Mike had rather developed a taste for the public tryst. The courthouse had been just the beginning of him pushing the limits of them getting caught. Harvey didn't mind too much, the element of danger was certainly exciting, but it was always in the back of his mind that one day, trouble would hit. It almost did when they were making out on the elevator and again when Mike's hand had traveled up Harvey's thigh under the table at a meeting, not to mention the amount of times they locked the door on the bathroom. Mike had always apologized after and said he wouldn't do it again, but he always did.

So it really came as no surprise when one day they were in the library, Mike had shut Harvey up with his mouth on his as he was teasing him about something or another. Harvey hadn't fought him, Mike's mouth was far to delectable, but when they heard the gasp behind them, their eyes had met with panic before they turned slowly to see who it was.

Harvey silently prayed it was some underling he could pay off easily, or even Rachel, because she was good hearted and would likely keep their secret when they explained.

But of course, it had to be the worst, the smug moon face and beady eyes of Louis Litt.

"Hello gentlemen, this is certainly an interesting development isn't it."

"Louis, let me explain..." before Harvey could finish Louis turned on his heel and headed towards the door, "let's see what Jessica thinks, shall we," he spit over his shoulder.

Mike started after him, but Harvey knew this was something he had to take care of. He put a hand on Mike's chest and told him to go back to the office and stay there.

"But Harvey, this is my fault, I'll fix it."

"First of all, it's not entirely your fault, and secondly, you can't fix it. Only I can, just go to the office."

Harvey started after Louis and caught up with him outside the elevator where Louis stood dancing impatiently with his own self-important excitement, all friendly comradery forgotten.

Harvey stood calmly next to him, knowing full well that would only make Louis more anxious. Harvey was going over every scenario in his head, trying to figure out how to handle this, but only one thing seemed obvious as the right thing to do. He waited until the door closed after they had gotten on the elevator before he turned to Louis.

"Louis, I need you to do me a favour."

"If it's to not tell Jessica about what I just saw, forget it pal, you know there are rules about inter-office relationships right? You've just ruined your career you know, taking up with him, it's just wrong."

"I'm sorry Louis, that was a bit homophobic you know, you do realize there are rules against discrimination in this office as well, perhaps I should take that up with Jessica myself."

Louis looked sheepish for a second.

"Listen, the favour I'm asking is for you to let me tell Jessica myself."

Louis looked suspicious.

"Oh right, I agree to this and watch you walk into her office under the guise of 'telling her'" he quoted with his fingers, "and then you proceed to discuss the weather with her. Not a fucking chance Harvey."

"No, Louis, that's not the plan, you can come right into her office and hear me tell her if that's what you want. But she is one of my oldest friends and I really think this is something that should come from me."

Louis stared at him hard, considering.

"Listen, I knew I would have to tell her eventually, I suppose now is as good a time as any. So please, do me this favour."

"For a thousand bucks."

"I beg your pardon."

"You heard me, a thousand bucks. If I'm going to lose the joy of telling her myself I want something in return."

"How about the joy that comes from doing something nice for someone else, you know, the milk of human kindness."

"How long have you known me? I want money."

Harvey briefly considered shoving Louis's head in-between the closing elevator doors but decided it would only cause more trouble.

"Remember how you owe me one, after that little win I pulled off at that trial a few weeks ago?"

"No no, I will decide when I repay you for that."

Harvey sighed in exasperation, he was really the most difficult human being on the planet.

"Fine, but you get your money only after I have told her and you have kept your mouth shut through it."

Louis smirked smugly. "Fine. Deal."

They walked in silence down the hall to Jessica's office. She looked surprised when they both entered and Louis stood there bouncing with glee. Harvey closed the door behind him softly and turned to her. It was time to rip off the bandage.

"Jessica, I have something to tell you, I'm sorry for keeping it from you this long, but I'm hoping you'll understand why I did."

Louis loudly cleared his throat and Harvey turned to him with his index finger on his lips in the 'shhh' motion.

