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Harvey tosses the two white pills in the palm of his hand into his mouth and washes them down with the glass of water in front of him. He gently rubs at his jaw.
Just then Mike comes bursting through the door. "Where are those papers, Harvey? I needed them filed," Mike checks his watch, "ten minutes ago."
"They're here," he says scooping them up off his desk and holding them out for Mike.
Mike walks in and takes them from Harvey's hand. Harvey doesn't look too good. He has his tie loosened and there are little beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "You feeling all right?" Mike asks.
"I'm okay."
"You sure? Because you don't look okay."
"I'm fine," Harvey assures.
"Okay, in that case, I'm going to need you to--"
"I know. I'll get them to you before the end of the day."
"All right. You sure you're okay?" Mike asks one more time.
"Go. Now," Harvey says.
Mike throws his hands up in the air in defeat before turning and leaving Harvey's office.
It's been an interesting adjustment being in Seattle and having Mike be his boss. Technically.
The first few weeks Mike may have let the power go to his head, but he's settled down after and he's been doing a good job. Harvey's impressed with how he's handled things so far.
Right now Harvey's biggest challenge isn't anything to do with the law, it's his damn tooth. It's been bothering him for weeks and he's been ignoring the pain the whole time, trying his best to numb it with ibuprofen and whiskey, but he's finally at the point where those just aren't cutting it anymore, so he sucks it up and schedules an appointment with a dentist.
At his appointment, he learns that the culprit is a wisdom tooth that has become impacted. The dentist suggests just having all wisdom teeth removed at once to prevent any future complications. They schedule the appointment and he tells Harvey that because anesthesia will be used, he'll need to be sure to have somebody who can drive him home the day of.
-
Harvey thinks about just having a driver take him there and home, but he decides against it, he knows anesthesia makes him loopy and he wants to make sure that he actually makes it home.
His next choice is Donna. Things have been so much better between the two of them now that they'd finally put to rest whatever awkward thing lingered between them for years. She had found someone new in Seattle, and seemed happy. Harvey was happy that she was happy.
"Got you a coffee. Extra whipped cream."
"And what do you want in return?"
"Can't a guy just do something nice?"
"A random guy? Sure. You? Not a chance. What is it?"
"I'm having surgery and I need a ride home."
"Surgery? Finally getting your hip replacement?"
"Very funny. It's dental surgery. And it's on Friday. Can you do it or not?"
"As much as I would love to see you high as a kite, I can't. I have a meeting."
"Damn it."
"Why don't you ask Mike?"
"Because Mike just barely learned how to drive, I'm trying to make it home in one piece."
"Or maybe you don't want Mike to see you high as a kite."
"Mike's already seen me high as a kite."
"Then maybe you don't want him to see you in pain and vulnerable."
"I don't remember asking you," Harvey says. "I gotta go."
Harvey goes back to his office and decides to get some work done and worry about finding a ride when he's done with it.
-
Daylight is nearly gone from the sky, and Harvey is getting ready to close the lid on his laptop for the day when Mike shows up in the doorway of his office again.
"Hey," he says.
"Hey."
"You getting ready to get out of here?"
"That's the plan."
"Would you want to grab a bite to eat?"
Normally Harvey would jump at the chance to spend more time with Mike but he's in pain and just wants to wash a painkiller down with whiskey and call it a night. "Not tonight. Sorry."
"No, it's okay. Just thought I'd ask."
"I have something I need to ask you."
"What's that?"
"I'm having some surgery on Friday and I need someone to drive me. Do you--"
"You're having surgery?" Mike cuts him off, his voice laden with concern.
"Yeah. But it's just dental surgery, it's not a big deal."
"What are you having done?"
"I need to get my wisdom teeth removed."
Mike scrunches his face. "Aren't you a little...I don't know, old for that?"
"Well, considering my teeth didn't just magically vanish from my mouth, I guess not."
"Is that why you've been so bitchy lately? Because you're in pain?"
