Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Harvey Specter has a problem. 

Throughout his life, he has derived a set of five rules that he follows, no matter what. They consist of things that make both his professional and personal lives easily manageable. Whenever he’s had cause to break one of them, the consequences have always been nasty, or dangerous, or simply annoying. 

That’s why, after a few unfortunate run-ins when he bent his own rules, Harvey makes it a point now in what he considers to be his mature adult age not to repeat those mistakes. 

It has now been almost five years since he broke even one of his rules, and as if to prove that he chose his rules wisely, his career has soared and his personal life … Well, he has no complaints. 

Harvey likes his life the way it is. He dominates at his job, having built a reputation for himself as a formidable lawyer and the best closer in New York. He has his pick of stunningly beautiful women to go home with at the end of a long work day. He commandeers the respect of his colleagues. He has impeccable taste and razor sharp instincts. He lives in a swanky condo furnished to the nines in the exact style he wants, and it only sometimes gets lonely to return to. Besides, he spends most of his time at the office anyway. The office he earned as a sign of respect from Jessica, whom he owes so much of his success to. 

Every single aspect makes up the kind of life that his younger self would have absolutely been in awe of. 

So yes, Harvey is no stickler for rules, but he abides by his personal code like it were the constitution. 

“Hey Harvey, I have the documents you asked for, but I won’t be available today because Louis has me working for him. That okay with you?”

Harvey looks up at the familiar voice and meets Mike Ross’s gaze, who is standing at the door of his office with a folder in one hand. He’s leaning casually against the glass, shoulder propped against the door, and when Harvey doesn’t answer right away, he raises his eyebrows.

“Hand them over, then.” Harvey nods at the folder, and Mike strides across the office to drop it on his desk. In closer proximity, Harvey notices that Mike’s tie is crooked and he’s wearing his shirt bunched up at the elbows like Harvey has lectured him numerous times not to do. 

“Mike, what did I say about skinny ties?” is the comment Harvey settles for, leaning back in his chair and fixing him with a pointed look. Mike glances down self-consciously and straightens his tie.

“If you’re not going to buy me new ones, you don’t get to lecture me about my ties.” He shoots back, “Anyway, can you get Louis off my back or not?”

“No, I don’t need you today. Go do Louis’s grunt work and be a good boy for him, now.”

Harvey almost winces to himself at the slip of tongue. He wonders if it came across inappropriate, but Mike is completely unfazed as he groans and turns back around.

“One of these days, I’ll end up doing more work for Louis than I do for you, and then you’ll miss me.” Mike grumbles, turning around to leave.

“No, you won’t.” Harvey calls after him. Mike just raises a hand in goodbye without looking back. 

When the door swings back shut after him, Harvey inhales a sharp breath. He reaches across the desk to pick up the file Mike dropped off, and flips through it slowly. Everything is done precisely the way Harvey likes, and there’s a post-it note on the top page with Mike’s scratchy, cramped handwriting that Harvey has to squint to decipher.

Satisfied, Harvey sets the file aside and goes back to the contracts he’d been looking at before Mike came in. The words don’t register as Harvey absentmindedly replays the interaction in his mind. It was casual and brief, but Harvey goes over every second to make sure nothing could have betrayed his recent troubles. 

He twirls his pen on his finger, staring at the papers and trying to redirect his attention to the work at hand, but his mind is elsewhere. It’s only when his pen clatters to the floor almost precisely as his phone starts ringing shrilly, causing him to jump in his chair and curse loudly,  that he’s snapped back to the present. Sensing someone looking at him, Harvey glances out his office to find Donna giving him a bemused look, phone pressed to her ear.

“You good?” She mouths. Harvey nods and bends to pick up his pen while attempting to salvage his dignity.

But no, he’s not good. For the first time in his life, he’s broken more than half his rules and he’s well on his way to breaking all of them.

And it’s all Mike Ross’s goddamn fault.

Chapter Text

Rule One: Keep emotions out of work. Don't take anything personally.

Harvey’s first rule was the one that he regarded perhaps the most important. It was a principle he’d attempted to drill into Mike as soon as he started working for him, although everyone knew how that worked out. 

Although he disapproved, Harvey had more or less given up on trying to get Mike to agree with him on this one. After all, sometimes Mike and his tendency to get emotionally involved ended up yielding results Harvey had never expected. 

People responded to sincerity. Even highly professional clients at big, powerful corporations seemed to soften a little if Mike spared them some emotional grace. The strategy was one Harvey himself would never resort to because he deemed it far too risky, but it was nice to know he had someone who could offer an alternate approach when they were out of options. 

Besides, even if Mike was more susceptible to being swayed by emotion, that by no means made him a fool. In Harvey’s prior experience, anyone who did not mute their feelings were idiots who got taken advantage of. Case in point: in his own rookie days, his emotional slip-ups had only ever been weaknesses for others to exploit. But Mike’s intellect was so sharp and so vast that Harvey had no reason to worry about him being seen as stupid. 

Besides, Mike’s ability to empathize with anything that had legs did not mean he had any patience whatsoever for those that screwed him over. So while he was still occasionally so naive it astounded Harvey, he bounced back with a viciousness that Harvey loved to see. 

So he didn’t lecture Mike nearly as much as he wanted to about not taking things personally at work. Mike used his habit of caring about all his clients to win their cases, and to be frank, Harvey didn’t care if Mike was goddamn in love with the client as long as he used that as fuel to win. 

After all, Harvey couldn’t very well mold his associate into a mini-me, no matter how tempting it was to try. They were similar enough to begin with, and with Mike’s ever-growing potential, Harvey thought it would only be a matter of time until Mike was an outstanding lawyer. Not quite as good as Harvey, of course, but he’d get there some day. 

That was why Harvey tried to blame his spending so much time with Mike when he began to notice himself slipping up when it came to rule number one. 

Admittedly, Harvey had broken this one the most often. Sometimes he took things personally. Sometimes emotions get the best of him. He was human, and his ambition and passion in his work occasionally inevitably led to him getting overly angry or frustrated. It was no big deal. He’d just pull himself together and remind himself not to make a habit of it. 

The only problem was, he started making a habit of it with Mike, despite not quite realizing it when it first began. In fact, it was only when Donna pointed it out to him that he actually noticed what was going on.

It was after Mike had shown up with a beat-up face. His lip was split, and his eye was bruising purple. When Harvey first caught sight of him, white hot anger took hold of him, but he forced himself to wait until Jessica had left the room to confront Mike about it.

