Post-eps for Law & Order 19.18-19.20 (Jack/Mike Cutter)
Because they all build off of one another, you get them in one post! Exciting, right? Also, two of the titles are song titles. Because I am rarely talented at titles on my own.
Title: Carry that Weight
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: Law & Order
Pairing: Jack/Mike Cutter
Rating; PG-13
Summary: Post-ep for 19.18. They found an undocumented worker from when Jack's daughter was a kid.
Carry that Weight
By Perpetual Motion
The charge goes up to murder. The boys get twenty to life, and Mike spends a great deal of time in his office organizing paperwork and clearing take-out containers from his desk.
“This has to stop,” Jack says late one night, reading glasses dangling from his hand. “Don’t think I don’t know about the pillow in your bottom drawer.”
Mike raises his eyebrows. “Connie?”
“Lucky guess.” Jack sits on Mike’s couch and makes a point of shifting. “You need to go home. Sleep on a bed.”
Mike snorts. “A bed, you say?”
Jack looks at him blandly. “A bed.”
Which one, Mike thinks. “They dug up an undocumented worker from when your daughter was a kid,” he says instead of asking.
“I don’t have any records of you,” Jack tells him. He smirks. “Well, no papers, anyway. They can’t get to the dirty thoughts.”
Mike packs his briefcase without answering. He snaps it closed and throws his suit jacket over his arm. “Goodnight, Jack.”
“Mike,” Jack breathes out and starts to grab for Mike’s sleeve. “We said-”
“The governor wants your head on a platter and your balls in a memorial case. Defense attorneys who don’t like you are taking time to dig up decades-old employment records-”
“Let them,” Jack straightens his shoulders. “I can-”
“I want to go home with you,” Mike whispers fiercely. “But I also want to answer to you six months from now. If it’s between Jack McCoy sucking me off and District Attorney McCoy giving me the go-ahead to pursue a case, I’m choosing to have a boss who lets me take a leap now and again.”
“I can’t believe you’re-”
“Don’t make this an issue of pride, Jack. It’s not. It’s common sense.”
Jack breathes out hard. “When I recommended you use it more often, I didn’t mean-”
“I know,” Mike says and looks down at the floor. “I need you. I do. But the city needs you more. The people need you more, and I-” Mike shakes his head and looks at Jack again. “If it’s between personal gain and justice, justice wins.”
“Justice shouldn’t win against-”
“How many ex-wives?”
It stings as much as it amuses Jack. He touches Mike’s wrist and rubs the cuff of his shirt between his fingers. “So, that’s that?”
“I wish…” Mike sighs. He straightens his shoulders, adjusts his grip on his briefcase and gives Jack a tired smile. “Think I’ll go to bed,” he says instead of finishing his thought.
Jack barely manages not to shift back on his heels. “Goodnight, Mr. Cutter.”
“Night, Jack.”
Title: How I Know You
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: Law & Order
Pairing: Jack/Mike Cutter
Rating: PG
Summary: Post-ep 19.19. Connie is not stupid, and Mike's kind of being obvious.
How I Know You
By Perpetual Motion
Mike nods at Connie when she walks into his office and closes the door. He doesn’t stop typing until she makes a show of closing his blinds. “Am I in trouble?”
Connie sits down, smoothes her skirt, and raises an eyebrow at the paperwork on Mike’s desk. “Three convictions off of one trial, and trying to beat the special prosecutor to the punch with the suit against the office owner; that’s overkill even for you, isn’t it?”
“Justice-”
“You know most people just send flowers, right?” Connie smirks when Mike throws himself against the back of his chair.
“Make it quick,” Mike says and crosses his arms. “I don’t have the paperwork for the last one finished yet.”
Connie shakes her head. “God, you two are terrible.”
“I thought you were here to give me a hard time,” Mike replies. “Who’s the mystery second?”