"You think I've been bitchy?" Harvey asks, clearly taking offense to the comment.
Mike shrugs. "A little."
"Look. Can you do it or not?"
"Of course I can."
"Thanks."
"Anytime. Just text me the details. I'm going to head out now. Have a nice night, Harvey."
"You too."
-----
If Friday were a day later, Harvey thinks he might be tempted to rip the tooth out of his gums himself. The pain is unbearable and there's been nothing that can even so much as take the edge off of it.
He's sitting on the couch being miserable when there's a knock at his door. Mike's finally here. He gets up off the couch and heads for the door. He slides the chain across, unlocks the door, and opens it.
"Good morning," Mike greets him.
"I need to grab my wallet yet, you can come in," Harvey says as he steps aside.
Mike walks in and Harvey shuts the door behind him. They both walk down the hallway and into the living room.
"I'll be right back," Harvey says before disappearing momentarily.
Harvey's place in Seattle is different than his one in New but still the same in a lot of ways. It's still very open. There's still a fantastic view. It's still very much Harvey. Mike hasn't been here too much since they've moved. He wishes that were different. He thought maybe it would be after he and Rachel split and she went back to New York to work for Robert Zane but nothing really changed. But then again, Harvey never really was a touchy-feely hold your hand and talk about your feelings kind of guy. Mike knows better than to expect him to be.
Harvey reappears with his wallet in hand. "Got it," he says as he holds it up. "I'm ready to go if you are."
"Yeah, sure, let's go."
"You sure you don't want me to drive the way there?" Harvey asks.
"Why? You don't trust my driving?"
"Considering you've been driving for about 10 whole minutes, not really."
"I'm a great driver, you should see the way I can multi-task and change the stations while driving."
"Are you--"
"I'm kidding. I'm really careful, Harvey. I promise to get you back in mostly one piece."
"Let's just go."
-----
Everything happens fast once they arrive at the doctor's office. Harvey gets signed in and they take him back shortly thereafter. Mike might have stayed up last night reading statistics about adults over 40 getting wisdom teeth removal and he might be focusing on the rare percentages of things that can go wrong right now.
He sits in the waiting room bouncing his leg. Then he stands up and paces for a while. Luckily, he only has to worry for a little over a half-hour before somebody comes out to talk to him. They tell him that everything went great and even though he had a little trouble waking up from the anesthesia, he's doing fine now. Mike asks if he can see him and they tell him he'll be able to do so shortly.
So Mike waits some more. Paces again.
And then he looks up and much to his surprise Harvey is walking towards him. His cheeks look swollen and they're stuffed with gauze and Mike doesn't think he's even seen Harvey look more worse for wear. "Let's go," he says, though it's muffled by the cotton gauze in his mouth.
Mike opens the car door for him and makes sure he doesn't bump his head getting into it before going over to the driver's side.
"How do you feel?"
"Just drive."
"On it."
Mike starts the car and pulls out of the parking spot. Harvey is quiet the ride home, resting his head against the car window the entire time.
Mike rushes around the other side of the car and opens the door for Harvey when they get back to his place. Harvey seems annoyed by it, but he doesn't say anything. They get back into the apartment and the first thing Harvey does is take out the gauze from his mouth.
"Shouldn't you leave that in?"
"It's making me nauseous. Are you going to snitch on me?"
"No, it's just--
Harvey cuts him off. "I think I'm going to lay down for a bit."
"Okay. Do you need my help with anything?"
"No. I think got it from here. Thanks for the ride though. I appreciate it."
"Yeah, no problem."
Harvey heads into the bedroom. Mike checks Harvey's fridge and then decides to run to the grocery store to get some foods that he'll actually be able to eat since clearly, Harvey hadn't planned ahead and there's no chance he'll be eating the steaks he has in there anytime soon.
-----
Harvey's still sleeping when he gets back, which is good, he needs his rest. Mike sits on the couch and watches TV with the volume down so low that even he can barely hear it.
