved to believe that, but you knew it could never be true, not in this lifetime. The suffering Harvey had endured was eternal and there would be permanent consequences from Eun Mi’s actions. 

“Can we keep watching our movie?” The little boy asked.

“Of course, lad,” Harvey hugged him.

You decided to drop the subject, scorching your chair in closer to the pair and twisted the seat around to face the TV. It was a newer cartoon you didn’t recognize, but Toby seemed to be really enjoying it. 

That’s all that mattered in this moment. The anxiety and the tenseness you felt started to fade away as you bent forward a bit, laying your head on Harvey slightly. 

He placed a shaky hand on your head, rubbing his thumb soothingly.

This is what mattered to you. 

This is everything you need right now. 

You barely knew this man, but in this single instance, he made you feel like you were a family, like you belonged together. Maybe it was something in his IV that was making him do this, or maybe he was just tired. 

Or maybe he trusted you. 

The thought of being loved by him made your heart swell. The very idea of having the opportunity to lay with him and Toby and watching TV made you grin. The dancing characters on screen started to blur as you dozed off. 

Dreams followed.

Ones about running down a never ending street, down to a booth in the middle of nowhere. Harvey was already dead by the time you reached him. His body was broken in ways you couldn’t describe. You didn’t have the stomach for it. 

Thankfully, something abruptly dragged you out of the hellscape, bringing you back to the waking world. 

“I need to talk to you.”

“Harvey?” You opened your eyes, expecting to see a nurse, but instead, Harvey greeted you. Toby was asleep in his arms, making small little movements that indicated he was dreaming. 

“We need to talk,” He repeated.

“What’s up?” You sat up, rubbing your eyes.

That dark expression was on his face again and his visible eye practically glowed. He grabbed a hold of your hand, squeezing it tightly.

“I don’t know who you are… really, but you’re the only one that’s truly helped me after… after everything. Promise me, promise me that if anything happens to me, you’ll watch after Toby. Please promise me that even if I’m in good health, you’ll help him.” His throat was dry and his eye, although striking, was starting to water, “I have no one else.”

I have no one else.

Your heart skipped a beat. You would do anything for him and yet, you had no idea why. Maybe it was your sense of justice or your morals, but you couldn’t help but nod firmly.

“I promise, Harvey.”

His grip loosened, and he reclined once again, the tears finally rolling down his cheeks. “Thank you. He’s my world. He’s all I have left.” He pulled his shaky hand back, moving it to rub Toby’s back, “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him… I’d give him anything, anything he wants…” He bowed his head, “I don’t know what I’m going to do…”

“I’ll help out in any way I can,” You told him.

“We’re both unemployed,” He stated, “I was never good at any job, so I always stayed home while Eun-Mi…” 

You touched his shoulder, gently, as if he was made of glass, “I can figure something out. You’re not going to suffer like you had before, Harvey.” 

He closed his eye, “Thank you.” 

You stayed still, keeping your hand on him for a few moments longer before you realized that he had drifted off to sleep, most likely comforted by your words and your promise.

A promise you intended to keep.

After his breathing steadied, you pulled away and grabbed your phone; you would need to start job hunting right away. You were sure Harvey could have any job he wanted, but perhaps he preferred being a stay at home parent. 

You’d do anything to make sure the two of them were comfortable. Everything would fall into place and everything would be fine. Your boring life had taken such an abrupt turn, but it would all make sense.

Harvey’s presence in your life would make sense.

Maybe he was some sort of an angel, down on his luck and in need of a friend.

And little Toby, like his halo, an ever-glowing ray of light.

But what were you?

Who were you to Harvey Harvington and his precious little life?

Judging by the openings your phone displayed… maybe a pizza cook. You chuckled silently at the thought, keeping the position in mind. You’d have to settle for something soon if you wanted to be able to stay afloat, especially with two more people living with you.

The thought was strange, but not unwelcome.

“Excuse me,” A nurse popped their head in.

“Alright… let me grab Toby,” You grunted as you stood up, already kicking yourself out. The nurse walked with you as you carried Toby outside. 

Your job search would have to wait… Toby needed to be tucked in.

Chapter Text

You were fired from the police station four months ago. Time trudged along, dragging its feet as you tried to balance the entirety of life on your shoulders. You dropped Toby off with his recovering father every day, picking up odd shifts from various jobs and scraping together change to feed the young boy. 

Thankfully, the hospital offered a few meals for their visitors, so you only had to worry about a couple of meals here and there. Harvey’s condition improved considerably throughout the months and soon, he was able to stand on his own. 

He needed a cane and an eye patch and his hair had grown rather long during his stay. When he was finally checked out of the hospital, you were able to take him to your home once again. 

The police were practically down his throat as soon as he could hold his own without an IV, telling him what he was up against and how justice would be served.

That’s what your superior had told him. 

You were asked to leave the room when they arrived, taking little Toby with you. Even from the lobby, you could hear Harvey raising his voice.

If Toby wasn’t by his side, he would usually spiral into a rage filled tantrum. It was valid, and you remained by Toby’s side as you asked you a plethora of questions about what they were talking about.

You didn’t think it was necessary to take Toby out of the room, but they made him leave every time they came to interrogate poor Harvey. 

Soon, they pulled you aside, telling you that you’d be involved in the trial now because of what you had seen and what you had done. A witness, of sorts.

Whatever gave Harvey the peace and justice  he deserved and whatever put his wife behind bars. You still didn’t know too much about his wife, as he really didn’t speak about her, but she didn’t sound like a terrible woman… 

But still…

She sent her husband to death for money. 

You weren’t looking forward to meeting her, but at the same time, you wanted to see the fear in her eyes as she received her verdict. You wanted justice for him so badly you could hardly stand yourself. During those late nights where you laid awake, he was all you could think about. 

The way he smiled, the way his eye lit up when he saw Toby. They deserved the world, in your eyes, but not one filled with impurities.

You were starting to hate people deeply. It was harder to see the good in people when all they did was torment Harvey. They asked him questions that made him relive the suffering and they even poked and prodded at Toby.

To you, this was an easy case against Eun-Mi. She was guilty and she should’ve already been booked into a federal prison for all that she had done. 

Harvey was dreading that court date. 

“I don’t want to think about it anymore,” He murmured to you after the cops had finished questioning him, “I just want her gone.”

“I know,” You sighed, “But this will give her the punishment she deserves.” Your own words were lost on you as the cops continued to pry. Every time they visited, you grew more and more stubborn about leaving his side. 

But now he could walk.

He was free from the hospital. 

But that also meant it was nearing that court date. 

Harvey Harvington looked so different: so much darker and depressed than when you had first saw him in person. Black streaks of hair had started to wash away the pink and his visible eye was dull and full of hatred.

