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rsadelleDisclaimer: Not mine, not making any money.
Summary: "Donna says I should ask you about Scotty."
Notes: This is an episode tag to 1x07, "Play the Man," and might not make sense if you haven't seen it. This is also part of my weekend of allowing myself to just play, so it is a snippet, not an entire story.
Mike arrives at Harvey's office just as Donna's leaving for the day. He doesn't really want to be there, but he's been summoned.
Donna takes a long look at him and says, "It's not just you."
"I screwed up," Mike says, "and I told him I didn't want to be like him."
"Mike," Donna says, "would I lie to you?"
Mike gives her a look, and she inclines her head to acknowledge the point.
"Would I lie to you about Harvey's emotional state?"
Well, when she puts it like that.
Donna pats him on the shoulder. "Ask him about Scotty."
Mike steels himself and pushes through the door. He's not sure he can look at Harvey right now, so he goes to the window instead. Harvey might be immune to the view by now, but Mike isn't. He can see Harvey reflected off the glass.
"Donna says I should ask you about Scotty."
Harvey laughs without humor. "Scotty is the only woman I would have married."
Mike almost turns, but he's learning. Play the man. Harvey won't talk if he does that, and Donna wouldn't have given him anything he could use to really hurt Harvey.
"You're in love with her?" he guesses.
Harvey laughs again. "No. No. I like her, and we've been sleeping together whenever we see each other since law school, but no."
"Okay," Mike says. "So what's the problem?"
"She's getting married."
"And she doesn't want to sleep with you anymore?" Mike hazards.
"I don't sleep with married women."
"So you respect the sanctity of the marriage vow."
"No," Harvey says, "I respect the sanctity of the marriage contract," and, yeah, that makes more sense.
"Is this the part where you tell me that when I meet a girl I like and can have good sex with, I should never let her go?"
"No, this is the part where I tell you to never sleep with the same woman twice."
"Jesus, Harvey," Mike swears. "That's worse. She really broke your heart."
"No, she didn't." Harvey might even think he's telling the truth.
"You know what you need? You need to get drunk."
Harvey says, "No."
"This woman you're not in love with didn't break your heart," Mike says. "Getting drunk is the traditional remedy." When Harvey doesn't say anything, Mike opens his mouth to convince him, but he must not be the only one using the reflections in the windows because Harvey speaks before he can.
"My father was an alcoholic."
Mike's mouth snaps shut.
"Now you know all my secrets."
"Sometimes I think I loved Jenny more when I couldn't have her," Mike says. "Now you know all of mine." He trusts Harvey to get what he's not saying, that he won't use Harvey's secrets against him. "There's this place down the street from my apartment that makes the best chocolate cake."
"You want me to go all the way out to Williamsburg to have cake with you." Some of the humor is back in Harvey's voice, enough that Mike turns around to look at him. "I bet you want me to take the subway too."
Mike grins, and it feels mostly real. "Usually, yes, but considering the special circumstances, this time I'll let you pay for a cab."
Harvey laughs for real this time, even if it's a small laugh, and locks his office behind them.
Mike shoves his bike into the trunk of the cab and gives the driver the cross streets. He ducks into the bodega on the corner for a pint of vanilla before he takes Harvey two doors down to the cafe.
"Mikey!" Derek behind the counter puts it up for a high-five. "Need a caffeine injection to keep you up through another all-nighter?"
"Not tonight. Two slices of chocolate, to go."
Derek looks behind him at Harvey and raises his eyebrows, but he gets the cake without comment, and Mike leaves him a two-dollar tip.
Mike barely manages not to laugh at Harvey's expression upon learning they have to walk up to Mike's apartment.
"I didn't know there were any of these left in the city," Harvey says.
"We can't all have private elevators." Mike looks back at him as they turn at a landing, catching the look on Harvey's face. "Don't tell me. You actually have one."
"All part of the Harvey Specter experience," Harvey says, but he's not trying.
"Make yourself at home," Mike says while he puts his bike up, then pauses. "I guess this isn't really your idea of home."
"No," Harvey says, but he drapes his coat over the back of a chair and sits on the couch.
Mike puts a DVD in to cue up before he finally takes the bag to the kitchen area and scoops half the pint onto each slice of cake. He has to wash spoons, and by the time he gets to the couch, Harvey has chosen play from the menu.
"Bad Boys II?"
"We could watch romantic comedies if you'd rather. But it's a nice fish. Big fuckin' eyes, but a nice fuckin' fish."
"That was your Martin Lawrence? That was pathetic."
Mike grins. "Does that mean I'm Will Smith?"
Harvey takes a bite of his cake, making Mike wait for him to say, "I'm Will Smith. You'd get kidnapped by the drug kingpin." Then he looks down. "This is really good cake."
"Told you so." Mike scrunches up his face when the rest of it registers. "Did you just make me Gabrielle Union in this scenario?"
Harvey gets that rueful cast to his face that Mike rarely sees. "Yeah, I didn't really think that one through."
Mike pats his knee with false consolation. "No, you didn't. Stick to suits and closing." He scoops up cake and ice cream onto his spoon. "Nice to know you'd come rescue me from Cuba, though."
Harvey says, "Yeah, you keep thinking that," but Mike can see him smiling.
