#marveynetwork

[tattooedsiren]

Harvey Specter & Mike Ross. Didn't realize we were keeping score. But if we are, he's still coming out ahead.

[loyalty2waystreet]

PROTECTIVE (Urban Dictionary) 

Something guys often are over their girlfriends boyfriends.

Parallels 1x12 | 4x13

[littlepinkpencil-blog]

Fandom: Suits (TV) Rating: M Relationships: Mike Ross/Harvey Specter

Suits100 - Prompt #23

[paleskinnedviolet]

❤️These two and their beautiful grand romantic gestures.❤️

He Goes, I Go.  That’s right, I’ll give up my job, my reputation, my family up until this point, and I would probably cut off a limb, for Mike Ross.

[crazyassmurdererwall]

The Pianist in Apartment 23

Inspired by this post. Liebestraum is Franz Liszt’s most famous piano piece, told in 3 parts. The 3rd part, the part Harvey requests, is said to be about unconditional, enduring love. The kind that never fades, that never dies.

The cold morning air is bracing, and Harvey relishes the feel of the wind on his face, the feel of his feet hitting the pavement, as he runs through the paths of Central Park.

He passes another runner coming from the opposite direction and he nods. The man nods back, giving Harvey a once-over with a leer and Harvey smiles to himself and keeps running, turning the corner. He reaches the sidewalk outside the park and is greeted by a couple of ladies running toward him. They smile and he gives them a winning grin that starts to widen when he hears them giggle to each other behind his quickly retreating back.

He loves his morning run.

Finally he reaches the front door of his building and he stops, nodding at the doorman.

“How was the run, Mr. Specter?”

He checks his heart rate with a couple of fingers pressed to the inside of his neck and says, “Good, Henry. Thanks.” He watches a moving van pull into the underground garage, a couple of guys in the cabin, and says, “Someone moving in today?”

He nods. “Apartment twenty-three. Nice guy.”

“He had to have been, for Mrs. Grosvenor to give it up. She loved her place.”

Henry gives him a secret smile. “The new tenant convinced her she loved her grandkids in Florida more.”

Harvey laughs, shakes his head. “Well done. He’s not a fellow lawyer, is he?”

Henry opens the door for Harvey as he shakes his head “He didn’t say. But I did see them move in a baby grand earlier.”

Interesting.

+

Harvey throws the file down onto his desk. “Goddammit, Aaron.”

The associate nervously steps up to the front of Harvey’s desk and says, “He didn’t give me a choice.”

“How many times have I told you? There’s always another choice.” 

“I can fix it.”

“No.” He shakes his head, a clear dismissal. “I’ll take care of it. You’re done.” 

“Harvey-”

“You’re done.”

Aaron retreats from his office with one more look thrown over his shoulder, his tail between his legs. Ridiculous.

“You realize the associate pool is quickly dwindling.”

Harvey looks up and catches Donna’s eye through the glass of his office wall, her hand on her hip and her finger pressed against the intercom button.

“I don’t need your judgment, Donna. I need an associate who can do their damn job.”

“It wouldn’t hurt you to decompress once in a while, you know.”

“If I didn’t spend three quarters of my time fixing their damn mistakes, I might be able to.”

There’s a silence that goes on entirely too long, and then she finally says, “I’ll find someone else.”

She’s judging him, hard, and Harvey can’t find it in him to give a shit.

“Good. Try to find someone who doesn’t need their hand held.” He picks up the file on his desk. “I’m going to fix another mess.” He strides out of his office, and as he passes her desk, he says, “Maybe one of these days I’ll actually get to do my damn job for once.”

+

It takes a good seven hours to placate the clients and undo Aaron’s shitstorm of a mess, and when he’s finally through, all he wants to do is strip out of his suit, pour himself a few fingers, and sink into one of his armchairs.

He opens the door to the balcony to let in a little air as he passes by, strips down in no time, and slips into a t-shirt and jeans. He’s just bent over his turntable, Billie Holliday in hand, when he hears the bright, quick notes filter down into his condo from outside the open patio door.

He puts the record down and walks over to the patio door, listens for a minute inside before he steps outside. The piano is a little louder out here, and Harvey sits in one of the lounge chairs on his patio, stretches out his legs and crosses them at the ankle. He leans back and closes his eyes, and rests the tumbler of Scotch on his belly as he listens to the notes go faster, get brighter, start to take shape, almost as if he can see them dance behind his closed eyelids.

This must be his new neighbor.

+

It doesn’t take Harvey long to realize that his neighbor plays the piano a lot. And that he’s very, very good.

Some mornings he wakes up to notes filtering in through his patio door, gentle songs that turn quick and bright, that welcome the rising sun, that greet Harvey with a Good Morning. He falls asleep to slow, soothing songs, songs that sound like the stars coming out. 

There are classical pieces that must have taken months to master. There are pop songs that probably took ten minutes. Harvey smiles every time he hears Elton John or The Beatles mixed in with Chopin or Beethoven.

There’s one piece the pianist hasn’t played yet, something Harvey would love to hear.

So he thinks, why the hell not?

And he sticks the note to the front door of apartment 23.

+

A tentative knock sounds on his office door and he barks out, “What?”

