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Harvey stared at the clause that Mike had highlighted, then turned the pages to the relevant case (Supreme Court, baby), also highlighted, and shook his head in amazement. “We’re going to win this son of a bitch, Mike. You’ve done it.”
Like a bloodhound, Louis’s head snapped up from where he’d been doing his own research, a harried associate on each side of him. “What!” he demanded.
“Sorry, Louis,” Harvey gloated as he got up. “You lost and we won. Jessica!” he called exultantly and strode down to her at the other end of the conference table.
The case was worth almost a billion dollars in both fees and bonuses to Pearson Hardman, the biggest case of their company’s life and the entirety of the senior partners and all associates down to the lowest paralegal had been digging through boxes of paperwork for a rare precedent that would bolster the company they represented, protecting it from the FCC, the State and Federal Attorney’s General and from the government.
“Good job, Mr. Ross,” Jessica said warmly, standing up to shake his hand.
Of course, it was never that easy. They had motions to file, forms to complete, clients to speak with, judges to badger, but by Friday afternoon they’d finished enough to take their celebrations to the local Harvard Club. For once Mike didn’t worry about being in the solemn bastion of hasty puddings, crimson and snootiness, just the fact that Harvey didn’t leave his side the entire time despite the hot waitresses and how he touched Mike, in public no less.
Their relationship was more or less casual. They’d been sleeping together for about a month, falling into bed after another ridiculous fight. Harvey had staunchly declared, (more than once) that the spectacular sex didn’t mean anything, that it was just scratching an itch, but then he’d turn around and do something ridiculously sweet like taking his grandma out for high tea at an exclusive British tea shop. (Grandma loved Harvey and the feeling was mutual) And now, touching Mike affectionately… in public.
“It’s the booze,” Harvey purred into his ear, making Mike chuckle.
“Sure, Harvey,” Mike grinned, letting his tongue slide around the glass naughtily.
“Shots for the winners!” Devon, or maybe Kyle announced with glee. There was a resounding cheer from the crowd as twelve shot glasses were placed in front of Harvey and Mike.
“Too easy,” Mike said dismissively.
A challenge and Harvey’s eyebrows went up. “You think you can take me, kid?” and there’s a chorus of ‘Ooooohhhs,’ from the peanut gallery.
Mike grinned back. “At any time of any day, old man.” And the chorus got louder with laughter and good natured jeering thrown in.
~*~
The sun shining into Mike’s eyes made him turn and press his face against a very warm, smooth back. A broad back, and the unfamiliarity suddenly impinged on Mike’s semi-conscious mind and he jerked as if he’d been shot and rolled off of the bed to land in an ignominious heap on the floor. A really snazzy hotel-like floor.
“Ow.” He rubbed his head and then his ass as he stared up at an adorably disheveled Harvey who was peering down at him with some amusement.
“You okay, there?”
Mike nodded as he rubbed his ass. He rolled to his knees and gingerly got to his feet before falling face first back onto the bed with a groan. “What in the hell did you do to my ass, Harvey?” he complained into the pillow before turning to glare at the older man.
Glancing over, Harvey stopped and stared, scooting over to check Mike’s ass more closely. “Oh, fuck,” was his response.
“What?” Mike asked, worried about the panicky note in Harvey’s voice as the man rolled barenaked from the bed and began to trash the hotel suite’s desk area like the secret to the Lost Ark was there.
“Harvey, what are you looking for?” he asked, noticing for the first time the absolute mess that they’d of the room, clothes strewn everywhere, a bottle of empty champagne lolling on Harvey’s side of the bed, two empty glasses beside it, along with an empty box of condoms and an almost empty bottle of Astro-glide.
“Wow, it looks like we had fun, anyway,” he said to the empty room because Harvey obviously hadn’t found what he was looking for and had dashed to the other room.
“Okay. What. The. Fuck.” Mike intoned and rolled back out of the bed and went into the bathroom. He turned his ass to the huge mirror in hotel’s ridiculously opulent bathroom and stared at his ass. Or more accurately, the tattoo on his ass. With today’s date, miniature law scales with a heart in the middle and with Harvey’s and his own name scrolled across in what looked like Celtic font. “What. The. Fuck!” he exclaimed, louder for effect.
“Oh, it gets better,” Harvey said evenly from the door, however now his face bore the signs of real panic as he waved a piece of paper in Mike’s face.
Mike reflexively took it and looked at it for a long moment, his memories starting to sift clear through the alcohol haze. He remembered some really quality sex, and before that a drunken ride in a taxi, with Harvey waving a bottle of Cristal, before that an all night tattoo parlor, and before ~that~ Harvey waking a judge… “Oh, shit. You woke Judge Martinson for this.”
Harvey winced. “I remember. He thought it was hilarious, though Mrs. Martinson seemed less than amused.”
“I can’t be married, Harvey,” Mike replied seriously. “Grammy will kill me, raise me from the dead to yell at me and kill me again for not inviting her to be there.”
