Chapter Text
The first two weeks aren’t so bad for Harvey.
Granted, it’s bad, but not as unbearable as he thought it would be when he left the airport. He misses Mike a lot, so much sometimes it feels like their whole relationship was a dream, something he imagined. And when that happens, he grabs his phone and scrolls through the 100+ pictures and videos of them it contains. And then he can’t stop smiling for a minute before realizing that Mike’s not here, before being reminded how much he wishes he were. And then he chastises himself for being such a drama queen. 90 days, or rather 76 now, is nothing. He used to be happy on his own, he can do this.
Besides, Harvey’s plate is full with the pending lawsuit, so full he’s decided to tell the whole firm so that they can all help. He’s called a partners’ meeting for next week.
So yeah, the two first weeks aren’t so bad.
The thing is, Mike seems equally as busy and they have a hard time finding convenient times to catch up and basically just communicate. They haven’t decided on a schedule or how many times a day or week they’re supposed to write or call, but it seems to Harvey that he’s been the one initiating contact so far. And he hasn’t heard Mike’s voice or seen Mike’s face in 3 days. And it worries him, even though he knows Mike just arrived and is getting used to his new life. Rationalizing has been Harvey’s new hobby and he thinks he might just master it in the next 3 months.
“Knock knock,” he hears coming from the open door of his new office (he moved into Jessica’s old office).
Rachel is standing at the door, a couple of files tucked under her arm.
“Hi,” Harvey says with a small smile. “Did you find it?”
“Actually, I found something better”, she replies, grabbing one file with a victorious grin. “Can I come in?”
“Sure, come in and shut the door, please,” Harvey replies, waving loosely towards the chairs sitting in front of his glass desk.
As much as it pains him to say it, because he still remembers telling her she was the worst lawyer he’d ever seen, she’s been very helpful since he decided to tell her about what was going on in the firm during a dinner at hers and Donna’s new place. Turns out she’s an incredible researcher, she picks things up very quickly and knows how to be discreet.
“So,” she announces when she’s sat down and opened one of her files. “Like you said, I found the common denominator, the thing in out bylaws that they’re using in their class action. Nothing amazing here, you pointed me in the right direction and I just had some reading to do,” she says with seemingly sincere humility. “But,” she adds with a smirk, “and that’s where it gets interesting, as I was doing research on that point in our bylaws, I think, emphasis on the think, I found a way out of this mess.”
Harvey arches an interested highbrow and leans back in his chair, ready for Rachel to explain it all to him. Which she doesn’t immediately. She’s looking at him expectantly, her hands laying flat on the page in front of her.
“And?” Harvey asks, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Spill it out,” he adds in a chuckle.
“Oh, right,” Rachel takes a deep breath, her cheeks a bit redder all of a sudden.
Things are much better between her and Harvey, not just cordial. He’s been spending a lot of time at their place since Mike left, even slept over once, and she’s starting to think they might eventually become friends one day. There is no denying that Harvey has changed. He’s much less cocky, he listens more, asks questions, gives advice, he doesn’t ignore her like he used to. Just like with his friends, he doesn’t put on his work persona anymore with her. She feels comfortable with him, even if things are still a bit weird since she’s also working for him now. They will also have to talk about everything that happened between them someday, she feels like she needs to make sure that he feels the same, that he respects her now, both as a person and as a lawyer.
Straightening up, she proceeds to tell Harvey how she thinks they can overturn the situation.
“It could work,” she says a bit hesitantly when she’s done. “Right?”
Harvey sighs and grabs the piece of paper she hands out to him.
Yes, it could, he thinks, his eyes skimming through the bullet points and numbers and pointers on the page. Truth is, he’s impressed. She not only saved him a lot of time doing the research he would have had to do, she also figured out a way to maybe avoid a long and painful and costly trial that could potentially ruin the firm.
“Great work, Rachel,” he says with a smile. “Yes, it could work. It’s going to take a lot of time and manpower to go through every contract and make sure your solution can be applied to all of them, but I think we definitely need to give it a shot. Would you agree to put this into a nice presentation for our next partners’ meeting on Monday?”
Rachel mentally fistbumps herself and nods:
“You’re going to present it to the partners?”
“No, you’re going to present your idea to the partners,” Harvey replies with a teasing smile. “That’s if you’re available on Monday at 8.”
“Abs-,” Rachel starts to reply. “I’ll have to check my schedule,” she finally says and grins.
