Harvey was never a big fan of the school's Christmas parties. He thought they were tolerable at best, and if Donna left his side for a single minute he usually felt like throwing himself in front of a bus. In previous years, he also never really liked spending time with his partner for the competition. His previous relationships with them had always been nothing but professional and often had to tolerate their presence for anything other than the competition. He probably wouldn't ever admit it but even he was having fun. It scared him a bit still, how easy it was with Mike and how well he fit with him and Donna. He saw the mistletoe placed in the corner of the room, so out of place it wasn't inappropriate and that you would have to purposely step under it with someone. A few people had taken advantage of it, but most were staying clear. It made him think of Mike, and he wondered if they had any mistletoe at home.

He and Mike shoved their faces with food and focused on the party so they were able to forget about all the impending drama going on. They talked and laughed with Donna, who indulged in one more brownie than she had originally planned. They didn't mention it, not even to joke. She deserved to let loose and not worry so much about anything and they didn't want to risk even accidentally offending her.

Even Jessica had come over to speak to them and for once it wasn't about the competition. She seemed genuinely concerned over Mike and his grandmother. She even asked about his arm and made a not so subtle comment over Gregory's horrible behavior. She kept her voice low and the conversation quick. She moved on quickly with a friendly nod of the head and a gentle squeeze of his shoulder.

The music was loud enough to be heard throughout the entire room but not so loud you couldn't hear those around you. Donna danced with Mike as Harvey watched, then Harvey while Mike went back for more food. Mike had danced with Harvey before at home, but it made Mike giggle a little to see him dancing to Jingle Bell Rock. He realized then that he didn't feel any jealousy or uneasy feelings towards the two best friends dancing. He only felt happy that they had each other.

Mike wanted to dance with Harvey here but knew he couldn't even in the silliest of circumstances. When the song finished, Donna excused herself and made her way over to the brownies, examining each one and picking the smallest one to put on her plate. With it she grabbed a handful of cookies and moved to the beat of the next song as she ate.

Donna happened to look at Trevor who was standing in the corner with Gregory. Normally she would pass right over either of them but it was strange for them to be speaking alone. They were obviously talking about something they didn't want anyone to hear. Harold then walked over to them with two plates of food. They took the plates and then pushed him away, laughing as he stumbled.

Embarrassed, Harold looked up and saw Donna watching. Blushing, he waved awkwardly and started off across the room. Donna waved him over with a smile and handed him one of her cookies.

"Forget them. Hang with us." The two ate cookies silently until Gregory walked out of the room and back into the hallway. "What were they talking about anyway?"

"Hm? Oh, something about Mike wearing Harvey's clothes...or was it the other way around? Oh, no, it was about Harvey having Mike's clothes, that was it. I guess it was something Rachel said."

Donna didn't understand, but refused to let it slide. Something was going on and though she would never admit it, it unnerved her. She glanced over at Mike, who was getting himself hot chocolate and then at Harvey who was speaking to Jessica.

The feeling in her stomach grew worse as the seconds ticked by and Gregory didn't come back into the room. Louis looked awfully smug and when she saw him and Trevor exchange a look, she knew her gut instinct was right once again.

"Harold…be a dear and come with me."

"Where?"

The redhead didn't answer. Instead she quickly set their cookies down and dragged the teenager out of the party and into the hallway. Donna started off down the hall, picking up the pace until she was practically running. Harold couldn't keep up, even with Donna in her heels, and stumbled behind her as they quickly made their way to Harvey's classroom.

"Miss Paulsen, what are we doing?"

"Shhhhh!"

Harvey's classroom light was on, and the door was open. They walked quietly and when they got to the door, they saw Gregory inside. He'd somehow broken in and had torn apart Harvey's desk and everything else inside. The cabinet where Harvey kept his extra textbooks was toppled over and the books, papers, and other class materials were all over the floor. Gregory was sitting at the computer, trying to figure out what Harvey's password would be.

"Fuck, come on!"

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Surprisingly, it was Harold who had spoken up first.

"Shit," he screamed in shock as he stood up quickly, knocking the chair over. When he saw it was just Harold and Donna, he decided to make a break for it and tried to run past them. Donna tripped him with her foot and Harold shoved him down to the ground.

"How do you like them apples?"

Donna placed her hand on Harold's shoulder, "We need to work on your banter but this was good. Now, grab him with me." The two yanked on his jacket and pulled him to his feet. He struggled momentarily but stopped when Harvey and Mike came walking down the hall.

"What's going on," Mike asked.

