21
by: Raileht

Disclaimer: The ones you don't know are mine, the ones you do aren't.
Rating: T, to be safe.
Summary: Will makes an effort to make things better between him and Diane.

Spoilers/Timeline: Post Great Firewall.

Pairings:
FRIENDSHIP – Diane and Will
FRIENDSHIP – Alicia and Kalinda (cameos)
WARPED and DENIED FRIENDSHIP –
Julius Cain and David Lee (cameos)

Warning: Just my usual brand of crap.

Taken from:
21 Phrases to Use to Help You FIGHT RIGHT with Your Sweetheart by Gretchen Rubin

-o0o0o0o0o-

PART ONE:

I - II - III

"Are we seriously doing this again?"

"Yes! We are!"

"Oh, come on, Diane!"

David Lee stood outside the office of Diane Lockhart, making a face at the closed doors and the drawn blinds. He turned to her assistant, Annie, who seemed completely unbothered by the voices that kept coming from within the room, "Are they doing this again?"

The younger woman nodded, "Yes, Mr. Lee. Miss Lockhart and Mr. Gardner are…discussing a few things about the Ryder case."

"Oh, god," David rolled his eyes obnoxiously then glanced at Will Gardner's assistant Kate who was seated a few feet away, looking just as unbothered as her officemate, "Why don't you people just lock them up together until they stop trying to rip each other's heads off?"

"They've been locked in that room for a while now, sir," Annie said with a slight shrug, "It's been pretty much the same."

The man groaned, "Ugh. I did not sign on as name partner to be the grown up. I'm going back to my office. Please let me know when they're done…if that's even possible."

Annie suppressed the smile that threatened to appear on her face, studiously ignoring the giggles that escaped Kate's lips. It was true that their respective bosses had been fighting for the better part of the day, but to have David Lee, the new third partner, come in and actually seemlike the mature one out of the three of them was indeed as sight.

This would surely be a topic of discussion during lunch the next day and they were quite positive the other girls would be jealous they didn't get to witness this moment. David being less obnoxious and actually seeming normal was a rare thing that tended to happen once in a blue moon, it was possible the others wouldn't believe this actually happened.

Glancing at the door again, Annie shrugged and continued with her work.

Inside, the two partners continued to discuss things.

-o0o-

"You'd think now that Bond's gone they'd be friendlier with each other."

Kalinda Sharma looked over at Alicia Florrick, looking through the glass walls of the offices, watching with slightly piqued interest as she watched the two partners hash it out in Will Gardner's office. She shrugged, "They don't have a common enemy anymore."

"So they can't just stay at peace like when Bond was still around?" Alicia Florrick asked, genuinely curious. Internally, she marveled at the fact that she almost missed the former third partner's presence. Then, she mentally slapped herself for the thought.

"No, not really," the other woman shrugged, "They were pretty much the same when Stern was still around."

"Why?"

A ghost of a smile grazed the woman's features, "They like to fight."

Alicia rolled her eyes, "No, really."

"They just fight a lot," Kalinda answered, tapping a few keys into a laptop easily. "It's…a thing they have. Look, I'm almost inside the server…this should get you the exclusionary evidence you need."

"Thank you," the brunette replied distractedly, glancing at Will's office again though she tried not to appear like she was obviously staring. They were both still at it, obviously arguing though it looked as if they've actually managed to stop yelling. "I don't get it."

Kalinda shrugged, "I don't think you're supposed to."

-o0o-

Julius Cain fought the temptation to roll his eyes when the doors to his new office blew open and David Lee stood there, looking incredibly unhappy. He shook his head and went back to finishing the rest of his notes for a case. The firm was still on the going paperless route, but Julius was still very much open to using Post-its now and again.

"They're doing it again."

He looked up, not bothering to hide the fact that he wasn't pleased with being disturbed. Of all the three partners, David was still the one he was struggling to get a good rhythm with, "What?"

"Them," David said, as if that explained things. "They are doing it again."

He frowned, wondering if the other man was trying to wind him up then remembered.

In the past few weeks after Bond's departure, David had made some form of habit out of coming into his office—without knocking—and barging in, complaining about his other two name partners and about the constant fighting.

Being that the first time he came to the firm and ended up under Diane in litigation, it didn't take him long to notice her somewhat interesting, if not slightly twisted, relationship with Will Gardner. Even way back then, Jonas Stern proved to be the partner who seldom reported to the office so Julius had been granted better access to Diane and, due to the positioning of the offices, Will as well.

Will had been pleasant enough, seeming every bit the man he had imagined him to be—young, confident, intense and, naturally, a born ladies' man. He was nice and didn't seem as formal as Diane, but Julius had chalked that up to the fact that he was the 'young partner' and left it at that.

