Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If he knew that becoming a doctor would end up with him in a dead end town, suffering from chronic exhaustion, and drowning under bills turning him into a stress pimple riddled pubescent boy, Harvey might have given it a bit more thought.

He leaned back in his chair, wincing as multiple bones popped in his back. Rubbing his neck, which had a crick in it since that morning, he absently palmed his table for his mug of coffee. A glance at the time revealed it to be a little too late for a caffeine boost, but despite being a doctor he learned quite quickly that it was easy to care about other people’s health with a complete disregard of his own. Okay, not a complete disregard. Harvey kept himself as healthy as he could. There was a reason he shoved down his embarrassment every Tuesday morning and joined the ladies in their aerobics class. Yoba, he still had nightmares about the giggling they’d done the first time he showed up. While no one had teased him about it yet, he was absolutely positive everyone in town knew about it.

Except Amy, apparently. He would never forget the look on her face when they’d locked eyes after a particularly vigorous session. He swore Caroline was punishing them all for indulging in the Luau’s potluck. As if she hadn’t had three servings herself. It never tasted as good as it did that year. But that wasn’t the point. The point was, the new farmer—she’d been there for over a year now, could he still call her new?—took one look at his wheezing, red faced, pink headband wearing self and promptly choked on her own laughter.

He’d dragged her aside, fumbling and stuttering through his explanation, ending with a plea of, “Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

Her face had changed incrementally throughout his explanation, ending with a soft, blinding smile as she squeezed his hand—he didn’t really remember grabbing it.

“I’m not going to tell anyone,” she promised sincerely. Then, she grinned, hazel eyes twinkling with mischief. “But you do know that this town is full of gossipers, right? You’re in class with three of the biggest offenders.”

He glanced over his shoulder, not surprised to find Caroline, Robin, and Jodi tucked together in a circle. One of them gasped at a whispered secret hidden behind a hand. Whatever secret it was, it would be common knowledge by tomorrow morning. Running a hand through his sweaty hair, he heaved a big, miserable sigh.

“I know.”

Amy’s smile had only grown. She let go of his hand, patted him on the shoulder, and turned to leave. But not before glancing over her shoulder with a smirk as she informed him, “The headband’s cute.”

Harvey may or may not blush every time he puts it on. 

He hadn’t seen her since that incident, and that had been weeks ago. Summer rolled into Fall. By the whispers of the townsfolk, Everton Farms was going to produce the biggest harvest they’d seen since summer of last year. Harvey frowned at the reminder, leaning forward to tug at his patient information binder. He remembered seeing Amy that summer for a checkup, admonishing her for her elevated heart rate when she sheepishly explained that she might have overestimated what she could handle. He’d taken a trip to her farm the next morning, childishly gaping at the rows, rows, and rows of tomatoes that swallowed the farmland. Harvey wrote a strongly worded letter that formally began with, As your primary doctor I recommend… and basically ended with HIRE A FARMHAND OR SO HELP ME-

He did not use those particular words. What he did write, however, got the point across if Sam complaining in deep regret about responding to her Summer Help Wanted request said anything. Harvey had covered his wide smile with his glass of wine.

Rifling through the binder, he came across Amy’s profile. He cringed when he found that she was two weeks past her annual checkup. The search for his coffee became a search for blank paper and a pen as he hastily wrote a note requesting her to make an appointment to see him at her earliest availability. She probably didn’t need the check up; he saw her last month after she decided to brave the deeper levels of the mines. It wouldn’t hurt, though, and he didn’t do full checkups for every emergency.

You just want to see her, a quiet part of his brain whispered. Harvey pushed it aside with minor irritation.

Since winter Amy had been making an effort to establish good relationships with everyone in town. When she first came to the valley she wasn’t sure she would stay, or so she told him recently one night over drinks at the Saloon. She’d been hesitant to make friends if she would leave in the end. But after she surpassed her self-imposed trial period of three seasons, she let go of her reservations and began bonding with everyone. Stardew Valley was her home now.

Since then, Harvey had gotten rather used to her social visits. They were never planned, though he’d picked up on her habit of coming by on Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons. She surprised him on the occasional rainy day and sometimes he heard her talking to Maru before bouncing into his office with a cheeky, hey doc! Those visits had trickled down to… well, nonexistent since the season began. He couldn’t blame her if she was busy, and the town sure enjoyed the surplus of fresh farm produce.

He just… missed her. Just a bit.

Or a lot, the mental voice snorted. Harvey shook his head, snapping the binder closed.

So what if he woke up on Monday’s and Thursday’s with a smile, hoping she’d make a random stop-in? So what if he looked forward to her knocking on his office door, usually with a thermos of fresh coffee to share or the occasional jar of pickles? That didn’t mean anything. He simply enjoyed her company. Amy was a great conversationalist. She spoke with great emotion and inflection, peppering the occasional sarcastic remark or joke into their chit-chats. Harvey lost count of how many times she made him laugh hard enough to bring out his embarrassing squeaks. That certainly wasn’t equivalent to the wonder she inspired whenever she got passionate about a subject. He particularly loved it when he managed to make her laugh because it overtook her whole body. That meant he got to watch her eyes glimmer as the most beautiful smile spread over her lips-

He groaned, slumping forward on his desk. His head hit the surface with a pathetic thunk that was sure to be a bruise by tomorrow.

Who was he kidding?

Harvey had a crush. A rather unethical one, given that he was her primary doctor. The smart thing for him to do would be to recommend her to someone else. But due to the small area, it would be inconvenient for her to see someone else. The only reason Harvey saw residents of other towns was because the medical personnel there were overbooked and understaffed. A delightful problem to have, he thought on the occasion.

In reality, Harvey was a coward and never, ever wanted to have that awkward conversation with her. He could only imagine how it would go.

“Oh hello, Amy. Fine day, isn’t it? By the way, I was thinking it would probably be a good idea for you to see a doctor somewhere else. Like Zuzu city, maybe? Why, you ask? Oh, nothing too bad. I just have the equivalent of a tragic schoolboy crush on you. Horrible, isn't it?”

Yes, that would go over fantastically. He wouldn’t blame her if she never talked to him again. He would be forever known as the unethical doctor that dared develop a crush on an unsuspecting patient. And of course there had to be an uncomfortable age gap of seven years between them. Not as distressing as ten, like her and Elliott—he may have told everyone he’s thirty-two, but a peek at his medical records indicated otherwise—but still wide enough that he felt like a creep. What was the term for people like him? A cradle robber? Yes. That was it. He could hear the whispers and see the disgusted glances already. He’d probably get kicked out of dance aerobics and have to pick up something else. Like running.

…he hated running.

Sighing, Harvey lifted his head enough to squint at the note he penned. It was just a checkup. Nothing too serious or invasive. He’d assess the situation and see if he could think clearly and handle himself properly around her. If he could then there would be no issue. If he couldn’t… well, he’d get to that point and go from there.

Walking into Pierre’s General Store, Harvey immediately knew that something had happened, given Robin’s giant gasp of, “She did what?!”

“Robin, darling, keep your voice down,” Caroline giggled. Squinting, Harvey could catch a flash of her green hair beyond the shelves. The two of them walked towards the door where their class would be taking place. “We aren’t sure who she bought it for. Besides, I still need to tell Jodi, so let’s wait for her.”

“Wait? You can’t expect me to wait for this! Oh Yoba,” she bemoaned. “Demetrius is going to kill her.”

“What brought this on?”

