Archive of Our Own ^beta

The Proposal AU!Suits. Mike!POV

***

Sometimes Mike found himself in the unique position of really disliking Harvey. Oh he was grateful and indebted to the other man, but there were days where he wished he had never stumbled into that interview room. At first working for Harvey had been good, they had traded banter, even shared lunch time together, but as he realised that Harvey truly didn't care for anyone, that was difficult to cope with. The first time Harvey had insisted he didn't care Mike hadn't believed him, everyone cared about something. He couldn't believe that there was not any one thing that Harvey didn't care about.

But it had been proven to him time and time again, until there really wasn't any more denying it. Over time he found himself agreeing with the other associates, when they spoke of how cold Harvey was, not that he'd say it out loud of course. He still owed the man his respect.

So there he was making his way through the office, thankfully it wasn't that busy yet, a stack of files tucked under his arm, two cups of coffee – from the café three blocks away – in either hand. He managed to take three steps from the elevator before he'd been stopped by Jessica, asking him to let Harvey know she was looking for him. He had then just about made it all the way across the office before someone came hurrying around the corner and ran right into him.

The files slipped from his arm to the floor, one of the coffees fell from his hand bounced off the fallen files and onto the floor. A litany of curses followed as Mike surveyed the damage, shooing the person that had knocked into him away, he hoped that Harvey wouldn't notice the small splash mark on the edge of the folders. Sighing Mike picked the folders up, subtly wiped the splatter of coffee off and continued on, minus one coffee.

Tapping on the glass door Mike waited to be signalled in (he'd learnt his lesson to not enter the office unless given permission), before stepping into the office and handing over the files and the coffee. He'd have to go out later to get his own, or maybe he'd just stick with the coffee in the building, it wasn't like he needed the best coffee in town; unlike some people.

“Morning, Harvey,” greeted Mike. “Just to let you know Jessica wants to see you, she ah caught me as I was coming in.”

“Did she say what for?” asked Harvey.

There was never any 'good morning' or 'how are you' back, just straight down to business like usual. It made him wonder if the man actually had any friends, that weren't people he worked with.

“No, she said it was for you to hear only,” answered Mike.

“I take it you told her I'd be there straight away didn't you?”

“Kind of, I told her I'd let you know as soon as I'd seen you and considering I've seen you. Message delivered,” replied Mike.

“Yes well done kid you've amazed us all,” retorted Harvey, before pushing a new stack of files towards Mike. “These need going through whilst I go see Jessica and Mike, don't drop them on the floor or spill coffee on them this time.”

“I won't,” damn he really thought Harvey wouldn't notice.

“Good.”

Mike watched as Harvey left, really the man was just stubborn and, and just all around frustrating. No wonder the other associates didn't really like him. Opening the first file, Mike made himself comfortable on the sofa in the office, if Harvey wasn't going to be back for a while he was going to take advantage of working somewhere comfortable.

He soon lost himself in the file, highlighter held in his mouth, as he read page after page, he didn't even notice Donna standing there until she tapped him on the shoulder.

Startled Mike looked up, the highlighter falling from his mouth,“Oh god, Donna, sorry, didn't see you there.” The woman was sneaky when she wanted to be.

“I noticed,” replied Donna smiling. “Have you seen Harvey?”

“He's with Jessica, she wanted to see him,” said Mike. “Why?”

“He's got a client waiting,” Donna said, pointing to the person waiting outside the office.

“And you want me to go fetch him?” asked Mike

“Got it in one, kid.” Donna replied.

Of course, he was the associate, Donna wouldn't go fetch Harvey, it was going to be left up to him. Smiling at her, Mike closed the file he'd been browsing and left the room heading towards Jessica's office. Now he was acting as Harvey's own personal assistant, really he would have to put a stop to that, he did have his own work to be doing instead of running around after Harvey all the time. Mike made his way to Jessica's office in under two minutes, managing not to crash into anyone this time, and although he knew he probably shouldn't interrupt, he did.

He knocked once on the door before stepping into the room, all eyes turned to him – it was quite intimidating – waiting for him to say something. “Uh...Harvey you have a client waiting for you.”

No one said anything and he felt like he had just broken some kind of secret Harvey Spectre rule that he was meant to already know. Intending to just make his apologies and escape, Mike was surprised when he was pulled further into the room by Harvey. Even more surprising was when Harvey wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him in close, like he was being hugged.

“You can't do that Jessica because Mike and I are getting married.”

Mike felt like the world stopped turning, he forgot how to breath and dammit if he wasn't just a tiny bit curious as to what Harvey actually meant by that. Yet he couldn't ask, couldn't get his voice to work and he just let Harvey spin some kind of story about office romances and keep things secret, before he was dragged from the room. The whole situation was laughable, he wasn't going to marry Harvey, no one was going to marry Harvey.

***

Following Harvey back to his office Mike wasn't sure what had just happened, maybe he'd slipped and hit his head, maybe this was all some strange dream and he'd wake up in his bed. There had been talk of marriage to Harvey, he didn't even like the guy like that and he was suddenly engaged to him. Once the door was closed to Harvey's office – Donna had obviously sent the patiently waiting client away when she'd seen them coming back – Mike couldn't help but fall onto the sofa.

“What just happened?” Because he might have heard every word that was said, might have it playing on some kind of loop in his head, but he wanted, needed, to hear it from Harvey.

“You know what happened Mike, you're not stupid.” Which was probably the nicest thing Harvey had ever said to him.

“You just lied to Jessica, told her you were marrying me,” Mike wasn't sure which was more ridiculous that it was Harvey or that Harvey had dragged him into the situation. “I'm not going to marry you Harvey.” He couldn't marry someone he didn't like.

“Please you can't say you were actually waiting for the right person? You work for me, Mike, I don't give you time off to find your perfect partner.”

“You can't just expect me to go through with this though,” protested Mike. It shouldn't have surprised him that the whole situation didn't seem to faze Harvey one bit.

“I can and you will,” Harvey replied, “If you don't and I get deported you'll be right back where you started from. No money, a pot head and getting into fights with that friend of yours.”

Mike just stared at Harvey, he had never once been given any indication that Harvey would ask for 'that' to be repaid and he certainly wasn't prepared for it to be thrown back in his face. He wasn't proud of what he'd done with Trevor and the pot, but he hadn't touched the stuff since he'd met Harvey.

“Harvey I can't,”

“If you don't do this Michael your dreams of getting to Senior Partner one day aren't going to happen,” interrupted Harvey.

That was the one thing Mike had always wanted, to work in a top law firm and maybe one day be exactly where Harvey was. He could see that dream being torn from him and he found himself wavering to agree, dammit, he was backed into a corner and which ever way he answered was going to end up bad for him.

Sighing Mike ran a hand through his hair before saying, “Okay, okay, fine I'll do it then.”