“Who did this to you?” He demanded. Mike shifted uncomfortably. Even the fact that Mike was reluctant to tell him what had happened irked Harvey to no end. Who on earth had beat the shit out of his associate, and why was Mike trying to protect the son of a bitch?

“Just let it go, Harvey,” Mike sighed sharply, like Harvey had no business prying. And maybe that was fair, but Harvey was already beyond reason.

“You’re gonna tell me who it was, and I’m going to beat the shit out of him, and no I’m not going to let this slide because that’s not who I am.” Harvey insisted.

“God, Harvey,” Mike shook his head. He clenched his jaw, the muscles jumping as he fixed Harvey with an exasperated look. “I deserved it, okay?”

Finding out why exactly Mike got beaten up was like being doused with frigid water that put out the flames of his fury instantly. Harvey felt cold all over and he didn’t quite understand the disappointment that flooded him in place of the anger. 

Harvey dropped the subject, like Mike had implored him to do, and they turned back to work. But when everything was done for the day and Mike had long left, Donna stepped into the office and stood in front of his desk until Harvey looked up and spoke first.

“What is it?”

“Harvey, I say this with love, but you need to chill the hell out.”

“What are you talking about?” Harvey popped the cap back on his pen and tucked all the important documents away into his desk drawer, which he promptly locked. He genuinely had no idea what Donna was getting at, and absentmindedly got up to put on his coat and get ready to leave. 

“Seriously? The thing with Mike earlier?” Donna lowered her voice into a gruff, inaccurate impersonation of Harvey. “Who did this to you?”

“The kid has no muscle! Who attacks someone like that? He could have gotten seriously hurt, and he can’t work for me if he’s stuck in the hospital unconscious.” 

“Yeah, right. That was a line straight out of one of my romance novels that you hate so much.”

“I don’t hate them, I just think they’re in poor taste.”

“See, you’re avoiding the subject!”

“What do you want me to say?” Harvey shrugged. He picked up his briefcase and rounded his desk to leave, only Donna darted in front of him and blocked his way. 

“Harvey. Haven’t you noticed you’re a little … hotheaded when it comes to anything pertaining to Mike?”

“What? That’s ridiculous.” Harvey laughed. When he saw Donna wasn’t joking, he frowned in confusion. 

“Oh God, you really don’t know.” Donna sounded mystified. 

“What don’t I know?” Harvey narrowed his eyes at her. “I treat Mike like I treat all my subordinates. Okay, maybe I favor him a little, but that’s because he’s my associate. And don’t tell him I favor him because his ego’s big enough as it is.”

Donna almost seemed sympathetic as she listened to Harvey deny any knowledge of a different pattern of behavior around Mike.

“Remember last week, when Louis buried Mike in so much work you barely got to work with him for three days straight? You hardly ever pull rank with Louis, but you told him to back off. And you’ve done that multiple times since hiring Mike. I think that’s why Louis is so determined to steal him away from you, because it’s so obvious it pushes your buttons.”

“Well, Mike’s my associate. Of course my orders should take priority. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“Okay, then what about the deposition yesterday?”

“Hey, that attorney was out of line. Backing Mike into a corner just to see him squirm is one thing, resorting to cheap insults is another.”

“And you let him know that. At length. I know you, Harvey, you were angry. Really angry. What happened to not taking things personally?”

“Look, I take care of my people. Mike is a little shit and too smart for his own good, but in law he’s a baby. Targeting him is like kicking a puppy, and I rightfully call people out on that. I’m his boss, it’s my job to protect him to a certain extent.”

“Never pegged you as an overbearing parent.” Donna finally broke a smile. “I guess he really does have a kicked puppy look to him."

“Exactly.” Harvey nodded, although something about the implication that he was Mike’s father didn’t sit right with him. “But just for the record, I’m way too young to be a dad.”

Donna rolled her eyes at him. “You’re thirty-eight years old. I’ve seen younger fathers.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m not a day over twenty-five.” Harvey deadpanned. “Come on, let’s go home.”

That was that. Donna didn’t call him out on his tendency to react irrationally emotionally when it came to Mike again. Harvey tried to reign in his protective urges a little more.

Harvey was just adjusting to being a mentor to a mentee whom he actually enjoyed spending time with. Since he’d never imagined getting along so well with a subordinate, he’d never given much mind to the younger associates. 

Harvey Specter was brilliant and therefore he had time for nothing short of brilliance. Now that he was met with Mike Ross, who was not only brilliant but absorbed everything Harvey taught him with an eagerness and hunger to succeed that Harvey noticed and privately appreciated, he was stepping into the role of protective parent for the first time in his life and he’d gotten a little carried away. 

It was a natural reaction. Once Harvey adjusted, he would be just fine.

Chapter Text

Rule Two: Don’t make exceptions; make an exception for one person, and everyone expects one. 

In retrospect, it was inevitable that Mike Ross should constantly challenge this rule. They were doomed from the beginning when Harvey hired a very unqualified Mike against Harvey’s better judgement. By doing so, he was not only risking sending this wide-eyed kid to jail if they were caught, he was also putting his carefully built empire of a career at risk. Harvey’s reputation would be ruined, his credibility shot to dust. 

To take a chance on this kid who’d literally had a briefcase full of drugs when they first met just because of his impressive memory was ludicrous. Any rational lawyer would have sent him packing. Maybe have the grace not to tip off the police when they came looking for him, since the kid’s brain would go to waste in prison.

In fact, that was precisely what Harvey should have done— he should have given Mike a pat on the shoulder and informed him that, regretfully, he couldn’t offer him anything. He could have given him a few encouraging words about coming to find him in a few years if he decided to pursue a career in law and attended law school. 

At most, Harvey could have offered to pay for law school, if he was that insistent to take the kid under his wing. He could have refused to take no for an answer. And if Mike was unwilling despite Harvey’s offers, that should have been the end of it, and they should have gone their separate ways.

But somehow, in an impulsive decision that Harvey himself didn’t quite understand, Harvey offered Mike a job. In doing so, he was setting a precedent that would result in the habitual and repeated breach of rule two. Somehow, Harvey, an esteemed attorney, failed to foresee this.

Where to begin with the countless times Harvey bent the rules and made exceptions for his associate? It drew Louis up the wall, that was for sure. Part of the joy of giving Mike preferential treatment was witnessing Louis’s outrage. 

But the better part of it was entirely subconscious. That is, Harvey didn’t know he treated Mike differently than everyone else. Yes, everyone else. Harvey didn’t just differentiate Mike from other associates, who, to be completely honest, were a blur of faces and names that Harvey had never bothered to learn. That wouldn’t have been nearly as big of a problem as what was actually going on.