You wished his joy hadn’t been stripped from him in such a brutal way. 

“You’ll be with me, won’t you?” The question caught you off guard, dragging you out of your own mind.

“Of course, Harvey.” 

He turned away, sighing and running a hand through his hair, “You realize… you’ve done more for Toby and I than… most of my family and…”

You leaned over, placing a hand on his shoulder, “It’s okay, Harvey. I’d do it all again if I had to.” Every word was the truth. 

He nodded before leaning against you. The heat of your body seemed to warm and comfort him as he wrapped his arms around you. 

“Careful,” You smiled softly, “I don’t want you to hurt yourself,”

You felt him shiver.

It continued and you soon realized that his shoulders were quivering.

He was crying into you.

“Harvey?” You rubbed his back softly.

“Everything is so awful,” He whimpered, “What happened to me?” 

You remained quiet, letting the broken man vent to you as he could to use to weep for a life he could no longer live. His path was changed now and he was struggling with the heavy weight of a life that might’ve been.

But you were here.

And you told him that. 

“She will get what she deserves soon,” You reminded him. 

“I don’t want to see her,” He shook against you, “Just throw her away!”

You wished you could’ve. You wish you could’ve made all of his problems disappear. “After all of this, you’ll never have to see her again, Harvey. You, Toby, and I can all live together, heck, we can even move away if you really want to.”

He took in your words, sniffling and falling silent. He buried his head in the crook of your neck, his fingers fiddling with the material of your clothes.

After a moment, he stood, wobbling a bit before leaning on his cane. His brows furrowed, deep in thought, “I don’t know yet.”

“That’s okay,” You stood up as well, ready to catch him if he fell or even stumbled, “We will figure it all out.” 

He shook his head, but added nothing else. He wiped his tears away with the back of his sleeve before carrying on. You needed to get his belongings today. Apparently, whoever truly owned the house was kind enough to not kick them out during this time. Now, since Harvey was on his feet, they needed the money or he’d need to move out.

So you were gathering his things to bring them to your place.

It could’ve been something positive. It could’ve showed Harvey that his life was going to change for the better, in a sense, but as you watched him enter his home, you could practically feel the distress emanating off of him.

He was heartbroken.

Anyone would be.

“Alright, Toby, go grab your stuff.” Harvey’s voice was low.

“If something is too heavy, please let me get it for you,” You told the pair. Toby nodded and quietly sauntered away.

Harvey looked at his home, eye void of any joy once again. His expression almost looked neutral, punctuated by the random spots of jet black facial hair that started to grow. He looked so different…

“Please,” You whispered, “If you can’t do it… I’ll handle it, okay?”

He rocked back, gripping onto the cane, “She’s going to pay for this,” He grit his teeth as he spoke, startling you slightly. “That bitch will never see the light of day again.” 

You just simply nodded, letting out a low hum. There was always a sense of unease forming deep inside of you whenever Harvey got like this. It seemed like he could’ve been truly evil if he wanted to. 

Like a crime boss or something.

The idea frightened you: that someone who was once so soft and kind could probably become evil. Maybe not evil…

“She won’t, right?” He choked out.

You gripped onto him, “No.” There was no guarantee that she would receive such a heavy sentence, but your heart told you that she would. After all, why wouldn’t she? She practically killed him. 

“I’ve changed so much. I ache… I feel like I’m just a walking corpse now.” He shook his head, “I was so scared… and she wouldn’t let me out. I asked, I begged for her to let me out. Why didn’t she let me out?” 

You listened, keeping your head low. 

“And she just kept telling me she’d fix it. She never fixed it. She just kept prying. She was just using me…” His fists tightened, “She’s going to see me again. She’s going to face the consequences of her actions… she should’ve just let me out.”

Harvey turned to you, just enough that you could see the scar running along his face, starting at the left edge of his lip and scrawling outward toward his left ear. His right eye had some scarring around it too.

“I’ll be with you,” You wanted to trace his scars, tell him how they showed his true strength, but you kept your grip on his shoulders, “I won’t leave your side, Harvey.” 

“And I thank you for that.” He dipped his head, “But if… if you betray me… like she did…” 

You swallowed hard, “I would never-”
“I’ll fucking kill you.” 

You froze for a moment, eyes locked with the broken man in front of you. You just stared, not knowing how to properly respond to the threat. It made sense that such a man would have a deep hatred, one that could cause him to threaten harm to others. 

But would he really hurt you?

You wouldn’t betray him, though. Why would you? Why did Eun-Mi? Harvey was your friend, someone that you helped without hesitation, why would a need for betrayal ever arise? 

“I understand,” That was all you could think to say. You could plead with him, tell him how you would never cause him any harm, but what good would that do? He’d been through so much, put through so much suffering by someone he loved so deeply.

And they’d been together for ten years.

Why would she do that?

There was a sudden thud, followed by the sound of Toby complaining about something. Harvey lurched forward, but you rushed past him, heading to the young boy’s room to aid him. You entered after giving a little knock to see that the boy had managed to fill a trunk of sorts to the brim with just about everything he had. 

He was trying to slide it across the floor. 

“Oh geez,” You chuckled, “Here, Toby, let me help you.”

Toby huffed, “I really need more vegetables…” 

You laughed, “I’ll be sure to grab you some the next time I head off to the store, okay? What are your favorites?”

“They’re yucky,” He pointed out, “But I need big muscles.”

“How about I get you some more milk?” You offered.

The boy’s face lit up and he pushed on the trunk once again. You pulled as delicately as you could to not scrape up the floors. 

You managed to bring the trunk down to the front door where Harvey stood. He rolled his eye, chuckling a bit to himself, “Well, you look like you’re almost all ready to go, Toby.”

The boy gave his father a toothy grin, “Uh-huh!” 

You were thankful you managed to scrape enough money together to rent a moving truck. It was one of those small ones, but you figured they wouldn’t be taking too much furniture. Toby and Harvey would need their beds, though. 

Right?

You flustered as you finished pushing the trunk up the ramp and into the truck. Satisfied, Toby returned to his room to gather the last bits and pieces of his belongings. You turned your attention to helping Harvey. 

“Hey, uhm, Harvey,” You cleared your throat. 

The man turned to you once again, “What’s up?” 

“Want to… pack your bed?” You’d been so sure earlier, so confident and positive in your words, “Or… you could just use mine-”

He tittered, “Well, you always end up falling asleep on me at the hospital, so what difference does it make?”

Your face flushed even more and you nodded, “Alright, yeah, I suppose you’re right. And it’ll be much more comfortable than a hospital bed.” You assured him.

Finally, he smiled. 