A meek associate peeks his head into Harvey’s office, as if Harvey’s office walls weren’t made of glass, for god’s sake. As if he could somehow hide himself from Harvey’s current mood. After fixing yet another stupid associate mistake this morning, Harvey’s patience level is hovering somewhere close to negative 14. This associate better start speaking, and fast.

“Mr...Specter? I’m, um...I’m Harold? One of the associates?”

“You’re not sure?”

“No, I...um...I am. I just...”

Harvey feels every single last ounce of patience he has melting away. “Why are you in my office, Harold?”

He hurries toward Harvey’s desk and holds out a folder. “I noticed Jimmy was working on the Carnahan case for you? But he didn’t...um...he missed some precedent.”

Harvey takes the folder. That’s exactly the mess he was smoothing over. “So you took it upon yourself to do work on a case you weren’t assigned?”

His voice is small, meek, and he winces when he speaks, like he’s waiting for a reprimand. “I didn’t want you to go into the meeting tomorrow unprepared.”

Harvey sizes him up. Harold needs a lot of work, but he’s just saved Harvey a lot of work tonight, and he’s already proved himself more competent than Jimmy and Aaron and whatever the hell the rest of their names are, so Harvey can ignore that for now. 

“How long will it take you to go through the entire Carnahan contract?”

He hesitates. “You want me to work on the Carnahan contract?”

Harvey sighs audibly. His patience level is going down again.

“I can have it by five.”

 Harvey nods. When Harold doesn’t move, Harvey looks down pointedly at his watch then back up again. “You might want to get started.”

He scurries out the door, barely sparing Jessica a glance as he passes her.

“Terrifying the help again, are we?”

He gives her his most winning smile. “No more than usual.”

“How’s Carnahan coming?”

“I’m closing him tomorrow.”

She eyes him. “Good. Get it done. I don’t want any hanging threads before the benefit Saturday.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

This benefit was orchestrated in large part as a celebration of their new partnership with Carnahan Electronics, with an aim to fund raise an absolutely obscene amount of money for music programs across the city. It’s Elise Carnahan’s pet charity, and everyone knows the way to Frank Carnahan’s heart is to make Elise happy. All Harvey has to do is make sure the contract is impeccable.

It’s going to be a long night.

+

It’s so late when he gets home from the office that he doesn’t expect there to be any music, not really.

He’s still disappointed when nothing comes floating through his open patio door. He has to fill in the silence with a Coltrane album.

It’s not quite enough.

+

The contract is impeccable. Frank signs.

When Jessica grants him her nod of approval, he excuses himself with a handshake to Frank and gives himself the rest of the day off. He’s earned it, but someone else as earned something too, and Harvey stops by the associate bullpen and makes sure to give Harold his due in front of everyone for a job well done. He perks up considerably, like Harvey’s the first person to ever tell him he’s done a good job. Harvey gives him a quick once-over. He looks like he rolled out of bed completely clothed this morning.

Christ, this guy is going to take a lot of work.

But at least he actually knows how to do his damn job. Everything else, Harvey can fix.

“Do you have a tux?”

He’s guessing the answer is no, but people have surprised him before.

“I can get one?”

Harvey suppresses his sigh. Everything with Harold is a question. “Get one. And make sure it fits you. You’re coming to the benefit tomorrow.”

Harold stands, eyes wide, and Harvey hears the jealous gasps around them. Harold will be the only associate there. It’s a major win for him, and Harvey knows exactly what he’s done for him by offering.

“You want me to come to the benefit?”

“You earned it.”

Harold sputters out a heartfelt thank you as Harvey just nods and says, “A tux that fits, Harold.”

Harvey’s not holding his breath, but he can hope.

+

The deal is done, everyone’s happy, so he turns his phone on silent and enjoys the rest of his day. Harvey picks up lunch to go, then goes for a midday run through the park. When he’s done he pulls open the patio door as he always does these days and takes a long, hot shower, relishing the way the water pounds at his back.

There’s an afternoon game on between the Royals and the Blue Jays, so he puts that on, volume on low, and sinks down into the couch, a beer in hand.

Harvey hears the first notes come filtering down through his patio door when the second inning comes to a close and he stands, walks over to the open door and slips out onto the patio.

It’s the song he requested.

Harvey sits down and leans back on his lounge chair, sets his beer down on the patio. He closes his eyes and smiles as the notes flow into one another like a cascading wave: a beautiful, bright, expressive piece of music, that Harvey’s neighbor plays absolutely beautifully.

When the notes finally fade away, Harvey’s eyes blink open and he claps, loudly and unreservedly, his heart utterly full.

+

“Jessica,” Harvey says as he walks up to greet her, glass of champagne in his hand. “You look gorgeous.”

She smiles fondly then cuts her eye to the other side of the room. “I see you brought...”

She trails off at the site of Harold across the room, looking unsure and unkempt even as his tux, miraculously, seems to fit him. Small victories.

“He needs work, but he did most of the legwork for Carnahan, and he did it well. Besides, Carnahan liked him.” As if to punctuate this, Frank Carnahan walks over and slaps a surprised Harold on the back then pumps his hand, thanking him for the good work. “He deserved this.”

Jessica just nods, a knowing smile on her lips, then walks over to the stage to introduce their first performer for tonight’s event: a pianist from the New York Philharmonic she’d called in one of her favors to secure. He’s already standing by the black baby grande with a sweet smile on his face, looking at Jessica as she approaches. 

