Author's Note: HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS...THIS STORY GOT OVER 100 REVIEWS? ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? DO YOU GUYS KNOW HOW FUCKING AWESOME YOU ARE?
Ahem, I mean...thanks I really appreciate it. ;)
Anyway, sorry this took so long to get out. I had some trouble with it because I had an idea for this chapter and then well, Harvey and Mike weren't cooperating and this happened. I wanted to move things along and the conflict that I had originally planned, wasn't working so this is what I came up with instead. I think it works because it's kinda like the movie without being like a copy of it. And I wanted to make Harvey, the guy who tries to have it all together sort of start loosing it...I hope that'll make more sense when you read it though.
Which you should go do right now...
Disclaimer: It's not mine.
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"Well, someone's in a good mood today."
Louis appeared at Mike's side as his filled his mug in the break room the next morning, his sudden presence almost causing the associate to spill scalding coffee all over his hand.
"And let me guess," Mike replaced the pot and turned to glare suspiciously at Louis. "You've come here to ruin it?"
"Actually no, I came in here to get some coffee." Louis shrugged. "Sorry to disappoint."
Mike lingered awkwardly, watching Louis pour himself a cup and waiting for the catch. Because, come on, this was Louis. There was always a catch. But, since Louis wasn't saying anything more, Mike decided that it was best to not stick around and wait. He turned to leave, but he was a little too late as Louis began talking the second Mike tried to make a break for it.
"So, that was, uh, pretty interesting yesterday." He began casually, stirring the cream into his coffee. "You and Harvey. I didn't think—"
"Didn't think what?" Mike raised his brow questioningly.
"Nothing," Louis answered innocently. "I just didn't think Harvey was a real PDA kinda guy."
"Yeah, well," Mike shrugged and sipped his coffee. "You should see how he is in private. Too bad I don't like to share." Call him crazy, but Louis actually almost looked disappointed about that. As Mike was trying to unsee that, Louis sighed.
"Listen, Mike I feel like we have this thing between us. I feel like, it's been there for a while and that there's only one way for us to get past it…"
Mike froze. Was Louis trying to tell him that he was—oh, god. He waited on pins and needles for him to finish that thought and he had to hide his over whelming relief when he said
"And that's for me to apologize for being such a dick to you and Harvey. It was wrong of me to tip off the immigration investigator, but if I'm being honest I was acting out of spite and jealousy."
"You're jealous…of me and Harvey?" Mike said slowly as though he couldn't believe he was actually having this discussion right now.
"You're a lucky guy, Mike." Louis admitted. "You two seem really happy together. And for me to try and ruin that, it was just really out of line. So, I just really hope you can accept my apology and move on from this."
Okay, really? There just had to be a catch…"I—uh, sure Louis. Apology accepted?"
"Great. So now that we're pals again I was wondering if you could file this subpoena for this pro bono I'm working on?" Louis's mood switched in an instant, though Mike wasn't surprised in the least .There was the catch he was waiting for.
"Actually I can't, Harvey asked me too—" Mike began but Louis just wasn't even listening.
"Thanks so then I'll just drop it by your desk and you can get it to me by this afternoon."
Louis left before Mike could object but knowing he'd be fighting a losing battle, he just let it go. He still had a feeling way deep down that Louis didn't completely believe their arrangement, much like he doesn't believe that Mike really graduated from Harvard. But he wasn't about to give Louis another chance to doubt him, so if that meant pretending they were "buddies" so Louis felt better about using him as his slave again, then fine. It wouldn't have been the first time he had to take one for the team.
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Everything was pretty much back to normal by the end of the week. Mike could tell simply by the fact that Louis was no longer hesitant to dump a project on him then request it done in some obscene amount of time. People around the firm no longer gave him weird looks as he passed and even Gregory and the rest of the Harvard douches didn't rag on him as much anymore.
With all the extra work Louis was giving him, Mike found himself going to Rachel a lot for help, and to his surprise she was more than eager to help him lighten his load.
Maybe it was because there was no longer the threat of him hitting on her now that she thought Mike was in a committed relationship with his boss, but couldn't help but notice that Rachel seemed a lot more relaxed around him.