Harvey’s smile broadens and he hands her back the sheet of paper.
“I…” he says, lowering his gaze. “Listen, um… I might not have always been very encouraging, but… um-“
“It’s all right, Harvey. Thank you for trusting me with this and giving me the opportunity to prove you wrong,” she says, standing up. “I’ll have the presentation ready for you to review tonight.”
“Thank you,” Harvey nods.
She nods back and makes her way to the door.
“One more thing,” he says, not sure if what he’s going to asks is appropriate. “Have you, um, heard from Mike lately?”
Rachel turns around, visibly taken aback by the mention of Mike. If one thing was made clear when she came to work for the firm, it’s that there wasn’t going to be any mention of private matters inside these walls.
“You haven’t?” she asks tentatively.
“I mean, I have, but only through short text messages, he seems very busy…” Harvey replies.
“He is. With school and Sylvie’s private tutoring,” Rachel confirms, expertly avoiding Harvey’s initial question because she has indeed spoken to Mike last night. “He’ll call you soon, I’m sure he’s dying to tell you all about it,” she adds, trying to sound reassuring.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Harvey sighs. “Thanks.”
“Of course,” Rachel nods and leaves the room.
Mike opens his eyes and yawns loudly before grabbing his phone and turning off the alarm. Today’s an important day as he’s meeting the student he’s been paired with for the semester. This student is a first year, like he is, and he’s going to be assigned a joint project with them.
So far, everything’s been going amazingly well and Mike can’t believe it’s only been two weeks. He’s seen so much and done so much already, he didn’t really have time to sit down and take it all in.
In the mornings, he’s in school at the Sorbonne University with a hundred other students. He spends his afternoons with Dr d’Alliet, either at the hospital where he “shadows” her during her consults or taking private lessons from her. She has rearranged her schedule so she has time to tutor him and she’s the most amazing teacher. Even though it just started, he sometimes wishes he hadn’t chosen to only stay for one trimester, because he knows he will miss learning from her.
As for his living situation, he’s got a huge room and his own bathroom in Sylvie’s apartment. His kids are the best, he gets on very well with them and they play video games or watch tv shows whenever he’s not in his room studying. They’re all learning English but they still manage to communicate very well. Mike suspects that the fact that he used to be deaf really helps in finding ways to make himself understood.
He hasn’t really had time to meet people except for a couple of students at the University, but he can never stay for lunch with them as he has to bike to the hospital to meet with Sylvie as soon as his morning classes are over. That’s why he’s so excited about meeting his new study partner.
Mike can’t believe it’s only been two weeks because his life in New York already feels like a long time ago. He misses Harvey, of course he does, but he doesn’t really have time to miss him. He’s literally always doing something, always discovering new cute streets in Paris, new games with the kids, new medical books or journal articles to read. And he loves it, he doesn’t want to slow down, he doesn’t want to think about when it’s going to stop and he’s going to have to go back to New York.
Not that he doesn’t want to see Harvey, he would give anything for him to be in Paris with him, but at the same time, he feels like it’s his time to shine, his time to enjoy life to the fullest, to embark on his new journey. So he finds time to write text messages and interact in the Whatsapp group they have with Rachel and Donna, but the time difference and his busy schedule make it hard to find time to call or facetime Harvey. He feels a little guilty about it whenever he passes by the picture of the two of them on the beach that’s sitting on his desk in his bedroom, especially since Rachel calls him a lot and they somehow always manage to find time to catch up.
As he’s getting ready to leave for his classes, he wonders what Harvey’s doing. It’s 8 in Paris, which means it’s 2 am in New York City and Harvey’s probably sleeping, lying on his back with an arm over his face and the other on his chest, Mike thinks with a smile. Okay, yeah, he misses him a lot.
“Salut!” Sophie, Dr d’Alliet’s eldest (she’s 20) says with a big smile when she enters the kitchen where Mike’s preparing his lunch.
“Hi,” Mike smiles back.
Sylvie told him that Sophie had a crush on him and he finds it both amusing and a little awkward.
“I have dinner with friends tonight at the restaurant, do you want to come?” she asks, a blush creeping up her cheeks.
“Sure, thanks,” Mike replies, because he knows it will be fun (if any of them knows any English, that is) and he’s been dying to meet new people.
“Okay, I will tell them now,” Sophie says, typing on her phone. “They’re nice, don’t worry. Do you like Chinese food?”
“Yes, a lot. What time? My shift at the hospital ends at 7 pm.”