“She’s been spending so much time with Maru lately! I began to suspect…”

Her voice got too faint for Harvey to pick up, and he trailed after them, drawn in by the excitement. He tried to distance himself from gossiping, finding it rather impolite, but boy was he a sucker for it. Robin especially made it so fascinating to hear that he couldn’t help but strain his ears to listen in.

“...always came by for Sebby, but maybe it was actually for Maru. Ever since she mentioned Amy’s been visiting her at the clinic I’ve just had this inkling.”

This was about Amy? Harvey inched closer, stooping down to pretend to tie his shoes when he got close enough. Caroline was setting up a mat at the front of the room, Robin standing beside her with her arms crossed. They’d lowered their voices, as Pam, Marnie, and Leah were also there.

“Are you sure it’s for Maru?” Caroline cautioned, her lips pursing. “Because Abigail’s favorite topic of conversation has been the farmer lately.”

“Well, not to burst your bubble but just because Abigail has a crush doesn’t mean it’s reciprocated-”

“Amy is here every week buying seeds and she always visits Abigail-”

“Oh Dr. Harvey!”

He jerked to his feet, heat rushing to his face as he spun. Jodi stood in the hall behind him. He’d been blocking the way for her.

“J-Jodi,” he stammered. “Lovely, uhm, morning, isn’t it?”

“Quite.” She hid a smile behind her hand. “I’ve been meaning to ask you if you had any openings for a check in? Vincent has been complaining about a sore throat and I wanted to bring him by. I waited because you know how children can be sometimes.”

“Certainly!” He slipped easily into his doctor mode. “You know the door is always open. Well, not always since we do close sometimes but-”

“Jodi!” Robin yelled, rushing over to her. Her red hair bounced as she grabbed her friend's arm. “You would not believe what Caroline told me! Apparently the farmer Amy came in early this morning and bought a flower bouquet!”

Jodi’s gasp was loud enough to cover up Harvey’s own. He resisted the urge to press a hand over his mouth, criminalizing himself to having the same reaction.

“Are you certain?” she hushed, grabbing back at Robin. “Has she given it to anyone yet?”

“Not that we know of. I’m almost positive it's for Maru though.”

“Maru?” Jodi frowned, her hand slipping away. “She and Sam are always together though! You know he started helping her with this season’s harvest-”

It was as Harvey wasn’t standing between them as they continued to whisper, definitely not quiet enough. He heard every word but had a hard time processing them as his own thoughts took precedence. Since he’d been a resident of the valley he’d heard many stories about the traditional gifting of a flower bouquet to proclaim romantic interest. He smiled at the success stories and either laughed or cringed at the failures. He remembered Robin and Caroline reminiscing about a younger Abigail and Sebastian. The eight year old girl had stolen a bouquet from her father and marched all the way up the mountain to shove it in the young boy's face. There had been many, many tears when Sebastian scrunched up his nose and said, “Ew. No.”

But then there were couples like Jodi and Kent. He’d invited her to a romantic candle lit dinner and placed the bouquet in a vase as the centerpiece. They had to move the flowers later to see each other over the table, but it got the point across and spring boarded their long lasting marriage of over twenty years.

If Amy bought a bouquet, that meant she was quite serious about someone in the valley. It could be anyone. Sam, Maru, Abigail—he’d even caught her laughing over a pint of beer with Shane a while back. He knew that besotted smile wasn’t for the alcohol, but rather for the pretty brunette sitting beside him. With her spending so much time getting to know everyone, Harvey shouldn’t have been surprised that she connected with someone deep enough to want to pursue something with them. The question was, who?

A tiny, very small part of his brain hoped it was him. But the logical, far more intelligent side knew there wasn’t a chance. They’d barely spoken aside from the times she came in with minor injuries—or major; those stupid mines—and when they ran into each other in town. Those conversations were hardly poignant, consisting of a hello and goodbye. Sometimes Harvey caught himself rambling on about something ridiculous and cut himself off before she could fall asleep on him. He highly doubted that the few times they’d managed to talk about something deep was enough to create an emotional connection. Sure, he knew about her relationship with her family and her struggles with anxiety and depression—which he unfortunately shared, but it made it easier to relate. He certainly could never forget the tears she shed when she expressed exactly why she hated the Joja Corporation so much. He was a little glad about that one, since it led her to coming here, but-

Okay. Maybe they did have quite a few bonding moments that made them emotionally close. That didn’t mean she was attracted to him. Harvey didn’t think he was bad looking, but he wasn’t physically fit like Alex, nor did he have clean-cut looks like Penny. If he had to compare himself physically to anyone it would be… Shane. Yes. Shane. That was…

Well. It wasn’t flattering, if he was being honest. A rude thought to have, but come on. Even if Shane had begun looking better since he cut back on the alcohol, he still held on to that ridiculous scruff and was soft around the middle. Harvey hated being so judgmental, especially since those judgements were hypocritical. He was in the same boat, what with his mustache—trimmed to perfection, mind you—and inability to convince his muscles to be toned. His hair was okay though! No danger of balding for at least fifteen more years.

Just… she was way out of his league in the looks department. The prescription on his glasses may be abysmal, but he wasn’t blind. Amy was a very beautiful woman. With long brown hair she often pulled into a ponytail or messy bun, hazel eyes that couldn’t decide whether to be predominantly blue, grey, or green, and working on a farm burned off any extra calories her body tried to store away. Harvey bet that she could beat everyone except Alex in an arm wrestling match. Even then she’d give him a run for his money. Yoba, he would pay to see that!

Point being, Amy was out of his league. Period. There was no possible way she could ever be attracted to him, romantically or sexually. Holding onto a smidgen of hope was ridiculous and childish of him. He couldn’t let this—this crush of his get out of hand by indulging in pointless fantasies. He wasn’t a schoolboy plucking at flower petals mumbling, does she, does she not? under his breath. Harvey would stop right this instance. And when it was revealed who Amy fancied, he’d congratulate them both with a genuine smile and well wishing's for their relationship.

“Right. I can do that,” he said to himself. He forgot he wasn’t alone, and he blinked Robin’s and Jodi’s confused frowns into focus. Caroline had also joined them, and she had both eyebrows raised. Heat crawled up his neck, seeping into his cheeks and ears.

“What was that, Dr. Harvey?” Robin questioned, tilted her head.

“Aaha, uhm. Nothing. Sorry, just talking to myself!”

“Are you alright?” Jodi pressed. She lifted a motherly hand to his forehead, checking for a fever. He didn’t know how to tell her she wouldn’t be able to tell with his headband covering the skin. “Maybe you should go home and rest today. You seem a little out of it.”

“I’m quite alright, Mrs. Jodi,” he reassured, removing her hand. He patted it consolingly, flashing her a wide smile. “I simply got lost in my thoughts. Hearing that we might be having a new couple to celebrate in the valley is a cause of excitement.”

“I knew you were always listening to our gossip sessions.” Robin slapped him on the shoulder, winking at him. She seemed oblivious to the fact that they’d been discussing it right in front of him. “We’ll be sure to let you know if we hear who the lucky girl or guy is. But I’m at least eighty percent sure that it’s Maru.”

“You’ve been spending far too much time with Demetrius,” Caroline chortled.

“Well, he is my husband.”

Harvey smiled as they laughed, ignoring the twisting in his gut.

Whoever it was, as long as they made Amy happy, Harvey would be okay. Her happiness, after all, was what mattered to him the most.

Although he did his best not to, he kept an ear open for any news. By Thursday everyone knew Amy bought a bouquet, but there hadn’t been a peep about her giving it away yet. Despite his best efforts, anytime he engaged in a mindless task his thoughts would wander into speculation. Of all the unmarried, eligible young men and women of this town, who would Amy be inclined towards? 

