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When Harvey opened his front door to discover Mike on the other side, he realized in that moment the inevitability of what was about to happen. In that single moment, seeing Mike grimacing at him, he just knew somewhere deep inside that there was no avoiding this fight. Mike pushed into the condo without being invited, because apparently that was just how the two of them operated now, and with a deep sigh Harvey closed the door and followed him inside.
He met Mike in the living room. The younger man was looking agitated, shifting his weight, looking around the room like he'd never seen it before.
"What is it?" Harvey asked, more harshly than he intended. But it was late, it had been a long week (it had been a long fucking month in all honesty), and he was beyond drained, wanted nothing more than to sleep for a year.
Mike laughed mirthlessly. "Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."
Harvey tilted his head, a silent question, a demand for more. He pretended like he had no idea what Mike was talking about, because that was easier than admitting that he knew exactly to what Mike referred. If they were actually going to have this conversation, he would at least make Mike go first.
"You've been avoiding me all week. You palmed me off on Louis, ignored me when I tried to talk to you, and wouldn't even meet my eyes, pretty much like you are doing right now. Are you mad at me or something?"
"Yes," Harvey replied. His immediate and honest answer seemed to throw Mike, like he had been hoping his accusations were false, a misinterpretation of events. But they weren't. He was fucking pissed at Mike, and the only way he could deal with that was by ignoring him.
"Why?" Mike asked, but his voice was slightly smaller now, confused and hurt.
Harvey took a beat, turned away from Mike for a moment. Part of him was reluctant to tell Mike the truth, but the rest of him knew Mike deserved to know, needed to comprehend the consequences of his actions.
"You're safe," Mike said, before Harvey had a chance to speak. Harvey could tell he was going over everything in his mind, trying to work out where this alleged infraction had occurred. "You settled and you're safe. We should be celebrating, not doing whatever the fuck this is," he continued, waving an arm at the space between them.
Harvey looked incredulously at Mike. "Yes, Mike, I'm safe. I settled and I'm safe but in doing so I jeopardized everyone else. Don't you see? Settling the law suit instead of winning at trial was just what Hardman needed. He called a meeting of the partners. He's requested a vote to cast Jessica out so he can become Managing Partner again."
He could read the train of thought on Mike's face: his anger at Daniel, his sympathy for Jessica, and then the confusion at what the hell this had to do with him.
"I'm sorry," Mike ventured, not at all sure what the appropriate response was. And he was sorry. He might not have the level of mistrust in Daniel that Harvey did, but he knew everything Jessica had risked to keep him around, and as Harvey had pointed out, if Daniel discovers the truth about them they will both be out the door. But still… "How exactly is that my fault?"
"Because you made me settle," Harvey exclaimed, voice loud and hard. The latent anger and resentment he had harbored towards Mike since Hardman announced his intentions came pouring out and he couldn't stop himself. "You told me to settle, even though I wanted to take this thing to trial. But you asked and I did it. I chose you, betrayed Jessica in voting to settle, and Hardman used it as his excuse to force Jessica into a fight for Managing Partner. This is exactly what I have been working to avoid ever since Alicia Hardman died."
"Harvey-"
"Remember when Jessica wanted me to fire you? I fought for you, and I chose you over her. I told Jessica I wasn't staying without you, but that she needed me to keep control of Pearson Hardman. And it was all for nothing, because here we are, me settling a lawsuit which I should have won because I did nothing wrong, and Hardman about to take control."
"What have you always told me?" Mike countered, raising his voice to meet Harvey's. "How many times have I heard you say it? Don't go to trial. It's your number one rule, and it's there for a reason. Juries can be swayed. And there is every chance Tanner could have swayed a jury in his favor."
Harvey went to interrupt, counter Mike's claim, but Mike kept going before he had a chance to.
"I know you, Harvey. I know you didn't do this. Even if Donna had never found and destroyed that memo, even if every single person at Pearson Hardman, Jessica included, had told me that you were guilty, I would never have doubted you for a second. But even you have to know that not everyone has the amount of faith in you that I do. So yes, when the opportunity arises to make a settlement that means you get to keep your job and your license, of course I'm going to ask you to take it. Keeping you safe was my priority and I won't apologize for it."