“I don’t know, we need to make a reservation. I will tell you, can I have your phone number?” she asks hesitantly.
“Sure,” he replies handing her his phone. “Dial your number and call yourself.”
“There’s a text message from someone called Harvey,” Sophie remarks, immediately handing the phone back. Mike likes the way Harvey sounds with a French accent.
“Oh,” he says, unlocking his phone.
“Hey, I was just with Rachel and thought I’d text you. Miss you <3”
There is no way Sophie missed the heart emoji in the text preview, but she doesn’t ask any question.
“Hey yourself! Heading over to school, another long day ahead of me. Still having a blast. Miss you too <3” he quickly sends back before handing the phone to Sophie.
She looks at him for a moment, definitely debating whether to ask who this Harvey is, but she doesn’t.
“It’s done,” she smiles after she’s entered her phone number. “I will call you and tell you the time and address, okay?”
“Okay, I really have to go now, see you tonight!” he waves at her and rushed to the front door.
Sylvie’s husband, Frédéric, is the first to leave the house, usually around 5. Then there’s Sylvie, who leaves at 7 and then, finally, there’s the kids and Mike who leave between 8 and 10 depending on their respective schedules. Mike already feels like he’s part of the family and it feels so nice to be part of such a fun and close family since he basically grew up with only his grandmother. He’s still amazed at how on board and welcoming the whole family’s been from the get go, though. It’s like he’s always been living with them, they treat him like another sibling and that’s one more thing he’ll be forever thankful for to Sylvie.
He parks his bike on a rack inside the hospital’s gates and walks to the back entrance. When Sylvie told him what his program what going to be like, he didn’t say it of course, but he dreaded the long afternoons at the hospital. The smell, the atmosphere, the sadness, the urgency… he’s always hated hospitals and the prospect of spending the better part of his 3-month program there sounded horrible. But it’s been two weeks now, and he’s getting used to being here. Plus he gets to wear a white coat. He sent a picture to Harvey on his first day in “uniform”, to which Harvey replied “Tell me you’re naked underneath ;) Don’t worry about the hospital, you’re going to crush it. Love you and already miss you like crazy <3”.
Mike smiles at the memory as he pushes the door to the ENT department. Dr d’Alliet is meeting with her staff, so Mike rushes to the locker room and quickly puts on his coat, grabs his notepad and pen before making his way back to the main corridor.
“There you are!” Sylvie smiles when she sees him. “There is someone I want you to meet.”
“Hello,” Mike smiles back. “Tell me he’s cute,” he adds with a wink.
“It’s not a he, I’m sorry,” she replies with a chuckle. “Harvey would have killed me,” she laughs. “In all seriousness, she’s just starting the program like you, but she’s staying for a year. Follow me.”
They walk to Sylvie’s office where a woman is sitting, her back to the door. Sylvie taps her shoulder and she turns around, a surprised look on her face.
“Mike, this is Lorraine,” Dr d’Alliet says, before turning to the woman and signing the same thing in reverse.
Mike smiles and brushes his right palms over his left, then moves his two pointer fingers to meet and finally points at Lorraine: “Nice to meet you”.
Mike should have seen it coming, there’s never a dull moment with Sylvie. Yet, he’s surprised, in a good way. It feels amazing to sign again. It feels like it’s been ages. He doesn’t visit Hope as much as he used to (he resigned from his position as treasurer) because studying keeps him busy and also, there’s Harvey… He’s got a new life, which he sometimes feels bad for, unworthy of, but that’s how it is now. He’s going to be a doctor and he’s got a terrific boyfriend.
Lorraine smiles broadly and extends a hand, which Mike gently shakes.
“I’m going to let you two get to know each other while I go back to my team meeting,” Sylvie sings and points at them. “I’ll come back later and we can start our round of consultations.”
They look at each other for a moment as the doctor leaves the office. Lorraine must be about his age, maybe a year or two younger. She’s got big green eyes and long blond hair tucked in a thick high ponytail. She’s rather tall and pretty fit. A beautiful young woman.
It’s her who breaks the ice:
“Dr d’Alliet,” she spells out with her hands, “told me that you used to be deaf?”
“Yes,” Mike nods. “Until 3 months ago actually. She’s the one who gave me back my hearing,” he adds, pointing at his right ear.
Lorraine makes an impressed face:
“It’s true, you can sign just like a deaf person.”
“I was deaf for 18 years,” Mike signs with a smile.
