Breathe Again
Title: Breathe Again
Rating: PG
Fandom: Suits
Pairing: Harvey/Mike
Warnings: Discussion of the events in Dangerous To Know, but not explicitly.
Word Count: 1,506
Notes: Sequel to Dangerous To Know. Takes place the next morning.
Summary: Mike and Harvey have a talk and clear the air, thanks to Donna.
Harvey manages to get to work on time, but he stays in his office all day, avoiding even Donna. She knows something major happened between Harvey and Mike. The kid had come in that morning looking lost and shooting slightly scared glances at Harvey's office, even though the other man hadn't gotten there yet. Which was strange in and of itself. They usually got there at the same time, what with their basically living together now. Not to mention, the kid wasn't afraid of Harvey anymore, so the looks really didn't make sense to her.
She had stopped and asked him about the bruise darkening his cheekbone, but he had waved it off and only offered some sort of excuse about running into a door and, really, did he expect her to believe that? Not a chance in hell.
She taps a fingernail against her collarbone and stares thoughtfully down at her keyboard. She could always IM Harvey and demand to know why the kid had looked terrified this morning and why Harvey himself hadn't come out of his office, but it's much more fun to go talk to the kid, she decides. Then she can demand the truth about the bruise and how he really got it.
She gets up and heads for Mike's cubicle, finding him hard at work, pouring over some briefs, no doubt for Harvey. She clears her throat and smirks when he jumps in his seat, looking up her with wild eyes.
"Oh, Donna. What's up?" He asks, calming slightly.
"What's wrong with you and Harvey?" She asks, blunt and to the point. She really doesn't want to waste time with him and beat around the bush.
"Uh, w-what are you talking about?" He stammers, looking anywhere but at her now.
"You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about why you looked so scared today and why Harvey won't leave his office." Donna puts her hands on her hips and stares him down.
Mike glances down at the papers on his desk before looking back up at her. "I, uh, may have gotten him drunk last night."
She stares at him. "Please tell me you didn't say what I think you said."
"I guess you know what happens when he gets drunk?" Mike asks, looking up at her through his lashes.
She reaches out and gently touches the bruise. She doesn't need to ask. She already knows.
"Is that it?" Donna's voice is low, quiet.
"No. I don't want to talk about it though." Mike shakes his head and looks back down at the papers, hoping Donna will take the hint.
"Mike. If you won't tell me, you need to talk to him. Sort this out and, if nothing can be fixed, well, you tried to instead of running away from it." Donna says, letting her hand drop back to her side.
"Why does it have to be me?" Mike looks back up at her, a pout on his face.
"Because Harvey hasn't left his office at all today. So it's either you or this never gets resolved and everything crashes and burns and that is completely unacceptable to me. Understand?" Donna asks, hands once more on her hips.
"Okay. I'll go talk to him." Mike says with a sigh.
"Good." Donna nods and then stalks off.
Mike lets his head thunk back onto his desk and he groans. This isn't his day.
He gets up after a few moments and heads into Harvey's office. He doesn't look at the other man, but he hears Harvey's typing falter on his laptop. Mike pulls the blinds closed, needing the privacy. He takes a deep breath and turns around to face Harvey.
Neither of them speak for a few moments and then -
"I'm sorry. So sorry." Harvey blurts out, eyes fixed on the bruise on Mike's face. Shame, hot and heavy, floods his veins to join the cold weight of guilt in the bottom of his stomach.
Mike sits down in the chair in front of Harvey's desk and closes his eyes for a moment, rubbing his hands over his face. He looks at Harvey after a few moments.
Mike sighs. "I'm not going to lie and say that makes everything better because it doesn't, not really. I mean, I'm glad you said it and I need to say it as well, so I'm sorry for not listening to you and for getting you drunk."
Harvey stares at him, hurt in his eyes. He doesn't say anything though.
"I know the blame rests with both of us, but you can understand my hesitance about wanting to just jump back into the relationship. I need to know that this isn't going to happen again." Mike says, staring at Harvey, trying to ignore the way his heart twists when he thinks about not having this with Harvey.
"Of course it's never going to happen again. Have you ever seen me act like that before? I told you you didn't want to get me to drink that much and you chose not to listen. I'm not blaming you for my actions, but you can't say things like that to me when you know it will never happen again because I love you and the thought of this being the end of us actually fucking hurts." Harvey snaps, voice rough with emotion.
He clears his throat and waits for Mike to say something.
"You're right. Can we just wipe the slate clean? I know that really isn't who you are. That you'd never to that to me on purpose or intentionally." Mike asks, reaching out to take Harvey's hands.
Harvey looks at him like he thinks Mike will get up and bolt out the door. "How can you trust me?"
"Because I love you." Mike gives him a tiny smile.
Harvey's eyes widen and he stares at Mike, looking shocked.