About an hour later he hears some moaning coming from Harvey's room. He grabs the remote, turns off the TV, and gets up to investigate the sound.
"Harvey?"
Harvey groans in response.
"Everything okay?"
Harvey props himself up on his elbows and looks around at his surroundings.
"How are you feeling?"
"It hurts," he says as he gently ghosts his hand over his jaw.
"Want me to get you your pain meds?"
"I can get it," Harvey says as he sits up.
"Just stay here. Let me do it," Mike says as he quickly exits the room. He heads out in the kitchen and gets Harvey's bottle of pills, he twists the caps off and shakes a pill into his hand before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and carrying them into Harvey.
"Here you go," he says holding his palm out flat.
Harvey scrapes the pill out of his hand and Mike unscrews the lid from the bottle for him. He tosses the pill into his mouth and takes the bottle from Mike's hand and washes the pill down. Mike takes the bottle back and puts the lid back on.
"Thanks," Harvey says. There's a brief pause. "You know you don't have to babysit me."
"I'm not babysitting you, I'm...adult-sitting you. Wait--never mind, that doesn't sound right," Mike cringes. "I just want to make sure you're okay."
"It was just some stupid teeth. I think I can handle it," Harvey says as he tosses the covers off of him.
Mike moves out of his way and Harvey swings his legs over the side of the bed. He rests for a moment before getting out and stumbling out into the living room and plopping himself down onto the couch. Mike follows close behind him.
"Are you hungry yet? You should really eat something."
"What are you, my mom?"
Mike rolls his eyes. God forbid he care. "How does a smoothie sound?"
Harvey has a feeling Mike isn't going to let this go anytime soon so he just agrees to let Mike make him a smoothie. "I guess that would be okay."
"Great. Just tell me where you keep your blender and I'll get right on that."
"Cabinet to the right of the sink."
While Mike runs off to make the smoothie, Harvey leans his head back on the couch and closes his eyes, and waits for the medication to kick in. He didn't expect to be in this much pain afterward. Or maybe he's just being a giant baby.
-
"Here you go," Mike says holding the glass out to Harvey. "Sorry, no straw. Don't want you getting dry socket."
Harvey takes a sip of it. His eyebrow raises in surprise.
"What do you think?"
"It's delicious. Are you sure you made this?"
"I'm a man of many talents."
"I'm starting to see that."
They end up turning the TV back on and watching it together. Harvey drinks nearly the entire smoothie. Mike catches him shiver as he gets closer to the bottom of the glass and gets up and finds a blanket to cover him up with. Harvey's never had anybody take care of him like this. He could get used to it.
They stay right there on the couch for the next two hours, Mike couldn't tell you what they'd watched the entire time because he's paying more attention to Harvey than he is the tv. As it gets later Harvey's eyes get heavier and heavier and his head starts to fall to the right until it's fallen all the way down and is now resting entirely on Mike's shoulder. Mike doesn't dare move to wake him up, even when his shoulder starts tingling and goes completely numb.
-
Harvey opens his eyes and blinks a few times to allow them to adjust to his surroundings. He lifts his head and Mike shifts in his sleep. Harvey realizes that he must have fallen asleep on Mike. He can only hope Mike fell asleep first otherwise he's never going to be able to live that one down.
He carefully gets up off the couch, not wanting to disturb Mike and heads to the bathroom. After he finishes he turns on the sink to wash his hands and it's his first time looking in a mirror and he's horrified at the way he looks. His face is so swollen, all the way up to the point that even his eye looks affected. He wonders if that's normal. He's certain it shouldn't be. It also hurts like a bitch. He softly pokes and prods it with his finger, wincing at each and every touch.
He finishes washing his hands and goes back out to the living room. He takes the blanket that he had been covered with and drapes it over Mike. Mike starts to move a little. "Shh," Harvey says. Mike immediately settles back down.