"We caught him going through Mr Specter's classroom!" Harold explained, his voice cracking slightly. "Sorry, it's kind of a mess." Harvey walked around them to look through the doorway, pinching the bridge of his nose when he saw the mess.

"He was trying to get into your computer when we got there."

"Well," Harvey said, shoving his hands in his pockets, "I suppose we'll just let Jessica deal with you."

…

Mike didn't feel like partying anymore. Huffing, he sat down in the chair across from Donna's desk and flipped through the school approved magazines for parents that were forced to wait for someone in administration. Donna had taken her heels off under her desk and was pretending to not to listen to the conversation happening in Pearson's office.

Gregory, Louis, Trevor, and Rachel were all taking turns and were seated in the hallway just past Donna. Harold has been in but only to tell his side of the story before being released back to the party. Harvey was back at his classroom, making sure nothing was missing while he cleaned up the mess. Not only had Gregory searched through the papers and his desk, he'd pulled down all of the books Harvey kept on his book shelf there and had vandalized the south wall, probably hoping to make it look like he wasn't looking for anything specific.

Harvey had told Donna that Rachel may or may not have seen Mike's jacket on the floor inside his place when she paid him one of her unexpected visits. Meaning to or not, she must have mentioned something. From what Donna was gathering from what she could hear, this made Gregory and Trevor decide to look into things.

Trevor had gone to see Mike's old place and found that it was still being repaired from the fire. It had been slow going for the time being once they got the dangerous elements out. From there, the two had gotten the idea that Mike might be staying with Harvey and were hoping to find proof. What they wanted to do with that proof, she wasn't sure.

Technically, what Mike and Harvey were doing wasn't illegal. It was not illegal for them to live together. It wasn't even illegal for them to date. Unethical in a sense, yes, and if Donna had heard any other teacher doing it she would probably be suspicious of their intentions. But it wasn't just any teacher or even student. It was Harvey and Mike. It would only make trouble for Mike in the end but Donna suspected that was all they really cared about.

Luckily, Donna had foreseen something like this happening. They weren't completely unprepared.

Harvey came into the office then, nodding to Mike but coming straight to Donna. Careful of listening ears in the hall, he leaned forward and asked how it was going.

In return, the redhead didn't even blink. She pushed the paper under her arm out just slightly to show him that she'd been subtly taking notes in shorthand that only he and Mike would be able to understand. Harvey looked over the writing upside down and then nodded. Quickly, Donna folded the paper and shoved it into her purse under the desk.

Louis was currently getting an earful, Jessica's voice louder and much more angry whilst talking to him compared to the others. Harvey couldn't help his smirk so he hid it under a cup of now freezing hot chocolate he'd gotten at the party.

"...and don't think for one second I believe you had no idea what was going on! By God, Louis, you were signaling Mike out this whole time! I was told by more than one student you were turning Mike's classmates against him. I do NOT condone bullying, especially by a member of my staff! What on EARTH were you thinking?!"

Because the others were still just down the hall, he couldn't comfort Mike. He didn't even want to risk looking at him in fear of what their eyes may betray. Just as he was about to do it anyway, Rachel came into the room from the hallway. She looked as if she had been crying and would not meet Harvey's eyes.

"Miss Paulsen," she called out quietly, wincing whenever Jessica's voice grew louder. "I really have to use the bathroom. Can you please let Mrs. Pearson know that if she comes back out?"

"Of course, Rachel," Donna said, schooling her tone into something both professional and supportive. "You go ahead."

Rachel scurried back down the hall and around the corner to where the bathroom was. By now, Jessica's yelling had calmed down but Harvey could still hear what she was saying if he strained his ears. A moment later the door opened and Louis stepped out. Without a pause, she called in Gregory and slammed the door behind him.

At that moment, Trevor's parents came through the door. His father looked ready to throttle anyone who stood in his path while his mother looked as if she'd been crying. She had a stiff upper lip now, one that Mike had seen plenty of times before and sometimes even directed at him. He looked down and hoped they didn't notice him.

Trevor did not stand to meet them, probably because he was too drunk to do so. Mike knew his friend's tolerance well and knew from experience that Trevor was just at the point of tipping over if he moved too quickly. His mother rushed to his side but did not reach out to him. She looked like she was lecturing him but Mike could not hear them. It took a moment for him to realize he was being watched.

"Hello, Mr. Evans."

"What the bloody hell are you doing sitting here," the older man sneered at him. "Shouldn't you be over there with my son, helping him ruin his life?"

Mike winced. At the same time that Harvey stepped between them with a warning look and a guiding hand to where Mr. Evans needed to be, Mike mumbled, "We're actually not friends anymore."

