Chapter Text
Growing up, you and your sister were like night and day. Where she liked to play outside in the mud and get her hands dirty, you preferred to stay inside, occupying your clean hands with arts and crafts. Where you were precise and careful with your words, she preferred to be crude and speak her mind. You were anxious when she was carefree, and while your nose was always in a book, her head was always in the clouds.
She also happened to be your grandfather’s favorite—so it came as no surprise that she was the grandchild he asked to inherit the farm. It came as even less of a surprise that she happily accepted the property, always flexible and ready to pivot to the next opportunity. You weren’t particularly mad about it, after all, he passed while you’d been fighting tooth and nail for promotion to a senior associate at the law firm you worked at in Zuzu City, and you weren’t exactly interested in giving everything you worked so hard for up to play in the mud professionally.
While it might not have made sense for you to live in Stardew Valley as a career, it certainly made sense as a safe haven for you to visit when you needed some time away from the city, and with the week you just had, you desperately needed time away from the city.
The train ride into town was a quiet one, your head pressed against the glass as you dozed off and thought about the town. Though you visited the farm a few times throughout your childhood, you never felt completely at home there. Still, it would be good to see your sister and get away from the hustle of living in the city, even if you were only taking a break from it all for a few days.
After getting off the train, you barely had a moment to collect yourself before you were immediately greeted by your sister. She hugged you tightly, as if she hadn’t seen you in years—despite visiting your apartment in the city only a few months ago.
Even if you didn’t show it as outwardly as your younger sibling, you were just as excited to be seeing her. You did your best not to dwell on it too much, but you often worried about her. You worried about her from the second she was born, and you would surely be worrying about her until the moment you were six-feet under. Despite the fact that she was coming up on her third year on the farm, you couldn’t help but feel concerned about her being so alone.
During your weekly phone calls and her less frequent visits to the city, you resisted the urge to interrogate her on if she’d made any new friends or was enjoying the life she was carving out for herself. Knowing that you had a bit of an anxious streak, she set the boundary that you could only discuss these types of things if she were the one to bring it up first, and you did your best to respect that.
Like when you realized you hadn’t visited your sister’s farm since her housewarming party a few years ago, or that you somehow had managed to spend every single major holiday together in the city. You kept your desire to see your sister where she lived quiet, not wanting to stir the pot, until she suggested that you come to visit. Immediately, you put everything down to come see her.
You weren’t sure if the invitation was extended because of how stressed you were at work, or because she genuinely wanted to see you, but it didn't particularly matter to you. You wanted to come and visit your sister to make sure that she was okay—that she wasn’t just spending her time rotting in the old farmhouse away from society and living off of jars of pickles your grandparents preserved years ago.
The two of you walked back to the farm, the path you’d walked so many times growing up feeling somewhat familiar, but in a distant and blurry way. On some level, returning back to the location as you walked side by side with your chatty sister made you feel a bit like a kid again.
As her farm came into sight, you were immediately taken aback by the decorated exterior and the stretch of crops growing on the land. Apparently, you had no reason to be worried at all. Your sister appeared to genuinely be flourishing in her new life as a farmer.
You made sure to compliment her on this as the two of you went inside, making light small talk as she showed you up to your room.
“As much as I’d love to stay here and chat, I still have some things I need to finish on my to-do list today. Feel free to tag along, but you should also explore the town,” she explained.
“You? To-do list? Who are you!” the two of you shared a laugh before you began once more. “I’d love to help you out.”
That was how you ended up in her kitchen, helping her jar up cranberry preserves. It was going pretty well once the two of you found your rhythm, but like anything that required coordinated teamwork between the two of you, it didn’t last long. As you went to grab a jar lid, multiple lids collapsed and threatened to fall off the countertop. Using both of your hands, you attempted to collect the falling lids–which proved to be a mistake, as one lid very suddenly sliced the palm of your hand. As any reasonable person would, you yelped out in pain.
“Oh shit, what happened?” your sister turned to look at you as you clutched your hand, which was becoming bloodier by the second.
“I think I cut myself,” you said through gritted teeth, more put off by the sight of blood than the actual pain you were feeling.
“Can I see? I can probably clean it up,” she was already up and off to grab her first aid kit before you could even show her the damage. Once she got back to the kitchen, you presented your bloody palm to her and she attempted to dress the wound.