Beautiful, like the rays of the morning sun. 

And just for that brief moment, his pain faded. 

Chapter Text

The first few days with Harvey and Toby were rather fun. The three of you re-decorated your home, adding a Harvington flair to it. It wasn’t much, but by the end of it, you were all giddy with the results. They had been fully integrated into your life now. 

And you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Everything was so joyful until Harvey was reminded of the court date. 

It was three days away. Rapidly approaching. Harvey seemed to sort of dissociate with his physical body the closer the date got. He would just lie on your shared bed, staring off into nothing. 

And with Harvey distraught, Toby soon followed. 

He noticed his father’s condition wasn’t getting any better now. 

“Is he still sick?” The little boy asked. 

“Yes,” You answered, “But he’ll be better soon.” 

You kept the little boy close to you during this time, making sure he was fed and as comfortable as he could be. Every night, you returned to Harvey, telling him all about Toby’s day and how he couldn’t wait for his father to get better. 

The words of encouragement seemed to help Harvey battle the mental plague he was fighting off. You had to practically force feed him to just keep calories in his body. Despite being lethargic, he wasn’t gaining weight and still appeared rather frail.

“Soon, it’ll be over,” You reminded him every time you joined him. He would usually grunt, still staring at the ceiling.

He looked like a different man entirely now.

The days were short for you as you always had something to do. You woke up, took care of Toby for a bit, and then went off to work. You returned home to feed Harvey and Toby and then usually passed out soon afterward.

But you imagined the days were painfully slow for both Harvey and Toby. Toby knew something was awry because he would continuously ask you about when he’d see his mother again and how his father would handle it.

“Are they going to be together again?” He tugged on your shirt one day, precisely the last day before the court case.

The sadness this child unintentionally caused you was unbearable, “I don’t think so, Toby.”

His eyes filled with tears and he started to weep. He ran to his father, despite your attempts to stop him.

He threw himself onto the bed, grabbing onto his father and begging him to forgive Eun-Mi. “She’s my mommy and you’re my daddy and I need you both!” 

Harvey cried too.

You stood in the doorway, watching their hearts break in unison, mourning a happy life they would never get to live with Eun-Mi because of her choices.

Because of her choices.

She would see how much she ruined their lives and hopefully her heart would break too.

And that’s why you were staring at her right now, your eyes honed in from your little chair as you waited to give your witness statement in front of the jury and the judge. She was dressed in black, almost like she was attending a funeral.

The death of her future.

She looked distraught, almost as broken as Harvey, but just emotionally and mentally rather than physically like her ex husband. Ten years of their life together, wasted away. You wanted to go up to her and ask why she did it, but you supposed that she would give her answer to the room soon.

While Harvey was healing, you’d been taken to this courtroom by your previous superior. There were charges put against you for “tampering with the evidence,” but you managed to enter a plea deal of sorts. 

That’s one of the many reasons why you were here. 

To give the truth.

To save Harvey and Toby.

To make sure Eun-Mi would spend the rest of her life behind bars. Every time someone spoke, you watched her expressions, watched as she tried to maintain control of her emotions. 

Tried to avoid Harvey’s gaze.

He was glaring at her, like he was going to run over and strangle her to death. You wouldn’t be surprised if he did with how much hatred he had for her now. He was justified, but what frightened you was how your morals had almost abruptly changed.

You would let him get in a few good whacks.

Maybe it was just your sense of justice showing its true colors. You weren’t a vigilante… but still, you believed in the persecution of those who were evil.

And you hoped that she would get what she deserved.

The charges were currently being filed, you knew a little bit about the process of a trial, but not enough to know exactly how it would go down. The court was labeling this case as something similar to a murder attempt, which you thought was fitting.

Eun-Mi appeared before the court, tears already in her eyes. She pled not guilty.

The trial would start, then.

They started to bring out evidence.

Photos, the police calls originally reporting this case, recordings of the “game” Harvey had been subjected to and even his last message to the world.

There were parts you couldn’t stomach, not after knowing the victim and holding him so close to your heart. You wished you could be by his side right now. That wouldn’t be possible, not yet, not until this was over.

Next were the witness statements, which meant it was your turn.

You gave it your all, answering all of their questions to the best of your ability and explaining your involvement with Harvey and what you had seen. 

“He’s completely broken,” You spoke aloud so Eun-Mi could hear, “And I haven’t even known him for all that long, but I know he’s a shell of his former self.”

A few others spoke after you, telling the courtroom about how they had encountered Harvey through a screen, thinking he was nothing more than coding only to be horrified that they were interacting with a real, feeling, frightened human being.

Harvey spoke next.

You leaned forward in your seat as he practically spilled his guts out to anyone who would listen. Finally, he and Eun-Mi locked eyes and you could see regret taking a hold of her. She crumpled in her seat, sobbing to herself.

You wanted to feel bad.

But she knew this was going to happen, right?

Harvey’s medical issues were used as evidence as well, which made her squirm even more in her seat. But she had already seen the damage, so again… she knew. 

“It’s a miracle he’s even alive,” They pointed out, “He fought for his life every day so he could bring you to justice.”

Eun-Mi’s attorney took the stand, trying to argue that she never wanted to cause any harm to her husband and only wanted to raise funds for their family through the program. It sounded like nonsense, but they cited their long marriage as an indication of her innocence.

You remained quiet during the entire process.

Soon the jury was gathered.

Now, with the jury, they continued on with the trial. Opening statements were given and the case started to drag on and on, almost sounding like an argument. They were cross examined, jabbing at every piece of evidence and point that had been previously made. 

At times, you really couldn’t believe the arguments the opposing side made against Harvey’s claims. He was literally right in front of them. People didn’t just get mangled like that! 

But they had to make a case, unfortunately, as that’s what they were paid to do. You wondered if Eun-Mi had used the money she got from Harvey’s torture to get a good lawyer on her side. That would be horribly ironic, wouldn’t it?

Did she even get the money?

Was it worth it to her?

Judging by her pleas, no.

The current argument was that she didn’t know that the simulation would have permanent consequences and yada yada.

“But he had trusted you,” 

Precisely.

You found yourself nodding along every time a strong point was made in favor of Harvey. This process droned on and on, lasting a few hours.

They eventually asked Harvey to show off his wounds.

You hated seeing them.

Although they were testaments to his hidden strength, they were gnarly, covering almost every part of his body. He still winced as the wounds were pointed to, almost like a phantom sense that still urked him.

They started to pry at Harvey, asking him every little detail about those painful days in the simulation. He had to recall it all, taking breaks in between each sentence to try and calm his own nerves.

What you wouldn’t give to go and comfort him. 

“Do you think Eun-Mi wanted to kill you?”