Mike laughs at him. "You just said you love me too. Did you miss that?"
"No. I know what I said. I just didn't expect you to return the sentiment." Harvey pulls his hands away and looks back at his laptop.
Mike closes the lid on it and stares at Harvey until Harvey gives him a mock-irritated look. "Barring last night, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, both professionally and romantically."
"That is incredibly sappy." Harvey says, but there's a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Shut up. Like you don't have a romantic streak a mile wide." Mike laughs again.
"I will not have you tarnishing my reputation like that, Mister Ross." Harvey sniffs and looks at Mike for a moment before breaking into a grin that matches the one that Mike is wearing.
"Are you okay, really?" Harvey's voice softens as his gaze lands on the bruise once more.
"Yeah, I really am." Mike nods.
"I love you." Harvey feels the need to make sure Mike knows that.
"I know. I love you too." Mike stands and leans over the desk, catching Harvey by surprise with a soft, chaste kiss.
"Now I've got work to do. My boss is such a stickler for me doing it on time." Mike says when he pulls away, still grinning.
"Sounds like a hard ass." Harvey smirks and turns back to his own work as Mike laughs, opens the blinds again, and leaves.
Harvey stares at his computer screen, still feeling guilty. He should have tried harder not to lose control. He should have stopped drinking, should have told Mike why he didn't want to see him drunk. He should have stopped drinking everything Mike pressed into his hands, even if Mike was doing his level best to distract him and prevent him from realising just how much he was drinking. He just shouldn't have lost control like that and he definitely shouldn't have touched Mike after all of that.
He feels a headache building in the back of his head and he groans softly. He presses his fingertips to his temples, hoping to relieve just a bit of the pressure. It doesn't really work. He sighs and gets back to work because what else can he do? He can talk to Mike some more at home tonight.
Mike sweeps out of Harvey's office and stops to lean against Donna's desk. "Thank you for making me talk to him."
"Everything back to normal?" She asks, barely glancing up at him as she sorts out the paperwork on her desk.
"As normal as things get with us, yes." Mike snickers to himself.
"Good to know. Now get back to work, pup." Donna shoos him away from her desk and he heads back to his cubicle in a way better mood than when he left it.
He sits back down at his desk and grins at his computer screen for a moment before shaking his head and getting to work on the latest case of Harvey's, favorite highlighter in hand.
He's glad they worked everything out because he can't wait to see Harvey tonight.
Rating: PG
Fandom: Suits
Pairing: Harvey/Mike
Warnings: Discussion of the events in Dangerous To Know, but not explicitly.
Word Count: 1,506
Notes: Sequel to Dangerous To Know. Takes place the next morning.
Summary: Mike and Harvey have a talk and clear the air, thanks to Donna.
Harvey manages to get to work on time, but he stays in his office all day, avoiding even Donna. She knows something major happened between Harvey and Mike. The kid had come in that morning looking lost and shooting slightly scared glances at Harvey's office, even though the other man hadn't gotten there yet. Which was strange in and of itself. They usually got there at the same time, what with their basically living together now. Not to mention, the kid wasn't afraid of Harvey anymore, so the looks really didn't make sense to her.
She had stopped and asked him about the bruise darkening his cheekbone, but he had waved it off and only offered some sort of excuse about running into a door and, really, did he expect her to believe that? Not a chance in hell.
She taps a fingernail against her collarbone and stares thoughtfully down at her keyboard. She could always IM Harvey and demand to know why the kid had looked terrified this morning and why Harvey himself hadn't come out of his office, but it's much more fun to go talk to the kid, she decides. Then she can demand the truth about the bruise and how he really got it.
She gets up and heads for Mike's cubicle, finding him hard at work, pouring over some briefs, no doubt for Harvey. She clears her throat and smirks when he jumps in his seat, looking up her with wild eyes.
"Oh, Donna. What's up?" He asks, calming slightly.
"What's wrong with you and Harvey?" She asks, blunt and to the point. She really doesn't want to waste time with him and beat around the bush.
"Uh, w-what are you talking about?" He stammers, looking anywhere but at her now.
"You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about why you looked so scared today and why Harvey won't leave his office." Donna puts her hands on her hips and stares him down.
Mike glances down at the papers on his desk before looking back up at her. "I, uh, may have gotten him drunk last night."
She stares at him. "Please tell me you didn't say what I think you said."
"I guess you know what happens when he gets drunk?" Mike asks, looking up at her through his lashes.
She reaches out and gently touches the bruise. She doesn't need to ask. She already knows.
"Is that it?" Donna's voice is low, quiet.
"No. I don't want to talk about it though." Mike shakes his head and looks back down at the papers, hoping Donna will take the hint.