“Hmm. Okay, this looks way above my pay grade. You might’ve severed an artery or gotten tetanus or some shit.”
“What!?” you knew you shouldn’t exactly be taking medical advice from your sibling who had absolutely no medical background at all, but her words still alarmed you as a fellow person with no medical background.
“Umm, okay, there’s a doctor in town that can fix this.”
“A doctor?” you questioned, still leaning over the sink as you did your best not to look at the cloth on your hand that was beginning to be splotched with crimson.
“A doctor and a nurse. Well, clinic assistant, to be more precise.”
“That can’t possibly be all you have here,” she shrugged dismissively at your statement. “Man, this town sounds like my own personal hell. Whatever. Fuck it. Let’s go.”
The two of you moved swiftly to get to the clinic after your sister informed you of their hours and the fact that you only had thirty minutes to get there before they closed. The two of you marched into town like the women on a mission that you were, before your sister stopped in front of a small building and threw the door open for you.
“Oh, hey,” a woman in the front of the clinic greeted your sister familiarly. Her bright, friendly demeanor and the fact that your sister knew the hours by heart made you wonder what exactly was the extent of her connection with the clinic. “You okay?”
“Would you believe that it’s not me for once?” she laughed, a little too hard to be an average laugh. You stored that little bit of knowledge away to be used at a later date. “Maru, this is my sister,” she lifted up your hand in a supported wave, displaying the bandage that was now much darker than it was in your sister’s kitchen.
“Oh! Nice to meet you. I’ll grab the doctor. Feel free to take a seat, but he won’t be too long,” she explained before exiting the room, before peeking her head back out the door once more. “Maru, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you,” you smiled, though the low current of pain in your hand made you want to do anything but smile. She returned the expression before leaving to presumably alert the doctor that he had a patient waiting for him.
“You’re way too calm about this,” you said to your sister as she led you to a chair.
“I’m a regular here, so I know you’re in good hands,” she said casually, wearing her ‘Regular At The Doctor’s Office’ Badge like it was one of honor. “No pun intended.”
“Ha ha. Are you sure we shouldn’t be going to an emergency room or something?” you tried your best to seem like you were keeping cool, but you weren’t fully convinced that you could trust a small practice family doctor with all of your medical needs.
“Oh please, they’ve seen much worse,” her tone was cool and casual, and if you didn’t know her so well, you might even think she was posturing to sound cooler than she was.
“What the hell could you even do here that would require medical attention so frequently? Do you have a terminal illness I don’t know about?”
She simply laughed at you instead of responding as if you were missing something, like you were missing the most obvious thing in the world. You had a feeling that if Maru and the mysterious doctor were in the room, they’d be laughing right along with her.
“Besides, I could have tetanus or something. I’m pretty sure it’s a bad thing to cut yourself on metal.”
“The metal was sterilized, you big baby,” she rolled her eyes incredulously, as if she wasn’t the one who suggested that you might get seriously ill from the cut on your hand in the first place.
“Okay, well you’re the one who put the word tetanus into my head,” you huffed just as the main door swung open, and a man who looked like he just stepped off the cover of a children’s book about a personified mouse appeared from behind it. He clutched a clipboard tightly and his glasses slipped down his nose. It was oddly endearing. And also a little concerning. You weren’t fully convinced that the town didn’t just grab their nerdiest looking guy and declared that he was now a healthcare provider.
In a town with a population greater than twenty, you were sure that he would’ve called your name out to grab your attention, but given that your sister was living in a ghost town, the two of you were the only ones in the room who possibly could’ve needed medical assistance.
“Hi there,” he began, the depth and smoothness of his tone in the one word taking you by surprise. “Would you like to head on back?”
You wouldn’t like to, really, but you were sure that with every passing minute, your likelihood of getting tetanus, or some other obscure metal-transferred pathogen grew. And there was simply no way that you would ever make partner if you fell victim to tetanus now. Glancing at your sibling, then at the doctor leaning against the door, you stood up.
“Are you coming with me?” you asked your sister, your voice only slightly above a whisper.