He didn’t see her around Elliott or Leah often, but that could be because he himself didn’t see them. Every time she was in the Saloon for a night she chatted with Emily while having non-alcoholic drinks with Shane. Unless it was a Friday night. Friday nights she hung out with the trio in the back, either playing pool with the boys or hitting the arcade machine with Abigail. This past summer he’d heard Alex proudly announce that she was his best customer, second to Haley. So Amy could have been going down to the ice cream cart to see either of them. She spent a lot of time with Penny last winter. Sam, of course, had been working with her on the farm, apparently not traumatized enough from the past summer to decline a rehiring. That singled him out as the person she spent the most time with lately, but was there much time for talking when there was corn to be harvested?

And then there was Maru. Whenever Amy broke routine and visited on a day Maru was there, she’d spend a few minutes talking with the nurse before coming to see him. Harvey didn’t know how long they talked, but it seemed rather short compared to the hour or more Amy would spend with him. It led him to believe that Maru wasn’t the one who held her affections, but he also didn’t know if she saw her outside of the clinic. He certainly wouldn’t want to always be visited at work, especially when there was someone who could interrupt at a moment’s notice. Which he'd done a few times by accident when he hadn’t surfaced from his work brain enough to register that she was talking to someone. He cringed, thinking about those times now.

It bothered him that she hadn’t come by, but it was understandable that she would want to devote her time to the person who held her affections. However, that did not mean she could ignore his note asking her to set up an appointment. She was already late for the checkup, admittedly his fault for not sending a reminder, but to not even send a response back after an entire week? It was frankly irresponsible. With how much physical labor she did, it was imperative to get regular appointments to ensure she wasn’t overworking herself! If it was too much trouble to come up to the clinic he was more than willing to make an in-house visit like he did often with George. He was half convinced that if she didn’t show up today he would march down to her farm tomorrow morning with a medical bag and-

“Good morning, Maru!”

Harvey nearly fell out of his chair, he spun around so fast. He zeroed in on his half open office door, fingers fumbling for his glasses. He’d taken them off to rub irritably at his temples. Jamming them on his face, he internally screamed at his heart to shut up so it wasn’t pounding in his ears.

“Good morning, Amy! It’s wonderful to see you visit. You haven’t come by in a while.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” She laughed, beautiful and crystalline “This season is kicking my butt. I think this is the first time I’m leaving the farm in three days. I’m still trying to find the balance of making a substantial profit while also not killing myself in the process. Thank goodness Sam was willing to be a farmhand again.”

“That is very kind of him.”

Harvey inched closer to the door, peering outside. Maru often kept the door leaning to the front desk open, finding no reason to keep it closed. He could barely see the two of them.

“Well, I actually can’t stay for long. I’ve got a lot of people I need to see today—I feel awful for neglecting everyone, so I brought a little special something.”

“Aww, strawberries? Amy, you shouldn’t have!”

“I’ve got a spot in the greenhouse for them. I can’t give you a surplus of them during spring and leave you high and dry the rest of the time, right?”

“I could always get them from Joja Mart-” Harvey just knew Amy’s nose scrunched in distaste at that. “-but I really appreciate it. You’re so kind to me, Amy.”

“I do my best.”

Was that flirting? Oh Yoba it might be flirting. Harvey shouldn’t be listening to this-

“Could you pass this along to Harvey, by the way? I know if I go into his office I’ll get stuck there and I’m on a really tight schedule.”

Wow. That. It was fine but- okay. No. It was not fine. Yoba that really hurt to hear. He misread all of their interactions. She wasn’t spending more time with him because she enjoyed his company. She felt stuck because he kept rambling on and wouldn’t let her leave. Yoba he was an absolute idiot-

“Oh!” Amy suddenly exclaimed. Harvey heard a crinkle of paper and Maru gasped. “And these are for you. I put it together this morning. Do you like it?”

“Amy,” Maru breathed, breathless in a way Harvey had never heard before. “It’s gorgeous, but I—I mean are you sure? I didn’t think we were close enough- not that I’m saying no! I would love to be- I guess I’m just really flattered.”

That sounded almost like- Harvey tilted his head to the side, putting more of them in view. He bit down hard on his tongue to stop himself from releasing whatever high pitched nose his throat produced.

In Maru’s hands was a beautiful, bright colored bouquet. It burst with healthy, glowing flowers arranged carefully in tan wrapping paper. Although he couldn’t see her face, he knew the younger girl was flustered by the rise of her shoulders. Across the counter, Amy smiled, pleased.

“I’m glad that you like them.”

“I love them.” Maru ran a finger over the petal of a fairy rose. “And I most certainly accept!”

Amy did something strange. She tilted her head, still smiling, but Harvey had seen her confused face enough to know that’s what she displayed. It made him confused as well. Surely that wasn’t the reaction someone gave after the person they asked to date them said yes, was it?

“Alright then. That makes me happy to hear,” she offered instead of asking Maru to explain. She always asked Harvey to clarify whenever he said something that confused her. So maybe she wasn’t confused at all and Harvey was misreading it. After all, he clearly misinterpreted their other interactions. “I’ve got to get going now, but I’ll see you later! Say hello to the doc for me!”

“I will. Thank you, Amy.” Maru sounded over the moon. “I’ll—I’ll see you later.”

With another smile and wave, Amy slipped out the doors. Harvey remained in the doorway of his office, paralyzed physically. Internally, however he felt-

Well. He didn’t feel good. It was bad enough that he had a hopeless crush on her—oh who was he kidding; it wouldn’t hurt this much if it was just a silly crush—but they hadn’t even been friends. He played himself into thinking she stayed as long as she did because she enjoyed talking to him. In reality she’d been itching to leave and he couldn’t shut his mouth around her or read social cues. It was a double K.O that caused him to return to his chair, slumping miserably against the desk. He barely lifted his head when Maru knocked on his door, holding a bottle of wine.

“Sorry to bother you, Dr. Harvey-” she glowed, dark skin radiant with her smile. “-but Amy came by and asked me to give this to you.”

He forced himself to sit upright. Forcing a smile had never been this hard before. His mother told him that with his mustache it was hard to see him smile anyway.

“I heard, thank you Maru.”

He took the bottle from her, turning it over in his hands. The label of Everton Farms peered up at him, sophisticated and clean. He remembered Amy sitting in his office sketching out a rough draft before taking it to Leah to get it done professionally.

“...you heard?”

He peeked back up at her, finding her fidgeting with a deep blush and besotted smile. Harvey’s heart clenched, but he forced another smile. Brighter and broader.

“I did. Congratulations-” Yoba, that was so hard to say. “-I wish you two the best!”

Maru blossomed before his eyes, just as beautiful as the flowers she’d received minutes before.

“Thank you, Dr. Harvey.”

It wasn’t until she closed his office door behind her that he let his smile fall. The bottle clinked on the desk, followed by his glasses. He rubbed at his face, scrubbing his palms against his eyes. Whoever said men don’t cry was an idiot, because those were definitely tears scratching at his skin. It didn’t matter at all really, who said it.

Because Harvey was the stupidest of them all.

Chapter Text

The following two days passed in a haze for him. He floated through the hours, present only in his head when he wasn’t seeing patients. Jodi brought Vincent by since his sore throat had developed into a cough. He sent them home with medicine and a lolly. Jodi seemed unusually happy despite her son’s illness, off-handedly mentioning that she won the bet against Robin. Not able to recall what the bet was, he simply smiled and congratulated her.