"Thanks God for that," Mr. Evans mumbled as he walked over to his son. Trevor, like all the others, were eighteen, but because he was drunk, Donna had called his parents.

"You can't do that; that's not far!"

Gregory's voice roared from inside Jessica's office. A moment passed but no more uproars. Jessica was her most dangerous when she was quiet, or worse, silent. She would have put Gregory in his place quickly.

Rachel was now back to sitting in her seat, making herself as small as possible. She had already been spoken to and was just waiting to be able to go home. It only took another moment for Gregory to be able to leave and when he did, he did not sit back down. He stormed out of the office and headed straight out the door, banging things as he went. No one stopped him.

"Please, come into my office, Trevor. I assume you wish to have your parents with you?"

Trevor made no indication either way and all three went in.

"I will be with you in just one moment, my apologies." She shut the door behind them and quickly walked to Donna's desk. "This will not leave the four of us," she started to say, even looking to Mike to make sure he understood. Mike stood up awkwardly and slowly moved towards them.

"We understand, Jessica," Harvey responded for them all. He knew how Mike must have been feeling. Sometimes he was treated as a student because he was and sometimes, due to his relationship with Harvey and also because of his sheer intelligence, he was treated as an equal. It must have been very frustrating and made him very unsure at times.

"Harvey, I need you to go to the student parking lot and make sure Gregory has left the grounds. If not, call the police. He's been expelled."

Mike felt his eyes widen. Even despite everything, he didn't think that would happen. A million questions went through his mind as Harvery stepped out of the office and out the front doors to the student parking lot. Jessica quickly walked back into her office, dismissing both Louis and Rachel with a wave of her hand before closing the door behind her.

It only took a moment for the shouting to start. Not even a minute later, Trevor's father slammed the door open and marched his son out of the office by the collar of his shirt. Mrs. Evans was not far behind but she stopped at the desk and turned to Mike.

"Mrs. Evans," he said lowly. She only frowned and moved out the office door, pushing past Harvey who was just coming back.

Seeing the empty hallway, Harvey walked over to Jessica's office and knocked on the closed door. He waited for a response before entering, knowing now was not the time to test his boss' patience. Donna put her shoes back on and came to Mike's side.

"I think they may be a while," she told him. "Why don't I take you home?"

Mike shook his head no, the questions from earlier still swirling in his head unanswered. "I want to wait for Harvey."

Donna nodded her head in understanding. She walked down the hall and came back a moment later with two cups of coffee. "Then I'll wait with you."

They sat down in the chairs in front of her desk, sipping their coffee and not saying anything for a while. Finally, Mike couldn't stand it anymore. "I feel like this is my fault."

Donna couldn't stop her chuckle and gave Mike an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Mike. I'm not laughing at you, I promise. It's just funny to me because this had nothing to do with you."

Mike didn't respond.

"We are all responsible for our own actions. Maybe if you and Harvey weren't...together things may have turned out different but I'm sure Trevor and Gregory would have found another avenue to get exactly where they are right now. They don't even know the whole story Mike. They just wanted to hurt you."

Mike nodded then. "I used to keep Trevor from doing the worst."

"That's not your responsibility. You can't blame yourself for making a better life for you. Don't you ever regret making a better life for you, you hear me?"

Mike laughed now, a small pathetic chuckle. "I won't, Donna, thanks."

The door opened and both Harvey and Jessica stepped out into the hall. Jessica looked at Mike and her face softened for a moment. "Take him home, Harvey. He looks exhausted."

Harvey kissed her hand. "Have a good Christmas, Jessica."

Mike stood and walked out in front of Harvey and Donna. No one was in the halls now. The teachers and chaperons had been instructed not to allow the students in the halls for the time being. Donna had been forced to chase several people away from the office who had heard some of the commotion and were trying to get in on the drama. The doors to the classrooms holding parties were slowly opening back up, some students venturing out to party or use the bathroom.

The three slowly walked to the teacher parking lot , hoping not to gather too much attention from the others. Harvey reached out and took Mike's hand. Surprised, Mike looked up at him but did not pull away. The older man just gripped it tighter. He didn't care who might be looking.

(A/N) - Hello! Wow, it's been a long time. Is this even how you post notes anymore here? I am active on ao3 under the name KittyHowell. I am not sure if I will be active here on after I complete the unfinished works I have. I have been reposting this story on a03 and will be completing it there and on here. The ao3 version is edited and may have more or slightly different information, just an FYI. I am planning two more chapters I believe.