Warnings: Talk about death of a major character, and characters becoming depressed while grieving, though both are in reference to a nightmare.

Let me know if there's anything I should add! ^^

Harvey didn't normally get visitors late at night. In fact, it was rather worrisome when he did get visitors after dark. Visitors after dark typically meant someone was injured or very very sick and needing his immediate attention. After the farmer arrived in town, Harvey had gotten quite a few visits in the very early hours of the morning, when the sun was still far below the horizon, someone often dragging the unconscious body of the farmer back into town.

It had been a while since one of the late night visits, though. The farmer had been more careful lately in the mines - especially the Skull Cavern mines in the desert, which they had many stories to tell Harvey - and had even said this year they were going to focus on some other things, like getting more animals and organizing the farm a bit better.

Tonight, it was storming. It had been all day, and it would be for all of tomorrow. Harvey didn't have an issue with storms, not unless lightning struck a little too close to the center of town.

On a night like this, Harvey really hadn't expected any visitors. Really, he thought it'd be quite stupid of anyone to be wandering around in this weather so late.

However, those thoughts from earlier that evening were proved wrong as he was woken up by banging on his front door, loud enough to echo up to him over the steady downpour.

Harvey wasn't sure he had actually heard anything at first, rubbing his eyes and glancing about the darkened room. There were a few beats when nothing happened, and then the loud and obnoxious knocking started again.

Harvey almost thought about ignoring them, his bed very warm and he was just so comfortable. But then he glanced at the clock and saw it was two in the morning. Eyes widening, Harvey scrambled out of bed, swaying slightly as he grabbed his glasses and booked it towards his door, ignoring the need for water at the moment.

The knocking was much louder downstairs, and the lights upon being flicked on suddenly made his eyes burn, but Harvey ignored it for now. He could deal with the massive headache later.

"Coming!" Harvey called, fumbling with the lock on the door. The knocking ceased, whoever finally settling on waiting, and Harvey threw the door open, expecting some awful sight to greet him or the worried expression of someone needing aid back home.

Harvey froze at the sight before him, though. The farmer, unharmed, but shivering and holding themself tightly, absolutely drenched.

"Wait, what…?"

They swallowed, stepping just a little closer to the clinic, but not yet entering. They never entered without Harvey's permission, not unless it was urgent.

And that's what was even more confusing to Harvey - they were here, in this awful weather, for something that wasn't urgent.

"H-Hey, um, I'm really- really sorry, for coming here so suddenly but can I- can I stay here? For the night?"

Harvey blinked, and the farmer curled in further on themself, shifting from foot to foot. Harvey couldn't tell if they were nervous, freezing, or both.

Wait- right, freezing! They had to be freezing!

"Yes- Yoba, get in here, before you get yourself sick!" Harvey ushered them inside, ignoring their small squeak when he had grabbed them - not too hard, he just had a firm hold on them - and pulled them through the door. He made sure to lock the door before ushering them to the stairs, not giving them the chance to protest or worry about dripping water on Harvey's floors.

Before they knew it, Harvey was brewing them both coffee and was digging through his things for something they could wear, something warm and not soaking wet. The farmer watched quietly, having given up on trying to tell Harvey they were fine, he didn't have to do all this for them. Harvey insisted. He refused to have a dear friend risking their health like this.

He finally found some clothes that would work - they were very soft, but not so soft that it bothered the farmer, who had told him about certain textures making them extremely uncomfortable - and passed them to the farmer, letting them change in the small bathroom he had upstairs. They were still quiet as they left, and Harvey watched the coffee drip into the pot as he waited.

He hadn't asked why they were here yet. He'd ask soon enough, but right now he was concerned about them catching a cold. Despite what the farmer claimed, Harvey knew they didn't have a strong immune system. One of the colds they had caught last winter left them sick for a lot longer than it should have.

The coffee machine beeped, and Harvey poured two mugs without thinking. It probably wasn't a good idea to have coffee right now, but the farmer hadn't said no - they would have if they really didn't want it - and Harvey figured he'd need a small energy boost. His room was still rather dark, only lit by a dim lamp on his dresser so they could see at least a little bit.

He waited for them to come back before beginning his drink, and they smiled softly as he handed them theirs. Their wet clothes were left in the bathroom to dry, and Harvey made a mental note to put them in the wash tomorrow.

The farmer sighed as they gulped down the coffee, shoulders finally falling and they slouched a bit, and Harvey was relieved to see them relaxing.

"Thank you," they mumbled, finishing off their drink far quicker than Harvey. "You didn't have to do all this."

Harvey shook his head. "It's nothing, really. I only wish I could do more." He nodded towards his bed upon finishing his own mug, taking both of the empty dishes and placing them beside the coffee machine. He could deal with them tomorrow - or rather, later in the day. "Do you want to sit?"

The farmer glanced at the bed, at Harvey, then to the floor before they nodded. They followed Harvey over to it and sat beside him. They both sat on the side of the bed, the farmer hugging themself while Harvey watched them. He wanted to hug them himself, but thought better of it for the time being, in case they weren't comfortable with that right now.

He did bump his knee lightly against theirs, and it drew the farmer's eyes away from the floor. Harvey gave them a gentle smile. "Do you want to talk about it, or do you just need someone around right now?"

They shifted a bit, making a small hum in the back of their throat while their lips twitched upwards, just slightly.

"Right now, just the company. Maybe talk about it in a bit."

"Alright, want to get more comfortable then? Or want me to put on some music?"

"More comfortable…?" They sounded confused.

Harvey nodded, patting the bed and making a small gesture towards the messy blanket and pillows. "It'd be a tighter fit than what you're used to, but if you want we can just relax under here."

