I do not own Suits.

Chapter 6

Mike's eyes lit up when the door was opened, as though he had expected to be played.

"Donna! Hi, I brought everything you asked for – "

"Mike! Shhh…" Donna said, putting a finger to her lips. She gestured behind her with her head and opened the door wider.

He stepped, through with a chastised expression. "Sorry," he whispered, "Harvey's sleeping then? How is he? I never actually talked to him."

"Mike, he's fine. He was just denied sleep an extra eight hours after the case. Let him rest and you won't have to worry about him firing you over the tiniest thing," she replied, grabbing the pair of plastic bags that he was carrying for her and dropped them on the counter in her kitchen.

The young associate lingered for a little bit longer on the living room, zoning in on a dark room with the door cracked where he could see a man with spiky dark brown hair and one arm hanging over the edge of the bed. He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing aloud, never failing to be surprised that Harvey was human, despite very well knowing that.

When he finally made it to the kitchen, he asked, "You let Harvey sleep in your bed?"

"Yes," she replied, giving him a bald look of exasperation. "It's much better for his shoulder, which I can tell was hurting him. He was sitting on my couch and slept for five hours earlier this morning. He's earned a bed."

Mike met her reply with amused skepticism and simply shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you say. He's already been asleep for five hours? What a wuss! I'd still be powering through paperwork at the firm on my second sleepless night."

She glared at Mike. "Well, excuse me, Michael, he's not as young as he used to be. And if I remember correctly, he sent you home last week after two days of no sleep. Besides," and she raised her chin up, "what are the odds you would have dissolved into a panicked hysterical mess if your apartment building was on fire?"

"Hey, I was just kidding," he replied, holding his hands and giving her his best pair of puppy eyes until finally her frown reformed into a smile. His smile became less enthusiastic and he ran a hand through his hair when he said, "And you're probably right. I would melt into a huge hysterical mess if I knew there was a fire in my building. You told me it was about fifteen floors below where Harvey was stuck, right?"

"Yes. The worst they got was smoke residue or so I heard. He was lucky though. Ten people were reportedly killed by the fire," she said, drawing her lips in a concerned line.

Mike gaped at her in a mixture of shock and horror and he shuddered. "Damn, that's terrible. I'm glad Harvey's okay. I kind of saw him there sleeping in your bedroom – okay, so I barely saw his face – but he looked pretty normal."

Donna snorted as she headed out into the living room to sit down and watch some more tv. "You should have seen him this morning, before his shower. He was pale, covered head to toe in soot, and then he got a nose bleed. A heavy nose bleed." Mike gaped at her. "He looked like he might've had a run in with Rocky in a dark alley. I wish I could've gotten a picture."

"Are you serious? That could actually be pretty cool. I wish you would have taken a picture. I would have definitely made that the picture on my desktop. Or I might have done that with his laptop! Prove he's not always sharp and slick in his power suit 24/7," Mike said to her and he was grinning mischievously at her once again. She couldn't keep from smiling at the twinkle that often appeared in his eye whenever he was in a good mood. It was infectious.

"Now, you've seen Harvey. You better be sure you don't call me at all tonight unless there's a legitimate emergency or I might have to drown you in your own sink," Donna said, jabbing a finger into Mike's chest.

He had the decency to appear abashed and he mumbled, "I'm sorry. I was just worried. You've already seen how I deal with a crisis."

"Well, pup, you're going to have to learn to deal with crisis in a better fashion. A law firm, especially Pearson Hardman, isn't going to want you devolving into a panicked mess every time a wrench is thrown into your plans."

"But Donna," Mike said, giving her another patented sad puppy eyes, "plenty of emergencies have popped up while I've been working for Harvey and even on some of my pro bono cases. I kept my cool."

"I'm just saying, Mike," Donna replied with a hard look on her face. "Harvey won't be around forever to direct you through your career, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for the advice," he said. "So, what's on tv?"

"Nothing. Except Bath Crashers on the DIY network. That'll have to do."

Two hours later, not only did Mike think he could probably tackle a bathroom with decent taste, but also a basement. They both made comments on the finishing touches, Donna often wrinkling her nose at some of the color choices, occasionally lamenting about the tile and flooring. When they hit a kitchen episode she made a disgusted noise and said, "Those cabinets are so cheap!"

"So, do you like renovating houses then?" Mike asked, trying his best to actually watch the shows but his absolute disinterest in the subject was making him cross-eyed.

