Chapter Text
Epilogue – Can I lean on you?
3 Months later
Harvey was so lost in thought that he nearly dropped the bottle of red wine in his hand when the doorbell went off. He shook off the irritation, and placed the bottle on the set table where it belonged.
“Can you get the door, please?”, he hollered, sticking his head into the hallway of his condo, wiping his hands on his apron before walking back to the stove where the gravy had started to bubble dangerously.
“On my way”, an answer echoed back just as the bell went off a second time, while Harvey stirred the gravy and reduced the heat under the pot.
“Tell me you finally managed to get dressed”, Harvey shouted with raised brows, hoping that their visitor wasn’t up for a surprise. Mike popped his head into the open plan kitchen with a grin.
“Fully dressed. And don’t complain, it’s entirely your fault I didn’t make it to the bathroom earlier.”
“I can agree to taking 50 percent of the responsibility. If I may remind you that it was you who thought, and I quote ‘the turkey doesn’t need to be stared at while it cooks’.”
Mike chuckled at that. “Fifty percent of a punishable offence is still, well…punishable”. He wiggled his eyebrows and Harvey rolled his eyes. “Go and welcome our visitors, you moron.”
Mike walked to the door with a grin, just in time to let Louis and Jessica in. He swallowed as he caught the grumpy expression on Louis’ face but relaxed a little as Jessica lightly elbowed him and he lit up.
“Good to see you, Mike”, she shook his hand and handed him her coat with a smile. “Especially without the responsibility of being your boss”, she added with a smirk while Mike collected Louis’ coat. He grinned. “You can complain about the joys of being my boss to my current one later. He’s joining us together with a colleague of mine.”
“Can’t wait”, Jessica smirked. “Is Harvey in the kitchen?” Mike nodded. “Be warned: If you dare to suggest helping, he will scold you.”
“I think that only applies to you, kid”, she replied before walking towards the kitchen. Which left Mike alone with Louis.
Mike cleared his throat. “Thank you for coming. I know you weren’t sure if you wanted to.”
It had been awkward between them lately. Ever since Harvey had sat Louis down to explain that Mike and him were together, Mike had tried to avoid him. He knew that even though Louis had reacted understanding and supportive (and suggested, in typical Louis fashion, to increase the firm’s involvement in pride month next year), he was still irritated with Mike for having hurt Rachel. Louis looked at him and sighed. “Of course I wanted to, you idiot.”
Mike raised his brows.
“Did you get a talking to from Donna?”
Louis chuckled. “Close, but no.”
“Gretchen?”
“Also no.”
“So you just randomly decided to no longer hate me?” Mike squinted his eyes. Louis backing off without reason rarely ever meant anything good.
“I never hated you.”
Mike raised his brows and Louis gave up, throwing his hands up with a shrug.
“Maybe I did for a second. But I’m over it now.” He placed a hand of Mike’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “You make him happy. How could I be mad about that, right?”
Mike smiled. “You think so?”
“I’m not blind. Of course I do. And it was Rachel who gave me a talking to.”
“I had no idea…”
“You don’t deserve her. Not even as an Ex.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“But she said it’s water under the bridge. So who am I to hold a grudge on her behalf?”
“So we’re good?”
“Come here, asshole.” He hugged Mike briefly, before waving him off. “Now go hang these damn coats and get me a drink.”
Mike nodded, gesturing towards the open kitchen / living room area “I’ll be with you in a second.”
He shot a quick text to Rachel before he joined the others.
Thank you. You didn’t need to speak to Louis. I owe you.
Her reply came as he hung the coats on the wardrobe and strolled back to the living room.
You don’t owe me. We’re even. It’s what friends do. Have a great friendsgiving!
Mike smiled at the screen as a picture popped into the chat. Snow-covered mountains in the background of a steaming mug.
And you your holiday!, he texted back.
After Mike’s and Harvey’s initial talk, the two men had stolen some bubble-time outside the city, hiding away from the real world in the Hamptons for a couple of weeks. They had spend a lot of time in bed, indulging in each other. But they had also gone for many walks, talked a lot of unresolved things over. Had spoken about the missed chances in the past, the fights that suddenly had a different meaning, the things they had previously bitten their tongues about. And they had agreed to the terms of their new relationship. Harvey vowed to continuing therapy and staying dry and Mike promised to make up his mind about his career. And they both decided to sit down and speak to their friends to fill them in. To apologize, where apologies were needed. When they returned to the city, Harvey and Mike had become an unshakable union. Mike moved in with Harvey immediately and things fell into place easily. Donna had been the first on their list of people to speak to and she had fully embraced them as a couple (‘Oh god, finally!’). Her anger had long burned off, and she only told Mike that she was going to murder him if he a) ever hurt Harvey or b) ever had her lie for him again, stating that she had ‘done that enough for one lifetime’. Louis had also reacted mostly with love and Jessica had given Harvey the first hug he could remember. Harvey’s brother Marcus reacted excited and loved having ‘a new brother’ to bicker with. And then Mike had finally met with Rachel again, giving her the explanation he felt he owed her. After a couple of weeks of distance, she was okay with him sharing with her why he had never dared to tell her about his feelings before. And while she didn’t forgive him for lying to her and cheating while they were still together, she agreed to staying friends. Since then, they had been in loose contact and Mike knew she was currently dating someone new. He was happy for her and Rachel was happy for him. Things between her and Harvey were still weird, but there wasn’t any hate between them. She still insisted on moving to a new firm and had recently moved to Seattle to chase a new job opportunity and get some distance from everything. Which is where she had met her potential new boyfriend. The only person still holding a grudge was Robert Zane, but Rachel had promised Mike that she’d keep him in check. As of now, he hadn’t made a move to ruin Pearson Spector Litt at least.