Harvey treated Mike differently from quite literally everyone else in his life. 

[Exhibit A: Cappuccino with cinnamon]

The most peculiar part of Harvey knowing Mike’s coffee order off the top of his head was that he had absolutely no clue when and where he’d picked up the information.

To get one thing straight. Harvey Specter did not remember people’s coffee orders. For one, he only ever drank black coffee and didn’t understand why anyone would have a ridiculously complicated order that had to be just right. As he saw it, the point of coffee was to caffeinate his body as much as he could to get it energized and functioning.

Besides, Harvey was rarely, if ever, in the position to fetch someone coffee. He hadn’t done a coffee run since he was a first-year associate under Jessica’s wing. Thus the only person’s coffee order Harvey knew by memory was Jessica’s. 

It was a chilly morning in mid-November when Harvey discovered the fact that Mike was somehow an exception. 

Harvey had an important meeting all the way across town at nine o'clock sharp, and he’d informed Mike it was at eight thirty because he was certain Mike would cut it close with the time again. Harvey reminded himself to have yet another much-needed punctuality talk with him as he checked his watch.

They’d agreed to meet outside the office building and have Ray give them a ride. Through trial and error, Harvey discovered this was a much better option than trusting Mike to show up to the meeting by himself and meeting him there. This way, Harvey could be sure they’d both be at the right place at the right time, and make sure Mike didn’t look any more rumpled than he usually did before walking into a room full of expectant clients. 

The long hand on his watch ticked closer to twelve and Harvey huffed a sigh of frustration, watching his breath plume out in front of him. He’d arrived a few minutes ago, so it wasn’t like Mike was keeping him waiting in the cold, but how great would it be for Harvey to arrive and find his associate already waiting and ready to go for once? 

Before he could wallow in his annoyance, his phone began to ring and Harvey picked up without checking who it was.

“Have you left yet?” Of course it was Donna. She didn’t bother with pleasantries and she sounded slightly out of breath like she was walking briskly. Harvey could vaguely hear the click of her heels against the pavement. 

“No. He’ll be here at eight on the dot, apparently.”

“Great, well, I’m on my way into the office so can I get you anything on the way in? Coffee? Bagel?”

Harvey glanced mournfully at the spot on the street where the food cart that sold his favorite bagels usually parked. Unfortunately, they started business at nine so Harvey would have to make do with some other place.

“Yes, actually, I’ll take a coffee.” Harvey paused as Donna made a sound of acknowledgement. “And get the kid one, too.” He added as an afterthought.

“What’s gotten into you today? Feeling especially generous?” Donna quipped. 

“Maybe it’ll guilt him into getting here earlier next time.” Harvey mused, although he was smiling now.

“I guess I’ll just grab him a latte.”

“No, he gets a cappuccino with cinnamon.” 

A poignant pause.

Then, Donna’s accusing voice and Harvey’s bewilderment. 

“You know his order but you don’t know mine? I am so offended right now I might just skip out on your coffee all together.”

“Yours is ten times more complicated!” Harvey protested. “Plus I’m pretty sure I only remember because cinnamon offends me.”

Donna snorted a laugh, quickly appeased. “Yeah, well, looks like Mike has a sweet tooth.”

“Why not just get sugar? Or any other sweetener? Cinnamon is disgusting.” Harvey wrinkled his nose. 

“I know you’re not dissing cinnamon right now.”

Harvey spun around, phone still pressed to his ear, to find Mike bent over his bike as he locked it in place. When he straightened up, he had a faux-offended look on his face. 

“Is that him?” Donna was saying.

“Yeah, speak of the devil.”

“Would you look at that, eight on the dot. I’m impressed.” Harvey could hear the faint tinkle of a bell as Donna stepped into what Harvey assumed was the coffee place she frequented down the block. 

“Don’t encourage him.” Harvey shook his head. Mike grinned, leaned over so he could put his face near Harvey’s phone, and said ‘Hi, Donna!’ loudly into it. Harvey swatted Mike away, but he just laughed and ducked out of the way.

“I’m hanging up now. I’ll be there in five.” Donna was laughing too, and Harvey responded curtly and put his phone away in his pocket.

“That was Donna, right?” Mike questioned. “Because either it was her or I just enthusiastically greeted a probably very confused client.”

“It was her.” Harvey nodded. “But don’t speak into my phone like that again. Could’ve been a client.”

“No way.” Mike shook his head. “You didn’t have your stress crease.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your stress crease.” Mike repeated. He gestured to his forehead area. “Oh man, you didn’t know? You get this crease at the top of your nose when you’re speaking to clients. Literally only when you’re speaking to clients, by the way. Hence, stress crease.”

“Okay, first, never say ‘stress crease’ to me again.” Harvey said, only half-serious, to which Mike just grinned widely and shrugged. “Second, Donna’s grabbing us coffees, but you’re only getting yours if you swear to be more punctual.”

“I was on time!” Mike protested.

“Ever heard of a thing called being five minutes early?”

“Ah, so you don’t want me to be on time, you want me to be early. Those are two entirely different things.”

“Smartass.” Harvey rolled his eyes.

“You love me.” Mike shot back. 

“You have a response to everything, huh?”

“Learned from the best.”

“Use what I taught you in trial, not on me.” Harvey feigned exasperation, but he thoroughly enjoyed the back-and-forth with Mike. It was just good-natured bickering, and Harvey had never had someone who could keep up with him like Mike did. If left to it, Harvey got the feeling they could go on like this for hours. 

Unfortunately, their more laid back conversations were frequently cut short by urgent matters that required their attention. 

“Hello gentlemen!” Donna called from down the street, causing the two of them to pause and turn to greet her. 

“Morning, Donna,” Mike smiled once Donna was within earshot without having to raise his voice. She was impeccably dressed as always, walking purposefully toward them with a confidence unmatched by anyone Harvey knew. Except perhaps Harvey himself. 

Once she reached them, beaming, she held out two cups in turn. 

“Right, so that’s a black coffee for Harvey and cappuccino with cinnamon for Mike. Now shoo, you’re going to be late.”

“Woah, how’d you know my order?” Mike turned to Donna appreciatively. 

“Not the one you should be thanking.” Donna nodded toward Harvey, and Mike swung to give Harvey a look of surprise. And while Harvey was slightly irritated that Mike would be so surprised that Harvey was the one who knew his order, he had to admit to himself that it was very out of character

“Wow, uh, thanks Harvey.” His bright eyes were wide. Harvey looked away. 

“Thank me by winning this case.”