"When I was young, my parents would buy houses and flip them. My sister and I were often the hired help. When you have to sit through the long process of a house flip, you get a better understanding and appreciation for the process," Donna said, smiling at Mike's obvious boredom.

"So, have you done anything to this place?"

"Oh hell no! Not only would I expect my landlord to pay for it, but it would require the coordination of all my neighbors and I don't think they would disrupt their lives. I did paint the entire apartment though. I tricked Harvey into helping me. Speak of the Devil."

Harvey had shuffled into the room, rubbing his eyes blearily, and then he sat down next to Donna. They waited a minute for a greeting, but none came and Donna poked him instead and asked, "Is he sleep walking?"

"No, I'm not sleep walking," Harvey replied. When he had blinked a few more times, his eyes fell on Mike and he stared. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"It's nice to see you too, Harvey. I'm glad you escaped that fire in one piece; it would be sad to lose the best closer in the city," Mike said with a purposely oblivious smile hitched onto his face. "Donna asked me to pick up some things for dinner tonight and invited me to stay. That's why I am here."

Harvey listened to the puppy babble and huffed when he heard he was staying for dinner and he said, with a suspicious glare at Donna, "Oh, I don't think that's the only reason you're here."

Mike blinked at him and then his eyes widened and the color seemed to drain from his face. "Wha – ? No, no! It's not like that all! I mean, you know, I – I already have a girlfrie –"

Donna fixed the associated with a glare and said, "Mike Ross, you do not want to finish that sentence!"

He stopped speaking so abruptly there was an audible click of his jaws and he leaned away as though he were trying to melt into the easy chair he was resting in.

"That's not to what I was referring to," Harvey said, but he was grinned wickedly at Mike, "stupid puppy."

Donna socked him in the arm and he rubbed the spot, but he was still grinning and he couldn't help nudging her with his elbow.

"So, anything decent on TV?"

"Nothing," Donna said. Mike looked as if he'd had his mouth glued shut and he kept looking at Harvey cross-ways.

"Then why don't we watch a movie? I do not want to learn those stupid Progressive Insurance commercials by heart."

"You don't like Flo, Harvey?" Mike asked and he was clearly trying to keep from laughing.

Harvey made a noise of repulsion. "Oh hell no! Get her off the screen!"

Donna smirked and mercifully turned on her DVD player. Both Mike and Harvey sighed with relief but when she did not get up to put in a movie, her boss asked, "So then, are we just going to watch a black screen?"

"Be patient, Harvey. Good things come to those who wait," she said patronizingly and patted him on the head. "You've got great hair going on there by the way." Harvey grabbed her hand deliberately to pull it away when she tried to muss it up, making it spikier than ever.

"You've got that Edward Cullen look going on there," Mike said. The associate began to laugh until they both looked at him and then his mouth snapped shut again.

"No, I'd say he's more of Calvin's evil twin brother."

Harvey frowned at her. "Calvin was good?"

"You know what I mean!"

"Ooooh, Aliens," Harvey said as she pressed play. "I didn't know you were a sci-fi girl."

"It depends. Usually I like my crappy sci-fis on the Syfy channel. This one…I was really bored last weekend."

Harvey just grunted and lay down on one side of the couch. The room fell quiet as the movie played and then a few minutes later a cell phone went off on Donna's coffee table. Harvey frowned as he snatched it up and he answered it, "Harvey Specter."

"Mr. Specter, this is Tory Doloni. I've been put in charge of trying to get a hold of all of the tenants at the Hofferson apartment complex."

"Yeah, I live there. And so?"

"I just wished to inform you that the building will be open for tenants to return to if you need to prepare for the work week."

"That's good to know," he said.

"You should make arrangements to stay somewhere for a few more days because the building is not quite habitable. The electricity is still out and I've been told the repairs for that will commence on Monday and should hopefully be finished by Tuesday. They still need to assess the extent of the damage before they can replace the wires."

"Fine. Thanks for the information." He snapped the cell shut and yawned. "Well, they're letting us back into our apartments tomorrow, but I still need a place to stay because it has been ruled inhabitable."

"Is it that bad?"

"No power."

"Yeah, I'd say that's pretty inhabitable."

"I'd appreciate your help getting some of my things out of there, but I think I'll be getting a hotel room."

"Oh, am I not hospitable enough for you?"

"I just figured you'd want to save your reputation on Monday. It wouldn't look good for you if Ray dropped us both off that morning," Harvey replied.

