I totally own suits. But not Suits, unfortunately.
So Mike isn't exactly surprised when he finds Harvey waiting for him in his cubicle on Monday morning, but he's not thrilled about it either. From the cockily amused smile on his face, Harvey is thrilled.
"Yes, Harvey?" Mike's messenger bag drops from his shoulder and he looks at Harvey expectantly after it becomes clear Harvey is just going to keep grinning at him until he asks.
"Pretty paralegal's been stomping around this place all morning," Harvey replies by way of an answer, "The look Donna sported when I mentioned you tells me it's you. Whaddya do?"
That is not a question Mike is prepared for, and it suddenly occurs to him how goddamn disappointed Harvey's going to be when he finds out.
"It's personal."
"Maybe, but it's in the office now, and as your boss I'm going to have to deal with it. What did you do?" Harvey seems marginally less amused now as he drops the cheap pen he's been twirling onto Mike's desk.
"Seriously, Harvey," Mike gives a meaningful glance around the bullpen, noting that Harold is attempting and failing to look disinterested, whereas Kyle is blatantly staring, waiting. Harvey rolls his eyes, but stands and heads towards the elevator without looking to see if Mike is following.
"Spill it," Harvey demands when they're safely in his office, "I don't have all morning."
"Apparently you do," Mike answers absently, still trying to recover from the menacing glare Donna had fixed him with all the way down the hall, "You're asking about my personal life. You don't care, remember?"
"Well, let's see. Donna's pissed at you, the best researcher at the firm is pissed at you, and your reticence about the subject tells me that I might be pissed at you. So let's get it over with, shall we? Short version."
"You know about the weird thing Rachel and I have- had? Going on," Mike trails off.
"Unfortunately, yes. Continue." Harvey's settled himself behind his desk, and he makes a vague gesture for Mike to speak.
"It was off again, you know, and I made some comment about being smart not making us happy and I didn't think she was listening? Or that she agreed, or anything, and we didn't talk for days-"
"Jesus, Mike, I said short version."
"She showed up at my apartment in the middle of the night and I had... company."
"Oh," Harvey blinks, "No, you were right. I don't care. Back to your desk."
"There's more," Mike admits, because apparently he has a death wish. Only, once he started telling Harvey it was impossible to stop. He was going to find out eventually anyway, Mike reasoned, so why not just get it over with.
"Oh?" Harvey repeats, eyebrows rising, "If it involves a ménage a trois, seriously, I don't want to kn-"
"Ha. Ha ha, Harvey, no. Tess-"
"The company."
"Yeah, Tess, she uhm, she's a really old friend..." Mike trails off again, and Harvey's starting to look more than little exasperated.
"So you dated her in high school, which is why you felt comfortable booty calling her in the middle of the night. If that's all then?" Harvey makes another gesture, this one much less vague, and in the direction of the door.
"She's married."
Harvey's hand falls from midair to his desktop with a thunk.
"Excuse me?"
"Tess, she uh, she's-"
"I heard you, Michael."
Oh shit.
Harvey is quiet for what feels like an eternity, but is probably really only about a minute or two.
"You're free to make whatever idiotic choices you wish to in your personal life, Mike, but I won't have your work suffering because you've done something stupid involving a coworker. Fix that, and pray to God that nobody's cuckolded husband shows up at the office." Harvey just points at the door this time, and Mike can tell by the set of his shoulders and the careful line of his mouth that Harvey is furious, but trying to rationalize his anger.
Mike didn't do anything to Harvey. Mike's personal life is none of Harvey's concern. Mike is Harvey's associate, not his friend.
As is often the case with rationalization, it doesn't work. Harvey's still enraged, and Mike is still sitting across the desk from him looking guilty as hell. That is certainly not helping.
Mike is his friend, loathe as Harvey is to admit it. Mike knows that sleeping with married women isn't (just) a pain in the ass, it goes against every moral and ethical code Harvey's been trying to rebuild since he was sixteen.
Also it still makes him nauseous to think about.
"But-" Mike tries finally, and the "I'm sorry" Harvey can hear hanging on the tip of Mike's tongue makes Harvey want to punch him.
"Out, Mike. Now."
Mike goes.
Author's Note: This is completely, 100%, scribble and post. Sorry about that. I've just been thinking vaguely about what Harvey's reaction to Mike stupidity is going to be since the final, and in my opinion there is no way he's not going to feel at least a little betrayed.
Since it is scribble and post I haven't thought about a future for it. There could be more I guess, if people think there should be. If so, it'll probably get a lil' slashy, mostly because I can't really help myself on that front. I can try to keep it to the squinty kind, though. I don't know. You tell me.