Archive of Our Own ^beta

Harvey wasn’t big on taking walks. Definitely not in the early summer heat when he was in a suit, even when his jacket had already long come off and found its place on his arm. But after an impromptu emergency meeting with a client not far from here, he did give into the entirely random inclination to have a wander, because why not. And the trail of rainbow flags led him straight to Greenwich Village.

All things considered, it was a terrible idea on all accounts. He didn’t know what exactly he had tried to get out of being here, but there was this… pull. Maybe it was the fact that he had never been to any Pride celebration, even though he lived in the city where it all started, even though he wasn’t entirely… you know. So what if he was a tiny bit curious to see what actually happened here to warrant all the fuss.

Perhaps the fact that he had the best alibi for the exploration right now helped too, because he genuinely was just ‘passing through;’ an observer more than an active participant; no one who expressively raised his membership card but, on first glance, could have been mistaken as another attendee, nonetheless.

He liked the idea of straddling that line of ambiguity. The plausible deniability without actively taking a stance felt safe. After all, gay crises were for men much younger than himself, and he really didn’t have the energy to do a deep dive into his attractions. Being on the sidelines felt a lot safer than dealing with any of that unnecessary drama.

It wasn’t difficult to comprehend, anyway. Sometimes he slept with guys, more often he slept with women, and he wasn’t above a good flirt with anyone. Simple. No need to overthink any of it. It was nothing to shove himself into a box over, nothing that he attached any particular pride to. Nothing he felt like he needed to shout from the rooftops, or even just, you know, say out loud to anyone.

And yet, here he was, in the middle of the street party that was cramped with people doing just that shouting-from-the-rooftops-thing, dressed in all colors of the rainbow, waving flags Harvey had never seen much less could identify, and just… living. Out and proud, visible for everyone to see with no worries about repercussions, of being spotted by the wrong people.

Well, the good thing about a city as big as New York, especially with the no doubt thousands of tourists here purely to join the Pride celebrations, was that there was a very slim chance anyone he knew was just casually around here to spot him. He didn’t exactly walk in those circles, didn’t take a lot of his clients as the kind of people who would show face here.

And even if they did, they were here too, so they couldn’t really hold it against Harvey. In theory. In practice, people rarely behaved rationally, and that wasn’t a risk he was keen on taking. Therefore, he was just taking a walk and happened to pass by, to satisfy his curiosity without putting himself in a compromising position.

People were dancing in the street or standing in little groups and laughing about something, some were sitting on the floor with their heads between their knees, looking on the verge of passing out already when it was barely three in the afternoon. They must have been at it for hours to be already this wasted. Just like any other party then really, except that it had started much earlier and everyone was dressed a little brighter.

So what the hell was the point then? Other than causing a public disturbance… This was hardly necessary, nor special. People really were just desperate to have an excuse to drink in public.

A body crashed straight into his chest; a young – clearly intoxicated – woman with her face painted in all shades of orange, white and pink, who was more interested in saving her drink than herself. Harvey caught her before she went stumbling to the floor, holding her against his chest to stop her fall. Her face was one of pure shock for a second, she was looking around confused before her eyes settled on Harvey. And then she burst out laughing.

“’m so sorry!” she slurred. “Can’t walk straight in Pride month.”

So that made zero sense whatsoever, but Harvey still forced a polite smile as if he had understood. “Are you okay?”

“Mmmhm. Peachy. Thanks for saving me.”

With no hesitations, she pressed a kiss on his cheek with a loud ‘muah’ sound before she staggered along her way toward some women who were clearly laughing with her, falling straight into one of their arms too. Right then. That had happened.

Just another party, the same drunk people. Which meant he had seen enough. Best to leave it to the others who actually wanted to be here before someone spotted him, or, perhaps worse, spilled their drink all over his Armani shirt.

He wanted to leave, he really did, he even walked a few steps. But then the familiar sight of blonde hair and a slender body caught his eyes, mostly hidden by another guy he was going to town with. What…

Couldn’t be. Absolutely not. His mind had just played a trick on him, but the way the guy’s hair was styled… Was that really just a coincidence?

Harvey stopped dead in his tracks; his eyes focused on the tall man who really was incredibly busy kissing this broad guy in a leather harness, only ever so slightly shorter than him. Not a friendly this-is-a-joke kiss. A full-on getting-off-on-each-other kiss, too intense for the public setting, too busy for much of his face to be visible.

No, there was no way. If Mike had any interest in kissing men on street festivals, Harvey would have known about it. This must have been someone else who happened to look similar. Just another stranger… That he was full-on gawking at like a creep. Great. He told his legs to keep moving, but they didn’t listen to him.

And then, the kiss ended. And the man was grinning widely. Harvey would recognize those soft features anywhere, even if they were a lot more colorful right now than ever before. No. He must have been hallucinating this, nothing but a secret wish that made his mind play tricks on him…

And then, the deep blue eyes were staring straight into his soul, and Mike’s jaw dropped. His lips moved, but it was far too loud for Harvey to make out anything he said. What he did know though was that Mike was ditching harness-guy and coming toward him, his eyes sparkling with intoxication and surprise. And he came very close, barely stopping a few inches away.

“Harvey? What are you doing here?” He yelled louder than necessary. Exactly the question he never wanted to answer.

“Could ask you the same thing,” he dodged, but Mike snorted.

“What does it look like?” he gestured down at himself, his naked upper body that had glitter stuck to it, his eyes even more prominent because of the rainbow-colored eyeshadow around them.

“Right. Nice makeup,” Harvey commented dryly.

“I lost a bet. Suits me though, don’t you think? I can totally pull it off.”

Harvey just nodded with a faint “Mh,” not sure what else to say. He couldn’t just compliment Mike like that, that’d be weird. But he couldn’t exactly deny it either… weirdly, he did look good. But that might have just been due to the perfect canvas that was his face that could hardly be ruined by anything, no matter how ridiculous.

“You haven’t answered my question,” Mike leaned in and yelled gain, which really was an unnecessary combination and either would have sufficed. The smell of beer hit Harvey, and he leaned back slightly.

“I was just passing through. After a meeting.”

“Passing through Greenwich village? During Pride week? Do you have a death wish?”

“Slipped my mind.”

“Yeah right, like it’s not everywhere,” Mike huffed. For someone that drunk, his scepsis was a little too apparent. Why couldn’t he just lose his ability to critically think with rising alcohol levels like the rest of them? Damned genius… A divergence, quickly.

Harvey’s eyes settled on the guy Mike was kissing earlier, who kept stealing glances at them. He shouldn’t be surprised Mike was here with someone, except he hadn’t even mentioned he’d be here at all, let alone the fact that he had a fricking boyfriend. Of course he had a private life Harvey wasn’t privileged to, but this… Mike had always seemed pretty happy working late and was ready to help at any hour of the day. Harvey hadn’t exactly expected him to have a partner who would put up with that.

But that was just the way life worked. People fell in love. He couldn’t be bothered by that. Had no reason to care. No hard feelings.

Definitely.

“Don’t you need to get back to your boyfriend?” He tried to sound as casual as possible about it because, obviously, he wasn’t affected by that news in any way whatsoever. If just to show Mike he never needed to hide him in the first place.

But Mike just snorted again, quickly looking over the shoulder to harness-guy. “What, that guy? I don’t even know his name.”

Oh. Right. That was… again, not what he had expected. He had always seen Mike as more of a commitment guy than a kiss-a-rando-on-the-street guy. This day really made a point of reminding him how little he actually knew him, when he was easily the person who knew most about Harvey.

Not everything, that would be insane. Just the important bits. But this seemed to be important to Mike, enough to put in the effort to show up like he was the lovechild of a rainbow and a glitter factory. And yet, not important enough to mention it ever… or was it too important to mention? Too important to risk facing rejection for? That was kind of relatable…

“What?” Mike asked. Oh. How long had Harvey gone without reacting?

“Nothing. Just… didn’t take you to be the type to make out with strangers.”

Mike shrugged. “It’s Pride. Kissing at Pride doesn’t mean anything.”

And yet, harness-guy was still very clearly checking Mike out. And yes, Mike was very attractive, but come on. A modicum of class would do him well. If it was just a kiss, he really should take the hint and move on…

“You sure he knows? He keeps looking at you.”

For whatever reason, this seemed to amuse Mike terribly, because he grinned widely. “Yes, Harvey, because I’m an amazing kisser.”

And why was that so easy to believe too? Harvey didn’t mean to stare at his lips, he really didn’t, but well, Mike had planted the picture in his mind now… They were very nice lips, too. A little redder now than usual (whether that was from the kiss or if Mike was wearing some kind of lipstick, he didn’t know), but that made them all the more enticing.

“Lots of practice, huh?”

“You’re hardly in a position to judge.”

“I’m not judging, I’m just… surprised.”

“Well, that makes two of us. Because I am surprised how you chose to show up.”

“I’m not showing up-“

“You look like a lawyer,” Mike continued, and not only dared to touch Harvey’s tie but started to undo it skillfully too. Only then did Harvey notice his nails were painted too, one nail in every color of the Pride flag. Jesus, he really did go all out on this.

“I am a lawyer. What the hell are you doing?” Harvey protested a little too late, the knot already undone. Damn, those quick fingers.

“You’re obviously staying.”

He was?

“I am?”

“Yes. And I can’t have you looking like all business, no fun.”

That was just offensive. Harvey was extremely fun to be around, and he was dressed classy and immaculate as ever, unlike everyone else. Even if he was staying, he didn’t need to dress down just to fit into the crowd. Wasn’t this all about acceptance?