It wasn’t until Sunday that he realized the town was rather… off.

Harvey wasn’t too religious, but he’d seen a few miracles in his residency that convinced him there was a higher being out there. He didn’t necessarily believe it was Yoba, but he found himself walking into the worship room on Sunday, seeking some sort of relief from the ache in his chest. It wasn’t unsurprising to find Jodi, Kent, and George inside, but it was surprising that when they all left that Caroline and Jodi glared at each other. Kent wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulder, mumbling, “Leave it alone, Jodi.”

Harvey blinked. Jodi and Caroline were best friends, last he knew. Why were they fighting?

It got worse when he passed the square and found Robin arguing heatedly in the middle of the two of them with Marnie also hissing venomous words. He stared at the odd sight for several minutes before retreating into the clinic, not wanting to get involved in the middle of it. When he resurfaced that evening, he nearly got bowled over by Pam, the older bus driver grumbling something under her breath about a two-timing promiscuous little—why I outta-! There was steam practically coming out of her ears.

It was far too confusing for him to handle. While he’d been trying to avoid making a poor decision in light of his sorrow, Harvey decided that he deserved a drink. He could retreat to his little apartment above the clinic and open the bottle of wine that sat in his fridge, but he wanted to drink something that didn’t remind him of the farmer that unintentionally broke his heart.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he trudged into the Saloon, faux smile in place.

The main area was abandoned. His smile dipped into a frown as he approached the bar, eyes flickering over the empty chairs and tables. There was a ruckus coming from the side room, but he couldn’t quite hear it over the music playing from the jukebox. Gus stood at the bar alone, polishing a glass with a scowl. Emily was notably absent.

“Good evening, Gus I-”

“Oh not you too!” the bar owner groaned, setting down the glass. He waved his polishing cloth at the side room. “They’re all gathered there. Please remind them all that I don’t allow fist fights in my establishment. I swear Abigail was going to body slam Elliott to the ground earlier. I understand if you’re upset but I think you’re the only one I trust to keep a level head! Well, you and Penny, but I worry that she’s got a dormant anger gene. She is Pam’s daughter after all-”

“Woah, Gus, slow down,” Harvey pleaded, entirely confused. “What do you mean, you too? And what happened between Abigail and Elliott?”

Gus squinted at him, assessing before his eyes widened.

“You don’t know?”

He shook his head, perplexed. “No? What did I miss?”

“Did you receive a bouquet from Amy?”

Gus may as well have stabbed him in the heart. Harvey shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning back on his heels.

“Erm. No. I don’t see why she would give me one? I mean we’re not… I can hardly call us friends-”

“We’re not friends?”

The hurt, confused words came from none other than Amy. Harvey’s heart did a leap at the sight of her, joined with panic.

“A-Amy!” he spluttered. She wore her usual blue jean overalls, hair pulled up with a smear of dirt against her cheek. His fingers twitched to brush it away, but he was far too concerned with the tight hurt in her eyes. “I didn’t mean-”

“I thought we were?” she questioned, mouth twisting into a pout that looked far too adorable. “I get that I haven’t had the time to come by lately, but I thought you understood that I’ve been overbooked with farm work.” Her eyes widened as she stared up at him. “Oh Yoba, did I assume that we were friends? I thought since you never told me you were busy when I came by that you appreciated my company. And naturally I thought-”

“I thought we were friends!” he blurted. “I thought maybe you didn’t see me as a friend because of what you said to Maru-”

He clapped a hand over his mouth, mortified. Amy gaped at him, confused.

“What did I say to Maru-?”

“Amy! You’re here!”

Both of them turned to find Sam approaching. He looked nervous, giving them a smile that he clearly didn’t feel. Amy gave Harvey a look that told him that their conversation wasn’t over before giving Sam her attention.

“Yeah, sorry that I’m a bit late. Orlock was a pain to get back in the barn.”

Sam laughed, forced and stilted. “That stubborn sheep. Uhm. So I called you here because-”

“Are you serious?! Why would she even look twice at someone like you?” Someone yelled from the backroom. Sam winced. Gus muttered, “Yoba help us all” under his breath. Harvey and Amy traded a look.

“Sam?” Amy voiced cautiously. “What is this about?”

“I just want to preface that this was not my idea. It was Haley’s!” he squeaked, waving his hands around as if to ward off any anger or complaints. “But there are a lot of hurt feelings and we’re all really confused.”

“Sam,” Harvey cut in. “What is going on?”

“Just-” he sighed, shoulders sagging. “Follow me.”

Amy didn’t hesitate to follow after him, her work boots thudding heavily against the wood floors. Harvey trailed after at a slower pace, stomach flipping over with nerves and unease. Tension hung thick enough to be tangible. When he crossed the threshold into the game room he practically choked on it.

There were a lot of angry faces mixed with sad ones. In the corner, Penny sat on the couch with her skirt clutched in her hands. Leah had a comforting arm around her shoulder’s, but she stared listless at the floor. Alex stood against the far wall, arms crossed tight over his chest with a jaw clenched. Wrapped around the pool table was Abigail, Haley, Elliott and Sebastian. Shane and Emily stood together, the latter worrying into her bottom lip. Then there was Maru who stood closest to the entrance, her back to the door. Her hands were clenched into fists as she glared tearily at Haley.

“-because I’ve got ten times more brain cells than you do!” she hissed at the blonde. Haley scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“Brains aren’t everything. Unfortunately for you, someone could stick you in a pen of donkeys and no one would be able to tell the difference-”

“Haley,” Amy gasped in time with Sebastian’s snap. No one heard her. The dark haired man sneered at Haley from across the table. “You’re taking it too far.”

“Like you haven’t said worse things to her! After all, you’re the one always reminding us that she’s your step -sister.”

“At least my sister isn’t a fantasizing creep!”

“Hey!” Emily cried. “Just because I mentioned she might have intended to date all of us does not make a creep!”

“It does when four of you are literally related!” Abigail screeched, slapping her hands on the table. “Besides, I do not share-”

“Don’t talk about her like she’s a possession,” Elliott growled, tilting his chin up imposingly. “She’s her own person.”

“Yet you have no issues using her as inspiration for your novel,” Leah cut in quietly, but with enough sharpness to kill. “That’s just as bad.”

“Excuse me? Just how many paintings and portraits do you have of her in that little decrepit cottage of yours?”

“I asked for permission!”

“Guys,” Penny rasped. Her eyes shone with tears. “Please, just stop fighting-”

“Look, it’s a waste of time for me to be here,” Shane grumbled. “It’s clear that she just pitied me so-”

“Amy!”

It was Alex who spotted her and made the choked announcement. The room went silent as ten pairs of eyes landed on the three in the doorway. Harvey gulped, shifting slightly behind Amy as if she could hide him. Sam cringed again, running a hand through his blonde hair.

“So, uh. This is why I called you here,” he explained unhelpfully.

Amy crossed her arms, frowning at them all. “I still don’t get it-”

“Amy!” Haley cried, breaking from the group and rushing forward. She crashed into her hard enough to send her tumbling back against Harvey. Out of reflex he put a hand against her lower back to steady her. Hazel eyes flashed up to him before darting down to the blonde attached to her arm. A super close, pouting, eyelash fluttering blonde that jutted her lips forward in a predominant pout.

“Babe,” she crooned, syrupy sweet. “Explain to all these idiots that you’re in an exclusive relationship with me.”

Harvey choked.

Amy choked.