“I’m pretty sure that’s a violation of HIPAA,” she dismissed you with ease. Somehow, you felt like her lack of enthusiasm at being your emotional support during your appointment felt connected to the too-hard laugh she let out at the nurse. You frowned at her excuse, which somehow prompted her to tell you the truth. “Sorry. I actually just need to talk to Maru about something.”
“Fine. I’ll just get my life-altering medical treatment on my own,” you teased before heading towards the door.
“That’s not actually a HIPAA violation, by the way,” he informed you both. Oddly, the small comment gave you the slightest hint of more confidence in the doctor to know that at the very least, the small-town doctor knew a few of the rules and regulations his job required. After his interjection, the two of you began your trek down the hallway to the exam room, with you following a few paces behind the doctor.
He turned and extended his hand to you, and you shook his hand the same way you shook everyone’s: with a confidence and self-assuredness that said I’m going to demolish you in court. Though, you had to shake with your non-dominant hand, and you were a little nervous by the whole ordeal, and maybe you just needed your eyes checked, but up close the doctor was kinda cute. All of which played a role in your handshake coming across less like unspoken coldhearted intimidation, and more small town politeness.
“It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Harvey,” he greeted you with a smile that tilted his mustache just the slightest bit upward. Again, you were struck by how cute the doctor was, but you reminded yourself that you were there for treatment and not eye candy.
Regardless, you introduced yourself, ditching the typical qualifications that fell behind your name for the simple explanation of being the local farmer’s sister. Surely, that meant more to this guy than knowing what law firm you worked for. Besides, he hadn’t even introduced himself as a doctor, despite the time, blood, sweat, and tears that he’d surely put into getting in the field. Clearly, people in this town didn’t care about titles.
“It’s great to finally put a face to the name. Your sister talks about you a lot,” he explained, pushing the door to the exam room open and holding it for you.
“Good things, I hope?” you asked as you stepped inside.
“Mmm, sometimes,” he replied after a moment of fake-pondering the question. Something about his shtick felt very endearing to you—but that was a thought you’d unpack at a later date. “You can go ahead and sit in the chair with the paper, then we can talk about what brought you in today.”
Thankfully, you were good at following directions and it was pretty difficult to miss the massive, sterile looking chair in front of you. “Well, Little Ms. Farmer was showing me how to make preserves and I cut my hand on the lid of a jar.”
You watched from your vantage point as Harvey sat down on a nifty looking stool, complete with wheels to let him get around the room easily. He turned his back to you to grab medical equipment from the countertop and listened to you as he worked.
“Ah! That sounds painful,” he turned back around to look at you and scooted his stool towards you. “I’m just gonna get a few of your vitals before I take a look at it. Does that sound okay?”
You couldn’t exactly say that a random family practice doctor checking you out was your first preference, or that it sounded okay but it wasn’t like you really had another option, so it would have to suffice.
“Go ahead,” you hummed, looking up at the tiled ceiling, then back at the man in front of you. You went through the motions as he ran through standard tests and asked you a few questions about your medical history. What caught you off guard was when the cool metal of a stethoscope pressed against your chest.
With the man now close enough to you that you could feel his breaths blow softly on your skin, you felt like you were observing the doctor in a whole new light. Sure, you thought that he was cute before, but now you could see the flecks of brown in his otherwise green eyes as they were fixed on the ground intently while he listened to the sound of your heart. You noted his brows furrowed in concentration and the soft curl at the tips of his hair. The cherry on top of his proximity to you was the near-intoxicating scent of the man. You swore that you could smell the shampoo that had been in his hair that morning and the clean, woodsy scent of his cologne.
Your senses were overwhelmed by the man in front of you, and he hadn’t even done anything—and clearly would not do anything. He was doing his job, after all. But that didn’t stop your traitorous body from telling on you.
“Your heart rate is really elevated,” he commented and looked up at you in a way that certainly wasn’t helping your already climbing heart rate. “Are you on any medication? Had any caffeine today?”
“I’m on birth control, if that matters at all to you,” you regretted the words as soon as they left your mouth. Your subconscious thoughts must’ve materialized into words, and your sentence came out as oddly suggestive, making you cringe internally. Maybe you were just overthinking, but you didn’t want it to seem like you were hitting on the poor man you just met, just trying to do his job and provide you medical care.
Ever the professional, Harvey didn’t even flinch at your sentence, instead nodding understandably. “Have you had any cardiac concerns with it before?”
