Chapter Text
He can hear the rush of blood pounding in his ears. His heart is nearly beating out of his chest. His eyes blur the numbers of his car's clock. Breathe. Breathe. It's 2:12 AM. He looks to his right, the house is dark except for the bedroom on the second floor.
Harvey reaches over to the passenger seat, grabs his knife with a gloved hand, and then reaches for the door handle of the car and opens it. The street is scarcely lit by lamp posts and most of the houses that line the street are dark. It's a Monday, most people have long since gone to bed to prepare for the workday in the morning.
Harvey tucks the knife into the pocket of his black hoodie and crosses the street. He gets to the front porch and checks the door. Locked. Not a problem. He gets out his lock pick and gets to work on opening it. It's an older house, which means the lock is substantially easier to pick. It takes him less than a minute until he hears the click. The one that lets him know that he's in. The one that let's him know that this is happening. His heart is beating faster.
He turns the doorknob slowly. It squeaks; a problem with older houses. He gets inside and closes the door behind him. It latches shut with a small click.
Harvey turns to his left and sees the staircase. He walks over to it and makes his way up. Step by step, carefully, silently. He lets the bedroom light guide him down the hallway. Once he reaches the door, he presses his back up against the wall next to it and peers inside.
Kyle is sitting on the bed with his laptop out in front of him. A few measured breaths.
Harvey turns the corner and steps inside the room.
Kyle is startled. "What the hell?" he scrambles backward on the bed. "Harvey? What the fuck are you doing here?"
"I came here to talk."
"Are you fucking crazy? How did you get in my house? I'm calling the police!" Kyle fumbles to grab his phone off the nightstand.
Harvey moves quickly and kicks the nightstand over, sending the phone to the ground. When Kyle bends over to grab the phone from the ground, Harvey grabs him from behind and puts a forearm around his throat.
Kyle struggles against it, but the more he struggles the harder it is to breathe.
"Why are you--stop---please."
Harvey loosens it enough so that he can get a gulp of air.
"You should have left Mike alone."
"Mike?"
Harvey tightens his grip again. "Don't play stupid. Mike Ross." He loosens it again. Kyle chokes and gasps for air.
"What do you want from me?"
"For you to no longer be a threat to Mike. And unfortunately for you, there's only one way to make that happen," Harvey says before pulling out the knife from his pocket and pressing it against Kyle's throat.
Kyle begs. He cries. He offers money. He does all the things a desperate person does when they're about to die. Harvey doesn't care. He came here to do a job. He drags the knife across Kyle's throat. He cuts him deep. Kyle falls to the ground. Blood gushes out from his carotid. Kyle chokes on it. He paws at his neck with slick fingers trying to stop the wound fruitlessly.
Kyle is dead.
And then Harvey wakes up. It's the 5th time he's had this dream.
Kyle is going to die. But it won't happen like that.
It will be easier. Less messy.
-----
Harvey invites Kyle to his place for drinks. He tells him he's been impressed with what he's been doing as an associate. Kyle, of course, accepts the invitation because there's nobody that thinks Kyle's doing a better job than Kyle himself. Harvey makes sure to tell him not to tell anybody he's coming, he wants to keep this meeting on the down low, as it could mean big things for Kyle's future.
Harvey orders takeout. He plys him with expensive liquor. They talk about work. Kyle talks about how Harvey should take him on as an associate rather than Mike Ross, after all, he did demolish him in the mock trial.
"That you did," Harvey says with a smile. "Another drink?"
The next drink seems to hit Kyle particularly hard. He starts to feel woozy. Harvey tells him to sit down on the couch and he'll bring him a glass of water. Kyle struggles to undo his tie and loosen the collar of his shirt because it's suddenly a million degrees inside.
By the time Harvey comes back with the water, Kyle is already passed out.
Harvey waits until he starts coming to, and then gets him up off the couch, throws his arm over his shoulder, and walks him out to the car. To any bystanders, it just looks like he's just helping somebody that had too much to drink out to the car. Though it's late and there are not many bystanders.
Harvey gets Kyle in the passenger seat and then goes over to the driver's seat and starts the car.
Kyle's mouth feels dry and his eyes feel so heavy. "Where are--where are we going?" he manages to ask through his haze.
"I'm taking you back home."
