And so the fic keeps on trucking! I promise the angst is coming, but until then enjoy the half frozen Mike and fluff! I do have work tomorrow and I'm going to try and get another chapter up afterwards, but if not hope this extra long chap will tide you over. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the words below and I'm not making any money off this. Beta'd by the lovely Nikki. Trust me this would be a jumbled mess of jargon with out her.
Mike has been studiously keeping an eye on the weather predictions for a week or so. Why? Snow had been forecast and he is determined to drag Harvey out into it. Everyday his shoulders seem to be getting more hunched and he's rarely smiling. It breaks Mike's heart a little to see him like that, especially since Harvey refuses every offer of help. It's only his duty as a friend to drag the sourpuss out into the park for a snowball fight after all. Of course Mike feels a little selfish, in that he really just wants to do it so he can see a Harvey smile. They're special, considering a genuine smile is hard to come by, and maybe on top of that, Harvey's burning desire for Mike will finally be realized and they'll race back to the apartment and fall into bed together. Yeah, even Mike snorts at the plausibility of that one.
Instead, he dashes over to the window above the sink and grins. Part one of his plan is in place and all he has to do is get Harvey up and convinced that playing in the snow is a good thing. He stands in front of his friend's whitewashed door a few more minutes than he probably should. Who can blame him; Harvey is like a dragon with horrible morning breath when he wakes up to early.
Taking a deep breath, and kissing his life goodbye, Mike pounds on the door and shouts, "Harvey! Get up! It snowed! I have the coffee ready and you promised!" Turning and dashing for the kitchen before his roommate turns into the hulk and comes through the door, Mike sets out a steaming mug on the counter and waits. He's pretty sure a little part of Harvey died when he agreed to going out in the snow yesterday, but there really hadn't been much of a choice. Sure, Mike felt bad pestering him so much, but he wanted some Harvey time damn it and he was finally going to get it.
"Good morning." He chirps brightly as a sleep mused Harvey - sans shirt - stumbles into the kitchen. Mike gets a glare in response as he offers the mug of coffee.
"It's too early for me to deal with your over eager puppy routine." The older man collapses into a kitchen chair and slumps against the table. He looks about two minutes from falling back to sleep and Mike hurries to get breakfast plated up.
"I promised to make it worth your while. So… Pancakes!" With two plates balanced on one splayed hand, and the butter dish as syrup balanced on the other, he presents them to Harvey. Well, presents is a nice way of saying he almost drops everything, and the other hand reaches to grab the plates before they hit the floor.
"Are you sure you're any safer working in the kitchen? God you're accident prone." Harvey sets the plates down and runs a hand through his hair.
Mike just grins cheekily and reaches over to mess up the soft blond locks until his hands are knocked away. "Aww, Harvey! That's the nicest thing you've said to me all morning."
"It's pretty much the only thing I've said to you." He holds up his cup for Mike to refill, before meticulously buttering his pancakes.
Mike digs right in, eager to get a start on the day. "Why do you have to do that?" He says around a mouthful.
"Do what?" Harvey doesn't even look up as he starts cutting the pancakes into neat little squares.
"The whole proper thing. I mean, you're cutting that into two by two squares and you make sure there's an even coating of butter. Where's the fun of just slapping some butter on it and wolfing it down?" Mike gestures vaguely to the stack.
"At least I don't get heartburn afterward." Harvey throws back, looking disgusted as Mike speaks with his mouth full of food.
"But you need to liiiiive. Look at you! You're all… all stuffy. It snowed man; have some mindless fun throwing frozen projectiles at other people." Mike gestures with his syrupy fork.
Harvey frowns at the splattered sticky goo now on the table, "What does acting like a kid have to do with pancakes?"
"It's a metaphor or something. Either way, I'm saying you need to get out and have some fun before you turn into a hermit that only goes out at night. Scratch that, you're not a hermit. You're some sort of grumpy vampire that pretends he hates the world." Mike takes a final swallow of his milk and grabs his now empty plate to take it to the sink.
"I do hate the world, and I'm not a hermit. What does it matter anyway? It's just snow." Harvey eyes the white outside.
"Come now Harvey, snow is like the most fun ever! It's almost like you've never been in a snow ball fight before." Mike wasn't expecting the confirming silence and he whirls around to stare at his roommate open mouthed. "You've never been in a snowball fight?"
