It had been a week since that night – the one where they'd danced and laughed and relived their old romance – and it the whole thing was still burned into Mike's mind. He was ultimately grateful that he hadn't drunk it into a black hole. He went over each moment in his head like a broken record, keeping the memory alive and kicking in his brain. He'd dreamt about it every night since it happened, and he could just not come down from the high.

It seemed though, that Harvey had gone about it a little differently. He hadn't said a word about it – not that Mike had either – and he intended to keep it that way. He treated Mike just as he had in the months before the merger. Like a half useless associate.

"Here you go," Mike smiled, handing the days briefs across the desk. He'd worked hard and without breaks to get everything done early, in hopes of getting a few minutes with his boss.

"Thanks." Harvey muttered without looking up. Well, at least he'd thanked him. That was a step in the right direction!

"Anything else for me?" He took a seat across from the lawyer, picked up the baseball that sat on his desk, and begun to toss it up in the air. Harvey eyed him for a second, seemingly displeased about someone touching one of his balls, but let it go.

"Unless you want to go meet Mrs. Lewis for me, I have nothing that I trust you with."

"Ok, ouch."

Harvey shrugged, eyes scanning expertly over the documents in front of him. Mike was still in awe of the way Harvey worked. It would have taken the associate hours to go over a single page – to make sense of it, take notes, find mistakes – but Harvey barely skimmed them over before he'd thoroughly found everything he needed.

"Well maybe if you'd gone to law school-"

"Wow, ok, remember you're the one who hired me."

Harvey grinned, still not looking up. "Take these, don't mess them up." He slid some papers forward and Mike grabbed them up enthusiastically.

"No promises," he teased, moving to kiss the man on the cheek before leaving. Harvey swerved his chair out of the way before contact was made. He looked furious. "Sorry, I just-"

"You just what, Mike?" He ignored the hurt look he saw.

"Nothing, I'll get on this..."

And with that he left. And of course, was immediately replaced by an unpleased redhead with crossed arms and a disappointed-mama look on her face. "What was that?" Donna asked in her most unimpressed tone.

"What was what?"

"Oh, you know exactly what."

He looked up, his turn to be unimpressed. "Yes, I do know exactly what. I know that I'm your boss and I don't have to explain anything to you."

"Harvey, cut the bullshit." She shook her head. "That boy is so in love with you. Why are you making it your life's goal to punish him for it?"

"He made his choice."

"No, you made his choice." She countered. "You knew very well what he wanted and you-"

"Gave him what he wanted." He glared. "When I knew Mike, he wanted nothing more than to become a lawyer, but he screwed that up. I gave him a second chance."

The way she was looking at him made him look away. She just looked sad. "He wants you." And with that, she left. There was only so much heart break she could handle from all the drama in the office. Pearson Darby was her life's main source of entertainment – a thing that made Harvey very nervous, it seemed that she merely used them all for her own creepy desires – and Harvey and Mike had quickly become her favorite storybook couple. It was killing her to see them skirting around a relationship that could be so good for them both.

"Donna?" She heard the voice more through the door than from the intercom. "Can you get me Mr. Rosenstein?" She rolled her eyes, taking out a bottle of nail polish from her desk, and going over all the chipped spots on her soon to be perfectly manicured nails. Minutes passed. "Donna?"

Annoyed, she got up and strutted right back into the office, arms folded just like they were before. "Yes?"

"Mr. Rosenstein?"

"You have a phone." She snarked, nodding her head towards it to make her point clear.

"What exactly do I pay you for?"

"Work things out with Mike, and I'll gladly get Mr. Rosenstein on the phone for you." She walked back out, leaving him stunned at his desk.

She always did this. Really, she was lucky he didn't just fire her. Hell, any other employer out there would have fired her. But Harvey wasn't anyone out there. And they didn't really have an employer-employee relationship. Donna was good for Harvey and he knew it.

"Donna?"

She didn't turn in her seat, she only stuck a hand up in the air and waved in once in sarcastic greeting.