That’s when he hardened, his face returning to that drained, dark expression.

“Absolutely. She could’ve saved me at any time.” He grit his teeth again. Even from your seat, you could see the way he moved, the way the veins in his neck puffed out as he grew more tense. 

The back and forth continued until the exchanges ceased. 

Now it was time for the closing arguments. 

The attorneys clashed, reconstructing the case entirely and going back through the evidence. Eun-Mi didn’t even bother to address anything anymore, keeping her head low, her forehead pressing down on the table. 

The judge spoke, speaking in legal terms that you still couldn’t quite understand. It sounded like he was re-evaluating the credibility of both sides. He turned to the jury, asking them to deliberate. 

The jury left, going into a nearby room.

You perked up, locking eyes with Harvey. He looked absolutely exhausted, leaning forward and giving you a slight smile. His entire complexion was dark, matching his black suit. But he smiled.

You waved to him before making a heart with your fingers. 

That was probably the first time you told him you loved him. Up until then, you’d been keeping your distance emotionally. You slept in the same bed and ate your meals together and yet you never sat him down and told him how you truly felt. 

It wasn’t romantic love, at first, but now, you could feel your heart swell every time you met his gaze. You’d give him and Toby the world. 

The jury returned.

It was time for a sentence. 

The judge sat in his chair, overlooking the entire courtroom. They wasted no time in ending the trial.

“Given the evidence presented before us, the jury has found the defendant guilty.”

It was an obvious sentence, but that wasn’t the part you were listening for. Eun-Mi let out a pitiful sound as they continued. 

“Eun-Mi is hereby sentenced to serve eight years.”

You gagged.

“What?” You couldn’t help yourself. 

Only eight years!?

She had almost killed Harvey, sentenced him to death, forced him to go through torture and all she got was eight years.

This wasn’t the happy ending you wanted and judging by how Harvey slammed his fists against the table… he wasn’t pleased either. 

Chapter Text

You decided to take the two Harvingtons out to dinner the following night to help ease their nerves. Of course, it would take Harvey more than a meal to feel joy again, but this was a start. You were so thankful that Toby was such a well behaved boy so he could sit and enjoy a meal at a higher end restaurant.

Just as long as they had crayons, that was his only request.

So you set off on a local steakhouse, where you told them to get whatever they wanted. You had been saving up for this meal for a while.

You sat close to Harvey, your shoulders nearly touching. You really wanted to tell him how you felt, but you held off. His wife of ten years was just put in prison for almost killing him; you needed to respect him emotionally.

“How has your new job been? Good?” Toby asked, getting ready to take another bite of his mac’n’cheese.

“It’s been… it’s been okay.” Unfortunately, word of your involvement spread and it was getting a bit harder to not only find, but keep a job as well. To some, you were a criminal, to others, a vigilante, “It pays well,” You finished.

Harvey glanced at you before turning back to his meal. 

“What’s wrong?” You pressed.

“Money.” He mumbled, “I need to get a job, but I’ve never been good at anything.”

“Nuh-uh!” Toby shuffled in his seat, “You’re a great daddy!”

“True,” You purred in agreement, “And besides, you’re in no shape to be working.”

Harvey lowered his head a bit, “I’ll find a way to help out,”

“Just stay at home with Toby, that’s helpful! He needs a great dad to watch after him and to play with.” 

Little Toby nodded, his mouth full of food.

Harvey sighed, taking another bite as well. He rested his chin in his palm, blinking slowly with his good eye. 

“It’ll be okay,” You told him.

He didn’t respond again and focused on his food. You frowned. Tonight was supposed to be a wonderful night, one that all three of you shared.

Toby seemed to notice his father’s poor mood and pointed at his little paper menu, “Want to see what I colored in?” 

Harvey glanced up at his son, “Sure, lad,”

Toby flipped the page over, explaining the scene he had colored out. You adjusted yourself in the seat, making sure you could get a good look at the boy’s masterpiece. 

“That’s awesome, Toby!” You beamed.

The boy gave you that iconic, toothy grin. 

Harvey smiled too.

Toby flipped the page back, grabbing another crayon and scribbling something on it. He quickly slid the paper over to Harvey.

“To duh bIST dad EVR, LUV Toby.”

The letters were all over the place, and you were positive most of the words were spelled incorrectly, but it was the thought that counted. 

Harvey took the paper in his hands, “Thank you, Toby.” His voice hitched, cracking a little bit. 

“I don’t want you to cry, daddy,” Toby added.

“Alright,” Harvey chuckled, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve, “I’ll try not to, then.” The three of you continued eating. Your waiter asked about dessert and you couldn’t help but order what Toby asked for.

After Toby and Harvey were  served dessert, Harvey excused himself to use the restroom. You didn’t think anything of it until you saw Harvey give a very firm nod to Toby, who gave him a thumbs up in return.

You raised an eyebrow, looking at Toby.

“What’s up?”

Toby turned back towards you, “Since mommy is not with daddy anymore, are you going to be his special someone?” 

You choked on your drink, forcing your eyes shut for a moment before you were able to clear your throat. You stared at the boy with wide eyes, “Huh?”

“Are you going to be my dad’s new special someone?” He repeated nonchalantly, “Everyone should have one, you know.”

Heat rose to your face, “Well,” you rubbed the back of your neck, “I mean, well, I would certainly like to be, but I don’t know if your dad is ready for a new special someone…”

Toby waved at you dismissively, “It’s okay, my dad asked me to ask you!”

You nearly choked again, “Hm?”

“Yeah!” Toby said, “He asked me to ask you earlier, but he didn’t want to be here because he would get em-embarrassed-“ He struggled with the last word.

You reclined in your seat, taking in the boy’s words. Holy cow. You were giddy, but at the same time… he really couldn’t ask you himself? Maybe he didn’t want to seem desperate? Maybe he was just too anxious because of how his previous relationship ended… maybe Toby was gauging to see your reaction to report back to his father about it. 

Whatever it was, it clouded your mind until Harvey returned. He cleared his throat and kept his distance from you, twiddling his fingers.

He was like a schoolboy. Had he always behaved like this? Or had the torture he suffered taken his romantic edge away?

Toby gave him a thumbs up.

Harvey beamed before clearing his throat again, “So, uh, anything fun happened while I was gone?”

You grinned and rolled your eyes at him, “Harvey…”

He started to eat his dessert once again, his face a bit flushed. You chuckled to yourself, relaxing and resting your stomach a bit after the filling meal. Toby almost finished his dessert, but much to his own chagrin, he needed a to-go box.

Harvey finished his, impressively.