"That's easily remedied." He raised his eyebrows at her and she continued, "We don't have to arrive in the same vehicle."

"That's wasteful."

"Not half as wasteful as you staying in a hotel room when you've got my perfectly good couch to sleep on."

He was looking at her with one of his partially concealed smiles and said, "All right, we'll do it your way."

Donna beamed and made to start playing the movie again when Mike said, "Hey, if you need help getting some of your things, I'll volunteer."

Harvey stared at him as if he had an ulterior motive, but then he shrugged his shoulders and said, "If you really, truly want to help, feel free to come over."

The movie was started again and for a while, everyone was quietly engrossed, and then some time later Donna stirred. She used Harvey's hip to leverage herself up onto her feet. He twisted around to watch her go into the kitchen and he said, "Hey, where are you going?"

"To fix dinner. It wasn't hard to hear the activity of your stomach. It'll take about an hour or so."

"Mike, help her."

"Aye aye, Captain."

"No, Mike you will stay where you are. You're both my guests. I can stand to cook one dinner. Tomorrow though, Harvey, you may have to provide," she called out to him.

He yelled back, "That's why they have Chinese takeout!"

"Oh, don't put any effort into dinner for me," she called back sarcastically.

Harvey only smiled and was watching the movie again. After a while, the men were both distracted at the wonderful smells wafting from the kitchen. He noticed Mike was wriggling in his chair as if he was trying to contain himself from heading to the kitchen to start helping himself, but as much as his stomach was gurgling, Harvey had never felt lazier in his life. According to his own calculations, he'd had eight hours of sleep and yet he still felt drowsy and his legs felt leaden. He went to the gym three nights a week, but at the moment it felt like every little action could bring an onset of crippling exhaustion that made him want to sleep away for hours. His good spirits from earlier dwindled and he sighed heavily.

"Is something wrong, Harvey?" Mike asked, ever the annoyingly perceptive associate.

"I was enjoying the smell of the food, pup. I'm sure you can appreciate it as well considering you look like you have ants in your pants."

This made Mike suddenly sit still and sit his back ramrod straight as though he were a small boy invited to a big dinner with important people at the table, but he still zeroed in on Harvey, "That sounded like a sad sigh more than a contented sigh."

He shot Mike a puzzled look and asked, "Why would I be sad? I'm alive and I'm in the company of good – well, Donna's a good friend. I don't know what you are – " Mike blew out his breath in exasperation and rolled his eyes at Harvey "Hey, she has twelve years under her belt with me. And – "

"I don't know how she could stand it with the kind of egoism you ooze," Mike mumbled under his breath.

"And I'm about to eat what smells like some really good food. Does any of that sound like a cause for sadness?"

"No, but – "

"You misheard, Mike, that's all."

"Boys, dinner is on the table!"

Getting away from his incurably curious associate was the perfect motivator to will his limbs to move and, though he felt stiff, he was moving and into the kitchen before Mike could say anything else. She was placing the garlic bread on the table when she saw him stop and cock his head curiously; she frowned at him and said, "If you say anything negative about the quality of the food, you can just fend for yourself."

"I wasn't going to say anything of the sort," Harvey replied with an innocent smile. "I was just trying to recall the last time someone made me a full meal that wasn't from a restaurant."

"I made you breakfast this morning," Donna replied, as if it was so obvious and he snorted at her.

"You know what I mean. I think it was last Thanksgiving at my parents' house," he said as he took his seat.

Mike had come in and was still throwing Harvey suspicious glances as he also took his seat, but his entire demeanor changed as he took a seat and snatched up a fork. "Oh wow, Donna, it looks awesome!" He made a motion to spear one of the pieces of parmesan chicken, but then he caught the look Harvey gave him and he edged away from him as though he expected to either get a head slap or a wrist slap.

Donna saw the exchange and she rolled her eyes, putting a salad on the table that would make the last touches to the meal. "You don't have to wait for me, boys. I don't need you to be strictly formal here."

"But that would be rude," Harvey said. "Besides, if Mike doesn't learn proper manners here, he'll never learn them."

"I'm not five, Harvey, I know what proper manners are and I do make use of them," Mike pouted at him, but he seemed to recognize a losing fight when he saw it. So he simply sighed and started helping himself to the salad.