He was going to say all of that, make a speech defending himself. Until he felt Mike’s hand on his hip, and he had no breath left to bring out any words. He could only watch how Mike slowly slid the rolled-up tie into the front pocket of Harvey’s pants with an extremely indulgent look on his face. Harvey swore he could see him lick his lips before he glanced up again, looking straight into Harvey’s eyes, and Harvey’s heart started to work overtime.

“Why do you have meetings on a Saturday?” Mike asked innocently as if he hadn’t just done that.

Right, a question. Which meant Harvey had to answer, in words. He knew lots of those. It didn’t matter that Mike’s hand glided on his chest with such ease, no inhibitions. Harvey swallowed.

“It was an emergency. A deal in danger that I had to fix. This guy was acting ridiculously and-“

“No offense, Harvey, but I am off the clock and way too drunk to be hearing about the details right now. Tell me on Monday.”

Thank God for that, because Harvey got a little too distracted by Mike opening the first few buttons of his dress shirt. He really couldn’t find it in himself to stop him.

“There. Now you just need some glitter.” That should have meant Mike was done and would back off again, but instead, his hands glided up Harvey’s chest again until they came resting on his shoulders.

“I really don’t.”

“You’ll change your mind after a few drinks.” Mike gave him another splendid smile again, so carefree and slightly smug and just… happy. He had never seen him like this before, but it was a beautiful sight.

“At what point in this conversation have I said I was going to stay?”

“The point when you let me undress you,” Mike grinned, pumping his eyebrows up and down. “No, seriously, you should stay. It’s fun. You’ll love it. Please?”

In many ways, no was Harvey’s favorite word. He loved using it to set boundaries, to get his way, to see it crush the hopes of anyone who requested something from him. No felt good, powerful. Allowed him to reinforce hierarchies, show people who was boss. He never had any hesitancies turning anything or anyone down. Not even Mike. Especially not Mike.

“Okay,” he heard himself say. Ah. Shit.

But Mike looked so damn happy, as if had just been handed the moon and stars. Why did he care so much whether Harvey stayed? He could have just invited him in the first place if he had wanted him here… Well, he didn’t know about Harvey’s… preferences, but straight people could come to Pride too, right? So clearly, he was just being polite by insisting he’d stick around. Although that was one hell of a smile for politeness….

Mike’s hand dropped from his shoulders and found his hand instead, so intently and yet gently, he had a hard time questioning the sincerity of it all. He’d get a chance to show off his amazing no-saying skills at another time.

“You need to meet my friends,” Mike declared, tugging at his hand and pulling him through the crowd as if he was a lost toddler in need of guidance. He kind of felt like one too, and that was utterly unacceptable. It wasn’t often he was forced out of his comfort zone… but definitely the first time he was dragged straight into Mike’s instead.

“Last time I met a friend of yours I walked into an armed holdup to save his life, and he still decided to rat you out to Jessica…”

“Yeah… that did kind of have me reevaluate the people in my life, so I made some better choices. I promise none of them carry guns or have any shady drug dealings going on.”

Not exactly the only criteria by which anyone should choose their friends, but at least that was a start. An upgrade from Trevor by all means. Before he got to meet those non-drug-dealing friends though, Mike stopped by a mobile bar to pick them up drinks, ordering without even consulting with Harvey first. Huh.

There was something about him here, the way he carried himself… The carefreeness and relaxation suited him incredibly well, but there was more than that. Mike was glowing, surrounded by an aura of confidence that came with being entirely at ease in a space Harvey had never been sure he belonged into. But with Mike, right now… he could kind of believe he was meant to be here too.

This was a side of Mike he hadn’t anticipated to see ever really, a side he had never announced to have and yet didn’t apologize for in the slightest, on the contrary. That was almost admirable, if Harvey was the admiring type.

Mike turned back to him, still smiling placidly, and it was very hard to not smile back. Harvey wasn’t sure if he succeeded or not.

“So. Are you, you know.” Mike let his hand drop, flopping down right at his wrist. Harvey frowned.

“What?”

“You know.” As if it was any clearer the second time, he just let limp-wristed again. Okay, seriously, was that some kind of code he was supposed to know?

“Are you having a stroke?”

Mike dropped his arms, giving him an amused are-you-serious-stare that Harvey greatly enjoyed. Nothing like annoying Mike into laughing against his will, as accidental as it had been.

“Oh my God. Are you queer, Harvey?”

How the hell was he supposed to get that from a limp wrist? He really thought they had left that stereotype in the nineties instead of making it an identifier. Not that his sexuality was any of Mike’s (or anyone’s) business. In fact, it was such a well-kept secret, the answer even eluded Harvey on some days.

“That’s an intrusive question.”

“At pride? Come on.”

“Does it matter?”

Mike shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, everyone who isn’t a dickhead is welcome. But I have to know if I have to introduce you as my token straight friend, or if I need to fend off all the guys who will absolutely come after you today.”

It wasn’t news that Harvey was attractive and managed to get some attention wherever he went, but it sounded awfully like Mike had just admitted he found him good-looking as well… Maybe it was the heat getting to Harvey’s head, but he was pretty sure Mike had just openly checked him out when he said that too, his eyes wandering across his body in a definitively sexual way. And wasn’t that an interesting turn of events.

As it was, he had no interest in being chased by any man (or anyone else, for that matter) today. He hadn’t even planned to stay here, until Mike kidnapped him. If it wasn’t for him, Harvey would be in a cab back to his apartment already, so in that way, he was the only company he intended to keep. The odds that there was someone here who could tear his attention away from all the new sides he was seeing on Mike were diminishingly small, anyway.

“I am more than capable of defending my own honor,” Harvey said. Mike’s gaze was soul-piercing as if he tried to read Harvey’s mind, but he withstood it without faltering until Mike started to smirk.

“You still haven’t answered.”

“Because it’s none of your business.” He took advantage of the drinks being ready and handed Mike the shot of Vodka (not his preferred drink but since he didn’t get a say…), clinking glasses before they both downed it. It left a beautiful burn in his throat, the tingling promise of loosening up and the potential to actually enjoy being here. At Pride. With Mike.

The day had really started getting interesting.

With beers in hand, Mike again took his free one as if he was afraid he’d lose Harvey in the sparse crowd, and guided him to wherever he wanted them to go.

“How did you meet these new friends if not from drug dealing?”

Mike gave him a look over his shoulder that probably was nervous, but the excessive eye shadow around his eyes really just made it look gleeful anyhow. “Don’t laugh.”

“If you start like that, I feel like I will have to.”

“Ehm… We’re in the same Queer book club.”

Oh.

Harvey didn’t laugh, the sound he made was barely even a huff, just a bit of air escaping through his nose a little more forcefully than usual. That was terribly on-brand for the guy who read full novels in elementary school.

If Mike had waited for some judgment, he must have given up, because he stopped searching Harvey’s face and kept walking, his fingers still hooked around Harvey’s as though it was no big deal. Maybe it wasn’t, here. Anywhere else though…. the looks they would have gotten for such a simple gesture… Probably the reason why it had never even occurred to either of them to do it before. Funny that it had occurred to Mike now.

Harvey recognized Mike’s friends right away, mostly because they all broke out smiling and opened the circle up once they saw them approach. All of them were dressed every bit as ridiculous as Mike, five of them all together in different color schemes.

“I didn’t know you were expecting a date,” one of them, a woman wearing a purple-blue flag as if it was a cape, said.

“I picked him up from the street. He was just passing through.”

Why was he talking about Harvey like he was some stray dog in need of rescuing? Ridiculous. Harvey would have protested, but then he felt Mike’s grip around his hand loosening until only two of his fingers were hooked around Harvey’s index finger. And there they remained. As a choice. Did he really think Harvey might make a run for it any second or why was he holding on?

“Harvey, these are Char, Jenn, Anthony, Wren, and Jessie. Guys, this is Harvey.”

“Oh, the hot lawyer boss. What an honor,” Wren grinned. Just like Mike, he was topless, with two red scars under his pecs that were skillfully integrated into some elaborate body art that Harvey had to admit looked stunning - but it would take a lot more to distract him from the fact that Mike’s friends knew him as the hot lawyer boss. Or ignore how Mike visibly cringed next to him, mumbling a “Oh, come on,” under his breath.

Harvey grinned, enjoying how Mike actively avoided his eyes. That was a first. “Hot lawyer boss, huh?”

Mike just shrugged, way too casual for how clearly affected he was. “Don’t pretend like you have an ounce of humility.”

“No, it burned away with all the hotness.”

This time, Mike did meet his eyes, grinning even though he clearly didn’t want to. Twice already in such a short period of time – that was a record, even for him.

“Anyway,” Harvey focused back on the rest of the group because he wouldn’t have it be said that he was rude, “I like your chest art.”

Wren’s face lit up immediately, but before he could say anything, flag-woman – Char – wrapped her arm around his shoulders and said: “Thank you! Took me two hours this morning. I did Mike’s makeup too, but we ran out of time to paint his chest.”

“Truly devastating,” Mike said dryly. Right, the lost bet… Harvey really needed to know what that was about. Somehow, though, he felt like these people would not mind filling him in about that. Maybe Mike had finally made a good choice about people in his life, even if Harvey had never expected to find himself attracted to a guy in a book club.

“You look hot either way,” Wren said to Mike, “I was actually shook today at how well your top surgery scars have healed, until I remembered that some people were just born with the right body. I legit forgot that cis people exist for a second. The world has never been better than in that moment.”

Oh. Was Harvey supposed to say something to that? He kind of got lost after the Mike-looked-hot-part. Apparently, his input wasn’t needed though, seeing how everyone else was already piling in with ‘what a mood’ that was.

Right. Was that… a thing?

“Mike said you were smart,” this other person, Jenn, said, looking at Harvey. “What smart person ‘passes through’ Pride?” There was no maliciousness in their voice, just an intrigue that made Harvey immediately tense up.