You paid and tipped before heading out. You stuck close together as you walked home, the brisk night air forcing you to cuddle into each other for warmth. Toby stood between you and Harvey, holding onto both of you with balled fists.

Even though it was rather chilly, the walk home was a pleasant one.

Soon you arrived back home, a place that felt more warm than it ever had before. Toby put his leftovers in the fridge, remarking how he would surely finish them later.

You would hold him to it.

“That’s for tomorrow, though,” Harvey pointed out, “You look a bit too tired to eat it right now.”

Toby nodded, yawning, “I’m very eepy,”

You and Harvey tucked him into bed, making sure he had a glass of water by his bedside. Before you left the room, you saw Toby give his father another thumbs up. You pretended you didn’t see as you made your way to your bedroom.

Harvey followed suit, shifting his weight onto his cane for a moment, “Hey,” his voice was so quiet, you almost missed it, “Can… can I talk to you about something?”

You sat up in the bed, nodding, “Is it about what Toby asked me?”

He bit his lower lip, “Y-yeah, actually, it is.” 

“Harvey,” You pat the space next to you where he always slept. You wanted to say more, but your tongue was tied in knots and butterflies fluttered in your belly. 

“I know,” He sat down next to you, “I know it was silly to have Toby ask, I know I shouldn’t even be thinking like that after…”

You squeezed his hand.

“I just… don’t want to be alone.” He admitted.

You held onto his hand as you spoke, “I understand, Harvey. I want you to know that…” Well, now it was your turn. This was much harder than you anticipated! “I feel… similar, I just- just didn’t want to pressure you after seeing everything you’ve been through.”

Harvey listened, humming thoughtfully at your words, “I appreciate that… and maybe I am just being reckless with this…”

“I can keep you company, Harvey, without it being anything serious.” You offered, “I’ll be available if you’re ever ready,” 

Harvey sighed through his nose and leaned back onto the pillows, “Thank you.” He brought a hand up to rub his temples, “I’m sorry… this is all so much.” 

“I know it is, Harvey,” You helped him get a blanket over his chest and up to his shoulders, “You’ve been through so much…”

“And it isn’t over,” He added, “I wish it was after she was sentenced. But it’s going to be so much harder now.” The man rubbed his eyes, “Why did she have to do that?”

During the trial, Eun-Mi had constantly told the court that she had only put Harvey in “Bloodmoney” to try and support her family. She never meant any ill will and certainly never meant to put Harvey in the line of fire. 

But that was all bullshit, obviously.

Putting him in a simulation where he could be tortured over and over was literally putting him in the direct line of fire. 

You wrapped your arms around Harvey, cautiously, “We’ve got this. You’re not alone during all of this, Harvey. I’m here with you.” 

“But can I trust you?” 

The question was jarring in the moment as Harvey pulled away from you a bit. He sat up, staring at you with his good eye; wide and cold. 

“Of course you can, Harvey.” Saying it wouldn’t make much of a difference, not with what he had been through with Eun-Mi, “But I understand if you don’t want to. There’s no amount of healing that could ever let you trust any companion again.”

Again, he let out a huff of air from his nostrils. He didn’t speak, instead, turning away from you in the bed and hugging himself. You decided to give him some space, making sure he had enough blankets to keep warm. 

You left the bed. 

At first, you just wanted to turn off the lights, but after standing for a bit, you realized you couldn’t quite go to sleep yet.

You were restless. 

What was being Harvey Harvington like? Who was he before all of this mess? Did you really have a chance at gaining his trust? Eun-Mi had broken him, but maybe you could help him heal. 

Or maybe he was just a lost cause now. 

For now, you would let him and Toby stay, just until… well, actually, Harvey couldn’t work right now, nor could he keep a job… so that meant they were really depending on you. The stress finally kicked in. 

You were going to be working for the rest of your life now, weren’t you? 

Almost all of your money was going to be going towards keeping Toby and Harvey fed and happy. They were worth it, of course, there was no doubt about that, but would you be able to keep up under all of the pressure?

You would have to be able to work two jobs, perhaps, or at least get a few promotions. It was going to be difficult, but again, they deserved happiness. 

They had been through so much.

Toby now didn’t have a mother around and he had to live with the fact that his mother hurt his father terribly. The boy had been handling it as well as he could, you could tell by how strong and stoic he acted. 

And Harvey.

Stuck in a sea of emotions he couldn’t quite control, facing the reality that the life he loved was now completely gone, nothing more than a memory. He was probably so heartbroken right now. 

“Hey,” 

You jumped, twisting around to see Harvey.

“Can… can you come lay down with me?” He didn’t meet your gaze. 

“Of course,” You nodded, turning toward him fully. You helped him back into bed, laying down next to him to keep him company. 

You found a bit of peace… just for tonight. 

Chapter Text

Work was starting to pick up for you and you were able to make a few extra bucks. The stress during the work day was soon outweighed by your rather decent paychecks. You were still at the bottom when it came to seniority, but a few extra bucks was a few extra bucks. 

You tried to save as much of it as you could. It was never that easy, though, as Toby would be starting Kindergarten soon and needed school supplies. 

You wanted to make sure he got all of the best supplies with whatever characters he wanted on them, so you continued to pick up more and more hours.

You were running thin already. To you, that just meant you needed a better system. You could adapt and overcome; it was what your species was meant to do.

But Harvey noticed.

And he started to get anxious.

He would steer clear of you for a little while, almost until it was time to retire to your shared bed. You didn’t understand, at first. But then it clicked.

He thought you were going to do something bad to him for extra money.

He thought you were going to hurt him. 

One night, after tucking Toby into bed and reminding him of his new and upcoming adventure in Kindergarten, you went to go speak to Harvey.

“You know I’m not like her.” That’s how you started it.

He looked up at you, still holding the book he was reading.

“I can handle the extra work, Harvey. I’m not going to harm you just for an extra bit of cash.” You crossed your arms over your chest, “I know you don’t trust me, and I respect that, but I’m not like her.”

He looked guilty at that moment, like a dog who had been caught rummaging through the garbage. 

“I’m sorry,” He muttered, returning his gaze to his book.

“Don’t be,” You told him, “You’ve been through Hell and back, but I really just want you to know I would never do anything like that to you.” It was probably like speaking to a brick wall at this point. Obviously, you knew you wouldn’t do anything horrible to Harvey, but he didn’t. It wasn’t like your constant reassurances would just make him drop his trauma and be like “oh, yeah, I can totally trust whoever now! Nothing bad can happen to me now that I’m practically a walking corpse!”

It was worth a shot, though. You were more so saying it for yourself now, just to get it off your chest. You really didn’t want him to think of pain when he got close to you. You didn’t want him to associate being loved with being used. 

That would take time.