***

When Mike had agreed to marry Harvey he hadn't expected to be dragged out of the office that very day. It seemed once Harvey got his way then nothing stopped him from reaching that goal, Mike sort of understand Harvey's reputation then. There was no stopping the man once he had a goal to reach.

Mike had tried to explain that they could do all this after they'd finished work, but all his protests were ignored. So there he was sat in a tiny office next to overflowing filing cabinets and the faint smell of stale sandwiches in the air. Harvey had pushed his way to the front of the queue and when he'd presented their names they'd been taken to the small back room. It was oddly depressing to think that this was the room that would be deciding whether or not Mike was going to be able to marry Harvey. The door to the room opened and who Mike assumed was Gilbertson (he'd read the name plate on the desk earlier) walked into the room.

“So Mr Ross how long have you known Mr Spectre?” asked Gilbertson, getting straight to the point.

“A-about a year now,” answered Mike, he felt like the official already knew exactly what they were up to.

“So tell me Mike are you doing this so Mr Spectre can stay in the country?”

Busted. “What? No. Why?”

“Because Mr Ross we know that Mr Spectre here is to be deported and that the only way to stop that would be for him to be married to someone. Of course if that is the case and you don't tell me you could find yourself going to prison and Mr Spectre would get deported immediately. So is that the case here?”

Mike looked from the official to Harvey twice, now was the time for him to speak up, to say that this was all a big misunderstanding, he didn't love Harvey. But he thought of what he'd loose if he didn't go through with this, the money he'd been sending back to his family would stop. He would essentially loose everything he held dear to him.

“No. That is not the case here,” Mike finally answered.

“Are you sure Mr Ross? I would really hate to see you go to jail.” Gilbertson said.

“The kid just said he was sure, now can we leave? Are you done?” It was the first thing Harvey had said since stepping into the overly small room, Mike was surprised that Harvey had actually let him do all the talking.

“Yes of course. But I will be going through both your pasts, and contacting your families. There will also be interviews for the both of you and if your answers don't match up, you will be deported Mr Spectre and Mr Ross you will go to prison,” warned the official. “Of course if everything comes back fine, you both should be a married couple on Monday.”

“Of course, come on Mike,” replied Harvey.

Mike hesitated a split second before getting up and following Harvey out of the building, once he was outside Mike took a deep breath, the enormity of what he was doing was beginning to settle in.

“Harvey! Harvey wait!” called Mike, stopping in the middle of the crowded street.

“Now what Mike?”

“I can't do this, I can not marry you,” insisted Mike. “You heard what he said in there, Harvey, I could go to prison.”

“You're not going to go to prison and I'm not getting deported, now come on,” said Harvey.

“But I could, Harvey I can't marry you, sorry,” replied Mike. “I mean you didn't even ask me, you just told me and dragged me here!”

“Is that what's bothering you? Because I haven't gotten down on one knee and asked you to marry me?”

“Yes! Uh I mean no, I don't love you Harvey.” The longer they argued the more confusing things got, Mike had always kind of imagined being the one getting down on one knee.

“Look I'll make it simple for you if you back out now I'll fire you,”

“What? You can't do that,” protested Mike, he hadn't actually thought Harvey would go that far.

“I can Mike, there are plenty of other people that would take your place,” replied Harvey. “So are you doing this or not?”

Again Mike felt like he was being backed into a corner, he really was beginning to hate Harvey-logic and he found himself once more agreeing to the absurd plan.

“Fine, okay, on one condition,” he had one more card to play.

“Let me guess you want to go see your family this weekend?”

Or maybe not. “Yes, how did you know?”

“You aren't exactly discreet on taking phone calls Mike and Donna told me,” replied Harvey.

“Then yes, I'll go through with this without a single objection so long as I can see them.” It was bribery he knew that, but he was going to marry the man he was damned if he wasn't going to get something out of it.

“Fine, we'll go see your family.”

Mike couldn't help smiling, it was the first time that Harvey had ever agreed with him. Maybe it wasn't going to be as bad as he feared and hopefully he wasn't going to land in prison.

***

The journey to the airport was taken in silence and even the first part of the flight was silent. Not that Mike minded of course, it meant he could think about exactly what he was going to tell his family.

He couldn't just blurt it out, they wouldn't understand, even he didn't quite understand it. But looking at Harvey now, relaxing in his first class seat, Mike was sure that no matter what he made up, his family were going to believe him. Hopefully they'd like Harvey as well.

It wasn't until they were on the last part of the flight that they even attempted a conversation.

“This was dropped off at the office early this morning, it's just some of the things we could get asked,” said Harvey, holding out the file.

Mike took the folder flicking through the pages, the questions that lined the pages were things he mostly already knew about Harvey.

Closing it up he gave it back, “You should probably study that, Harvey,”

“So should you, if we want to pass this interview,”

“Nope, I already know most of that about you,” replied Mike.

He might have only been working for Harvey for over a year but he'd learnt enough about and from, the older man. The trouble with his memory was that once he knew something he didn't ever really forget it.

“You know all this about me?” asked Harvey, taking the folder back.

“Yes, ask me anything,” it was a nice feeling knowing something that Harvey didn't.

“Okay,” replied Harvey, picking a random page, “Okay what am I allergic to?”

“Caring,” Mike said, “and I think there's a nut allergy in there.”

“Funny Mike, very funny. Do I have any scars?”

Mike made a gesture of thinking over the question, before saying, “There's one on your wrist, just under your watch,”

“How did you know that?”

“You took your watch off when we were working late a few weeks back, you kept rubbing at your wrist and I noticed it then,” Mike answered. He tugged the folder back off Harvey, picking a different page he read out the first questions. “Who's place do we stay at? Yours or mine?”

“That's easy, mine of course,” replied Harvey.

“Why yours?”

“Please Mike I know where you live there's no way we'd live at yours,” explained Harvey.

“What's wrong with where I live?” Mike asked, he shouldn't feel that annoyed at where they were 'fictionally' living. But he couldn't just let Harvey have the last word.

“It's too small, not on the right side of the city. Plus the place would be a reflection of us and yours isn't really something you could show off,” pointed out Harvey.

“Okay, okay I get it, we'd live at yours,” conceded Mike, closing the file.

Sitting back in his seat Mike closed his eyes, everything they were about to do was going to take a lot of energy, he needed to be smart about the whole thing and arguing with Harvey about where they lived wasn't conductive to that. So Mike rested for the rest of the journey, happy that Harvey didn't try to make any more conversation.

***

The house was packed as Mike stepped inside, Harvey following him, it seemed everyone had come to his welcome home party. It wasn't like he'd been gone that long, just a few years. The meeting with his parents had gone smoothly enough, Harvey had been his charming self and both his mother and grandmother had been won over.

“It seems your family really know how to host a party, Mike,” commented Harvey.