"I could've won at trial," Harvey returned, determined and sure, and Mike can't help but laugh, the sound hollow to his ears, because of course Harvey's god complex means that he thinks the rules he lived by somehow didn't apply to him.
"And what if you hadn't? What then? What would happen to you, to Jessica? What would happen to me?"
Harvey rolled his eyes, annoyed. How was it that it always came back to this? "Of course, that's what the problem is. You're worried about your job like usual. My whole career, my life, it's all on the line, and all you care about is whether you can keep your job or not."
Mike stumbled a few steps back, putting some distance between them after Harvey had stepped forward in his anger. He looked offended, and Harvey had the grace to wonder if maybe he had read this whole thing wrong. But the words were out there now, and he couldn't take them back.
"You really think that's what this is about? Me trying to save my job?"
"Are you telling me that it's not, not even a little bit?" Harvey accused.
Mike stalked right up to Harvey then, looking angrier than Harvey had ever seen. "No. Don't you get it? This is about you, Harvey. For once, this actually is all about you. I looked for leverage against Tanner and I told you to take the deal because you are my boss and my friend and my-"
Mike cut himself off, seemingly realizing what he was saying, the truths he was confessing in anger. He sagged visibly before Harvey, like the weight of these words were too much for him to carry anymore. He let out a deep breath, laughing lightly to himself. Harvey kept him firmly in his sight. This conversation wasn't going at all how he anticipated. It was just one more thing spiralling out of his control, and he needed something solid to grab onto for purchase. And Mike was right there, standing right in front of him, the only real thing in his life. Despite all this, despite everything that had happened, Mike was still the only one he trusted.
"Your what?" he asked, voice low and soft. "Tell me."
Mike shook his head, looking away. From anyone else Harvey might have suspected it was a power play, an attempt to gain the higher ground by having Harvey be the one begging for more. But that wasn't what this was. That wasn't Mike.
"No, Harvey," Mike replied. And then, when he walked past Harvey the older man realized he was going to leave. But this wasn't over, not yet. He pulled on Mike's arm, spinning him around, and he used Mike's momentum against him, stalking forward and making Mike back up from him until Mike was pressed back against the window, trapped between the pane of glass and Harvey, his hands on either side of Mike's body. They were so close, Mike's blue eyes boring into his, anxious and defiant and desperate all at once.
Harvey knew the best way to get the information out of Mike was to make him so angry he would confess it without meaning to. It was underhanded and mean, but he was beyond caring at this point. Because he could feel everything he and Mike had unravelling before him, and Mike wasn't going to be one more thing that he lost.
He was about to speak, spill accusations and threats until Mike confessed, when he realized that he couldn't do it. Because he actually believed Mike when he told him that everything he had done had been for Harvey. It may have backfired spectacularly, but Mike couldn't have known that. Everything Mike had done had been for him.
They were so close, Mike's breathing labored where he was pinned beneath Harvey. Harvey's eyes involuntarily flicked down to Mike's mouth, at which point the younger man licked his lips. The action pulled a groan from Harvey's throat, and because he had apparently lost leave of all his faculties, he canted his hips forward, pressing his body into Mike's.
Mike's eyes fluttered closed at the touch, head tipped back to the window. Harvey knew he should stop. There were a million and one reasons why he should stop. But there was one reason to continue, and apparently that reason trumped all. It was irresponsible and dangerous to submit to it, to let it dictate his actions, but he couldn't help it. They needed this.
His hands immediately went to Mike's pants, unbuttoning the jeans and sneaking a hand underneath. Mike was already half hard, warm and soft beneath his touch. Mike's breath hitched as Harvey wrapped a hand around his shaft and started pumping. His eyes were still closed and Harvey couldn't look away, eyes transfixed by the way he bit his lower lip, the slight blush in his cheeks as Harvey continued to move.
