"Harvey...Mike needs you, library...now," Donna's voice is tinny over the intercom but the urgency isn't lost and Harvey drops his pen and is on his feet before he even thinks about it. Donna looks worried as he passes her and she half stands as if to follow him but obviously thinks better of it after taking one look at his face. Whatever Mike needs Harvey wants to be able to give it to him.
He hears raised voices from the library as he rounds the corner and Jessica is already there, Louis too and Harvey catches sight of Mike looking furious, hands curled into fists and he looks like he's ready to launch himself at the next person who takes a step forward. As soon as he sees Harvey though he stands straight, and swallows, forcing himself to relax as Kyle shouts at him again and Louis holds him back.
"What the hell is going on?" Harvey asks and Jessica turns.
"Your little pet just hit me," Kyle spits and Harvey sees red. Jessica calms him with a sure palm flat against his chest as he scowls at Kyle and Kyle stands a little straight, lifts his chin as if he was perfectly entitled to call Mike Harvey's pet.
"Call him that again and I'll let him have another shot," Harvey says and Kyle, clutching at his cheek, looks a little terrified and backs down. "Somebody want to tell me...calmly..." he says, looking pointedly at Mike, "what's going on?"
"Seems these two had a disagreement," Jessica says calmly and Mike shifts, Harvey sees his fingers flex and he makes a mental note to remember to ice his knuckles when they get home.
"About?" Harvey asks looking at Kyle who looks uncomfortable and shifts. Louis lets him go and takes a step towards Harvey. Harvey looks at Mike who doesn't say anything, just stares back at him but there's an almost pleading in his eyes and Harvey knows that whatever happened, Kyle probably deserved the punch.
"I don't think he's safe to have in the office Harvey," Louis says and Harvey snorts.
"Don't be ridiculous. Mike...want to tell me what happened?" Mike looks up at him and shakes his head.
"He just swung at me, for no reason," Kyle offers and Mike narrows his eyes, clenches his hands into fists again and Harvey makes it across the room and lays a hand on his shoulder.
"I highly doubt that, he probably took offence to your face. To be honest, I am right now. So why don't you go do the job you're paid to do instead of harassing my...ke?" Harvey suggests and Kyle fumes, the red on his cheek getting brighter as he flushes, but he storms out of the library and Mike visibly relaxes, but blinks at Harvey as Harvey swallows down the confusion that he just called Mike his.
"He needs to be punished," Louis offers and Harvey nearly swings at him himself. It's only Mike looking down at his feet and clasping his hands behind his back that stops Harvey from doing anything drastic.
"You're not punishing anyone Louis. He's not an animal, for fuck's sake, you touch him and you will answer to me, got that?" Louis's eyes widen and Jessica sighs heavily.
"Boys..." she says in that long suffering tone that she gets whenever Harvey and Louis are going at each other, they both stop and look at her, "no one is touching anyone. Mike," she pinches the bridge of her nose briefly, "go sit with Donna. Louis...I'm sure you have work to do, Harvey...with me," Harvey gives Mike a small nod and he trails out of the library, throwing Harvey an unreadable look before he disappears down the corridor.
"Jessica this is ridiculous," Harvey starts and Jessica holds up her hand.
"Just be quiet for a minute and pretend that I am your boss for once," she says, with a small smile and she doesn't talk again until she shuts her office door, "do you think it's wise to have him here?" she asks and Harvey sits down on the couch. Jessica sits next to him and crosses her long legs.
"What else am I going to do with him? I can't keep him locked up in the apartment all day," he says and Jessica makes her 'good point' face, "and I know that kid, he wouldn't have hit Kyle without provocation," he finishes, standing up and straightening his vest. Jessica raises an eyebrow at him and nods her head in the direction of her desk.
"You sure about that?" she asks as Harvey pulls out the Johnny Walker and pours two glasses. It may only be midday but God he needs a drink.
"As I said, he's not an animal," he passes Jessica a glass, but she doesn't drink, just holds it in her elegant hands as Harvey knocks his back in one swallow.
