Chapter Text
Harvey stepped away from the crowd and headed for the bathroom, hoping it wasn't in use, though he should have known better. As he approached the door, the distinct sound of sobbing came through. He peered his head around the corner, doing a quick head count, but too many were missing having branched off into groups. He sighed, forgetting his bladder for the time being. There was only one thing to do.
"It's Harvey." He called out, softly knocking on the door as he did.
"Urraaagghhhhhhh!" Abigail, then.
"Are you decent?" He called out again.
"Go away!"
"I'm coming in." And he opened the door, quickly averting his gaze just in case. He stood facing the door with his back to her as she broke out sobbing even harder.
"Are you decent?" He asked again, softer this time.
"Ugh, I don't need a babysitter." She snapped at him.
"Im not a babysitter, Abigail. Im just concerned." He replied cooly. Unfortunately his bedside manner only seemed to irritate her more.
"Bullshit! As if my parents didn't talk you into coming!"
"Correction," He sighed. "I'm not entirely a babysitter. I was actually invited, you know. I guess I made the cut." He shrugged, still aware he was technically talking to the door.
She snorted wetly, "Aw, welcome to the kids table."
"There's a tissue box on the back of the toilet." He replied noncommittally.
"I have eyes, Dr.Harvey!" He flinched at the honorific, painfully aware of his struggle to find the balance between friend and clinician. Even in this moment, at a house party of all places, he couldn't quite tell which he even was so he could hardly blame her for calling him out. Especially not when it was so much easier to play the role of doctor most of the time. Whether that was what was needed here remained to be seen.
"You've got me there." He sighed again, taking a sip from his wine glass —oh Yoba, why did he bring that in here? He'd have to remember not to touch anything.
Abigail blew her nose loudly behind him, her breaths having calmed a bit. Good.
"At the risk of getting my head bit off, would you like to tell me what's wrong?" He said over his shoulder, still not quite turning to face her. She huffed, then after a moment said something, though the sound was muffled.
"Good job. Now, can you try one more time for me so I can hear?" He replied softly, hoping not to spook her.
She growled through her teeth. Actually growled. It was adorable really.
He liked Abigail. She was a good kid all things considered even if she was a bit rambunctious, and wildly misunderstood by her parents. But that was a conversation for another time. He suppressed his chuckle and waited patiently as she worked up the courage to repeat herself.
"It's stupid."
"It's not stupid."
"It is."
"I promise you, its not."
"Yes. It is." She bit back.
"Try me."
Another groan, this time with a kick against the bathtub echoing loudly.
And of course, she chose the exact moment he took another sip of his drink to speak. "Would you fuck me?"
He choked, coughing wine out of his trachea. "No." He replied quite pointedly once he had recovered.
"No, I know that. But would you? I mean hypothetically? Like, if you weren't a doctor, I mean?"
"How is this relevant, exactly?" This was fine. This was perfectly fine. This was what friends talked about. They questioned their sexuality in relation to one another and it was normal and fine. He tried his best to calm his nerves and ignore the aggressive embaressment at finding himself in this situation.
"Are you not answering because it's a yes, or because it's a no?"
"I'm not answering because it's in both of our best interest not to." He regreted starting his second glass. He should have had water first, what was he thinking? It was making his head spin.
"Soooooooo?!" She whined.
He was absolutely going to regret this. "It's a no, Abigail, and I don't want to make you feel worse by telling you that."
"SEE! No one wants to fuck me!"
He took a deep, aching, breath, and ignored the headache forming right at his temple.
"I'm turning around." His warning was gentle as he finally turned to find her face buried in her arms, knees to her chest. He knew very well she was a young woman in her own right, but in this moment he could not help but ache at how small she looked, having known a little too well the kind of pain she was feeling. Perhaps he still did.
"What would you like from me in this moment?" He inquired, a little unsure of how to proceed.
She merely shrugged, sniffling into her arms. He reached over her head and collected the tissue box, holding it out to her. Slowly her head emerged, eyes red and puffy, finding as much sympathy as he could muster on his face. She took the tissues wordlessly, blowing her nose again before settling back into her position.
"Tell me I'm pretty?" She asked with a whimper.
He paused for a moment, seating himself on the edge of the tub so he was more to her level. It bought him time to think of how best to proceed. "Who would you rather hear that from in this moment?"
Abigail rolled her eyes in a dramatic arc, her body slumping further to the floor. "Anyone?" She conceeded.
"Anyone? You could call your mother right now—"
"You know what I mean Harvey." She cut him off.
"So... not anyone then?"
She pouted. "No, not anyone anyone. Like, someone who thinks I'm pretty because they like me?"
"Hmm I see the problem."
"I'm telling you the problem." He waved her off, earning an indignant huff from her.
"You want specifically romantic validation."
"Well, yea…"
"And there's really no one who comes to mind?" He pried.
"I mean… wait. What are you asking me?" She caught herself, eyeing him suspiciously.
And she was likely right to. The benefits of hovering around the fringes of a party, you got to witness all kinds of interactions. It was amusing, almost like watching an animal documentary. And Harvey certainly had his guesses of what was going on, but treaded carefully just in case he was wrong. "I'm asking what happened. What triggered this?"
"Nothing happened." She responded, quick to the defensive. "I just… Everyone's been having fun and kinda flirting and thats cool, I guess. But it all feels so— easy, for everyone else?"
"Its not easy for everyone." He assured her.
"Yea, not you, obviously. At least I'm not 40 and still single."
"35, and ouch."
"Ew, you're old." She grinned. It was a painful victory, but he'd take it.
"Is it not easy for you?"
"Not…really? I don't know. I guess I just thought I'd have this figured out by now. And I've know everyone in that room for years, for all of my life in some cases and somehow it's still not easy?"
"You're young Abigail. I know you don't want to hear that, but I promise, you really are. And besides, you propositioned me easily enough earlier."
"Yea, that's different. I knew you weren't going to say yes."
"Is it? You don't seem to have any issue speaking your mind in most instances. So why this one?"
"Well, what if they say no?"
Ah, that's always the question isn't it.
"Then they say no. You accept that answer with grace, and take pride in knowing you put yourself out there." He said with more confidence then he felt. He was always good at giving advice he would never follow.
"I mean...Huh." An idea flashed across her mind, making itself visible on her face. Harvey wasn't so sure it was a good idea, taking stock of how quickly her mood shifted and trying desperately to figure out where he'd gone wrong. "Yea, okay then. Thanks, Doc. You're the best!"
She bolted to her feet, did a quick check of her makeup which was somehow relatively unbothered, then planted a wet kiss to his forehead. Before he could protest, she threw open the door and marched out as if nothing had happened.
He shook his head amused, and the instant the door clicked shut behind her, was reminded all at once of his urging bladder.