Yells and exclamations exploded from the other occupants of the room.

“That’s not fair she asked me first-!”

“She’s not stupid enough to date you-!”

“That’s so presumptuous-!”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Amy shouted, raising her voice incrementally to be heard over everyone else. “Everyone shut up!”

They quieted down. Against her arm, Haley frowned, the slightest crease appearing between her eyebrows. Amy gently pried her hand from her arm, taking a slight step back. Harvey stilled, unsure if he should take a step back to accommodate her or if he should stay put. Yoba she was so close and his hand was still on her back-

“Haley,” Amy murmured, ducking her head. Her eyes darted around the room, no doubt concerned about their audience. “I’m not- we’re not dating?”

Haley gasped, reeling back as if struck. Her blue eyes quickly filled with tears. “We—we’re not? But you gave me a bouquet!”

“I knew it!” Abigail exclaimed. “You were making it up you stupid blonde bint-”

“Abigail!” Amy scolded, whipping towards the young purple haired woman. “That wasn’t necessary at all!”

“Well she’s obviously lying! You said it yourself, you aren’t dating so you didn’t give her bouquet-”

“But I did give Haley a bouquet,” Amy cut her off. The room went silent. She glanced around, face twisting in confusion. “I gave you all bouquets. I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss anyone-”

“You intended to give everyone a bouquet?” Maru asked, her head tilted.

Amy blinked. “Yes. I didn’t want to leave anyone out.”

“Yoba, she expected to date all of us,” Shane choked out, sinking to the floor in a crouch. Beside him, Emily patted his head, not looking too disturbed by the idea.

“Okay, nope. I’m out,” Sebastian declared, backing away. “I am not dating the same girl as my sister.”

“I guess my mother was right,” Penny sniffed. “You really are just a sleaze!”

Harvey’s hand curled into a fist. So Amy was who Pam was talking about when she said all those things… but it couldn’t be true! He knew her. Amy wasn’t—she wasn’t like that.

“What the hell?” Amy whispered to herself. Raising her voice, she fervently declared. “I’m not dating anyone! When did I ask a single one of you to be my boyfriend or girlfriend?”

Sam cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his head. Amy’s glare demanded him to speak and to speak quickly.

“Well, that’s kinda the thing. You did. You asked all of us. And we all said yes.”

Haley crossed her arms, looking seconds from stomping her foot to the ground. “I guess you thought we wouldn’t find out, huh?! You thought you could go behind our backs?!”

“What? No! I’d never—I’m not dating any one of you!”

Now, Harvey may have been slow in the social intelligence side of things, but he was actually pretty smart. Not genius levels like Maru, but higher above average. In his silent observance of the situation unraveling before him and his understanding of Amy, he reached a conclusion quickly.

Amy did not understand the cultural significance of giving a bouquet to an unmarried man or woman.

The jagged rips in his heart snapped back together as if it’d never been torn in two. For the first time in days, he was able to take a full, deep breath without wanting to break down into a sobbing mess on the floor. The instant relief was combatted by the sudden question of why he was the only one who didn’t get a bouquet, but that got overwhelmed by the irresistible urge to laugh. Which he did. Loudly.

Amy turned to look at him over her shoulder, as did the other villagers. It didn’t deter him. He laughed himself breathless, leaning against the wall for support. Fingers slid under his glasses to swipe away the mirthful tears that fell, still giggling like a mad man. The corner of Amy’s mouth twitched with amusement—she was the only one, as the rest of the room varied between annoyance, anger, and confusion.

“Harvey?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow. “What’s got you in stitches?”

Fighting the urge to laugh at her thinly veiled poke at his profession, he collected his breath enough to answer her question with a question. One that would clear up the confusion for everyone else in the room.

“Amy, do you know what giving someone a bouquet of flowers in this valley symbolizes?”

The brunette shook her head, the understanding that she made a social faux pas creeping into her expression. Behind her, Maru slapped her hand against her forehead, hissing, “Of course!”

“It’s a declaration of feelings,” he explained, his smile growing. “When you give it to them, you’re confessing your feelings and asking them to begin a relationship with you.”

Amy’s jaw dropped. She took a step back, spluttering. Her face grew an alarming shade of red as she glanced over the rest of the villagers. Shrinking into herself, she put her face in her hands and groaned.

“This can not be happening.”

“You didn’t know what it meant?” Elliott said slowly. Amy shook her head rapidly, drawing a sigh from him. “Well, I suppose that makes sense. You did look rather confused when I mentioned our age difference. Not that five years is that much of a stretch.”

“Ten years, ” Harvey muttered under his breath. Amy shot him an alarmed look and he coughed. Not a good sign for his own age gap with her. Yoba, he was such a creep for even thinking about that at the moment.

“Wait, so you didn’t ask any of us out?” Penny asked timidly. Her lower lip trembled at the idea. Harvey felt a pinch of sympathy for her. Now that he thought about it, he sympathized with all of them. They had it worse, now that they thought about it. They thought Amy had professed her feelings for them, feelings that they all seemed to reciprocate, given they were here in the Saloon arguing about who she was actually dating. Meanwhile Harvey spent the last couple of days swimming numbly through his heartbreak.

“No, no I didn’t,” she answered with a grimace, letting her fingers slide from her face. “I started growing a lot of flowers in the greenhouse and wanted to try my hand at making bouquets. I just—I just wanted to try my hand at floristry.”

“But you did buy a bouquet from my dad’s store.” They all turned to look at Abigail. She leaned against the pool table, pale-faced.

“To use as a reference.” Amy scraped a hand through her hair, brushing the short strands that escaped her ponytail away. “I didn’t know how long to make the stems, or if I needed to remove all the leaves. Even the wrapping gave me some trouble.”

“So you don’t actually like any one of us?” Alex spoke. For someone usually so confident, it was strange to see him unsure. “No feelings at all for anyone here?”

Just like that, the tension came rushing back, doubling as Amy became the focal point. Her eyes swept over the room, anxious and fretful.

“Uhm,” she fumbled intelligibly. “I’m not sure-”

“Amy, did you not have fun with me the days we took pictures with the cows?” Haley prompted, back to fluttering and pouting.

“I dedicated my novel to you,” Elliott jumped on the bandwagon. “Surely that made your heart flutter?”

“My art show,” Leah added quietly. “We spent all day walking around together. Did that mean nothing to you?”

Harvey’s heart went out to them, but he was far more concerned with Amy. She was growing paler by the second. Being in this kind of predicament was incomprehensible. He couldn’t imagine how she felt at the moment. They were essentially asking her to pick one of them from the crowd.

“Listen,” she rasped, rough with emotion. “I care about all of you, but I don’t—I don’t see any of you like that. I—you’re all my friends and nothing more. I’m sorry.”

It was as if Atlas placed the world on each of their backs. The mood in the room dipped into abysmal darkness, suffocating any joy that might have tried to surface. Penny was the first to break, standing with a warbling sob. She rushed past, her shoulder knocking into Amy’s. Leah stepped after her, expression blank. Amy shifted from the entrance, her back against the wall as the rest of the villagers began to file out. Most with despondency, and a few with unnecessary comments. Maru approached with decency, her mouth pressed into a thin line.

“I know it was a misunderstanding,” she began. “But I think after a year and more of living here you should have made yourself more aware of how we do things around here. It’s the responsible thing to do.”

Amy’s throat bobbed with her swallow. “Maru, I-”

She shook her head, the nonverbal rejection, and stepped past her. Sam and Harvey were the last ones. The young blonde took a deep breath, offering Amy a wobbly smile.