You wordlessly shook your head at his question. You appreciated his professionalism, but part of you hoped that he stored this knowledge away for some other point in time. You internally scolded yourself for thinking this, but didn’t do much to stop that particular train of thought.
“I must just be nervous,” you laughed awkwardly, all regular attorney confidence out the window. It was all so unlike you—you were usually so precise and thought through every word that came out of your mouth. The effect he was having on you was starting to worry you. Maybe it was just the small-town charm rubbing off on you. Maybe it was something else.
“My sister put this stupid idea in my head that I somehow gave myself tetanus. It’s been bothering me the whole time.” You had to applaud yourself for that save. You thanked whatever was out there for the ability to think quickly on your feet, only developed after formative years of cold calls.
He hummed aloud as he pondered your statement, a new expression of thought on his face. Unfortunately, you could feel the pace of your heartbeat somehow increase even more. In the back of your mind, you began to prepare an excuse for why your heart was beating so fast. Surely, you could lie about spotting a bug on the ground or forgetting about drinking an energy drink that morning.
“When did you have your last tetanus shot?” the doctor asked.
“Uh, a few years ago?”
“Less than five?”
“Mhm.”
“You should be in the clear. Unless you cut your hand on something rusty?”
You shook your head once more, thoroughly impressed with this knowledge off the top of his head. You distantly wondered if people in this small town often stepped on rusty nails.
“Nothing to be worried about,” he assured you, voice soft and sweet. Unfortunately for you, his kind reassurance and his quietly confident competence was doing nothing for your steadily climbing heartbeat.
Ever the attentive doctor, Harvey finally commented on your racing heart. “Hey, you’ll be alright. I know it’s scary that your hand was bleeding so much, but there are just a bunch of blood vessels in your hand, so it probably looks much worse than it actually is. The fact that you’re still coherent and not lightheaded tells me that there really isn’t anything to worry about.”
You swallowed once more, looking at him like a deer in headlights. “Sorry,” was all you got out. He might want to reassess that whole ‘coherent’ thing.
“No need to be sorry,” he assured you before taking the stethoscope out of his ears and resting it on his shoulders. “Mind if I take a look at your hand?”
When you nodded, he took your hand and took a look at the gash. You tried to ignore the way that butterflies swarmed in your stomach. It had been a while since anyone touched you in any way, but it was a little pathetic that you were getting butterflies and a racing heart from the man who was about to give you stitches.
Holding your hand gently in his own, he took a look at your palm before pouring alcohol on a cotton ball. “This might hurt a little. Let me know if you need me to take a break.”
You couldn’t help but imagine his words being spoken to you elsewhere, voice thick and laden with lust. You thanked every single one of the gods that he wasn’t still listening to your rapidly beating heart.
Your hand stung as the man in front of you focused on disinfecting the gash, but all you could manage to focus on was the concerned on his face as he tried to get a better look at your hand. Internally, you chastised yourself for thinking about a stranger like this, but it certainly didn’t deter you from doing so. Maybe you just needed to bite the bullet and redownload Tinder when you returned to Zuzu City.
“Well, the good news is that it’s not nearly as bad as it looks,” he looked up at you from where he was sitting. For a moment, you imagined him looking up at you while—you stopped that train of thought. Man, were you touch-starved. “A bit of bandaging and being extra careful should do the trick.”
“Oh good,” you sighed out your relief, partially at being okay, and partially at knowing your shameful appointment was coming to a close. “I apologize for wasting your time. If I knew all it would need is a little gauze, we wouldn’t have come in, especially right before you close.”
Harvey gently uncurled your fingers, which had subconsciously tensed while you spoke, then began to work a bandage around your hand. “It’s really no problem at all. In fact, I’m glad you came in. Like I said, it was good to finally be able to meet you after hearing so much about you. And it’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your health. You’re welcome here any time, even outside of my hours.”
He glanced up at you in between words, still steadily and diligently treating your wound. As he spoke, a soft dusting of pink appeared on his face that you couldn’t exactly read. For a second, you humored the thought that maybe, just maybe he’d felt the same tension you were feeling. Though, you were sure that a smart, sweet, and gentle guy like Harvey was surely off the market.