Donna found it to be a surprisingly quiet dinner, even given that Harvey was hardly a babbling brook like Mike was, but she could tell that something had shifted in Harvey's mood and just like a good mentor-mentee relationship, Mike was subconsciously channeling it too. She and Harvey may be the closest friends possible, but she did find it incredible how Mike could turn into his boss' emotional megaphone at times. Harvey kept his head down and he ate quietly but with very little in the way of the appetite that she had seen earlier in the day. She made a mental note to address it when Mike left.

"So, Mike, did you actually do anything fun last night after closing that big deal on Friday? Surely you went out to party."

"Oh, yeah, I took, uh, Jenny out to a late dinner last night. I don't have much in the way of drinking buddies anymore, so it was just a quiet night with the girlfriend," he said. At this he glanced at Harvey out of the corner of his eye and said, "Not that it really matters, but I'm definitely not a virgin, Harvey."

"It's difficult to tell when you act that awkward about it, Mike," Harvey replied. He could understand being uncomfortable around Louis describing his sex life, but then that was Louis. Mike acted like a teenager who had yet to see a real set of boobs around anyone else and Harvey only ever inadvertently touched upon the subject when he occasionally mentioned a weekend foray. That was not often as he meticulously kept his personal and professional lives completely separate. Well, as separate as could when he often had outings with Donna.

"Okay, I may not be strict about manners here, but sex will definitely not be a regular topic of dinner. I really do not want to hear about either of your exploits," she said, giving them both pointed looks and bringing another round of silence to the table.

Finally, Donna said, "Okay, Harvey, Mike and I only got a few text messages from you while you were stuck in your apartment building. What happened in the five hours or so you were trapped?"

"Nothing really. Learned far more about the inhabitants on my floor than I really cared to know," he replied and when he saw Mike giving him a strange look, he sighed. "Get your mind out of the gutter, pup, I'm saying I didn't want to know my neighbors at all!"

"Oh, okay."

"Anyone worth mentioning?"

"Maybe that doctor David Reeft. Said he was an old Vietnam Vet forced into the war by his parents. He was practically the only person with an ounce of sense on that floor. Marcus also had some sense, which I thought was pretty amazing for a stockbroker."

"Oh c'mon, Harvey. They just don't have hearts," Donna interjected.

"Alex was okay too. She had that whole cute college kid thing going on and," he grimaced and shuddered, "she almost beat me at pool!"

"Ha ha. You got your ass handed to you by a college girl?" Mike apparently couldn't resist needling him.

"That match was a farce. She knocked the eight ball in and the cue ball fell into a different pocket."

"Yup, that's technically a loss," Donna said.

Harvey nodded grimly. "I want a rematch but, yeah, she was good. We also played poker for two hours. I was up fifty by the end of it."

"I want to play you in poker. I bet I could see through your poker face," Donna said and she was smiling with barely controlled glee.

He glanced over at her and had difficulty keeping the barest of smiles from his face when he saw that gleam she always got when she challenged his abilities. Even when he lost to her it never actually felt like one. "Arrange some sort of poker party. I'd be happy to accept your challenge then. That doctor Reeft was a pretty good challenge too, although I beat him in pool. Sweet, sweet victory."

"Is that all that happened?" Mike asked, disappointment made the excitement slide from his face.

"I think you're glossing over," Donna said, staring at Harvey pointedly. "I distinctly recall you mentioning getting kicked in the groin by some woman."

Harvey scowled at Donna as Mike's face took on a look of shock and disgust. "It wasn't that big of a deal. This stupid woman went into hysterics when the power went out. I tried to restrain her and she punched me in the eye and got me in the groin. Marcus ended up having to restrain her."

"Oh," Mike said, his face lightening.

The older lawyer couldn't help but glare at Mike. Even after three months of working together, his associate seemed to keep the impression that he wasn't much better with women than Louis was. Yes, he may have kept up the impression that all lawyers were jackasses, but being jackasses and being chauvinistic pigs did not go hand in hand. He was glad that Donna didn't immediately jump to the idea of sexual harassment.

"Good for you, Harvey, you probably saved that stupid woman's life," Donna said, taking a sip of her water.

He only grunted in response and then put his fork down. "Are we done here? I'll clean up." With that he picked up his plate and Donna's and headed over to the sink.

Mike seemed to sense that he had outstayed his welcome and he grimaced. "Oh, I just remembered that Jenny and I were supposed to go out for drinks tonight. See ya, Harvey. I hope you're all rested up for Monday. Oh, and feel free to call me when you go to your apartment tomorrow. I'll see you then!"

