Hi everyone! I know it's been FOREVER since I've posted and I'm really sorry about that! I blame my summer course which has kept me busy along with work, but now I'm DONE! I am officially free of school for the summer! So hopefully I can start churning out more fics and get to those lovely ideas so many of you requested. You have been waiting very patiently and I appreciate that a lot 3
I also just wanted to say thank you for the likes and comments. They really make my day. Hopefully I'll be able to get on a more consistent schedule now.
As always, hope you enjoy!
Mike had been struggling with his blood sugar ever since he was young. At the age of 2, he had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and had thus started his journey of needles, insulin, and constant sugar checks. He was lucky though; his parents, and then his Grammy after they died, had done a great job regulating his sugars and now that he was an adult, he had followed similar practices that helped keep his sugars in line.
Of course, that didn't mean he was free from struggles. He still had those moments where his sugars would go unexpectedly high or low and those days where it seemed that he spent every moment trying to get them to level out. It was this exact scenario that he was hoping to stop today since he and Harvey had a big court case in an hour.
Mike was to meet Harvey at the courthouse at 9am, but he had been struggling with his blood sugar all night. His Dexcom had seemed to blare its annoying alarm every hour, just as he had fallen back asleep, to let him know his sugars were low again. It had left him tired and groggy, but it seemed to have finally settled at a good number after he ate a good breakfast. Satisfied, he stashed his Dexcom in his bag and grabbed his wallet and keys before dashing out the door. If he rushed, he would make it just in time to meet Harvey.
He whizzed through the heavy morning traffic on his bike, cutting through the cars and, for once, making good time. It was already hot, the temperature threatening a scorcher of a day, but the breeze that tousled his hair as he rode cooled the sweat on his face and hopefully made it so that he looked somewhat presentable for court, instead of a sweaty mess.
The lock clicked into place and Mike turned to walk up the steps when he was startled by the form standing just behind him.
"I see I don't have to fire you for being late," Harvey said as they both started up the steps.
Mike rolled his eyes. "Really Harvey? I was late one time. When are you going to stop holding that over my head?"
"When you put on your big boy pants and stop biking to work."
Mike shot Harvey a look and the lawyer grinned, taking a nonchalant sip of his coffee.
"Whatever," Mike muttered as he turned and walked through the heavy courthouse doors, not bothering to check if Harvey was following.
After they passed through security, Mike picked up her bag and walked down the hall to where the list of dockets for the day was. He skimmed the papers and found they were in courtroom 217, just down the hall.
Mike walked through the open doors, Harvey close behind, and surveyed the packed room. The opposing counsel was already seated, their client, Jasper Davison, the CEO of a car part manufacturing company he created from the ground up, was leaning back in his chair, an assured smile on his face as he chatted with his attorneys.
As he sat, Mike began pulling out the documents they needed as Harvey did the same to his right. Jasper was being served a mass lawsuit that Mike had organized since their first client, Shelly Castro, had come to their firm begging for help. Her husband had been killed when their car's brakes had failed and while the report of the accident said he had alcohol in his system, Shelly was adamant that her husband only ever had one drink if he knew he was driving and had been complaining that the brakes in their car had felt funny ever since they had been replaced the month before.
Mike had done some digging and, sure enough, he found more and more people that had similar problems with various car parts, all from the same manufacturer- the one Jasper was CEO of.
Court was just about to start when Mike heard his Dexcom beep in his bag. Without alerting Harvey, he quickly checked and saw that his blood sugar was starting to drop. It was still well within normal parameters, however. He rummaged through his bag and cursed when he realized he hadn't replenished his juice and candy stash that he kept in his work bag. He had drunk the last juice box the other day and meant to restock, but with how busy work was keeping him he had totally forgotten.
Checking his Dexcom again, he noted that his sugars were still fine, just falling a bit, so he tucked the machine back in his bag and turned back to face the court. They shouldn't be here for too long; he would make sure to grab a sugary drink from the vending machine on his way out.
It was an hour later when Mike found out he had been very wrong. The court session was dragging on, both he and Harvey waiting anxiously for their turn, not because they were scared, but because they were both so bored that one of them was at serious risk of falling asleep. It was when their turn to speak was coming up, however, that Mike felt his body go low- and this low was bad.
It started with a slight shake to his hands. He clenched them tightly where they sat on the desk to try and get them to stop. This earned a confused look from Harvey, but the lawyer just raised an eyebrow and then looked away. Then came the brain fog. The room started to feel like it was moving beneath his feet and when Harvey asked Mike for a certain document it took the blonde way too long to figure out what he was looking for. This time, Harvey stared at him, his eyes roaming over Mike's face.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked quietly. "Your face is really pale."
Mike shook his head and immediately regretted it when Harvey's face swam in and out of focus.
"Nothing," he said, swallowing at the slight nausea that now pooled in his stomach. "I'm just hungry."
Harvey narrowed his eyes but was cut off from saying anything when the judge called his name.
Harvey stood quickly and began addressing the court, but Mike couldn't understand a single thing he was saying. His heart was thumping heavily in his chest, his blood rushing in his ears, and sweat had begun to drip down his temple and back, causing his shirt to stick uncomfortably to his suddenly too-hot skin. Then his vision began to blur; he could barely make out the words on the documents in front of him. Everything was turning into a jumble of white and brown, the papers mixing with the oak table below them.