Harvey’s eyebrows raised. “That’s what you’re worried about? We’re ~married~, Michael.”
“Congratulations are in order?”
“God,” Harvey groaned and disappeared out of the doorway. “We’re getting this annulled,” he voice floated back. “And you’re getting rid of that damn tattoo.”
Mike frowned thoughtfully. He wasn’t sure if he wanted an annulment or not. And the tat was hot.
“And come to bed. We might as well have married sex while we can,” Harvey hollered and Mike smiled.
~*
On Monday when Harvey and Mike walked into Pearson Hardman they were bombarded with confetti and well wishes, the associates whisking Mike away for an impromptu bachelor party while Jessica and Donna dragged Harvey into his office and smirked at him while Louis wandered back and forth in the hallway and glowered like a thundercloud.
“What’s with Louis?” he asked, collapsing behind his desk and discovering that there was even more confetti in his hair.
“Oh, he’s jealous that you’ve gotten married first,” Donna said airily. “Now, make with the details.”
Jessica settled into the armchair with a feline smile. “I’ve already spoke to Judge Martinson this morning. He called to let me know the good news.”
“God,” Harvey groaned. “I’m never drinking with you people again.”
“Harvey, I am shocked. I thought we married for love,” Mike said from Harvey’s doorway, hair liberally sprinkled with confetti and dollar bills tucked into his pockets. Harvey resolved not to ask.
He watched as Mike grinned at Donna. “You should see my tattoo. It’s like a permanent declaration of our love.”
Harvey buried his face in his hands as Jessica and Donna cooed at his associate. At least Mike was taking it with a grain of salt. And if Harvey privately didn’t want the charade to end, he buried it deep deep inside.
The thing is, life got in the way. Due to the resounding success of the first case, they were getting clients into the office in droves, which made for long days and short nights. Not enough time to even consider gathering the paperwork much less visiting a judge to get the ball rolling.
Harvey became so comfortable with the whole thing that Mike’s stuff had started migrating to Harvey’s apartment, they came into work together and left together, became one of ~those~ couples, the ones that could look at each other and know what the other was thinking without saying it.
Mike’s Grammy had even forgiven them since he’d been the one to suggest they hold a small reception at her nursing home. The look in Mike’s and his grandmother’s eyes eased something in Harvey that he hadn’t realized that he was missing, a family connection. Oh, he had a sister (who wasn’t speaking to him because he’d gotten ~married~ without her) but they’d never been close (his fault mostly).
Now he had this surprise family (which included Donna) that cared how he was, (Grammy called his phone to check up on him and to listen to him spill about Michael’s day). He had someone who’d rub his neck when he was stressed, to tease and prod and generally ~care~ about him, and he didn’t want to give that up. But he was worried that Mike did.
~*~
Mike sighed as the three women looked at him with soft eyes. “I don’t know if he wants to ~stay~ married. I mean, it wasn’t really on purpose, you know. Alcohol based relationships never work out, right?”
Jessica leaned forward and placed her hand on Mike’s arm. “Mike, has he done any of the paperwork required?”
“Well, we really haven’t had…”
“Mike, Harvey knows a lot of judges,” Donna admonished. “He could’ve had it fixed the next day.”
Mike had wondered. He opened his mouth but Rachel raised her hand and he let it shut.
“Instead of wondering, ask him, Mike.”
Ask him. Mike wondered if it was that simple. Ask him what? He stared at the three women and suddenly got a glimmer, a startling semi hemi glimpse of an idea, that if Harvey really wanted to stay as much as he did…
“Thanks! Jessica, I’ve got something to do. Can I have the rest of the day off? Donna, tell him that Jessica sent me somewhere, I’ll be back by five,” Mike babbled then was off, speaking on his phone so quickly that is sounded like Swahili to the women.
Jessica raised an eyebrow at the other two women. “Well, I guess we’ll find out at five.”
Harvey was frowning into a file when his vanished (he hadn’t bought Jessica’s offhand explanation that she’d sent Mike somewhere) associate suddenly appeared in the door of his office, disheveled but eyes shining.
“Where in the hell have you been?” he demanded crankily. (He’d missed him, okay?)
“Harvey,” Mike began, then grinned and went down on one knee even as he dug into his pocket for something.
Harvey’s eyebrows went up and he was so puzzled by Mike’s behavior that he didn’t even realize that they had an audience. “Mike, I swear…”
“Harvey, hush,” Mike interrupted and now Harvey could see what was in Mike’s hand, and his heart began to suddenly pound in his chest.
Mike took a deep breath, holding out the platinum ring with the delicate Celtic knot decoration. “Harvey, I know we started out as a mistake but I want, and I think you do too, to make it real, to make it permanent.”
Staring, Harvey reached out and clasped his hand around the ring. “Mike, we’re already married, but if we needed to do it over again, I totally would.” He would deny deny deny that his voice wobbled.
“I love you too,” Mike replied with a grin and leaned up while Harvey leaned down and they kissed in front of God and most of the employees of Pearson Harden.