Harvey moves a little closer and just misses the tail end of their conversation, but he doesn’t miss the familiar way they look at each other, the gentle affection they have for each other. Jessica squeezes his hand and turns toward the room.

“I’m sure most of you know Mike Ross, the principal pianist for the New York Philharmonic, but Elsie...I’m told he’s a special favorite of yours.” Elsie nods, a big smile on her face, her hand over her heart. “So I mentioned our benefit to him the other day over lunch and he insisted on helping.”

She smiles at him and Mike smiles back. “Music education, and arts education, is so important to me. I wouldn’t be standing here today if it weren’t for Mrs. Monroe and PS forty-nine.” That gets an appreciative chuckle from the crowd and Mike smiles at them. “Music opens up worlds. Thank you for supporting arts education, and thank you for letting me play for you today.”

He nods at Jessica and sits on the piano bench and she steps off the little stage and comes to stand next to Harvey.

Mike’s hands barely start moving before Harvey recognizes the piece he’s decided to play.

Harvey could be mistaken, but the pacing, the quick finger work, the emotion...they all sound an awful lot like Harvey’s laying out on his patio, listening to his neighbor play.

No. It can’t be.

But it is. As Mike’s fingers play the last few, quiet notes, Harvey knows it has to be. That’s his neighbor.

Mike walks over to them and Jessica praises him, which Mike accepts with a bashful smile, ducking his head under her praise. He’s fairly young, or he looks it, with that fluffy hair and those bright blue eyes. His own eyes have skittered to Harvey in interest as Jessica introduces them, then walks off to introduce the next performer, a cellist.

Harvey means to just shake his hand, to say his name, but he has to know. “Apartment twenty-three?”

His eyes widen a little and he gives Harvey an obvious once-over, then hesitatingly, hopefully, asks, “Apartment forty-eight?”

Harvey grins and nods, and Mike almost lights up in front of him.

“You have talented fingers.” Mike blushes, ducks his head. “I’ve been listening to you for so long from my patio, I’ve wondered what it would be like to hear you up close.”

He looks up. “And the verdict?”

Harvey takes a step closer. “Beautiful.” He’s gratified to see the light dance in his eyes. “But maybe I should hear you again, just to make sure it’s not a one-time impression.”

This time Mike takes a step closer, and his eyes drop briefly to Harvey’s mouth. “Are you inviting yourself over?”

“Only if I’m welcome.”

+

The thing is, Harvey knew Mike could play, but he didn’t know Mike could sing. With Mike in his lap, Harvey latches his mouth on Mike throat and tries to coax out another groan, another moan, another note as Mike’s hands skitter across Harvey’s skin, find sensitive places Harvey didn’t even know he had.

Talented fingers, indeed.

[harvey---specter]

Happy birthday to Gabriel Macht / Harvey Specter / Paul Cutler / Lawson Pines / Robert Pryce / Many others. You are an amazing actor and im high key obsessed with you and everything to do with suits. Can't wait to see you and and the rest of the cast in the next part of suits season 6 (and I'm stoked it was renewed for season 7) 😉  Happy birthday, have an awesome (rest of the) day. 

[tattooedsiren]

Death wasn’t at all like Mike imagined it.

His life didn’t flash before his eyes. There was no white light. In the end it was just the few seconds he could see the oncoming car and then … nothing. No pain, no feeling, no anything.

Heaven was also not at all like Mike imagined it, and yet he couldn’t help the rueful smile. He opened his eyes to find himself standing in the middle of Harvey’s apartment. Of course. This wasn’t his heaven because of the slick lines or the sparkling city view. It was his heaven because this was the place he’d felt the happiest, the most at home.

He wandered around the space for a while. It was such a perfect facsimile that he felt like he was really there, standing in Harvey’s actual apartment. He didn’t feel much different than from when he was alive. Where were all the answers he was promised? If this was indeed his heaven why were there no pearly gates or choirs of angels or even just someone - anyone - to greet him?

Where were his parents? Grammy?

The sound of a key in the front door lifted his spirits. That must be them now. Grinning, he rushed to the entryway. But when the door opened it wasn't his parents or Grammy. It was Harvey, and he looked … there was no other word for it, he looked wrecked.

Mike was confused. If this was his heaven and Harvey was here, shouldn’t he be happy to see Mike? But then he walked straight past Mike as if he wasn't even there, as though he couldn’t see him at all.

“Harvey?” Mike asked tentatively as he trailed after him.

No reaction.

Harvey went straight to the wet bar, poured himself a scotch, and drowned it in one go before pouring another. He took the second drink over to the lounge, collapsing in the chair and drinking it, albeit slightly slower this time.

Mike sat down beside him. He said Harvey’s name again and again and again but there was still no reaction. Harvey was just staring off into space, looking utterly devastated. Something was wrong. Harvey was right there, close enough to touch, except when he tried, when he reached out his hand couldn't connect, just moved right through him. Harvey couldn’t see him, couldn’t hear him.

Maybe he wasn’t in heaven. Maybe he was in hell.