"I get that, but he's trained to argue with fists Harvey. That's probably not the best quality to have in someone spending most of his time in a law firm surrounded by people who fight with words," she sips at her drink, "but maybe we need to think of something to keep him occupied throughout the day, rather than wiling away the hours in the library," she says and Harvey raises his eyebrow in surprise.
"So you are punishing him?"
"If you think giving him a job is punishing him, then yes, I guess I am," Jessica smiles gently. She saved him once, saved him from probably heading down the path Mike is on right now, but he hadn't even contemplated that she would help him save Mike.
"He likes reading," Harvey shrugs, like that answers everything, "that's why he spends so much time in the Library," Jessica lets out a small surprised laugh.
"He likes reading books on law?"
"Apparently so," Harvey replies, pouring another drink and Jessica stands, takes the bottle from his hands with a wry smile and twists the cap back on.
"Ever thought he could help you out?" she asks and Harvey nods, swirling the liquid around the glass.
"He does," he replies simply, "every now and then," and Jessica frowns slightly, cocks her head to the side and studies him. "Sometimes he doesn't even realise he's helping," Harvey shifts, because no matter how tough he is, big bad lawyer, Jessica is tougher, and he's man enough to admit that.
"What going on with you and him?" she asks and Harvey sighs. It's such a difficult question, with so many answers, so many different branches and each answer only leads to more questions.
"Nothing..." he settles for a lie and Jessica rolls her eyes slightly like she didn't expect an answer anyway, "listen, the kid's confused, he's been treated badly all his life and now someone's trying to do right by him? It's messing him up. And whatever that Trust Fund Brat said to him made him angry enough to take a swing and I can assure you Jessica, I've made him iangry/i and he hasn't swung at me."
"You own him Harvey," she says like that's meant to mean something, like its meant to protect Harvey from Mike's anger.
"Doesn't mean anything when he's angry. He punched my fridge the other day," he says and Jessica raises an amused eyebrow, like she about to make a crack about the lack of use of Harvey's fridge but then she sobers.
"He wouldn't punch you though...I've seen the way he looks at you," she says with a wry smile and Harvey doesn't quite know how to answer that. He's saved by the phone ringing and Jessica gesturing for him to leave, "this isn't finished Harvey," she says before he leaves and Harvey nods, "Louis and Kyle are going to want something...probably from you."
Harvey sighs as she lifts the phone to her ear. She's right, Louis is going to want something. He's not going to let this go, especially when Harvey should have, by law, had Mike under control.
Mike's in Harvey's office, sitting quietly on the couch but his leg is bouncing nervously and Donna is hovering like a worried mother hen when Harvey gets back.
"What happened?" Harvey asks and Donna tactfully leaves, muttering something about holding Harvey's calls and closes the door behind her.
"I hit him," Mike says and Harvey lets out a small laugh as he sits down next to him. Mike shifts, not closer or further away, just shifts like he's not sure what direction to go in.
"That much is obvious, kid, what I want to know is why?" Harvey asks, moving to catch his gaze and Mike looks at him with blank blue eyes. Harvey wonders how difficult it was for Mike to learn how to look impassive like that, because when he looks at Harvey for real, with emotion on his face, generally anger, Harvey can see it's a natural state for him, that being a wide open book is what he finds easiest. He wishes Mike would feel comfortable enough with him to let him in, even just a little.
"How much trouble am I in?" he asks, shrugging slightly and ignoring the question and Harvey let's it go for now. Isn't in the mood to push it. Not at the moment anyway.
"I'll sort it out," Harvey replies, standing and Mike reaches out and curls his fingers around Harvey's.
"How much?" It's the first time he's touched Harvey willingly and Harvey stops, looks down at their hands. Mike's skin is soft, he's felt it before, but this is different, this is Mike's hand covering Harvey's, and Harvey feels like it's a step forward. Harvey twitches his fingers experimentally and Mike lets it go like he's been burnt.