But you had all the time in the world for Harvey and Toby now. Well, not unless you were working, of course. 

You laid down next to him in the bed, “I don’t take offense to your caution,” You did, but only a little, “I understand it.” You finished. You took your normal sleeping position, turning a bit to reach over and turn the bedside lamp off. 

You turned it back on.

“Wait, are you done reading? Sorry, I should’ve asked first,” You glanced at him.

“I should probably be done for the night, it’s getting late.” He smiled softly, no longer plagued by that guilty expression. 

You beamed at him, giving a small nod before shutting the light off again. In the darkness, you could hear Harvey shuffling a bit in the covers. You relaxed, exhaustion forcing you to sleep. 

When you awoke the next morning, you managed to leave the bed without causing Harvey to stir. Curious as to what he was reading, you took a quick peak past his sleeping form.

“How to Get Away with Murder.”

That couldn't be a real book, right?

Must’ve been a work of fiction… but you wouldn’t snoop, not while he was asleep right there. You would just have to ask him about it when he woke up.

What if it really was a guide to muder?

Your blood ran cold.

Was he going to… kill you?

The man was so queasy around blood, though. Maybe he was starting to get used to the sight of it…

Again, you would just need to wait to ask him when he woke up. Until then, you would have to go and check on Toby.

You caught the young boy trying to pour himself a bowl of cereal, nearly tipping the entire gallon over as you struggled to stay above the counter.

“Oh, Toby,” You rushed over to him.

“I’ve got it!” He told you, “I can do it!”

The milk started to pour and you could feel your heart in your throat, “Careful!” You warned. The boy stuck his tongue out in concentration, making sure to keep the milk inside of the bowl. It was nearly overflowing when he was finished, but he was able to do it.

He tipped the gallon upward, grunting as he jumped up to get the cap back on before repeating the process to screw it shut. The entire time, you simply stood behind him, watching everything unfold.

“Wow, I’m very impressed,” You told him, “But it’s okay to ask for help, you know! Don’t ever be afraid to ask, Toby.”

He looked up at you after putting the milk back into the fridge, “It’s okay! You and dad are always busy.” He started, “Dad isn’t gone for long, not as long as you, but I can do this on my own so you guys don’t have to stop to help me.”

You paused, “Oh? Where does your dad go?”

Toby shrugged, “I usually see him outside just talking to other people in dark clothes. Yesterday, they gave dad a letter or something.” 

Between this and the murder book, you were starting to feel uneasy. It looked like you had quite a bit to unpack with Harvey  before you left for work today. 

You were so happy you had a later shift.

“Is there a specific time he leaves?” You pressed.

Toby thought about for a moment, “He always does it after you leave for work.”

Now THAT was even more suspicious.

“I don’t think he knows I saw him, though.” Toby added, “He always tells me he’s just going on a walk and he’ll be right back. Sometimes it’s short and other times, he’s gone forever.” He shook his head, “I don’t like when he’s gone a long time… I miss him.” 

“I’ll talk to him about it,” You smiled down at the boy, “I’m sure he’s doing something important when he’s gone for a long time.”

“But I miss him,” He repeated, “And I miss you, too.”

Ouch.

You frowned, “Aw, Toby, I’m sorry I have to work so much, but it’s so we can all have an awesome life! I have to keep you fed and get you the coolest pencils, don’t I?” 

The boy grinned at you as soon as you mentioned the pencils, “Maybe… but someday, you can just stay here forever, right?”

“I’d love to do that,” You sighed, “But grown ups have to work to get money. And we need money to get food and have a place to live.”

“That’s dumb.” He pouted, “Food should be free.”

“That would be amazing,” You agreed, “But, that’s not how it works, unfortunately. I don’t go to work until later, so I can hang out with you and your dad today for a bit.”

Toby bounced a bit, “Yay!” He grabbed his bowl of cereal, almost spilling it. You lunged for it, placing your hands at the bottom and helping him walk over to the dining room table, which truly was just a table that stood above a small patch of hardwood floor. Technically, you were both still in the kitchen.

“Thank you,” Toby huffed, “That was a close one.”

You laughed, heading back to the counter to fix yourself some breakfast. Working such a tough job made you terribly hungry, so you started to cook an egg with your toast. You were able to finish preparing the meal before Toby got up.

“Are eggs good for you?” He asked, pausing from drinking the milk in his bowl.

“Yes,” You hummed, “They can get a bit pricey now, though, but they’re full of protein!”

“So milk and eggs together would be really, really healthy?” He set the bowl down.

“Well, cooked eggs and a glass of milk, maybe.” A chuckle left your lips.

“You can’t drink eggs?”

“I mean- I think you can, but you can also get very, very sick if you’re not careful.” You warned.

“Have you ever had a glass of eggs?” He grinned.

“No,” You replied, taking a bite of toast, “I like my eggs cooked.” 

There was a clicking sound, no, more like light thudding, that grabbed your attention suddenly.

“Dad!” Toby stumbled out of his seat to rush over and hug his father. You turned in your seat and gave him a wave.

“Good morning,” You purred.

Harvey rubbed his eyes, but smiled softly, “Morning.”

“We were talking about eggs!” Toby squeaked, “And milk!”

“Oh? Is that so?” Harvey joined you at the table and Toby returned to his seat. The domestic scene felt so loving and warm: just the three of you relaxing together.

“Would you like me to cook you something?” You offered.

Harvey raised his hand, “I’m alright for now,”

His stomach rumbled.

“Liar,” Toby pointed at his father.

“I’ll make you some eggs and toast,” You got up from your chair, stuffing another bite in your mouth.

“I can make it myself,” Harvey argued, trying to hobble to his feet.

Toby grabbed Harvey’s arm, “It’s okay to ask for help, dad.”

You couldn’t help but smile.

You were so very thankful Toby was such a kind child. Most children were not so well mannered and heartfelt.

“He’s right, you know,” You turned on the stove again, pulling out the pan you had just used. 

As you started to fry the egg, you saw Toby get up from his seat to place his bowl in the sink. He tried to pull up a chair to reach the faucet, but you stopped him.

“It’s okay, Toby, I can get it.” 

The boy grinned, “Okay, thank you, that’s good because I have to go potty.” Toby immediately pushed the chair back and went to do his business.

“Harvey,” You said once the boy left the room, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Harvey locked his gaze with yours as you set down his egg. You turned on your heel to retrieve his toast. 

“Toby says you’ve been going out almost every day when I leave for work…”

You didn’t get to continue before the man tried to stand up, “Ah- I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Harvey.” You growled, “What’s going on? Are you okay? He said that you’re meeting with other people and they passed you… a letter? Do you owe someone money or something? I can help you if you need-“

“It’s not like that,” He shot back, “It’s okay. Everything is fine, I promise.” 