“Yeah well I haven't exactly been home in a while,” snapped Mike, the flight had been long and he could feel fatigue starting to claw at him.

“Your boss not give you time off puppy?” Harvey said.

“As a matter of fact, no he didn't,” Mike sighed, noticing that they were getting some unwanted attention from people passing by. “Look can we just stop this fighting, we're suppose to be in love, not arguing like we can't stand each other.”

“Most couples fight Mike,” pointed out Harvey.

“Not all couples,” replied Mike, wondering just what type of couples Harvey was use to. “Look just pretend okay, at least until we are in private.”

“Okay,”

“Good.”

Mike waited a extra few seconds to see if Harvey would say anything else before he headed into the other room. He might have been tired and frustrated (mainly with Harvey) but he still had to mingle with people. Show his thanks for them all coming out to welcome him home, not that the place really felt like home any more. Mike had left shortly after his father had died and he had told himself he would never come back to live there. Then he'd joined up with Trevor and things had gone downhill, until Harvey.

Taking a glass from a passing waiting, he all but walked into Trevor. There were a few tense moments before Trevor offered his hand, clearly wanting some kind of truce, or so Mike hoped. He accepted, he hated not being able to talk to his oldest friend.

“So Mike, still 'working' for Harvey?” Trevor asked.

“Really, man, you're going to go with that?” Mike answered, he really didn't want to get into another fight.

“Nah am just kidding',” replied Trevor. “But seriously you brought him up here to meet your family? What's with that?”

“That's a complicated story,” replied Mike, glancing back to where Harvey was talking to one of his old school teachers. “Enough about Harvey, how has my family been?”

Mike hated that he hadn't been able to see them more, but Harvey had made him keep insane hours and he was lucky if he was awake enough at the end of the day to phone them.

“Truthfully? They could use you here Mike, I mean I'm helping best I can, but they want you,” explained Trevor quietly.

Mike ran a hand through his hair, that wasn't what he'd wanted to hear, “I'm not staying here, Trevor, what I'm doing with Harvey is good work, am helping people,” replied Mike.

“No you're playing at being a lawyer. Nobody is going to be helped when they find out what you did, or didn't do,” whispered Trevor sharply.

“No one is going to find out though!”

“They might, besides your family want you here, they might not say it, but they do. You can do good here Mike,”

“I can't Trevor, sorry. Harvey has given me a chance, am not going to screw it up, again,” Mike's voice had risen slightly, yes he wanted to help his family. Yet his memories of the past weren't always good ones.

“No you'd sooner just screw your way to the top,” snapped Trevor, finally loosing patience with Mike.

Mike couldn't quite believe that Trevor had said that, he had never even considered doing anything like that to get what he wanted. “I am not sleeping with Harvey nor have I been, but if you really must know we're getting married.”

“W-what?”

“You heard me, I'm engaged to Harvey.”

He didn't give Trevor a chance to respond as he pushed past him. Clearly things weren't ever going to be the same between them, too much had happened and trying to get back what they'd had was just wishful thinking. The anger slowly faded and Mike realised that maybe that was what everyone was thinking, that he'd brought his boss out to his family's home just because he was sleeping with him. Like Harvey was his meal ticket. There was only one thing for it, he had to make the announcement, before Trevor could make up some rumour or he lost his nerve. Mike had told Harvey that he was going to be the one to tell his family, when he thought it was the right time and now was as good as time as any.

“Excuse me,” he tapped the side of his half empty glass. “Excuse me everyone, I have an announcement to make,” the whole room fell silent. “As many of you probably don't already know, I'm getting married to Harvey.”

There was a moment where no one spoke and Mike could see every single person in the room just staring at him, like he'd lost his mind, which really wouldn't surprise him if he had. The silence seemed to go on forever before one person broke out into applause, quickly followed by everyone else.

“Harvey? Harvey why don't you come on over here,” called Mike, feeling awkward stood there on his own. He tried to ignore the glare that Harvey was giving him, even if it was the worse one he'd seen on Harvey's face in a long time.

Yes he knew that Harvey could have probably done it better, with much more suave than himself. But this was his family and Mike would not let anyone lie to them, well anyone other than himself that was. As Harvey approached him, Mike realised that he felt less stressed now, less like he was hiding himself away. Not that they had been doing anything other than working together and there was actually nothing to hide.

Once Harvey was stood next to him, Mike looped an arm around Harvey's waist, just like Harvey had done in front of Jessica, before whispering, “Could you at least smile and pretend you're deliriously happy? Instead of looking like you want to kill me.”

It was strange for Mike to be taking the lead on the situation, normally he'd be following Harvey, it was kind of exhilarating. He could see why Harvey loved being the best, it was like a head rush. It also meant that he could at least control some of the situation, instead of just following and being bribed into doing things.

“I'm smiling on the inside, kid,” Harvey replied.

“When did this happen?” Mike's mother asked.

“Uh... a little while ago, we weren't going to say anything at first, but,” Mike shrugged as he let the sentence trail off. Anything he could say would just sound a little too cheesy and maybe push the thing into unbelievable instead of believable.

“You should have said something, Michael, we could have had a proper celebration for you.”

Trust his Grammy to see the announcement as a cause for a bigger celebration, his family always liked hosting a party for some reason or another. That seemed to be what everyone was waiting for, as Mike suddenly found himself being pulled in to hugs from different people.

The whole situation was rather amusing if he was honest with himself and the image of the great Harvey Spectre being tugged into a hug by his grandmother was going to stay with him for a very long time. Laughing quietly Mike turned to the next person to congratulate him and stopped short at seeing who it was, he didn't think Jenny would be there after everything that had happened between the two of them.

Mike stood frozen in place before he was pulled into a hug, his arms wrapping around her of their own accord, like nothing had changed between them. It felt good to be back in her arms and he held on just a little longer than was necessary.

“Jenny, what are doing here?” he asked, finally pulling away.

“Your mum invited me and so did Trevor. It's good to see you Mike, really good,” replied Jenny.

“It's good to see you too,” Mike said, before noticing that Harvey had made his way over to them. “Jenny this is Harvey, Harvey, Jenny.” He couldn't actually recall if they had ever been introduced properly or not, and since he was going to marry the man, it seemed only right that he did so now.

“Your Mike's – uh – partner, it's nice to meet you,” Jenny replied, shaking Harvey's hand.

“It's a pleasure to meet you too Jenny. How long have you known Mike?” asked Harvey.

Mike tried to subtly shake his head at Jenny, she didn't need to tell Harvey about their past, he still wanted something to remain private.

Except it seemed that he was being completely ignored as she answered the question. “I've known Mike for almost as long as Trevor has, we use to go out.”

Great that was it, finally all his secrets had been revealed, he resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall. Mike just knew that once they were on their own Harvey would ask him about Jenny, maybe even demand to know why he was going through with this sham if he was so obviously straight? The truth was he didn't know himself and wouldn't be able to give Harvey the answers he would want.