Kyle accepts that answer as the truth and allows the heavy eyelids that are fighting him to close once more.
-
When he blinks his eyes open again, he’s outside. It’s dark and he can barely make anything out. He blinks a few more times, trying to adjust to his surroundings. The area is heavily wooded. “Where am I?” he says, unsure if he’s speaking aloud until he looks to his left and sees Harvey standing there.
“About time you wake up. I was starting to get bored.”
“What is happening?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I brought you here to kill you.” Harvey lets the words roll off his tongue as if they’re nothing.
“W-What?”
“You might have, but I certainly didn’t stutter.”
Kyle tries to get to his feet, but his legs feel like anchors. He falls back down to the ground. “Harvey, please,” he starts to beg.
“You shouldn’t have been such a dick to Mike.”
“This is about Mike?”
“It’s always about Mike.”
“I’ll—I’ll say I’m sorry to him. I’ll apologize. Just let me go home, please.”
“Sorry. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
Kyle makes another attempt to stand. This time he manages to get to his feet, though his body still feels glued to the ground—whether from the drugs or sheer fear, maybe both.
“Running is only going to make it worse for you, so I’d suggest not doing that.”
Just like that, Kyle tries to run.
Harvey rolls his eyes. “I just said don’t run,” he mutters.
Kyle isn’t moving fast. The dose Harvey gave him has slowed him to a crawl. Harvey catches up easily, tackling him to the ground. He gets on top, wraps gloved hands around Kyle’s throat, and starts to squeeze.
Kyle struggles beneath him, kicking his legs as his face turns bright red. Harvey loosens his grip just enough to let him gasp for air--enough to get out fractured pleas. “Please… stop…” Harvey could make it quick, but he doesn’t. He drags it out. Lets Kyle think he can fight this. Lets him think there’s still a chance to survive.
When Harvey grows bored, he tightens his grip and doesn’t let go this time. The light drains from Kyle’s eyes, and his body goes slack beneath him.
Harvey stands and brushes dirt off his clothes. He takes a moment to savor the adrenaline high before retrieving trash bags from the back of his car. He stuffs Kyle’s body inside, loads it into the trunk, and slams it shut.
“I’m going to take you to this little spot I know,” he says to the empty air.
He drives to the river, takes a small boat out, anchors the body with a cement block, and dumps it in the middle of the water.
This isn’t the first time Harvey’s killed, but it’s the first time he’s done it to protect someone other than himself. Kyle’s had his sights on Mike since the day he walked through the door--relentless in his targeting. Some might call it harmless. Harvey knows better. There’s no such thing as harmless when it comes to Mike Ross. For most of Mike’s life, all he’s known is harm. If Harvey can stop it now, he will--at any and all costs.
He’d almost forgotten how good it feels. To watch the light go out in someone’s eyes. To feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. The high of a kill. He’s missed it.
Darkness is just starting to give way to daylight when he gets back to his apartment and crawls into bed. He only has a few hours before he needs to be up for work.
-----
"Put whatever probono bullshit away that you're working on, I need this done by the end of today," Harvey says tossing a file down on top of the paper Mike had been working on.
"How do you know it's probono?"
"Because if it wasn't a probono you would be annoying me in my office instead of hiding out at your desk doing it."
"Good point." Mike opens up the folder that Harvey just gave to him and starts to look through it.
"Think you can get it done?"
"Yeah, it should be no problem," Mike says with a sigh.
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
"You just sighed dramatically."
"I didn't sigh dramatically, I was breathing."
"No, it was definitely a sigh. What's going on Days Of Our Lives?"
"It's just this thing with Kyle. He won't leave me alone. Remember when I was missing pages from that contract the other day and you totally reamed my ass for it?"
"I remember."
"It's because Kyle stole them off my desk when I went to use the bathroom."
"Don't worry about Kyle. I heard he's out sick. Just focus on your work."
"Oh shit. I hope he's all right."
"Are you serious? You just told me the guy was messing with your life now you're sad because he's got a case of the sniffles. Get to work," Harvey says before turning and heading back to his office.
-
It's weeks before Kyle becomes an official missing person. There's chatter amongst the associates about what happened to him. The police conduct a few interviews, one of them is with Harvey.