But, Mike wasn't complaining. He wouldn't have gotten anything done without her help and it was nice to just hang out with someone who he didn't have to pretend to be engaged to—although they had already been there done that.
Soon, Mike and Rachel weren't just hanging out to do research. He was always hanging around in her office, cracking jokes and sharing her weird "foodie" lunches. Mike even offered to help her study for the LSATs again, and, though reluctant, she agreed that she probably couldn't get through the test without his help.
In between preparing for the test and working on cases from both Louis and Harvey, Mike and Rachel were spending pretty much the whole work day together. Harvey didn't seem to mind though, and if he did then he didn't say anything about it. In fact, he hadn't really said much at all lately. Mike just wrote it off as stress or something. If Harvey had a problem with something Mike was doing, he was usually the first one to let him know.
That all changed on Friday night.
It was late. Harvey had gone down to Mike's cubicle to tell them they were leaving only to find it empty. Knowing that Mike couldn't have left without him—Donna wouldn't give up her spare key to his place, even though he told her he'd get a new one made—he figured there was only one other person he could be with.
Harvey stalked down to the Pearson Hardman law library, trying to convince himself the entire way there that he wasn't mad at Mike for hanging out with the pretty paralegal so much as he was just really tired and stressed and just wanted to go home.
He heard them laughing about something as he ascended the stairs. Harvey resisted the urge to roll his eyes. When he was almost at the top, he thought for a second that he heard one of them mention his name. Pausing for a second, he listened.
"You know, it's funny," Mike was saying. "Harvey said the exact same thing to me."
"Well, that's because it's true," and there was Rachel. "You shouldn't be allowed to call yourself a man, let alone a resident of this city if you've never been to at least one game."
Mike just responded with another laugh followed by a short lull in the conversation before Rachel spoke again. "We should go together one time. My dad always has tickets he's trying to give away. It would be fun."
Harvey tried to ignore the feeling the bubbled up in his stomach when he pictured the way Mike looked into Rachel's eyes when he said "I'd like that."
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Mike and Rachel both looked slightly embarrassed when Harvey finally made his presence known. He clenched his fists a little tighter in his pockets when he saw them glance at each other and giggle like they were a couple of first graders who just got caught talking in class.
"Harvey, I didn't even hear you come in," Mike said, still smiling. "Rachel and I were just—"
"It's late." Harvey cut him off. "Get your stuff, I want to get going."
Mike gave Rachel an apologetic shrug as he gathered up the long forgotten files from Louis' case. He told her he'd talk to her tomorrow and followed Harvey out.
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"So you and Rachel seem to be getting pretty close." It was the first thing Harvey said to Mike since they had arrived back at his apartment. Mike narrowed his eyes, picking up on the suspicion in Harvey's voice.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Harvey shrugged off his jacket and loosened his tie, throwing them over the back of one of the kitchen chairs. "Just an observation, that's all."
"Harvey," Mike sighed. "There's nothing going on between us, if that's what you're worried about. We're just friends."
"Does she know that?" Harvey asked accusingly.
Mike's mouth fell open. "What are you—," His stare hardened as he said, very matter-of-fact. "She thinks I'm gay, Harvey."
"But you're not."
"So she doesn't know that!" Mike snapped, surprising even himself with his raised tone of voice as he threw his arms up in the air out of frustration.
"Well, she's bound to figure it out eventually," Harvey continued casually. "The way you're so blatantly flirting with her all the time." Another reproachful stare.
"I'm not—" Mike began quickly but had to pause for a moment to actually think of something to say. "She's just helping me with all the extra shit Louis bombarded me with this week since you and him seem to think I'm just like a robot or something that doesn't need sleep and just cater to your every whim."
"I thought I told you that you don't work for Louis, you work for me. You don't have to do what he says."This wasn't the first time Harvey said this to Mike. But what he said next threw Mike for a loop. "And I mean, use your brain for once, Mike. Obviously Louis knew that you couldn't handle all of that work yourself, and he knew you'd be too chicken shit to turn him down."
The associate stood there for a moment, blinking, the only indication of expression on his otherwise blank face. "Are you saying that he was trying to get something to happen between me and Rachel to prove that you and I are lying?"