Mike didn’t know how long they stayed like that; Harvey staring off into space with glassy eyes, Mike hovering uncertainly by his side with no idea what was happening. The impasse was broken by the sound of Harvey’s phone. It was the text alert tone, and when Harvey pulled it out from his pocket Mike tried to angle himself to see what it said, in case it gave him some clue as to what was happening. But Harvey was too quick, throwing the phone aside after reading the message, and then hunching over, his head in his hands.

Mike reached out to put his hand on Harvey’s back. Not that it made any difference.

In the silence that followed Mike started to mourn for the loss of his life. There were still so many things he wanted for his life. He’d never travelled overseas. He’d never made it to name partner. He never saw the Mets win the world series. He never went to Comic-Con. He’d never won a landmark case or set any precedents. He’d never gotten married.

So many things he wanted to do and never did. Too many. But the worst of it was Harvey. Mike was desperately in love with him, and he’d never gotten the chance to tell him.

So he did it now. Because what could it hurt? This wasn’t real, he was in some kind of hell or purgatory or something. The real Harvey would never get to hear these words, so why not say it to this fake one?

“I love you, Harvey,” Mike murmured.

Harvey’s head snapped up, looking around the room as if he’d heard something. Mike froze, hope flickering in his chest, but when Harvey’s eyes passed over Mike there was no recognition. Mike hated himself for hoping, he hated God or whoever was responsible for this torture, he hated the driver who killed him and took him away from the man he loved.

The sound of a door opening and closing stole both their attention. Donna walked slowly into the apartment. She didn’t look that great. Mike wanted to make a joke, smile and say jeez who died and get them both laughing, but even if he could, even if they could hear him, he knew it wouldn’t work. Because he was the one who died, and the afterlife was taunting him over it.

“Harvey,” Donna said gently, but Harvey stood, taking a few steps away, his back to her as he stood at the empty fireplace.

“I can’t. I can’t go there. I can’t see…”

Mike looked between them, confused. Donna didn’t shy away, she walked right up to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. There was nothing sexual or romantic in her touch, but Mike felt the jealousy flair nonetheless. How come this fake Donna could touch this fake Harvey and yet Mike, who was the only real thing here, couldn’t?

“I know how hard this is for you.”

“No, Donna, you don’t,” he snapped, whirling around and shaking off her hand. “You have no idea how this feels. How angry and scared and useless I feel. How this is the one thing I can’t fix and it’s killing me. How all I can think about is how I wished it was me and not - and not…”

Donna wrapped her arms around him, and Harvey let her. Mike stood and walked away, attempting to give them some privacy. The moment felt too intimate, and even though he had no idea what they were talking about he knew it wasn’t good, and Harvey wouldn’t want Mike seeing him like this.

“I know you’re scared,” Donna said. “I am too. But Harvey, he’s not gone. He needs you.”

“I can’t. I can’t see Mike like that.”

What? Mike turned, taking a few steps toward them. What were they talking about?

“I know you know this, but I’m going to say it anyway. If your roles were reversed, if that car had hit you, then Mike-”

“Would’ve forced his way into my hospital room and never left my side,” Harvey said, smiling softly. “Yeah, I know.”

“Don’t you think he’d want you there with him?”

“Yes!” Mike cried, moving closer still. “Is that what’s happening? Am I lying in a hospital room somewhere?”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to handle seeing him like that.”

Mike’s mind was reeling. Was he still alive? Had his spirit just left his body, and somehow found Harvey? Maybe Harvey could take him back, reunite spirit and body, wake Mike up…

“Harvey, please. I need you.”

Harvey sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

Donna furrowed her eyebrows. “You know what?”

“That Mike needs me.”

Donna opened her mouth as though she was going to say something but in the end thought better of it. Instead she smiled reassuringly at him, before picking up his jacket and leading him out of the apartment.

Mike felt wired, overcome with hope. He wasn’t dead! Sure, he clearly wasn’t in the best health, and his soul had been separated from this body, but still. It wasn’t over. He headed towards the door, and suddenly…

… he was standing in a hospital room. It was blindingly bright after the dim mood lighting of Harvey’s apartment. He looked down and could see himself lying in the bed, covered in cuts and bruises, hooked up to too many machines.

Mike didn’t blame Harvey for not wanting to see Mike like this. In truth, standing there, Mike kinda didn’t want Harvey to see him like this either.

No sooner had the thought entered his head did the door to the room open and admit Harvey. He looked pale and drawn, and Mike automatically took a few steps towards him before he remembered. Harvey couldn’t see him, he couldn’t hear him, and he certainly wouldn’t be able to feel him if he reached out and put a comforting hand on his arm. So Mike just stood there, watched Harvey cross the room and gingerly sit in the uncomfortable looking chair beside his bed.

For the longest time Harvey didn’t say or do anything. He just sat there, unblinkingly looking at Mike. A tear silently streaked down Harvey’s cheek before he swiped it away, and Mike’s heart broke for him. For both of them.

“They said you’d want to hear my voice,” Harvey said at last, his tone low and rough. It was the best sound Mike had ever heard. “But I don’t know what to say. The whole drive over here, I kept thinking about it. What would I say to you, what magic words would bring you back to me. But there aren’t any words that will instantly wake you up, and I refuse to sit here and babble on about the weather or some shit. You wouldn’t want to hear that anyway, if you can hear me at all.”

“I can hear you,” Mike said desperately.

