Chapter Text
Harvey feels lightheaded. He’d asked Mike out to propose his idea to him. He had expected for them to have some stilted but polite conversation about logistics. He expected Mike to begrudgingly thank him, if he decided to take the job. He even expected that most likely Mike would grab him by the lapels of his suit and shove him around yelling about white knights and being used again.
What he hadn’t expected was Mike, in his loungewear, clothes he probably never wore outside his apartment, joking, bantering, teasing as they walked to one of Harvey’s favourite neighbourhood spots.
He’s not quite sure what’s going on. He’s not complaining, however. He’ll take what he can get, and boy is he getting a lot. Whatever that may mean…He’s just excited to have Mike not angry at him for a change…A chance to make things truly right.
Yeah, right, sure…
Harvey waits until they are finished with their burgers before he decides to breach the subject. Not because he’s scared Mike will run off angry and frustrated again, but because he’s wolfing down that burger like he hasn’t eaten in days, making silly jokes and a truly horrific Al Pacino impression that have Harvey biting his lip to stop from smiling too much.
“So” Harvey says, a little too abruptly. It’s not a clean segway, it’s not even a segway at all. He just kinda stops the conversation to switch subjects. Mike’s laughter subsides. He looks at Harvey quizzically, like he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Is this the part where you tell me the real reason you asked me out tonight?” Mike asks and Harvey has to force his brain not to overreact to the words ‘take out’ in the context of their meeting.
“Before I say anything, know that this is me asking you and not telling you.” Harvey says instead, thinking back to Donna’s words.
Mike raises an eyebrow and smirks “If the question you’re about to ask is ‘Can I have your pretty little mouth back around my cock’ I’m sorry but the answer is gonna have to be no”
Harvey chokes on nothing and looks at Mike indignantly. “We’re in public” he chastises.
Mike’s smirk grows “So? I believe those were your exact words and I just happen to be quoting verbatim from memory”
Harvey is lost for words for a few seconds. A laugh bubbles out of him, surprised and awed.
“You are…” he doesn’t finish that train of thought. He doesn’t even know how he could.
“I’m what?” Mike challenges, smirk firmly in place.
“Nevermind, this isn’t because I want your pretty little mouth back around my cock, as you so gracefully pointed out”
Mike’s smirk falters a little “You mean to tell me you seriously didn’t wine and dine me because you wanted to beg me to sleep with you again?”
Harvey can’t believe his own ears. “Okay” he starts, taking a deep breath in “First of all, I didn’t wine and dine you, this is a burger joint and we don’t even get complementary water, second of all, how dare you! I don’t beg. I would never-”
Mike’s quiet laughter stops his train of thought. Harvey looks at him, trying to figure out exactly what’s so funny when it clicks “You’re messing with me…” he breathes out “damn.”
Mike’s laughter gets louder “Took you long enough” he says between breaths. “But no, please, go on about how you never beg, I’d love to hear more”
“Okay, listen here you little shit” Harvey hisses, reaching over the table with his body so his face is closer to Mike’s than before “I wanted to offer you a job, but fuck me I guess, isn’t that right?”
Mike’s laughter stops as fast as it’d started. It’s like someone popped a balloon with a needle. Suddenly the jovial atmosphere surrounding their table is gone. Mike looks at him dumbfounded.
“You what?”
“I wanted to offer you a job” Harvey repeats, calmer this time.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because” He weighs his options in his head. He could be honest right now and risk Mike seeing too much or he could try to bullshit his way through it hoping Mike won’t figure it out. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? Mike always figures it out. With a sharp inhale Harvey steels his nerves. For the second time that night, he thinks to himself here goes nothing .
“I was an ass to you. And I may or may not feel a little guilty about how I treated you, both at the Chilton and since-”
“But why would you offer me a job then? You could just apologise…”Mike cuts him off.
“As I was about to say, because you were right.”
“About? I’m right about a lot of things.” God does the sass on this kid ever cease.
“You are brilliant. And I should have hired you.”
Mike’s cheeks flush a lovely pink colour. He’s looking at Harvey like a fish out of water. Guess it’s his turn to be speechless.
“Is this because you want to have easy access to me?” Mike says, eventually. Harvey can tell he’s trying to make a joke, but it doesn’t come out funny.
“No, kid. I don’t sleep with coworkers. Especially ones I am a direct superior to.” Harvey says honestly. He holds Mike’s eyes.
“You expect me to believe you felt so bad you’re gonna go back on your word about hiring a fraud turning tricks?” Mike’s starting to sound angry now.
Harvey can feel his own tension rise. God, does Mike have to be so damn difficult? He holds his breath to calm himself. He can’t rise to Mike’s bait. They’ll end up worse for wear, both of them.
Instead he hesitantly puts a hand on Mike’s on the table, trying to go for soothing rather than creepy and takes it as a success when Mike doesn’t retrieve his hand.
He makes sure he holds eye contact when he says “You’re more than a fraud turning tricks, Mike. You know that. I am sorry. And no, I’m not gonna go back on my word because despite how much I may have enjoyed what happened in the suite, I’m not going to hire a fraud”
“What are you gonna hire then? A boy for-”
“An assistant.” Harvey cuts him off, because he can’t keep going round in circles. Mike’s breath hitches a little.