Harvey, unfortunately, can't be much help to them as he hardly knew the kid. He'd never even really had a conversation with him, he tells the police. Louis would probably know much more as that was his associate.
They thank him for his time and give him a little card to get in contact if he can think of anything that would be helpful. Harvey shakes their hands and wishes them the best of luck with the case. He truly hopes they find him. That's what he tells them anyway.
As soon as they are out the door he goes back and sits back down in his chair behind his desk. He picks up the card they gave him and flips it through his fingers a few times while leaning back in the chair. A smile slowly spreads across his face. He tosses the card into the trash bin next to his desk.
-
Harvey wants to celebrate. He invites Mike out for drinks. Mike is always so desperate to spend time with him outside work that he jumps at the opportunity. The poor kid actually thinks it was a setup to get him to work late and is surprised when Harvey really does just want drinks. Well, Harvey wants more than drinks, but drinks come first.
He orders the first round. It goes down smoothly. As does the second. Harvey stops drinking after the third, but he orders another for Mike.
He listens to Mike talk about everything and nothing and he thinks he could do it all day because he's just so goddamn beautiful and he doesn't even realize it. That's the part that kills Harvey. He's so fucking oblivious to it all.
"Let's get out of here," Harvey finally says to him.
Mike nods his head obediently. "Okay."
They take a cab back to Harvey's place and before they're barely through the front door when Harvey is shoving Mike up against a wall and grabbing fistfuls of shirt and kissing him hard. He has Mike gasping for air and his head spinning.
Mike kisses back, he's gentle and soft and everything you would expect Mike Ross to be. Harvey takes control of his mouth, forces his head back against the wall, kisses him until he sees stars. Mike is breathless when they break apart. "Fuck," he breathes.
"You like that," Harvey either asks or tells as he runs his mouth along Mike's neck, drags teeth along his skin, elicits another moan from Mike. He moves his mouth back up, crashes it back into Mike's before breaking apart just enough to breathe the words "I want to fuck you," into his mouth.
"Okay," Mike pants.
Things go about the same in the bedroom. Harvey has full control. Mike does everything Harvey asks of him. He's such a good boy. Harvey fucks him hard into the mattress and the way Mike moans Harvey's name sounds absolutely filthy and Harvey thinks he could come just listening to him say it.
Instead, he comes thrusting hard into Mike, drawing out small gasps and moans from him. He reaches around and strokes Mike to completion and Harvey's orgasm is not far behind. Mike's ass muscles clench around his dick and he lets out a moan, low and guttural.
Mike is laying flat down on his stomach and Harvey collapses down on top of him. He lays there for a few seconds, working on catching his breath before he pulls his cock out of him and rolls to his side. "Oh fuck," he rasps, as he rolls the condom off of his cock and tosses it in the trashcan by the nightstand.
Mike rolls over from his stomach onto his back. His face is flushed and his hair is a mess and he looks even more beautiful post-coital.
Harvey rolls out of bed and walks over to find his jeans on the floor. He picks them up and gets out his wallet. He grabs a couple of bills out and walks over to Mike. "I'm going to get a shower, here's some money to get a cab home," he says as he tosses the money down onto the bed. "Be gone by the time I'm done."
Harvey walks into the bathroom without another word said. Mike lays there stunned at what just happened. It's not like he expected Harvey to fall in love with him, but he also didn't expect Harvey to sleep with him and then throw money at him like he's a prostitute.
Mike takes the money and puts it on the nightstand, gets dressed, and leaves.
-----
It's like it never happened. Harvey talks to him the same, Harvey looks at him the same, Harvey buries him in work the same.
Mike doesn't understand it. It's like Harvey slept with him just to see if he could. And that stings. Because it's no secret that he really likes Harvey, he hasn't exactly ever gone out of his way to hide the fact. There's no way Harvey couldn't have known that.
-----
Mike's phone rings.
"Protocol in a meeting is to put your phone on silent."
"Uh..." Mike says as he fumbles with his phone trying to put it on silent.
"And if it does ring, you answer it."
"Oh. Yeah."
"Not in here."
"I...okay," Mike says as he pushes back from the conference room table and heads towards the exit of the room.
"Don't feel the need to rush back when you're done," Harvey says to him.
Once Mike is out in the hallway he puts the phone to his ear "Who is this?"