Did people think it was only an excuse? Technically, it was the truth, he had only just passed through. Except that he hadn’t forgotten what day it was, and maybe it wasn’t entirely accidental, but he had planned to just walk by, check out what the local gay population was up to, convince himself he wasn’t missing out, and then go home and get drunk by himself instead of in public.

Wait, that sounded a lot sadder than what he had planned – not drinking alone in a depressed way, but in a happy, celebrating his closed deal way. Happy alone-drinking. Now that absolutely was a thing.

Before he could even come up with a witty comeback that would prove how smart he was, it was taken out of his hands by Jessie: “Alright, this is a non-judgment zone. Everyone is on their own journey. Just because you were cradled in a rainbow flag doesn’t mean everyone had that privilege.”

Oh. People he met ten seconds ago standing up for him when they didn’t know anything about him. That was new. And kind of weird. Mike’s fingers gently tightened around Harvey’s, he softly leaned against his side. Almost protectively. When had people decided Harvey needed protection? Did he look lost? That would be worrisome…

“So, have you been here before?” Jessie asked, joining the lineup of people smiling way too genuinely for Harvey to chalk it up to politeness. That was a shocking reset to his system, seeing people be real this quickly… not exactly a common thing in his line of work.

“Can’t say I have.” He purposefully left out how he didn’t see the point because this lot clearly wasn’t the target audience for his slander. They must have seen a purpose to all this for them to take it this seriously.

This time, Mike did get involved. “You’ve been missing out, dude. Pride is a great way to connect with the community and just be yourself.”

Oh, bold move. Alcohol and kind of sexy confidence did not mean Harvey would let him get away with everything. Changing his clothes was one thing. But that, that was too far. “You know you don’t get to call me dude.”

But Mike only grinned, ever the one to take the challenge no one issued instead of cutting his losses. “Duude.”

Absolutely not. His eyes caught sight of Anthony’s empty drink, nothing but the remains of half-melted ice cubes. “Are you done with that?”

“Eh, yes?” He let Harvey take his drink, and Mike really should have seen what Harvey had planned coming at this point, but he still didn’t let go of Harvey’s finger so really, this was on him. Literally. Harvey quickly turned the cup upside down over his head, the ice cubes and leftover drink pouring all over Mike’s so perfect hair.

He jumped away immediately, laughing out loud with such unbridled joy in a way Harvey had never heard him do before, brushing over his hair with his hands. Regrettably, that also meant he had released Harvey’s finger, but he could deal with that loss in favor of punishing Mike’s cheekiness.

“Oh, fuck you,” Mike brought out, still laughing. Mission accomplished.

With a smirk, Harvey turned back to Anthony. “Thank you.”

“Oh, anytime if that’s the result.”

“I think I prefer you throwing stuff at me,” Mike mumbled, fishing the lemon slice out of his hair.

“That can be arranged.”

“Throwing bricks would definitely be in the spirit of Pride,” Char said, and Mike gasped.

“Do you want me to end up in the hospital?”

“Sue me. I do finally know a good lawyer now,” Char shrugged, winking at Harvey. Mike’s fake outrage only grew.

“Wow. Wow. Just like that?”

They kept bickering back and forth because apparently defending his fraudulent lawyer honor was more important than avenging Harvey’s offense against his hair.

Mike had definitely successfully stepped up his friend game. The loving, teasing banter felt awfully familiar already considering how he had just met these people.

They had no qualms about Harvey joining in either, even if he got barely targeted in return. Mike took the blows against him gracefully, always with a witty comeback, and that side of him Harvey knew incredibly well. That side of him he even was sort of friends with. Harvey might not need protection, but knowing Mike and his quick wit were in his corner was still… nice.

He did find out what the bet was, somewhere between moving inside the bar/club and ordering the third round of drinks, no matter how intent Mike had been to avoid the topic. For a good reason. The genius with the eidetic memory had seriously lost in a game of Queer-themed trivia of all things, and Char had won the prize of getting full control over his Pride look.

The jokes had practically written themselves at that point until the conversation shifted gears again. In spite of all the teasing and pouring drinks over his head, Mike had remained right at his side the whole time, never more than a foot apart, checking in with him through little side glances, asking the silent question if he was enjoying himself. Harvey wasn’t even the one being made fun of (for the most part), and yet, Mike still cared enough to check if he was having a good time.

And surprisingly, he was. The people were fun, the atmosphere easy and everyone was just so open and vulnerable in ways Harvey had rarely experienced before. There was no hiding, no holding back even when there really should have been some inhibitions (two girls had been getting in on very extensively right in his line of sight for a good five minutes until they sneaked off to the bathroom, and honestly, fair play to them), and it was hard to not be a little affected by it.

Especially when Mike was leaning against him all night, his knees resting on Harvey’s thighs when he decided to sit on his feet because ‘telling him to sit straight during Pride was homophobic’ or something.

All of it was a little different from the parties Harvey was familiar with after all. Being here didn’t feel like a social obligation, a chance to network, or like a place desperate people went to get drunk and forget about their lives, it just felt … free.

Perhaps that was the point of all this… Just existing freely and doing what they wanted in a supposedly safe space with their peers… Huh. That didn't sound half-bad.

After the fourth round of drinks, Mike’s not-sitting-straight escalated to him literally moving to Harvey’s lap after he requested a bottle of hand sanitizer.

“Can I help you?” Harvey asked with a raised eyebrow, not exactly pushing him off because why should he, but he still didn’t trust this development at all.

“Yes, you can sit still and not complain for once.”

The cold gel of hand sanitizer, slowly heating up from the warmth of Mike’s hand, hit his skin. Mike was focusing intensely on the movement of his fingers, on whatever shape he was drawing on Harvey’s chest.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t be scared, it’s going to be fine. Char, hand me the glitter.”

To his horror, he did see Char pull out a small paintbrush and tub of glitter sparkling in all colors of the rainbow from her bumbag.

“Absolutely not.” This time, he did try to push Mike off, but he only swung one leg over him to full-on straddle him, just like that, in front of everyone. And as if that wasn’t enough to send a dangerous tingle down Harvey’s body, he even pushed him down into the bench with one hand, giving him a stern, yet teasing look.

Harvey suddenly didn’t know what to do with his hands anymore, didn’t know what part of Mike to touch that would be the least weird, whether it would be just weirder to not touch him at all. He settled on resting them on Mike’s calves, the best position to lift him off by force if needed.

“I said you get glitter after a few drinks.”

“You said I’ll change my mind after a few drinks, which I haven’t.”

“I don’t care.”

Shit, there was something about his tone of voice, the determination and authority in it, that was extremely hot. He had witnessed Mike’s lawyer, no-room-for-argument-voice before, helped him develop it to perfection, but he had never been on the receiving end of it. And now that he was… damn. That he really didn’t know about himself.

Still, as much as he was tempted to sit back and take it, he couldn’t just hand Mike his victory on a sparkly platter. He happily entered the stare-off, if just as an excuse to look Mike in the eyes, so blue and practically glowing with cheekiness. For the first time, he noticed the bit of gold around his Iris, which somehow made them even more beautiful.

When Mike didn’t look away either, when his gaze didn’t lose any of its determination, Harvey needed a different strategy – not that he was abandoning this one just yet. Which was to say, of course he kept the intense eye contact up. While Mike was straddling him. With one hand on Harvey’s chest to pin him into his seat. Jesus.

“I will make you pay for this on Monday,” Harvey threatened lowly. Mike had the audacity to smirk, leaning in a little before he whispered: “I don’t care.”

And Harvey knew he had lost the battle. Without flinching or complaining, he let Mike do his thing of pressing glitter onto the trail of hand sanitizer he had created, and Harvey was a little obsessed with watching his extreme focus, the feel of his fingers stroking any access glitter away or fixing his line work. Time meant nothing anymore, Harvey just prayed it would never resume, would never force Mike off him again.

But it moved on way faster than normal without any regard to his plea, and way too soon, Mike sat a little more upright again with a happy smile. “There. All done. You’ve been very brave, I’m sure we can find you a lollipop somewhere.”

“Absolutely get fucked, you dick.”

“You’re offering?”

Harvey bit his lip. Fucking hell. It was a joke of course, one in a long line of sexual innuendos everyone at the table had been happily engaging in without meaning it. Just another aspect of the group dynamic. It didn’t mean anything.

Unless…

No. Mike didn’t mean it, even if that was an intense thing to say while straddling Harvey. So why the hell did Harvey’s body not get the memo and settled down already?

“In your dreams,” Harvey said cooly. Mike still didn’t move away, seemingly very comfortable on his lap. Damn. Harvey looked down on himself a little, tried to catch a glance of what Mike had done to him, carefully traced the shape with his fingers.

“Is that a heart?” What a cliché.

“Yeah, I thought it was about time you got one of those.”

“You are the most annoying, insufferable person I have ever met. Why do I keep you around?”

“Brilliance loves company.”

“That’s not how the saying goes.”

“Wow, you deflecting a compliment? Didn’t think I’d see the day.”

“Please, you just wanted to call yourself brilliant. I was collateral damage.”

“Yeah.” Mike smiled, and the atmosphere felt a little less charged and closer to what it had always been between them, the normal banter, the normal insults neither of them truly meant.

Unfortunately, Mike mostly slid off his lap, as in he took his seat next to Harvey again, but his right leg kept lingering on top of Harvey’s left thigh. And clearly, Harvey couldn’t say anything about that – that would just be homophobic.

He tried to mentally rejoin the group conversation again, tried to make his hand lingering on Mike’s knee seem like nothing more than an absentminded gesture while the group animatedly explained the principle of this game they liked to play to him because they felt like he should absolutely join in next time. Something called Cards Against Humanity, and just the tagline that it was meant for horrible people intrigued him enough that he loosely accepted their invitation on the condition of ‘if he could make it.’

