Thankful (A Suits oneshot)
Rated: T
Pairing: Harvey/Mike
Summary: Harvey surprises Mike on Thanksgiving. Slash. Established relationship.
Posted 24 November 2011
A/N: So I've decided to take a break from writing during the holiday, but this idea came to me last night and so I had to give it a go. I hope you like it, even though it's obviously a piece of crap.
o-o-o
"Happy Thanksgiving, Gran," Mike smiled and leaned over the old woman's bed, kissing her on the cheek.
"Thank you for coming to spend the afternoon with me," she said sweetly.
Harvey nodded and leaned down to give her a small hug. "It was nice to see you again, Mrs. Ross."
"Have a nice night, boys," she waved as they left her room.
As they walked out of the nursing home, Harvey noticed Mike's wide smile. "What are you so happy about?"
Mike stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stood in front of Harvey, looking into his eyes and not bothering to hide the tears forming in his own. "You spent Thanksgiving with me and my grandmother. I didn't even ask you to, you just showed up at my apartment and told me you wanted to. Do you have any idea how happy that made me?"
"That was the idea," Harvey said, lifting a hand to brush away Mike's tears.
Mike leaned into the touch, closing his eyes before resting his forehead against Harvey's chest. "None of my past boyfriends or girlfriends did that for me. Even my friends... I had to drag them there and they only stayed for a few minutes."
"That's because none of them were me, Mike." Harvey said, wrapping his arms around Mike's waist. They were outside and people were staring, and it was kind of cold, but he didn't really care about any of that. "None of them loved you as much as I do. I'd do anything for you, and I'd enjoy it if it put a smile on your face."
"I love you too, Harvey. More than anything in the world." Mike suddenly lifted his head and pressed his lips to Harvey's in a short but meaningful kiss.
Harvey took a deep breath before asking, "Are you up for another surprise?"
"What kind of surprise?"
"A good one, hopefully."
"Can you tell me what it is?"
Harvey shook his head with a small smirk. "Then it wouldn't be a surprise."
Mike just gave a little laugh and grabbed Harvey's hand, letting him lead him to the car.
X
"Where are we?" Mike asked as they pulled up to a large white house, complete with marble pillars and a fountain in the front yard.
Harvey turned into the driveway, parking next to a line of similarly expensive looking cars. "My parents' house."
Mike gaped slightly at him. "What?"
Harvey got out of the car and walked around to Mike's side. opening the door like the gentleman he was and helping Mike out. "My family always eats Thanksgiving dinner kind of late, so since we spent time with your family, I thought maybe... we could spend some time with mine, too."
"Harvey, I've never met your family before..." Mike said, feeling nervous and excited at the same time.
"I know. But you're going to have to eventually. And they did invite you. So if you're up for a second giant dinner-"
"Wait... they invited me?"
"Yeah."
"But... that would mean you've told them about me."
Harvey chuckled. "Of course I've told them about you. I've probably driven them crazy with how much I talk about you."
"You talk about me?"
"Mike, I love you. And I think about you all the time, so naturally I talk about you to my family."
"This is a big step, Harvey," Mike said softly.
Harvey's eyes twinkled. "It is. If you're not ready..."
"No, I'm ready. I'm definitely ready."
"Okay." Harvey smiled. They walked up to the front door, which Harvey opened and allowed Mike to step through first. They were greeted by the smell of Turkey and pumpkin pie.
"Harvey," a woman's voice came from deep within the house, "is that you?" The source of the voice came out of what Mike assumed was the kitchen. It was an older woman.
"Hi, Mom." Harvey hugged the short woman.
"Hello, son. My, my, look at this handsome young man." she addressed Mike, sticking her hand out. "You must be Mike. I can tell because you've got the 'perfectly tousled hair' and 'bright blue eyes' Harvey never stops talking about."
Mike blushed, looking over at Harvey who's cheeks were tinted a similar shade of red. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Specter."
"Oh, and so polite, too. Please, call me Marianne." She smiled at him before looking back at the kitchen. "Everyone, Harvey brought Mike after all. Come say hello."
Suddenly a stampede of footsteps could be heard in the kitchen as a herd of six people appeared. He was introduced to them in a frenzy of handshakes and polite hugs, glad for his eidetic memory. He met Jane, Harvey's younger sister and her husband, Bill. Next was his older brother, Maxwell, his wife, Lucy, and their three-year-old daughter, Charlotte. Last was Harvey's father, George.
He'd always pictured Harvey's family as kind of stiff and cold, like Harvey when he first met him. But he quickly learned that they were a very warm and welcoming family, and they accepted him easily. They made him feel right at home, which is exactly what Harvey was hoping for.
They sat around for a while, chatting before dinner was ready. They mostly talked to Mike, asking him about himself and trying to get to know him.