"Dude, it's Trevor. Don't hang up. I only get one call. I'm in jail."
-----
After bailing him out, Trevor and Mike end up at a small cafe. Turns out Trevor had gotten drunk and tried to hop a bus at Port Authority and gotten arrested.
"Why'd you call me?"
"I know we haven't talked since we fought, but I didn't know who else to call."
"You realize your bail cost me everything I had in the bank," Mike says.
"I'll pay you back...but the thing is, I don't have the money right now."
"What are you talking about? You're clearing 10,000 dollars a month selling weed?"
"It went out as fast as it came in."
Mike notes the past tense. "Came in?"
"I'm not dealing anymore. I quit."
"Bullshit."
Trevor tells him that after they fought things started to fall apart for him. Jenny broke up with him. And he started to realize he needed to make a change.
"I even sold my bong," he adds.
Mike laughs. "Who are you and what have you done with my friend?"
"You're one to talk. You look like Gordon Gekko's little brother. What's with the suit? Are you working on Wall Street or something?"
Mike avoids the question. "Why'd you call me, Trevor?"
"Because you're the one person I knew would show up."
"Do you want to ask me for anything...else?"
"All I care about right now is keeping my record clean. You wouldn't happen to know a good lawyer would you?" he asks.
"No. I don't." Mike says. "Look, it's been great catching up, but I have to go."
"Keep in touch?"
"Sure," Mike says, though he's unsure if keeping in touch with Trevor is the best idea.
-----
It starts with the cafe, and then it's drinks at a bar and before you know it Trevor has worked himself back into being a regular part of Mike's life.
And then Harvey finds out. And he's not happy about it.
"He almost got you busted for drug trafficking."
"He's not even dealing anymore."
"Right. And you have proof of this? Or are you just taking his word? Because his word doesn't mean shit. Was it or was it not him who called you from jail during that meeting?"
Mike shifts awkwardly where he stands. Avoids eye contact. "That was for something completely different."
"And what's going to happen the next time? Because there will be a next time. There always is. You gonna bail him out again? Put yourself in jeopardy?"
"Harvey," Mike says frustrated, "he is my oldest friend."
"He is an anchor dragging you down."
"You know if it weren't for Trevor, you and I would have never met," Mike throws the words out like it should be the only argument he needs.
"If it weren't for Trevor, you wouldn't need to commit fraud to be here," Harvey fires back. "Get rid of him."
"And if I don't?"
"If you don't get rid of him, then I will," Harvey warns, voice low.
Mike just shakes his head and turns around and walks out of Harvey's office.
-----
Trevor and Mike are sitting on the couch at Mike's place eating pizza, and watching the football game when Mike decides to bring up what Harvey had told him.
"Harvey doesn't think we should be friends anymore," he says.
"What? Why not?"
"He says you're an anchor."
"Well, he's just your boss, right? He can't exactly tell you who you can and can't be friends with, right?"
"I guess not," Mike replies. "Want another beer?"
"Sure."
Mike gets up off the couch and walks over to the fridge and grabs two beers out. He carries them over and hands one to Trevor. "I'm not going to stop being your friend, but I also don't want Harvey to know."
Trevor smirks. "Ah, you want me to be your dirty little secret."
Mike opens his beer, flings the cap onto the coffee table, and takes a long swig from the bottle. "Just until I can get him to come around on the idea that you're not the enemy."
"And how exactly are you going to do that if we're not supposed to be hanging out?"
"I don't know. I didn't say I had a plan. Maybe if we hang out long enough and he sees nothing bad happened, he'll be okay with it?"
Trevor laughs.
"What?"
"It's a terrible plan. Hide our friendship and hope he's okay with it when he finds out you've been hiding it from him? Do you want him to kill me? That it?"
"He's not going to kill you. And unless you have a better plan, that's the one we're going with."
Trevor thinks on it for a moment, "Nah, I got nothing. Risky murder plan it is."
"We might need a better name for it."
-----
Harvey knows Mike's probably bummed about having to cut Trevor loose so he decides to invite him to dinner.
Mike accepts the invite without hesitation.
Harvey takes him to someplace swanky. He tells Mike to dress appropriately. And when he picks him up at his place he can tell Mike tried. He has on a tie that he's never seen before and he must have just bought it for the occasion. It has blue stripes and it's really putting his eyes on display.