He wanted to make Mike come, wanted to see him fall apart in front of him, but just as he was getting close Mike regained his control. He tugged Harvey's hand from his pants, ignoring the older man's confused look, and instead he sunk to his knees and concentrated on getting Harvey's pants open and pulled down to his ankles as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Harvey knew what was coming but the feel of Mike mouth around his cock was still a surprise. He couldn’t help the moan, the hand in Mike's hair, the absolute desire to fuck into Mike's mouth until he came and came soon. But Mike apparently had other plans, because as soon as every inch of Harvey's cock was covered in Mike's saliva, he stood and pushed his own pants down to his knees, turning his back to Harvey, hands flat to the glass windows.
Harvey should've said no, should've stopped this right then. But he was too far gone, too overtaken by the flood of emotions he had for Mike. Everything he felt, the trust and the want and the need, coupled with the anger and resentment, it all came crashing down on him. So he pressed himself to Mike's back, one hand covering Mike's hand on the glass while the other guided his cock into Mike's waiting body.
He could feel Mike tense as he pushed in, a strangled noise escaping Mike's throat. He knew it must hurt, there had been no prep, and it was almost enough to make him pull out. But then Mike used his free hand, the one not currently being held down by Harvey's, and reached around him to grip at Harvey's hip. He took the action for the silent encouragement that it was, and started moving.
He kept the thrusts shallow at first, working Mike open with each push and pull. As soon as he had extracted the first moan of pleasure from Mike's throat he began moving in earnest. He pushed in deep, fingertips pressing hard into Mike's hips.
"Yes," Mike groaned. "Harvey."
Harvey wanted more, wanted to sink his teeth into Mike's skin, wanted to mark him for now and evermore. But Mike still had his tee on, and even in the midst of mind-blowing and life altering sex Harvey was rational enough to know that leaving a mark on Mike's neck, visible to all and sundry, probably wasn't a good idea. So instead he removed his hand from where it had been pressing into Mike's, sneaking it under Mike's t-shirt, lightly skirting the skin of his stomach and chest until it found a nipple to taunt and tease. A guttural moan was Harvey's reward.
"Oh fuck," Mike cried as Harvey continued to tweak his nipple. "Harvey. Fuck."
Harvey grinned. He wanted to unravel Mike, strip him of everything until he was bare and frayed, wanted Mike to feel how Harvey felt. He bent his knees slightly, and began thrusting in earnest. The new angle made Mike gasp, and he pushed back to meet each of Harvey's thrusts.
"Tell me," Harvey whispered into his ear. "Mike. Tell me. What am I to you?"
"Everything," Mike replied instantly, unabashedly. "You're my everything."
And with that Harvey gave up teasing, and with a few quick pumps Mike came with a cry. It was loud and filthy, Mike's body shaking with it, and Harvey pushed in as deep as he was able as he came, forehead pressed to Mike's shoulder. They stood there, breathless, Mike leaning on the glass windows like it was the only thing keeping him upright, Harvey pressed against the length of his body as it was the only thing keeping him upright.
When they finally regained their breath Harvey gingerly withdrew. Mike slowly turned to face Harvey, a weak smile on his lips. His knees gave way and he fell awkwardly to the floor, laughing as he did so. Harvey couldn't help but smile indulgently at his young associate, crouching down in front of him. Mike looked at him with an expression Harvey could only describe as dreamy. Mike slowly inched forward, slow enough for Harvey to figure out what he was doing and stop him if he wanted, which was absurd given everything else that had happened thus far. So Harvey let him move slowly until their lips were pressed together in a chaste kiss.
But that wasn't enough. Mike pushed Harvey back until he was lying on the floor and Mike was lying atop him, deepening the kiss as they went. It wasn't at all how Harvey had pictured it. Harvey was man enough to admit that he may have had the occasional stray fantasy about Mike, but this kiss was a million times better. It was slow and sensuous, their tongues moving together with unhurried ease. Mike seemed content to gradually explore every inch of his mouth with the tip of his tongue.
When it was over, when they finally broke away when the need for oxygen finally became too much, Mike smiled lazily down at Harvey and said, "Do you get it now?"
Harvey couldn't help but grin back. "Yeah, kid. I get it."