"Potentially a lot" Harvey admits, dragging in a slightly shaky breath, his skin still tingling where Mike had touched him and Mike nods, curling his lips inwards and pressing them together, "but I'll sort it out, Mike, don't worry, and technically, I'm in trouble, not you," he says, smiling gently but Mike doesn't smile back.
"Because you should have me under control?" he asks pointedly and Harvey sighs. He spins his chair around and sits down, leaning back and hooking one leg over the other.
"...Yeah," he says finally and Mike nods once.
"Sorry," he says and Harvey wants to say something about him not having to apologise, wants to tell Mike that Kyle deserved it and it was totally within his rights to punch the little bastard's lights out.
"It's ok," he settles for instead and Mike looks a little more relaxed at that, "but do it again and I will hit you," Harvey adds with a smile and Mike smiles back, briefly, but it's almost brilliant and Harvey feels his own widen.
"You wouldn't hit me," Mike says, looking down at his hands, "that violence…it's not in you," he looks up again and Harvey cocks his head to the side.
"How do you know?" he asks and Mike's face softens almost imperceptibly, and if Harvey wasn't so finely tuned to Mike's facial expressions he wouldn't have noticed. It helps that Mike doesn't have that many, so Harvey can pick out when he does have one, when he moves his mouth in what Harvey's comes to realise is a smile, or when he narrows his eyes slightly in anger.
"Your eyes," Mike says like it's the most obvious answer in the world and Harvey blinks, "you can tell a lot about an Owner by their eyes," Mike finishes, shrugging slightly, pretending that he hadn't just admitted to trusting Harvey, even if just a little bit.
"Good to know," Harvey nods, looks away from him down to his computer and the stupid amount of messages in his inbox.
"You would fight if you had to," Mike continues and Harvey looks back at him. Mike's looking at the floor, but he's talking loud and clear, "and you would fight to the death," he looks up at that, squints at Harvey slightly like he's seeing him in a new light, "but you prefer to use words," he finishes mirroring Jessica's earlier words about Lawyers.
"And you?" Harvey asks, "that violence is in you?"
"Like I said, I've been fighting my whole life," Mike shrugs, simply, and Harvey wishes that he had been around when Mike needed someone in his life, that he had been able to sweep in a save the kid, although he probably wouldn't have looked twice at a skinny 15 year old back then.
"Well so have I. But as you said, I prefer to use words. You tell me which method you think is more effective," Harvey says and Mike looks away.
"Kyle said..." he starts.
"I don't need to know right now," Mike frowns in confusion, "I still have stuff to do here, but as soon as we get home you're telling me what he said to get you so angry, ok?" Mike's frown deepens.
"Home?" he asks, like he's sounding the word out in his mouth and Harvey smiles at him.
"Yeah kid, home."
Mike spends the whole afternoon silent on the couch. And if Harvey wasn't comfortable in the kid's presence he would have found it unnerving that someone could be so quiet for so long. Donna comes in once or twice and he smiles at her, the smile that seems to be reserved only for her. And Harvey ignores the slight stab of jealousy at that.
He's thinking though, Mike is, sitting there and Harvey can tell his mind is churning.
Halfway through the afternoon Harvey stands, hooks a finger at Mike and pushes him, when he stands, towards the book case. Mike smiles a small grateful smile as he runs his fingers over the spines and Harvey sits back at his desk, listening to Mike mumble the names of the books quietly to himself.
He doesn't read though, he picks a book, sits with it across his knees, and stares at it, his fingers poised to turn the page but he never does and Harvey finds the lack of movement from him irritating.
"What's on your mind kid?" he asks and Mike jumps at the unexpected noise.
"Nothing," he answers automatically and Harvey raises an eyebrow, looks back down at his brief.
"Right, so I'm just imagining that you're sitting their ruminating on something, am I?" Harvey asks, looks up quick enough to see a brief twitch of Mike's lips but then he screws up his eyes, clamping them shut and pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes.