"You look good," Harvey says.
"Thanks, you too."
"Well, I always look good."
"Can you ever just take a compliment without being a dick about it?"
Harvey shrugs.
They head downstairs to the town car and get inside. Mike doesn't know why but he feels nervous the whole ride there. He feels even more nervous when he arrives at the place.
Harvey has reservations and they are seated at a table by a window with an incredible view of the river. Harvey orders them a bottle of wine and they're handed a menu and all Mike can see when he looks at it are the astronomical prices on it.
Harvey notices the way Mike is looking at the menu. "Order whatever you want," Harvey tells him. "It's my treat."
Of course, when it's time to order Mike starts to order one of the cheapest things off the menu, Harvey stops him and instead orders for him.
Mike waits until the waiter is out of ear shot before lowering his voice and saying "You said I could get anything."
"Yeah, and you ordered the cheapest thing on the menu."
"Because I wanted it."
"No, you didn't. You're just used to ordering the cheapest thing on the menu."
Mike hates that Harvey is right and he has no defense. "I still would have liked it."
"You'll like what I ordered you much more. Trust me."
And he's right. The wagyu steaks that Harvey ordered are incredible. The meat practically melts in your mouth. And they pair perfectly with the wine Harvey chose.
They talk a lot about work, but then the conversation shifts to other things. Mike brings up Kyle's name.
"I can't believe he's still missing. It's sad."
"Sad? Really? The kid hated you."
"He's still a person, Harvey. He has family that's missing him."
"So maybe it's sad for them. But for you? Or me? I know I'm certainly not losing any sleep over it."
"Wow."
"Come on, Mike. You aren't either. Your life is better without him in it. Whether you want to admit it or not. Just like Trevor. Your life is better without him in it, too."
Harvey gives Mike a look and for a second Mike swears Harvey knows that he didn't cut him loose as he asked. But he can't know for sure so he still plays along. "Yeah, I know," he agrees.
Harvey doesn't say anything else and Mike feels like he just dodged a bullet. He picks up his glass of wine and polishes off what's left in the glass.
-
They both have a nice buzz by the time they leave the restaurant. They get in the car and Harvey doesn't even ask Mike if he wants to come back to his place, he just takes him there.
Mike isn't sure if after last time he should be doing this, but the way Harvey is putting his hand on his thigh in the car and looking at him and smiling makes the way things had ended last time seem like a distant memory.
He follows him upstairs.
The sex is different this time. It's slower. It's Harvey taking him apart little by little. It's Harvey asking him what he wants and what he likes and then doing exactly that. It's Harvey calling him beautiful and telling him what a good boy he is.
It's slow kisses with Mike on his back and his legs wrapped around Harvey's body as he thrusts deep into him. Over and over again. He has Mike completely unraveled by the time he reaches orgasm. He comes hard with his eyes closed tight and Harvey's name on his lips.
Harvey kisses him desperately like he's drowning and Mike is the air at the surface. Harvey starts to pick up his pace and his once steady rhythm starts to become erratic as he can feel himself on the verge of his own orgasm. A few more thrusts and he's there. He comes with his face buried in Mike's neck, moaning obscenities hot against his skin.
They both lay there for a moment, labored breathing filling the room, basking in the afterglow of orgasm. And then Mike sits up and goes to get out of the bed. He figures he can at least spare himself the embarrassment of Harvey tossing cash at him and telling him to get out this time.
Harvey grabs his arm and stops him. "Where are you going?"
Mike looks at Harvey, confusion etched on his face. "I'm leaving?" It comes out more of a question than an answer.
"Why? You got someplace you need to be?"
"Uh, no, but--"
"Stay," Harvey says. He doesn't phrase it like there's any option but doing just that.
Mike gets back in bed.
"Come here."
Mike moves towards Harvey and Harvey grabs him and pulls Mike towards him so that his back is pressed against his chest. He throws an arm over top of him and rests his chin on Mike's shoulder. Harvey's mouth is right next to Mike's ear and when he whispers "How's that?" it sends shivers down Mike's spine.
"It's...good."
