Chapter Text
Competitive: that would be the most accurate word to describe Mike and Harvey's relationship. This automatically placed Mike on a higher level than everyone else in Harvey’s life, because Harvey Specter didn't feel the need to compete with anyone else, he just felt and honestly often knew that he was better than them already. Mike however, got under his skin, Mike with his incredible eidetic memory, sharp wit and startling blue eyes. Harvey needed to compete with him, needed to put him in his place sometimes because Mike was incredible, and younger than him, and occasionally he made him feel insecure. Not that he’d ever admit that to anyone, even himself.
Harvey hated to think it, but he'd grown fond of having Mike rushing around the place, having no idea how to do his job but picking it up rapidly anyway, constantly coming to Harvey for help where he could tease and torture him. So when Mike gained some confidence in his work and began seeking his advice less and less, Harvey felt bizarrely stranded like he didn't know how to slot back into his old life without having daily banter with the younger associate.
That's when Harvey withdrew, because needing anybody - besides Donna - was completely unacceptable. Particularly a mere associate, a clumsy, unsure yet still arrogant associate with striking wide eyes and a tight little body from all that cycling-
"Why have you been staring at that pen for half an hour? Are you trying to turn it to gold? I know you have something of a god complex - I think Jesus was the transformative one though." Harvey glared at Mike when he walked into his office.
"I was thinking."
"Or maybe you're a fan of Matilda?" Mike continued his teasing with a wry grin on his face.
"What do you want, kid?"
"I'm in my thirties!"
"Barely. What is it?" Mike continued on and asked Harvey for his help with his current case. He didn't like the lack of his boss’ usual cheeky arrogance, the way his fast retorts had disappeared. He seemed...weary, in his own 'Harvey' way. Especially when he offered a solution without any duress.
"Oh okay...thanks....are you alright?"
"Of course."
"You seem kinda...I don't know, not yourself."
"I'm fine. I have court in fifteen minutes." He stood and arranged his files his briefcase. Mike left.
Harvey had assumed that giving Mike the cold shoulder would help distance them even further. Apparently, it would not. Mike went back to his daily appearances, asking for Harvey's help on things other than how to fill out forms. Now it seemed to be ideas and how to manipulate people to win their cases. Harvey was impressed, Mike was really finding his feet - about damn time, too.
"Harvey-"
"Shut up I've got a video ca- Mr Jefferson, hello, how are you sir?"
Mike didn’t leave and instead sat down on the couch in his office, waiting for him. Harvey conducted the video call with eyes itching to look over at Mike, and skin that crawled because he could feel him staring.
"Ok, you take care now, bye bye- you are the worst fucking associate that has ever darkened our doorstep at Pearson Hardman." Mike smirked at his abrupt change of tone as soon as the client ended the call. Damn him.
"I-" Harvey was already out the door to get his lunch. So of course, Mike followed.
"You are such a pain in the ass!"
"I just wanted your advice, you should take it as a compliment."
"I did the first like..five thousand times you asked."
"Do you think I'm attractive?" Harvey nearly choked on his hotdog- man would that have been an ironic way to go.
"I think you look like a pothead in a cheap, nasty suit." He gulped back some coffee and realised that probably wasn’t the ideal way to calm his racing heart. “Why are you asking me such a ridiculous question?"
"I was going to ask someone out- it's cool, thanks-" Harvey quickly continued the conversation before he left, he had to know who it was.
"Who? Someone in the office? You know that's never a good idea."
"I know which is why it's cool, doesn't matter-"
"Michael..."
"You don't know them! It's nothing!"
"Tell me!"
"Why do you even care?!" Harvey didn't have an answer to that that he was willing to give.
"Don't deflect." He scolded Mike, in doing so deflecting himself.
"Ugh, fine, come with me."
Mike trudged a few blocks over to a patisserie and bought them some goodies and the best goddamn coffee he'd ever had.
"Mike! Hey! How are you?" Harvey was disgusted when the barista greeted Mike with a smile like sunshine. A barista?! Mike was - or wasn't, but definitely wanted to be - fucking a goddamn barista? Sure he was tall, and had kinda light brown hair that looked nice and thick, and he had good skin, and looked like he exercised - maybe a swimmer - but that was not the point. He also had a fairly deep voice, and a smile so charming it verged on arrogant. The fact that Mike was after a lower class - much, much lower class - version of Harvey was just irking him in ways he could not process.
"Dan this is my boss Harvey-"
"Hi Dan. So you think you're worthy of dating or fucking or whatever - the best associate at the Pearson Hardman prestigious law firm?" He's squeezing his hand too tightly, and his other hand is resting in the crook of Mike's neck and damn if that's not tempting. Dan, to give him credit, annoyingly keeps a perfect smile on.
"I'm..not sure what-"
"Will you two Girl Scouts just ask each other out before I die of boredom? Great snickerdoodles though..." Harvey takes the bag of treats away from Mike and chomps on them loudly, pretending to enjoy the awkwardness that ensues.
"Uh- ha, yeah....uh...Harv you reckon you could give us a sec?" Mike asks shyly. It's cute, but he called him Harv. And Harv is set out to embarrass him and make this hideous situation crash and burn before it even starts.
"I'm good." Mike glares.
"Dan, you fancy grabbing a drink tonight after work?"
