A/N: So this is a crossover with the movie Because I Said So. It's an okay movie as far as romantic comedies go, but Gabriel Macht…wowza. If the suits don't do it for you, maybe indie rocker will? Yumm-o. You don't have to have seen the movie for this to make sense, but some of the smaller things will make more sense if you have. At any rate, I hope everyone enjoys this...it's so freakin' long!
Disclaimer: I don't own Suits or The Hollies
Mike walked into Pearson Hardman on time, which was ten minutes early by most standards, and made a quick stop at his cubical to drop off his things and pull a couple files from his bag before heading to Harvey's office.
Donna wasn't at her desk, but Mike knew she wouldn't be in until the tick of eight with a coffee in each hand, one for her, one for Harvey. He bypassed her desk, glancing down at the files he carried, double checking his work. He let himself into Harvey's corner office, planning to just drop them on the desk and get back to his desk to start on some other work.
He looked up when the door shut behind him and stopped dead in his tracks.
Harvey was at his desk…at least it looked like Harvey. The face looked like Harvey. Mike's eyes widened, taking the man in from head to toe.
His hair was cut shorter and a shade or two later than it had been when he left the office yesterday, not even making an attempt at being slicked back. His clothes were something Mike wouldn't have thought Harvey would ever admit to owning, let alone wearing. The cargo khakis and casual brown shoes taking 'casual day' to a whole new level. He also wore a brown button down shirt with a red vest over it and Mike's jaw nearly dropped when his gaze landed on his hand.
Harvey definitely hadn't had a tattoo when he left the firm the day before.
The man behind the desk looked up from his laptop and nodded briefly at Mike, his look blank and unreadable and so Harvey.
"Uh…um," Mike stammered, not quite sure what to say. "Is that a tattoo?" He blurted out, motioning to the yellow and orange sun on the back of Harvey's right hand.
He barely blinked. "Too much tequila last night."
Again, Mike stammered, trying to come up with a response.
"Um…okay…and the clothes?" He asked, still rooted to his stop just two steps inside the office.
Harvey answered in the same just-this-side-of-bored monotone. "All my suits are at the dry cleaner, this is all I could find," he raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly at the files dangling from Mike's fingertips, "those for me?"
Mike blinked a few times, shaking his head at the bizarreness of the situation and took another step forward, holding the files out toward him. "Uh…The Chapman briefs, yeah."
"No." The files were snatched from his hand and Mike tore his eyes off the man at the desk and looked over at…Harvey.
Immediately flipping open the briefs, his suit crisp and hair tightly in place, Harvey scanned the papers brelifly and then looked back up at Mike.
"And the fact that you," he pointed at Mike, "were fooled by this," he pointed at the man at the desk, "for even a second, both stuns and terrifies me." He said with a disappointed, exasperated look. If Mike hadn't been so flustered by what he was seeing he might have noticed a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
"Uh…what?" Came Mike's intelligent answer. The thought briefly occurred to him that he'd only dreamed waking up, showering, riding his bike to work and arriving on time and he was really still at home in his bed and was going to get fired for being late again. But a surreptitious pinch on the arm and realization that everything happening was, in fact, real, told him that, he may not be at home in bed, but maybe he should have been. He reached up to rub his eyes.
Suddenly a flash of red hair pushed past him. Donna had arrived, and she was making a beeline for the man behind the desk...whoever he was.
"Johnny!" She exclaimed. The man stood up just in time to catch Donna as she flung herself into his arms. The hug was ferocious and genuine. Harvey didn't seem to notice, Mike's mouth was on the floor.
"You're here early," she said leaning back to look at him.
"Yeah, the flight was moved up. I just couldn't wait to see your pretty face." The man smiled wide, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a way that would have been familiar to Mike if Harvey made it a habit to smile more often.
"Don't you 'pretty face me'. Just give me a kiss."
Mike watched with wide-eyed amazement when this man 'Johnny' placed a chaste but affectionate kiss on Donna's pale cheek.
"Taking care of my brother?" He asked, his voice a low baritone that had Mike doing a double take between him and his better dressed counterpart, still frowning down at the briefs.
"When have you ever known me to do otherwise?" Donna answered flippantly. The two shared a laugh and Mike looked like a cross between a fish out of water and a deer caught in headlights.
"I…um…"
Donna turned to face him, her arm still slung around Johnny's shoulder while his stayed wrapped comfortably around her waist. She sent a mock frustrated look to Harvey.
"Did you break the kid again?"
"No, he did." He motioned toward Johnny with the file without looking up.
Johnny shook his head, laughing and stepped away from Donna to extend his hand to Mike.