“Oh that's nice,” replied Harvey, like it was the least nicest thing he'd ever been told.

“So how did you two meet?” asked Jenny sweetly.

This time Mike didn't even bother to hide the glare he sent at her, there were only four people that knew how he'd met Harvey; himself, Harvey, Trevor and Jenny. He had no plans to tell that particular story to anyone else, no one else needed to know.

“Yeah Mike, tell us how you two met or better yet who proposed to who?” came Trevor’s voice, just on the wrong side of loud so he caught everyone's attention.

“We've had a long flight and the story isn't really that exciting,” Mike replied.

“Nonsense Michael,” came his Grammy's voice. He had forgotten that they were still playing up to an audience. “You can tell a lot about a man by the way he proposes. So tell the story Michael, how did Harvey here propose?”

“What makes you think that I didn't propose?” asked Mike.

Clearly people believed Harvey to be able to do anything and assumed he'd just follow obediently. If anyone had any idea of their partner-ship they wouldn't assume everything was Harvey's doing. Okay so maybe it had been Harvey's quick thinking that meant they were getting married in the first place, but that was besides the point.

“Well did you?” asked his Grammy.

“We both did, together,” interrupted Harvey, before he started to make up some story of how they'd met. “Mike had been leaving hints for the better part of two weeks,”

“Not that you picked up on a single one of them of course,” put in Mike, like he was actually hurt that Harvey hadn’t noticed him.

“No I got what they meant, I always knew that was what you wanted Mike. Settle down have a family,” replied Harvey.

“With you, not that Harvey believed me of course,” Mike was definitely getting into the story telling now. Plus it was a game between himself and Harvey to see who could come up with the better story line.

“There was a disagreement, we didn't speak for days. Until Mike here,”

“I left a series of notes for Harvey to follow,” Mike said, noticing that they had everyone's attention. Really if being a lawyer didn't work out he'd go into writing books, this was far too much fun.

“I followed them, expecting to find Mike with someone else,”

“Very insecure,” staged whispered Mike.

Harvey just glared at his associate before continuing on, “Instead I find him stood in the middle of the most expensive hotel room, lights dimmed and am sure there were rose petals on the bed. Despite neither of us liking roses and he told me to ask him. So I did.”

Mike just stared at Harvey, he knew the other man was good at spinning a tale when it suited him but that was brilliant, he could almost imagine exactly what the scene had looked like. The dimly lit room, the notes that had been left, heck he could even imagine the argument, so he couldn't ignore the small twist of emptiness in his stomach when he remembered; none of it was true. It was all fake, and nothing like that was going to happen, ever.

“Kiss!” someone called from the back of the small crowd that had gathered.

It wasn't until the shout that Mike realised just how long he'd been staring at Harvey and how close they were stood together. They'd clearly gotten caught up in the story telling and had somehow moved closer together, not that Mike minded of course. If it helped sell the illusion of how in love they were meant to be he was all for it.

Shaking his head Mike replied, “No I don't think so.” Why did people always want more?

“Go on Michael it's only family here, give your fiancée a kiss,” insisted his grandmother. Really she had no concerns what so ever about public display of affections.

“Yeah Mike give your fiancée a kiss,” whispered Harvey.

Really the whole place was just conspiring against him, he nodded his head in agreement, this hadn't been part of the deal and he could feel how uneasy the situation was becoming. He'd never thought of Harvey like that before and now he had to kiss him like they'd been doing it for months. There was a moment where Mike was sure that he'd slipped into some kind of alternate universe, he was sure there was another him out there that wasn't going through this right now.

Turning so that he was facing Harvey, this was not going to end well, he put his hands on Harvey's shoulders and leaning forward gave him the briefest kiss he could manage. It lasted just long enough that he hoped would satisfy the crowd and short enough that he hadn't embarrassed himself. Except the chaste kiss had him feeling like he was buzzing, like a slice of electricity had passed through him.

“That wasn't a proper kiss Michael,” complained his Grammy. “Kiss your man properly Michael or I will.”

Laughing Mike just shook his head, trust his Grammy to try to blackmail him, it was just so typically her. “Okay, okay.” He couldn't deny her anything.

There was no backing down this time, no chance for just a quick kiss, and no where to run to. Mike just looked at Harvey trying to read if there was any discomfort, but as usual he couldn't read Harvey's face. Mike might have been a genius with collecting knowledge but he really wasn’t so good at reading people.

So he moved in again, a bit slower this time, before he found himself once again kissing Harvey. The rush of electricity that had ran through him from the first kiss, was all consuming at the second kiss, it was like being on fire. He felt Harvey's hands go to his hips pulling him closer, as his own hands found their way to the back of Harvey's neck. It didn’t surprise him that Harvey kissed him with as much passion and enthusiasm that he used when he was close to winning a case. It was incredible.

What did surprise him though was how actually – freaking – caring the kiss was and Mike found himself getting lost in the sensation. Finally pulling away Mike kept his eyes closed – not entirely sure when he'd actually closed them – just living in the rush that came from being kissed by Harvey. It was intoxicating and pretty damn addictive.

There was a clearing of someone's throat before Mike pulled away, folding his arms across his chest, closing himself off, everyone had asked for a show and that's what he'd given them. Nothing more and nothing less. It was just what everyone expected of him, after all he was meant to be marrying Harvey, he would have had to kiss him at some point. Mike just hadn’t expected it to be like that, it was a shock to the system.

“I'll show you to your room,” spoke up his mother.

Mike just nodded before following his mother and grandmother out of the room, neither he nor Harvey spoke as they were led through the house, not that Mike needed to be led anywhere. He knew the house like the back of his hand, he knew all the short cuts, which doors squeaked and which didn't. As the door to the second master bedroom was opened, Mike realised just how tense the silence was and he couldn't help giving his mother and grammy a hug.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“For what Michael?” his Grammy asked.

“For the welcome home party,” he replied, pulling away.

“Of course, honey,” his mother said. “Now there's extra blankets in the cupboard if you get cold and towels already in the bathroom for you.”

“Thank you Mrs Ross,” Harvey said, ever the charmer.

“Please call me, Janet, you are family after all,” she replied. “We'll leave you to unpack and get settled in. Night.”

“Night,” Mike and Harvey said in union.

Mike waited a full ten minutes before moving, he knew his grandmother could come back just to wish him a good night again. Thankfully she didn't and he found himself relaxing slightly, well as much as possible with Harvey staring at his back. Really if the man was any less subtle about his staring there would be a neon sign hanging around his neck, Mike just smiled as he put his bag on the bed. Harvey being not-subtle shouldn't amuse him as much as it did.

“Why are you staring at me?” Mike asked, finally getting irritated with the silence.

“There is only one bed Mike,” pointed out Harvey.

