A/N I'm sorry I didn't expect to start a story tonight and this is all I can get up before I have to go to bed but there'll be more tomorrow, promise! Enjoy.
To say that sleep didn't come wouldn't even begin to explain Harvey's night. He was continuously tossing and turning, the horrid thoughts never drifting from his attention.
He suddenly almost understood why the kid had trouble sleeping if his brain is constantly running like this.
After an hour of restlessness, Harvey gave up on the notion of sleeping and headed downstairs to go workout. He found himself too wound up and even jumped at the light buzz of his phone.
He knew who it was. It could only be Mike. He silently ignored the call and started what came to be a long, long workout. After watching the city that never sleeps dull down, he too decided to push his sore muscles upstairs and into the shower in the hopes of getting some shuteye before the dawn breaks. Hope was all that turned out to be. After a shower, he still couldn't find the ability to shut his brain off for long enough to slip into a slumber.
His hand hovers over his phone. He hasn't talked to his brother in ages, and yet he suddenly has the urge to call him. With the time difference it would actually be close to the perfect time. He sends a quick text to Marcus to ensure that he won't wake up his sister-in-law or his wonderful niece and nephew. At 3:30 in the morning, it would put it just past midnight on the West Coast in California where they live. Conveniently, this is around the time his brother usually finishes his workload for the following day of classes.
He loves that Marcus enjoys being a professor and absolutely is thrilled that his little brother is still in love with UCLA and all the opportunities he has been granted by teaching there, but it still hurts that he doesn't get to keep in touch as easily or as often as he used to.
He smiles when he gets a concerned text back asking him if everything is alright and that he will call him in a minute.
"Long time no talk, bro. How's it hanging?"
"First off, you're a professor. How can you get away with talking like that? Maybe it's time to move back to the only proper city in the United States," Harvey said with a chuckle.
"Hey man, don't hate the player. Just because I'm younger and better looking than you doesn't mean you have to be so condescending. I lived 25 years of my life suffocating in the same city as you. Your ego was just too large for both myself and it to be in the same area without one of us dying of hypoxia" the younger man joked.
"Very funny. Not. Come up with some new lines, would ya?"
"It's hard to make time when my idiot big brother is calling me out of the blue and freaking me out. You okay?"
"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep."
"Yeah, okay. Even after all this time you can't lie to me, bro. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, really."
"So you called me at 3:30 in the morning just to hear my lovely voice?" Marcus said sarcastically. "I'm so flattered."
"Alright, alright. I was just taken aback by my associate tonight."
"Mike? What did he do?"
Harvey cringed at the implied 'this time' that hung on the other end of the line. He didn't even realize that he spoke about his associate enough times to even warrant a 'this time.'
Marcus prompted him again. "What happened?"
"He has a kid."
The words came out so sullen that he was shocked by his own voice.
"So you're mad that he has a kid? Sorry Harv, I may be on Mike's side about this one. Believe it or not, kids aren't all bad," his brother joked.
"No, no. It's not even that he has a kid. The kid is actually pretty cute. He just never told me about him, or that he even existed."
"So, is it like part of your workplace contract that he has to tell you?" The confusion rang from Marcus' side of the conversation.
"He didn't tell me. We've been friends for four months and he didn't tell me."
"WOAH, HOLD ON. You just used that word friend in a sentence! I didn't even think you knew what that meant!"
Harvey heard his sister-in-law, Isabella, in the background shushing his brother and he couldn't help but laugh. Some things never change. The overreaction wasn't exactly unexpected but he didn't exactly mean to be so forthcoming about his and Mike's relationship in the first place.
He literally gasped out loud. He can't even understand where these feelings are coming from. He has never once used relationship to describe anything. Not even him and Scottie.
Without missing a beat, Marcus laughed on the line and continued. "So, you finally are piecing things together? For someone so smart it sure has taken you a while. Man, when you first started talking about the kid I thought you were going to take him and lock him up and never let him leave your apartment. You went from never calling to never shutting up about this guy. I'm glad you finally have come to reality."
Marcus' words sank deep. How could he have missed it? He honestly never realized. He likes Mike. Not only does he like Mike, but apparently he likes Mike enough to gush about him to his brother without even noticing.
"Well, I know you were hurt about him not telling you but just give him time and let him explain, I'm sure there's a reason. Maybe eventually Bella, the kids and I will make a trip over there and meet the guy. Let me know when you're free. Anyway, I need to get to bed. You okay now?"
"Yeah, I'll be alright. Sorry about this."
"No worries, I enjoy getting to rib you a bit. It'll all work out, bro. Night."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Tell Bella I said hi and give the brats a kiss for me. Goodnight."
Such a simple conversation but so much light had been shed on just how stupid he has been. Sleep wasn't any closer but at least he knew why these feelings were happening. He grabbed his jacket and headed out into the brisk night air with nowhere specific in mind.
