The Christmas Tree - 1/2
Dec. 23rd, 2011 07:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xantheficTitle: The Christmas Tree
Author: Xanthe
Fandom: Suits
Pairing: Harvey/Mike
Rating: NC-17
Category: Slash
Genre: BDSM, romance, angst, holiday fic
Warnings: Features a loving, consensual, gentle BDSM relationship. And some Christmas sappiness!
Wordcount: 12,000
Status: Complete
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Spelling: I’m from the UK, so I use UK spelling in all my stories.
Author’s Notes: This is my Xanthe Xmas offering for this year☺. This story is set in my Possession story-verse. Some allusions are made to Possession, but you don’t have to read that to understand this.
Many thanks to:
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bluespirit_star for beta and for letting me ‘borrow’ some of the ornaments mentioned in this story from her own tree!
georgiesmith for US beta.
flyingnorth, Haggy, N and S for audiencing.
Summary: Can Harvey meet Grammy for the first time, tolerate a tree in his apartment, broach a difficult subject with Mike, and also, somewhere along the way, learn to like Christmas?
“We’ll get you there,” Mike said, in a patronising tone of wise sympathy. “We’ll break you into the joys of Christmas eventually, Harvey Specter Scrooge.”
The Christmas Tree
By Xanthe
Harvey woke up hazily from a dream and stretched out a sleepy hand to pull Mike in close...only to find an empty space in the bed beside him.
Harvey rolled over and glanced at the clock: 2.16 a.m. Mike often suffered from insomnia, but Harvey was such a deep sleeper that he rarely noticed. He usually only found out that Mike had been up half the night when his associate looked like he was about to fall asleep in the middle of a meeting the following day.
They had a busy day ahead, with a lot to cram in before the Christmas break, and Harvey was determined that Mike perform as brilliantly as the senior partners both expected and demanded. His associate’s performance reflected on him, and he didn’t want Mike flaking out half way through the day because he’d been up surfing the net all night.
Harvey got up, feeling irritable about his interrupted sleep. He pulled on his bathrobe and strode out of the bedroom and into the living room, fully prepared to give Mike a piece of his mind…and then stopped.
Mike was sitting on the carpet, his laptop open in front of him and a half-eaten bowl of cereal beside him. He was dressed only in one of Harvey’s own shirts – the one he’d worn when they’d gone out to a bar the previous evening. Mike’s hair was a dishevelled mess, and he looked up when Harvey stormed into the room and gave him one of those sweet, heart-stopping smiles that always melted Harvey’s heart, however hard he tried to pretend they didn’t.
“It’s the middle of the night,” Harvey growled, attempting to find his earlier annoyance.
“I know! What are you doing up? Usually it takes something as loud as a freight train running through the bedroom to wake you up…or, you know, my mouth wrapped around your cock.” Mike flashed him a grin so innocent that it was entirely at odds with what he’d just said. Damn it – that kind of grin was precisely why Harvey found it impossible to stay mad at Mike for long.
“You should be sleeping. We’ve got a big meeting with the Scanlon brothers tomorrow to go through their acquisition paperwork and complete the deal, and you know I need you at the top of your game for that.” Harvey glared at him.
“I’m always at the top of my game. You know that.” Mike gave him a sly wink. “Anyway, I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d come out here and figure out some stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” Harvey frowned, wondering if they’d missed something with the Scanlon paperwork.
“Where to put the tree,” Mike told him. “It’s been bugging me. See, everything in your apartment is so neat and ordered; you haven’t left room for seasonal variations.”
“What?” Harvey tried to drag his mind away from the Scanlon case to fathom what on earth Mike was babbling on about.
“Seasonal variations,” Mike repeated, getting to his feet. “So, I downloaded some interior design software, entered the precise measurements of the room…and voila!” He waved his hand at a corner of the room. “This is where we’re going to put it.”
“Going to put what?” Harvey wondered if they were talking different languages here.
“The tree!” Mike said excitedly. “Here - right here.” He jumped into the corner and waved his arms around, looking faintly ridiculous dressed only in Harvey’s black shirt, which was just a bit too big on him, the sleeves flopping over Mike’s hands in a way that was…positively endearing.
“Why do you keep wearing my shirts?” Harvey asked, suddenly realising that this wasn’t just a one-off. It had happened several times and was becoming a habit. He’d lost count of the Sunday mornings when he’d got up to find Mike sitting on the sofa, watching TV, dressed only in the shirt Harvey had been wearing the previous evening.
“I like them. So, what do you think about here?” Mike’s cheeks were slightly flushed – a sure sign that he was hiding something – but what?