“Yeah my family don't believe for a second that we don't share a bed,” especially after that kiss.

“Where do you plan to sleep?” asked Harvey.

Frowning Mike stopped unpacking and turned to face Harvey, “In the bed, why?”

“I am not sharing a bed, Mike.”

“What? You have to be kidding me, Harvey, we need to act couply for this to work. You do remember that yes?” snapped Mike, this was his house and he was going to sleep somewhere comfortable.

“Out there we have to, behind closed doors we don't,” pointed out Harvey. “This isn't a proper relationship Michael, you remember that don't you?”

“Fine, fine you can have the bed,” Mike retorted, dumping his bag on the floor.

He was so stupid, he felt like Harvey had just kicked him, he knew that kiss was fake. So damn fake. Yet as he made a make shift bed on the floor he couldn't help that small flicker of hurt flooding through him, he shouldn't have expected anything less from his Boss. There would be no more kissing for them, no matter who asked for it, it was just better that way, for him at least. Closing the blinds Mike tried to get comfortable on the hard floor, needless to say that sleep was a long time coming for him.

***

“We'll take good care of him, don't you worry,” said Mike's mother.

He wasn't actually ever going to forget the look on Harvey's face as he was pulled away by his Grammy and mother. They had insisted that they take Harvey into the town and Mike had agreed with them.

Besides he had things he needed to sort out, namely talking to Trevor again and this was the perfect time to time to do so. Mike knew that Harvey disliked Trevor, ever since Mike had, had to bail Trevor out; again. But despite Harvey's protests and there were quite a lot of them, Mike wasn't willing to give up on his friend just yet, he couldn't.

Mike watched as the family walked away, it seemed that his family had come to accept Harvey as part of the family, before he headed off. There was only one place Trevor would be at that time of morning and sure enough Mike found him at the lake, it was the one good thing left between them.

He came to a stop besides Trevor, it was nice out there, all calm, it was the one place that Mike could still come to, to stop thinking. The one completely innocent place left that wasn't tainted by something or other.

When the silence stretched from comfortable to slightly awkward, Mike finally spoke, “Hey,”

“Hey yourself,”

“Look about last night, when I got back,” started Mike.

“Hey it's nothing to do with me who you screw around with, Mike,” interrupted Trevor, “But last time I checked, bringing him out here to meet your family, that's a low move.”

“Look it's difficult to explain,” Mike really didn't want to get into an argument with Trevor, really he hadn't. He guessed since he'd helped ship Trevor back here, there was no way to fix that for them, not that Mike had thought it would cause this much of a rift between them.

“Really?” Trevor asked, not believing Mike for a second.

“I can't explain,”

“You can't or you won't? Just last week you were saying you couldn't stand him, that he'd done something completely stupid and you were wondering why you were still working for him. Yet now, now you're marrying him,” said Trevor, turning to actually face Mike. “It doesn't make sense Mike.”

Mike had actually forgotten that he'd made comments to his family about disliking Harvey, yet looking back at them now, he realised it wasn't Harvey he disliked, just some of his actions. He could admit, if only to himself, that there was respect there for Harvey, lurking underneath all the frustration and fatigue. It wasn't like Harvey was a complete bad guy, he'd met bad guys and Harvey definitely was not one of them.

“I can't,” replied Mike, “But this is something that will happen Trevor.”

“What about your family?”

“What about them?” Mike asked.

“They need you here, Mike, you need to stop whatever it is you're doing and start helping your family,”

“I am helping my family!” snapped Mike. He couldn't live at the house any more, there were too many memories for him there. “This is what I want to do.”

“Being a fake lawyer, that's your dream?”

“No but its as damn close as I'm ever going to get. Don't forget you were the one to set me up that day, you sent me walking into a damn trap and I still let you stay here with my family.”

Mike could see when the fight left Trevor, his family had all but taken Trevor in when he was a child. Mike knew that his family was as much Trevor's and saying what he just did, insinuating that it was 'his' family was a low move. Sighing Mike went to apologise but the words just got stuck, instead he just walked away, there was no way he was going to be changing Trevor's mind. Mike made his way back to the house, the day had started out so good as well and now, now it felt rubbish.

***

The whole day had just seemed like one argument after another and Mike was quite glad once the door to the bedroom closed and he could stop pretending at least for a few hours. The conversation with Trevor had turned sour quickly and he'd walked away from his oldest friend again. This time he didn't think there would be any apologies made, any kind of making up between them.

So as he lay on the make-shift bed, made up of about three blankets and one pillow, Mike found himself unable to sleep. There were too many thoughts rattling around his head and he wasn't relaxing enough to let him fall to sleep. He shifted onto his side to stare at the bathroom door, most of the bedrooms in the house had their own en-suit, it was the only thing he truly missed about the place.

It was no good though, as he found himself following the line of a crack in the door instead of falling to sleep, he was exhausted and yet sleep just wouldn't claim him. Maybe he'd grown use to falling asleep at a desk when he couldn't keep his eyes open for another second, with a stack of files acting as his pillow. He'd give anything to be at his own desk right then.

Mike rolled over onto his other side, but that just had him facing Harvey's suitcase which reminded him of why they were there. Sighing he rolled onto his back, staring at the roof, he heard Harvey shuffling around in the bed, at least one of us will get a decent nights sleep. Sighing again Mike rubbed a hand across his face, if sleep didn't come soon he was going to start pacing and that definitely would wake Harvey up.

“Go to sleep Mike,” came Harvey's voice.

Clearly Mike had woken Harvey up and now he felt bad, he hadn't wanted to disturb Harvey's sleep, only one of them should have to suffer through sleep deprivation.

“Am trying,” replied Mike, “Sorry if I woke you.”

“Does your not sleeping have something to do with Trevor?” asked Harvey.

“I don't want to talk about that,” answered Mike, he did not want to talk about Trevor; especially with Harvey.

“Well considering you spent the morning with him, it seems he would be the case for your insomnia,” pointed out Harvey. “Besides you were the one who said we needed to know everything about each other.”

“In that book, we need to know everything about each other that's in that book. Not about this.”

“They might ask.”

“No they won't,” snapped Mike. “So just leave it Harvey.”

“Okay, fine,” conceded Harvey.

Mike shifted on the floor trying to get comfortable, even after they had agreed to at least act civilly in public it seemed behind closed doors they still argued. Not that Mike had expected anything less, but the bickering was beginning to grow tiresome, he just wanted one day where they didn't argue or disagree. Just one day.

“The scar on my wrist I got from trapping it in a door,” spoke Harvey. “I hurt my shoulder in college ruining any chance of playing professionally and both my parents died when I was 18.”

“What?” Why was Harvey telling him all that? He hadn't asked and okay he already knew about the shoulder, but the rest, Mike had never asked for personal information from Harvey. Mainly because it wasn't his place, yet there Harvey was just offering up information, without being asked.