Louis glared at him, but quieted.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jessica demanded.

"I'm in a relationship with Mike."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Yes, you're his mentor, as you've stated many times."

"Yes, I mean more of a romantic relationship."

Jessica's mouth fell open.

"Louis here caught us sharing a private moment in the library and felt you should know. There is more to the story, but," Harvey turned to Louis with his wallet out, "Louis, I have held up my end of the bargain and told her. Here is your money you can go now."

Louis's mouth opened and closed a few times as he glared at Harvey.

Jessica came out of her shock long enough to ask "Louis, did you make Harvey pay you to keep your mouth shut?"

Louis looked from Harvey to Jessica a few times before sneering at Harvey and storming out of the room, leaving Harvey standing there holding the money.

Harvey's smugness over getting one over on the little bastard was short lived. He knew his conversation with Jessica was only beginning.

"Harvey, start talking."

"Let's sit down first."

Jessica started to protest but decided to play by his rules.

Harvey stared hard at his hands, now that he was here, he really didn't know how to begin. Jessica sensed his discomfort and started for him.

"Harvey, I think it's safe to say that I have suspected something between you two for a few months now. I have noticed that you've ignored every advance Veronica has made."

"Do you remember four months ago when my office was broken into?"

Harvey realized he had just blurted that out, but he was quickly losing his nerve, talking about this was still very hard for him, but he knew he should tell her, while they usually made efforts to keep their private lives to themselves, she was a dear friend and he trusted her.

She looked a little confused but nodded.

"It wasn't broken into necessarily..." Harvey realized he needed to go further back in the story here. He took a deep shaky breath.

"Do you remember Marvin Seller?"

"The Russian weirdo? Yeah, I still can't believe you managed to get him out of the country." She laughed.

"Yeah, he's back in the country."

Jessica stopped laughing.

"What? How the hell did he manage that?" She sounded incredulous.

"I don't know."

"Wait, so you're saying he's the one who broke into your office."

"Yes, while I was in there. He wanted revenge," Harvey laughed sourly and added quietly "he still wants revenge."

"Harvey, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Seller and two of his good friends came to my office that night and…" Harvey attempted to swallow the lump in his throat in vain, finally whispering "they raped me Jessica."

Jessica's mouth hung open again for the second time in only a few minutes. She stared at him for a few minutes and then at the table in disbelief.

He could tell she was trying to figure out if he was kidding or not, but something on his face must have convinced her that he was being deadly serious.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" She suddenly sat forward, like he had punched her in the stomach. "Why didn't you go to the police?" The pieces were all falling together in her mind.

"Same answer for both questions, shame."

"But Harvey… I really don't know what to say right now."

"I'm not expecting anything from you."

"So, when you passed out and were gone for 2 days, it was because of…" she trailed off.

"Yes, and it was you who sent Mike home with me. If it wasn't for him Jessica, I'm not really sure where I would be right now." The lump rose back up his throat.

"I sent him to take care of you, I thought you were sick."

Harvey laughed softly

"He did, it's not nearly as weird as it sounds, he's been my best friend through this, helping me understand that it wasn't my fault and recently, making me feel real happiness again." Harvey paused for a moment. "I love him, more than I have ever loved anyone."

Jessica's face softened. He knew she finally understood it all.

"I can see that, and I suspect he feels the same way about you."

Harvey smiled softly again.

"But Harvey, you can't just let Seller get away with this, you said he wanted revenge like he's coming back, are you in danger."

"I honestly don't know." He could hear his voice shaking. "I just want to try to put this behind me and move on." He knew this sounded a little hollow. He attempted to dry his palms on his pants.

"Harvey, I understand that, so I won't push it, but I'm hiring more security, and if you need anything, you let me know ok?" She squeezed his arm reassuringly. He knew that the discussion wasn't entirely over, she wasn't going to just forget about it, but she could see Harvey's struggle at the moment, so she decided leave it be for the time being.