Harvey sighed. He eased forward in his chair and tentatively picked up Mike’s hand. Mike’s breath caught in his throat. He felt the touch like a tingling white light. “I can feel you,” Mike murmured. “Harvey, I can feel you.” He stepped closer. “Please tell me you can feel me too. I’m not gone, Harvey. Please.”

Harvey was looking down the bed towards Mike’s face. “You feel so real,” Harvey whispered. “Mike. Are you still here?”

“Yes!”

“There are so many things I want to tell you. Things I should’ve said a long time ago.”

Mike was torn between wanting to hear everything Harvey had never said and hoping Harvey would remain silent, that he would wait until Mike was awake so he could say it to his face.

“I give you my word, if you - no, when you wake up, I’ll tell you everything.”

Mike smiled softly. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

Harvey reverted back to silence then. He still kept hold of Mike’s hand, idly running his fingertips along the back of his hand, and Mike’s skin tingled at the touch. Time lost all meaning, and though Mike didn’t know how this had happened, how he’d become separated from his body or why he wasn’t going back, he was strangely calm about it. He probably should’ve been panicking, worrying about never waking up, but being in Harvey’s presence was like a relaxing tonic, and he didn’t worry. Despite having no idea about the extent of his injuries or his prognosis, he just had this weird faith that he’d be okay.

As the hours passed two separate doctors came in to check on him. Harvey spoke to both of them in quiet whispers, as though Mike was simply asleep and he was worried about waking him. Mike didn’t listen in on the conversation. He didn’t want to know, not right now anyway.

Mike watched the room slowly brighten with the morning sun. Harvey was still holding his hand, but he was resting his head on his folded arm on the end of Mike’s bed, obviously tired from the long night. His eyes were still wide open though, staring at Mike like … like he was afraid if he closed his eyes Mike might not be there again when he opened them.

When the door opened Mike expected it to be another doctor. Instead Louis walked in the door. Harvey sat, withdrawing his hand. Mike instantly missed the presence of his touch.

“How’s he doing?” Louis asked with clear concern.

“Stable,” Harvey replied. In other words: no change.

“You should get some rest.” When Harvey looked like he was going to object Louis continued with, “I’ll stay with him, make sure he isn't alone. Go get some food, have a shower, take a nap. Come back later. Mike will need you at full strength when he wakes up.”

Harvey managed to give Louis a weak smile. “Okay. Just give me a minute.”

Louis nodded, quietly exiting the room.

Harvey took Mike’s hand again. Mike felt the flare of warmth at the touch. He desperately didn’t want Harvey to leave, suddenly scared that if he left something bad would happen. And honestly, at that point, it wasn’t that he was scared of dying. He was basically half dead already. It was just, if he did end up moving on from this life, he didn’t want to do it alone. In many ways Mike finally started living the moment he met Harvey. If this was his fate, he didn’t want to go through it alone, he wanted Harvey by his side.

Harvey’s eyes roamed over Mike’s prone form. There was nothing of the poker face he was infamous for in his expression. The pain he was clearly feeling was obvious and Mike hated to see it.

“Please wake up,” Harvey said desperately, but there was no change, the monitors in the room continuing their monotonous tone. Harvey let out a shaky sigh, and he leaned down, pressing his lips to the back of Mike’s hand in farewell.

It felt like Mike’s chest was exploding with warm, white light. He tried to say Harvey’s name, but he couldn’t speak. The feeling spread throughout his body as Harvey crossed the room to leave. Mike reached out to him. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t --

Mike opened his eyes, taking in a large lungful of air. The machines he was hooked up to beeped loudly and when his vision came into focus all he could see was Harvey’s face, his watery eyes and shaky smile and blinding expression of relief.

“Mike!” he exclaimed, squeezing his hand. Mike no longer felt the same tingle when Harvey touched him, but that was okay, because this was real, and it felt a million times better. Mike tried to smile, but it hurt, now that he was awake everything hurt. “Thank God you’re okay.”

Mike tangled their fingers together, overwhelmed and confused and utterly relieved to be here, to be alive and breathing and holding Harvey’s hand. He smiled through the pain. “So,” Mike said, voice hoarse, “did you have something you wanted to tell me?”

[littlepinkpencil-blog]

Mike ~ “Rogues, lightsaber, the whole deal.” x

[crazyassmurdererwall]

Mischief Managed - harvey x mike

inspired by this post, and my reblogged tags

Five minutes, and he’s already lost the damn dog.

His neighbor had warned him that Buster was a wanderer, but Harvey hadn’t exactly taken it to heart because, firstly: his neighbor is 87 years old and known to forget things, so it’s very possible that she’d actually wandered off from Buster and not the other way around, and secondly: Harvey isn’t incompetent. He can keep an eye on a dog for an hour or so.

Except it turns out she was totally right. All it took was the leash being unclipped and Harvey looking down for a half a second to bundle the leash and Buster was gone.

Which means Harvey is screwed, because this dog is the love of Betty’s life.

He turns a slow 360, eyes tracking every dog in his sight line in the hope that one of them will answer to the name Buster, but he’s out of luck, and Buster is nowhere in sight. So he takes a path and starts jogging down it, calling out Buster’s name, asking people he passes if they’ve seen a golden retriever run by this way.

New Yorkers are not helpful people.