“Of course.” Mike playfully rolled his eyes and waved at Donna before ducking into the waiting car that had pulled up beside them a couple of minutes ago. Harvey climbed in after him, and once they were off, Mike began firing off questions about the clients and the case.

Harvey answered them all in autopilot, barely noticing when Mike asked him something that had nothing to do with the case. He was too busy picking his brain apart to figure out when exactly he’d come across Mike’s coffee order. 

“Hello? Earth to Harvey?”

“Yes, what?” The words came out in a more snappy tone than Harvey had intended, but that tended to happen when he was pulled abruptly from his thoughts. Mike pulled a face but didn’t comment.

“I was asking if you treating me to coffee can become a regular thing.” Mike smirked. 

“Shut up and drink your coffee.” Harvey shook his head.

The rest of the car ride went by in silence – Mike had put his earphones back in after Harvey made it clear he wasn’t in the mood for conversation – and Harvey never got to the bottom of the mystery of Mike’s coffee order. 

But for better or for worse, Harvey would never forget Mike’s coffee order from then on out. It was such a small, insignificant thing that it shouldn’t have mattered at all. Harvey was a corporate lawyer, for God’s sake. His brain stored vast amounts of knowledge and he had a very good memory. 

The problem was, he was now so glaringly aware of the fact that he knew his associate’s coffee order, and so freaked out by the fact that he knew Mike’s but virtually no one else’s, that Harvey made a point to commit Donna’s to memory as well. 

When Harvey asked for it, her eyebrows had shot up so high Harvey figured she must be straining her forehead, but he kept his face impassive as she rattled it off to him. It really wasn’t as complicated as he’d assumed, and quite easy to remember.

So he went around memorizing anyone else’s coffee orders he came across until he could no longer say that Mike was the exception. 

He ended up knowing some associates’ coffee orders but not their names. And the day he accidentally let slip that he knew Louis’s coffee order, Louis’s eyes practically bulged out of his head and he followed him around for a while demanding to know how he knew. It was quite exhausting, really. An awful lot of trouble to go to just to correct what Harvey perceived to be wrong.

But at least he’d fixed it, right? Mike wasn’t an exception anymore.

If only things were that simple.

[Exhibit B: (Not) Firing Mike Ross]

There was no way he couldn’t have seen it coming. Honestly, it was bound to happen eventually. But Harvey had mindlessly reassured Mike so many times about the impossibility of such an event happening, that when Jessica confronted him about Mike and insisted Harvey fire him,  it felt like someone had whacked him on the head with a baseball bat.

Long after Jessica left his office, Harvey sat rooted to the spot. He recalled the countless times Mike had come to him with concerns that their secret would be discovered. He groaned as he recalled the flippant manner in which he’d dismissed Mike’s anxiety, insistent that no one was going to find out.

But in the back of his mind, Harvey must have known that Mike would be found out eventually. So the million dollar question was, why did he avoid addressing the possibility until it was entirely too late? How was he supposed to face Mike tomorrow and tell him he was out of a job?

“Look on the bright side, at least you’re not going to jail and I’m not getting disbarred?”

“Hey, so remember all those times you wanted to falsify records so even if anyone gets suspicious, they have no way to prove anything? Great, remember how I brushed it off, told you it was unnecessary? Turns out you were right all along. Oops, my bad!”

Harvey wouldn’t have been surprised if Mike punched him in the face. And he would have deserved it. 

The worst part was, it was unlike Harvey to be so careless with such a big secret that would put everything he’d worked for in jeopardy if it got out. He should have gone back, meticulously covered his tracks, taken double, triple safety measures. That’s what he would have done with any other secret of this magnitude.

So what was it? Was he really so naive to believe Mike would never slip up, that no one would get suspicious enough to go digging? That was impossible. Harvey was many things, but naive was certainly not one of them. 

The only thing he could think of that could have served as an explanation was the surge of annoyance and knot of fear in the pit of his stomach whenever Mike brought up the subject to him. The feeling was so unpleasant that Harvey had to dispel it quickly by getting Mike to drop the subject and by stopping himself from dwelling on it at all. 

But now the knot in his stomach was about ten times worse, and he rubbed a hand over his face as he slowly got up to go home and get some sleep. Come morning, he’d have to call Mike in and fire him, and deal with whatever he had coming to him. Suddenly Harvey’s tie felt too tight around his throat, and he tugged to loosen it. 

When that didn’t do the trick, the feeling in his stomach spreading to his chest, he poured himself a drink and downed it quickly. He hoped the alcohol would help loosen his insides. Thankfully, it had the intended effect and Harvey felt steady enough to finish packing up and go home. 

By the time he stepped back into his office the next day, however, the dread was weighing down on his shoulders, pressing on his chest, and pooling in his stomach. He’d gone over a thousand ways to break the news to Mike, and all of it sounded fucking stupid. 

Donna took one look at him that morning and immediately knew something was wrong. When Harvey broke the news to her, she was horrified. 

Mike being in such high spirits when he approached Harvey and Donna was the icing on the cake. He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, and greeted both of them brightly. He didn’t seem to notice the solemn air between the two.

“I need to speak to you in my office.”

Mike shot Donna a wide-eyed look, but he wasn’t worried at all. He thought they were going to talk about work, clearly. If only he knew.

Harvey walked into his office and sat at his desk. He could hear Mike following him, and Donna saying she’d be outside while shutting the door so they could have some privacy. Upon finally looking up, Mike was still smiling, although he looked a little confused. 

“Is something wrong?” He asked, finally catching onto Harvey’s distress. Harvey opened his mouth, then closed it. He cleared his throat and tried again.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Okay…?” Mike laughed nervously. “What is it?”

Harvey furrowed his brow and worked his brain furiously. He was a lawyer. He was supposed to have a way with words, he was supposed to never be rendered speechless. 

In that cursed moment, however, words failed him.

“I’m sorry, Mike, Jessica found out. You’re fired.”

“Sorry, kid. The jig is up. We had a good run, huh?”

None of it sounded right, and he was all too aware that Mike was still waiting for him to say something. Jesus, Specter. Get it together.

“Harvey?” Mike now looked worried, all traces of his previous joy wiped clean from his face. Harvey pictured the way it would crumple when he broke the news, and in the same breath knew with sudden clarity he couldn’t do it. 

He’d go over Jessica’s head if he had to, damn it, but he was not backing down so easily. There had to be a way out of this. He was Harvey Specter. He’d think of a way out.

“Um, yes. I just wanted to say I’m proud of you.” 

“What?”

“Now get to work,” Harvey said briskly, his head feeling clear for the first time since Jessica had told him Mike had to go. 