“Then what’s going on? And… why are you reading that book?” You realized he had brought it with him to the table.

Harvey, evidently defeated, reclined a bit in his seat and let out a long sigh, “Alright… fine, but promise me you won’t tell Toby?”

What was he about to tell you?

“I promise.”

“I’ve… made some connections after the trial.” He murmured, “They… like the way I handled everything, I guess and-“

“Is it like a gang?”

“Precisely,”

“Harvey!”

Before you could protest, he opened his book and slid an envelope over to you. He eyed you before gesturing to it, signaling for you to open it. You obeyed only to find a massive wad of cash inside.

You counted it, carefully, deliberately so you could wrap your head around it.

Three grand.

Chapter Text

You kept everything Harvey was doing under wraps, not that he told you exactly what he was up to. From what you could gather, he was working with some nefarious people to try and get some power and quick cash.

Organized crime.

It was excruciatingly hard for you to be okay with what he was doing. You worked with the police, after all. But he was doing it for the same reasons Eun-Mi had made “Bloodmoney.” He wasn’t hurting anyone he loved, though.

You didn’t know if he hurt people. 

Probably not.

Harvey couldn’t even watch horror movies let alone handle blood. But organized crime didn’t always involve blood and guts. Maybe he had some goons that listened to him or something. He really didn’t tell you much of anything. 

You just had to continue working, worrying about Harvey every day. He seemed to know what he was doing, but you still didn’t want him risking his life. Toby was going to be starting school soon, too, so you knew he needed his father more than ever. 

Not that he would ever not need his father. 

You couldn’t convince him to stop and a part of you knew you really needed this money. If Harvey was going to be making such dough, life would become so much easier for the three of you. Rent was already covered and you still had money left over. 

Toby asked you what his father was doing outside and you just had to tell him it was part of his new job. Of course, he pressed further, but you simply had to respond with “adult-stuff” or “grown up business.” 

You apologized profusely to the boy as it was rather obnoxious not being able to tell him what he wanted to know. It was probably just as frustrating for him as it was for you. You made sure the boy knew not to ask his father any questions. 

More delicious dinners and nights out came your way and you were able to start saving up a bit of your cash. The holidays would be approaching in a few months and you would be able to spoil your boys. 

Your family. 

Every night, after you returned from work, you checked in with Harvey. You were thorough, making sure he wasn’t being secretly abused or something horrible like that. As of right now, he seemed to be doing well.

Although, his complexion was a bit more pale and he held himself in a much less jovial manner. He didn’t look like a sick, broken man anymore. Instead, he seemed more like a battle scarred warrior or a lion waiting for the right moment to strike.

But he did look a bit healthier?

He was awake when you got home, usually reading a book or organizing files. You were starting to hypothesize that he was doing a scheme involving money laundering. It made sense, or, at least, anything relating to money just seemed to fit with Harvey after the whole “Bloodmoney” incident.

The man had found another way to make money. An illegal way, but a way nonetheless. You hoped he wouldn’t become so notable in the crime scene that you would all need to go into hiding. You would just have to wait and see what happened next.

Right now, you needed to focus on helping Toby get ready for his first day of school! You and Harvey were up bright and early to help the young boy. Both of you were incredibly nervous, worried that someone would recognize his last name or maybe they would bully him or-

You needed to remain calm. Toby was overjoyed, free from the worries that would’ve plagued a more anxious and grown mind. 

That was good, though. You were happy Toby was so excited to go to school.

He was sitting at the dining room table, shoveling his food into his mouth.

“Don’t eat too fast,” Harvey told him, “You don’t want to make yourself sick.”

“Sorry,” Toby swallowed, “I’m just really… excited,” He gestured to the egg sandwich you had made, “Is excited spelled like eggs?”

“No,” You told him.

“How is excited spelt?”

“E-X-C-I-T-E-D. Excited.” You handed Harvey his sandwich before turning back to the counter to prepare yours. 

“Why is there an X?” Toby pressed.

Harvey took over with answering the boy’s questions, “Well, you can sort of hear the X, can’t you? Excited.”

“Ooh,” Toby nodded, “Will they teach me how to spell words at school?”

“All sorts of words,”

You sat down with them, diving in the sandwich you made. It was quite good! You finished and went to go get dressed. Harvey waited before doing the same, making sure you were out of the room. He was still conscious about his scars.

Once you were all dressed up, you started to walk Toby to school. Harvey looked like a completely different man now: his hair was done upright and he even put on a bit of eyeliner. He looked fantastic.

You couldn’t help but watch him with every move he made, which made the ten minute walk feel like an eternity. Still, it was terribly enjoyable for you as he looked the happiest he’d been in the last week.

When you finally arrived, you said your goodbyes to Toby, wishing him an amazing first day. With his backpack and packed lunch in tow, the boy waved at you both with a toothy grin.

Harvey grabbed a hold of your hand.

“He’s going to be okay, Harvey.” You smiled softly, “He’s going to make so many friends.” You gave his hand a squeeze, “And the teachers are going to love him too. He’s such a well mannered boy.” 

“Why couldn’t she be here for this?”

You hadn’t thought about that.

“She chose not to be here for this.” You spoke sternly, “She took a risk and it did not pay off.”

He shook his head, “What a shame she couldn’t see our little boy on his first day of school.”

“You don’t feel bad for her, do  you?” You tried not to sound snotty as you asked.

“I sort of do.” He turned, maneuvering with his cane to start the trek back home. He shook his head and sighed, “But you’re right, she did choose this. I’m… I’m glad you’re in his life.”

You stayed right by his side, keeping your hand on his, “I’m glad I’m in your lives, Harvey. You’re such wonderful people.”

“Thank you for saving me.” 

“Harvey-“ 

“I appreciate it so much… I’m going to pay you back.”

“Please don’t, your company is worth its weight in gold.”

His face flushed deeply, “You think so?”

“Harvey!” You chuckled, “Don’t be ridiculous! Of course I think so! I- I love you, I really do.”

He stopped in his tracks, taking in a sudden breath, one so loud it caused you to momentarily startle. The man wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a deep embrace.

“I love you too.”

You melted in his grasp, like chocolate. You held him close to your body without hurting him. You rested your chin in the crook of his neck.

“Let’s go home,” He whispered.

You nodded.

You both made the walk home, holding hands and enjoying each other’s company. The air outside was crisp, the smell of fall hung heavy. You would need a heavier jacket pretty soon. For now, though, Harvey and your jacket were enough.

“Do you want to watch a movie when we get back?” You tilted your head at him.

“Do you… have today off?” Harvey gave you a nervous smile.