"Yeah that sounds great- despite your boss' best efforts to embarrass you." Fuck this barista. Although, now Harvey only has approximately eight hours left to make sure that doesn't happen. And that's assuming Mike stays until nine like usual- which he probably will try not to do if he thinks he's got a date. He's writing down his number on a notepad and Mike takes it and - ooh, bright idea. Harvey pickpockets his associate on the way back to the office and throws the number in a trash can. That oughta do it.
"Why did you have to act like that?!"
"To make you ask him out and get it over with."
"You didn't need to stay and watch!!!!" Mike wasn’t seriously upset with him, he was just being dramatic and getting over the nervous and embarrassment-induced adrenaline.
"I'm honestly a little surprised it was a guy. I half expected you to be trying it on with Rachel."
"Oh. Yeah well...I guess I've preferred men for a while...is that weird for you?"
"I've slept with men. And women. And men and women simultaneously." He boasted, adding the last part with a wry smirk. Mike just rolled his eyes.
"Of course you have." He didn't need to know that Harvey's recent hook ups had all been men. Lean men with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes where possible.
Harvey REALLY needed to get this guy out of his life. He could fire him? No...he amused him and he did all his pro bono work for him and there's no way Harvey could give that up. He should let him see the barista. He should let him see the barista. He should let him see the bari- Harvey kept telling himself that over and over throughout the rest of the day but fuck him if he could accept it. Why did it have to bother him so? Why?
"Harvey!" Mike burst into his office in a panic as he was leaving at seven that evening.
"What?"
"I lost Dan's number! Please can I go and try and find him at the bakery because if I don't go now he's gonna think I stood him up and he'll go home-"
"You lost his number? Wow...anyway Mr Eidetic memory shouldn't you be able to just remember it?"
"I was...focusing on him I didn't read it..." Harvey tried not to visibly sulk at the confession the barista had been able to fluster him so much that he couldn’t even look at the paper.
“Have you done your work for today?" Harvey knew he hadn't finished yet. He was still arguing with himself- let Mike go on the date with the hot Harvey-lookalike? Or make him stay even later and hate him for a few months for fucking up his date with the hot Harvey-lookalike?
"Harvey?"
"Oh for god's sake just go. But if you don't have that injunction dealt with before ten am tomorrow you're fired."
"Thank you!" Mike started to rush forwards but Harvey shooed him away and he ran out.
At least now Harvey wasn't an asshole. A total asshole. But equally, now Mike was going out on a date and probably going to be having sex with a sweet-tasting barista, and he was sitting alone in his big apartment listening to music he wasn't really listening to with expensive craft beer that didn't taste as good as the cheap stuff...all by himself.
There was a knock at his door.
Maybe some ass- that oughta cheer him up. Although he was feeling so pathetic his mind wasn't even on sex. He strolled across his apartment and was confused to find Mike on the other side of the door with two six packs of cheap, great-tasting beer.
"...hey, how'd the date go?"
"It didn't. Want a beer? A...nother..beer?" He asked after seeing the bottle in his boss' hand. Harvey let him in and then he was back to sitting on his couch but this time he was drinking cheap - great tasting - beer and watching Mike flick through his CDs.
"You have some cool stuff..."
"What did you expect?"
"I don't know- opera maybe. I figured the cool records in your office were just a show." Harvey threw a cushion at him.
"So what happened?"
"He didn't show. I wasn't actually that fussed, wasn't meant to be."
"So you not only wanted to go out with a barista but you got stood up by a barista...that's one hell of a night. Why didn't you care? I thought you liked the guy?"
"I thought he was hot. That's kinda...where it ended. Found out he votes republican anyway." Harvey snorted.
"He wasn’t that intelligent, or funny."
"I'm shocked."
"Anyway he...yeah. Whatever. No biggie." Mike sat down. Harvey was simultaneously pleased and irritated, how dare a barista think he was so great he could stand up Mike. Bullshit.
"What about you? This what you do every night? Sit alone?"
"I'm having a night off from hot sex."
"Getting old." Harvey jabbed him in the ribs.
"Getting bored." Mike raised an eyebrow as if to say 'what?! Come on.'
"What? It's just too easy these days, I want a challenge." Mike rolled his eyes again. Harvey let his head lull back over the back of the couch. He had Mike here, on his couch, with beer. And yet he STILL couldn't bring himself to do what he knew he truly wanted to. He wondered if Mike wanted it or not.
Four more beers later for each of them and Harvey had officially had too much.
By the time they'd finished the six packs intermingled with a couple of Harvey's expensive beers they were truly drunk and when Mike came back from the bathroom and stumbled on the stair down to the living room, Harvey caught him and then didn't let him go as quickly as he should have. Instead he paused for a moment, they met each other’s eyes, then he yanked him close and kissed him instead. Mike made a desperate kind of huffing noise and kissed him back. A not-quite-empty beer bottle was dropped and Harvey had Mike up against the back of the couch quicker than he thought possible, and his cock in his mouth in another few seconds.
Mike came quickly, pent-up attraction and Harvey's skilled mouth too much to bear. Harvey was embarrassed that he did the same shortly afterwards.
They stood leant up against one another, Mike's arm around his shoulders and a hand gripping his hip, panting slightly, recovering from the alcohol and the shock of what had just happened in the space of about seven minutes. Harvey then pulled back and pushed Mike onto the couch.
"Sleep it off." He stumbled to his bed and collapsed in it, finally feeling satisfied. And very drunk.