“How old are you?” she looks at him, wide-eyed.
“I’m 27,” he replies. “I wasn’t born deaf, that’s why. I got into a car accident and lost my hearing, turns out it was operable.”
Lorraine nods and narrows his eyes at him:
“She told me you were some kind of genius, “ she signs, pointing at her temple, pinching her thumb and index finger and gesturing away. “Just want to let you know you that you have competition now, “ she smiles. “I just got a PhD in biology and got many articles published.”
“That’s impressive,” Mike nods. “I was a photographer before entering Dr d’Alliet’s program.”
“Show off,” Lorraine, she laughs and signs. “How the hell did you enter? You’re really a genius!”
“Nah,” Mike shakes his head. “Just a good memory,” he adds, tapping his cheekbone with a humble smile.
“I like your smile,” she signs. “Don’t worry, I’m married,” she adds, waving her left hand where Mike can see a silver wedding band.
“I’m in a relationship too,” Mike replies and laughs.
“Is she French?”
“American,” Mike ties his fingers together. “And a man,” he adds, moving his hand from his forehead to the middle of his chest.
“Picture?” Lorraine asks, holding her hand to the side of her eye before reaching for in her pocket for her phone.
“Oh, uh,” Mike says out loud. “Yes,” he nods.
“N i c h o l a s,” she spells out and points at her locked screen displaying a photo of her in a wedding dress next to a tall blond man.
“Is he deaf?” he asks.
She nods and raises a challenging eyebrow.
“H a r v e y,” he also spells out and hands him his phone, on which he’s opened his favourite photo of Harvey, from when they arrived in Cancun a month ago on their first vacation together.
Lorraine takes her time to look at it and then, she starts scrawling through the pictures, zooming in, going back and forth for a while before looking back up at Mike.
“Wow,” she mouths. “Is he like an actor or something?”
Mike blushes with pride and shakes his head.
“Lawyer,” he replies with his hands when he’s put his phone back in his pocket.
“A hot one at that!” Lorraine signs and breaks into a very loud laugh.
That’s how loud he must have been when he was deaf, Mike realizes.
“Glad to see you are hitting it off,” Sylvie says when she enters the room. “Ready?” she signs when she’s caught both their attention. “Follow me”, she smiles, holding her two thumbs up and gesturing towards her.
Harvey’s stomach grumbles loudly and he remembers that the only thing he had since he woke up was the coffee Ethan brought him this morning. A quick look at the top of his screen tells him it’s 12:50pm. Which means it’s 6:50pm in Paris (he now automatically calculates the time difference). Which means Mike’s work day is over in 10 minutes. They haven’t talked in days and maybe it’s a sign that he looked at the time the moment he did.
“Hey, how was your day? How’s your study partner? Can I call you when you get off work?” he sends and walks up to Ethan’s desk.
“Already back from lunch?” he asks his assistant.
“Yep, setting up the partners’ meeting is a pain in the ass, I’ve just gone out for a hotdog, I still need to make a million calls,” Ethan replies, his eyes not leaving his computer.
“Okay, let me know if I can help?”
“Wanna split the list in two and make the calls with me?” Ethan looks up and smiles knowingly.
“Right,” Harvey smiles back. “I meant, if you need me to… I don’t know, make it seem more urgent or something?”
“Yeah, no, I’m good,” Ethan replies. “Thank you, M. Specter, I’ve got this. Did you need something?”
“I do, but you’re busy so I guess I’ll have to go get my own lunch,” Harvey sighs dramatically.
“Sorry, you know I would go get it for you if I could.”
“Yeah, I know, don’t worry. Thank you, Ethan,” he replies and walks back to his desk.
Mike has replied to his text.
“Sorryyyyyyyyyyyy, I have to run back to the house and change then I’m having dinner with Sophie and her friends. Maybe tomorrow?”
Harvey’s shoulders slump and he all but throws his phone on his desk. It lands on the carpet on the other side of the room.
“Is this a bad time?” he hears and takes his face out of his hands.
Donna is standing at the door with a concerned face.
“It’s okay,” he replies with a sigh. “What is it?”
Donna doesn’t seem to believe him, but she doesn’t press the issue.
“I just wanted to see if you’d had lunch already or if you wanted to go out and grab a bite with me.”
“That sounds perfect, give me a minute, meet me at the elevators,” he replies with a small smile.
“Maybe tomorrow?” Harvey huffs. “He’s not even sure! It’s like he couldn’t care less.”