"Thanks, and again, I'm sorry for keeping this from you."

"That's alright, I understand, though you might have wanted to be more careful about letting Louis find out."

"Yes, that is regrettable" Harvey rubbed his forehead, exasperated. "I'm sure he's having a field day right now."

"It's likely too late for me to stop him."

"Yes, most definitely."

"How much does he know?"

"Just about Mike and I, and I intend on keeping it that way."

"Don't worry, I certainly won't be sharing, you can trust me."

"Thanks."

They returned to their normal state as friends, steel Harvey re-establishing. He was getting better at being vulnerable, thanks to Mike, but this was only the second time he had told someone about the attack and he was churning inside from the memories.

Jessica changed the subject, and Harvey assumed it was on purpose.

"There is the matter of the rule you are both breaking, we need to discuss that."

He knew what she was talking about; he had helped her draft the firm's policies on relationships within the office.

"We've been together like this for a month and it hasn't affected my ability to win cases."

"It's safe to say you have been dealing with a lot for over four months and you have still been on top of your cases just fine." She paused, considering. "So I guess you have my blessing as your boss, but you will need to go to HR to fill out the forms, declaring your relationship and signing the disclosure."

"Yes, I know, we'll do that this afternoon."

"Ok, you better go find Mike before they all descend on him."

Harvey laughed nervously, and stood up. Before he opened the door he turned to her seriously.

"Thank you. For being understanding. I know everything I just told you sounds completely insane, but I couldn't make this shit up if I tried honestly," he chuckled humorlessly, "but it does mean a lot to me that you are behind me."

Jessica smiled softly and then he walked out.

Judging by the dead silence and stares as he passed, Louis had gotten word out quite quickly. Veronica openly gaped at him as he passed; she almost looked insulted that he would choose Mike over her.

He just ignored her and walked as fast as he could to the safety of Mike in his office.

Donna stared at him gob smacked as he passed, he decided to deal with her later; he was shaking inside and needed Mike to reassure him at that moment.

Mike, for his part, was pacing a hole in the carpet, gripping one of Harvey's basketballs.

"That better be Kobe or you're in trouble." Harvey attempted levity, but failed miserably.

Mike dropped the ball and it bounced away.

"Harvey, your back, how did it go, Louis just can't keep his mouth shut can he."

Mike looked at Harvey's face and immediately came towards him.

"No, stop, we've already got eyes on us, it's best we keep the floor show minimal right now."

Mike understood.

"What did you do?"

"Convinced Louis to let me tell Jessica everything myself."

"Seriously, Louis went along with that."

"I had to be a little devious about it."

Mike smiled a little.

"Yeah, that would explain why he's pissed."

Mike considered for a moment.

"What do you mean told her everything, you told her about…"

Harvey was nodding before he could finish his question.

"Harvey, you didn't actually have to tell her about that, I'm sure just a short explanation about us would have sufficed."

"I wanted to tell her Mike, I hated keeping secrets from her, she's one of my oldest friends."

Mike nodded silently. Harvey knew he would understand. Then Mike turned his head slightly, looking at Donna who still had her mouth open and was staring straight at them.

"Umm, what's your plan with Donna?"

"Same as Jessica."

"Seriously?"

"Mike, they have had my back for years, and they will continue to do so, not that it makes the confession any easier."

"Are you having flashbacks again? Maybe I should tell her, you should take a break."

"No, no, she won't understand if it's you telling her, I just need some time."

The phone on Harvey's desk buzzed.

"That will be HR, we have some forms to fill out."

Recognition dawned on Mike's face and he put his hand in his hair.

"Oh shit, we're breaking a big rule aren't we, fuck, I had forgotten about that."

"Relax, it's fine, we just have to fill out a disclosure form, Jessica has approved the relationship and won't be pursuing the issue further unless it interferes with our cases."

Mike took his hand out of his hair and relaxed, though his hair now stood completely on end.