"Sorry about that kid, I couldn't resist," he said with a charming smile. Hesitantly, Mike reached out a hand to grasp the outstretched one. "I'm Johnny. The younger, more attractive Specter twin."
Harvey snorted at the comment, nose still buried in the file and went to take his rightful place behind the desk. Donna pulled Johnny away a bit, talking animatedly in hushed voices. All Mike could pick up was the name Milly and something about polka dots.
"Hey."
Mike's eyes snapped over to Harvey's and relaxed minutely. Harvey, with his three piece suit and dark hair and no tattoo, glaring at him from the other side of his glass desk. The familiar sight definitely took away some of the Twilight Zone factor he was feeling.
"Yeah?" Mike said.
"Good work on the briefs," Harvey put the papers aside and glared quickly over at his brother upon seeing a game of solitaire up on his computer screen. He cleared out of it and opened up an email window. "But you can gawk on your own time. Go finish the research for the Manning & Wayne merger, I want it on my desk before lunch."
Mike blinked a few more times and then nodded, still trying to process the fact that Harvey Specter not only had family, he had a brother...an identical twin brother.
"Yeah...okay," he said, beating a hasty retreat to his cubical.
Johnny smiled, watching him go and stuffing his hands in his pockets. It struck Donna then, not for the first time, that with a change of clothes and a haircut, Harvey and Johnny would be indistinguishable.
"A little hard on the kid, aren't ya' Harvey?"
Harvey turned his eyes up to him without moving his head, "Next time I come to one of your shows I'll make sure to give you some pointers on how to play the guitar."
Johnny smirked and raised his hands in surrender. "Point taken, sorry."
Donna rolled her eyes. "Well I'm going to go confirm your lunch reservations and get to work," she looked at Johnny, adding in a loud whisper, "my boss is a real hard ass."
She met Harvey's mock glare with a wink and sashayed out to her desk. After she was gone both men shared an amused look and Johnny went to peruse Harvey's record collection, letting Harvey finish up what he was doing on the computer.
When the keystrokes stopped he turned around and, after a moment, Harvey looked up at him, confusion on his brow.
"Where's Lionel?"
Mike had one earphone in, bopping his head to The Smiths and navigating between three Google searches at a time. He didn't notice someone approaching his desk.
"Hi."
Mike frowned at the unusually high pitched voice and looked around, finding a child of no more than six standing right beside him.
"Hi," Mike said. Ordinarily finding a small boy wandering alone in the associates area at Pearson Hardman would be very strange, but after what Mike had found in Harvey's office earlier nothing could surprise him.
"What's your name?" The kid asked innocently, big brown eyes gazing up at him through too much blonde hair.
"Mike, what's yours?"
"Lionel."
Mike nodded, returning to what he was doing on the computer. The kid stayed quiet a moment, fidgeting a bit. Mike heard him walk around behind him, presumably to look at the pictures of Mike's grandma and his parents that were tacked up to the opposite wall of his cubical.
"Whatcha' doin?"
"Research," Mike answered absently, sending a few things to the printer.
The kid wrinkled his nose. "Sounds boring."
Mike thought about it a moment and then was forced to nod. "It is."
"Why you doin' it then?"
Mike turned around to face Lionel, had gotten a hold of his calculator and was typing random numbers into it.
"'Cause I have a big mean boss who makes me."
"Oh," Lionel nodded solemnly in understanding, Mike suppressed a smile. "I got a teacher like that."
"Oh yeah?"
"Mm-hm." He went quiet a moment and Mike turned back around to his computer.
"Hey, can I have this?"
Mike glanced over to find Lionel holding up a standard issue Pearson Hardman ball point pen. He shrugged.
"Sure." It wasn't like he couldn't go to the supply closet and get another one.
"Thanks!" Lionel grinned, clicking the pen repeatedly. "Hey, I'm going out to lunch."
"Oh yeah? Where're you going?"
"I don't know," he shrugged, "but I hope they have burgers and fries."
"Mm, burgers are good." Mike nodded genuinely. His stomach growled and he realized the day was already half over.
"Do you eat everything on your burgers?"
"Nope. I always take the pickles off."
"Me too," the kid nodded, bouncing on his toes looking thoroughly disgusted, "and onions. Gross."
"Yeah, tomatoes too." Mike added, and the two shared a shudder at the thought of the offensive vegetable.
A deep voice sounded from behind them and they both whipped around toward it.
"That can't possibly be my nephew," Harvey stood a few paces back from the desk, hands at his sides and giving a playfully challenging look to the little boy. A step or two behind him Johnny smiled at their antics, knowing what was coming. "My nephew is at least a full head shorter than you."