He grunted, picking up his pen and going back to his briefs. She could be stubborn, but so could he.

SUITS

After all the drama in the morning, Mike still couldn't help but be thrilled that Harvey had brought him along to his meeting with Mrs. Lewis. They'd been at the restaurant for no less than five minutes, and Harvey was already giving off waves of immense irritation. Mike was absolutely giddy in his seat, practically bouncing in it like a two year old. The only way he could look more unprofessional, was if he'd had a pacifier stuck in his mouth.

Mrs. Lewis had other ideas though.

"What was your name again?" The woman asked. She was an older woman, hair a dark grey with a few silvery wisps through it. Her makeup was applied in such a way that both enhanced her features remarkably, and showed her age all at the same time. She had laugh lines, and lips that seemed permanently puckered.

"Mike. Ross." He smiled at her, perfectly unoffended that she'd forgotten. Or maybe he was just happy to be acknowledged? Harvey hadn't paid much thought to it before, but Mike probably felt very out of place at most of their meetings.

"Mike, I'll remember that." She winked. "You're a very charming young lad," she noted.

"Why thank you, Madame," he grinned wider, flashing perfect teeth.

Mrs. Lewis chuckled. "It's nice to see that not all lawyers are so serious all the time." With that, she gave Harvey a pointed look.

"The law doesn't have time for games," he replied leaning onto the table. "And neither does your case, Mrs. Lewis. Can I ask you again, had you had any contact with Henry Carter at all leading up to the case? Even months before it happened. Years, if you can remember."

She seemed to find his question insulting. "You've asked me that a million times, Harvey!" She shrilled, drawing attention from nearby tables.

"You see, Mrs. Lewis," Mike stepped in before Harvey could. "We just need to make sure we know exactly what happened. We don't want to say the wrong thing and come out of this bad. You deserve a win." As impressed as Harvey was, he showed Mike only irritation at being interrupted.

"But I've told him, Mike!" She acted as if he'd betrayed her to the other lawyer. "He just doesn't trust me!" She scoffed. "My own lawyer!"

"Well, it is the lawyer way." He chuckled, hoping he could lighten the mood. It worked. She smiled brightly to him.

"I suppose it is. Maybe you can change that in him?" She seemed hopeful enough, teasing almost.

"Oh, I don't think Harvey can be changed." He feigned a solemn expression that exasperated his boss further.

"If we could stop attacking me and get back to the case?"

"You see? He thinks were attacking him." Mike tsked, earning another glare to which he smiled in response.

"Harvey, this boy will be good for you. I can tell." But she let the conversation drop, satisfied enough with the new associate working on her case.

SUITS

Donna was in a much better mood upon their arrival back at the firm. Harvey assumed she was just happy that Mike seemed to be his excited old self again, goofy smile and all. "Mr. Rosenstein is on the phone for you." She chirped as Harvey walked by into his office. Mike, who had been bouncing along beside him, stopped at Donna's desk. He knew better than to go anywhere near the office when Harvey was on the phone – even in critical life or death emergencies.

"How was the meeting?" She asked, obviously amused by just how chipper the young man was.

"Great, Mrs. Lewis loved me." He winked. "Not that everyone doesn't."

"You can say that again," she laughed.

Mike enjoyed this. He was glad that Donna had finally warmed up to him. She proven to be a really good friend. "She basically spent the entire meeting telling Harvey to loosen up." He told her, earning a very mischievous grin.

"Do tell me more." Her eyes were truly wicked, and the two had never felt closer. The moment was short lived though. Harvey was summoning Mike into the office with a voice no one ever liked to hear.

"Yes?" He wondered what Mr. Rosenstein could have said in a mere forty seconds to upset Harvey so much.

"What was that at the meeting today?" He asked. What?

"What was what?"

"Do you know how to be a lawyer, or are you just playing house?" He asked, irritated.

"Ok, uh, I have no idea what you're talking about." He sat down, knowing this conversation was going to be a doozy.

"Well until you figure it out, you're stuck doing briefs."

"What?"

Harvey ignored him.