When it did come time for dinner, Mike was whisked over to the big oval table, sitting between Harvey and Jane. They said a prayer before passing all the dishes around. Mike and Harvey weren't extremely hungry, having had dinner just a few hours earlier at the nursing home, but they did eat some and of course they joined in the joyful conversation.
Mike kept waiting for something to happen that would make him feel like he didn't belong there. But while this family had been full of strangers just moments ago, he didn't feel out of place at all. Not once did he feel like he shouldn't be here.
As the night ended, Mike insisted on helping everyone clean up. They'd all made him feel like a part of the family tonight, so this was his way of thanking them.
"I hope we'll be seeing you around more," Marianne said to Mike as Harvey got their coats.
"You will!" Mike guaranteed. "I had a great time, and the food was amazing. Thank you for inviting me."
"Thank you for coming. It's so nice to see Harvey with someone... and we know he doesn't need our approval but you're a wonderful boy, Mike, and as his mother I'm very glad he's chosen someone like you. You're sweet and smart it's obvious you love him very much."
"Yeah, I do." Mike nodded.
She smiled. "I'm so happy to hear that. My poor son... he scares a lot of people away. But I always knew there was someone out there who would see that he's really just a big sweetheart."
Mike laughed as Harvey appeared, handing Mike his coat before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah." Mike said, but he was a little sad to have to leave these people.
"Okay. I'll call you tomorrow, Mom."
"That's my boy." she hugged him again. "Have a safe drive home."
After they walked out of the house, Mike said, "Have I ever told you you're the best boyfriend ever?"
Harvey smiled. "You may have mentioned it."
"Well you are. Harvey, this is the most amazing Thanksgiving of my life."
Harvey stopped and looked at Mike. They were in the middle of the front lawn, surrounded by tall trees whose leaves were drifting down around them. "Mine too. Because I got to spend it with you. You know, a lot of families have this tradition where they go around the table and say what they're thankful for. Mine doesn't, because we don't need to. We all know that we're thankful for each other. But this year, I'm not just thankful for them. I've got something new to be thankful for."
Mike felt his whole body heat up despite the cool wind that was blowing. "Oh? What is it?"
"You really have to ask?" Harvey grabbed his hands, holding them gently in his own. "I'm thankful for you, Mike. I'm thankful that you used my interview to avoid the cops. I'm thankful that, after saying no the first few times, you eventually agreed to go out with me. I'm thankful for your grandmother and your skinny ties and your case of RedBull in my refrigerator."
"Harvey..." Mike forgot what he was going to say as he felt Harvey's lips on his.
"Did you like my family, Mike?"
"Yeah," Mike said, a little confused by the sudden change of subject, "they're great."
"Good. Because I'd like you to be a part of it." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small velvety box. Dropping down to one knee, he opened the box to reveal a thin silver ring. "What do you say? Will you give me one more thing to be thankful for?"
Mike was speechless. He knew things between them had been serious for a long time, but he hadn't been expecting this. He dropped to his knees, feeling the cold ground through his suit as he kneeled in front of Harvey. It took a while for him to find his voice. "Are you serious?"
Harvey removed the ring from the box with a nervous hand and slipped it onto Mike's finger. "I'm very serious. I'm not just thankful on Thanksgiving. I thank every higher power out there every single day for bringing you to me. And I know that I can be difficult... and I know we fight but I will always love you and do whatever I can to make you happy."
Mike felt tears in his eyes again. "You certainly know how to make me happy, that's for sure."
"Is that a 'yes'?"
"Are you crazy? Of course it's a 'yes'!" Mike lunged forward, knocking Harvey to the ground and kissing him deeply. After a day full of sweet little kisses, Mike didn't protest when Harvey tried to coax his mouth open and let their tongues caress each other. He pulled away and gazed down at his new fiancé. Then, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. "Uh, Harvey..."
"Hmm?"
"Your family is watching us..."
They both turned their heads to look at the large window in the front of the house, where a gaggle of Specters were quickly scattering away and trying to close the curtain.
"They're your family too, now."
Mike smiled. "I guess they are."
"Don't be mad at them. They just wanted to look out for me. They worry, you know? I always told them I would never settle down, they're just happy I found you."
"They knew you were going to propose?"
"Yep."
"How long have you been planning this?"
"About a month?"
Mike laughed. "You really are just a big sweetheart."
"So that's what my mother said when she was talking to you."
"Yeah."
"You know they already love you, right? Thanksgiving is a very important holiday to us, only family is allowed. So you were already a Specter before you agreed to marry me."
"I think I'm going to like being a Specter."
"I hope so."
"But I'm not wearing a dress for the wedding." Mike said, standing up and helping Harvey up as well.
"Aw, but you look so good in drag," Harvey joked.
Mike laughed as they walked back to the car. He'd wanted to ask Harvey if he was really serious about getting married, but quickly realized that he didn't have to. Harvey wouldn't have asked if he wasn't one hundred percent sure about this, and that was all the assurance he needed. That, and Harvey's hand wrapped perfectly around his.