Harvey just shrugged. "I'm just saying these are things you have to think about, Mike."
"Oh my—" Mike looked like he was fighting the urge to clock Harvey in the jaw. "What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing." Harvey replied simply. But Mike wouldn't hear it.
"Seriously, you're acting beyond insane right now," Mike's voice was getting louder again, but Harvey didn't seem to look at all fazed. "And when I say right now, I mean all week. Ever since we…"
Mike left the sentence hanging in the air. They both knew what he was referring to, he didn't need to finish that thought.
After a beat, Harvey sighed and slumped against the counter. "Look Mike, I guess I've just been thinking about this a lot lately." He told the floor. "What I'm putting you through by making you do this…"Harvey shook his head. "And I guess just, seeing you with Rachel this week made me realize how unfair I'm being."
"Harvey, what are you talking about?" Mike's voice was softer now. "I agreed to this, remember?"
"But what if someone finds out?" Harvey snapped, lifting his head and looking Mike straight in the eyes.
"They're not going to!" Mike leveled his tone with Harvey's. It was hard not to see the glint of fear in the otherwise fearless lawyer's eyes.
"How do you know?" Harvey pleaded, begging Mike for an answer he knew the both didn't have.
"Because you said so yourself, Harvey!" Mike cried defiantly. A ringing silence followed, the ghost of his shouted words still hanging in the air.
"You're right." Harvey said finally, his mood suddenly very calm as though in the silence, he had finally come to terms with a decision. "I'm just being paranoid."
"Pretty much." Mike couldn't disagree.
Harvey walked forward, taking his tie and his coat from the back of the chair. "It's late." He sighed, implying that he was going to go to bed. Mike nodded as if Harvey was waiting for his approval and they both left the kitchen to go to their respective sleeping areas.
However, Mike would be lying if he said he got even a wink of sleep that night. He lay awake on Harvey's couch all night, staring up at the orange and yellow stripes that the lights from the city outside emitted on to the high ceilings.
Harvey was also in a similar sleepless situation. Mike could hear him shuffling around quietly in the dark and around three in the morning, he could have sworn he had heard Harvey whispering to someone as though on the phone. But Mike chalked it up to being over tired, because, who the hell talked on the phone that late?
But then again, Harvey was acting very weird. It seemed, the more everything started to sink in, Mike –who was extremely paranoid in the beginning—was becoming more accepting of the situation, while Harvey was going in the completely opposite direction.
Mike had finally fallen asleep when the dark night sky turned into the soft light blue of the early morning. He pushed all thoughts from his mind and fell into such a dead slumber that he probably wouldn't have heard a bomb go off right next to him.
He didn't know what time it was when he finally woke with a start, the panic that arose in him when he thought he was late for work quickly fading when he realized that it was Saturday. He sat up slowly, stretching his body like a cat and yawning. The sun was sparkling through the windows in full force and for a moment, everything was quiet and peaceful.
That feeling of peace wore off fast though when Mike realized that it was a little bit too quiet.
"Harvey?" Mike called out, wondering vaguely if his boss was just still sleeping when Harvey didn't answer. That theory was squashed when Mike scanned the room and found the lawyer's bed to be not only empty, but neatly made as if no one had slept in it at all.
Mike was starting to get worried. The mood Harvey had been in the night before was very unlike him and therefore made his actions unpredictable. He could be anywhere right now.
"Come out come out wherever you are," Mike sing-songed as he meandered around the apartment trying to figure out if this was all just Harvey's idea of a sick joke. On his third trip into the kitchen, Mike spotted a small piece of paper folded on the counter.
Relieved that Harvey at least had the sense to leave a note—though the thought that it was a ransom note from a psychotic serial killer bent on revenge did cross his mind briefly—Mike opened it and read.
But what was written on the paper was anything but good news. Mike would have rather read a ransom from a psycho. Though it wasn't explicitly said in the note, everything suddenly came to together for Mike.
"Harvey…what did you do…"
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A/N: I feel like a DUN DUN DUN is warranted here. Reviews are love! There's probably only going to be like two more chapters after this one No I lied, three. (Lol I just looked at my outline and was like two? really? Oh no three that makes sense).