“Like you don’t know.” Connie rolls her eyes when Mike gives her a bland look. “If you make me spell it out, I’m going to be mean about it.” She crosses her arms and gives Mike ten seconds. “Fine. I know you and Jack have called it off. I know you didn’t actually want to, and I thought you’d want to know that it’s incredibly obvious you’re pining like a teenager.”
“I am not-”
“Three convictions off the trial of one man would be a diamond ring to people who aren’t Jack,” Connie interrupts. “And the paperwork you’re typing up now is overkill.”
“I’m doing my job,” Mike says, tone hard. “If you think I wouldn’t do my job-”
“Oh, god, stop it.” Connie throws up her hands. “I’m not here to convince you to change your mind; I just wanted to let you know that you’re coming on a little strong.” She stands up and gives Mike a hard once-over. “I get why you did it, for the record.”
Mike’s leans forward in his chair and puts his hands on his desk. “Yeah?”
“If it’s between Jack McCoy and Jack McCoy…” Connie shrugs to finish her thought. “Tough call.”
Mike’s shoulders roll forward. “Yeah.” He raises his head to meet Connie’s eyes. “Is it really that bad?”
“Only because I know,” Connie assures him. “Really.”
“God,” Mike breathes out. “I just…” he waves a hand like he’s clearing the air. “Never mind. You don’t need to hear this.”
“Are you okay?” Connie asks after a pause. She tilts her head, and her eyes soften. “Oh, Mike,” she says quietly.
“We’re finished,” Mike declares and stands up. “I’ve got paperwork to file, and I don’t need you to look at me like-”
“Going, going,” Connie says and takes a step backwards. “I’m down the hall if you need me.”
Mike presses his lips together for a moment. “Thanks.” He scrubs a hand over his hair and presses his palm against the back of his neck. “It’s appreciated. The concern, I mean.”
“I know what you meant,” Connie tells him. “Just down the hall.”
“Yeah,” Mike says. He opens the door for her and watches her walk away. Jack comes from the opposite direction, giving Mike a nod and just barely brushing his shoulder as he steps aside to let a clerk pass him.
“Mike,” Jack greets evenly.
“Jack.,” Mike nods at him. “Headed out?”
“Not quite yet. Yourself?”
“Getting there.”
“Well, goodnight if I don’t see you.”
Mike presses against the doorjamb at the layers in Jack’s voice. “Goodnight, Jack.”
Title: Stepping Backwards
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: Law & Order
Pairing: Jack/Mike Cutter
Rating: PG
Summary: Post-ep for 19.20. There's pining, and there's being an idiot.
Stepping Backwards
By Perpetual Motion
"I did not tarnish my character," Mike mutters after Jack walks out of the office. He glances at Connie as she stands up to shut the door. "I didn’t."
"You kind of did." She shrugs and sits again when he straightens his shoulders. "It's true." She breathes out and straightens the papers in front of her. "Hell, it's half my fault."
"How's that?"
"I was the one who pushed so hard to get him as the defendant."
"Stop." Mike holds up a hand to keep her from overriding him. "You did good work. Don't think you didn't just because Jack's got me..." Mike shakes his head. "Never mind."
Connie tilts her had at him, watches him tap a pencil against the table. "I get it," she says after a minute. "Why you called off," she makes a vague hand motion rather than actually invoke Jack's name. "You want Jack to win, and you want him to continue his undying crusade to save the city, and I get that. I do. But did you stop to think that maybe-just maybe-the only reason you haven't been disbarred in the last two years is because you spent most of those two years not trying to get Jack's attention?"
"That's not-"
"Oh, shut up," Connie interrupts and rolls her eyes. "Be serious. I haven't known you as long as I've known Jack, but Jesus Christ, Mike, it's obvious."
Mike throws himself against the back of his chair, lifts his eyebrows. "What's obvious?"
Connie doesn't say anything for a moment, watching Mike with the same intensity she'd watched Teal in the courtroom. "It's noble what you did, but it's also incredibly stupid."