Mike walked to the living room with a smile on his face, pouring drinks for both Louis and Jessica, before the bell rang again. He let in Donna, who gave him a big hug, before she hurried to the kitchen to put the dessert she had brought into the fridge. Shortly after that, Marcus arrived, followed by Oliver and Nathan – who had agreed to give Mike his job back after he’d admitted to having had some personal issues which lead to him behaving like an asshole – and Father Walker.
Everybody mingled while Mike finally convinced Harvey to let him help with finishing the Friendsgiving dinner spread (“I am capable of putting a casserole in the oven, thank you very much. Yes, this needs that many marshmallows. Get off me!”).
Mike enjoyed watching Harvey fully in his element. Cooking several different dishes at the same time seemed like nothing of a struggle for him. He was smiling and joking around with Donna who sat at the counter, sipping on her martini. It warmed Mike’s heart to see Harvey at ease like this. The lasts months had been weighing heavily on his shoulders for so long, it was a blessing to see the weight lifted so much. Harvey still had darker days. His depression hadn’t magically vanished and his anxiety, even if lessened, sometimes still came to visit. But he wasn’t going through it alone anymore. If a therapy session was particularly exhausting, he had Mike to come home to. When he didn’t feel like getting out of bed, Mike was there to remind him of food and water and to help him get back out in the world once he felt better. When panic came to visit, he had his new medication to help, and Mike and friends to reach out to. And even if it still didn’t come easy to him to ask for help, he finally did if he needed to.
“Donna, can you do me a favor and tell everyone to sit down? We’ll be ready in five minutes.”, Harvey asked.
Donna lifted her hand to a mock salute. “Shepherding the flock to the table. Aye.”
Mike exchanged a grin with Harvey. “You made her a stiff martini, huh?”
“She asked for a mean one and I delivered.”
“I take it her date yesterday didn’t go great then?”
“He told her theatre was pretentious.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah.”
“She’ll find someone eventually.”
“You mean now that you’ve stolen me from her for good?”
Mike rolled his eyes with a laugh. “Is it stealing if the stolen one comes so willingly?”
“Debatable.” Harvey leaned to him for a kiss, pulling him closer by his hip. “Why did we invite all these people again, instead of watching the game and committing a couple more punishable offenses?”
Mike wrapped his arms around his neck, grinning. “Because we love them and they saved our asses this year.”
“See, I knew there was a reason.” He wrapped his arms tighter around Mike’s hips, kissing him gently. “I love you.”
“Love you too. Will love you more if you finally feed me though.” He indicated his head towards the stove. “You cut the turkey, I dish up the sides?”
Harvey gave him another quick peck with a smile. “Deal.”
Dinner was all smiles and laughs and happy faces. Harvey had outdone himself – having started the cooking three days prior – and all except him were at least a little tipsy when they got around to dessert. Jessica and Nathan were gossiping at full volume about the struggle of keeping cocky employees in check, Harvey and Marcus were mock-arguing who was the better baseball player (reminding Mike he really wanted to see Harvey play, if for the outfit alone) with Louis as their chuckling audience, Donna and Father Walker were in deep discussion about some HBO show and Oliver shared a story about a recent awkward date with Mike. When Oliver got pulled into the television discussion, Mike leaned back in his chair, rubbing his full belly. He let his gaze wander from face to grinning face, feeling the warmth radiating from all these people he’d come to love. These people felt like family to him. And sometimes families fought. But they always came back together. He swallowed against a tide of gratitude welling up behind his eyes and caught Harvey looking at him with eyes so soft it made his heart hitch in his chest. They exchanged a look and Mike nodded. Harvey beat his spoon against his glass and stood.
The table conversations died down and soon, all eyes were on Harvey, who put his hand on Mike’s shoulder. Mike placed a hand on Harvey’s, giving it a little squeeze. He knew Harvey had felt a little anxious about doing this, but really wanted to use the opportunity.
Harvey cleared his throat.
“I know we’re a little late to thanksgiving and it’s a very debatable holiday. But it’s a good opportunity to say thank you. And Mike and I have plenty of thanks to give this year. Without all of you, we wouldn’t have made it through the last months. To be fair, without you and my therapist, but there’s this rule you can’t invite your therapist to dinner, so, in absence, thanks to her too.” That earned him a couple of chuckles around the table and he smirked. “Seriously though. Thank you all for having our backs. For granting second chances. For giving advice. For being there as our friends. And for telling us when we’re being idiots. We owe you all a lot and we’re happy to call you all our friends. Our family, really. Because I recently learned - and Marcus, don’t get mad with me now – that there is the family you’re born into and then there is the family you chose. And we’re glad you belong to the latter.” He grinned towards his brother. “Yes, you too, so you’re basically a double-family-member.” Marcus laughed. “Hear hear!” Laughter around the table. Then Mike stood, wrapping his arm around Harvey’s hip. “This idiot and I wouldn’t have managed to finally get our shit together without all of your nudges. Thank you. Really.”