He also tried hard to pretend not to notice Mike smiling at him when he did agree, pretended he didn’t feel the continued prickling sensation of his heated gaze on him.

Somewhere after his fifth round of drinks (and God knew how many the others had already before he joined them), ‘Don’t stop me now’ from Queen came on, and Mike was clearly determined to take him out of his comfort zone some more.

At the first chords, he already gasped and took Harvey’s hand, standing up and tugging at it. “Oh, I love that song!”

“What are you doing now?”

“We’re gonna dance!”

That was news to Harvey. He might have been an excellent ballroom dancer, but he couldn’t dance to… that. He enjoyed Queen as much as the next person with an ounce of taste, but it could be enjoyed just as much off the dancefloor. There had to be a line somewhere.

“Since when do you think you can tell me what to do?” Harvey challenged defiantly.

“Excuse me, I’m in charge of providing you a great pride experience.”

“You’ve put yourself in charge.”

“You put yourself in charge of things all the time, now it’s my turn.” There it was again, the confidence that was too enticing, the best color on him despite all the other ones he was wearing. God, the line must have existed, but it wasn’t here yet. And so, Harvey had no choice but to stand up and let a giddy Mike lead him to the dancefloor.

“I’m sure you got some moves,” he teased.

Harvey wasn’t so sure about that, but then there was Mike. Wonderful, confident Mike. Not caring at all, swinging his hips and dancing, pulling at his hands to get him to join in, grinning widely like he was having the time of his life, and Harvey was defenseless to his energy.

Maybe it was the alcohol that had lowered his defenses, maybe it was the sight of Mike’s agile hips that put all kind of delicious thoughts into Harvey’s brain, but he just went along with it, matching his movements, but – most importantly – keeping Mike close. No one was allowed to intrude on this moment, steal that easy laughter away from him. It was just Mike and him, song after song after song.

Until the music changed drastically, from party to something slower. More… sensual. He recognized it right away, that song from that A Star is Born movie that Mike had made him watch. In retrospect, maybe he should have caught on to his queer identity a little earlier.

“That’s… different,” Harvey mumbled, but Mike still smiled, slowly wrapping his arms around Harvey’s neck.

“Lady Gaga is a queer icon, you can’t have a Pride without her. And the song is amazing.”

Harvey swallowed, carefully placing his hands on Mike’s hips to hold him as they started to slow dance to Lady Gaga asking if it was alright with her love interest to spend the rest of their lives together. And what a question that was.

Nothing you say wouldn’t interest me

All of your words are like poems to me

I would be honored if you take me as I am

Oh, that he understood. All the times he had listened to Mike’s word vomits, to his tangents and theories, or just excited reports about something he cared about, and never even once thought about telling him to shut up… Poetry wasn’t all that wrong to describe it. His rants were the best part of Harvey’s day, an integral part of the partnership they had built. The partnership had led them right here.

It hit straight into his heart, impossible to unhear the meaning when Mike was in his arms, just like that, without Harvey ever having to ask for any of his affections. When he didn’t have the words to ask for it, the guts to admit that he wanted it in the first place.

He felt one of Mike’s hands behind his neck, pulling him a little closer until their foreheads were nearly touching as they kept lightly swaying to the music. Harvey hugged around Mike’s lower back, bringing their chests to touch as well, his glitter heart against Mike’s heart space, hot skin rubbing against each other, and at that moment, everything wrong with the world seemed to align into perfect harmony.

I want you to look right in my eyes

To tell me you love me, to be my side

Mike’s face was so close now, he could smell all the different drinks of the past hours on it, and somehow wasn’t bothered by it at all anymore. On the contrary, his lips had never been more inviting, the way they were spread open slightly, the eternal soft smile tugging on the corners.

“I’m glad you stayed…” Mike whispered, just loud enough for the words to reach Harvey over the music, their noses touching too now. God.

“Me too…”

Is that alright?

Is that alright?

Shit, Harvey sure hoped it was, because he forgot how to withdraw now.

He closed his eyes, focused on holding Mike so much closer than ever before, the heat of his body that perfectly melted against Harvey’s. The perfect height difference between them. How perfectly Mike had fitted into his life since he met him. How he gave him all these things he never expected to find in another person…

It was a poor idea, starting something like this, risking waking up tomorrow and having to live with the knowledge of what he had and couldn’t keep, what wasn’t his to keep and hide away with him. But that was tomorrow. Today, at this moment, Mike was barely an inch away from him, lingering in that tension, the tiny gap either of them could so easily close, and yet, Mike left it to him to decide to do so, never moving away, never coming closer.

Kissing at Pride doesn’t mean anything. That was what Mike had said. And if it didn’t mean anything… Maybe Harvey could really have it all, at least for now. Deal with the consequences later, when reality caught up with them in their little rainbow bubble of love and acceptance.

It didn’t mean anything…

With his heart drumming in his ears, Harvey made the move, bringing his lips against Mike’s. Gently at first, but barely a second later, Mike responded with a hunger that devoured the last of Harvey’S inhibitions, and he immediately kissed him back with the same passion, the way he had always imagined he would.

The adrenaline spiked in his body, chasing away the buzz of the alcohol and replacing it with a much more powerful force, a comforting warmth of excitement that overtook his brain instead, and Harvey felt like he was flying.

Mike’s hand was in his hair, and he cupped Mike’s cheek to keep him right there with him, his other hand around his lower back. Not an inch of space was allowed between them right now because this might have been the best mistake Harvey had ever made in his whole life. Just like any other career-wrecking decision he had made in a heartbeat for Mike Ross.

And dammit, he really was a fantastic kisser, and Harvey chased his touch more and more, kept going back for kisses, already so effortlessly in sync just like their partnership had always been. When the oxygen between them ran low, when Mike pulled back with the happiest smile Harvey had ever seen on anyone, his heart might as well have exploded from the tenderness he felt.

“Not just a straight ally I take it?” Mike mumbled, a sparkle in his eyes that Harvey vowed to never forget.

“Not exactly…”

Mike just chuckled, growing taller in his embrace as he stood on his toes, and kissed him again, a little softer, a little less desperate, and somehow even better. Harvey couldn’t care that they were in the middle of the dancefloor, or that Mike’s friends were witnessing all of this. Who were they to him anyway?

Just Mike mattered, and he seemed more than content to stay right here, with him, kissing him and feeling him up under his clothes in an exploration Harvey happily joined him in, feeling the skin of his back, dared to slip a hand in the back pocket of Mike’s pants, even kissed along his neck and fuck, did he taste delicious.

He made the mistake of opening his eyes, and they were drawn to a woman just a few feet away from them, dancing by herself. No, not just a woman – a client. His client. Right here, of all places in Greenwich, at the same club, barely two feet away.

Shit.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked, pulling back a little to follow Harvey’s gaze.

“Is that…”

“Oh, yes. She is here every year.” He said it so nonchalantly as if it wasn’t a big deal. As if being deeply inappropriate in public in front of a client wasn’t something to worry about. Apparently, that wasn’t even news, because Mike and she had just known this about each other the entire time they had been working together and he didn’t even think to mention it.

“You didn’t say you knew her.”

“I don’t. If we have spoken here, I was too drunk to remember it. But there is kind of an unspoken agreement to not bring what happens at Pride into the workplace, so. No biggie.”

“Right…” That was good. Reassuring, anyway. If everyone minded their own business, then that was just perfect. He could do discreet; it was in his blood.

…Could she though?

Mike’s fingers on his jaw brought his attention back to him, his soft gaze easing the feeling of dread that was building in his chest with how loving it was. And then, Mike kissed him again, and Harvey wanted to enjoy it, really, really did, but it felt like everyone was suddenly staring at them.

What even was the protocol about getting off in queer spaces? This level of PDA was hardly acceptable anywhere, so why would it be here? They were being completely inappropriate, acting like teenagers on a night out… What was he thinking, of course it would backfire in some way or the other.

He pulled back a little, still hugging Mike close to him before he got the wrong idea that he was the problem. “Aren’t you worried she or… someone else will see and judge? What if that puts them off working with you?”

Mike huffed. “If they are here too, that would make them massive hypocrites for starters. Since when are you worried about what people think of you?”

“I didn’t say I was worried. Just, if she sees us…”

“Harvey, she is wearing nothing but a rainbow bikini with the words ‘lick me’ written on her boobs in red sharpie. She is hardly in a position to judge anything we do here, and neither are we. She isn’t here as a representative of her firm any more than we are here as lawyers. We’re all just people having a good time.”

That sounded logical. Compartmentalizing things was human nature, they could totally keep this separate from everything else. Just how he was intending to keep this separate from his professional relationship with Mike. Nothing to worry about, she probably wouldn’t take it badly anyway.

But what if it was the opposite? What if she took it so well, at the next meeting she would just openly treat them as a couple, or say something like it was good seeing him at Pride in front of everyone? If everyone at the office knew… everything could change.

“Can we go back to having a good time now?” Mike asked softly, and just looking at him turned down the volume of Harvey’s thoughts. Of course they could. Even if… Well, it wouldn’t be the worst thing to be seen as Mike’s partner… He was smart and attractive, and Harvey knew for a fact more than a few people at work had a crush on him. Even in this getup, Mike would be seen as a perfectly respectable partner for any woman. 

And that was just it. If either of them was a woman, there’d be nothing shameful about any of this. Why should it be a problem now? It simply wouldn't be. He wouldn't let it.