"I don't understand-"
"You want," Connie makes another vague gesture that translates to 'you want Jack,' and the sudden fierce denial in Mike's eyes proves her right. "And you've chosen to deny yourself that for the greater good, but it's making you fall back on bad habits."
"Bad habits?" Mike scoffs. "The bad habit just got a guy put away for twenty to life. For a crime he committed."
"Because you gave the jury a picture they shouldn't have had, and you know it." Connie meets Mike's angry stare with a bland one of her own. "Look, I'm not saying I'm not grateful you went ahead and toed the line to get Teal put away for what he did to his sister, but there's toeing the line and there's…"
"What?" Mike prompts. The way he's clenching his hands means he wants a fight.
"You ended it." Connie snaps, tired of trying to play nice. "You're not going to restart it by going backwards, okay? Yeah, it all came together with the two of you because you pulled a couple of stupid stunts in the courtroom, but you know Jack doesn't respect people who assassinate their own character for a win. It's cheap."
Mike looks down at the papers in front of him, at the pencil in his hands. "If I had any other choice," he says, voice quiet, "I wouldn't have done it. Not in a million years. But the governor's against him being DA. I can't…I can't be a liability."
Connie's sympathetic exasperation falls away to pure annoyance. "What the hell do you call what you did today, Mike?" she snaps. "Basically telling the jury to nail Teal for fraud instead of murder is a huge liability. If it hadn't worked…"
"It did."
"Jack's got a long enough history doing jackass things in a courtroom. He doesn't need you to play legacy."
Mike is quiet for a minute, then two. He throws his pencil onto the table, puts his head in his hands. "I…" He shakes his head, stands up, paces around the table. "I'm not trying to be a pain in the ass," Mike says finally. "I'm not trying to play the jilted lover."
"Try harder," Connie replies. "And remember you're only jilted because you decided to be."
Mike has no response to that. He picks up his pencil again. "I'm not," he mutters, but Connie just rolls her eyes and gets back to her own paperwork.
Title: Carry that Weight
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: Law & Order
Pairing: Jack/Mike Cutter
Rating; PG-13
Summary: Post-ep for 19.18. They found an undocumented worker from when Jack's daughter was a kid.
Carry that Weight
By Perpetual Motion
The charge goes up to murder. The boys get twenty to life, and Mike spends a great deal of time in his office organizing paperwork and clearing take-out containers from his desk.
“This has to stop,” Jack says late one night, reading glasses dangling from his hand. “Don’t think I don’t know about the pillow in your bottom drawer.”
Mike raises his eyebrows. “Connie?”
“Lucky guess.” Jack sits on Mike’s couch and makes a point of shifting. “You need to go home. Sleep on a bed.”
Mike snorts. “A bed, you say?”
Jack looks at him blandly. “A bed.”
Which one, Mike thinks. “They dug up an undocumented worker from when your daughter was a kid,” he says instead of asking.
“I don’t have any records of you,” Jack tells him. He smirks. “Well, no papers, anyway. They can’t get to the dirty thoughts.”
Mike packs his briefcase without answering. He snaps it closed and throws his suit jacket over his arm. “Goodnight, Jack.”
“Mike,” Jack breathes out and starts to grab for Mike’s sleeve. “We said-”
“The governor wants your head on a platter and your balls in a memorial case. Defense attorneys who don’t like you are taking time to dig up decades-old employment records-”
“Let them,” Jack straightens his shoulders. “I can-”
“I want to go home with you,” Mike whispers fiercely. “But I also want to answer to you six months from now. If it’s between Jack McCoy sucking me off and District Attorney McCoy giving me the go-ahead to pursue a case, I’m choosing to have a boss who lets me take a leap now and again.”
“I can’t believe you’re-”
“Don’t make this an issue of pride, Jack. It’s not. It’s common sense.”
