AN: All the usual disclaimers.
Written for the HBX September 2012 Challenge.
Admiral Boone: How many people are you going to piss off today?
Harm: Everyone but you...
Making Things Right
Some days are diamond, some days are stone and then there are those that conspire to annoy the living hell out of you and for Harm that day was today. After spending two very long weeks preparing the defense of a petty officer charged with assault, the young man had informed Harm five minutes before proceedings started that he wanted to change his plea to guilty. Usually, he'd be able to shake it off as an occupational hazard but today he couldn't. It was just the last thing in a long line of things designed to irritate him of late.
Last week he'd parked his car in his usual spot at work and returned to find it had been sideswiped. Not only that, but the perpetrator had left no details, just a huge scar down the driver's side of the vehicle. The security guard hadn't seen anything and the CCTV was out of order. Then six days ago, he'd spilt the bleach he was using over the sofa leaving a large and unfixable spot. Then two days ago, he broke a string in his guitar and had no replacement.
To top it all off, Mac had been TAD for the past two weeks and while Harm wouldn't concede that had anything to do with his mood, he knew it did.
That brought him to today and his loss in court.
Annoyed with his client for changing his mind, annoyed with Sturgis, who was opposing counsel, just for the fact that he had won, annoyed by the fact Mac's return had been changed to god only knows when, annoyed with the weather being too cold, the coffee being too hot, the lights being too bright, the yeoman being too loud, the phone's ring being too shrill and the phone messages being near illegible, Harm sat down in his chair with a thud.
Standing once more, he roared for Petty Officer Bellamy to come into the office before berating him for poor penmanship and asking him to read the messages for him. One of the messages was from Bud and he sent Bellamy off to find him.
Having being apprised of Harm's mood by the petty officer, Bud knocked on the door hesitantly.
"Sir, you wanted to see me?" he asked a little nervously.
"No, I don't want to see you. Cmd Roberts, I don't want to see anybody!" he growled, shuffling the paperwork in his desk so roughly it was crumpling in his hands.
"Oh, Petty Officer Bellamy said..." Bud replied taking a backward step.
"I don't want to see you," he repeated louder. "But I have no choice!" Grabbing more files, he used them to gesture towards the younger man. "I believe you the General has informed you that you are to review the Emmerson, Randall and Wright cases, here are the files."
"Thank you, sir," he said quickly taking them.
Harm wasn't at all pleased that there was to be a random review of ten cases from the past 12 months in the name of increasing time management performance and office efficiency. He was even less impressed that three of his cases had been selected.
"Um...sir," Bud started but decided against saying anything.
"What?" he retorted, staring at him.
"Never mind," he continued. "Thanks for the files."
"I won't say 'you're welcome' because I think the whole thing is a crock," Harm stated forcefully.
"I understand, sir," Bud replied quickly, trying to get this encounter over with.
"Do you, Bud? Do you really?" he demanded and Bud nodded nervously. "What is it you understand?"
Taking a deep breath, Bud decided to go with the truth. "I understand that you are having a difficult time of late and that the last thing you need is for a few of your cases to be under review."
Harm nodded in agreement but didn't say anything; Bud had summed it up nicely.
"If there's anything I can do, sir..." he began.
"Stop calling me sir, Cmd Roberts," he said sharply. "Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes, si...Harm," he said, correcting himself.
After Bud left, Harm sat down at his desk once more, his mood not improving when he opened his cell to find a voice message from Mac was unintelligible. Shaking his head vigorously, he wondered what on earth he could have done to get the universe so mad at him.
Unbeknownst to Harm, Mac's message had been to tell him that she was returning that day, and in fact, she had returned while Bud was in his office. Having heard a range of comments from around the bullpen about Harm's bad mood, Mac was concerned. Even when in a lousy mood, Harm was always professional. Encountering Bud, he confirmed her worries when he too mentioned Harm's uncharacteristic behaviour.
"Is it something specific?" she asked scanning the bullpen once more.
"I don't know, ma'am...Mac," he said quietly. "I haven't been able to have a civil conversation with him all week."
Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for whatever response she may get, Mac rapped on his doorjamb.
"What?" he growled without looking up.
Mac raised an eyebrow, clearly unhappy with his tone. "How many people are you going to piss off today?"
"Everyone but you..." he replied in a less frosty manner, getting to his feet.
"And why am I getting spared from your wrath?" she questioned, closing the door behind her.
"Who says anyone else is getting my wrath?" he countered, his tone sharpening.
"Most of the bullpen," she replied, gesturing behind her. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," he said, taking his seat once more.
"Nothing?" she echoed. "I'm not buying it, Harm. You're not winning any Mr Congeniality prizes at the moment."
"Good!" he barked. "I didn't join the Navy to win such prizes."
Stung by the animosity in his voice, Mac shook her head. "Fine," she said. "I'm heading home." She turned but paused at the door. "You can add me to the list of people you've pissed off today. Good thing it wasn't for a prize."
It was hours later when Mac heard a noise at her door. Checking through the peephole, she confirmed what she'd suspected; it was Harm. Opening the door, she didn't speak, she made no gesture for him to enter. She simply waited for him to state his case.
"May I please come in, Mac?" he asked quietly and politely.
"It depends," she replied, not moving.
"On what?" he questioned his head hung low.
"Are you going to piss me off again?" she questioned and he shook his head.
"No, Mac," he said, looking at her. "That's definitely not my intention."
"Well, come in then," she said, finally moving aside and allowing him entrance.
After she had gotten coffee for them both, Mac sat alongside him on the sofa and waited for him to speak. It didn't come.
"What's going on?" she asked, turning to face him. "You can't sit there and tell me you've been acting like yourself today...or lately from what I've heard."
"No, I can't tell you that," he agreed with a nod.
"So, what put you in your foul mood?" she questioned. "You were fine when I left."
"I was fine before you left," he corrected with another nod. Silence descended once more.
"Harm, if you're not going to talk to me..." she started before standing up.
"You didn't kiss me goodbye!" he blurted out and Mac stared at him in confusion. "The day you went TAD...you didn't kiss me goodbye."
"We were at HQ, of course I didn't kiss you," she said, shaking her head. What was wrong with the man?
"No, not at HQ," he said standing in front of her. "Here! Right here! We had spent the night here..."
"And a great night it had been," Mac said with a growing smile.
"I had thought so," he replied, his expression not changing. "But then you left first to get to your flight and you didn't kiss me."
"You didn't kiss me either," Mac countered, resting her hand on his hip.
"Not the point," he said shaking his head. "You were the one leaving...you should have done the kissing."
Mac placed her other hand on his other hip and pulled him closer. "You mean to tell me that you've been in a bad mood for two weeks because I didn't do this?" she asked before brushing her lips across his.
Harm grinned against her lips. "Well...that started the bad mood..." he said before filling her in on the rest of his trials and tribulations in her absence.
"Oh, poor baby," she said pulling him into her arms. "You've had a rough time...maybe I can make it better," she said before kissing him tenderly.
Eventually pulling back, Harm smiled at her. "And this is why I didn't want to piss you off...I needed your love and affection so much."
"Well, you have all you need, honey," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close once more. "And I'm sorry I didn't kiss you that morning...I was in a hurry and I ..."
Harm's lips on hers stopped her speaking as she melted into the kiss. As a night of passion ensued, Mac couldn't help but smile at the fact that all her Flyboy needed was a kiss from her to make things right in his world.