"Harvey, if I did something to offend you-"

"Get out, Mike."

He stopped short. This again. This man was giving him some serious whiplash. "Harvey, what the hell?" The man looked up, obviously surprised by the exclamation. "I get that you don't want a relationship with me, but would you at least treat me like a god damn human being?"

Harvey crossed his arms over the desk, leaning forward. "And how exactly would you propose I do that, Mike?" It was a warning, he could tell.

"I just..." He took a breath, looking down. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"What was?"

"Us. I mean, this? This obviously doesn't work." He gestured between the two. "I can't work like this, Harvey. It's kind of depressing."

"What are you saying?" His voice remained void of emotion.

"I'm saying maybe I should quit." He stood up. "No, I'm saying maybe I quit. I quit. Yeah." His voice wavered with its uncertainty. Harvey smiled and went back to his work. "And your happy about this. Ok."

"Mike?" He didn't look up. "Go home. I'll see you in the morning."

He scoffed, but took his cue to leave. Harvey ignored the angry eyes burning holes into him from just outside his office.

SUITS

There was a knock on the door. Odd. He wasn't expecting company. He pulled the door open, and couldn't help the twinge he felt in his chest at what he saw. He didn't have time to offer anything though; Mike was already pushing past him to get inside.

"Come in," he muttered sarcastically, shutting the door behind the kid.

"Harvey, I can't do this." He growled, voice raised. "This bullshit between us. It's killing me!" He slumped down onto the couch, rubbing a hand down his face. "How do you do it?"

"I keep my feelings out of the office, that's how."

"Well it's great that that works for you, but it doesn't work for me."

"What do you want me to say, Mike?" He didn't sound angry, more like he was disconnected from the conversation. An outside third party to his own life.

"I want you to tell me what you feel!" He stood up, face now inches from his boss whose face fell into a darker expression almost immediately.

"What I feel, is that we've already discussed this." He growled out, walking into the kitchen. He reached for the nearest glass, filled it with scotch, and sucked it back. God knows he needed it.

"No, no, we never talked about it. We never talked about anything."

"Mike," he warned, putting the glass down.

"Trevor was right." He shook his head, turning away.

"What did you just say to me?" Harvey took a step forward, trying to keep his hands from forming fists at his sides.

"He said it'd all come back. That I'd remember why I left."

Harvey froze. "You have no idea..." his voice leaked venom. Everything in sided of him was screaming. Every fiber of his being vibrated with barely controlled anger. He'd known better than to hire Mike – to let him back into his life.

"Just tell me what you feel!" He shouted, eyes suddenly reddened and face flushed.

Harvey had had enough of this. If this kid seriously didn't know how he felt by now, he never would, no matter how many times he said it. In his opinion, he shouldn't have to. But he knew he'd never let up. He needed to hear it. Just like he'd said. He would never believe him otherwise, no matter what he did.

But Harvey never did what he was told.

He slowly stepped forward, looking dangerous as ever. Mike gulped, stepping back with each step forward Harvey took. They continued this little dance until Mike was pressed up against the wall, nowhere left to escape, and Harvey was close. Too close. He could feel panic rising in his chest until warm lips were being crushed against his. They worked and worried until all Mike could feel was Harvey's touch, and he was kissing back angrily, desperately. His hands worked up to find the other man's hair, and Harvey's arms were around his waist, pulling him flush against him. With sloppy, frantic movements, Mike worked his fingers until Harvey's belt was off, and then begun on the buttons on the half undone shirt. Harvey had other ideas for Mikes; pulling the tail from his pants and ripping it open, letting a few buttons fly off the fabric.

Somehow, they made it to the bedroom, furiously tugging at each other until they tumbled roughly onto the bed. Harvey put a hand on either side of Mike's face, deepening the kiss until Mike met his newly set speed, and then relaxed down on top of him, heart breaking and becoming whole all over again.

A/N: So I hope this longer, less choppy chapter makes up for the last one! I'm probably going to rewrite the takeover scene, it just didn't happen. But hope y'all liked this one(: More soon to come!:*