"It's never quiet," he says, voice slightly muffled and Harvey frowns. Mike looks up, looks like a lost little child and Harvey has to stop himself from hauling Mike to his feet and pulling him close.
"What's never quiet?"
"My head. It's never quiet," Mike says, then shakes his head, like he wants to clear it, and looks back down at the book, his eyes moving across the page quickly. He turns the page, scans across the next two pages and then his hand moves to turn the next one and something occurs to Harvey, why there always seems to be something going on behind the kid's eyes, even if he's feigning boredom or submission, why Mike doesn't sleep and how he can devour books so quickly, why he could recite pretty much the entire Official Ownership Guidelines from memory.
"Hey, you've read the Barbary Legal Handbook right?" Harvey asks and Mike looks up sharply, his knuckles going white as he grips at the book in his hands.
"Yes," he answers with a panic stricken look and Harvey walks over to the bookcase and pulls it from the shelf, opening it on a random page.
"You read it like, what? Two weeks ago?" Mike nods once, looking warily at Harvey. Harvey picks a sentence in the middle of the page, "humour me," and reads, "Civil liability associated with agency is based on several factors..." he looks pointedly at Mike. Mike closes his eyes and swallows but opens his mouth and speaks.
"Including the deviation of the agent from his path and reasonable imprints of his agency on behalf of the plaintiff and the nature of the damages himself," he says, without stumbling and he keeps his eyes on Harvey the whole time.
"Jesus," Harvey breathes out when Mike draws a breath in.
"I have a good memory," Mike tries to brush it off and Harvey slams the book closed, Mike jumps slightly.
"That's not good Mike, that's eidetic," Mike just shrugs like it means nothing, "you could have been anything you wanted with that mind," Harvey says, hooking his finger at Mike who stands immediately, "you could have been free."
"What do you want me to say?" Mike asks and Harvey has an urge to touch him, to feel his skin under his hands for no reason other than he wants to.
"What do you want to say?" Harvey asks and Mike looks like he's about to close down and run so Harvey gives into his urge to touch and does just that, reaches out and cups Mike's cheek in his hand, runs his thumb across Mike's cheekbone gently. He knows that Mike doesn't want pity, but he can't help but feel sorry for the kid, who has a mind like no other, who lost everyone he cared about and who has seen the worst, the underbelly of society for too long.
Mike always does the same thing when Harvey touches him, he lets out a small breath of surprise, and he blinks, parts his lips and if Harvey didn't have a will of iron right now he would kiss him. Right there in the middle of the office with Donna no doubt looking in. He lets Mike go and Mike takes half a step back.
"I made a mistake," Mike says, "That's what I want to say. I want to say that if I could turn back, have a do over, I would do things differently, and I wouldn't be in this fucking mess, I wouldn't have to school my thoughts and my expressions and try to make my fucking head quiet and I would..." he stops and bites on his lower lip, "I want to say thank you, I want to tell you that I want to kiss you right now but what I want, and what I want to say, is irrelevant," Mike lets it all out in one go and Harvey, for the millionth time since Mike came into his life, doesn't know what to say. He looks like he's going to throw up, or run and never come back but he just stands straighter and stares at Harvey.
Harvey can't deny the urge to kiss Mike, to pull him close and cover his mouth with his own, to push him down on the couch and fuck him till Mike can't remember his own name, but something inside of Harvey, and not just the fact that his office walls are made of glass, is stopping him from doing just that and Mike looks at him like he's waiting for Harvey to do it and Harvey steps backwards, away from him because the kid's too damn tempting. He knows that if he walks out of this room like he wants to, to put distance between them, Mike will shut down, but if he stays, he can't be held responsible for his actions. He takes another step back and scrubs a hand over his face.
"I know you want that too," Mike says and takes a step towards Harvey.