“He probably wrote this very quickly if he had to rush back home,” Donna tries to reassure him. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that.”
“Has he be calling Rachel or is he ghosting everybody?” Harvey asks, grabbing his glass of wine. Day drinking isn’t like him but he needs it right now.
Donna doesn’t want to lie to him but she needs to say it in a way that’s not going to add more fuel to the fire.
“Okay, drama queen,” she rolls her eyes. “Mike’s not ghosting you. He always replies to your texts,” she replies and takes a deep breath. “Yes, they facetimed yesterday.”
“Okay, so it’s just me then,” Harvey nods and exhales sharply.
“Rachel calls him all the time, he’s almost never free, but sometimes she’s lucky and he picks up,” Donna says and she refills their glasses. “You should just call or facetime him and not try to plan it. It seems to work for Rachel.”
“Still, it means I’m always the one calling, maybe he doesn’t want to talk to me period,” Harvey objects, but he knows he’s being dramatic because Donna’s right, he always replies to his texts.
“Give him time, Harvey,” she says and puts her hand on his. “He basically just arrived in Paris, where everything and everyone is new, he’s just figuring out his new schedule. Let him settle and then you’ll both find a rhythm.”
Harvey sighs petulantly and looks away. Donna smiles and takes a big gulp of wine. She was worried for Harvey when Mike announced that he was living for a trimester. She knew Harvey would freak out and be dramatic and clingy and that it always leads to trouble, especially in long distance relationships. Everything she feared is happening, but she knows Harvey can handle it. He’s changed so much since he met Mike, she’s actually very proud of him. She’ll tell him one day, when he’s less broody and upset.
Harvey doesn’t have to look at the time to know the afternoon’s long gone, he’s exhausted and it feels like his eyes are about to burst out of their socket from staring at his computer screen.
He’s spent hours going over Rachel’s presentation to add his touch and make sure the partners don’t have a choice but to agree that this is their only option out of this mess. Once again, he has to admit Rachel’s work was excellent. And she delivered it on time. He’s starting to think that maybe he should move her from Louis’ department to his, he could really use a quick and efficient mind by his side. But it’s not the deal, she’s not to work with him or Donna. Besides, Louis speaks very highly of her, he’ll never agree to let her go anyway.
It’s 7pm and Ethan is gathering his stuff, ready to call it a day and go home. Which means it’s 1am in Paris.
Harvey grabs his phone and dials Mike’s number. He might as well try, maybe Mike’s still with his new friends.
“Heyyyyyyyy!” he hears and he has to put the phone away from his ear. “Harveyyyyyyy!”
Harvey smiles and turns around on his chair to look out the window.
“Hey yourself,” he replies. “You’re still up.”
“Yeah, hold on-“ he can hear that Mike has put the phone away from his ear. “Guys, it’s my boyfriend, it could be a while, do you mind ordering another beer for me?”
“Oooouuuhh, hey Harveyyyyyyy!” he hears people shout in unison and then laughter and more shouting.
“Sorry about that,” Mike says and swallows audibly. “We’re still at the restaurant.”
“I can hear you’re having fun,” Harvey snorts. Mike’s clearly drunk.
“Yes, a lot, there are a lot of American people here, they’re so much fun!”
“Don’t do anything stupid, you’re a doctor now,” Harvey says in a fond tone.
“Not really, you know? Not yet, I’m not there yet,” Mike objects, too out of it to get the joke. “Don’t worry about the other guys, they know aaallll about you and they all said you’re hot. Which you definitely are. Definitely.”
Harvey laughs and he suddenly feels a lot lighter. God it feels good to hear Mike’s voice…
“Don’t stay out too late, okay? You have to wake up early tomorrow, or rather later today.”
“I know, I know,” Mike replies and he lets a couple of seconds pass before sighing loudly. “I miss you…”
“I miss you too, baby…” Harvey says and sighs back. “I wish we could talk more often.”
“Me too, it’s crazy here. Today, I-“
“Beer’s heeeeerrrreee Mikeeyyyyy!!!”
“Go back to your friends and go home soon, okay?” Harvey says.
“Yeah, okay, I’ll tell you about Lorraine tomorrow. Promise.”
“Goodnight, Mike.”
“Goodnight, Harvey. I love you.”
“I love you too…” Harvey says and inhales longly. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Be good.”
“Always,” Mike replies and then Harvey hears the sound of a kiss being pressed to the phone before the call gets disconnected.