Harvey goes out into the kitchen and opens his bottle of painkillers and shakes one into his hand. It's 1 in the morning now, he can't remember what time it was that he had the last ones but the pain tells him that he's overdue for another one. He gets a glass from the cabinet and fills it with water at the sink before tossing it into his mouth and chasing it down with water.
He's feeling a little nauseous so he decides the best course of action is just to lay back down. He stops to check on Mike before he goes back to the bedroom. He's curled his knees up on the couch and has the blanket pulled up to his neck. He looks so peaceful.
"Goodnight, Mike," he whispers to him.
-
It's 4 in the morning when Harvey wakes up in a cold sweat. He's burning up, dizzy and he feels like he has to throw up.
He tries to sit up and that only amplifies the feeling of needing to throw up.
"Mike," he calls out his name instinctively.
Within minutes, Mike is rushing into his room.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"I don't--I don't feel so good."
Mike turns on the bedroom light and he can immediately see that Harvey's grey shirt is soaked in sweat. He places his hand on Harvey's forehead. "You're burning up. Let me go get you some Tylenol," Mike says as he turns to leave the room.
Harvey grabs onto his wrist and stops him. "No. Stay."
"I'll be right back. I promise."
Harvey lets his wrist go and Mike goes into the bathroom to check the medicine cabinet for some Tylenol. He finds some and brings both that and a glass of water into the bedroom. "Here. Take these," he says.
Harvey takes the pills from his hand and puts them into his mouth. His shaky hand reaches for the glass next, Mike helps him steady it as he brings it to his mouth to get a sip from it.
"Let's get you out of that wet t-shirt next, okay?" Mike says. He goes over to Harvey's dresser and grabs the first t-shirt that he sees and brings it over to him. Harvey struggles to get his t-shirt off, Mike helps him so he doesn't bump his sore jaw in the process.
He'll admit it, he's thought about undressing Harvey before, but this wasn't quite the way he'd fantasized about it happening.
They toss aside the wet shirt and work on getting the clean, dry shirt on next. "There. How's that?" Mike asks once it's on.
"Better," Harvey says. "Thanks."
"I'll be right back," Mike says before disappearing once more. This time he goes into the bathroom and finds a washcloth. He runs it under cold water and brings it out to Harvey for him to rest on his head. "Keep that on there."
"I love you," Harvey blurts out.
Mike definitely did not hear that right.
"You're so good to me. Better than I could ever deserve and I just--I love you."
"I think your fever is making you say things you're going to regret."
"No. I mean it. You're my best friend," he smiles.
Mike has to laugh at that. "Harvey, you really need to stop talking. Just close your eyes before I have enough blackmail material to last me the next five years."
Harvey closes his eyes. But then he opens them again. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"
Mike never knew Harvey could be so needy. But truth is, he kind of likes being needed by Harvey in this way. "I can do that."
Mike sits down on the bed next to Harvey and waits until he falls asleep. He checks his forehead after a half hour and he doesn't feel as hot. After another half hour, it seems like the fever is completely gone. Mike finally feels like he's okay to go lay back down on the couch and get some sleep himself.
-----
Mike gets up early and the first thing he does is check on Harvey. He's still sleeping. Though, it doesn't seem to be too peacefully. He seems a little restless.
He stands at the door and just watches him for a while. He hates seeing Harvey like this. He doesn't think he should be having this rough of a time with it either and thinks maybe there's something wrong. He guesses he won't fully know until Harvey wakes up and he can get a better look at him.
While he sleeps Mike decides to get a shower. He doesn't have any clothes to change into so he borrows a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from Harvey. They're a little big, but they'll make due.
By the time he's done showering and getting dressed Harvey is awake and sitting up in bed. The swelling and bruising look terrible, especially on the right side where he had the impacted tooth.
"Jesus, you look like shit," Mike says, shocked at the sight.
"Guess I'll have to cancel my GQ photoshoot, huh?"
"Harvey, how do you feel?"
"Like I look. I can barely see out of my right eye."
"Do you think you have an infection?" Mike walks over and places a hand on Harvey's forehead.