Mike is confused about what is happening and how Harvey went from tossing him out last time to wanting to cuddle with him now. He decides he's going to try not to think too hard about it and just enjoy it while it lasts because he doesn't foresee it lasting very long. Harvey will eventually come to his senses and he'll be tossed back out.
Which is a shame, because right now? He feels so comfortable and safe wrapped up in his arms.
They both end up falling asleep just like that. Harvey first, and then Mike is lulled to sleep shortly after by Harvey's shallow even breathing.
-
Mike wakes up to an empty bed and the smell of coffee permeating into the bedroom. He rubs his eyes and looks over at the clock. It's still early. At home, he usually doesn't roll out of bed until an hour later than this.
But this morning, he throws the covers off and gets out of bed. Still stark naked, he finds his boxers on the floor and slips them on. He walks over to Harvey's dresser and opens it up. He grabs out a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and puts them on. They're a little big on him, but he'd rather that than walk around Harvey's house naked.
He walks out of the bedroom and finds Harvey standing out behind the kitchen counter. He's already dressed for work and is drinking coffee and is cutting something out of the newspaper. When he sees Mike he folds the newspaper up and sticks the scissors back in the drawer.
"Good morning," he greets. A beat. "Nice outfit."
"You don't mind, do you?"
"Not at all. Coffee?" he offers.
"Sure."
Harvey goes over and pours Mike a cup of coffee. "Why don't you sit down," he says.
Mike slides onto the bar-stool and Harvey sets the coffee down in front of him.
"What were you cutting out of the newspaper?" Mike asks curiously.
"Business article on an old friend of mine," Harvey lies. What he was really trimming out was an article on still missing local Kyle Durant.
"Oh, that's cool. I didn't know you had any friends," Mike jokes.
"You're one to talk."
"Well, I would have friends if you wouldn't make me get rid of them all," Mike says it playfully, but there's still a bit of a bitter undertone to it that he can't hide.
"Trevor wasn't your friend. He was a user."
Mike rolls his eyes. "Whatever. I don't want to talk about Trevor anymore."
"Finally, something we can agree on." After a pause. "Are you hungry? I've got bagels in the fridge."
"I could eat."
-----
Mike and Trevor are able to keep their friendship a secret from Harvey for a while. Mike hates it. He feels so guilty. He wants to tell Harvey.
Trevor says he can't. That he'll ruin everything if he does.
So Mike stays quiet longer.
Mike usually ends up at Harvey's on weekends. Trevor doesn't like it. He tells Mike he wants it to stop.
"What are you, jealous? Mike accuses him.
"I'm not jealous," he denies. "Maybe I'm just sick of hearing about Harvey. It's always Harvey this and Harvey that. You act like the guy walks on water just because he gave you a job so he can fuck you on the weekends."
"He didn't hire me so he could have sex with me," Mike scoffs.
"Oh right, he hired you because you're a highly qualified Harvard educated lawyer. No wait, you aren't. You can't really be that oblivious to why you work there even though you're a complete fraud."
"You're an asshole."
"Yeah well, that may be true, but I'm not wrong about this." Trevor scrubs a hand over his face and his tone suddenly softens "Look, Mike, I'm just trying to look out for you. I don't want to see you get hurt. You need to stop seeing him. Stop letting him use you for sex. You're better than that."
Mike thinks Trevor is being ridiculous. Harvey isn't just using him for sex. He also didn't just hire him for sex, he hired him for his mind. Harvey could have sex with anybody he wanted.
Still, Trevor's words stick in the back of Mike's mind and slowly start to eat at him and cast self-doubt that hadn't been there before.
Every time Harvey calls him up on Friday night and invites him over, every time Harvey starts putting his hands on him to undress him and lead him down the hallway. Every time he pins his wrists against the mattress above his head and kisses him breathless he wonders if this is all he is to Harvey. He wonders if this is all he can ever be. It's not as if Harvey's ever thrown around the word boyfriend. To the outside world, Mike is still very much Harvey's dirty little secret, for more reasons than one.
-
Despite that, Mike doesn't stop seeing Harvey and the wedge between Mike and Trevor is driven farther apart. They get into a knockdown drag-out argument one night when they're drunk and it turns physical when Mike tells Trevor to leave the apartment.