"Uncle Harvey!" Lionel exclaimed, causing the few associates who hadn't yet gone to lunch to pop their heads up out of their cubicles in curiosity. The kid shot across the room, jumping into the air with the blind faith that he would be caught. Harvey held his arms out, bracing for impact like it was habit. He snatched little Lionel out of the air and swung him around until the child's giggles turned into shrieks of glee. As soon as he was back on the ground though the boy started babbling excitedly about school and the flight and Milly and cake.
Harvey knelt down to one knee to be on eye level and nodded, raising his eyebrows and listening intently like it was the most interesting thing he'd ever heard. Mike found he was entranced by the sight, feeling like his life might have been crossed with Invasion of the BodySnatchers.
After a few moments Johnny chuckled and stepped forward, ruffling the kid's hair.
"Alright, you hungry squirt? Ready for lunch?"
Lionel bobbed his head enthusiastically, "Yeah!" He grabbed his uncle's hand and started to lead the trio away.
"Hey," Lionel stopped suddenly and turned big brown eyes up toward his uncle, "can Mike come too?"
They all turned to look back and Mike raised his eyebrows, surprised the kid had even remembered his name, let alone wanted him to come along.
Immediately he started shaking his head, "oh, no. It's alright Lionel. I'm really busy, another time."
The child let go of Harvey's hand and clasped them in front of his face, "pleeeeaaase?"
Harvey and Johnny made eye contact briefly. Johnny shrugged, Harvey rolled his eyes.
"Are you done with the research I asked for?" Harvey asked, giving his associate an all-business look. Mike stood up and went to take a stack of papers off the printer.
"Right here. But really Harvey, it's fine if you want to spend some time with-"
"Lunch is on me," Harvey turned and started walking away, leaving whoever decided to follow in his wake.
Johnny gave Mike one last knowing look and then turned to follow his brother, calling his son over his shoulder.
"Mike, are you coming?" Lionel asked, eyebrows raised high, hopeful. Mike almost continued to protest when he realized he really couldn't afford to turn down a free meal.
He smiled and dropped the papers on his desk. "You bet I am."
"Yes!" Lionel said, pumping his fists in the air. "Race you to the elevator."
"You're on!" Mike grinned, pulling out ahead of the child at first and then slowly backing off the closer they got to the destination and the two identical men standing there waiting for them. Johnny high-fived the boy for the win and Harvey raised an eyebrow at Mike, who hid a smile as they got on the elevator.
"Please tell me you let him win." Harvey deadpanned, pressing the button for the lobby.
Mike rolled his eyes. "Very funny."
All throughout lunch Mike's attention was torn between paying attention to an arguably energetic six year old and their game of tic-tac-toe on the back of the children's menu (they'd already decided to order a pair of burgers and fries, hold the nasty stuff please) and watching Harvey and his brother interact. Harvey hardly even seem like himself. Laughing and joking like it was the most natural thing in the world, smiling easily and more often than Mike had ever seen. He looked like what Mike guessed Harvey must have been like years ago when he was carefree and young and not quite so controlled all the time.
Mike wasn't sure what to think about that.
Back at the office Johnny and Lionel bid them farewell outside, Harvey leaving orders with Ray to take them wherever they wanted, despite Johnny's protests that the subway was fine.
"You're not taking any nephew of mine into the subways of New York City." Harvey had said. And that was that.
When they'd left them Mike could still hear Lionel jabbering excitedly about all the places he wanted to see before they left for grandma and grandpa's that evening.
In the elevator Mike could barely contain himself. He kept his hands in his pockets to keep from fidgeting, but his smile stayed plastered across his face.
"What?" Harvey asked, with a long suffering sigh.
"You took me to lunch." Mike said smugly, staring straight ahead.
"So?"
"You took me to a family lunch." He finally turned toward Harvey, looking like the cat that ate the canary.
Harvey snorted, busying himself with readjusting the cufflinks on his shirt to keep from looking over at the younger man.
"Don't flatter yourself, kid. Lionel has more energy than an you after four red bulls and Johnny can barely keep up with him. You were a glorified babysitter."
Mike rolled his eyes, pretending to be offended. But one didn't have to be as observant as he was to see the fondness in the blunt words.
At the very end of the work day Mike headed toward Harvey's office with a bit more research he'd found. He paused at Donna's desk before heading in.
"So, Harvey's a twin, huh?" he asked, his tone hushed, and eyes glued to Harvey, who was standing beside his records, presumably debating which one to put on.
"Figure that out all on your own, did ya'?" She asked, not looking up from the computer.