Jack breathes out hard. “When I recommended you use it more often, I didn’t mean-”
“I know,” Mike says and looks down at the floor. “I need you. I do. But the city needs you more. The people need you more, and I-” Mike shakes his head and looks at Jack again. “If it’s between personal gain and justice, justice wins.”
“Justice shouldn’t win against-”
“How many ex-wives?”
It stings as much as it amuses Jack. He touches Mike’s wrist and rubs the cuff of his shirt between his fingers. “So, that’s that?”
“I wish…” Mike sighs. He straightens his shoulders, adjusts his grip on his briefcase and gives Jack a tired smile. “Think I’ll go to bed,” he says instead of finishing his thought.
Jack barely manages not to shift back on his heels. “Goodnight, Mr. Cutter.”
“Night, Jack.”
Title: How I Know You
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: Law & Order
Pairing: Jack/Mike Cutter
Rating: PG
Summary: Post-ep 19.19. Connie is not stupid, and Mike's kind of being obvious.
How I Know You
By Perpetual Motion
Mike nods at Connie when she walks into his office and closes the door. He doesn’t stop typing until she makes a show of closing his blinds. “Am I in trouble?”
Connie sits down, smoothes her skirt, and raises an eyebrow at the paperwork on Mike’s desk. “Three convictions off of one trial, and trying to beat the special prosecutor to the punch with the suit against the office owner; that’s overkill even for you, isn’t it?”
“Justice-”
“You know most people just send flowers, right?” Connie smirks when Mike throws himself against the back of his chair.
“Make it quick,” Mike says and crosses his arms. “I don’t have the paperwork for the last one finished yet.”
Connie shakes her head. “God, you two are terrible.”
“I thought you were here to give me a hard time,” Mike replies. “Who’s the mystery second?”
“Like you don’t know.” Connie rolls her eyes when Mike gives her a bland look. “If you make me spell it out, I’m going to be mean about it.” She crosses her arms and gives Mike ten seconds. “Fine. I know you and Jack have called it off. I know you didn’t actually want to, and I thought you’d want to know that it’s incredibly obvious you’re pining like a teenager.”
“I am not-”
“Three convictions off the trial of one man would be a diamond ring to people who aren’t Jack,” Connie interrupts. “And the paperwork you’re typing up now is overkill.”
“I’m doing my job,” Mike says, tone hard. “If you think I wouldn’t do my job-”
“Oh, god, stop it.” Connie throws up her hands. “I’m not here to convince you to change your mind; I just wanted to let you know that you’re coming on a little strong.” She stands up and gives Mike a hard once-over. “I get why you did it, for the record.”
Mike’s leans forward in his chair and puts his hands on his desk. “Yeah?”
“If it’s between Jack McCoy and Jack McCoy…” Connie shrugs to finish her thought. “Tough call.”
Mike’s shoulders roll forward. “Yeah.” He raises his head to meet Connie’s eyes. “Is it really that bad?”
“Only because I know,” Connie assures him. “Really.”
“God,” Mike breathes out. “I just…” he waves a hand like he’s clearing the air. “Never mind. You don’t need to hear this.”
“Are you okay?” Connie asks after a pause. She tilts her head, and her eyes soften. “Oh, Mike,” she says quietly.
“We’re finished,” Mike declares and stands up. “I’ve got paperwork to file, and I don’t need you to look at me like-”
“Going, going,” Connie says and takes a step backwards. “I’m down the hall if you need me.”
Mike presses his lips together for a moment. “Thanks.” He scrubs a hand over his hair and presses his palm against the back of his neck. “It’s appreciated. The concern, I mean.”
“I know what you meant,” Connie tells him. “Just down the hall.”
“Yeah,” Mike says. He opens the door for her and watches her walk away. Jack comes from the opposite direction, giving Mike a nod and just barely brushing his shoulder as he steps aside to let a clerk pass him.