“You have your own shirts,” Harvey pointed out.
“Yeah. Anyway…like I said, right here.” Mike jumped up and down on the spot.
“They’re not even clean shirts.” Harvey wrinkled up his nose fastidiously. The idea of putting on someone else’s worn shirt wasn’t appealing to him.
“They’re not dirty. I mean, you only wear them for a couple of hours when we go out, and then you put them in the laundry hamper. I’ve never known anyone wash their clothes as often as you, Harvey.”
“It’s called hygiene, Mike.”
“Or being OCD,” Mike muttered under his breath.
“What did you say?” Harvey crossed his arms over his chest.
“Nothing. Look, they’re not your work shirts,” Mike pointed out, as if that distinction was important, which, Harvey had to concede, it was. “I know those are sacrosanct and wearing them is punishable by death or something. Even if a laundry snafu means I’m completely out of shirts – even *then*, I know that the sacred Specter work shirts are not to be worn by anyone other than the great man himself. You made that oh-so-very clear last time I made that mistake.”
Mike’s eyes were gleaming the way they always did when he was needling him, and Harvey felt himself slipping effortlessly into dom mode. He liked being teased by his sub more than he would ever admit – although he had a suspicion that Mike knew it anyway.
“I’m glad that you’ve learned that lesson at least,” Harvey said, remembering the very satisfying spanking he’d given Mike on that occasion.
“Well yeah.” Mike made a face. “I couldn’t sit down for two days without wincing!”
Harvey grinned at him. He loved it when Mike talked about the spankings they both enjoyed far too much; it gave him a feeling of power that ran straight to his cock.
“That *was* a damn fine spanking, if I do say so myself,” he murmured happily. It had been a very exciting little scene. He didn’t really mind Mike borrowing one of his work shirts in an absolute emergency, even if they did look ridiculous on him, but it had made a good excuse for handing out a nice long spanking.
“Anyway…” Mike said, flushing to his ears now. “I thought here. For the tree.”
“What tree?” Harvey tried to get his mind back on the original topic of conversation.
“The Christmas tree.” Mike rolled his eyes as if talking to an imbecile. “This is the only position in the room that really works, plus it’s close to an electrical outlet.” Harvey raised an eyebrow. “For the lights?” Mike said slowly, as if he really was talking to an imbecile now.
“Ah, I see.” Harvey nodded. “And no,” he added.
“No lights?” Mike looked disappointed.
“No tree,” Harvey said firmly, and now Mike looked positively crestfallen. Harvey wondered if this was what kicking a puppy felt like; it wasn’t a pleasant sensation.
“No tree? At all?” Mike’s voice might even have wobbled a little.
“No. It’ll mess up the apartment. Everything has a place, Mike – it’s all neat and ordered, like you said, and this is the way I like it. No clutter. Nothing unnecessary.”
“You think a tree is unnecessary?”
“We seem to manage without it the other eleven months of the year, so yes.”
“It’s not Christmas the other eleven months of the year!”
“Trees are for kids,” Harvey said curtly.
Mike’s expression softened, and he put his head on one side thoughtfully. “You never had one growing up, did you?” he asked softly.
“No,” Harvey growled. Not after his mom had left anyway. There was barely enough money for food – sometimes there *wasn’t* enough money for food. There sure as hell wasn’t any for something as useless as a tree.
“All the more reason to have one now! To make up for what you missed out on as a kid.”
“I don’t think it works that way. It might have meant something when I was a kid – now it just seems like a giant inconvenience.”
“Maybe because you don’t know how much fun it is – finding the right one, bringing it home, putting stuff on it, and making it light up. It’s fun, Harvey!” Mike grinned.
“No. Having sex is fun, watching Star Trek is fun, and winning a really tough court case is definitely fun. Sticking a tree in the corner of the room and throwing glitter at it is stupid.”
“Tinsel.”
“What?”
“Tinsel – not glitter. C’mon, Harvey. Don’t be a Scrooge! It’s our first Christmas together – it’s a chance to create some new traditions.” There was a pleading look in Mike’s eyes. Harvey stared at him, unconvinced. “When I was a kid, my Dad used to make a big deal about Christmas,” Mike told him earnestly. “After he and Mom died, Grammy took over. We always bought the tree together, decorated it together, and ate Christmas cookies together after. It is fun, I promise. Why not just try it? If it isn’t, we don’t have to do it again next year.”
Next year. Mike said that like he was still going to be here next year. He wanted to create some new traditions – as if him being here not only next year but for every Christmas thereafter was also a given. Harvey was surprised to find that eased some tiny, insecure part of his heart that he kept walled off and armoured against the inevitable losses that he expected life to throw his way. Losing his mother had been bad enough, but losing his little brother had almost broken him. He had never expected to keep Mike forever…but maybe, just maybe, Mike was here to stay? That thought made the armoured part of his heart soften, just a little.