“Yes.” You answered.

If it wasn’t so nippy outside, you were positive Harvey would’ve started sweating. “Aah, that’s, that’s great, haha-“

“What’s wrong?” 

“It’s just- I have some work friends I need to visit with today,” He rubbed the back of his neck, pulling away from you.

“I won’t interfere,” You promised, “But if something goes bad… I’m going to be kicking some butt, do you understand?”

He laughed, “Alright, alright. I’m sure I’ll be fine, though.”

“You better be,” You grabbed a hold of his hand again and continued walking, “I don’t want anything else to happen to you.”

“I’ll be fine,” He repeated.

There were a few more moments of silence, “So are you sure you can’t tell me what you’ve been up to?” You decided to press about it once again. 

“I can’t,” Same answer as always, “I’m sorry, but if you knew…”

“What? Think I would think less of you?” You rolled your eyes a bit, smirking.

“Maybe,” He sighed, “You might… tell the police.”

“They’re pretty useless, as far as I’m concerned,” You replied, “You would probably still be in Eun-Mi’s computer if it were up to them to do anything right.”

He laughed, “You’re probably right.”

“I am,” You huffed, “I helped save you and they fired me! All because they were too incompetent to put me on your case.”

The man listened, leading with his cane as you arrived back home. You helped him inside, not that he really wanted it, and brought him to the living room.

“So when will they be here?” You turned on the TV.

“Around noon. I need to meet them around the corner.” He explained.

“Where I can’t keep an eye on you?” You frowned.

“Where it’s safer for us.” 

You shrugged, “Alright, if that’s what works best for you and your work friends.” You sat down on the couch, “Just… holler if you need anything, I’ll keep an ear out for you.”

He plopped down next to you, “Thank you.” Harvey moved his arm upward, placing it around your shoulder, almost in a side hug.

“A Rom-Com?” You suggested.

“Yes please,”

You started flipping through the selections, stopping at one with a rather intense looking cover, you read the description.

Perfect.

You turned the film on and reclined against Harvey, keeping your eyes on the movie. 

“What’s this about?” 

You feigned nonchalance, “A mafia boss falling in love with a police officer.”

“You’re kidding,” He choked.

“Nope!”

“Well!” He sat up straight, “I’m not their boss! Not yet! I’m working on it, okay?” 

You laughed.

“What?”

“I just think it’s funny how offended you seemed,” You hugged him, “You don’t have to be the boss, Harvey.”

“I will be someday, and we won’t have anymore money problems for the rest of our lives,” he boasted. 

“And what about that book you’ve been reading?” The question came out of the blue from you, but as the movie opened up to show that the mafia boss was recovering from watching someone he loved getting murdered, you couldn’t help but ask.

“She didn’t get a heavy enough sentence,” Harvey furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth, “If the law won’t punish her… I will.”

The book wasn’t for you at all.

Harvey was planning to kill Eun-Mi.

Chapter Text

With the terrifying revelation spoken aloud, you figured you would really need to keep a low profile. Or maybe you could convince him to consider her not being able to see her son again as punishment enough. But then again, when Toby was an adult, he could choose to visit with his mother.

That probably really bothered Harvey. It bothered you too. But you couldn’t force the boy to do anything, especially when he was  an adult. That was Toby’s choice, not yours. You didn’t have to worry about it for a while, though. 

Right now, you need to help him with his homework. Harvey was there to help, but he seemed withdrawn, evidently focused on what his new job entailed. He was bringing in so much money. 

You were able to take a few more days off at a time now, assisting Toby with anything he needed while his father left for hours on end. There were a couple of days where he didn’t return until nighttime. 

Toby was starting to get nervous about it and he was asking even more questions. You tried to quell his thirst for knowledge with simple, almost vague answers, but that could only work for so long. 

His friends at school wanted to know what his father did for work, apparently.

You didn’t budge.

“Maybe when you’re older,” Harvey told him. 

You continued helping him with the little bit of homework he had. It was an “All About Me” sort of work-sheet. You were basically just watching over him as he filled in his answers, his tongue sticking out. 

That was as hard as his homework got, thankfully. 

Weeks went by and the weather started to change as the snowy season approached. With the massive amounts of money you had, you could easily afford a lovely winter jacket for Toby… and Harvey.

You spoiled each other with gifts, nothing too expensive, but whenever he ran low on eyeliner, you made sure you bought the best of the best for him. Toby got the best food now, whatever he wanted.

Lots of milk to make his bones big and strong.

And eggs… worth being eggs-cited about. 

But the looming threat of what Harvey was going to do to Eun-Mi when she got out. Would you be able to keep quiet? You wouldn’t rat him out, but maybe… maybe you could convince him not to do it. 

He would be throwing his life away, just as Eun-Mi had. He would be leaving Toby behind as his sentence wouldn’t be light if he murdered his ex wife. The legal mess would be overwhelming and you and Toby would be alone. 

You needed him.

Toby needed him. 

After he explained the premise of the book to you, you tried to convince him right then and there not to go through with it. You were frightened for his safety and his freedom, something Harvey ignored. 

He just wanted revenge. 

The two of you managed to finish the movie that night, but there was a tenseness between the two of you that took a long while to dissipate. You didn’t want to dig it back up, didn’t want Harvey to think you would betray him. 

So you kept your mouth shut. 

You could live in this blissful wonderland for a little bit longer. When the weeks would turn into months and then into years, you would try and feel him out. You would try to convince to think about his choice.

Revenge would ruin him, revenge would only cause more pain in the end. Right now, he didn’t understand that, he only felt the pain and heartbreak that Eun-Mi left behind. The small sentence that she would serve wouldn’t be enough for Harvey.

But he needed to live for Toby as the boy needed him more than ever. 

You would convince him later. 

Everything was so perfect right now; this was such an amazing life right now. You felt complete and you looked forward to being home with your new family. Your feelings about saving Harvey certainly didn’t change as you still didn’t regret your choice. 

You never would.

Instead, you lived with them, living a full life, one that not many had the chance to live. Whenever you were questioned by any officers passing by, you feigned innocence. They weren’t understanding back then, they certainly wouldn’t understand you now. 

They would take your magnificent life away. 

You made sure no outside force would do that. In your free time, you learned how to protect yourself and your family, further securing your happy future with them. Everything was going so well.

School was Toby’s favorite thing to talk about and Harvey started to slowly open up to you about his business.

Yep. Money laundering and what-not. You almost laughed when he told you and you had to explain your theories to him. He laughed too.

So perfect.

But only time would tell how everything turned out.

You just prayed Harvey wouldn’t go through with his plan.

Surprisingly, you prayed for Eun-Mi’s life.