Trevor gets in Mike's face, Mike shoves Trevor back and Trevor takes a swing at Mike. He connects, hitting Mike just below the eye causing him to stumble back. They scuffle a bit until Mike is thrown to the floor.
"Harvey was right about you. You are an anchor. You always have been," he shouts.
"You just made the biggest mistake of your life," Trevor says before turning and storming out of the apartment. He slams the door on the way out, rattling one of Mike's pictures off the wall.
Mike lays on the floor out of breath. He dabs under his eye to check for any blood. There's none, but it's already tender and it's definitely going to be swollen. He doesn't know how he's going to explain that to Harvey.
-----
"What the hell happened to you?" are the first words out of Harvey's mouth when he sees the bruise under Mike's eye.
"I got drunk and hit my eye on the corner of a cabinet door."
"Okay now, let me rephrase the question, and when you answer it this time try telling the truth. Who did this to you?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm fine."
"You're not. And after I'm done kicking his ass the guy who did this to you isn't going to be either."
"Harvey, just let it go."
"That's not who I am."
"Well, it's who you're going to have to be. I don't want to talk about it. Not right now. We've got work to do."
"We're not done with this, Mike. You understand?"
"I understand." Mike knows he's serious, but at least he bought himself a little bit of time to come up with some kind of bullshit excuse.
"So what do you have for me?"
"The deal is bad."
"Are you reading between the lines? Because I couldn't find anything in the contract."
"Because the problems not in the contract, you said it yourself, the deal is too good to be true. The financials don't support it."
"They never wanted anything to do with the company?"
"Exactly. After the deal, they're just going to sell it off for spare parts."
"At least I know you didn't get hit hard enough to be concussed. Good job, Mike. I'm going to go make a few phone calls to see if I can stop this deal from happening. You go home and get some rest."
"Harvey, I said I'm fine. It's just a bruise."
"And I said go home and get some rest."
Mike heads to his cubicle, gathers his things, and heads home.
-----
Weeks pass and Mike doesn't hear from Trevor. It's not until Harvey shows up at his place that his name is even brought up again.
Mike is laying on the couch watching TV when there's a knock at his door. He ignores it at first, hoping whoever it is just takes a hint and goes away. He never gets company so he doesn't imagine it's anybody important.
They knock again. And then the knock is followed by "I know you're in there Mike, open up." It's Harvey.
Mike scrambles to get off his couch. He brushes the chip crumbs off his pants, runs a hand through his messy hair, and goes to open the door. He drags the chain across, unlocks the lock, and opens the door.
"What are you doing here?" he asks.
Harvey walks right past him and into the house. He always invites Mike to his place, so Mike is confused as to why he's standing in his apartment right now.
"How long were you going to lie to me for?" are the first words out of his mouth.
"What?"
"I told you to cut him loose."
Shit. He knows. "Let me explain, Harvey."
"What's to explain? You went behind my back and explicitly did something I asked you not to do."
"He's been my friend my entire life, it wasn't that easy. Just because you don't have friends or human emotions doesn't mean other people don't."
"Is he the one that gave you the bruise?"
"Yeah, we got in a fight. He punched me."
"Wow, great friend. Where is he now?"
"I don't know."
"Mike," he says firmly.
"I'm serious. I don't know. We haven't spoken since that night."
Harvey glares at Mike and tries to determine if he's telling the truth. He doesn't see any reason to not believe him. "I don't want you talking to him anymore. He tries to come crawling back to you, you let me know. Understood?"
Mike shakes his head, he's getting a little tired of people telling him who and who he can't hang out with. That's what started this whole mess. Nonetheless, he goes along with Harvey because it's easier than picking a fight that he'll probably lose. "Understood."
"Good. I want you over at my house on Saturday by 9. No later."
"You don't even want to bother to phrase that like it's a question and I have a choice?"
"I'm not phrasing something I already have the answer to as a question. I'll see you on Saturday," he says before turning on heel and heading towards the door. He leaves without another word said.
-----
Mike shows up at Harvey’s on Saturday -- just like he’d asked -- right before nine, just like he’d asked.
Harvey’s intentions are clear from the moment the door opens. He grips a fistful of Mike’s t-shirt, yanks him inside, and crushes their mouths together.
Clothes hit the floor in a careless trail to the bedroom. Harvey’s hands and mouth never leave him.