“No, no, no, wait, did you just say you’re proud of me?”

“Mike.”

“Yeah?” He was still dazed, quite adorably so.

“Get out.”

“Right.” Mike nodded slowly, and backed out away from Harvey’s desk for a couple of steps, before turning around and walking out properly.

Thus Harvey voluntarily continued what was possibly the biggest risk of his entire career. He’d been given the option to put it all to an end, but he just couldn’t do it. Instead, he set his mind to plotting a way to make sure Jessica would also be complicit in their secret. 

Just like that, Harvey not only continued to make exception after exception for Mike, he forced Jessica to do so too. Seeing as Jessica Pearson did not allow herself to be pushed around, Harvey considered it to be quite the accomplishment.

Which still begged the question, why was Mike constantly being given second chances by Harvey, despite Harvey being a decisively one-chance-is-all-you-get type of guy? What made Mike different?

There was a right answer to the question, of course, but the one Harvey came up with at the time was certainly not it. What he told himself was this: Mike was a good lawyer, and he was a goddamn genius. Harvey could make exceptions for genius. Not for Mike. For genius.

Chapter Text

Rule Three: Clear boundaries are important 

Now this was a tricky one. Drawing boundaries with ninety nine percent of his co-workers was a piece of cake. Harvey barely gave a second thought to his colleagues’ personal lives, and frankly all that was important to him was that everyone did a competent job. 

The only person who blurred those lines was Donna. His best friend, his right hand, his voice of reason and virtually the only one who had the ability to humble him with a few quick, sharp words. 

They were Harvey and Donna.Their relationship had been built on a long period of time, countless arguments, and well-earned moments of vulnerability. Now they were at a point where Harvey was married to his work and he needed Donna to do his job. Naturally, Harvey considered her family. 

Harvey had always assumed his relationship with Donna, dipping effortlessly between the realm of personal and professional, was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing. The way they understood each other, the way Donna knew what Harvey needed before Harvey knew himself. That wasn’t something that came along often, if ever. He’d hit the jackpot with Donna and he wasn’t expecting to develop anything close to that with anyone else. 

Enter Mike. When Harvey had told Donna he wanted another Harvey, he hadn’t dreamed she’d actually find him one. 

Needless to say, the pair of them clicked immediately. During his first week on the job, Harvey worked better with Mike than some of his co-workers whom he’d had years of history with. He’d never admit it to Mike, but Harvey wanted nothing more than to get his hands deeper in all the raw potential he saw in him and personally mold him into a better version of himself. Mike would be his protégé. His legacy. 

The speed with which they bonded was almost alarming. Harvey found himself freshly taken aback every time Mike demonstrated an intuitive and accurate understanding of Harvey that he’d only ever experienced with Donna. 

The bigger surprise was discovering he understood Mike just as easily. It was second nature. Harvey saw what made Mike tick, and knew instinctively what references he would get and what offhand comment would make him laugh. He saw the competitive streak, the hunger to come out on top, the way his eyes glinted at a challenge. Harvey saw that despite all that, Mike was almost outrageously soft. 

The two polarizing sides of Mike were dizzying and complex and sometimes downright infuriating, but Harvey secretly adored it. He liked pushing Mike’s buttons and watching him react in ways that he expected but also in ways he didn’t. 

The crux of it was this: Harvey very rarely had reason to be surprised. After all, he was so skilled in the art of playing the man that people rarely managed to sneak up on him. So how exhilarating was it that Mike Ross always managed to surprise him when he least expected it?

So even if it was inconvenient for Harvey to deal with his unpredictability, Harvey absolutely adored it.

What did this have to do with boundaries? Absolutely everything. It was due to this very dynamic of theirs that in instances where it would have been far more appropriate for Harvey to take a step back to keep things professional, he pressed closer and dug his heels in instead. It wasn’t long before said boundaries barely had any meaning anymore.

***

It all began with a few celebratory drinks in Harvey’s office after winning a particularly different case. The little party had begun with Louis (they’d collaborated on the case) and Donna (well of course she was there), but Louis left at around ten and Donna shortly after. 

“You have a meeting at nine sharp tomorrow, so make sure to get some sleep.” Donna said as she collected her things and stood at the door. 

“Me?” Harvey questioned. He didn’t remember a meeting.

“Yes, you, Harvey. Unless Norma and I switched bosses without realizing,” Donna deadpanned.

“Ha! Sucks to be you, man.” Mike laughed a little hysterically. He was sprawled out on the couch, long limbs draped across the leather. The glass containing half of his last drink was placed precariously on the armrest beside his head, and Harvey pondered telling him to put it down on a solid surface but dismissed the thought. 

“I don’t know why you’re gloating. You’re coming with me.” Harvey answered, amused. He waved at Donna who was poised to leave. She nodded in Mike’s direction and mouthed ‘lightweight’. They shared a smirk poking fun at the rookie, and then Donna spun on her heel and left. 

“What? Since when?” Mike jerked upright abruptly, and in doing so knocked over the glass. It fell to the floor with a smash, brown liquor and shards of glass staining the marble in an instant. “Oh, shit, sorry–” Mike swung his legs around and staggered wonkily to his feet. 

“Since you’re my associate.” Harvey got up from his seat behind his desk where he’d been nursing a drink of his own. “Hey, no, don’t touch that.”

Mike was crouched down on the floor. Glass crunched underfoot as he began picking up the bigger pieces with his bare hands. He glanced up when he heard Harvey approaching. 

Mike was a ridiculous sight, with the top buttons of his shirt undone and his tie thrown over his shoulder so it didn’t drag on the floor. His hair was messy and sticking up all over the place from lying down on the sofa. The angle from which Harvey was looking down at him made it seem like his eyes took up half his face. 

“Ow, goddamn it.” Mike suddenly dropped a shard of glass like it was scalding hot, and Harvey caught a glimpse of a long cut across Mike’s palm that was starting to glisten with blood.

“Oh, for God’s sake, just leave it and get up.” Harvey held out a hand in his direction. 

Sheepishly, Mike put down the glass he’d been picking up and extended his unscathed hand, allowing him to help tug him to his feet. 

“Now give me your other hand.” Harvey demanded.

“It’s nothing, I’m fine.”

“Shut up and sit down.” Harvey pointed at the couch. Mike did so without protest, looking very much like a wounded puppy. Meanwhile, Harvey scoured his office for the first aid kit he knew Donna had stashed away somewhere. 