"Stop," Harvey says and Mike stops, his face falls before he slips his mask on again, "just stop it. Not now, not here," Harvey finishes and Mike swallows audibly. To Harvey's own ears it sounds like he's promising something, and he can't do that, he can't promise what he can't give. He can't give the kid what he wants because Harvey knows the second he starts he won't be able to stop. And he wants Mike to want him, properly want Harvey, not just out of some misplaced gratitude or confusion going through his head right now. He wants Mike to want him in the same way Harvey wants Mike.
"What happened to submissive, Indentured Mike?" Harvey asks with a weak smile and Mike lifts his chin and crosses his arms.
"You happened," he snaps and stalks out before Harvey can answer.
He doesn't see Mike for the rest of the afternoon and the looks Donna gives him through the glass walls are enough to make Harvey realise that she's hiding him, or at least keeping a watchful eye over him.
"What did you do?" she asks, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed. She frowns at him and Harvey sighs.
"You know very well what happened, you're Donna, so can we spare the theatrics and not do this right now," he says, ignoring her angry gaze and looking down at his computer. Donna makes a disapproving noise.
"That kid's hurting Harvey, the least you could do is apologise," she says and Harvey looks up at that.
"For what? For saving his life? For getting him out of trouble with Louis and Kyle? For helping him? I'm not going to apologise for that Donna," he replies, going back to his computer. The screen blurs in his vision and he rubs at his eyes.
"No...for confusing him. Set ground rules Harvey, he needs them," she spins on her heel and sits back down at her desk with one last scowl in his direction. He lets out a groan as he stands, he's got work, too much on his mind, and the kid he bought a month ago is coming first. He can't figure out when that happened, when Mike became that important in his life but he's standing in front of Donna's desk when he realises it, when it hits him like a sledgehammer to the gut.
"Where is he?" he asks and Donna raises an eyebrow but doesn't look up.
"You don't deserve to know," she replies, typing furiously on her keyboard. Harvey sighs, and sinks down low enough to catch her eyes. She pointedly ignores him.
"Donna..." he uses the tone he knows gets her irritated enough to look at him, the almost sing song voice he used to use at the DA's office when he needed her to do something and wanted her to do his stuff first. She purses her lips and leans back in her chair and crosses her arms.
"Did you know he got into Stanford?" she asks and Harvey stands upright and frowns.
"What?"
"Aged 15 he got into Stanford," she says and Harvey feels his fingers tighten around to top of her cubicle.
"Why didn't he go?" he asks and Donna raises an eyebrow.
"Aged 15, with no parents, no money? No one to look after him? Gee Harvey, I can't imagine," she rolls her eyes and goes back to her keyboard.
"How did..." he starts and Donna looks up, pats his hand gently and looks patronisingly at him.
"I've found, that if you're nice, people open up to you," she smiles gently and he frowns even more, comically so.
"I'm nice..." he sulks and she pats his hand again.
"No you're not..." she reminds him and he laughs, feeling slightly lighter despite the startling discoveries from this afternoon. "He's in with Jessica," she says, letting his hand go and Harvey gives her a brief smile as she nods her head in that direction, "go."
Mike's got his head in a book and Jessica catches Harvey's eye across the room as he hovers in the door way. Mike's got his back to the door but he stiffens like he knows Harvey's there and straightens his back.
"Mike," he doesn't move, but turns his head far enough that Harvey can see the curve of his jaw, the faint smattering of blond stubble, the curve under his lower lip where Harvey just iknows/i his thumb will fit. Mike's jaw muscles quiver as he clenches his teeth, "come on," he hesitates, lets out a breath and closes the book he was reading and stands. Harvey nods his head in the direction of his office and Mike's nostrils flare as the looks at Harvey, nods a quick thank you to Jessica and waits in the corridor for Harvey.
"Thanks," Harvey mutters and Jessica nods, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on her hands.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she stresses the word and it leaves no doubt in Harvey's mind that he's being sent home to deal with Mike, again.
Donna is waiting outside in the corridor with Harvey's briefcase and jacket, the coat that Harvey bought for Mike and she hands them over, smiles at Mike and gives him a quick wink, briefly touches his cheek and that reminds Harvey that he can still feel Mike's skin under his hands as he pushes him into the elevator.