“Thanks for being honest, Aim’s.” It came out wet and he blinked rapidly to fight off the obvious tears forming. “I’m uh. Can I have the next couple days off? I need some personal time.”

“Sam,” she croaked. A hand rose as if she wanted to touch him, but she refrained, letting it fall back to her side. “Sam of course. Take as much time as you need. I—I’m so sorry.”

“I know.” He flashed a watery smile. “I’m sorry too.”

With a nod to Harvey, Sam slipped out of the room, leaving the two of them together. Harvey stood by, unsure of what to do. Did Amy want him to leave? Or would it be better for him to stay? He definitely wanted to stay. Seeing her worked up like this… it made his heart ache in a way it hadn’t before. Especially when tears began slipping over her cheeks.

“Amy,” he murmured. She half turned to him, as if surprised he was still there. Harvey bit the inside of his cheek, hands fluttering in uncertainty. “Do you—do you want me to leave you alone?”

Her face twisted in an obvious attempt to hold herself together, but it didn’t last long as she whimpered, “No, I really don’t.”

She rendered him speechless as she swayed forward, her head thumping against his chest. The awkward fluttering of his hands increased until he was brave enough to wrap his arms around her in a loose embrace. That seemed to be exactly what she needed as she sobbed, hands fisting into the back of his coat. Harvey’s heart broke for an entirely different reason as he held her closer, tucking her head under his and pressing his cheek into her hair. Neither of them spoke. No words would make it better. All he could do was support her and hope it helped ease the pain.

Chapter Text

Amy returned to her disappearing act. The entire town seemed to hold its breath while the villagers recovered from the blow. Harvey made sure the front desk was stocked with tissues for when Maru came in to work. He was quiet in the aerobics class, listening carefully for any gossip about the farmer. Thankfully the women in the class had the decency not to address it, given that three of the involved parties were there. Penny, Emily, and Leah banded together, sticking close as if finding comfort with each other. He could only hope the rest of them were faring well. It wasn’t easy to have your heart broken, especially in such a distressing manner. Harvey got the privilege of having it done privately.

He found himself thinking about the incident, picking it apart. The question he brushed aside so many times came back again and again, puzzling him with the lack of an answer. Amy hadn’t given him a bouquet. She could have easily done so when she gave one to Maru. It probably would have cleared up the misunderstanding much sooner because he couldn’t imagine Maru taking kindly to Amy asking her to pass along a declaration of love like a box of cookies. Especially after she received one herself. But she hadn’t, and that sent him spiraling every time he gave thought to it.

Not receiving one made him glad, in a way. He certainly wouldn’t like to be caught up in the messiness of hearing your girlfriend was dating so-and-so through rumors or from a friend. He could only imagine what it might have been like for Haley and Emily or Sebastian and Maru. Hearing that your sibling was dating the person you were dating… that was all kinds of weird. So he was glad to be spared of the confusion and sick feeling of wondering if your partner was being unfaithful.

He couldn’t imagine how Amy felt at the moment. Every time he tried to put himself in her shoes, he couldn’t wear them for more than a minute before stumbling. Metaphorically, of course. She’d been called many, many unflattering names from the older villagers, especially from the parents of the children she unintentionally hurt. Some of them were hidden behind hands and whispered in passing, but others were hurled at her in anger and frustration. Pam hadn’t spared her from that, when Amy dared show her face in the Saloon to drop something off to Gus. Harvey heard about it in passing, but it made him angry enough to worry for his blood pressure. It got the rest of the villagers to back off, but still, hearing what Pam said to her, the words she used… it made him want to run to the farm, pull her into a hug and make sure she knew that she wasn’t any of those things.

He wanted her to know she was kind and thoughtful. Selfless and giving. She was one of the most loyal people he knew, filled to the brim with honesty and integrity. Also terrifyingly smart. He knew she’d helped Maru with a few of her inventions, and he’d overheard her deep in discussion with Demetrius at a festival about soil levels or something like that. His medical jargon was hard enough to understand, but he swore they’d been speaking in an alien language. She didn’t deserve to be called any names or have a target painted on her back simply for a misunderstanding. It had been a big one, he understood that, but still.

You’re biased, his mind helpfully informed him. He didn’t bother arguing with himself. He was biased. It was because of that bias that he was so confused. Why didn’t Amy give him a bouquet? She was adamant about them being friends when they ran into each other in the Saloon before everything exploded. If he was her friend, wouldn’t he also get a bouquet? He understood not receiving one now that she knew the social expectation behind it, but why not before? And he still didn’t understand that comment about her being stuck in his office whenever she came by. She could have said they were friends to spare his feelings, since he would have noticed her come up behind him, but if she didn’t see him as a friend she never would have let him comfort her in the aftermath.

Remembering that tortured him, a little. At the moment there were no romantic intentions. He genuinely just wanted to comfort her and ease her pain. But thinking about it afterwards, he couldn’t help but put it under a different lens. He’d never seen himself as tall, and Amy wasn’t exactly short, but she’d fit perfectly in his arms. He could tuck her against him comfortably without craning his neck in either direction. She’d been warm and despite having worked on the farm before arriving, smelled good. Like grapes, as if she’d been pressing them into the wine he enjoyed so much. Having a girl ugly cry against his chest should have disgusted him a little—he definitely had to throw his shirt in the wash—but when she’d pulled away all he could think was that her eyes were impossibly green. It was striking, and a different version of pretty that she usually was. He filed it away in his mental folder—a library, really—labled Amy. Her eyes turn green after crying. What a helpful piece of information to add to his memory banks.

Yoba, what was wrong with him?

He never, ever, wanted to get a crush ever again. But, it’s not a- Yes, he knew that, thank you very much. Crush was an acceptable term at the moment. He didn’t know how else to describe the mass of feelings tangled painfully in his chest. He didn’t even want to begin to. They turned him into a creepy, obsessive-

Harvey’s head connected with the desk, effectively cutting off his thoughts and giving himself another bruise. Now was not the time to be mentally berating himself. He had work to do.

He did his best to work through the documents he’d been putting off, but when he caught his mind wandering for the seventh time he pushed away from his desk with a resigned sigh. The clock told him it was an acceptable time to take a lunch break. He was alone in the clinic today, so he put up the sign that he’d be back in an hour—if it’s an emergency ring the bell—and trudged up the stairs to his apartment.

Shucking off his coat, he collapsed into his chair next to his HAM radio. A mistake, he knew, because he wouldn’t want to get up again to make himself something to eat. Skipping meals wasn’t the smartest decision, but Harvey was rather used to it. Instead, he put on his headphones and started messing with the dials. Static greeted him multiple times, but he found clear channels every so often.

His dad had been a pilot for the airforce and taught Harvey practically everything one could know about flying. For the longest time he wanted to follow in his footsteps, but fate had other plans. That didn’t stop his obsession with flying. He had quite a few models hanging decoratively from the ceiling as well as a full shelf of books dedicated to aviation. It was his secret passion. One that he engaged in childishly like today.

Harvey flipped to the channel he knew pilots flying over the valley used. Lowering his mic and clearing his throat, he gave his coordinates and nervously waited for a response. He never got one this far out in the valley.

So it was his surprise when crackling sounded in his ears, followed by a, “Copy. Dr. H on the ground. This is Blackbird Fiver Fiver Zuzu. Anything to report?”

He nearly fell out of his chair, eyes blowing wide. Excitement hit him a second later.