The farmer glanced over the bed again before nodding slowly, untangling their arms from around themself. Soon enough, the two of them were under the blanket and leaning against the headboard of his bed, arms and legs pressed between them so neither would fall off or be squished against the wall. The farmer drummed their fingers on their thigh, biting their lip before glancing at Harvey.

"Hey…"

Harvey hummed softly.

"Can…" they took a deep breath. "Can you hold me? Please?"

He smiled and nodded, opening his arms for them. The farmer released a breath Harvey hadn't realized they'd been holding, and they relaxed a whole lot more than they had earlier, practically launching themself into Harvey's embrace.

Harvey held them close, running one hand over their back gently as the other went to cup their head, stroking the nape of their neck. They sighed again, much happier, and snuggled closer to the doctor as though it were possible to be any closer with them essentially laying on him.

They stayed like that for a while in silence, the only noise an occasional creak as one of them shifted on the bed. Harvey drew the blanket a bit higher over them, up to their shoulders, and the farmer almost giggled at the action.

The farmer tucked their head into Harvey's neck after a good amount of time had passed, the clock showing it was almost three. Their breath tickled his neck as they sighed again, and their grip around Harvey tightened briefly. They eventually shifted a bit, curled on their side atop of Harvey. They brought one hand up to trace random shapes in Harvey's chest.

"I… I had a really bad nightmare," they whispered. Harvey couldn't glance down at them with the way they were tucked against him. "Normally, they're… I can reason myself out of them, out of breaking down, y'know? But- But this one was different. It felt so real."

His neck felt damp, and Harvey frowned deeply, tightening his hold on them just that little bit. "D'you want to talk about it?"

The farmer hummed 'no' yet still let out a long breath. "But I should."

He moved his arms so one was draped over their back, and the other was closer to their shoulders, allowing him to rub their arm in an attempt to soothe them. "Take your time."

They nodded, and took a deep breath. They burrowed closer to Harvey.

"I… I was in Skull Cavern. Really, really deep in it. Past where I had seen Mr. Qi and I think I was well past three hundred floors, which was insane, there can't be that many floors in that place it has to end somewhere. But… But I kept falling, deeper and deeper into shafts.

"Everything was going fine, more or less. It was going as usual, except for the many floors. And then, I reached this infested floor. Which isn't too uncommon, but this floor was infested. I- there were so many things on top of me as soon as I had entered, I barely had a chance to even try and fight. I couldn't even grab a bomb before I was knocked out cold, despite having my best gear."

Harvey felt their hand grip his shirt, so tight he could imagine their knuckles paling and nails making indents into their palm despite the fabric between fingertips and palm. He tilted his head slightly to rest his cheek against their head, giving their arm a very light squeeze as they began to tense.

"Normally, when I pass out, they leave me alone. I think they just attack conscious things. Which is weird. But- they didn't. Not this time. I- I watched as they- they-" The farmer took a very deep breath. "... destroyed me, completely." They were stiff as a board now in Harvey's arms, but just as Harvey was about to try and soothe that tension they continued.

"I- I was gone, but not completely. My spirit was still there. Time was weird. I jumped to a few days after, and- Yoba, Harvey it was awful." His neck felt suddenly more wet, and they began to shake, voice cracking. "I- I saw everyone finding out, saw them break down- Shane drank until he was nearly poisoned, Haley spent days going through photos of us together and completely forgot to do things like eat… Rasmodius was looking through ancient books for anything that could bring me back, but there was nothing- he knew there was nothing besides real dangerous and life threatening magic and he would have probably gone through with it, and then you-" They stopped suddenly, unable to hold back a sob that raked through their entire body.

Harvey pulled them closer, holding them tight to him and they hiccuped and trembled and let tears roll down their cheeks. Harvey was going to ask what he had done, but the farmer was clinging to him as though he would disappear if they let go, and they seemed so distraught Harvey wasn't sure he wanted to know.

They stopped talking, just crying into Harvey's neck, and Harvey held them the entire time, stroking their back and arm and neck and head, just anywhere he could reach and try to provide any comfort he could.

Their sobbing eventually quieted down, their breathing still uneven and grip on Harvey never loosening. It had been almost another hour. Harvey very slowly pulled them away from him by the shoulders, just so he could see their face. They sniffled, both hands moving to Harvey's chest to hold themself up, though they swayed slightly on their unsteady arms.

Harvey gave them the most reassuring look he could, hoping to convey all the love he felt for them in that expression alone. He cupped one of their cheeks, rubbing his thumb along her cheek soothingly. They gave him a small, very weak smile, leaning into his hand. The smile soon turned into a frown.

"I'm sorry," they mumbled.

Harvey shook his head. "You have nothing to apologize for."

He let them curl up on his chest again. Harvey began to rub their back again. "I get it if not, but do you want to try and sleep again right here?" He knew they had to be exhausted. A nightmare like that, the trek from their home to the clinic, and then the breakdown… it was definitely draining.

The farmer hummed. "You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure."

"... Alright then."

They yawned, slowly relaxing in Harvey's arms once again. They shuffled a little bit around once again, preparing for sleep. Harvey sunk back into his sheets and pressed a soft kiss to the farmer's head. He could feel them starting to drift off, their breathing slowly evening out. He almost joined them, but staved off his sleep for just a few more moments.

"Hey."

They hummed quietly after a second of silence.

"You can stay here whenever you want, no matter the time."

There was another soft hum, and the farmer burrowed closer. "Al'ght, 'nks…"

Harvey stayed awake until they were softly snoring, and only then did he let himself doze.