#this turned into a harvey headcanon post. apologies for derailing

[lollytea]

So an extra funny part about Darius & Willow's weird friendship re: him helping her get ready for her date, is Darius used to essentially be Harvey's boss for many years

Like it was already a little strange initially for Gilbert & Harvey that their daughter started dating the ex-Golden Guard/nephew of the deceased emperor, but one of his parents is the ex-Abomination Coven Head too??

First Willow befriended THE Blight family's youngest kid years back, and now she's dating the adoptive kid of a Coven Head, girl just keeps collecting kids related to very important figure heads her dads have worked with/for, I love that for her. Gotta be a 🤏 weird for them tho haha

I know there's a post in my drafts somewhere talking about this exact thing. Like!!! Darius was Harvey's boss!!! That's hilarious!!!!

I like the idea that Harvey and Gil were initially in the dark about Hunter and Darius's relationship. Like when Hunter started dating their daughter, they obviously wanted to invite him and his family over for dinner. (Willow had to repeatedly beg them not to be embarrassing.) So of course, Hunter brought Camila, Luz and Vee along. At this point in time, they're his set-in-stone family, while he and Darius are still kinda in this grey area.

And oh god the Parks LOVE Camila. She's a treasure. She's so sweet. She knows very little about this world so she asks them questions about themselves and their jobs and listens with rapt attention. And the Parks know little about her world so they're just as invested. And even though the food they served made Camila throw up, she took it like a champ. They got along so well.

So they're all proud of themselves for having a WONDERFUL relationship with their daughter's boyfriend's family. They're so good at being functional sociable adults. (I see Harvey as the kinda guy who gets a rush of exhilaration every time he performs adulthood correctly.)

Anyway it's not until a few months later when they're well acquainted with Hunter and their daughter's relationship with him that Willow is like. "Oh, by the way. Hunter's grouchy father figure has invited us over for dinner. He wants to meet you guys."

Which just has Harvey and Gil like "Huh???????" There's ANOTHER parent they have to form a relationship with now??????

And OH GOD. When Harvey finds out who this man is, he goes fucking BONKERS. That's the guy!!!! That's the MAIN guy!!!!! He worked for that guy!!!!!!! And though the Coven system has been abolished, I don't think Harvey can really get that image of Darius the Boss Man out of his head.

After all Harvey is a guy who's very concerned with appearances and making connections for the sake of your career. And Darius still has a huge reputation in the abomination field. So he believes it's in his family's best interest that they remain civil with him.

Like Harvey worked hard while in that Coven and he only met Darius like once or twice. So he flew relatively under the radar. Gave Darius no real reason to dislike him. It was fine.

So the idea of going to his HOUSE and having dinner with him is fucking batshit. Because now he has to make an IMPRESSION.

He panics the whole week and then on the night they're about to leave for the Deamonne residence, he's bustling around making sure He, Gilbert and Willow look presentable and insisting that they all behave themselves. A million times worse than Willow was the first time Hunter came over.

Gilbert, combing his hair: Well, how do I look, Harv? Do you think I'll impress your boyfriend Darius looking so neat and polished? :)

Harvey, straightening his collar: Oh, your sense of humor is alive and well, I see. Fantastic. Make him laugh if you can. I love you.

Willow, polishing her boots after Harvey told her they weren't shiny enough: He's not worth all this effort y'know. He might think he is but he's just some guy at the end of the day.

Harvey, meticulously trimming his beard: Please don't tell me you've ever spoken to him like that.

Willow, who would prefer not to give her dad an aneurysm right now: Of course not 💕

Anyway I absolutely see Darius as somebody who may act like he really doesn't give a shit about anybody who's not in his inner circle but at the same time, he would still be the kind of boss who goes to the effort of learning all the witches in his old Coven by name.

So when he opens up the door and warmly announces "Harvey Park! Wonderful to see you again." Harvey nearly fucking passes out from shock.

Now I KNOW, I know in my heart Willow will not obey that order to behave herself. Once she and Darius are seated at the same table, they are going at it. It is impossible not to.

Which has Harvey sweating BUCKETS at first, especially with how Gilbert barely tries to hold it in before he's in peals of laughter at their daughter's retorts. Even Hunter is snickering.

It takes him a bit to get accustomed to how this dynamic works, just like Hunter, but Harvey does eventually realize that Darius and Willow's rivalry comes from familiarity more than anything. And that's when Harvey realizes that he understands.

Because like!!! Oh!!!! It's a little bit like Harvey and Hunter.

Similarly to how Darius sees his younger self in Willow, Harvey sees his younger self in Hunter. And they're not nearly as witty and graceful as the former two, but two personalities that are so very similar sometimes leads to clashing.

Not even of the antagonistic variety. They're both just nerds who love to info dump and they've both read the same books so they're often very competitive over who can get the words out the fastest and be the one to share the Fun Fact. Like:

Harvey: And the thing about mindscapes is--

Hunter: They reflect the individual!

Harvey: I knew that, yes. I was just gonna tell them that.

Hunter: You were talking too slow so I helped :)

Harvey: Thanks, Hunter.

Hunter: No problem :)

Initially, while the two were still getting used to each other, Hunter used to be so embarrassed by his tendency to speak over Harvey. He just got nervous and blurted shit out to prove he was smart and was terrified Willow's dad wasn't gonna like him. But on the flipside, Harvey, who was initially wary of Hunter, is now like "wow he's just like me fr" And starts to encourage this playful sort of "rivalry" which Hunter is aware is just a joke. And though they DO get on each others nerves, they have an understanding.

That's it!!! That's exactly what Willow and Darius got going on!!!!!

Anyway it's nice that they get to do this and Harvey actually gets an opportunity to talk to Darius in a more casual setting so he can see him in another light that's not the Big Boss Man. Cuz Harvey is crazy smart when it comes to abomination magic, as is Darius. So they actually gel really well. But the boss-employee barrier always prevented them from actually being friends.

Also Gilbert manages to make Darius laugh several times, a feat many cannot do, so Harvey kissed him senseless after they got home. 💕