“Someone’s there?! Er, I mean-!” Yoba, what was he supposed to say- oh right! He spun his chair, scrambling to make sense of the readings on his desk. He cleared his throat. “Standard ground report, Blackbird. Wind at 3 Clicks, 36 Degrees North of West. Ground Temperature at 42 Kraggs. Humidity 53%-” What else? What else!? He fumbled for something to say, eventually ending with a squeaked, “Dr. H out!”

He practically threw his headphones on the desk, rising to his feet to walk off his embarrassment, more than flustered. He’d just made contact with the a real pilot! He hadn’t managed to do that since the last time he’d gone and seen his dad-

“Harvey?”

Startled was an understatement. One of his feet left the ground as he jumped, nearly tripping to the floor if his hand hasn’t caught the edge of the desk holding his radio set up. The machine rattled, but he didn’t pay it any attention as his head snapped towards the doorway. Amy stared back at him, her double lidded eyes as wide as they could go.

“Amy!” he exclaimed, straightening. His hands smoothed over his shirt and checked his tie, making sure he was presentable for company. He had a habit of absently undressing and forgetting he’d done so. Embarrassed to admit it, but Maru was quite used to him coming downstairs with half his shirt buttoned sometimes. Thankfully his clothes seemed to be in order. “What, uh, what are you doing here?”

“I—I knocked.” She bit her lip, not really answering his question. He appreciated it nonetheless. “Why are you so flustered?”

For the second time, the excitement rushed through him and he grinned unconsciously.

“I just made radio contact with a plane!” he gushed, no thought to how nerdy that made him sound. Another realization hit him and he gasped. Without thinking, he crossed the room and took her hand, dragging her further into his room to the window. “We can probably see him flying overhead right now!”

Pulling the curtain aside and raising the blinds, he scanned the expanse of blue sky for the aircraft. He found it easily, giddily pointing it out. “See, right there!”

He watched it for a second before glancing down at the woman beside him. Their eyes locked; she’d been looking at him instead of the plane. She smiled at him absently, an indisputable look of fondness that made his heart cease to exist before it came roaring back. He was still holding her hand. He couldn’t bring himself to let go.

“I didn’t know you were into planes,” she observed, quiet as if to respect the weird tension between them. Harvey swallowed, forcing himself to nod.

“I wanted to be a pilot as a kid, but-” he shrugged. “-things happen and dreams change.”

“What made you change your mind?”

The prompting for the story made him chuckle and rub the back of his neck. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Harvey, you go to dance aerobics every Tuesday morning with women twenty years older than you,” she reminded with a small giggle. Her head titled, dark hair spilling over her shoulder. He almost never saw it down. It was quite long, easily reaching her waist. He remembered it brushing against the back of his hands. “I don’t think anything can beat that.”

“I have a lot of embarrassing stories that most definitely can beat that,” he blurted, apparently not knowing what a filter was. Good Yoba. He needed to stitch his mouth closed. But, maybe it was fine? It made Amy laugh, swaying towards him.

“Come on, Harvey.” She tugged at his hand, grinning up at him. “I want to hear it.” 

His face felt far too warm. He wanted to blame it on blood pressure or the weather, but he knew it was because he was blushing. He looked back out the window, eyes tracking the plane again.

“My dad was a fighter pilot in the airforce. For my twelfth birthday he managed to get his superiors to look the other way while he took me on a flight. I flew in the back with his RIO. We had to make an emergency landing not even ten minutes in.”

“We’re the loops too much for you?”

“We didn’t do any loops. We barely got to the appropriate altitude before I-” he sighed, using his free hand to cover his face. “Promise me you won’t laugh?”

“Promise.”

“...I threw up on his RIO.”

A beat passed before he heard it. A small, suppressed snort. He tore his eyes from the sky, frowning down at her. She had a hand clasped over her mouth in a desperate attempt to stifle her giggles, but they broke free mere seconds after he looked at her. Caught, she didn’t restrain it any longer, howling with full chested guffaws. He let go of her hand to cross his arms over his chest, unimpressed. He wasn’t hurt though. He knew she would laugh, and he liked making her do so. Even if it came at his expense.

“Oh Harvey,” she gasped. “What happened?”

“Motion sickness and a fear of heights.” He ticked them off on his fingers. “My dreams were crushed. My eyesight got steadily worse over the years too, so that fully kicked it out of the career bucket.”

Her giggles disappeared at that. Her hand found its way into his again, callused fingers squeezing.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” She glanced around the room, no doubt taking in all of the plane related items. “You seem to love it.”

“I do,” he murmured. “But I also love medicine. I’ve come to accept that not every dream is meant to be achieved. That’s how the world works.”

“That’s a little sad.”

“But practical. Besides, plenty of other dreams have come true.”

Her smile returned, joined by a special spark in her eye. “Like what?”

Harvey’s mouth went dry. His tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. No words entered his brain. He hadn’t lied, he did have other dreams that came true, but none came to mind.

“Strange,” he managed to force out. “I can’t think of one right now.”

He didn’t understand why it was difficult to breathe. Or why it was so warm. He also couldn’t look away from her, hopelessly caught by the curve of her smile. Forcing his eyes up to safer territory, not that her freckled nose was safer—too cute to be safe—he cleared his throat.

“It doesn’t matter. Uhm. How are you doing? Not overworking yourself, right?”

“Are you giving me a checkup right now?” She raised an eyebrow at him, leaning away. He didn’t realize she’d been that close.

“Uhm. No.” He glanced around the room, suddenly too aware of the fact that she was in his bedroom. A quick scan showed that it wasn’t a mess. The last thing he wanted her to think was that he was a slob. “But that does remind me. I sent you a note about your annual check up and you never responded.”

She winced, letting go of his hand to run her fingers through her hair. An obvious sign of stress.

“Yikes. I’m sorry about that. I’ve been awful at checking my mail.” She sighed heavily. “If I had checked it, maybe the entire town wouldn’t think I’m some sort of two-timing cheater.”

Anger hit him, sharp and hot. “Pam doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She doesn’t know you.”

Amy’s eyebrows rose exponentially at his outburst. Harvey bit the inside of his cheek, trying to tame the fire down.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “I’m just not fond of the things people have been saying about you. It was a misunderstanding.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I asked eleven different people to be my partner,” she pointed out carefully. “Thank goodness I held off on giving them out to the older folks. I think Robin would have pulled her axe on me.”

“She wouldn’t!”

“I’m certain she would. I swear she almost did when I showed up to play Solarian Chronicles with Sebastian and Sam the other night.” She shook her head, a mix of exasperated and fond. “I did break not one, but two of her kids' hearts.”

Harvey knew he shouldn’t laugh, but he couldn’t tuck away the chuckle her words caused. Amy laughed with him, letting him know it was okay.

“So Sam and Sebastian forgave you?”

“I think most everyone has at this point. I got a couple of apologies in the mail and Emily stopped by to chat. I think Sam’s been doing some work behind the scenes. He’s been really great about this entire thing.”

“He’s a good kid,” Harvey said, trying to ignore the spike of jealousy. Out of everyone, it seemed Sam was Amy’s closest friend, but he knew there wasn't anything there. Or, she actually did have feelings for someone but didn’t want to announce it in front of everyone else. So maybe she did like Sam-

“I’m just glad I decided not to give you one.”

Her words made his brain come to a screeching halt.

“Why didn’t you?” Tumbled out before he could stop it.

The space between them filled with silence. His heart beat widely in his throat. It wasn't healthy for it to be there, he knew, but he couldn’t seem to swallow it back into his chest cavity. Amy seemed to have a hard time meeting his eyes, finding the walls fascinating instead. Harvey licked his lips.