"I'm sorry," Mike says quietly as the elevator gets to the ground floor and Harvey places a hand to his back, guides Mike out.
"For what?" Harvey asks again.
"For speaking out of turn. It won't happen again," he says, nodding, his features cleverly schooled and Harvey looks at him, tries to read something, ianything/i in his eyes.
Harvey wants to answer him, wants to tell him that he doesn't need to apologise, that speaking out of turn is what he wants from Mike, he wants a fight, an argument, he wants to fuck it out over the kitchen counter, and kiss Mike till he can see lust in Mike's eyes rather than anger and confusion. But Mike strides towards the car, slips into the back seat and turns his face towards the window and Harvey can't seem to find the words.
Mike is silent the entire journey. Harvey can't even hear him breathe in the elevator ride up the apartment and Harvey's almost grateful for it, because he has no idea what he needs to say to mend this, to lay down the ground rules that Donna said Mike needs.
Mike heads towards his bedroom when Harvey pushes the front door open, without backwards glance at Harvey and Harvey sighs heavily.
"Uh-uh Mike...stay here," Mike stops, turns, clasps his hands behind his back.
"Yes Sir," he says and Harvey feels his blood boil.
"Dammit Mike, I told you not to call me that," Mike doesn't move, keeps his hands clasped behind his back and watches as Harvey moves forward. There's something under Mike's steady gaze that Harvey can't quite read, something dark and its twisting in his eyes. "Be you, Mike."
"I don't know how," he answers and if Harvey wasn't a hardened, non emotional lawyer, he would weep for him, "I haven't been allowed to be me for nine years. I know how to fight, and I know how to be fucked, I can't remember anything else," he says without any kind of emotion, blank face, blank tone of voice and Harvey wants to shake the real Mike lose.
"Mike..." he starts and Mike unclasps his hands, hangs them down by his sides and Harvey takes that as a win for now, "I'm not like Jim Cleaver, you don't have to be anyone else with me. I told you once before I want emotion from you," Mike shifts on his feet and his mouth twitches.
"Is that all you want from me?" he asks pointedly and Harvey lets him take a step forward, lets him come closer to him although that's probably the worst thing to let Mike do right now.
"Yes," he says and Mike blinks, anger flooding his face for a brief moment before he stops walking towards Harvey and looks down at his feet.
"At least Cleaver was honest about what he wanted," he mutters, then lifts his head and stares at Harvey like a challenge. Somewhere in the back of his head Harvey knows he's being played, he knows that Mike is pushing him but the thought that Mike could, at least for an instant, prefer Cleaver to him makes him to furious that he reaches out and wraps his fingers around Mike's arms, hauls him close and Mike's eyes widen slightly.
"I'm not like him," Harvey growls and Mike's nostril flare, his tongue peaks out to lick at his lower lip.
"I know, he would have fucked me already," he replies and Harvey lets him go so sharply that Mike stumbles, keeps his balance by placing a hand out against Harvey's chest and he lets his fingers curl against the shirt.
"Is that what you want Mike? Me to fuck you? Huh?" Harvey asks, his voice low and dangerous and he hooks his fingers under Mike's chin, lifts his head. Mike narrows his eyes and spins out of Harvey's grasp.
"You say you want to help me? Well fucking help me Harvey, stop pretending to be decent when we both know that you want to push me to my knees and fuck my mouth," Mike shouts and something in Harvey snaps, hard enough that he hauls Mike close, with his hand tangled in Mike's tie and presses his mouth to Mike's. Mike lets out a surprised noise and clutches at him, fingers tight in Harvey's shirt and he moans. The kiss is hard, punishing even, and Harvey feels his lips tingle when he pulls back and Mike looks at him with a look that's a mixture of surprise and accomplishment. It was just a hard press of lips, Mike's are now looking a little bruised, but Harvey licks at his own lips, tastes Mike on them and he's so taken aback by his behaviour, the fact that he gave in when he promised himself he wouldn't that he takes a step away and Mike clenches his hands by his sides, "you say you don't want me but you kiss me? Your argument is not particularly compelling Harvey," he says, a little breathlessly and Harvey runs a hand through his hair. "This is all I know, Harvey...I don't know how to be anything else, apart from a fighter...Harvey help me...please."