“Mike,” Jack greets evenly.
“Jack.,” Mike nods at him. “Headed out?”
“Not quite yet. Yourself?”
“Getting there.”
“Well, goodnight if I don’t see you.”
Mike presses against the doorjamb at the layers in Jack’s voice. “Goodnight, Jack.”
Title: Stepping Backwards
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: Law & Order
Pairing: Jack/Mike Cutter
Rating: PG
Summary: Post-ep for 19.20. There's pining, and there's being an idiot.
Stepping Backwards
By Perpetual Motion
"I did not tarnish my character," Mike mutters after Jack walks out of the office. He glances at Connie as she stands up to shut the door. "I didn’t."
"You kind of did." She shrugs and sits again when he straightens his shoulders. "It's true." She breathes out and straightens the papers in front of her. "Hell, it's half my fault."
"How's that?"
"I was the one who pushed so hard to get him as the defendant."
"Stop." Mike holds up a hand to keep her from overriding him. "You did good work. Don't think you didn't just because Jack's got me..." Mike shakes his head. "Never mind."
Connie tilts her had at him, watches him tap a pencil against the table. "I get it," she says after a minute. "Why you called off," she makes a vague hand motion rather than actually invoke Jack's name. "You want Jack to win, and you want him to continue his undying crusade to save the city, and I get that. I do. But did you stop to think that maybe-just maybe-the only reason you haven't been disbarred in the last two years is because you spent most of those two years not trying to get Jack's attention?"
"That's not-"
"Oh, shut up," Connie interrupts and rolls her eyes. "Be serious. I haven't known you as long as I've known Jack, but Jesus Christ, Mike, it's obvious."
Mike throws himself against the back of his chair, lifts his eyebrows. "What's obvious?"
Connie doesn't say anything for a moment, watching Mike with the same intensity she'd watched Teal in the courtroom. "It's noble what you did, but it's also incredibly stupid."
"I don't understand-"
"You want," Connie makes another vague gesture that translates to 'you want Jack,' and the sudden fierce denial in Mike's eyes proves her right. "And you've chosen to deny yourself that for the greater good, but it's making you fall back on bad habits."
"Bad habits?" Mike scoffs. "The bad habit just got a guy put away for twenty to life. For a crime he committed."
"Because you gave the jury a picture they shouldn't have had, and you know it." Connie meets Mike's angry stare with a bland one of her own. "Look, I'm not saying I'm not grateful you went ahead and toed the line to get Teal put away for what he did to his sister, but there's toeing the line and there's…"
"What?" Mike prompts. The way he's clenching his hands means he wants a fight.
"You ended it." Connie snaps, tired of trying to play nice. "You're not going to restart it by going backwards, okay? Yeah, it all came together with the two of you because you pulled a couple of stupid stunts in the courtroom, but you know Jack doesn't respect people who assassinate their own character for a win. It's cheap."
Mike looks down at the papers in front of him, at the pencil in his hands. "If I had any other choice," he says, voice quiet, "I wouldn't have done it. Not in a million years. But the governor's against him being DA. I can't…I can't be a liability."
Connie's sympathetic exasperation falls away to pure annoyance. "What the hell do you call what you did today, Mike?" she snaps. "Basically telling the jury to nail Teal for fraud instead of murder is a huge liability. If it hadn't worked…"
"It did."
"Jack's got a long enough history doing jackass things in a courtroom. He doesn't need you to play legacy."
Mike is quiet for a minute, then two. He throws his pencil onto the table, puts his head in his hands. "I…" He shakes his head, stands up, paces around the table. "I'm not trying to be a pain in the ass," Mike says finally. "I'm not trying to play the jilted lover."
"Try harder," Connie replies. "And remember you're only jilted because you decided to be."
Mike has no response to that. He picks up his pencil again. "I'm not," he mutters, but Connie just rolls her eyes and gets back to her own paperwork.