“Harvey, I swear I’m fine. It’s just a little cut.” Mike called just as Harvey found what he was looking for. When he returned with it bundled in his arms and sat down beside Mike, he noticed that Mike looked very embarrassed. Harvey ignored it.

“Hold out your hand and keep still.” Harvey said, busily collecting the things he needed.

“Look, I can do it myself–” Mike trailed off when Harvey fixed him with his best shut-up-and-listen-to-me look. It worked great when Mike was going on a tangent in the middle of a case and turns out it worked great in situations like these as well. 

They were quiet for a moment as Harvey disinfected the wound and wrapped clean gauze around it.

“You’re good at this.” Mike commented. “You know, I never took you as the type to know how to do this sort of stuff.”

Harvey raised an eyebrow as he snipped the gauze neatly and finished off the job, putting everything back inside the kit. 

“My kid brother used to get knocked around all the time. He was always coming around with scrapes and bruises, and when my parents weren’t there to patch him up I had to do it. It’s not difficult.”

“Huh.” Mike nodded. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“Oh, yeah.” Harvey laughed. He got to his feet to return the first aid kit to where he’d found it. By the time he’d walked back to the couch to sit beside Mike, having collected the drink he’d left abandoned on his desk, he was in the middle of a story about his younger brother and his attempt to allow their parents to adopt a stray cat he’d found on the way home from school. 

“He had scratches up and down his arms because the goddamn cat was not a fan of being carried, but he begged and pleaded with the thing in his arms like his life depended on it.” Harvey laughed at the memory. 

“So what happened?”

“He enlisted my help.” Harvey grinned. “Even then, I was very persuasive. We got to keep him.”

“I’m impressed.” Mike raised his eyebrows. “Who’d have known Harvey Specter has a soft spot for his brother and stray cats?”

Harvey rolled his eyes. “I have no such thing.”

“You should have seen the look on your face when you talked about them.” Mike grinned lazily, clasping his hands to his chest and mocking surprise. “Oh tin man, you do have a heart!”

Harvey shoved his shoulder as Mike fell about laughing, but he wasn’t annoyed in the slightest. In fact, there was a warm feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with the alcohol. He just felt content to sit there beside Mike. 

They were now much closer than they’d been when Harvey was patching up Mike’s hand. In the shifting and rearranging they’d done as Harvey told his story, they were now practically joined at the hip, knees barely touching. Usually, Harvey would have made a point to recover a respectable distance between them. But it was late, the alcohol was making him languid and lazy, and he was so comfortable in that exact position that he didn’t want to move an inch. So he didn’t.

They continued talking.

Harvey’s anecdote broke the invisible dam between them and all manner of personal stories flooded through. They talked for hours about anything and everything, and although one of them would occasionally get to their feet to stretch their legs or to get another drink or to dramatically re-enact something, they always ended back on that sofa together. 

Every time, they’d start off with a decent amount of distance between them. But as they exchanged stories, leaned in in anticipation, slapped each other’s shoulders or doubled over in laughter, somehow they ended up strangely close again; joined at the hip, thighs pressed flush against one another. Neither of them treated it as strange at all, and as the night went on, Harvey found his so-called boundaries shredded up and scattered around his and Mike’s too-close feet.

The thing was, Harvey didn’t talk about himself. That was a fact. Cold, hard, truth. Extremely rarely did he offer up any information about himself, mostly for fear that he’d make himself vulnerable only to be betrayed or left behind. When he did, they were in small controlled doses. The only reason Donna knew so much about him as she did at this point was because of the sheer amount of time they’d spent together. 

That night with Mike, though, he confessed more about himself than he ever remembered doing in one go. Well, there was that time he got high with him after Mike’s grandmother passed away, but the memories from that night were quite a blur. So that was one boundary long gone.

Another was personal space. Or lack thereof. Even before this particular night, Harvey had noticed that Mike was constantly invading his space. He’d lean over Harvey to look at his computer screen when it wasn’t entirely necessary. He’d walk close enough to Harvey that their shoulders brushed. Their fingers were constantly brushing as they handed things to each other, and when they sat side by side, Mike’s foot was always right there beside Harvey’s. Sometimes he’d even prop his arm on the back of Harvey’s chair.

Harvey had called him out on that one once, and Mike had looked so surprised, like he hadn’t been aware of what he was doing at all, that from then Harvey had refrained to mention these things to Mike unless they were making Harvey actively uncomfortable.

So perhaps this was normal for Mike. Maybe none of this was breaking boundaries for him at all. But that was far from the case for Harvey.

Harvey had always been a stickler for personal space. He hated when anyone invaded it, and made a point to retain his personal little bubble whenever he could. So when he first noticed Mike’s unfortunate habits, he’d waited for the irritation to overcome him. 

It never came. 

Mike’s proximity and his constant invasion into Harvey’s orbit didn’t bother him at all. 

This was why, by the time that night consisting of broken glass, slightly slurred heart-to-hearts, and copious amounts of alcohol rolled around, Harvey didn’t freak out about how close they were and whether or not that was normal. 

They just laughed and talked until Harvey couldn’t remember anything. All he knew was that the next day, he woke with an ache in his back and daylight pouring through the glass windows causing him to squint.

“Rise and shine.” Donna’s bright voice, much too loud for the hour and sounding like she was barely holding back a laugh, finally brought Harvey to his senses. He looked around wildly to gather his surroundings.

He’d fallen asleep at the damn office. The broken glass and spilt liquor from last night was still a mess on the floor. He’d pulled off his tie before he fell asleep, evidently, and it was discarded in a heap beside him. And there was a heaviness in his lap when he tried to get up which made him look down and immediately groan in regret.

Mike was sleeping with his head in Harvey’s lap, curled into him like a cat. 

Harvey tipped his head back in exasperation. “Donna–”

“You have an hour until your meeting, nobody else saw you two, this is absolutely adorable, and I am never letting this go.” Donna grinned widely. “Oh, wait, almost forgot,” she paused and pulled out her phone. “Smile!”

Harvey scowled at her as she took several photos.

“That’s my new screensaver,” she winked. 

“Ha ha. Very funny.” Harvey paused, glancing back down at his associate asleep in his lap. He couldn’t begin to fathom how many boundaries this was crossing. 

 “Oh my God,” Donna whispered. When Harvey glanced up at her, her eyes were wide and gleaming with a look Harvey knew all too well. “You don’t want to wake him up! That’s so sweet.”

“I’ll wake him in a second.” Harvey shook his head. He had to resist the urge to thread an absentminded hand through Mike’s short brown hair. Where the hell had that impulse even come from? God, he was losing his mind. 