So Harvey smiled, tenderly stroking Mike’s cheek before he leaned in to kiss him again. Mike was right, he wasn’t the type to worry, so he simply wouldn’t anymore. Even if maybe other people from the office were here too. Maybe people infiltrated Pride exactly for the purpose to use others’ public escapades against them. Maybe some homophobes would come in and start a fight and then there’d be pictures all over the internet of him and Mike kissing right here, of his glitter heart, just his presence in a Gay club and…

Mike pulled back again, the glee had faded and was replaced by confusion.

“What?” Harvey asked, but Mike just looked at him for a silent moment longer.

“Come with me,” he then said, taking Harvey’s hand as he had done all day, and pulled him into a different room Harvey hadn’t even noticed before, then down the stairs; it was quieter here, less crowded, some people in private conversations or just making out in a corner.

That was a lot better than the dancefloor in the middle of the club already. Mike guided him to a golden leather sofa and dropped down, a lead Harvey happily followed. So much more comfortable than upstairs, with less watchful eyes... He leaned in to kiss Mike again, but he didn’t move to meet him.

No, he asked: “How deep in the closet are you?”

Oh. That really wasn’t a conversation Harvey was prepared to have today. Not here. What happened to partying and having fun?

“Geez, alcohol really makes you blunt,” Harvey tried, placing a hand on Mike’s hip to pull him closer, but he still wasn’t going along with it. Shit.

“You’re deflecting again.”

There were definite downsides to getting involved with someone who knew him this well, like how easy it was for Mike to read him too at this point in their… friendship. Except that he didn’t seem to pick up at all how very much Harvey did not want to have this conversation, or he just ignored it willingly, which might have been worse.

Harvey crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What do you want me to say here?”

Mike took a deep breath. “Well, I’m guessing you’re stuck somewhere between happily kissing men in public queer spaces as long as no one you know is there too, but you’re unable to acknowledge wanting to do that out loud. Does that about cover it…?”

Harvey just scoffed, his eyes landed on one of the other couples in the room, slow dancing to the faint music, happy and unbothered and just so… in love. It was… cute. Was that what he and Mike had looked like too? Did he want to be perceived like that? Cute really wasn’t his style.

Suddenly, Mike’s arms wrapped around his neck, Mike’s knees were on his lap again. “Hey, it’s okay. No judgment, seriously. You don’t need to deflect or get defensive. Please just talk to me.”

He definitely was not – okay, maybe a little, because he really didn’t want to have this conversation. But maybe… maybe that was a sign that he should have it. Maybe he could have it, with Mike… shit, he had already made out with him, there wasn’t really any coming back from that in terms of reclaiming straightness.

Harvey made an effort to relax his arms, leaning a little against Mike, feeling his soft lips leaving a gentle kiss on his cheek. He knew it was his turn to say something, but… What was there to say?

“Does anyone know about you? … Does Donna?” Mike asked, clearly happy to carry this conversation for the both of them.

Okay, there really was no getting around it. Harvey sighed. “I don’t know. If she does, she hasn’t said anything. Why?”

“Well, if Donna doesn’t know you must be practically in Narnia already. Her gaydar is impeccable, had me figured out in less than a month.”

Harvey sat up immediately, trying to find signs that Mike was joking. “Seriously?”

How had that not come up? She always clued Harvey in all the gossip, surely, she would have mentioned Mike’s sexuality in the form of some joke about him flirting with a man. Or had Mike asked her to keep it a secret? Was he as intent on keeping it hidden at work as Harvey was?

“Yes. Actually, that was one of the first things we bonded over.”

What? No. That couldn’t be true. Harvey huffed. “Donna isn’t gay.”

“I mean, she dated a woman for two years in college, that’s pretty gay to me. Also, I think she might have a thing for Rachel? But she doesn’t want to admit to it, so, you know. Could be wrong.”

Woah, too much. Now he knew Mike was joking, because he had heard about all of Donna’s ex-partners (all men), and she had never once mentioned being with a woman, nor had expressed any interest in them whatsoever.

“I would have known if she had dated a woman.”

“I honestly don’t know how you missed it. She mentions Rosalie all the time.”

Hang on, that name did ring a bell. Of course Donna mentioned Rosalie as her roommate from college, but not as her girlfriend. That wasn’t synonymous. Or was it? Was that more code, just like the limp-wrist thing?

“Rosalie? Her ex-roommate? Seriously?”

“Yeah. We even met her a few weeks ago, remember?”

He did remember. Remembered her and Donna were close and sharing inside jokes and reminiscing over their ‘wild’ college days before they went out for dinner. Pretty standard friends-from-college-meeting-to-catch-up behavior.

“How was I supposed to know they used to date?”

“Eh, subtext? Donna did wear the same dress to work the next day, that feels like a giveaway. You even gave her shit for that.”

“But that doesn’t mean she hooked up with her.”

Mike had the audacity to actually snort at that. “Doesn’t it? If you went out for dinner with someone and turned up in the same clothes the next morning, I would absolutely infer you slept with that person, not some anonymous third party. Regardless of gender.”

Well, if he put it that way… Shit, Harvey was the one who was supposed to pick up on these things and tease Mike about being oblivious, not the other way around. The role reversal had really gone too far today.

“You may have a point, for once…”

“You having a terrible gaydar is a surprise for real, Mr. I-read-people-for-a-living. Are you so concerned hiding yourself that you don’t look for queerness in others?”

At this point, Mike should have just taken a knife and rammed it straight into Harvey’s heart, that would hurt less than his painfully accurate callouts. Harvey literally flinched from the way his chest contracted from how close to home it hit.

“Damn. What’s gotten into you today? Where is all … this coming from?”

“I’m just gracing you with the full extent of my awesomeness because I’d much rather get back to kissing you without competing with your intrusive thoughts,” Mike smiled. Harvey felt two of his fingers brush along his jaw again. “Maybe I can help.”

“Help with what?” he mumbled; his eyes were trained on Mike’s slightly kiss-swollen lips. Beautiful as ever.

“Help take the shame away.”

Harvey straightened up again. “I’m not ashamed of anything.”

“No, you’re just deeply worried someone will perceive you to be a little less straight than you’d like them to think, but somehow not worried enough to stop you from acting on it because you’re Harvey Specter and you would never not go after what you want for the sake of someone else.”

Jesus fucking Christ. He was supposed to be a lot harder to read than that.

“You don’t just announce your sexuality either, at least anywhere but here.”

“I don’t announce it at work, because a high-end law firm isn’t exactly the place to be loud about who I sleep with. It shouldn’t matter to the work we do. Not that that doesn’t stop people from getting weird about it anyway, but… Well. The good experiences cancel out the negative ones. And I definitely don’t mind people knowing, I just don’t do this” – he gestured down his body – “there. Pretty sure you’d fire me if I showed up like this.”

Harvey smiled despite himself. Again, he had a point, though it would have been funny to see Mike turn up to work in his Pride look. “You could have told me.”

“I would have, but it didn’t come up in conversation. And seeing you now, I’m thinking that might have been by design.”

Design was a strong word; it wasn’t like Harvey had masterminded anything. He had simply tried to show as little interest in Mike’s love life as possible because he didn’t need to set himself up for that kind of… disappointment of hearing him get it on with anybody. The things Mike did share with him were already enough to unreasonably bother Harvey, he didn’t need to go digging and open the can of worms of what Mike’s type was.

Even if today had been very enlightening… Not that Harvey could do anything with that information, really. Well, he used it for his advantage right now, but that was only a now-thing. Nothing that existed outside these walls.

“No, not by design. Like you said, it doesn’t matter to the work we do, so why talk about it. I just… don’t concern myself with labels,” Harvey said, because that sounded wise. Maybe the best way to end this conversation was to pretend he was secretly at ease with his identity, so he could go back to making the mistake of kissing Mike while his dignity was still intact...

“I can’t tell if that is progressive of you or just a sign of internalized homophobia. Actually, scratch that, I absolutely can tell. And I hate that for you.”

Fucking hell, he did it again. “God, Mike, is this a party or a therapy session?”

“Do you need it to be a therapy session? I’m not licensed, but I’m very happy to listen.” Of course he was – Harvey really didn’t deserve him sacrificing his fun to listen to his whining, and yet, Mike did it anyway, and gladly too. What was he supposed to do with that?

“Did something happen that made you feel this way? Or was it just life in general?” Mike asked again, drawing soothing little circles with his index finger on Harvey’s exposed chest, his forehead leaning against the side of Harvey’s head.

He didn’t need to answer that. Mike had no right to his life story like that. Well, he was just trying to help… Not something Harvey had asked for. Maybe something he needed though…

Goddammit. The truth was, he had never been at the receiving end of a homophobic incident. How he could he have been, he was always careful. He never spoke to guys first, let them come to him. Didn’t get it on with them until they were alone. Didn’t speak about it to anyone. He highly doubted that anyone in his life even suspected his inclinations.

Until now, when he couldn’t resist the chance to be with Mike anymore, when he gave into the illusion that it didn’t have to matter… And now where had that brought him, at the mercy of someone else to keep his secret. Multiple people, even. If it got out… Well, what then? What would happen?

He didn’t know of many openly gay lawyers. Well, he knew of one, many years ago when he just started out. Who was outed when he changed his marital status to being in a domestic partnership with a man, seeing how marriage wasn’t even an option back then. The information got leaked – he still didn’t know how, it had never been thoroughly investigated – and suddenly, everyone knew. And he didn’t catch a break anymore.

He lost all his best clients, didn’t get assigned good new cases, everyone who was seen talking to him was targeted and accused of queerness too, so soon, he was all alone.

There weren’t even consequences for whoever from HR did it. No help from them to put a stop to the toxic, homophobic environment. The guy lasted for another month before he handed in his two weeks noticed and disappeared. Last Harvey heard, he and his partner had moved states, and people at the firm just high-fived each other and were proud of themselves. Made fun of anyone who had stood up for him for not being able to take a joke…

Things had changed a lot in the past fifteen years under new management, but… had they?