There’s no trace of the slow, deliberate sex where Harvey takes his time pulling Mike apart. No consideration for what Mike wants. Tonight is fast, rough and all about Harvey chasing his own release. His touch is strong, bruising. The word beautiful never crosses his lips.
He still gets Mike off, though whether it’s deliberate or just collateral damage is impossible to tell.
Harvey pulls out and drops back beside him.
Mike waits for it. He knows it’s coming.
“Do you need money for a cab?”
There it is.
“No. I’m fine,” Mike says, already sitting up. He gathers his clothes, dresses in the guest bathroom, and walks out without looking back.
-----
Harvey finds out where Trevor is staying.
He learns his schedule. When he's home. When he leaves. How long he's gone for when he leaves. What time he stays up to at night. When he wakes up. He tracks anybody that goes in and out of his apartment. He learns everything about him that he possibly can.
And now all he has to do is wait until the time is right.
-----
Unfortunately, Harvey waits a little too long. Trevor gets to Pearson Hardman first, charming his way past reception and right into Jessica’s office and tells her everything. That Mike isn’t a real lawyer.
Harvey tries to slam the brakes before the damage sets in. He tells Jessica, flat-out, “He goes, I go.” Then he raises the stakes: “And I’m not just quitting-- I’m taking every client I brought into this firm with me.” He means it, too. He’s not letting Mike get fired.
But when Mike finds out Jessica knows, panic takes over. Harvey says he’s handling it, but that doesn’t stop Mike’s mind from spinning into worst-case scenarios.
The blame game starts fast.
Mike accuses Harvey of never taking a real plan seriously, of brushing him off with the same line every time: We’re not going to get caught.
“And you never have a reason why,” Mike snaps.
“Because I don’t expect you to hand our secret to anyone with ears,” Harvey fires back. “You never should’ve told him.”
“He was my friend, Harvey. I thought I could trust him.”
“I told you to cut him loose. I told you he was an anchor.”
“I know what you told me!” Mike’s voice cracks on the words. “I messed up, okay? Sorry we can’t all be as perfect as the great and powerful Harvey Specter.”
Harvey rubs his temples, the start of a migraine pounding in his skull. “Get out of my office.”
“Harvey--”
“I said get out. I can’t deal with you right now.”
Mike holds his glare for a moment, then his shoulders sag. Without another word, he leaves.
-----
It’s dark. Cold. The air is damp -- the kind that clings to your skin, seeps past every layer, and settles deep in your bones until you feel frozen from the inside out.
His eyes flicker open, sluggish and unfocused, struggling to adjust to the murk. Nothing looks familiar.
He tries to move, but his body refuses. Every limb is leaden, his chest pulled tight. Tilting his head down takes effort, but when he does, he sees it — thick rope, wound brutally across his chest, pinning him in place.
A dry swallow scrapes down his throat. The longer he keeps his eyes open, the sharper the ache behind them grows, pulsing with every beat of his heart.
“Help,” he breathes, the word so faint it barely stirs the air.
He twists against the ropes, desperation bleeding into each tiny movement. But the bindings hold. He gains barely an inch before his muscles give up. Defeated, he sags back, eyes slipping shut. The pain in his head is a steady, punishing throb.
-----
The next time he surfaces, it’s to the shock of ice-cold water cascading over his head.
He gasps, chokes, sputters. A hand fists in his hair, yanking his head back, forcing his gaze forward.
“Harvey?” Trevor rasps.
“And here I was afraid you wouldn’t remember me.” Harvey’s voice is low, almost calm — the kind of calm that makes your stomach knot.
“What are you--” Trevor’s words falter under the weight of that stare.
“What am I doing?” Harvey leans in, his tone sharpening. “I think the better question is what you’re doing. More specifically, what the hell you’re doing with Mike Ross. You thought you could try to ruin his life without consequences?”
“I don’t--”
“Don’t play stupid.”
Trevor barely gets out, “I d--” before Harvey’s fist smashes into his face. The crack is sickening, and hot blood gushes from his nose, dripping down over his mouth.
“Don’t lie to me.”
Trevor groans, voice shaking. “F-fuck… I’m-- I’m s-sorry.”
“No,” Harvey says evenly, straightening but not letting go of his hair. “You’re not. But you will be.”