“You needed to know things from that book,” answered Harvey.

“But that was...you didn't have to share that,” replied Mike quietly.

“It levelled the playing field, it makes us even on what we know about each other,”

“But you never play fair, you always want to win,” said Mike.

“Mike,”

“Okay, okay we're even.”

Mike had no idea where that had come from but he wasn't going to question it further, it was very rare that Mike saw this side of Harvey and he was damned if he was going to chase it away. Plus at least they weren't arguing this time.

“Also I know exactly what the other associates say about me,” Harvey said.

“How did you know?” asked Mike.

“You're not as discreet as you'd like to be, and Donna knows everything,”

“Look Harvey, they only say that stuff because they don’t know you,” explained Mike.

“That's how its going to stay as well, but just for the record I do care,”

“What? But you've never once cared about a client, you said as much yourself,” said Mike, propping himself up slightly.

“Because caring about the client means you aren’t going to win, you don’t do your best if your worried about the client,” Harvey said.

“Huh,” replied Mike. He knew advice when it was given to him, he wasn’t going to question what Harvey had just told him.

“What?” asked Harvey.

“Nothing, nothing. It just reassuring to know that you can care is all,” replied Mike cheekily, settling back down.

“Mike?”

“Yeah,”

“Go to sleep,” Harvey said.

Laughing Mike rolled over once again, tucking a hand underneath his pillow, maybe Harvey wasn’t going to be as terrible as he thought. He whispered a good night and finally, finally, he felt himself fall to sleep.

***

Mike had been sleeping rather soundly before something landed on his face, it was the first night he'd slept well since arriving and he did not appreciate being jolted awake.

Sitting up he rubbed at his eyes before asking, “What? What is it?”

“Get up here Mike,” snapped Harvey, “Your mother is at the door.”

“What?” he really wasn't awake enough to deal with Harvey.

“Mike your mother is going to come in here any moment now. So get up here,” explained Harvey, as patiently as he could.

It took another few seconds for Mike's brain to kick into gear and realise exactly what it was Harvey was saying. It was also at that point that he heard a muffled voice from the door, it was like being a teenager all over again, there wasn’t a single moment where he could have any privacy.

Grabbing up the blankets and the pillows (including the pillow that had landed on his face and disturbed him from a rather pleasant dream) Mike jumped on to the bed, ignoring Harvey's 'so childish' comment, he tugged the blankets around himself before curling up close to Harvey. Mike tried very hard not to think about just how warm Harvey was or how comfortable the bed was, as his mother entered the room. Mike noticed the way Harvey subtly shifted away from him, like he didn't want to be too close to him, and Mike couldn't help feeling a little hurt.

“Am not disturbing you boys am I?” asked his mother.

“No, no, not at all,” replied Harvey sitting up straighter.

Mike just offered a sleepy smile, it really was too early to be partaking in any conversation, especially when all he wanted to do was curl up on the really comfortable bed, next to Harvey and let himself fall back to sleep.

“Good, good,” replied his mother. “I have a proposition to make, we'd like you to get married here. Tomorrow,”

“What?” Mike asked, fully awake now.

That was not what they had planned, Mike had only dragged Harvey out there as part of his terms, they hadn't actually arranged to get married until after the weekend. Well that was what Mike had assumed, since Harvey had made no mention of when they were actually going to be married.

“We would really like for you to get married here,” his mother repeated.

“We? Whose the we?” Mike asked.

“Your grandmother suggested it Michael, and I happen to agree with her, she isn't going to be around forever and she'd like to see her only grandson married.”

Mike just looked from his mother to Harvey and back again, how did his life get this complicated? He had somehow managed to get himself blackmailed twice, once from Harvey and now from his own mother. It wasn’t very fair.

“Yeah but,” protested Mike, only for Harvey to put a hand on his shoulder, effectively shutting him up.

“It's okay, Mike, we can get married here its not like we had any definite plans,” replied Harvey.

Mike shook his head, no they didn't have plans because the whole ordeal was fake and they weren't meant to bring friends or family into it. Mike might have told all his family about the 'engagement' but he wasn't planning on dragging them into the ceremony its self. But at that moment, with Harvey's hand on his shoulder, and his mothers pleading look, he found he couldn't actually deny what was being asked of them.

“Fine, okay, we'll get married here,” sighed Mike.

“That's great, I'll leave you two alone now and I'll let your grandmother know,” his mother replied, leaving the room.

Mike flopped back against the pillows, he knew that he'd have to marry Harvey at some point, he'd known that since the start, he just hadn't expected it to be over the weekend. He understood that his Grammy couldn't travel well and would want to see him get married, but this was so sudden and he wasn't quite sure if he could do this.

“Mike?” prompted Harvey.

“What?”

“Are you okay?”

“Of course, I mean I'm only getting married to a guy to stop him being deported. Who then decides to agree with my mother about doing the ceremony that very weekend. So yeah Harvey I'm great, thanks for asking,” Mike snapped.

It wasn't all Harvey's fault, Mike knew that, he'd agreed to go along with the whole thing of course, it wasn't just the whole getting married thing that was beginning to get to him. His own feelings were starting to change and trying to deal with them, while pretending to be in love with Harvey, was a bit like walking through thick fog. You could easily get confused and turned around. He wasn't sure any more what was real and what was all part of the charade.

“Mike,” started Harvey.

“I know, okay,” interrupted Mike, finally sitting up so he could face Harvey. “I get it, it just this whole situation is a little crazy okay?”

“Look I understand, you didn't actually want your family involved. If it makes it any better, we'll be married soon enough and in a few weeks we'll part ways,” said Harvey.

The thing was if they kept going the way they were, Mike wasn't sure he would want to 'part way's. Shaking his head Mike looked away, he knew Harvey was only in this for one reason and nothing he said or did was going to change that. No it was better to keep his mouth shut and continue on as before, he couldn't mess this up for either one of them.

“Okay,” replied Mike. “Well better get dressed, got a big day ahead of us.”

Smiling now, Mike climbed out of the bed, shivering slightly as cool air hit his arms. He was just collecting up his clothes from where he'd dropped them the previous evening, when he heard Harvey speak.

“Mike?”

“Yeah?” he replied, turning around.

“Nothing, its fine, go, go get dressed,” sighed Harvey.

Mike was going to ask again, but he recognised that look, he wouldn't get anything from Harvey if he asked again, he just had to wait. If Harvey wanted him to know something, then he'd be told. Giving Harvey a warm smile, Mike disappeared into the bathroom, the day was going to be a long one, he could just feel it.

***

“Harvey, what's going on?” asked Mike.

He was genuinely concerned as he watched Harvey pace back and forth, he'd only ever seen Harvey like this once before and that hadn't ended well. Things had been going smoothly enough, or so he had thought, Harvey had used all his charm on Mike's family. Though Mike hadn't expected anything less and his family had been completely won over and were more than happy to treat Harvey like he was family.