“You know our world is all about appearances and what people want you to be. And when appearances change… it can change everything, and usually not for the better. That’s just… It’s not worth the risk.”

Mike looked at him intently. “What happened?”

And Harvey told him everything. Well, not everything, just a brief summary of the main events that had gone down back then. And Mike listened patiently, never letting go of him. A heavy silence settled between them when Harvey had finished the cautionary tale, and for a moment, he thought he might have killed Mike’s Pride glee, might have forced him back into the closet at work…

But then Mike took a deep breath and found Harvey’s eyes again. “If one of our clients found out I’m bisexual and demanded I’d be kicked off the case or he’d take his business elsewhere, what would you do?”

What sort of question was that? As if Harvey would ever abandon Mike for some bigot stuck in the last century. “Obviously I’d tell him to go to hell. Who do you take me for?”

Mike nodded. “And if anyone at the office was bothered by my sexuality and acted like these dickheads did back then, would you stand by or would you give them hell too?”

Now it really was getting laughable. As if anyone would get away with bullying Mike on his watch. This was his firm now, and neither he nor Jessica would stand for any of that. Friendly and not-so-friendly competition, sure. Disagreements and arguments, absolutely. But not bullying for something no one had control over.

“If anyone comes for you, I’ll make them regret the day they sat a foot into the building. And I’ll make sure their reputations will never recover from it. You know that.”

Mike smiled softly, an expectant look on his face, like he was waiting for something. And when Harvey didn’t say anything more, he even started nodding slowly, still with the expectancy. “So?”

“So what?”

“So why don’t you give yourself the same grace you give me? If it’s not a tragic loss to cut people out when they are dicks about it to me, it’s not a loss when you cut them off for being dicks to you.”

Harvey scoffed. Those were completely different things. Mike was his associate, he had a duty to protect him, no matter what. But he, on the other hand, was the name partner for fuck’s sake, the way he was perceived affected the business of the whole firm. They were going through enough things already; they didn’t need a gay scandal. He wasn’t quite as selfish as everyone around him liked to believe, he knew what needed to be done. What the safest way was.

And he was ready to say that to Mike, give a fiery speech of selflessness and explain the difference in irrefutable detail, but when he opened his mouth to let the words roll off his tongue, they weren’t at all as convincing as he needed them to be.

“That’s obviously different…” he managed to bring out before his brain blanked. He couldn’t even make himself believe in it… That was a first.

Mike still looked at him with so much compassion, gently cupping Harvey’s cheek and stroking over the skin with his thumb. “If it’s okay for me to be queer, it’s more than okay for you too. There is no difference, Harvey. People already are in awe of you, you are indispensable. You won’t lose any of that, mostly because no one in their right mind would dare taking you on, but also because discriminating you for your sexuality is actually illegal now.”

“Right.” Because that made it all better, because the legal situation absolutely affected everyone’s mindset as well… If that were the case, he wouldn’t have a job anymore, because everyone would just follow the laws to the T already.

“Harvey… Coming out can be daunting, but it’s also liberating. I’m not saying you should show up on Monday in full rainbow gear or force it, but… the closet might feel safe, and sometimes it is, but it’s not shame proof. You don’t need to tell anyone, but you deserve to at least accept yourself without shame over wanting to kiss an exceptionally attractive man at Pride.”

Harvey smiled despite the tightness in his throat, the unfamiliar heat in his eyes he would never allow to turn into tears. No one had ever said anything like that to him, had told him he was okay to feel the way he did… Nowhere in his brain had it ever occurred to him that maybe, he owed it to himself to explore his sexuality beyond hookups with strange men whose names he couldn’t even remember that left him feeling dirty more than satisfied… not that that had ever stopped him.

It was all decisively too much, and so he focused on the only part Mike had said that felt safe, familiar: “Are you the exceptionally attractive man?”

“Duh. What sort of question is that?” Mike smiled too, easing the heaviness a little. And God, was Harvey far from arguing with that.

Who was he kidding, of course he had been attracted to Mike for a long time, of course he had seized the chance of being with him and was willing to risk it all. And maybe, if he had explored this part of himself more, he would have actually had the guts to ask him out, figured out months ago that he wanted to kiss Harvey too, just like Harvey had wanted to kiss him…

If he hadn’t given into the pull today that had led him right to Mike, maybe he would have never known any of this about them. And then he would have missed out on something amazing, perhaps forever. And if that wasn’t reason enough to question himself a little more… God, what had Mike done to him?

“You are very confident here. It suits you.”

“Well, it’s called Pride for a reason. To let go off that shame we’ve been instilled with and try to be proud instead, hard as it might be. This isn’t just a party, it’s a protest. A big we will not be invisible anymore and you can’t scare us back to the margins. Being loud is a political weapon, especially when people like you and me wield it who do have the privilege to hide our queerness if we have to and still choose not to. And loudly celebrating queer joy in a safe community is the biggest fuck you to the homophobes.”

Huh. If he put it that way… Harvey did enjoy a good, heartfelt fuck you… Thinking of it that way, all of this, the loudness and fashion choices and flag waving made a lot more sense now.

“I guess I never thought about it that way.” He hadn’t thought about a lot of things the way Mike did… Today had really sent his head spinning.

“That’s okay. But I think that every time someone opens up and celebrates who they are, the world becomes a slightly brighter, more colorful place… And you have been shining brighter today than I have ever seen before. And it’s beautiful. You are beautiful.”

Harvey swallowed against the dryness in his throat, all the tension he held in heart space just disappeared. God, he could have cried right there, but that wasn’t an option. There was exactly one thing he could do when Mike said stuff like that.

He gently brought his hand to the back of Mike’s head, and then he leaned in and kissed him, sweet and tender and full of the emotions twirling inside of him, that for once were not inspired by sexual attraction and desire but came from somewhere so much deeper. He had never kissed anyone like that before, and Mike just let him, following his lead without pushing for more.

Harvey felt his arms around his neck, how Mike inched closer, so he did the same thing and held Mike, turning in his seat to feel as much of his body against himself as he could. God, he had missed this already, when he had only just gone a few minutes without it… No more worrying. If today was what he had with Mike, then he would take all he could get from him and not spoil it with more thoughts.

The universe was funny that way, leading him straight to Mike, into his arms, just so when he had him, he was forced to pull away again. Which was to say that Harvey’s phone rang in his pocket and interrupted them, and reluctantly, he pulled it out to check the caller ID. Mike just carried on kissing his neck, even nibbling at his skin, sending shivers down his spine. Oh, he couldn’t wait to get more of him… Stupid phone.

“It’s the client from earlier…”

“Don’t answer it. We’re having a moment…” Mike claimed his lips again, and God, Harvey really was inclined to agree. If only he could.

“You know I have to,” Harvey mumbled against his lips.

“You’re off the clock.”

“We are never truly off the clock though…”

Mike sighed, withdrawing slightly with an adorable little pout. “Fiine. If you rather do that than me…”

Like there was any competition. Fortunately, he could do both, deal with this, and then pick up with Mike where they had left off. Harvey huffed a smile. “Wait for me?”

“Obviously.” Mike released his arms around Harvey and used them to pull his own knees against his chest.

“I’ll be right back,” Harvey promised, and, just because he could, kissed Mike again. He reluctantly left to find a quiet space outside that didn’t give his party surroundings away, only stopping at the door to take a moment to marvel at the way Mike smiled widely, how his head had fallen back to lean on the backrest.

The call better be the quickest ever.

It was, in fact, not the quickest call ever. The deal was settled, it should have been done and through, except that apparently, his client had gotten into a fight with the opposition after Harvey left, regretted it, and wanted out again.

Harvey summoned all the patience he could to explain to him calmly that the contract was legally binding and that an annulment now was next to impossible, lest he wanted to pay an absurd amount of money in damages to the other party.

It took fifteen minutes to appease him enough to agree to handle this on Monday instead, when his emotions would have settled, and they could make a rational decision about how to proceed. Grown men acting like tantrum-throwing toddlers was somehow the best and worst part about this job, depending on how much of that tantrum was his problem and how much the opposition’s.

He literally fought his way through the crowd to get back to Mike, more than ready to vent and then get back to the good part, running down the stairs with a giddy excitement that he never felt before. Embarrassing.

With more poise, he walked to the room he had left Mike in. He was still there – but not alone. The harness guy from earlier was sitting with him, not to say almost on top of him, his arm on the backrest behind Mike. He was smiling slimily, his face just a few inches away from Mike’s who still looked as at ease as ever.

And why wouldn’t he be? It didn’t mean anything, after all. None of this did. It never would. When had Harvey started believing that it could? This was for the best. Mike could have some fun with someone who wasn’t a mess about this stuff, and they could go back to being normal on Monday without having crossed every line there was to cross.

It would be easier if he never knew what it would be like to fully be with Mike. Easier to forget. So why did his heart drop painfully low into his stomach, beating out nausea and dread? Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid, all of this.

Harvey took a step back, then another. Before he knew it, he was running out of the club again, out on the street, and then he just kept going, retracing his steps to do what he should have done this whole time. Go home. What he needed was a taxi, to get out of the maze of street parties, but all he ended up seeing was more barriers guarded by police.

Behind them, a bunch of comparatively plainly dressed people led by some preacher guy with a megaphone shouting about the unnaturalness of being gay and how they threatened the natural family. A sea of signs saying queer people were going to hell, that they needed to find Jesus, that ‘the pride of thine heart hath deceived thee’…

Just what he fucking needed to see right now, the reminder of how unwelcomed they were in this world. He turned on the spot and tried to find a different route. He just needed to get out of here.