Harvey lifts one shoulder in a non committal shrug. "Didn't really see the point as a kid."
"Oh my god, you really were born an asshole that wouldn't know what fun was if it bit you in the ass." Mike continues right over Harvey's sharp protest of being called an asshole. "Finish eating now. We're heading to the park ASAP; you must experience a snowball fight before you can truly live!" He grins and leaves his plate in the sink to dash off for his bedroom. Used to Mike's odd behavior, Harvey finishes eating and follows at a much slower pace, still nursing his coffee.
To Mike's disappointment and annoyance, Harvey is still getting dressed by the time he explodes out of his own room. Dressed head to toe in weather gear and snow boots, he's ready for whatever winter can dish out. "Harvey…" He whines, pouting and stomping toward the living room. He's already stashed coffee and hot cocoa in thermoses and they're sitting on the counter. Mike double checks to make sure he has his snow pants and sweats on in the right order, and that his stocking cap is on straight. He's been planning this so he has everything ready to go, and in hindsight he should've taken Harvey's narcissism into account. "I bet he even plucks his eye brows every morning."
"What was that?" A voice comes from behind him and his cap is pulled down over his eyes.
"Hey!" Flailing blindly, Mike ends up falling on his ass before he can peel the material off. "Har, har. You ready to go?" He grouses as he levers himself to his feet.
"Yup." Harvey moves past him toward the door. Even under his thick coat, you can still tell the man is built and it's so not fair.
"Wait up! Do you even know how to get there?" Mike scrambles after him.
"Central park? I should hope so." Harvey is kind enough to let Mike go through the door first and locks it behind them.
~~~OoOoOoO~~~
Rachel, Trevor and Jenny were waiting for them. They were friends Mike has more or less collected over the years. They've all slept with one another at one point or the other, and now just enjoy hanging out between work shifts. He hasn't gotten to see them very often lately, thanks to his second job and pinning for his roommate. The trio waves once they spot them.
Mike turns somewhat sheepishly toward a suddenly cold and schooled Harvey. "Surprise? You can't really have an awesome, amazing snowball fight with only two people, so I invited them. I hope you don't mind…" He ducks his head when the man's expression doesn't change.
Then Harvey's moving forward, "Why would I?" Not many people would be able to pick up on the cold tone underlying his voice, but Mike does.
Harvey's not a very social person to start with, and Mike knows he'll be paying for not telling him there would be others involved later. It seems, to him at least, that Harvey didn't have a lot of friends as a child and he disguises his social awkwardness under cold indifference. So Mike is determined to teach him that not all people are douches and that yes, he can be a real human being and not an emotionless robot.
They split into teams first, and things go well enough. The girls choose Harvey while it's just Mike and Trevor against the three of them. Harvey kind of lingers to the side, only occasionally throwing a snow ball when Mike leaves himself open. At least that is until he gets a face full of snow, courtesy of Mike's retaliation. After that, no one is safe. Mike totally blames him for the de-evolution of the game, because it turns into every man for himself and Mike seems to not only be the weakest player, but the favorite target. He runs for his life, ducking behind whatever cover he can find. It never fails though, someone is always waiting close by and he's exhausted and stumbling before long.
There's a small dip behind some trees and he thinks he's finally found a hiding spot where he can catch his breath. He can hear Trevor's yells, and Rachel and Jenny's screams and giggles, but they seem to be moving further away. Breathing a sigh of relief, he debates just flopping down onto the ground. At least until he hears someone clearing their throat. Harvey's standing about six feet in front of him, snowball in one hand and a murderous glint in his eyes. Mike just groans and hangs his head; it's time to pay the devil. Why does it matter? Giving up, he flops face first into the snow and just lays there. He can almost hear Harvey's confusion, because no matter what he thinks, the man's not completely unreadable. A plan hatches in Mike's mind and he waits for the sound of crunching footsteps getting closer.
Once they're close enough he springs his trap. Suddenly latching onto a leg, Mike uses his weight to pull Harvey down and then lunges across his chest to keep him on the ground. The snowball is lost somewhere in the fall and Mike buries his face into his friend's overly fluffy jacket. "No more please!"