Mike needed sugar and he needed it now, but his brain couldn't figure out how to speak those words, to let Harvey know what was going on.
Suddenly there was a hand on his arm pulling him up from his seat. Mike blinked and Harvey came into focus, and he looked pissed.
"Mike," Harvey hissed, his words finally cutting through the fog in Mike's brain. "The judge asked you a question. What the hell is going on with you?"
Mike turned to face Harvey and stumbled a step as it felt like the floor collapsed beneath his feet. Harvey looked confused and then concerned, but Mike didn't have time to analyze what happened next. The light-headedness that had swirled through him for the past ten minutes rose sharply and Mike got one last look at Harvey's blurry face, the lawyer's lips moving frantically, before black spots danced across his eyes and his legs gave away beneath him, the darkness swallowing him whole before he hit the floor.
Consciousness returned slowly to Mike. At first, he was floating, his body numb and mind disconnected, but then a myriad of sounds entered the dark void, penetrating his mind until they took shape. He could hear people talking above him and then he could feel that people were touching him. There were hands on his wrist, his head, and someone was loosening the tie around his neck and undoing the top buttons of his shirt.
It was then that he smelled something familiar, a scent that washed over him and left his body calm and relaxed. Spicy cologne and coffee. Harvey.
Mike forced his eyes open and immediately winced at how bright the lights were above him.
"Mike?" A voice said. The voice belonged to the hands that had loosened his tie and shirt.
"Harvey?" The question came out in a hoarse croak and Mike realized that he was really thirsty. And there was something sweet on his tongue. He licked his lips and felt granules that melted on his tongue. Sugar.
Mike reopened his eyes and saw that Harvey was kneeling next to him, concern etched into the lines on his face. He was also just in his dress shirt and Mike realized that his head was cushioned on something soft, something that smelt like spicy cologne. Harvey's suit jacket. Harvey's very expensive suit jacket.
"Hey kid, you with us?"
Mike nodded and looked around. Harvey was the only one that was close, but Mike could see that there was a group of people hovering in the background. One woman was holding a plastic baggie with what looked like sugar cubes.
"What happened?"
Harvey sighed. "You passed out. I barely caught you before you hit the floor." He shot Mike a look. "If you wanted to get out of court that badly there were less public things you could have done."
A rough chuckle escaped Mike's lips. "I'll make sure to have a low at a more convenient location next time."
Harvey stared at Mike for a moment, a frown on his face. "Why didn't you tell me you have diabetes?"
Mike sighed and rubbed a hand over his sweaty face, brushing back damp locks of hair. "I don't know. It's just something that I don't talk about."
"There's no reason to be ashamed of it, kid. My grandmother had type 1 diabetes. I know that it can be rough. You don't have to struggle alone."
A lump formed in Mike's throat, and he bit his lip as he fought back tears. After his Grammy had died, there was no one left to help him, so he had become accustomed to struggling through it alone. Of course, there wasn't always struggle. There were plenty of times where he had good stretches with no issues. But times like these, where he could never seem to get out from being low, it was nice to have the support.
"Thanks Harvey," he said softly, clearing the emotion from his throat.
"Whatever you need, Mike, I'm always here. Like it or not, you're family now with everyone at the firm. Can you imagine if something were to happen to you on my watch? Donna would kill me."
Mike snorted, but his chest warmed with the words.
He moved to sit up and Harvey rushed to help, making sure he didn't crash back to the floor.
"Please tell me someone didn't call an ambulance," Mike said and groaned when he saw the look on Harvey's face.
"Sorry, kid, there was nothing I could do. Not like I would have done anything to stop it anyway." He glared at Mike. "I didn't know it was from low blood sugar. I thought you were having a heart attack or something."
The look on Harvey's face told Mike enough about how the older man had been worried.
"That's okay. I should have told you. How did you know to get my blood sugar up anyway?"
Harvey nodded his head in the direction of the woman holding the bag of sugar cubes. "That woman came running up as soon as you collapsed. She said she recognized the symptoms since her husband has diabetes and so she always carries sugar cubes on her. She put a couple in your mouth and a few minutes later you came to.
Mike looked over at the woman and gave her a warm smile. She smiled back and Mike could see the tension leave her shoulders now that she knew he was alright. He would have to get her name so he could send her flowers later.
When the paramedics arrived, they hooked Mike up to a sugar IV and then discharged him when he said he didn't want to go to the hospital. Their court session had been rescheduled for the next day due to the disruption. Mike's ears had burned in embarrassment when Harvey told him, but the lawyer had just shrugged and said it had been boring anyway and Mike had done all of them a favour.
The next day Mike made sure he was early. He had just finished setting up the documents in front of him when Harvey arrived. As the lawyer started taking the things out of his bag, Mike spotted a white box. Looking closer, he felt his chest warm as he realized it was a box of sugar cubes. Without alerting Harvey that he knew what the lawyer had brought, Mike turned away but couldn't stop the smile that tugged at his lips.
"What are you so happy about?" Harvey asked as he sat down.
"Nothing," Mike said, letting Harvey's secret stay that way.
Harvey eyes him but ultimately let it drop.
From then on, Harvey always had some form of sugar on hand in case Mike ever needed it.
Till next time! 3