Mike continued, undeterred, "it was so weird. I mean they're like...exactly the same. Like looking at Harvey in a mirror."
Finally Donna looked up, her fingers resting on the home keys of her keyboard.
"Yeah, in appearance. But everything else... they're chosen careers, their life paths, their wardrobes...it's all completely different. I mean, they even live on opposite sides of the country." She shook her head, returning to her computer, "total opposites."
Mike nodded, seeing her point, and was about to head in when a thought occurred to him.
"Does Harvey have any tattoos?" Mike asked, sounding far too innocent. He'd noticed at least two on Johnny.
Donna looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Why should I tell you?"
Mike smiled deviously, "because secrets are more fun when they're shared."
Donna thought about this a moment.
"One." She said shortly, returning to tapping away on the keys.
Mike's eyebrows hit his hairline and he looked back through the glass, seeing his boss in a whole new light.
"Any chance you'll-"
"No."
"But Donna you-"
"No."
Mike chuckled, he hadn't really expected her to tell him.
"Okay, but I'm gonna find out sooner or later. I have my ways, Donna."
"Do your worst, Mike." Donna said, smiling, but never looking up.
Mike shook his head and went into Harvey's office. After a moment Donna looked up and took in the sight of the two of them discussing the case, heads bent low in concentration.
She shook her head and smiled.
"He'll never guess."
Mike was the last associate to leave that night and he waved to Donna as he jogged backwards toward the elevators, promising to tell his grandmother she said 'hi' for her. It was nearing seven and Donna herself was more than ready to go home as well.
Except for one thing.
She slung her purse up onto her arm and pushed Harvey's door open.
He stood with his back to the room, hands in his pockets staring out at the New York Skyline. She sighed silently, and canted her head to one side, allowing a hint of sadness to leak into her posture.
Harvey always seemed a little bit more solemn after one of Johnny's visits. She knew it was partly because Harvey was a bit more solemn after one of Johnny's visits. The carefree reflection of himself always reminded Harvey of the choices he'd made in his life and how different it could be if he allowed it. Especially since Lionel was born. Donna believed there was a part of Harvey, a part he would never admit to, that didn't really want to be a bachelor married to his job for the rest of his life.
At the same time Donna also knew this perceived melancholy was largely in her head. Because whatever Harvey was he was secure in being it. And it was just that seeing Harvey, in his take-me-serious suits and tightly gelled hair and dry humor, in comparison to lively, carefree, funny Johnny only made Harvey seem that much more serious and tight and dry.
But, of course that wasn't the case. Harvey hadn't changed during Johnny's brief six hour visit. And Donna had realized many years ago that it was because of Harvey's seriousness that Johnny was able to be carefree and funny. Harvey had always taken his role as older brother very seriously. Johnny was able to make others laugh and to put them at ease because Harvey made sure it was safe to do so. Donna winced inwardly at the thought of all Harvey's 'see that's funny because' explanations.
Donna thought Harvey probably always wanted to be the funny one.
"Hey," she said quietly, her voice rising just slightly above the warm sound of a Van Morrison record playing in the corner. "It's getting late. You should go home."
"Yeah," Harvey turned around, scrubbing a hand over his face and unintentionally messing some of his hair. "Just got some work to finish up before I leave."
Johnny, Donna thought, and then shook her head to get rid of it. Because this wasn't Johnny, this was Harvey. A tired and slightly disheveled Harvey, but Harvey just the same. And as much as Donna loved Johnny, loved seeing him, loved talking to him, Johnny wasn't hers. Harvey was.
"What are you working on?"
Harvey walked slowly toward the desk, motioning vaguely toward his laptop.
"I need to finish typing this Letter of Intent for the client tomorrow."
Donna didn't even hesitate. She kicked her heels off and left them and her purse in a pile by the door before padding over to the desk and dropping into Harvey's seat.
"What are you-?"
"I type much faster and more accurately than you do Harvey, and that stupidly expensive mattress of yours only does you good if you are actually home to sleep on it." She turned to look up at him, "what do you want it to say?"
Harvey stared at her a moment and then just shook his head.
"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" He asked with a teasing smile.
"Yes, but I believe love should be shown with gifts," she turned back to the computer, "from Tiffany's."
Harvey chuckled.
"Duly noted."
Afte that the only sound coming from the ninth floor of the Pearson Hardman firm was the low vibrato of Harvey's voice and the steady clicking of a computer keyboard.
END
I almost ended it before that last scene...but I love Donna/Harvey friednship almost as much as Mike/Harvey friendship and I love Harvey even more than that so...I hope you liked it and let me know what you thought!