Then he saw them fight.

Pleasantness flew out the window as he took in the darkened features on Will's face and initial demureness of Diane's movement disappeared when tempers began to flair. Julius had been right in the eye of the storm after unwittingly ending up in between the two partners when Will came charging into her office one day. It wasn't hard to miss the sharp glares they threw or their lack of hesitation in throwing words and the seamless way they went into verbal combat with each other.

The fighting initially made him curious, wondering if perhaps there was something between the two, but that theory flew out the window as well when he saw the parade of women that tended to be seen on Will's arm and the select few—he later found out Diane preferred to separate work and play—male visitors that were so obviously not clients that came to Diane's office. He also noticed that his female boss and mentor had a certain type and he concluded that that didn't seem to include Will or his age group.

Not that it stopped them from flirting though, which made the whole thing seem twisted too although there were other reasons for Julius to think that as well.

In time, he got used to the two fighting and had even managed to learn how to tune them out. It was curious how the two seemed to fight as well as they could make up. They could be hissing and spitting at each other all day then come back to the office the next, laughing, teasing and flirting as if nothing had happened. It was almost twisted, but it seemed to work for them and Julius learned not to care.

So now, Julius barely batted an eyelash at the situation. David had been spending most of his years working in his corner of the building, a little away from the partner's main offices so he wasn't surprised that now that David was one of them, he was just becoming aware of just how well and how much Diane and Will could fight. Julius was more than sure he'd heard of the gossip and rumors whenever the two fought, but he could guess David hadn't seen them fight as much.

Not that he cared, he thought somewhat pettily. That's what he gets for building his own little kingdom in the office with his slew of divorce attorneys, separating himself from what was happening within the firm.

"It's how they do things," Julius shrugged, unfazed. "Will pissed off Judge Wannamaker and Diane has a case to present with him in three days. She was already worried about Wannamaker being his usual delightful self, Will's version of delight added to the mix isn't going to make things any easier."

"So screaming at each other is the main solution?"

"They'll work it out," he answered, still not looking at the other man, "Eventually."

"And in the meantime…?"

"You get on with your life," Julius said simply, "And wait until they're done."

"And when's that going to be?" David said with that usual childish tone in his voice.

"Diane's pretty pissed," the younger man shrugged, "She and Wannamaker have never gotten through a trial without her being tempted to throw something at him."

"Is it because he's a Republican?"

"Don't know but from what I've seen, it's mostly on his side," he shrugged, "Wannamaker just likes winding her up. He even smiles just to set her off."

"And Will just pissed the guy off. Great."

"Yeah…this one might last a while."

David rolled his eyes, throwing his hands in the air and turning away with an obnoxiously loud declaration, "How did this firm even last this long?"

Julius smiled sarcastically, "Your guess is as good as mine."

-o0o-

"Kate?"

The blonde entered the room with an inquisitive look on her face, "Yes, Mr. Gardner?"

Will held up a piece of paper, "Where did this come from?"

Kate crossed the room, taking the paper from his hand and reading it briefly before raising her eyebrows, "I'm not sure. Where did you find it?"

"On my desk," he answered, frowning. "Did someone come in here without you knowing?"

"Of course not," she answered, "Maybe it fell out one of the files?"

Will looked at his desk and at the stack of things that were waiting for his signature, "Maybe."

Kate smiled, "Okay then. Anything else?"

"Yeah," he nodded, taking the paper back, "Could you remind Mr. Jude's people he's got a deposition he actually needs to appear for tomorrow? He keeps pretending to miss schedules, I don't think another delay will do him any good. Judge Harris already gave us a warning."

His assistant nodded, "I'll get right on that."

"Thanks," Will said distractedly as he sat down, staring at the piece of paper in his hands.

"Mr. Gardner?"

"Yeah?"

The corners of the blonde's lips curled up, "I know this isn't really my place to say but…you might wanna try a few things on that list."

"On who?" he said, raising an eyebrow. It wasn't a secret that he was currently single at the moment after a rather amicable break up with Tammy.

"Well," the younger woman broke into a grin, glancing behind her to make sure they were alone and to check out who was present in their area at the moment. Once she was satisfied she turned back to him again, the grin remaining in place, "Miss Lockhart."

Will's eyes grew wide, "Seriously?"

She shrugged, "I've got the book. I've used a few things on that list with my fiancée…seemed to work."

"But we're not…" he waved a hand, "You know, a couple."

"No," she shook her head, "but you fight like one."

"We do," Will repeated, curious.

"Yeah," Kate answered, "Besides, would it hurt to try? It's either that or couple's therapy."