"Mike. If you won't tell me, you need to talk to him. Sort this out and, if nothing can be fixed, well, you tried to instead of running away from it." Donna says, letting her hand drop back to her side.
"Why does it have to be me?" Mike looks back up at her, a pout on his face.
"Because Harvey hasn't left his office at all today. So it's either you or this never gets resolved and everything crashes and burns and that is completely unacceptable to me. Understand?" Donna asks, hands once more on her hips.
"Okay. I'll go talk to him." Mike says with a sigh.
"Good." Donna nods and then stalks off.
Mike lets his head thunk back onto his desk and he groans. This isn't his day.
He gets up after a few moments and heads into Harvey's office. He doesn't look at the other man, but he hears Harvey's typing falter on his laptop. Mike pulls the blinds closed, needing the privacy. He takes a deep breath and turns around to face Harvey.
Neither of them speak for a few moments and then -
"I'm sorry. So sorry." Harvey blurts out, eyes fixed on the bruise on Mike's face. Shame, hot and heavy, floods his veins to join the cold weight of guilt in the bottom of his stomach.
Mike sits down in the chair in front of Harvey's desk and closes his eyes for a moment, rubbing his hands over his face. He looks at Harvey after a few moments.
Mike sighs. "I'm not going to lie and say that makes everything better because it doesn't, not really. I mean, I'm glad you said it and I need to say it as well, so I'm sorry for not listening to you and for getting you drunk."
Harvey stares at him, hurt in his eyes. He doesn't say anything though.
"I know the blame rests with both of us, but you can understand my hesitance about wanting to just jump back into the relationship. I need to know that this isn't going to happen again." Mike says, staring at Harvey, trying to ignore the way his heart twists when he thinks about not having this with Harvey.
"Of course it's never going to happen again. Have you ever seen me act like that before? I told you you didn't want to get me to drink that much and you chose not to listen. I'm not blaming you for my actions, but you can't say things like that to me when you know it will never happen again because I love you and the thought of this being the end of us actually fucking hurts." Harvey snaps, voice rough with emotion.
He clears his throat and waits for Mike to say something.
"You're right. Can we just wipe the slate clean? I know that really isn't who you are. That you'd never to that to me on purpose or intentionally." Mike asks, reaching out to take Harvey's hands.
Harvey looks at him like he thinks Mike will get up and bolt out the door. "How can you trust me?"
"Because I love you." Mike gives him a tiny smile.
Harvey's eyes widen and he stares at Mike, looking shocked.
Mike laughs at him. "You just said you love me too. Did you miss that?"
"No. I know what I said. I just didn't expect you to return the sentiment." Harvey pulls his hands away and looks back at his laptop.
Mike closes the lid on it and stares at Harvey until Harvey gives him a mock-irritated look. "Barring last night, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, both professionally and romantically."
"That is incredibly sappy." Harvey says, but there's a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Shut up. Like you don't have a romantic streak a mile wide." Mike laughs again.
"I will not have you tarnishing my reputation like that, Mister Ross." Harvey sniffs and looks at Mike for a moment before breaking into a grin that matches the one that Mike is wearing.
"Are you okay, really?" Harvey's voice softens as his gaze lands on the bruise once more.
"Yeah, I really am." Mike nods.
"I love you." Harvey feels the need to make sure Mike knows that.
"I know. I love you too." Mike stands and leans over the desk, catching Harvey by surprise with a soft, chaste kiss.
"Now I've got work to do. My boss is such a stickler for me doing it on time." Mike says when he pulls away, still grinning.
"Sounds like a hard ass." Harvey smirks and turns back to his own work as Mike laughs, opens the blinds again, and leaves.
Harvey stares at his computer screen, still feeling guilty. He should have tried harder not to lose control. He should have stopped drinking, should have told Mike why he didn't want to see him drunk. He should have stopped drinking everything Mike pressed into his hands, even if Mike was doing his level best to distract him and prevent him from realising just how much he was drinking. He just shouldn't have lost control like that and he definitely shouldn't have touched Mike after all of that.
He feels a headache building in the back of his head and he groans softly. He presses his fingertips to his temples, hoping to relieve just a bit of the pressure. It doesn't really work. He sighs and gets back to work because what else can he do? He can talk to Mike some more at home tonight.
Mike sweeps out of Harvey's office and stops to lean against Donna's desk. "Thank you for making me talk to him."
"Everything back to normal?" She asks, barely glancing up at him as she sorts out the paperwork on her desk.
"As normal as things get with us, yes." Mike snickers to himself.
"Good to know. Now get back to work, pup." Donna shoos him away from her desk and he heads back to his cubicle in a way better mood than when he left it.
He sits back down at his desk and grins at his computer screen for a moment before shaking his head and getting to work on the latest case of Harvey's, favorite highlighter in hand.
He's glad they worked everything out because he can't wait to see Harvey tonight.