“Okay, adorable as that is, you two need to be preparing for that meeting.” Donna scanned the two of them. “And you both need a shower. Up and at ‘em now.” 

With that, and a knowing look thrown over her shoulder, she left the office to attend to work of her own. 

Harvey sighed. Donna was right, they had to get back to work and salvage whatever semblance of a professional relationship they had left. He shook Mike’s shoulder gently. 

“Mike.” He called. Mike’s eyes flew open. For a split second, he looked wildly around, just as disoriented as Harvey was. When he realized whose lap he was using as a pillow, his eyes grew wide in horror and he sat up so quickly he almost smacked Harvey in the nose with his forehead. 

“Harvey, did we–?”

“Apparently.”

Mike cursed under his breath, rubbing his hands over his face. Then realization dawned on his face.

“Shit, the meeting! I’ll go draw up the documents, I think I left them on my desk last night.”

Mike stumbled around the room, pulling on his shoes one by one, grabbing his suit jacket, and  then ran out of the office without sparing Harvey another glance.

Harvey sat back, left alone in his office that looked like a tornado had swept through it,  and laughed to himself in disbelief. Then he finally acknowledged to himself just how many rules Mike Ross had made him break over the course of his employment.

Well, shit. Harvey thought, bemused. I am so screwed.

Chapter Text

Rule Four: Leave well enough alone.

Harvey sat at his desk, chin propped up on one hand, as he went over the events of the last few months in his mind.

The time he punched Hardman in the face because he made snide comments about his and Mike’s “suspiciously close” relationship. His immediate defensiveness whenever anyone singled out Mike, even when it was justified. Rule one broken. Time and time again.

All the times he’d sent Mike home for being a little shit and told him not to bother coming back, only to be relieved when he saw him at his desk the next day. Remembering coffee orders. Not firing Mike and risking not only his career, but everyone else’s at the firm. Rule two, out the window.

The countless fleeting moments of physical contact: fixing Mike’s tie, his hair, or his crooked collar without a second thought and scrubbing a thumb against Mike’s cheek where he’d accidentally gotten highlighter on it. The constant slip-ups where Harvey shared more of himself than he probably should. Not to mention finding Mike asleep on his lap and not hating it. Rule three, long gone. Vanished into thin fucking air. 

This could only mean one thing: Harvey was growing soft. He had to reign everything back in and put things back the way they were; the way they should be. Gone were the days of “making exceptions for genius” and “adjusting to being a mentor”. All that had gotten him was confusion and an ambiguous professional relationship with Mike.

 What was done was done. There was no use mulling over rules already broken and boundaries already crossed. What mattered was how he dealt with the situation. Now that he’d identified the problem, getting rid of it was a simple fix. 

All Harvey had to do was take extra caution not to break any further rules and recover the distance between them that should never have been closed in the first place. 

Right, Harvey nodded to himself. Should be easy. 

He even laughed at himself a little for being so panicked when he first realized how many rules he’d been breaking. It had been jarring to come to terms with the fact that his principles had been compromised, but there was no need for alarm. 

When Harvey hadn’t been aware that there was a problem, it was natural that he couldn’t fix it. Now that he knew, it was only a matter of time before he made it go away like he did with all his other problems. It was practically a done deal.

Harvey leaned back in his chair, his tense shoulders finally relaxing. He had absolute confidence in his mind that this time next week, everything would be back to normal. 

***

Easier said than done. 

Harvey started out strong. It helped that Louis was sniffing around for an opportunity to steal Mike. When Louis cornered Harvey in the bathroom and hinted that he wanted Mike’s help on a case of his, Harvey graciously agreed. 

“He’s all yours.” Harvey smiled, ignoring the twinge of irritation in the back of his mind. 

“He is?” Louis narrowed his eyes, suddenly suspicious. “Why? Is there something wrong with him? Is he sick?”

“No.” Harvey shook his head, side-stepping Louis smoothly to grab a paper towel to dry his hands on.

“Then what, the novelty of your precious associate finally wore off and you’re realizing he’s nothing special?” Louis pressed, darting around to block his way again when Harvey tried to throw out the used towel. 

“If he’s nothing special, why do you want him so badly?” Harvey raised an eyebrow. 

“His memory’s a good asset.” Louis shrugged. “Nowhere near the prodigy you make him out to be, though.”

“Mike can run circles around every other first-year associate and you know it.” Harvey pointed out. “Look, do you want his help on your case or not?”

“I do.” Louis said hastily. “It’s just unlike you to give in so easily. What’s the catch?”

“No catch, Louis,” Harvey reached across to pat Louis on the shoulder reassuringly. Then he stepped around him for a second time and promptly left the bathroom. 

“You’re up to something, Harvey! And I’m gonna figure it out!” Louis called at Harvey’s retreating back. Harvey smirked to himself. 

It was almost too easy to wind Louis up. Didn’t make it any less entertaining.

***

True to his word, Louis kept Mike busy. Harvey barely saw him for the next few days. Once or twice, Mike dropped by his office to complain about having to work with Louis and sent imploring puppy dog eyes in Harvey’s direction while asking him to rescue him. 

“Not a chance.” Harvey kept his eyes glued to the contract in front of him so that he didn’t have to meet Mike’s eyes head on. For God’s sake, it was like refusing candy to a little kid. If he actually looked at him, Harvey knew he’d cave in minutes.

“But–”

Harvey just pointed at the door. He only looked back up when he heard the sound of Mike’s footsteps leading him away from Harvey’s desk. Then he put his pen down with a sigh. 

It didn’t make him happy to do this, but it was what had to be done. Once they were firmly set back in their positions as associate and boss, Harvey could go back to having Mike by his side at all times and mentoring him the way he was supposed to. This was just a temporary setback, and the discomfort Harvey felt at pushing Mike away would dissipate with time.

***

Mike was everywhere and nowhere all at once. Harvey caught glimpses of him around the office consistently. It was like every corner he turned, Mike was there. But contrary to the first few days when Mike had sought Harvey out, Mike now seemed to barely notice him. If they made eye contact as they walked by one another, he’d just nod at Harvey distractedly. 

Harvey would open his mouth to start up a short, light conversation, only for Mike to pass by him without a moment’s hesitation or a second glance. Harvey would feel a flicker of annoyance. How was a first-year associate too busy to stick around to chat with a senior partner? That didn’t seem right at all. 

But then again, Mike appeared genuinely busy. He was always rushing off somewhere, or buried in paperwork with his earphones in. So sometimes Harvey intentionally walked by the cubicles or peered into the file room to catch a glimpse of Mike poring over mountains of papers, twirling a highlighter on his fingers and muttering quietly to himself. Harvey only lingered a moment before turning on his heel and walking away with a small smile on his face.  