Will groaned.

"Exactly," the blonde smiled, laughter clear in her eyes before heading out. "Back to work, boss."

He watched her go, an eyebrow raised and waited until she shut the doors behind her before looking at the list again and wondered if she had a point.

Would it really hurt to try?

-o0o-

The mystery paper left on Will's desk read:

Almost all couples fight; the secret is to fight right.

When the Big Man and I are arguing, I find that the single best technique to apply is HUMOR. If one of us can laugh and joke around, the crabby mood lifts instantly. But during an argument, it can be hard to see the funny side of things.

Failing that, here are twenty-one phrases that help turn down the heat of anger.

Will looked over the list again, curious.

Maybe his assistant had a point.

-o0o-

"Please try to understand my point of view."

Two days later, they're fighting again and this time, he's pretty sure it's her fault, but by the way she's arguing, even he is tempted to believe it's not hers. This time, they're in the conference room and for what could be the millionth time, he wondered just who was the genius behind the idea of making the conference room consist mostly of glass—he wasn't entirely too fond of having the entire firm witness him getting a verbal whipping.

"I honestly don't see why—" Diane was saying just as his mind wandered back to the list.

And since this was a lesson on trying to fight right, whatever the hell that means, Will was desperate enough to try out this little experiment.

He held up a hand, "Diane?"

"What?" she snapped, cheeks looking a little red and her eyes glaring so harshly, he was amazed he was still standing. She did not like being halted mid-rant.

"Please try to understand my point of view," he recited, though he tried to make it even more effective by adapting a more sincere tone. He forced himself to stay calm and relax his posture, one appeasing hand staying in between them while the other dangled limply after he made sure he unclenched his hand.

Diane stopped, leaning back a little with her eyebrows raised in surprise. She'd been expecting him to argue back, maybe even yell—Will was such a yeller—but not this.

"Please," he said again, "I'm not saying it's not reasonable, but please?"

He gave her time, watching amazed as the iciness that had begun to form in her eyes begin to actually melt and he had to force himself not to visibly react. Her defensive posture began to gradually grow into a more lax state as she let out a sigh, "Fine."

Will tried not to let the urge to laugh get the best of him and manage an easy smile, "Really?"

"Yes," she said, though she still seemed reluctant. "But I swear, Will..."

"I know, I know," he said, smiling even wider as she turned away from him, gathering her things from the table and heading out.

Will watched her go, slipping his hands into his pockets with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Wow."

-o0o-

"You've convinced me."

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Are we really arguing like children?" Diane growled though even she was surprised with herself at how they were arguing. They were lawyers for god sake, did they really just stumble into some playground worthy method of arguing? God, this was bad.

"Well, you started it," Will shrugged.

"Real mature," she said simply, crossing her arms over her chest. If he was going to insist arguing like a child, she was going to have to change her tactics. "You said we would talk about this."

"No, I said a warning of a no," he pointed out, seemingly determined to stand his ground. "You said we'll talk about it later."

"No, I said let's not fight and yousaid you would think about it."

"I have," he said, shrugging. "And I am saying no."

"Do you really want to bring David into this?" she said, glaring slightly. "I want Cary back in here!"

"We can bring David into this," Will nodded, "But the question is, will he care?"

"He will," she said confidently, "If I talk to him."

Will stared at her, "Nice."

"Why won't you let me bring him back?" she said, her ire showing once again. "He was a good associate and he's doing a great job in the State's Attorney's office! He's grown so much. I want him here. We can capitalize on his talent, I can make him better."

"Oh, now we're going the mentor route?" he snorted.

She glared, "Remember the case with Murphy Gomez's son?"

Will rolled his eyes, "Don't remind me."

"He had you spinning in circles, Will," she smirked a little, her pride for her protégé leaking. "Getting that mother to fire you and getting Hobson to represent the girlfriend?" She shook her head, her glee showing now. "That's something you'd do, Will, but he got that one past you."

"If I remember, you were in on that case too," Will frowned.

"Yes, but you were the lead," she smiled pleasantly, "You and Alicia. Besides, I wasn't exactly too thrilled about a lot of things at that time, right?"

"Don't remind me," Will repeated, a dark shadow passing over his face. "I don't want to rehash that."

"Then we won't," she said simply, "Come on, Will, he's good and you know it. He could be a very good asset to the firm."

"I don't like him."

"Because he reminds you of you?"

"No," Will scowled. "He's too sure of himself."

"Like you," she smiled, "Remember when we first met?"

"You kicked my ass in court."

"But you put up a good fight, for an associate," she pointed, "I want him back, Will."