“Thank you, doctor. That’s really kind of you,” you tried to ignore how your own cheeks felt warm. It had been a long time since anyone had treated you so tenderly, even if it was Harvey’s literal job to do so. “But what about your work-life balance? Are you just constantly on call?”
“In a way, yeah. But it’s for the greater good of the community,” he dismissed with the wave of a hand, using his other to secure the bandage on your hand.
“What about the good of Dr. Harvey?” you couldn’t help but question, and were met with a look of slight surprise on his face. “Oh- sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep or anything. I mean, I’m sure you take good care of everyone in town. You definitely took good care of me today, and of course, I’m really grateful that you take care of my little sister. But you should take care of yourself too.”
Part of you worried how your words would be received, knowing that it was coming from a somewhat hypocritical place—after all, lawyers weren’t exactly known for their ability to balance their personal and professional lives. Still, you felt like the sweet, cute doctor needed someone to tell him about boundaries, and a stranger he might never see again felt like the right person to deliver the message.
Harvey opened his mouth to say something, then paused and shrugged, “I guess you’re right.” He set the equipment he was using down, then announced: “All done. Thanks for chatting with me and giving me a fresh perspective.”
You followed him out of the room, unsure of how you felt. At least you knew you didn’t have tetanus and that your hand wasn’t too badly injured, although you felt like you were leaving the clinic with something far worse than a physical ailment.
A crush.
Which felt ridiculous, considering you’d only just met this man, and that you basically knew nothing about him aside from how soft he was with you, and how much he clearly cared about his community.
Luckily, the doctor didn’t seem to pick up on this—and if he did, he maintained professionalism by not commenting on it—leaving you two to make small talk as you walked down the hall.
“So, how long will you be in town?” he asked, glancing back at you as he walked a few paces ahead of you.
“Just for the weekend,” you hummed, training your mind on thoughts of eating freshly harvested fruits and laying on the beach, rather than sitting in an office sifting through novels of paperwork. “Then it’s back to work.”
“You’re a lawyer, right?”
“I am,” you were impressed by his ability to recall information that your sister surely shared about you to him. You weren’t sure who you should be more flattered by—Harvey, for remembering information about you before he even met you, or your sister, for talking about you fondly to people who didn’t even know you.
“I could never do what you do,” he said almost dreamily. “Any sort of public speaking is a nightmare for me.”
“Really? You don’t go to medical conferences or anything like that?” Harvey opened the door to the waiting room and held it for you as you walked through. You tried not to let his gentlemanliness derail your words. “It seems like there’s always some sort of doctor gathering happening in Zuzu. I live in an apartment near the Joja Convention Center, so I see a lot of people come to town for things like that.”
He shrugged, leaning casually against the door as he spoke to you. “There are, but it’s not for me. I work here for a reason.”
“Well, this seems like a good fit for you, if today was any indicator,” you tried not to lay it on too thick, but you were genuinely quite impressed by the medical treatment you received.
“Thank you. I’m sure if I ever saw you in a courtroom, I’d be saying the same,” he smiled at you, and you somehow knew that he was being completely honest. He seemed like the type of guy to bring you lunch at work, then offer you a massage at home while you told him about your day, all while telling you about how much of a great job you were doing–but you were getting ahead of yourself.
“You’re too kind,” you felt heat rise to your cheeks once more. Between the flush of your face and your heart rate, you truly couldn’t catch a break. You just hoped that Harvey didn’t catch on to how pathetic you were being. “Well, I‘ve already taken a lot of your time. I don’t want to steal any more of your evening.”
“Oh no, it’s been a pleasure. Hopefully I’ll see you again. Well, not again like in the clinic, but around town,” once again, a red blush appeared on his face. Maybe you weren’t alone in your delusion after all. “But feel free to stop by. It feels like your sister’s always coming in to talk with Maru, so you’re always welcome to tag along. Wait, that sounded bad. We love when she visits- you know what, I’m just gonna stop talking.”
It was cute to watch him be as outwardly flustered as you were on the inside. You couldn’t help but to giggle to yourself, though you were sure you sounded like a schoolgirl.
“Thanks, Dr. Harvey,” you said once you’d finished giggling.
“Just Harvey is fine,” he gently corrected you, seeming to prefer the familiarity of just his name.