He’s been running around the park for 30 minutes and he’s just about to lose hope when he turns a corner and spies a dog that looks suspiciously like Buster sitting in front of a man seated on a park bench, watching the man happily as the man reads to him.

Harvey isn’t close enough to hear the man speak so he moves closer, stops when he’s still a fair distance away. Buster’s mouth is open in a grin and a light pant, and when the man pauses speaking, Buster nudges his hand with his nose.

He laughs, reaches forward and scratches Buster as he says, “Okay, I get it...don’t stop.”

When he starts to read again, Harvey almost does a double take. Harry Potter?

It’s a well-loved, paperback copy, creased and bent. And when he speaks he gets into it, leaning forward toward Buster.

“The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn’t sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger.”

Buster whimpers and the man stops, looks up, reaches forward and pets him.

“I know. But Hagrid’s coming soon. You’ll like him.”

Harvey smiles to himself, walks over. “I think you have my dog.”

The man looks up, taken aback. He looks down at his book briefly and starts to blush, the color rising in his cheeks. “Sorry...he just...uh...walked up and sat there. And then he nudged the book so I thought he might like it if I read to him.”

Harvey shouldn’t feel so charmed, but the guy is reading his book in the middle of Central Park to a damn lost dog.

“Harry Potter?”

The man points the book at him. “Hey, Harry Potter is a new classic, appropriate for all ages and...species.”

“If you say so.”

“Your dog agrees with me.”

“It’s not actually my dog, which explains its suspect taste level.”

The man looks at him strangely, as if Harvey is some deviant with a leash who wanders the park, claiming random, misplaced dogs just to strike up conversation.

He rolls his eyes. “It’s my neighbor’s dog.”

“And you’re walking her dog as a favor in the hopes of getting in her pants?”

“No, she’s too old for me.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

Harvey nods. “She turned eighty-seven last month.”

A slow smile is beginning to grow on his face. “And that doesn’t do it for you?”

“Well, she’s pretty spry so I might’ve gone for it, but she’s always calling me Morty, and really...I deserve better than to live in her dead husband’s shadow.”

The man barks out a laugh and throws his head back and Harvey grins.

“I’m Harvey, by the way.”

“Mike.”

Buster leans forward and nudges the book in Mike’s hand. Mike looks down and pets his head but stands, looks at his watch. “Sorry, buddy. I’ve got somewhere I need to be.”

It’s clear he’s not just talking to Buster when Harvey detects the regret seeping into his voice, the sudden downturn of his mouth.

“You’re really going to do that to poor Buster just when Hagrid was about to show up? You’ve got him interested now.”

Mike smiles, slow and wide, and looks away for a moment before he says, “Well...maybe Buster and I should make a date to meet up again. Is he free next Saturday? Same time?”

“I’ll check his calendar.”

Mike nods. “You do that.”

He walks away, down the path, looking over his shoulder once with a smile and shake of his head before he disappears around the bend. Harvey reaches down and clips the leash onto Buster’s collar and says, “Well done little Weasley.”

+

Betty gives him a bit of a hard time when he asks to walk Buster again the next Saturday, but it’s worth it when they come around the bend in the path and see Mike sitting there on the bench, waiting for them, two cups of coffee sitting on the bench next to him, the book curled in half between his hands. Harvey lets Buster off his leash and Mike looks up and stands when the dog comes bounding toward him, a smile splitting his face. Harvey walks slowly forward, returns Mike’s smile with one of his own.

“So Buster had room in his schedule after all.”

“We squeezed you in.”

They share a grin, hands reaching down blindly to pet Buster when he noses at their hands for attention.

“Besides...he was dying to know what comes next. And I didn’t want to disappoint him. What comes next, Mike?”

Mike bites his lip, looks down at the book in his hands then back up at Harvey.

“Magic.”

[tattooedsiren]

too many bad notes playing in our symphony (harvey/mike)

When Harvey opens the door to find Mike silently standing on the other side he genuinely considers closing the door on him. But Mike is standing there with an expression that says not only does he expect this reaction but wouldn’t fight it, and for some reason Harvey just can’t do it. So he sighs, turning and walking back into the apartment, leaving the door wide open for Mike to walk through.

Harvey sits on one end of the sofa, idly wondering if Mike will join him or sit on the seat opposite. It feels like a test, even if he hates himself a little at the notion. Mike doesn’t hesitate, sitting in the empty space at the opposite end of the sofa.

He doesn’t say anything for long, torturous moments, but Harvey won’t be the one to break the silence. Finally Mike turns to him and says, “Remember back when all we had to worry about was keeping the fact that I wasn’t really a lawyer secret?”

“Of course.”

“I never thought I would long for those days. Life was so much simpler then.”

“Is that why you didn’t tell me you were still pursuing the case? Because you missed having a secret?”

Subtlety, thy name was not Harvey Specter.

Mike shakes his head, running a hand through his hair. “No. I didn’t tell you because I knew you wouldn’t approve. And I didn’t know how to reconcile the need to see this through with the knowledge that you’d consider it a betrayal.”

Harvey lets out a sigh. “I can understand wanting to pursue this case. The betrayal was that you didn’t listen when I told you to drop it, and then tried to loophole me when you continued to work on it.”