"Mike...stop..." Harvey drops himself down onto the couch, runs a hand through his hair and licks his lips almost absently. He can still taste Mike on them, and wonders, briefly, before damping that thought down, if Mike's mouth would taste the same as his lips.
"I don't think you want me to," Mike says, dropping to his knees in front of Harvey. His hands reach out and he lets them rest, trembling slightly, on Harvey's thighs.
"Mike..."
"Harvey...please," he whispers as he rises up on his knees and leans forward, hovering his lips over Harvey's. Harvey lifts his hands, wraps them around Mike's arms to stop him coming close and he feels his small arms beneath his hands, the way the skin feels hot under his palms, and the hardness of bone under the thin skin.
"Goddammit Mike," Mike moans as Harvey presses their lips together. Mike lets out a small noise, half contented groan, half surprised squeak and Harvey wants to hear that noise again, wants to hear all of Mike's noises. He cups at Mike's face, licks his tongue over Mike's lips and Mike opens his mouth to let out a sigh and Harvey pushes in. Mike makes the noise again and Harvey tightens his fingers at the back of Mike's head before he pulls away and Mike licks at his lips, pulls one of Harvey's hands off his face.
He holds Harvey's hand, palm facing him and runs his thumbs over the soft skin, uncertainty washing over his face, like he doesn't know what to do now he has Harvey here. Harvey curls his fingers, covers Mike's with his own and lowers their hands between them.
"Mike..." Mike frowns minutely but looks up at him, pitches forward slightly when Harvey lets go of his hand and he holds him still with a palm flush against his chest.
"I haven't...I don't..." Mike starts, stumbles over what he wants to say and Harvey frowns, cups a hand around Mike's face, runs his thumb over Mike's bottom lip.
"You haven't done this for pleasure before, " he doesn't ask, he knows that by the shake in Mike's hand, by the flushed colour of his face, the uncertainty in his eyes and if Harvey hadn't been sure that he wasn't going to fuck Mike until he knew that Mike wanted him, he would be sure now. He isn't going to take that last shred of innocence, no matter how small it is, from Mike.
"Not mine, anyway," Mike admits, looking as his hand resting nervously on Harvey's thighs.
Harvey shuts his eyes, could he be that person? The one that Mike seemed to think he was, could he look after Mike in that way, hold himself back from fucking Mike into the couch, from loosing himself in Mike's body? Because there was no way he was going to let go completely with Mike, not now at least, not now he has Mike's shaking hands on him and Mike's blue eyes staring up at him, trustful and wide.
"It's ok kid, I got you," he says and Mike lowers his head, submits, "not like that though," he says and Mike looks up, confusion flicking across his face. Harvey lifts his chin, runs the pad of his thumb down Mike's throat, "come here," he clarifies and Mike swallows against Harvey's thumb, and stands. He shifts a little uncomfortably and Harvey smiles at him, hooks his fingers into Mike's belt loops and tugs gently, "here."
Mike climbs into his lap, rests his hands on Harvey's shoulders, his fingers twitching slightly against his shirt.
Harvey's never had to be gentle with someone, to take it easy, to reassure with touches before. His sex life doesn't generally include that and if it does, he usually runs for the hills, but there's something about the way Mike is looking down at him like he's terrified but turned on and confused all at the same time that makes him place a hand to Mike's lower back and pull his hips closer. Mike schools his features as Harvey lifts his hands to the buttons on Mike's shirt and as Harvey scrapes his short nails over Mike's skin, Mike pulls his bottom lip between his teeth with a bitten off gasp.