Mike was standing there, that hopeful look still in his eyes. His hair was sticking up in tousled points, and that shirt – that stupid shirt – was hanging too loose on his shoulders, reaching to his mid-thighs, just about covering his modesty, the too-long sleeves flapping over Mike’s hands. He looked a complete mess…and Harvey had never loved him more.
“Come here,” Harvey said, and he was surprised to find that his voice sounded particularly deep and throaty.
“Why?” Mike asked cautiously.
“Because I say so.” Harvey beckoned to him.
Mike hopped towards him, looking part-terrified and part-excited, the way he always did when Harvey took that tone with him.
“It’s the middle of the night, and you’re standing here rambling on about trees when we have a big meeting tomorrow, so clearly I’m going to have to spank you to sleep,” Harvey said firmly.
Mike’s eyes flashed in eager surprise – Harvey liked to keep the timing of his spankings unpredictable, and he guessed Mike hadn’t seen this one coming. He grabbed hold of Mike’s wrist and sat down on the couch, then pulled Mike over his knees with one smooth tug of his hand. It satisfied Harvey enormously to see how easily Mike got into position – his sub had become so used to it that it felt like he belonged here.
“Does this mean we’re getting a tree?” Mike asked over one shoulder, grinning cheekily.
“No, this means you’re getting a spanking,” Harvey replied, lifting the hem of his shirt to reveal Mike’s enticingly soft buttocks.
“And a tree?” Mike asked, still grinning.
Harvey just wrapped an arm around him, pulled him in close, and set about spanking his perfect white bottom. How he loved doing this! Mike’s butt cheeks always quivered so invitingly under his hand, and he always squirmed so deliciously on his lap. Harvey loved the little moaning sounds Mike made in the back of his throat during the initial phase of the spanking, before it started to really sting.
Harvey knew how to warm his sub’s ass gradually – starting slowly and building up to the really hard smacks as the spanking progressed, although he doubted that Mike ever noticed the subtlety. His sub was too busy screaming his head off and promising Harvey blow jobs and any manner of sexual favours if he’d just stop, even for a second. Harvey never stopped until he was finished. He never let up for an instant, and he had a feeling Mike would be very disappointed if he did. Harvey loved immersing himself in the power play with his boy, getting a feel for just how much Mike could take and just how much he wanted to hand out. It always felt so damn good.
Mike was panting now, his body twisting and turning in a pointless attempt to get free. Harvey just fastened his arm even more firmly around Mike’s body, held him tight, and peppered that beautifully reddening ass with even more spanks. He didn’t stop until Mike’s bottom was a fetching shade of glowing red, and his sub was an exhausted wreck over his knees. Then he began slowing down, gently bringing them both back to earth.
Finally he stopped, surveying his handiwork with considerable satisfaction. Mike’s bottom was so warm he could feel the heat radiating off it, and he looked completely loose and relaxed now, his body sprawled out in a pose of artless submission over Harvey’s lap. Harvey reached out to brush Mike’s messy hair with a gentle hand, and Mike made a mewling sound and pushed his head up into the caress like a cat.
“Yes,” Harvey found himself saying. “You can have the damn tree.”
Mike grinned, his eyes alight with that spaced out, dreamy look he always got after a spanking. Harvey couldn’t believe he’d had the good fortune to stumble upon the one sub in the world who loved being spanked as much as he loved giving a spanking. Mike scrambled out of Harvey’s lap and then deposited himself back on it the right way up, squealing as his hot ass made contact with Harvey’s knees.
“You’ll love it,” he said, nuzzling Harvey’s face and then delivering a happy kiss to his lips. “The whole Christmas tree thing – you’ll totally love it.”
“Unlikely,” Harvey retorted.
“Mmmm.” Mike wrapped his arms around Harvey’s neck and kissed him again. When he drew back, Harvey saw that his sub’s eyelids were drooping. “Tired now,” Mike muttered into his neck. “Carry me to bed, Captain!”
“You’re far too heavy,” Harvey complained, sorely tempted all the same; an armful of freshly spanked Mike could never be a bad thing.
“You’re horny…” Mike moved his hips, and Harvey’s thoroughly interested cock lurched eagerly.
“And tomorrow is a big day, and we both need to be fresh, Pup,” Harvey said firmly.
“I’m feeling kinda fresh right now.” Mike grinned at him suggestively.