“Amy,” he whispered. “Why didn’t you give me a bouquet?”

She sighed heavily, shoulders sinking low. Nervous fingers tugged at the ends of her hair.

“I was going to,” she mumbled. Her tanned skin grew rosy with a red hue. A blush, he noted absently. “I just wanted to make it different from the others. I only got three red fairy roses, so I planted more and I was just waiting for them to grow in hopes that I’d get enough for a dozen red roses. Not to mention my oil machine broke and I had to wait for the grapes to ripen so I could make another batch of wine-”

She shifted away, burying her face in her hands with a little whine.

“This is so embarrassing.”

“A-amy, what-”

“I lied. In the Saloon. When I said that I saw everyone there as friends,” she interrupted, stilted. Harvey froze.

“You—you lied? Then who-?”

She peeked at him through her fingers, groaning under her breath. Her hand dropped suddenly.

“This isn’t how I wanted to tell you,” she confessed, still red and flustered. “I wanted to give you flowers and all of your favorite things—except for a super meal. I don’t care how healthy it is, you do not put cranberries in what is essentially a salad-”

“Woah, Amy, slow down. You wanted to what?” 

He couldn’t believe his ears. This had to be a dream. He wanted to take off his glasses and rub at his eyes. He wasn’t looking at this properly.

“Yoba, you can be so obtuse sometimes!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. Harvey opened his mouth to interject, but she beat him to it with an empathetic, “Harvey, I like you!”

His mouth promptly closed. Amy didn’t notice, pacing the floor in small back and forth steps, tugging at her hair repeatedly as she babbled on.

“I don’t know what you know about fairy roses, but they mean devotion and reds are a good way to say 'you’re lovely’. Gifting a dozen of them is a for sure declaration of deep romantic feelings. I was going to give them to you and ask you out on a date. Of course if I knew just giving a bouquet of any flower would do the trick I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble. Or, maybe I would because you deserve it. But then this whole mess happened with the townsfolk and I didn’t want to-”

He couldn’t quite feel himself moving until he was already in front of her and grabbing her wrists, stopping her from doing another run through her hair. She gasped quietly at the close proximity, wide eyes shooting up and darting from side to side across his face.

“Is Zuzu city too far for you?” he heard himself ask, faint to his own ears. Amy blinked thrice in rapid succession, nose wrinkling in confusion. Yoba, that made it hard.

“You’re asking me about Zuzu city when I was in the middle of-”

“Amy. Answer the question. Do you have any issues getting to Zuzu city?”

“No,” she huffed, slight irritation slipping into her voice. “I head up there every other month to go see my mom-”

“Good,” he chirped, light headed and swearing to Yoba that if this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up. He didn’t care if it meant he died. “I’m no longer your primary doctor. Can I kiss you now?”

Her jaw dropped slightly, eyes widening even further. “No longer my- what? And you- what?”

“Amy,” he said again, desperate. “Please. I like you too. Quite a lot. It’s rather embarrassing, actually. So I’d really like to kiss you-”

“You like me?” Her jaw dropped further. “Are you-?”

“Amy.”

Instead of saying yes, she stumbled forward, clumsily pressing their mouths together. Harvey sucked in a harsh breath through his nose. And then he melted. He tilted his head, readjusting the angle so his glasses weren’t pressing painfully against his skin. She made a small noise, hands twitching in his hold. He let go, one arm falling to wrap around her waist and the other hand rising to cup her face. She sank against him. He was distantly aware of her fingers curling into his collar, anchoring him to her. He was too busy sighing against her lips to pay close attention, nearly overwhelmed by the fact that he was kissing her. That she wanted to kiss him. That she liked him.

Wait. She liked him. This was- that was-

He pulled away abruptly, craning his neck to look down at her. Amy blinked up at him, mouth slightly parted as she came out of a daze. That was nearly enough to make him kiss her again, terribly pleased he’d caused that reaction. Even after years of not kissing anyone, he still had it. Good job, Harvey.

“You like me,” he wondered, breathless with awe.

“You like me,” she stressed, sounding just as awestruck. He couldn’t help but kiss her again, grinning against her mouth. She laughed, short and sweet, leaning away from him. She let go of his collar, sliding her hands to lace behind his neck instead.

“I thought you found me annoying,” he confessed, stroking her cheek with his thumb. She leaned into the touch, peering up at him with low lidded eyes.

“I don’t. I could spend hours with you.”

“Is that what you meant by getting stuck in my office?” he mused, nearly missing the way she stilled.

“That’s what it was.” Her eyes fell shut. “I couldn’t figure it out. I was running in circles trying to remember what I said to Maru that would make you think we weren’t friends. I thought about the bouquet, maybe, but that didn’t make sense.” Harvey’s lungs stopped working when her fingers slid into the hair at the base of his neck. “Believe me, when I said that, I was thinking more along the lines of I never wanted to leave your office. I’d gladly forgo any and all responsibility to listen to you tell me about the different blends of coffee you’d tried over the years.”

“Yoba,” he groaned. “Please tell me we did not have a conversation about coffee.”

“We did.” She grinned. “We also talked about the Spanish Inquisition, what breed of dog was the fluffiest, and had an entire argument of whether or not tomatoes were fruits-”

“It’s a vegetable-”

“Not according to science,” she tutted. “And you call yourself a doctor-”

He kissed the words away, quite fond of that method of kindly telling someone to shut up. Amy certainly didn’t seem to mind, judging by her pleased hum.

“I’m a doctor,” he murmured, pecking her once. Twice. “Not a scientist.”

“They’re the same, aren’t they?”

“...I’m not even going to comment on that.”

She clearly didn’t need one, given that she occupied his mouth with a different activity. He didn’t know how long they traded slow, sweet kisses, but it was long enough that his feet began to hurt a little from standing and his mouth was pleasantly tingling.

“So I take it you don’t have an issue with dating an older man?” he questioned, his nose brushing softly against hers as he pulled back. He kissed the tip of it, squealing internally at the shy peek she gave him underneath her lashes.

“No,” she said slowly. An impish grin overtook her face. “It’s kinda hot, actually.”

He flushed at the words, resisting the urge to bury his face in her neck to hide.

“Besides, it’s not like there's ten years between us. It’s only… What, six years?”

“...seven.”

“Hmm. Hot.”

“A-amy,” he spluttered, absolutely bright red. “You can’t just say that.”

“I want to. I want my boyfriend-” it was alarming, how fast a dopey grin fell over his lips. “-to know exactly how irresistibly handsome he is. Especially when he’s wearing a pink headband.”

“You are never going to let that go, are you?”

“Never,” she agreed, grinning broadly. He couldn’t do anything other than smile down at her, admitting for the first time that he was absolutely taken by her. “So, I know that I don't have a bouquet in my hands-” he broke into giggly laughter. Her grin widened. “-but if I did, would you accept it?”

“Without a doubt.”

Her eyes crinkled with joy, entire face lighting up with it. She leaned up to kiss him softly.

Harvey may have been a doctor in a dead end town, suffering from chronic exhaustion, and breaking out with stress pimples from the bills he still had to pay, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Not when he just became the luckiest man in the world.

“So, are there any more special valley social customs I should be aware of before I make a social faux pas again?”

“You haven't come across any mermaid pendants lately, have you? They’re long, tightly coiled dark blue shells-”

“You mean this?”

“Why, yes. Yoba, they’re even prettier than I thought.”

“You can have it, if you want. I don’t really have a use for it- Harvey? Why are you so red?”