“Harvey-”

“Do you know what the worst of it is?” Harvey continues. Because he needs to get this out and if he doesn’t say it now he might never say it and it will just be this unspoken thing between them. “I wanted you back with me so we could keep working together. Only bringing you back has made it worse. Not only have we not teamed up on anything, we’re now actively working against each other's interests. I didn’t want that, Mike. I never could.”

“I know,” Mike says gently, looking at him with regret. “Me neither. You’re the only reason I came back to Pearson Specter Litt. It wasn’t for Rachel or the cases, it was for you. But now…”

Mike can’t say it, so Harvey will. “It might’ve been better for our relationship had you never come back.”

Mike’s agreement is so silent that Harvey swears he can hear the sound of his heart cracking, another irreparable piece of damage to an already battered and bruised organ.

“I don’t know what to do,” Mike admits. “I can’t give up on this case, Harvey. But I cannot - I will not - continue fighting you at every turn. I’ve lost your trust and I hate myself for it.”

“Mike-”

“No, Harvey, just let me say this. You threatened to fire me, and I don’t blame you. Hell, you probably should’ve already done it. I deserve it. Because you were there for me when no one else was. You saved me in more ways than I can count. You’re the most important person in my life and my single mindedness has driven you away. But I don’t know how to fix it. Please, tell me, how do we fix this?”

Harvey considers him for a moment. He thinks about the last few years, everything he and Mike have been through together. And there might’ve been some things he wishes he’d done differently, but hiring Mike was still the best decision of his life, and that meant something.

“I can get us two tickets to Buenos Aires and have the chopper on the helipad in ten minutes,” Harvey says, lips quirking.

Mike looks at him, shocked, and then he starts laughing. It widens Harvey’s smile and soon they’re laughing together as though nothing was wrong.

“If only that was a legitimate option,” Mike says, grinning.

It is, Harvey thinks. If Mike wanted to he’d leave in a heartbeat. He’s so tired of the drama, of the constant uphill battles. At this moment nothing in the world sounds as good as jumping on a plane and running away with the person he cares about most in the world. “Yeah,” Harvey says softly, “if only.”

Mike collapses back on the couch. “Alex told me.”

Harvey isn’t surprised. Despite some mistakes Alex is a good guy, and he could tell how much Mike not knowing the truth was dividing the two of them, how it was weighing on Harvey. “It wasn’t my secret to tell,” Harvey says, because he doesn’t want there to be any doubt. He didn’t do this to hurt Mike. He was just trying to do right by someone he’d hurt before.

“Who understands keeping secrets better than me?” Mike says, a slight twinkle in his eye. Harvey huffs out a quick laugh, and wonders when the secrets they keep won’t define their lives. “But we need to fix this, Harvey. We need to put these bastards away, and we need to make sure Alex doesn’t get pulled down with them.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Harvey asks, sitting straighter. It’s game time.

“I don’t know,” Mike admits. “But I do know this. You and I can accomplish anything. And once we do, things can go back to normal.”

Harvey smiles at him, even if it’s tinged with sadness. Because even if he’s right, even if they can take down Reform Corp and Masterson Construction, things won’t be the same. How can they be? Mike is never going to be able to reconcile his need for pro bono work and helping the little guy with life as a corporate lawyer, which is something he’s amazingly good at. Their ‘one for you, one for me’ deal lasted about five seconds before it imploded, so that obviously isn’t the solution Harvey hoped it would be. Harvey is always going to want more from Mike than he’s going to be able to give, and one day something was going to happen that would break their relationship, irrevocably. But it was not this day, and for now Harvey will do anything to keep Mike by his side. So he says, “Okay, let’s do it.”

His fate is sealed.

[loyalty2waystreet]

It’s taken care of.  Don’t tell him I said this, but Mike jumped inside his phone booth and put on his Superman outfit.

Harvey Specter

[littlepinkpencil-blog]

If Gabriel replies to this, I’m going to be reading so much Dom/Sub Marvey in the next week! x

[buccbarnes]

hey guys !! i’ve been wanting to make a birthday page for a while so here it is. this is so i can keep track of all my friends birthdays and not make them feel sad when i forget :(

HOW TO JOIN:

mbf evanstan leader

reblog this post :)

maybe check out the blog mcugraphics...?

maybe check out my doctor who sideblog, ameliapondsy...?

send me your name, month, and day of your birthday !!

WHAT YOU’LL GET:

a spot on my new birthday page !!

a spot in my updates tab for the month

a blog compliment + promo on your birthday or sometime during the month

if i know you well enough, a graphic of some sort ❤

thank you !!!  ❤ ❤ ❤

[crazyassmurdererwall]

preparing for yes - harvey x mike

Their first kiss is nothing like Mike expected it would be.

When he imagined it, and he did - a lot, so sue him - he always imagined it would come in an explosion of clashing teeth, in fingers and hands so desperate they stretch and grab and claw but never catch a hold of anything. 

But that’s not how it goes. 

Harvey is gentle, calm, sweet when he presses his lips to Mike’s for the first time. It isn’t some instantaneous, knee-jerk of a decision - Mike can see the resolved intent in Harvey’s eyes. This was a plan, one he didn’t involve Mike in. When their lips touch, it isn’t like fireworks explode - if anything it makes Mike feel warm and settled. It makes the world go a little quieter - like it’s stopped, just for them, just for this moment. 