“An assistant? Like Donna?”
“No, not like Donna. You will help me with case work. You will do research and paperwork and help me prepare for depositions or court.”
“That sounds awfully a lot like the work of an associate.”
“That’s because it is. But on paper, you’ll be nothing more than an assistant.”
Mike’s Adam’s apple bobs. He blinks repeatedly.
“I don’t know…”
“Take a second to think about it. I can wait. Not forever, because I do need someone competent fast, but…I’ll wait a little. Take until the end of the week. Call me if you want it. Don’t call me if you don’t and we will leave all this behind us and we won’t have to speak of it ever again,” Harvey soothes, patting Mike’s hand as he stands up to go pay at the register.
He keeps an eye on Mike from the corner of his eye. The kid looks conflicted. It’s not the exact reaction Harvey was hoping for, but it’s leagues above the usual reaction he’s been getting.
He walks back to their booth when he’s done and puts a hand on Mike's shoulder to get his attention. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Mike stands but he seems lost in thought.
Harvey is on the phone with Ray when a hand pulls a little on his coat sleeve. He turns, frowning. Mike is standing less than a foot away from him, hand fisted in Harvey’s sleeve. He’s looking down at their shoes.
Harvey hangs up on Ray quickly and turns towards Mike fully. “What’s wrong?”
“Tell me more?”
Harvey hadn’t expected that. He takes a deep breath and looks at Mike, trying to figure what the hell is running through his head.
“What do you wanna know?”
“What would be my salary?”
Harvey doesn’t let it rub him the wrong way. Mike is clearly down on his luck. It’s expected that he’d worry about something like that, especially after Harvey had goaded him with money at the Chilton.
“It won’t be as much as the associates make but it will be a fair wage with the prospect for overtime pay. You’ll even have a little paid time off, but if anyone asks you didn’t hear that from me”
Mike chuckles. “And the sign in bonus?”
Harvey’s brows furrow. “Assistants don’t get sign in bonuses, Mike” he says softly. Something in the tension he had been holding on to comes loose. He nods, more to himself than Harvey and lets go.
“Alright”
Harvey watches him walk away, he still seems so…down…
“Mike?” he calls out. Mike does stop, which means he’s probably made some progress tonight. He even turns to look back at Harvey. “Do you have a way to go home? It’s very late.”
Mike blinks, his gaze clearing a little. “I’ll call a cab or something”
Harvey walks a little closer “Without a wallet?”
“I’ll take the subway”
He hesitates for a second. “Let me take you home. My car will be here in a second”
Mike doesn’t answer him for a long time. Not until Ray has pulled up and Harvey asks again.
Mike walks towards the car slowly. “Thanks” he mumbles as he gets on one side. Harvey almost misses it. Almost.
Harvey does miss the weird look Mike gives him when he tells Ray Mike’s address. He doesn’t even think about it. He’s had it memorised for days now.
“How do you know where I live?” Mike asks after a short moment.
Harvey’s heart drops. There goes all the progress they’d made. “I…I looked into you.”
“Like, look into me how?” Mike looks apprehensive now. Harvey wants to slap himself, again .
“I- okay, you won’t believe me but Donna had Kyle run a background check on you to help me figure out my shit after the first time you came to the office” He admits.
Mike frowns. “A background check…I see. What’d you find out?” He sounds angry now. Great .
“Nothing”
“Nothing? Now, I know that’s not true because-”
“I didn’t read it. I just kept your contact information. Which, I know isn’t much better, but I was…thinking about you…” He almost says the word worry. Almost.
Mike looks at him for a long moment. The passing lights illuminating his face in all kind of angles and shades. “You didn’t read any of it?”
“I read a little and then I stopped.”
“Why?”
“I…it felt wrong” I want you to tell me yourself, he thinks and, god , Donna was right…he’s in too deep.
Mike seems to believe him, however, because he nods once, curtly and lets it go. A few moments later, Harvey notices his leg bouncing. Mike looks deep in thought.
“Something on your mind?” he asks, amused.
Mike looks at him again. That same assessing look that makes Harvey want to squirm just a little. “So, if I were to believe you, if, you don’t want to sleep with me anymore?”
Harvey blinks. “What?” It comes out more unintelligent than he’d like.
“You heard me. Answer the question.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“No?”
“No. I said I won’t. Not that I don’t want to.”
“But you want to?”
Harvey wants to laugh. What is this line of questioning? “That is not relevant.”
“Why not? How am I to trust you?”
“Because I have never done that before. And I’m not planning to start now.”
“But you’d like to?”
“Which is irrelevant”
“But you do.” Mike states instead of answering. Looking him in the eyes.
Harvey half groans, half chuckles, a weird sound. “Sure. I want to. Why is that important again?”
Later, he’ll think back to this moment and wonder how it is possible that a still-green-behind-the-ears kid like Mike Ross has managed to lure him into a trap, not once, but twice.
The next words out of Mike’s mouth break the part that had been trying too hard to make it up to Mike and respect his boundaries and whatever else Donna had said a little bit.
“But I don’t work for you, yet ”