***

Harvey had been gone for ages. Now, Mike knew these things could drag on, but frankly, that was taking the piss. The lawyer in him could commend Harvey’s dedication to duty and understood his need to sort this out, but the more petty, selfish part was extremely bothered that their heart-to-heart turned make-out session got interrupted so drastically.

Even when the guy from earlier showed up with drinks to keep him company while he waited and patiently listened to his speech about his boss-crush that he had thought unrequited until now, it was barely enough to distract him from noticing how long Harvey was taking.

So after twenty minutes, he sent the first text: One hell of a phone call...

And when there was no response after five minutes, he texted him again: You okay?

And when after nearly thirty minutes, there still wasn’t a sign of life from Harvey, Mike well and truly had enough. He left the club to check for him himself, drag him off the phone or at the very least enjoy his company and hugs while he sorted the matter out. But there was no sign of him anywhere close to the building, even though there were plenty of quiet places where he could have easily taken the call.

What the hell?

Where did you run off to? Are you okay?

This time, he didn’t even expect a reply anymore, although it sure would have been nice. Not knowing where else he could check, he went back inside and rejoined his friends at the table. At least Harvey’s jacket was still there the way they had left it… he kind of doubted that was reason enough for him to come though. If there was one thing the man had enough of, it was suits.

“There you are!” Jenn said, making some space for him on the bench that Mike happily slumped down on. “Did you and Harvey hook up in the bathroom? I got five dollars on at least a hand job.”

Weird thing to bet on, but… If only. Well, no, they could do better, but that sure would have been preferable over this. “No,” he sighed.

“Boring,”

“Hey, where is your guy anyway?” Anthony asked.

“He’s not my guy.” Again, if only. For a moment, Mike had thought he could have been, until he decided to just vanish into thin air without a word of warning, but with an unfulfilled promise of returning.

“Sure looked like it… You guys were adorable, and you had a thing for him forever.”

Jessie nodded. “Yeah, and that’s so obviously reciprocated. He was all over you. What happened?”

That was the million-dollar question. Apparently, Harvey was happy to make out with him on the dancefloor, have a deep chat about queerness, and make out with him some more, just to then run away at the first chance he got. Did he get spooked? Had Mike come on too strongly? Fuck, this sucked.

“I don’t know, he… took a call and then disappeared.”

The table went quiet the way friends always did when they knew something was a big deal but didn’t want to say it because they could tell the situation asked for positivity, not honesty.

“Maybe it was an emergency and he’ll be back?” Char tried.

“Yeah… maybe.” As if. He believed that twenty minutes ago, the ship had sailed.

“It’s not like he can really hide from you, he knows you’ll see him in the office on Monday.”

“Right...” He’d see a Harvey at the office, the closeted lawyer and hardass boss who would no doubt want to pretend none of this happened and expected Mike to go along with it. And of course he would have to because he couldn’t be the dickhead to out Harvey by making a scene like some scorned lover. And Harvey would make sure they would never have a moment of privacy again to talk about this like adults until he felt safe knowing Mike had dropped it, and then he could keep pretending to be this perfectly straight guy.

Ugh.

Jenn hugged around him, and Mike sank against their shoulder. “Don’t worry, hun. I’m sure he has a perfectly good reason, and if he doesn’t, fuck him. You’re funny and handsome and super smart, if he can’t appreciate that, that’s his issue, not yours.”

“Or maybe he is so stoked to have figured out you like him too, he is off buying an engagement ring!” That was Wren, ever the romantic. Mike smiled despite himself. At least he had these idiots in his life. They could still have a good time, just like they had before Harvey had shown up, just how they had planned to have when Mike hadn’t even dared to dream to run into him here.

No man and his insecurities would ruin Mike’s Pride. He wasn’t that pathetic.

Turned out he actually was that pathetic. Even an hour later, Harvey hadn’t miraculously turned up again or deigned him to respond to a message. At this point, someone must have died for him to have any excuse for ghosting Mike like this. Why the hell had he expected emotional maturity from Harvey Specter just because he opened up a little? That was probably the reason he was gone now! Not confronting his personal issues had worked well enough for him all his life, of course he wouldn’t stop now.

But this time, he wouldn’t get away with it. If he had the audacity to promise to be back and then disappear, then he damn well deserved to be told to his face that he fucking sucked. Not Monday in the office, but right now, when he didn’t have time to prepare ways to weasel himself out of it.

If there had been an emergency, Mike would see for himself what happened for Harvey to ditch him in the basement of some club. And he said that much to his friends, who, whether that was toxic or not, cheered him on to give Harvey a piece of his mind and then ‘make some beautiful babies’ (that was from Char, and yes, she was a biologist in her day job, but she also believed in love).

Mike couldn’t tell if they genuinely had his back or were secretly relieved that he didn’t drag down the mood anymore, but that was hardly the issue here. Harvey was. And they needed to sort it out before it ruined the other relationships they had. At least he had to try.

He grabbed Harvey’s suit jacket and threw it on, mostly to make himself a little more presentable for the world outside of Pride, and maybe just a little because the thought of getting glitter and makeup all over it was a very satisfying way of revenge. The fact that it smelled like Harvey had nothing to do with it at all though.

Hailing a taxi was bordering on impossible with how busy it was (and how reluctant drivers often were to get glitter all over their seats), but when he finally succeeded to steal one, the ride took infinitely longer than usual with all the roadblocks, which, frankly, was homophobic. Yes, most of the roads were closed because of the Pride celebration, but that wasn’t the point.

Inconveniencing gay love in June should be illegal.

When he finally got to Harvey’s apartment, he stormed straight to the elevator, and although people were staring at him, to their credit, no one tried to stop him. True allies, all of them. All patience had officially left his body when he got to Harvey’s door and banged more than knocked against it, again and again and again until stopping just felt ridiculous, so he carried on until an exasperated Harvey opened it.

So he had been home all along, alive and well, with no physical injuries as proof for some extraordinary tale that explained why he couldn't possibly return or pick up his phone. Well, no injuries bar the red spot on his chest where the glitter heart used to be that he had now turned into a glittery blob of nothing. Must have been the theme of the day, messing up hearts.

“What the fuck, Harvey?”

“What are you doing here?” Harvey had the audacity to sound confused and annoyed as if he didn’t know damn well what he had done.

“I should ask you the same thing! What the hell happened? You asked me to wait for you, and then you just fucking leave? I was looking all over for you, you didn’t answer any of my texts. So yes, what the fuck, Harvey.”

Harvey’s face hardened into the mask of condescension and mockery Mike knew so well. “Since when are you so clingy? Just when I thought you actually had a life…”

Of course. Because why be mature or take any accountability for his own shitty behavior, that would just be too much to ask. “Great, we got you being a dick out of the way. Can we be serious now?”

“I can’t take you seriously when it looks like a rainbow vomited all over you. And now on my jacket, too. Thanks for that.”

That he didn’t take Mike seriously was obvious, seeing how he had made him into a goddamned fool. Good enough to be kissed but not to be graced with a goodbye.

This was quintessential Harvey, lashing out like a wounded animal. It wouldn’t work this time, he was prepared to deal with all of it, so Mike only nodded. “Cool, get it all out of your system. I’m still not going to leave until I get an answer.”

“Something came up, okay?”

“And you couldn’t say bye or respond to a text? If you’re trying to avoid me, you’re doing a shit job of it. Did you forget that I know where you live?”

“I didn’t think you’d notice I was gone with that guy keeping you company,” Harvey hissed quietly, spitefully. And Mike almost laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of that.

What, so he actually had come back, saw Mike talking to someone else, and decided the best course of action was to run away?? And that from one of the best lawyers in the city! Where the hell did his critical thinking skills go when Mike needed them, and they weren’t just annoying the hell out of him?

“Is that why you left? Harvey, were you jealous?”

Harvey literally scoffed at him. “Why would I be jealous?” And Mike chose to read that as a yes, and that… that he really hadn’t expected. First of all, it was stupid. Second of all, he had never known Harvey to be jealous, which meant that maybe… maybe he liked Mike more than the other people he had been with. Maybe it was deeper than just today… And wouldn’t that be something.

God, now he was the one jumping to conclusions, but if that was true… It cooled his anger down a little, his hurt pride not quite bad enough to just have a go at Harvey when it might actually be deeper than just him being an asshole for no reason.

“You tell me. We spent all evening together, we had a heart to heart, you kissed me. That’s kind of a big deal. Why would I want to crack on with anyone else over you? I thought…. You seemed pretty into it too, so I don’t understand what happened. Did I say something that made you run away? Did you see another person that you know, did you get spooked again?”

As he said it, Harvey visibly swallowed, his eyes checking the hallway behind Mike. So apparently, even the neighbors weren’t allowed to hear of his interest in men. And yet again, he wasn’t bothered enough to even give Mike the chance to come in and settle this privately. His stubbornness truly outweighed everything.

With a restrained intensity, Harvey just said: “Kissing at pride doesn’t mean anything. Your words.”

Mike’s jaw fell open. He couldn’t be serious. “It doesn’t mean anything with a stranger you have no intention of seeing again, not with your…. Friend.”

“Yeah, well, maybe next time you should be more specific with your rules.” Harvey actually, genuinely tried to close the door on Mike. Big fucking no - they were not done here, and he would not just let that allocation of blame stand. Mike pushed against the door, just enough to slip inside before closing it himself.

What happened today had felt so real to him, there was no way Harvey had just pretended to enjoy it, came back for more as a laugh and nothing more. He was running scared, that absolutely must have been it. Anything else and Mike would officially be the worst people reader ever, and that he couldn’t accept. Not right now.

“Did you kiss me because you didn’t want it to mean anything or because you wanted to be able to hide behind that excuse?”