But this pacing was worrying and yes Mike could now say that he was worried about his partner, Harvey had somehow stopped being his boss the previous day. Mike couldn't recall anything out of the ordinary (not that the situation was ordinary or anything) but then again his mother and grandmother had dragged Harvey out with them for a few hours again. Clearly taking Harvey into the town once, just wasn't enough for his family. Yet everyone had seemed happy enough when they had met up in town, well everyone apart from Harvey clearly.

When Harvey didn't reply, Mike had to try again, “Harvey? Is everything all right? Did someone say something?” Cause Harvey Spectre never got 'up set'. Still there was no reply, just some more walking back and forth. “Okay seriously you're starting to creep me out a little now.”

“You have a good family here, Mike,” Harvey finally spoke. “Yet you still agreed to do this with me, you don't realise just how cared about you are, do you? If they find out what we've, what I'm forcing you to do.”

“Woah hang on, you think that somehow my family is going to find out?” Mike had to resist the urge to laugh. “After the secret that we are already keeping from them, this has you scared?”

“That's different and you know it,” replied Harvey, ignoring the scared remark. “If someone finds out about that, it's only us that gets hurt.”

Mike did laugh at that, after all the time spent working for Harvey and the other man chose now to finally care about something other than himself. Mike should have dragged Harvey out to meet his family sooner, maybe they wouldn't be in the mess they were in now.

“Mike!”

“Okay, okay. No one is going to find out. Where is all this coming from?” Mike asked, once he'd stopped laughing. It was strange to see Harvey so unsure of himself, and Mike didn't really like it. He was so use to seeing Harvey be nothing but confident, but if he had to act the part of reassuring partner, then that was exactly what he'd do.

“Your grandmother happened to mention something about your father leaving you something to pass onto the person you fell in love with. Which clearly does not mean me, Michael, in any way.” Harvey said.

“So don't take it, look I'll speak to them,” replied Mike, he couldn't see what the problem was.

“You don't get it do you? Your family loves you Mike, you'll go to prison if anyone finds out about this, you know that.” repeated Harvey.

“I know,”

“You know?”

“I said as much when you told me what we were going to be doing. I agreed Harvey, even knowing all that, it's fine,” Mike explained, ignoring the way his stomach twisted. Now was not the time to acknowledge feelings for Harvey, in any way shape or form. “Tomorrow you can give whatever it was back to me if you like.”

“Give them you back?” asked Harvey, like the thought hadn't even occurred to him.

“Yes, tomorrow.”

Mike waited a full ten minutes as Harvey decided over what he was going to do and he didn't realise he'd been holding his breath until Harvey nodded in agreement. Mike wasn't sure exactly what was going on with Harvey but whatever it was it would get sorted tomorrow. He didn't bother ignoring the small flicker of excitement at knowing he was going to be marrying Harvey.

***

It was a quiet walk back to the house, not that Mike minded, it gave him a chance to truly look at Harvey. It had taken a little getting use to, seeing the other man in a more relaxed setting, even the suits had disappeared that morning. Mike could finally admit – if only to himself – that he was actually enjoying Harvey's company.

“Mike! Harvey!” shouted Trevor.

Mike headed over towards Trevor, wondering just exactly what it was he'd done this time to piss him off, ever since him and Harvey had arrived Trevor had been completely cold towards them.

“Trevor what's going on?” Mike asked.

“You both need to come with me.”

Mike shared a confused look with Harvey before following Trevor. Really why couldn't Trevor just tell him outside? Instead he had to follow him into the barn, that wasn't actually ever used as a barn any more, where he caught sight of Gilbertson waiting for them.

“What the hell, Trevor?” demanded Mike.

“I got a call from him, Mike,” replied Trevor. “He told me that he thought you were both lying.”

“About what exactly?” How could his oldest friend do this? It was worse in a way than setting him up on that drug run.

“About you being in love with Harvey, Mike what else? He said if you were lying you'd go to prison, so I flew him out here,” explained Trevor.

“Trevor!” protested Mike.

“Luckily for you, your friend here,” interjected Gilbertson, “Negotiated a deal on your behalf.”

“Oh he did, did he?” Mike asked, barely holding on to his anger. This wasn't meant to happen.

“Yes,” answered Gilbertson. “You're going to make a statement Mr Ross admitting that this marriage is a sham, that you were pressured into doing this to keep your boss happy and to keep your job. Or you will go to prison and we don't want that. Tell the truth and you're off the hook, of course Mr Spectre here is still going back to Canada.”

Mike couldn't believe it, they were so close to finally ending the whole thing and Trevor had put his foot in it again, the anger that he felt towards Trevor then was just terrible. Mike chanced a look at Harvey, the other man hadn't said a word yet, clearly this was all going to be his decision then. What ever he decided in them next few moments Harvey was going to go along with it.

“Yeah you can have your statement,” replied Mike coldly. “I've worked for Harvey for a little over a year now, three months ago we started going out and later on today we'll be married.”

He didn't wait for either Trevor or Gilbertson to reply as he practically dragged Harvey from the not-barn, leaving behind two very stunned people. He could almost hear his heart pounding away in his chest and he had to take a deep breath just to calm himself down.

“Thank you, Mike,” whispered Harvey.

Mike very nearly didn't hear the whispered thanks, as they made their way back to the house. He finally let go of Harvey's arm and offered a small smile in return, there was no turning back now, they both had a wedding to get to.

***

Mike was fidgeting with his sleeves again as the small church filled, it seemed once everyone had found out about the ceremony they all wanted to come. The nerves were expected as he stood at the front of all his family, they were finally going to get it over and done with, what was unexpected were the fluttering of actual feelings. The past couple of days Mike had come to see a different side to Harvey and he found himself falling for it.

Yes Harvey frustrated him and was still as arrogant as ever, he didn't expect that to change, but something had changed between them. Something so completely subtle that Mike hadn't noticed it until that very moment. He could still recall Harvey's shock at being the one to have to walk up the aisle, to be made the 'bride' as it were. But his mother and Grammy had insisted it be that way and no amount of arguing was going to change their minds.

As the church fell quiet, a soft jazz melody started up, Harvey had out right refused the normal wedding song, Mike turned to face the doors. Mike couldn't help but smile when he saw Harvey walking down the aisle, with his Grammy at Harvey's side. He had offered Trevor as a sort of best man but Harvey had out right refused on that as well. For how very non-traditional the ceremony was, Mike couldn't have asked for anything better.

Once Harvey reached him Mike couldn't resist taking hold of Harvey's hands, they had to keep up the charade, even if it was feeling more real than fake to him now. At Harvey's pointed look, the one that clearly asked 'just what did he think he was doing', Mike offered a tiny shrug in response. As everyone sat down and the priest cleared his throat, Mike's hands were let go. If Mike didn't know any better, he would have said Harvey looked nervous, but that couldn't be right, this was all one big game to Harvey he couldn't be nervous.