"What are you d--?"
"You feel a little feverish."
"Are you a fake doctor now?"
"Ha. Ha. You need to make an appointment. Get some antibiotics. Until then I'll get you some more Tylenol for your fever and it looks like you already found your pain meds."
"I did."
"Let me go get the Tylenol again," Mike says turning on heel towards the door.
"Hey, Mike?"
"You don't have to do this, you know."
"Do what?"
"The whole taking care of me thing. You don't have to do it."
"I know," is all Mike says before leaving the room.
Harvey pushes out a breath and lays back down against his pillow.
-----
Harvey's able to do a virtual appointment with a doctor and he's prescribed some antibiotics which Mike volunteers to go pick up for Harvey. Of course, he does.
Harvey spends the better part of the day icing his face in an attempt to get the swelling down. Mike hangs out with him on the couch and keeps him company. It's nice to have him here.
"Hey, Harvey?" Mike says in the middle of their 3rd movie of the day.
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember what you said to me last night?"
"What?"
"You said something to me last night. I warned you to be careful to not say something you would regret. Do you remember that?"
Harvey scrunches his face like he's trying to remember. "No clue," he lies. "Why? Was it something embarrassing and now you're going to use it against me?"
"No. Nothing like that," Mike says, trying his best to hide the disappointment in his voice. He wishes Harvey remembered. Him not remembering means it was probably just something ridiculous he was saying as result of his high fever.
-----
The antibiotics really seem to help and the swelling starts to go down over the next few days. Harvey's not in so much pain and he's able to do things for himself, though, he admits, he always could do things for himself, it was just nice having Mike there to help him do those things.
-----
"So, this is it. The last supper," Mike says.
"Don't be so dramatic. I'm not kicking you out of here just because I'm feeling better. You're welcome here anytime."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"I mean, I guess that is only fair. I did nurse you back from the brink of death."
"Brink of death? Give me a break."
"You certainly acted like that's what it was."
"No, I didn't."
Mike rolls his eyes. "Just like you didn't call me your best friend either."
"That doesn't sound like something I would say."
"Yeah, well, you said it. And you told me you loved me."
"Because I do."
Mike is getting ready to argue and has to stop himself to make sure he heard what he heard. "Wait, what did you just say?"
"I said because I do. Love you."
"Okay, did you get news that you're dying and that's why you're saying this?"
"I'm saying it because I mean it. Nobody cares about me the way you do. And I don't care about anybody the way I care about you."
Mike just stares at Harvey in silence. He's still not entirely sure that Harvey isn't fucking with him right now or this isn't some fever dream of his own.
"Mike? Would you say something?"
"I-I don't know what to say."
"I don't want to put words into your mouth but it would be nice to hear an 'I love you' back. It'd make this a little less awkward for me."
"I love you," Mike finally says. "Wait...so it wasn't just the fever talking when you said it to me the other day ago? Are you sure you don't have a fever now?
"No fever. I'm completely lucid. I swear." Harvey gets up and walks over to Mike, he takes his hand and helps stand him up. "When I said you're welcome here anytime, let me be more specific. I don't want you to go home. I want you to stay here."
"You're asking me to move in?"
"That's the rough translation, yeah."
"Okay, yes, I'll move in with you."
Harvey gently cups Mike's face with his hand and leans in and their lips crash together. Mike kisses back moving his mouth over Harvey's, letting his tongue explore every inch of his mouth. Neither wants the kiss to end, both having waited so long for this very moment.
After what feels like both an eternity and a brief moment in time, they break apart, both breathless and desperate for air.
"Why now?"
"What?"
"Why tell me you love me now?"
"I know my surgery wasn't anything big or life-changing, but it didn't matter, you treated it like it was. And when I look at who's in my corner, it's always you. And I know it always will be. The same way I'll always be in yours. I think it's time we stop denying ourselves this."
"I think so too," Mike says as he leans forward and softly presses a kiss to Harvey's lips.