It got so quiet in the apartment, they could have heard a pin drop. Yeah, that was what he had thought. No point stopping while they were in the thick of it, and Harvey wasn’t going to say anything anytime soon, so he only puffed his chest and stepped closer to Harvey will all the confidence he had complimented earlier.

“If you just wanted an inconsequential hookup, there were plenty of other people there who would have happily kissed you too. Why me?”

Harvey looked away, shifting a little. “Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does. Why me?”

“Mike, you’re drunk. Just leave it.”

Great, more excuses. As if all the adrenaline of finally getting with Harvey hadn’t made his mind sharper than ever.

“I’ve sobered up the moment you kissed me. Why me?”

And Harvey went quiet again. God, he really didn’t make it easy, but he never had. And shit, Mike loved that about him, even if it drove him insane. But if emotions didn’t work, then he needed to appeal to the rational part of Harvey’s brain that he knew for a fact worked well.

“The way I see it, there are two options. Either you tell me to leave and we never talk about this again, or you kiss me again and tell me you meant everything that happened today. Because I did.”

Harvey’s face tensed up. “There are more option than that.”

Technically, yes. Realistically, no. None Mike would stand for. He wouldn’t be a casual thing for when Harvey was in the mood to play hooky with a guy. Of course he’d keep it a secret no matter what happened, but he couldn’t hook up with Harvey and pretend it didn’t matter when it changed his whole world. And he deserved better than to be stuck hoping for the day when Harvey decided to give him the time of day.

“Not for me. I won’t tell anyone you don’t want me to tell regardless of your answer. But I sure as hell won’t set myself up to be rejected again tomorrow, or in a few weeks’ time when you feel like kissing me again. And that’s not saying I don’t understand your… complicated relationship with your sexuality, and that’s okay, and I’ll be there for you when you freak out! But I need to know if you want me in your life like that or not.”

Something twitched in Harvey’s face, his eyes soften considerably, but the rest of his face remained stoic, even if a slight tremble in his voice betrayed him. “Are you seriously ushering me an ultimatum? What about everyone is on their own journey?”

At this point, Harvey’s constant evasion to avoid making any sort of statement was almost cute. It came from a struggle Mike understood too well, and it broke his heart seeing Harvey stuck in that place. He deserved better than that.

“Are you seriously going to keep dodging the very simple question of what do you want?”

For the first time since he showed up, Harvey actually looked Mike in the eyes. “What do you want?”

“I want to be with you. Or at the very least I want you to talk to me about what makes you pull away from this when it feels so good, at least to me. And I definitely don’t want to be the guy you kissed at a party once and never thought about again.”

Mike offered a soft smile, tried sending all the signals of sincerity he could think of, hoped Harvey would believe him. But apparently, Harvey wasn’t prepared to deal with this level of honesty; he just took a step back with his eyes wide, and turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose. That was a rare thing, something he only did when he was very annoyed or very tired. Neither would be good right now.

“What do you expect me to say here, Mike?” There was desperation in his voice that made Mike want to reach out to him and hug him, but the pain on his face was poorly concealed by the mask of anger that made him refrain.

“Do you want me to say today changed everything I’ve believed my whole life and dating you would definitely not backfire in any way? That I think it’s totally fair of me to ask you to keep and be my secret just because I did something stupid today? You want me to make a big declaration of love and promise that we will be together forever with no obstacles whatsoever in the way? Is that what you want to hear?”

His voice grew more exasperated as he went on, and Mike willed himself to stay calm, to listen to the things between the lines, the fears. Only when Harvey had finished, and a beat of silence had passed, did Mike react with all the compassion and care he felt for Harvey at that moment.

“Only if you mean it.”

He said it softly, but all of the emotions on Harvey’s face disappeared as if Mike had slapped him instead. At least he didn’t move away again. Thank God for that, because clearly there was a lot to unpack here, starting with the question of fairness to ‘be his secret’ and the guilt over that. As if he had condemned Mike to some terrible fate by kissing him, and that thought was so unbelievably dumb for someone so smart.

“Harvey. You don’t get to decide for me if I am comfortable dating someone who isn’t out yet, and in case it wasn’t abundantly clear today, I really don’t give a shit if I am… your secret, or whatever. The only stupid thing you did was jumping to the wrong conclusions about who I’d rather be with between you, aka the guy I liked for ages, or the random guy I met today and don’t know anything about, and honestly, that level of mental gymnastics is almost impressive.”

Harvey’s voice was uncharacteristically thin when he said: “You like me?”

Finally, he took the right message from what Mike had been trying to tell him this whole time.

“Yes, I really do,” Mike smiled, allowing to just let that stand between them for a moment before he continued: “Look, I don’t want to fight and I’m not trying to force you into something you don’t want, I just… today meant something to me. And I would like to know if it meant something to you too. If maybe… you want me too. For longer than just one night?”

Silence again, accompanied by the same pained expression he had earlier, during their heart-to-heart. The lost-for-words expression. If he couldn’t find the right words, Mike could make it even simpler for him.

He stepped closer again, right in front of Harvey, so close he could hear Harvey’s labored breaths, and grabbed the sides of his shirt. “Do you want me?”

“Yes.” It was nothing more than a breathless whisper, but it was everything nonetheless, and Mike let out a sigh of relief. Incredibly slowly, truly savoring the moment, he leaned in, and finally kissed Harvey again. The two hours without him had been way too long already.

Harvey’s hand softly landed in Mike’s hair when he kissed him back, and the tenderness just made Mike hold him closer. It was absolutely perfect.

“That wasn’t so hard,” Mike whispered when they came apart, and Harvey actually smiled.

“Shut up,” he mumbled before kissing Mike again, the perfect reassurance that he hadn’t dreamed any of this. When they finally found the strength to separate, Mike brought his forehead to rest against Harvey’s.

“You don’t have to come out to be with me. You are safe with me, Harvey. I need you to know that.”

“Okay…”

Whether he just said it or he actually believed it yet Mike wasn’t so sure, but he meant every word of it and he was intent to prove it too. As long as they were together, he’d show Harvey every day that he was loved and wanted.

Mike gently kissed him again, short and sweet, before he let his hand drop to the glitter blob on Harvey’s chest.

“I also need you to know that you can get rid of glitter with baby oil, because this looks painful.”

Harvey was genuinely laughing at that, and it was beautiful. “You know exactly what a guy needs to hear.”

If only, that would make life so much easier. But easy was boring, and definitely not his style, nor Harvey’s. They were so much more than just boring. He hugged tightly around Harvey’s neck, feelings two strong arms wrap around his waist; he hoped they never let go again.

“You’re a fucking shithead. Never walk out on me like that again.” He said it with his chest but full of love, and Harvey chuckled again, pressing a peck on the dip of Mike’s neck.

“Noted. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you came here… Even if you got makeup on my suit.”

Mike laughed. A poorly executed revenge if Harvey wasn’t actually that bothered, but that was okay. Something about wearing his jacket made him feel incredibly sexy, and that made it worth it anyway.

“Well, I was coming to give you hell, but this is good too. It’s so much better.”

Harvey moved out of the embrace slightly, and just when Mike thought they were finally where he wanted them to be, he saw a sadness in Harvey’s eyes that was truly unwarranted.

“Mike… I guarantee whatever it is you are looking for in a partner, it won’t be me.”

Oh, why did there always have to be a but. Harvey needed to learn to recognize moments and not take phone calls or say wrong things like this as if they would scare Mike off. As if he didn’t know him better than anyone.

“I disagree.”

“You really don’t have to put up with any of my mess.”

“But I want to. You work through whatever you need to work through, and I will be right here to remind you that you deserve to be happy. As long as you don’t shut me out, we can figure out what we want to be, together. That’s more than enough for me. Okay?”

“That sounds…. A little too easy.”

“Oh, it won’t be. It will be messy and hard sometimes, and I’m sure you will be an idiot again and let’s be honest, we really can’t rely on me to be the bigger person all the time because deep down, I am just as messy and dramatic as you are. But it will all be worth it, for moments like this when we can just be together. That’s all that matters to me, because you matter to me. A lot.”

Harvey smiled. “I suppose everything about us has been messy and dramatic from the start, and it works, so… who are we to argue with it?”

“See, that’s the spirit.”

He didn’t know which of them ended up closing the gap first, but that wasn’t important. What mattered was that they were kissing again. That might be the only thing to ever matter again. Whatever happened, as long as they got here, all would be well.

Mike let his face linger right in Harvey's space when the kiss ended, just because he could. There had been enough distance between them. “No one needs to know about us, or you, so take your time. Well, my friends already kind of do because you did kiss me in the middle of the dancefloor, but aside from them, no one. Not even Donna.”

Harvey chuckled softly. “Thank you. For being so... you. You matter a lot to me too." 

That was more like it. What more did Mike need than that declaration? He could imagine what a big step it was for Harvey to express his feelings, especially after the rollercoaster of today, and that made it all the more precious.

"And... Your friends seem great," Harvey added. 

“They are. And they like you too, so you’re not getting out of playing Cards Against Humanity with us, no matter who is calling you.”

“Wouldn’t dream of missing it.”

Good. Mike could see it now, the seven of them sitting on the floor, making crude jokes, him cuddling up to Harvey and stealing a few kisses... Oh, he couldn't wait for any of it. As long as they were together, they'd manage the rest.

He stood up on his toes to be the same height as Harvey; Harvey held his face between both hands, and Mike was obsessed with that and really just every other way Harvey touched him. And then they were kissing again, lovingly and passionately and with the sweet taste of the beginning of something beautiful between them. Not how Mike had expected this day to end, but it beat everything he could have imagined.

He only hoped Harvey was prepared to keep finding glitter in his bed forever. Well, Mike would make sure that would be worth it, too.