“Thanks, Just Harvey,” you unashamedly laughed at your own dad joke, and Harvey joined you with laughter of his own. You were sure he’d heard it a million times, but he still laughed like it was his first time hearing it. “I’ll see you around?”
“Sounds good.”
Despite you and Harvey being in your own little world, that did little to change the fact that your sister and Maru were both in the waiting room, wordlessly and unabashedly observing the two of you.
“Give it to me straight, Doc. Is she gonna live?” your sister asked dramatically before theatrically clutching her chest.
“Fortunately. It was looking a little dicey there for a moment, but I think you’ll pull through,” he looked at you and smiled. You returned the gesture and laughed a little too hard, much like your sister had done with Maru not all that long ago. “Take care of yourself, okay? Feel free to come back if you need your hand re-wrapped.”
You nodded and your sister leaned over the desk where she was currently standing next to the nurse. “How much are we paying today?” she asked the two medical professionals in the room.
“Oh, it’s on the house,” Harvey dismissed, glancing at you, then at your sister.
“So my sister gets free appointments, but I have to foot the bill when I get a little tired and fall asleep in the town square. I see how it is.”
It was now Maru’s turn to laugh like it was her first time hearing a joke. “That’s such an understatement. Just enjoy the free medical treatment today.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” you stepped closer to the exit, and your sister took the cue to leave. “It was nice meeting you guys,” you waved as you left.
“What was that!” your sister laughed out the moment you stepped outside of the clinic.
“What was what?”
“‘Thanks, Just Harvey,’” she mocked incredulously as the two of you walked towards her farm. “Is that seriously how you flirt?”
“No! Obviously I have more game than that.”
“But you think he’s cute?” your sister laughed and you felt your face warm.
“I did not say that,” you argued.
“I know you well enough to know that you’re thinking it,” she hummed, content with her observation. “It tracks. You would like him.”
“What’s that supposed to mean!”
“It means that you’re both each other’s type.”
“His type? Is he not, like, married with kids?”
“Nope,” she popped the ‘p’ as she kicked a pebble.
“How is that possible? He seems like such a sweetie,” you sighed dreamily, momentarily imagining him with a child that oddly looked like a combination of the two of you.
“You got all of that from him patching up your hand?” she peered at you skeptically. For a moment, it felt like she was reading your mind, her look a reflection of her disbelief that you were seriously fantasizing about a man you just met.
“You should’ve seen how tender he was being,” you gushed, not even caring that you sounded like a lovesick puppy. You thought about how softly he cradled your hand and unfurled your curled fingers and the pink across his cheeks as he told you that you were welcome in his clinic whenever.
“Yeah, he’s a nice guy,” your sister agreed, unmoved by your enthusiasm.
“Nice guy like, a nice guy? Or nice guy like nice guy?”
“Ew, definitely the first one. But there are definitely some nice guys in this town. Just wait until you meet Clint.”
“No thank you,” you laughed. “Not like it matters anyway. I’m really just passing through.”
“Fair. Besides, aren’t you still seeing Adam?”
“Eh,” you shrugged at the mention of your ex. “Not really.”
Your sister laughed at you once again. She seemed to be doing a lot of that. “Not really? What does that mean?”
“It means that…” you gave up on explaining before you could even begin. “It means that it’s none of your business.”
“Ah, I forgot. You lawyers don’t believe in giving real answers.”
“Oh, fuck off,” you whined, pushing her gently.
“You fuck off!” she laughed, pushing you right back. “Don’t forget, I’m the one giving you a place to sleep tonight. Although, I’m sure Harvey wouldn’t mind taking you in as a guest when I inevitably kick you out.”
“Please, please stop,” you begged, rubbing your temples.
“Should we go back and ask him?” she asked, turning on her heel.
“I will literally kill you.”
“Why does that sound like another excuse to go to the clinic and see your cute doctor?”
“Shut up! Like you weren’t giving the nurse heart eyes and laughing like she was a comedian every time she spoke.”
That gave her pause, making her turn around to look at you. She stared at you wordlessly for a minute, clearly trying to come up with something witty to say.
“Too far?”
“Kinda.”
“How about this: if you shut up about Harvey, I’ll shut up about Maru.”
“Deal. No more meddling in each other’s love lives.”
“Deal,” you agreed quickly—though, something told you that it would be a difficult promise for both of you to follow through on.