“Ladies and gentlemen we are gathered here today to join together Michael Ross and Harvey Spectre.”

Mike stopped listening to the priest and watched as Harvey kept shifting from foot to foot. Mike wanted to reach out and maybe hold Harvey's hands again, but something told him it wouldn't be appreciated. Within the hour they would be able to relax, they'd be married and Harvey wouldn't get deported, so he couldn't understand why Harvey was so restless. Turning his attention back to the priest, he wasn't expecting Harvey to start speaking, in the middle of the freaking ceremony.

“Wait, please,” Harvey said “Just wait one moment,”

“Harvey? What? What are you doing?” Mike asked. Who did Harvey thing he was to interrupt when they were already half way through?

“Mike am sorry,” replied Harvey, before turning to face the rest of the church. “There is not going to be any ceremony today,” a murmur of confusion went through the crowd. “I was forcing Mike here to marry me so I wouldn't get deported. Yet spending the weekend with Mike and his family I realised that he has people around him that care for him.” Harvey turned back to face Mike. “I am sorry Mike, truly I am for putting you and your family through this.”

Mike couldn't speak, the speech Harvey had just given was unexpected, he thought they had an agreement. A deal. When Harvey had turned back to him, Mike could read every bit of pain across Harvey's face. Yet Mike stood there and watched as Harvey walked away from him, left him standing at the alter.

Then the place went straight to chaos, people wanted to know exactly what was going off. Why had Harvey left? What had Harvey meant? All the questions kept coming from everyone and Mike had no words with which to answer any of them. How could he even begin to explain what he had agreed to do? Pushing past everyone Mike headed out into the decorated yard, at least the weather was nice, he needed a moment to breath, to think. He didn't even notice that Harvey wasn't even there.

“Mike, Mike what's going on?” his mother asked. “What was all that about being forced to marry Harvey?”

“It's difficult to explain,” replied Mike. He never thought he'd have to explain it to his family, how could he? He was still stunned at what had happened. Harvey had left him standing there, all on his own, looking like an idiot. How was anyone meant to explain that?

“Michael you tell me exactly what you've gotten yourself into?” demanded his mother.

“Fine, fine,” snapped Mike, loosing his patients “I was going to marry Harvey so I could keep my job and so he wouldn't get deported! But that's all gone to crap now because Harvey just walked away from this, from me.” He had fallen into a full blown rant and all the hurt was just pouring out. “I mean who does he think he is? To just walk out like that? To leave me standing there.”

“Michael. Michael,” interrupted his Grammy, “You need to go after him.”

“What?” Why should he go after Harvey? He wasn't the one who had just walked away, he had stayed, he had agreed to go through with this.

“You need to go after him, Michael, you need to tell him how you feel,” his Grammy said.

“What?” Mike asked, confused.

“Michael he left you, so you could make your own choice. So you could decided what you wanted from him,” explained his Grammy. “If you love him, then you will have to go to him.”

Mike just stared at his Grammy, he'd always known she was smart but them words, he got to choose this time, it was his choice; no one else’s. Hugging his mother and grandmother Mike rushed off, he had a lawyer to catch and not a lot of time to catch him in.

***

Racing through the airport Mike hoped that he wasn't too late, after everything that had happened over the weekend, he really, really hoped he was on time. Pushing through the crowds of people, tripping over suitcases and the odd pushchair (really who didn't fold them down before boarding a plane?). Damn Harvey Spectre and making him actually like – no more than like – the man, Mike pushed his way to the front of the queue once he'd found the right desk, offering apologies to the people he'd pushed in front of.

“The flight,” he was breathing heavily, heart aching with a mixture of adrenalin and the thought of loosing Harvey altogether. “To Toronto, when does it leave?”

“Am sorry sir, the flight left fifteen minutes ago, there isn't another one until later tonight.”

“What?” No, no he couldn't have missed it.

“The flight left, sir,”

“No, no that can't be right. There has to be another one?”

“Not until later tonight, sir, sorry.”

This wasn't meant to happen, he was meant to rush across the town only moments after Harvey and stop him before he left. Everything was meant to end happily with him at Harvey's side, he wasn't meant to be standing in the middle of an airport lobby on his own, his heart feeling like it'd been torn out. Running a hand through his hair, Mike watched as people milled around him unconcerned with his dilemma.

“Mike?”

Mike felt his breath catch, the one person he was sure he'd lost, that he thought he wasn't going to see again was standing right behind him. Turning around, Mike couldn't help the smile as he saw Harvey stood there, the one person that he shouldn't have ever let leave him at that alter. The one person that frustrated him, made him work until he fell asleep at his desk and had finally fallen in love with.

“Mike, what are you doing here?” Harvey asked.

The joy at seeing Harvey stood there, clad in his three piece suit was swiftly pushed aside by annoyance, Mike had never met anyone as annoying as Harvey. “You, you just leave in the middle of a ceremony! Our ceremony! Who does that Harvey? Who leaves right before the 'I do'? In front of my entire family, Harvey, who does that?”

“Mike look -”

“No you look, Harvey, I knew what I was getting myself into,” said Mike, taking a step closer. “I agreed to this, I was okay going through with everything.”

“Mike you don't know what you're saying, I coerced you into this. I don't get emotionally involved you know that.”

“Then why did you let my family take you out? Or let Grammy give you the suit? I know you Harvey and you care now, why else would you run?”

“Politeness is why Mike,” replied Harvey.

“Bullshit,” snapped Mike. He was an inch away from Harvey now and he could see exactly what Harvey was trying to hide, he vaguely wondered when Harvey had realised he'd cared, had it been when they were standing at the alter? Or before? Putting them questions to one side for now, Mike did the only thing that was left, he closed the gap and kissed Harvey, hands tangling into Harvey's hair. Scared that if he stopped everything was going to be bad again and he didn't want it to be bad. Mike felt Harvey grab his shoulders before he was pushed back; the kiss broken, a moment forgotten.

“I'm not a nice person, Mike,” whispered Harvey, hands not moving from where he held onto Mike.

“I don't care,”

“I'm difficult to live with,”

Mike shrugged, “So am I.”

“I'm not good at relationships,”

“Harvey, I know, I know all this, but it doesn't matter, not to me,” replied Mike smiling. “I love you.”

There he'd said it, in just three days he had gone from disliking Harvey to loving him and it some how felt right. The smile that Harvey gave him, the one that was solely his and his alone, was amazing and Mike couldn't help kissing him again. This was how it was meant to end with him at Harvey's side and not anywhere else. Yes they'd have to sort out the whole deportation thing, but that could wait for at least another few minutes. Just so long as Harvey kept kissing him.