Harvey pulls him closer, wraps an arm around his waist and stands long enough to lay them both back down, Mike's back pressed into the couch and he looks up at Harvey with wide eyes, his hands resting on Harvey's arms. Harvey sits back against Mike's thighs and runs his fingers down Mike's chest, scraping his nails across Mike's nipples and Mike gasps, his fingers tightening against Harvey's skin. Harvey leans forward, brushes his lips across the hollow at the base of Mike's throat, whirls his tongue around the skin at the same time as his fingers dip below Mike's waistband and Mike winds his hand into his hair, clutches at him and arches upwards.
Mike is so responsive, every place Harvey touches, every flick of his fingers against skin, or lick of his tongue, Mike reacts and Harvey keeps having to remind himself that essentially, for Mike, this is his first time, to remind himself to take it slow, keep it about Mike. He pulls back, sits up and looks down at Mike as he undoes the button on Mike's jeans. He doesn't pull them down his thighs though, just pulls them open a little, leaning down to press a kiss to Mike's hips and run his fingers over the base of Mike's dick gently. Mike gasps, arches his hips upwards and Harvey presses his palm flat against his stomach, pushes him back down.
"You like that?" he asks and Mike swallows, opens his eyes and nod.
"Yes," he says immediately, a conditioned response, and Harvey stops, pulls his hand out of Mike's boxers.
"No...do you like that?" he asks again and Mike shakes his head as if to clear it.
"I...I don't know," he says finally and Harvey leans down, kisses him gently, even though he wants to kiss him hard and fast, lick into his mouth and rock down against Mike's hips.
"Ok...you tell me when something feels good, ok?" Harvey says, nudging his nose against Mike's and Mike nods. Harvey pushes his hand into Mike's boxers again, fingers sliding over slightly damp skin and he curls his fingers around Mike's dick gently and Mike lets out a noise that sounds like he's dying, his hands clutching at Harvey's hair.
"That," he says and Harvey chuckles against his neck.
"Most guys like that," he says and he feels Mike swallow against his lips. He whines low in his throat when Harvey uncurls his fingers to push the jeans and boxers down one handed but grunts gently as Harvey wraps his fingers around him again and twists his hand slightly, running it up the surprising length of him.
"That," Mike gasps, whole body arching and shaking at the same time as Harvey runs his thumbnail across the slit in the top of Mike's dick and Mike nearly bites through his own lip.
Mike's hand in warm against his arm, the other one tangled in his hair and Harvey twists his hand again, rocks his own hips gently down, licks a line up Mike's throat and Mike stills suddenly, hand on his arm pushing rather than clutching.
"No...stop...I," Mike starts and Harvey looks down at him, runs a thumb across his cheekbone as Mike's chest heaves.
"It's ok, kid, I've got you," Harvey mutters and Mike snaps his eyes open, confusion swirling in them and Harvey gets it, he's never had this, this gentle attention, focused energy designed to drawn out pleasure rather than pain and he's confused, feels vulnerable, stripped bare and left wide open, "let go."
Mike lets out a shaky breath and Harvey kisses him, licks gently into his mouth and swallows Mike's quiet moan as Harvey draws his hand upwards and palms the tip of his dick. Harvey can feel the tension drain away from Mike's body, as the shaking starts again. His hips twitch, chase the friction of Harvey's hand and lets himself press his lips to Harvey's jaw.
Mike lets out a noise that could be ithat/i or a desperate groan and Harvey twists his hand once more, kisses Mike as he tightens his grip along Mike's dick and drags his hand upwards. And Mike comes, shuddering, spilling hot and sticky over Harvey's hand, his fingers tangled in Harvey's hair.
There's a startled look in his eyes when Harvey pulls up enough to look down at him and Harvey smiles gently and the look bleeds out, Mike's eyes slip shut and he grunts, jerks under Harvey as Harvey strokes gently once then pulls away completely.
"That," Mike mutters sleepily, his eyes closing and Harvey runs his fingers across Mike's forehead.
"Yeah kid, I like that too."