"Bye," Harvey replied, rather hollowly.

Donna followed Mike to the door and just before it closed she stuck her hand out to stop the door, "Mike, I know you have a high opinion of him, but I would watch your expressions a little better. Harvey's reputation may be that of an unfeeling jackass, but he is no less a gentleman because of it. He cares about his reputation and he would not want you thinking he's a sexist pig anymore than his clients."

"I know," Mike said with an ounce of exasperation. "I know he's not like Louis. I know he's always gracious it's just that…what do women kick men in the groin for ninety percent of the time? That's all. I guess I shouldn't play poker with him anytime soon."

"Yeah, you'd lose everything," Donna replied and patted him on the back. "Harvey should be back to normal by Monday. The last case and now the fire have thrown him off base. He won't hold it against you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Donna. Try not to let Harvey boss you around too much," Mike said, the old cheerful twinkle back in his eye as he turned to leave.

"As if he could! Have a good night," Donna said. Her smile fell as the door close and she looked back at the kitchen to see that Harvey had completely cleared the table and had his back to her as she washed dishes. Now she had the unpleasant task of defusing Harvey whom she had already recognized had a serious mood swing in the time it took her to put on dinner. She honestly doubted Harvey was half as upset at Mike's presuppositions as much as he was mad at himself for letting it show how much it upset him.

She took a breath, exhaled quietly and came to stand next to her table with her arms crossed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Harvey muttered.

"Harvey, the puppy's gone. Mike's not going to hear about any of this so you can stop smoke-screening. You were upset before you even started eating, so what's you got your mood swinging like a woman on hormones?"

He had stopped washing her dishes and seemed to be burning a hole into her kitchen window with his eyes until finally he said, "I'm tired."

"Well then, by all means, gotosleep! Getting a little extra sleep won't kill you."

He slammed his hands down on the sink, still refusing to look at her. "That's just it! I slept for eight hours today! Normally, even after a hard case and two sleepless nights, I am fully rested enough the next day to go about my normal routine. But everything just feels wrong! I don't feel like doing shit. I have never felt so lazy in my life and it disgusts me."

"Harvey, turn around and look at me."

It took him a minute, but eventually he turned around so that he was leaning against the counter, but although he was looking at her his face was downturned and sulky.

She stepped up closer to him, hands on her hips, with the intent of making sure that he could look nowhere else but at her face. If there was one thing she loved about heels it was that it gave her the height she needed to look him directly in the eye, and that was particularly important at the office, but here she used her shorter stature to her advantage. "Harvey, if there is nothing else I know about you, I know for a fact that you are a creature of routine. I am your Executive Assistant because you need the best to make sure your day is on schedule. Even when we are both off the clock, you still manage your time like a businessman. Even your supposed moments of spontaneity have a set timeframe. Your obsession to control the courtroom and all situations has led to this obsession of schedule."

Harvey's expression had lightened as he considered her words and she decided to take an extra step and put a hand to his cheek.

"That damn fire threw a giant wrench in your normal ritual and ever since then, your mind and your body has been struggling to right itself and get back on track. I promise that, if you do not feel better by tomorrow morning, when you've slept through the night, you will feel better when you go to work on Monday," Donna said and she started smiling when she saw Harvey fighting to keep a smile off of his own face. "Now, do me a favor and relax! Enjoy your lazy Sunday, Harvey. I think you earned it after that nightmare of a case the last two weeks."

Finally he said, "But it was going to be such good victory sex!"

"If you feel that strongly about it, I'd be more than willing to go bar hopping with you so that you can find someone to take you home. I don't think it'd be that hard," Donna said with a victorious smirk. It was only then she realized how close they were standing and she suddenly wondered, Whendidhestopleaningonthecounter? She opened her mouth to say something but before she could make a sound he had swept her up into a hug so tight she could feel the air being squeezed out of her lungs.

After a moment he loosened up his grip but he kept a strong hold of her and she heard him say, "Honestly, what would I do without you?"

"You would be lonely and bitter and not half as rich as you are now. So, mostly the same," she said into his shoulder and he laughed.

He was just daring enough to plant a kiss on her forehead before he started walking past her back toward the living room. "All right, I'm ready to watch Ripley kick some ass and take some names. I always loved that bitch fight between her and the alien queen," he said.

She stayed there a moment, her back to him and whispered, "Damn it, Harvey, you never make being around you easy."


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