Harvey answered the phone and told the person on the other line they would be right down.

"Let's go get this over with."

They might as well have been walking down the hall naked for the expressions they were getting. Louis looked smug as a pig in shit as they passed; Harvey just ignored him. He could feel Mike fidgeting beside him, but he kept his own outward calm and stared down anyone ballsy enough to look him in the face.

Once on the elevator, they were alone for a few minutes and Harvey let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding and found Mike's hand with his own.

"Be honest Harvey, are you ok?"

"No, not really, but I will be."

Mike squeezed his hand meaningfully then let go before the doors opened and they faced a whole new set of eyes staring at them.

The papers were really a technicality at this point since Jessica had already given consent. The HR guy had handed them to each of them with his eyes wide. They had filled them out and signed them as fast as possible to get the hell out of there and then headed back upstairs to the office to finish working on the deal they had been working on before Louis had walked in on them, desperate to get back to normal.

Donna now stared at Harvey full on with an expression that demanded he explain himself. He went into the office with Mike behind him and headed to the table and sat down. Rubbing his temples with his fingers he heard Mike sit down next to him.

Mike squeezed his arm. "Let's just focus on this for now, the rest of the world can wait."

"Donna can't" Harvey stated.

"She will have to"

"No, she shouldn't have to, I might as well get this over with."

Mike sighed, and nodded and stood back up.

"Do you want me to stay?"

"No, why don't you go back to the library and get the book we were after in the first place."

Mike looked down sheepishly.

"Harvey, I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry, I shouldn't have done that here in the office, it was stupid."

Harvey cut him off.

"It's ok, it's not like I pushed you off, I love you Mike, and trust me when I tell you I want you just as badly all the time as well, but we do need to work on your kinky public desires." Harvey smirked at him and crooked his eyebrow up playfully.

Mike couldn't help but laugh, and added "I love you too" after.

He opened the door, and Harvey heard him announce to Donna that Harvey would see her now, like Harvey was some sort of royalty. Harvey chuckled. Mike always knew how to make him feel better.

Donna's face was like thunder by the time she came in and she openly glared at Harvey now.

"Donna, sit down."

"What the fuck Harvey, you gave me shit a month ago about asking if you were in love with him, and now I find out your with him and you lied to me."

"Donna, sit down." He repeated.

She glared a few seconds more, but then relented and plopped down, crossing her arms angrily over her chest and jutting out her chin.

"I wasn't lying then, we weren't together when you and I talked."

"But you are together now"

"Yes, we are now. There is a lot more to this though, and I need to you please understand."

Something about his voice seemed to make her soften and she relaxed her arms.

Telling her turned out to be easier than it was with Jessica, perhaps because Donna knew him more on a personal level. By the time he was finished she had moved to the chair next to him and was gripping his hand.

"I need you to let up on Mike, he basically saved my life after that night, and he is now everything to me."

"I see that, it's ok, I'm actually really happy he was there for you, and I'm glad you are happy now." She smiled warmly at him and then pulled him into a hug. "I'm here for you too, don't forget that."

The door opened and Mike re-entered with the book in hand.

Donna smiled at him as she watched him check Harvey over with his eyes to make sure he was ok. Clearly she understood the depth of their feelings for each other.

She stood up and walked quickly over to Mike and pulled him in for a hug as well. Mike stood there holding the book in one hand and his other hanging awkwardly in the air, looking completely shocked at Harvey.

Harvey couldn't help but laugh out loud when she kissed Mike on the cheek and he turned red.

"It's ok Mike, I'm sorry for being a bitch to you for the last few months. Thank you for taking care of him." With that, she turned and left.

Mike continued to stand there perplexed.

"She understands now Mike, I told you she wasn't unreasonable"

Mike laughed softly, breaking his expression and came over to sit next to Harvey. Quickly checking no one was looking, he pecked Harvey quickly on the mouth.

They got to work then, returning to their little cocoon as usual.