Summary: "Donna says I should ask you about Scotty."
Notes: This is an episode tag to 1x07, "Play the Man," and might not make sense if you haven't seen it. This is also part of my weekend of allowing myself to just play, so it is a snippet, not an entire story.
Mike arrives at Harvey's office just as Donna's leaving for the day. He doesn't really want to be there, but he's been summoned.
Donna takes a long look at him and says, "It's not just you."
"I screwed up," Mike says, "and I told him I didn't want to be like him."
"Mike," Donna says, "would I lie to you?"
Mike gives her a look, and she inclines her head to acknowledge the point.
"Would I lie to you about Harvey's emotional state?"
Well, when she puts it like that.
Donna pats him on the shoulder. "Ask him about Scotty."
Mike steels himself and pushes through the door. He's not sure he can look at Harvey right now, so he goes to the window instead. Harvey might be immune to the view by now, but Mike isn't. He can see Harvey reflected off the glass.
"Donna says I should ask you about Scotty."
Harvey laughs without humor. "Scotty is the only woman I would have married."
Mike almost turns, but he's learning. Play the man. Harvey won't talk if he does that, and Donna wouldn't have given him anything he could use to really hurt Harvey.
"You're in love with her?" he guesses.
Harvey laughs again. "No. No. I like her, and we've been sleeping together whenever we see each other since law school, but no."
"Okay," Mike says. "So what's the problem?"
"She's getting married."
"And she doesn't want to sleep with you anymore?" Mike hazards.
"I don't sleep with married women."
"So you respect the sanctity of the marriage vow."
"No," Harvey says, "I respect the sanctity of the marriage contract," and, yeah, that makes more sense.
"Is this the part where you tell me that when I meet a girl I like and can have good sex with, I should never let her go?"
"No, this is the part where I tell you to never sleep with the same woman twice."
"Jesus, Harvey," Mike swears. "That's worse. She really broke your heart."
"No, she didn't." Harvey might even think he's telling the truth.
"You know what you need? You need to get drunk."
Harvey says, "No."
"This woman you're not in love with didn't break your heart," Mike says. "Getting drunk is the traditional remedy." When Harvey doesn't say anything, Mike opens his mouth to convince him, but he must not be the only one using the reflections in the windows because Harvey speaks before he can.
"My father was an alcoholic."
Mike's mouth snaps shut.
"Now you know all my secrets."
"Sometimes I think I loved Jenny more when I couldn't have her," Mike says. "Now you know all of mine." He trusts Harvey to get what he's not saying, that he won't use Harvey's secrets against him. "There's this place down the street from my apartment that makes the best chocolate cake."
"You want me to go all the way out to Williamsburg to have cake with you." Some of the humor is back in Harvey's voice, enough that Mike turns around to look at him. "I bet you want me to take the subway too."
Mike grins, and it feels mostly real. "Usually, yes, but considering the special circumstances, this time I'll let you pay for a cab."
Harvey laughs for real this time, even if it's a small laugh, and locks his office behind them.
Mike shoves his bike into the trunk of the cab and gives the driver the cross streets. He ducks into the bodega on the corner for a pint of vanilla before he takes Harvey two doors down to the cafe.
"Mikey!" Derek behind the counter puts it up for a high-five. "Need a caffeine injection to keep you up through another all-nighter?"
"Not tonight. Two slices of chocolate, to go."
Derek looks behind him at Harvey and raises his eyebrows, but he gets the cake without comment, and Mike leaves him a two-dollar tip.
Mike barely manages not to laugh at Harvey's expression upon learning they have to walk up to Mike's apartment.
"I didn't know there were any of these left in the city," Harvey says.
"We can't all have private elevators." Mike looks back at him as they turn at a landing, catching the look on Harvey's face. "Don't tell me. You actually have one."
"All part of the Harvey Specter experience," Harvey says, but he's not trying.
"Make yourself at home," Mike says while he puts his bike up, then pauses. "I guess this isn't really your idea of home."
"No," Harvey says, but he drapes his coat over the back of a chair and sits on the couch.
Mike puts a DVD in to cue up before he finally takes the bag to the kitchen area and scoops half the pint onto each slice of cake. He has to wash spoons, and by the time he gets to the couch, Harvey has chosen play from the menu.
"Bad Boys II?"
"We could watch romantic comedies if you'd rather. But it's a nice fish. Big fuckin' eyes, but a nice fuckin' fish."
"That was your Martin Lawrence? That was pathetic."
Mike grins. "Does that mean I'm Will Smith?"
Harvey takes a bite of his cake, making Mike wait for him to say, "I'm Will Smith. You'd get kidnapped by the drug kingpin." Then he looks down. "This is really good cake."
"Told you so." Mike scrunches up his face when the rest of it registers. "Did you just make me Gabrielle Union in this scenario?"
Harvey gets that rueful cast to his face that Mike rarely sees. "Yeah, I didn't really think that one through."
Mike pats his knee with false consolation. "No, you didn't. Stick to suits and closing." He scoops up cake and ice cream onto his spoon. "Nice to know you'd come rescue me from Cuba, though."
Harvey says, "Yeah, you keep thinking that," but Mike can see him smiling.