Harvey just grunts and lifts a hand to try and pry Mike off. "Stop that, I can't breathe. You knocked the breath out of me." His voice does sound a little breathy, and Mike shifts but doesn't get up.
"You sound like you're talking just fine to me. And I've had enough. Uncle. Uncle. I'm not sure if I can even walk another step at this point." Mike wails dramatically, latching onto Harvey's arm next.
"Stop it and get off." Harvey sounds annoyed and there's a slight flush on his face and Mike can't tell if it's from the cold, the exercise or something else, but he finds it a bit endearing. Flushing a bit himself, he lets his head thwack against his friend's chest again.
Heaving a sigh and muttering about immature children, Harvey pulls them both up into a sitting position. He has one arm around Mike's back to keep him steady, and it's oh so tempting to shuffle that little bit closer.
"Oh ho, what have we here?" Rachel's voice breaks into Mike's fantasy and he jack knifes away from Harvey and falls flat on his back.
"Ow…" He whines, staring at the gray clouds drifting across the sky.
"Serves you right." Harvey chuckles standing up and dusting off the snow Mike got all over him.
"Mike, you didn't tell me you and Mr. Hunk over there finally hooked up." Rachel has this look on her face and Mike knows she knows they're not together. He needs to have a talk with her about timing and tact at some point. That or tell her that yes, there is such a thing as basic human decency.
Scrambling to his feet, Mike is quick to protest. "We didn't! We're not-," He's cut off as he loses his balance and only Harvey's quick reflexes keep him upright. "Seriously, Harvey's pretty much hooked up with everyone but me." His words are sincere, but since he's still being held against his roommate's side.
Trevor and Jenny are snickering in the background, immune to Mike's glare and Rachel just raises a brow.
"And here I thought you'd finally done better than hooking up with this low life over here." Jenny jerks her thumb at an affronted Trevor.
"I'll have you know I'm quite the catch." Trevor easily protests and leans in to kiss Jenny.
Mike feels, rather than hears, what seems to be a growl coming from Harvey. Glancing up, he follows the man's glare toward Trevor. Why in the world Harvey would be angry at Trevor? Either way, he just shakes his head and pushes away from the man. "Don't you guys have somewhere else to be, or you know a room to take that into." He makes a face at the full on make out session.
Rachel sighs. "You just had to remind me that I, in fact, have a life, didn't you?" Walking over she gives him a hug and a peck on the cheek. "Be good. And be careful okay?" With that she gives Harvey a wave and goodbye and heads toward the nearby parking lot. Trevor and Jenny pull apart with matching blushes and say their good byes, and nice to meet you Harvey's, and escape as well.
"What do I see in them?" Mike shakes his head, but grins anyway. Turning toward Harvey, he tilts his head up. "So how was your first snowball fight? Did you enjoy creaming me, because I'm pretty sure I have ice burns or frost bite."
Harvey's staring at him with an intense, thoughtful expression, and it's making Mike uncomfortable to be honest. Like he's being peeled back layer by layer. "It was… fun." Harvey's face breaks into a half smile before continuing. "Seeing you flail around like a dying octopus was my favorite part."
"Harvey." Mike socks him in the arm, but the other man just starts laughing and dodges out of the way. Another mini snowball fight rages for a few moments, until Mike trips like the accident prone guy he is and ends up with snow in uncomfortable places.
"You okay?" Harvey's breathing hard above him, and underneath all the melting snow stuck in his hair, he actually looks concerned.
"I don't think I can walk back to the car, I wore my legs out. Carry me?" Mike tries to look as pitiful as possible and holds his arms out like a child.
That's how he finds himself getting a piggyback ride from Harvey as they tromp across the park. Mike's grinning and giggling and no matter how many death threats are tossed his way he can't seem to stop.
"Knock it off or I'm going to drop you on your ass!" Harvey is really annoyed, but Mike shoves his face against the man's shoulder and tries to stifle his laughter. "I'm never letting you outside the apartment again. You're officially brain damaged."
"I love you too, Harvey." And maybe it is the cold finally seeping into his head, but he just grins a little more as he feels Harvey's shoulders shift in a put upon sigh.
All your reviews are awesome and keep me writing. Thank you! And to answer a question that has been asked. Harvey is a call guy, and he sleeps with whoever wants him, so he basically bisexual. Though I'm going to eventually make him Mike sexual. ;)