"Why?"

She stopped, "Because he's worth it…and he's undervalued where he is."

"He's not. He's been getting a lot of good cases against us," Will rebutted.

"No, he's been getting cases that are against us," she corrected, "And that's what they're doing with him—using him against us. This can only last so long until they just toss him aside."

Will groaned, "Why do you care so much?"

"Why do I have to keep repeating myself?" she groused. "I am not asking for too much Will."

"You kind of are," he replied, "We're just getting the firm back to how we want it…we can't let another one in."

"For Cary, we can."

"Diane…"

"You owe me," she blurted out before she could stop herself.

"What?"

"You owe me," she repeated again, raising an eyebrow at him. "Remember? We originally wanted just Cary because even back then, we knew he was good. He came from excellent schools, he was at the top of his classes, he was part of the Innocence Project and was a member of the Peace Corps. He was the best we saw, Will…until Alicia came to you."

He glared at her a little, "That's not the same."

"It is," Diane insisted, "Originally, this was Cary's job. It was solid. There was never any intention to hire another associate."

Will stared at her for a moment before shaking his head, "I want to talk to him first."

"No," she shook her head, "We hire him back then you can talk to him."

"Are you hiding something?" he frowned at her.

"No, I just know you'll try something to make him not want to sign back in here," she gave him a sarcastic smile. "I know you."

"How can you even think of accusing me of something like that? Me?"

Diane laughed, "That might work on your pretty co-eds, Will, but remember who you're talking to."

"Fine," he waved his hand dismissively, "You've convinced me. We can bring him back."

-o0o-

"How can I make this better?"

"We need to talk."

Diane looked up, eyebrows raised then nodded as soon as she saw the look on his face. He closed the doors behind him before entering further into her office and seating himself from across her.

"David is driving me insane."

She stared at him before a slow smile spread on her face. "That's what you want to talk about?"

"Yes," he nodded grimly. "He keeps bugging Julius and Julius keeps bugging me and whenever he wants something he comes to me. Those two are suppose to be your buddies, why aren't they going to you?"

"Because I told Julius that I will take him off as head of litigation if he complains to me about David more than twice per week," she answered. "And David? Well, he doesn't like it when I'm upset."

Will glared, "How sweet of him…"

She smiled, obviously delighted, "I know, right?"

"And Julius actually thinks you'll demote him?"

"Because I will," she nodded, "The last straw was sending four complaints about David in one day. It's not my fault they can't get along and they're big boys. The can fix it themselves."

"So why do they keep coming to me?" Will said, clenching his jaw.

She shrugged, "Because you keep letting them through your doors."

"I don't like dealing with this, it's stupid," he sighed, rubbing the side of his face, "What do I do? Lock my doors? Tell them they're not allowed it? I tried with David, he kept coming."

Diane nodded, thinking for a moment, "You can always try and get a guard dog."

"Like Justice?" he smirked, glancing at the small furry thing on her couch, fast asleep and completely content.

She chuckled, "No. David likes Justice."

Will stared at her, "David."

"David Lee," she nodded.

"No, I mean…" he stopped, tilting his head to the side, "You call him David."

"Well, that is his name…"

"No, but…" the corners of his lips curled up, "Are you seeing David Lee?"

Her eyes grew wide, "What?"

Will couldn't help but laugh, "Oh my god, are you?"

"I AM NOT!" she growled, her pleasant mood gone. "What kind of a stupid question is that?"

"Well, you're so buddy-buddy with him!" he said, laughing. "I couldn't help but wonder and—"

"How dare you!" she growled, suddenly furious as she stood up. "Just because you can't stop lusting over every skirt that passes you by—"

"Hey, that's mean," he pointed out but she silenced him with a look.

"—doesn't mean I can't have a completely platonic friendship with a man!"

Will swallowed slightly, worried now. He hadn't meant to set her off. The thought of her seeing David Lee just flashed briefly in his mind after hearing all the things she was saying about him.

"I mean, my god!" she threw her hands up, "Seriously, Will? David, of all people!"

"Okay, okay," he said, standing as well as he attempted to calm her. "I'm sorry. That was stupid. I'm sorry."

"For a brilliant lawyer, you're such an idiot sometimes," she sniped.

"Ouch," he drawled, "Okay, calm down. I'm sorry."

"I mean, of all the inane things—"

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "How can I make things better?"

"You can start by getting out," she growled a little.

"Okay," he nodded, heading towards the door.

"And you know what?" she called after him.

"Yes, dear?" he sing-songed, standing with his back to her because he wasn't sure if he could stop the smile that would not leave his face, "Anything else?"

"You can deal with David and Julius by yourself!"