Harvey nodded. “And before we finish this long-ass toast, I’ve got one more thing to say.”
Donna grinned. “You’re getting married?”
Mike laughed. “We’ve been dating for three months. Hold your horses.”
“Yeah, my therapist says it’s too soon.”, Harvey grinned.
Mike turned his head to him. “Does she now?”
“Oh shut up. Anyway, it’s way smaller than a wedding. It’s that I’ll be returning to work come January. If you’ll still have me.” He looked at Jessica and Louis, who both smiled and nodded. Jessica had returned to the firm permanently while Harvey had extended his leave of absence. Her and Louis had secured enough new clients to keep the ship safely afloat. The firm was slowly recovering from the recent crisis.
“I can’t wait for you to take back over”, Jessica said and lifted her glass. “To a bright future.”
“To a bright future.” Mike echoed. “And to all of you”, Harvey added.
It was late when all of the guests had finally said their last goodbyes for the night and they both were tired, but happy.
Harvey stood on his balcony, sipping on a nightcap – alcohol-free gin & tonic – when Mike joined him after having finished loading the dishwasher. He stood behind Harvey, wrapping both his arms around him. Harvey leaned into the touch. To his own surprise, Mike had found out over the lasts weeks that Harvey enjoyed giving up control every now and then. That he liked being fussed over, being the one to be caressed and taken. And Mike had also found out that he quite liked that. That he enjoyed watching Harvey letting himself fall so trustingly.
He placed a soft kiss below Harvey’s ear. Harvey hummed with content.
“This was good.”, he murmured, and Mike nodded against his neck, continuing to create a path of kisses on his smooth, warm skin.
“I liked having them all around. But I also like having you back to myself now.”
“Is that so?” He felt Harvey’s cheek move as he pressed his own face against it and mirrored the grin. “Very much so.”
Harvey tugged on the arm that rested on his hip, wrapping Mike’s arm closer around himself.
“Are you cold?” Mike asked, resting his chin on Harvey’s shoulder and looking out to the city’s sparkling lights. Harvey shook his head. “You’re like a walking space heater.”
Mike chuckled. “Wait how much you’ll enjoy that in summer.”
“I can always send you back to that sofa you love so much.”
“Oh you mean the thing that nearly slipped my disc?”
“Did I ever say sorry for that?”
“For what?” Mike frowned, turning his face to see that Harvey’s expression had changed from playful to serious.
“For, you know, putting you through all that. Leaning on you.”
“Harvey.” Mike pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Both arms firmly wrapped around his stomach, Mike sighed. “I want you to lean on me. As I want to lean on you. That’s what partners do.”
“But I…”
“You did apologize for it. About a million times. And just because you enjoy your newfound skill of asking for forgiveness, you don’t have to keep saying sorry. You were in a dark place and you didn’t know how to ask for help. It’s okay. I’m glad you allowed me to be there for you at all. And I’m happy that now you are learning how to cope. You’re doing great, babe.”
Harvey snorted. “Did you just call me…?”
“Yeah, I regretted it the second it slipped out. It sounded wrong.”
“So wrong.”
“Maybe…baby?”
“So you do really want to go back to the sofa, hm?”
“Yeah no, also sounds wrong. How about da-“
“Don’t you dare finishing that word.”
“But you are older than me. And you were my boss. So technically…”
“Did I just uncover an unknown kink there?”
“I wouldn’t call it that.”
Harvey turned around, his nose brushing against Mike’s.
“What would you call it then?”
“Heightened interest in a certain male demographic.”
“I best don’t let you loose at a bingo hall then, huh?”
Mike grinned. “Oh I’d ravage the place.”
Harvey poked him between the ribs. “For the record, I am not in bingo age.”
Mike squinted at him. “Aren’t you though?”
“Aren’t you past your bedtime?”
Mike chuckled, his face softening from grin to gentle smile. He placed his hands on Harvey’s cheeks, gently rubbing his thumbs over his barely detectable stubble. “Truth be told, you’re the only guy in that demographic that ever piqued my interest.”
“And here I was thinking you had a thing for authority.”
Mike laughed. “Authority? You do realize all I ever did was talk back to you?”
Harvey shrugged. “Point taken.”
“So your type is cocky as fuck and not afraid to stand up to you, hm?”
“Yeah yeah, Doctor Freud, I confess, I like my boyfriends smart and sharp and too cheeky for their own good. Satisfied now?”
Mike grinned, leaning forward to whisper in Harvey’s ear.
“Not yet, but I’m sure there’s something you can do about that, da-“
Harvey cut him off by kissing him, pushing him slowly backwards inside the apartment and into the bedroom.