Which says a lot, actually, because when Harvey kisses him for the first time, he does it in a room full of their coworkers.

That’s another thing he never would have expected.

Harvey, it seems, is full of surprises. 

Mike’s voice is barely above a whisper when he says Harvey’s name, the only response he can seem to give. But Harvey just gives him a gentle smile, so sure in his choice that Mike feels even more off-center than before.

Mike had long accepted that his love was one-sided, painful though that realization was. He couldn’t expect Harvey to feel the same way he did, regardless of the fact that whenever Harvey walked into a room, whenever they started their playful push pull banter, Mike greeted the sudden staccato uptick in his own heartbeat like the return of a good old friend. 

But this sudden development is...Mike doesn’t know if he’s serious, or if he’s just being Harvey, because he’s playful and winning and charming and he’s really good at what he does, and if ever there were a time he would choose to show off, to surprise the firm and its clients, the middle of the annual party would be that time. And it’s not that Mike doesn’t trust him, because he’s Harvey, so of course he does. There’s no one he trusts more. In theory. But this is Mike’s heart, and if Harvey doesn’t mean this, if he’s being a Closer and not Mike’s Friend, his Confidant, his Person, the Person Who Means More To Him Than Anyone Else In This Entire World, then it will rip Mike in two. 

At least some of that must show on Mike’s face, because Harvey’s smile drops, but his earnestness grows. 

“I need you to trust me, Mike.”

Mike doesn’t know if he means this time, specifically, or all times. But he knows his answer, regardless. He knows what his mouth would say, even if there were no breath left in his body.

“I do.”

Harvey and Mike make their rounds, shake hands, make small talk, accept countless offers of congratulations from client after client, some who give forth the wink of a conspirator, as if they knew all along. But how could they, if Mike didn’t know himself?

From the corner of his eye, Mike can see Donna watching through narrowed eyes, from the other Jessica, eyes on him, face blank. Both unsettle him, but then he’s never been strictly comfortable around either of them.

There are no confrontations, no sneers or sharp words, and when the party ends they simply leave with a few parting handshakes, a few kind words. They slip on their coats and when Ray pulls up to the curb, Harvey opens the door, and waits for Mike to get in before walking to the other side of the car, opening the door, and sliding in himself. He immediately takes Mike’s hand in his and tells Ray to put on some Coltrane. Mike feels the weight of Harvey’s hand in his and stares down at those hands, resting on the middle seat between them as if they’ve done the same thing a thousand times before, and he doesn’t know them. He feels like he’s looking at some other couple’s hands.

When he looks up he finds Harvey watching him, his cheek resting against the headrest. Harvey’s hand tightens and his thumb starts tracing soft, slow circles on the back of Mike’s hand.

“There were two ways to handle this. The first would have been to keep it completely quiet, to go to Jessica and HR and tell them we were involved.”

“And are we? Involved?”

“Mike.”

He says it gently, but also like he’s chastising Mike. Like there’s something he should have known but missed. Like’s he’s humoring a small child. Mike winces.

“Mike.” This time his voice is firm, and Mike looks up. “I’ve done things for you I would never do for anyone else. And I would gladly do them again, if you needed me to. I’m sorry I surprised you. But I would do it again. And I wouldn’t regret it then either.”

“So why not just go to Jessica quietly?”

“Because she’d ask me to keep it quiet. And I’m not going to hide you.”

“So you forced her hand.” Inside, Mike is churning. He’s thrilled, he’s exhilarated. Harvey cares for him, and he never thought that was possible. He’d imagined the idea of it, but never the reality. Life hasn’t been kind to him. Why would it ever grant him a soft, loving Harvey?

“I did.”

“I never thought she was...”

Mike doesn’t know how to say those words, so he doesn’t.

“She isn’t. What she is is a pragmatist. And it’s her business. Above all, she worries about how what we do reflects on the firm. And she hates to cede control.”

“She’s going to be angry.”

He gives a dismissive shake of the head. “She’ll give me a speech and a slap on the wrist. Nothing I’m not prepared for.”

Mike has prepared himself for never, he’s prepared himself for no. He isn’t prepared for Harvey holding his hand and meaning it, he isn’t prepared for yes or absolutely or me too.

“I didn’t...I didn’t know you felt...”

“I do.”

“I’m not as good at reading you as you are at reading me.”

“Then I’ll tell you. Ten times a day, every day, if I have to. But never doubt it.”

When they’re finally back at Harvey’s place, they stand in the middle of Harvey’s living room and Harvey kisses him again. And this...this is a kiss. It’s just as gentle and just as sweet and just as all-consuming as the first, but this time Mike kisses without holding back. Their noses brush, and Harvey’s thumbs rub along Mike’s jaw, and every one of Mike’s nerve endings are singing. 

This time, there’s no audience. This time, the kiss is theirs.

[asarcasticnoone]

ok can we just talk about the fact that Harvey has full on admitted that he would commit a full on crime with Cahill just to get Mike out of prison a little bit early even though he could end up going to prison himself!!! Rachel just be like meh I don't care so I'm gonna help some random stranger instead of the man I'm supposed to be marrying. Harvey loves Mike sooooo much and he is like flat out admitting it.

[goddamnmikeross]

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