The more time went by and the less of Mike he saw, however, Harvey’s twinge of displeasure turned into full-on permanent irritation. He was walking around with a dark cloud over his head, and whenever someone called him out on it, he scowled at them and snapped that it was none of their goddamn business. 

He now scoured every room for any trace of Mike before stepping into it, and when he did find him, Harvey was overcome by a wave of emotion that he couldn’t quite decipher. It was unpleasant, for sure. He wanted to stride over there and demand Mike come back and work for the person who hired him in the first place. 

Cool it, Harvey. What the hell’s gotten into you? Acting on his impulses was what had gotten him into this mess in the first place. Giving into them now would be going back on his word and undoing all his progress with restoring his rules. 

So although his eyes bored into the back of Mike’s head and his throat tickled with the urge to call out his name, Harvey forced himself to square his shoulders and walk away. He commended himself for his self-restraint.

Unfortunately for everyone else who worked with him, however, Harvey had no patience left to spare for them since all of it was being used on Mike. 

“Louis, stop whining like a goddamn baby. You’re a grown man. Act like it.” Harvey snapped at Louis in Jessica’s office one morning. To be fair, Louis had been raising valid concerns about the complicated case he was dealing with. But all Harvey could hear was Mike found this, Mike pointed out that, Mike, Mike, Mike until he felt like he was losing his mind. 

Jessica threw him a sharp look, and Louis flushed red.

“You shouldn’t even be here! This was a private meeting and you just barged in like you always do.” He hissed.

“Oh, you don’t want to talk about barging into places where you’re not welcome, Louis. I could give you about fifty separate instances–” Harvey was fully prepared to list all of them.

“Enough.” Jessica cut in. “Harvey, take a walk.”

“What? Why?”

Jessica fixed him with a half exasperated look.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I’ve had several people come to me with complaints that you’re being rude and unpleasant. And I’m starting to see their point. Pull yourself together. You cannot start with this attitude on our clients, you hear me?”

Harvey sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Jessica had a point. He shouldn’t have snapped at Louis. He turned to him, apology on the tip of his tongue, then got one look at the smug expectant look on Louis’s face and felt it wither on the spot. He turned and left without saying another word.

On his way back to his office, he unintentionally ran into Mike. He and Rachel Zane were walking together, practically arm in arm, with a coffee in each of their hands. Rachel was laughing at something Mike said, and Mike was smiling fondly at her. 

Not this again. Harvey rolled his eyes. He’d thought Mike’s flirtation with Rachel was long over, but apparently that wasn’t the case. 

“Coming through.” Harvey said pointedly, walking right into them so that Mike and Rachel had to jump apart to make room for him.

“What the hell, Harvey?” Mike called after him, sounding more bewildered than angry. Harvey half-hoped that Mike would run after him to confront him. Or maybe catch on that Harvey was upset for some reason and ask him what was going on. Instead, Mike went back to his conversation with Rachel and Harvey heard their lowered voices get further and further away. 

By the time he got to his office, he was in an even worse mood than before.

“Okay, out with it. What crawled up your ass and died?” Donna’s voice behind him made Harvey turn around. He hadn’t even sat down because he was too agitated to sit still. She was standing in the doorway, quirking one eyebrow.

“You saw that?” Harvey sighed. 

“Uh-huh. That and all the other times you blew up on people this week.”

“I didn’t blow up on anyone.” Harvey shook his head in frustration. 

“Hate to break it to you, but yes you did. Just the other day, Mike was here getting me a coffee and you walked by and said, and I quote, ‘Hate to break up the party, but some of us have work to do.’” 

“So? Sounds like something I say on a daily basis.”

“Yeah, but it was the way you said it. It was all snarky and mean.” Donna’s eyes widened. “Wait. Just now, you were a bitch to Mike and Rachel. Mike is the common denominator. You’re upset because you miss Mike!”

“That’s ridiculous.” Harvey waved her off. He didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of being right. But Donna was sinking her teeth in.

“Aw, come on, Harvey, he’ll be back next week.”

“Donna–”

“I can’t wait to tell him you actually care about him.”

“Wait.” Harvey said sharply, turning to face her properly as something dawned on him. The sudden shift in Harvey’s demeanor quietened Donna, and she gave him an inquisitive look. “Mike only gets you coffee when he’s asking you for a favor.”

“What? No, he doesn't.” Donna laughed, but these were the two people that Harvey knew the best in the world they were talking about. Donna was lying. She was hiding something from him.

“ He’s not working for me right now. What could he possibly have to ask you as a favor?” Harvey questioned her. He was all too aware he was slipping into his courtroom voice, which Donna never appreciated, but he didn’t pull back. He was getting to the bottom of this.

For a beat, neither of them said a word. Harvey met Donna’s gaze steadily, and when her posture slowly shifted from facing slightly away from him to facing him properly again, he knew she was going to tell him the truth.

“He made me promise not to tell you.” Donna sighed, genuinely distressed by the situation.

“Donna. Come on.” Harvey continued to look at her steadily. “What’s going on?”

And then Donna explained everything, because she knew Harvey just as well as he knew her, and the look he was giving her meant he would never let it go until he got a satisfactory answer from her.

Trevor, Mike’s no-good friend, was back in town. He was in a lot of trouble, again. And Mike, like the idiotically kind-hearted man he was, had been roped into a situation that he should never have gotten involved in. 

As he listened, Harvey could literally feel the frail tendons of restraint snap and break one by one until nothing was left. 

“Son of a bitch.” Harvey cursed, and immediately began to walk out of the office to leave. As he was about to pass Donna, she grabbed his arm and made him look at her. Her eyes were sympathetic and concerned. 

“Don’t do anything stupid.” she warned lowly. 

And because she looked so worried, Harvey rearranged his features into an easy smile for her benefit.

“When have you ever known me to do anything stupid?” He assured her. She didn't smile back at the joke. Instead she just studied him for a long moment, then finally let go of him.

“Fine. Just don’t tell him I told you.”

Harvey nodded and walked away. The minute his back was turned to her, the smile dropped off his face and he clenched his jaw. He made his way briskly and purposefully toward the elevators. Work day be damned, he was going to make the little shit pay right this second. 

It was only as the elevator doors closed that Harvey realized that by doing what he was about to, he was breaking rules one through three all over again. Hell, throw rule four in the mix, too, because if this was about the furthest thing from leaving well enough alone he could get.

Then again, at this point, Harvey really couldn’t find it in himself to care.