tattooedsiren:

gmacht:

Suits AU – Harvey left Pearson Hardman after Hardman conspired with Tanner to get him disbarred fired. Mike is still working at PH but after his upteenth failure to take down Hardman he lets out his frustration on Harvey.

“You’ll be fine.”

He doesn’t look at Mike when he says it, and that combined with the low tone of his voice is more than enough to confirm to Mike that there’s something else going on here.

“You really miss it, don’t you?” Mike asks. And it’s not that he didn’t already know that. Pearson Hardman was Harvey’s life, of course he missed it. But right now, with Mike talking about leaving, it’s clear just how much Harvey misses it.

And Harvey, he doesn’t dismiss the question, or pull out one of his patented deflections. He just takes another sip of his scotch and murmurs, “Yeah, I do.”

Mike walks around the counter, wraps his arms around Harvey’s chest, chin digging into his shoulder. Harvey’s fingers curl around his wrist, and Mike just holds him for a moment. “I swear I am going to make that bastard pay for what he did to you.”

Harvey doesn’t say anything, though Mike thinks he can feel the ghost of a smile from where his temple brushes Harvey’s cheek. Harvey brings Mike’s hand to his lips and presses a brief kiss to the back of it.

“Don’t worry about that,” Harvey says. “Just let it go. Go in there and do the job I hired you for, the one you were meant to do.”

“But I was meant to do it with you,” Mike protests. Because it’s true. He would never have even stepped foot inside Pearson Hardman if it wasn’t for Harvey, and now, every time he walks in those doors it feels even worse than the day before. He passes Harvey’s old office, now completely transformed with a new partner installed, and he has to restrain himself from throwing something at the glass. He sits across a conference room table from Hardman and he wants to reach over and enact actual physical harm. He goes through the motions, does his work, but it all just feels so empty.

Harvey pulls out of his arms, turns in the chair to face him. “Do you really wanna work together again?” Harvey asks, and Mike can’t work out why it looks like he’s nervous to ask the question, because Mike thinks the answer is pretty fucking obvious.

But he nods anyway, says, “Of course.”

“I’m only two months into my non-compete. But when it’s done, I’m going to set up shop and I was hoping you’d want to come with me.”

Mike just grins, stepping forward, hands framing Harvey’s face as he leans down and kisses him. He can feel Harvey’s fingers press into his hips, and Mike deepens the kiss, pours all of him into this one embrace.

When he pulls back Mike says, “Yes, of course I do. I’ll go anywhere with you, you know that.”

Harvey smiles up at him. “So don’t quit Pearson Hardman just yet. Keep working, keep learning, use your time there to figure out their weaknesses and liabilities. And when we’ve incorporated we’ll make sure that bastard gets everything he deserves.”

Mike tilts his head, grinning. “I love it when you get all hard-ass on me.” Harvey quirks his eyebrow but before he can say anything Mike says, “Don’t even go there, it’s a cheap shot.”

Harvey chuckles. He stands, kissing Mike briefly before head into the kitchen.

“So, what are we gonna call ourselves?” Mike asks. “Ross & Specter? Ross Specter? Ross, Specter & Associates?”

“Um, why do you get your name first, Mr First Year Associate?”

“Uh, hello, alphabetical.”

Harvey just rolls his eyes, starts moving around the kitchen to prepare dinner as he says, “We’ll be called Specter & Ross. We’ll hire some associates, so keep your ears open, see if any of the half decent associates talk about leaving. Donna will obviously come with us, and I’m sure she can find some other admin staff to bring along. We won’t only hire from Harvard, because we both know that’s not a pre-requisite to being a brilliant lawyer. I’ll reach out to some clients I know aren’t happy Hardman drove me out so we’ll have a good client base right from the off, which will bring in more big names. I’ve started looking online at office spaces to see what kind of space is available and how -” Harvey breaks off mid word, looking at Mike confused. “What is it?”

Mike realises that he’s kinda frozen, staring at Harvey as the older man nonchalantly talks about their future in no uncertain terms. Harvey isn’t unsure. He isn’t scared. He knows exactly what he wants and what needs to be done to achieve it.

And Mike has never been so in love with him.

“Have I ever told you that I am fucking crazy in love with you?”

And he hasn’t. He’s never said those three words, hasn’t heard them from Harvey either. And Mike doesn’t even feel scared at opening himself up this way, making himself vulnerable, because if Harvey can be certain then so can he.

And Harvey just smiles shyly, looking away. “Good,” he says, “because you and I are going to be together for a very long time.”