“Not that kind of fresh.” Harvey gave an exasperated sigh and got up, only to find that Mike was clinging on to him like a baby monkey – and he was far too big and heavy for that. Harvey was about to pluck him off and dump him on the floor when Mike leaned into his neck.
“They smell of you,” Mike whispered into his ear.
“What?” Harvey frowned.
“The shirts…that’s why I take the one you wore the night before out of the laundry hamper. They smell of you. Makes me feel…safe.”
Mike leaned in again, his soft hair resting against Harvey’s cheek, and really, what else was Harvey to do but wrap his arms around his beautiful, sleepy sub and carry him next door to bed?
~*~
As it turned out, Mike performed magnificently in the meeting with the Scanlon brothers, and Harvey felt himself swell with pride – not that he’d ever tell Mike that, of course. It wasn’t as if Mike didn’t know how brilliant he’d been – he glowed afterwards with that cocky confidence that reminded Harvey of himself at the same age. He liked to think he’d toned it down into something more suave (some would say arrogant) over the past ten years, but looking at Mike’s happy, flushed face, all Harvey could think about was how good he’d looked draped over his lap in the night, similarly flushed and happy.
“We put it down!” Mike twirled imaginary pistols and then blew away imaginary smoke and replaced them in imaginary holsters. “We blew them away, Harvey!”
“Hmm. Well, the case isn’t closed until their cheque hits the Pearson Hardman bank account, but I will concede that went okay.”
“Okay? Just okay? That went better than okay! We were smokin’, Harvey.” Mike grinned at him delightedly. Then he glanced at his watch and his expression changed. “Shit, it’s late – I told Grammy I’d go visit her this evening. Look – why don’t you pick me up in a couple of hours, and we’ll go from there.”
“Go where?” Harvey said absently, glancing at the documentation the Scanlons had signed, checking through some details, just to be sure.
“To buy the tree.” Mike stood in front of him, hands on his hips, glaring at him. “Tell me you haven’t forgotten about the tree, Harvey.”
“What tree?” Harvey asked, just to be difficult.
“The Christmas tree! The one you said I could have because I look so damn adorable when I’m being spanked!”
“Ah yes, the festive arboreal torture you intend to put me through.”
“You’ll love it!”
“I’m regretting it already – although you did look good ass up over my knee,” Harvey admitted. “It’s definitely your best angle.”
“Hah!” Mike pouted, but Harvey thought he looked pretty pleased. Mike leaned in close. “It was definitely a good one – thanks, Captain. I might have been too spaced out to say that last night, so I’m saying it now. Always give thanks for the spanks.” He grinned ridiculously at the rhyme, and Harvey rolled his eyes.
“Go!” Harvey said. “I’ve got to get all this filed before everything grinds to a halt for the holidays, although why the entire place has to shut down like this every year is beyond me.”
“Aw, anyone would think you don’t like Christmas, Harvey.”
“I don’t! It’s impossible to get any work done because everyone’s away, people start kissing randomly under every stray bit of foliage they can find, and the same irritating songs are on permanent replay in every store you go into. It’s excruciating.”
“Aw, I’ll show you how to love Christmas. I’ll make it my mission.” Mike puffed out his chest importantly.
Harvey rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
“Yup! So – see you at the nursing home in a couple of hours?”
“Mmmm.” Harvey waved his hand at Mike in agreement and returned to his paperwork. He had to get all this done this evening as everyone would disappear for the holidays after that. He’d always hated how Christmas got in the way of his work before, but somehow, this year, it wasn’t annoying him quite as much. He wasn’t going to tell Mike that though.
As it turned out, he finished up in good time and arrived at Rickling several minutes early. He had picked Mike up from here before, but so far he’d never met Grammy. He wasn’t sure if Mike was shy about introducing him as his boyfriend – they’d never really talked about being ‘out’ as the subject never really came up for them. They worked all hours and then fell into bed for some kinky sex at the end of the day – and they hadn’t talked at any length about what that meant or where they were headed.
Harvey sat in the back of the car and texted Mike to let him know he was waiting outside – only for an answering bleep to make him roll his eyes and fish out Mike’s cell phone from down the side of the seat next to his, where Mike must have dropped it. Typical! Nine times out of ten Mike forgot where he’d left the damn thing.
Harvey glanced at the cell phone and then back at the nursing home, and then, feeling suddenly curious, he told Ray to wait for him, and he got out of the car.
He wasn’t sure what he intended as he strode into the nursing home. He definitely didn’t intend to embarrass or betray Mike’s secrets in any way. Maybe he was just curious as to what the famous Grammy was like, or maybe he wanted to know why Mike was so reluctant to introduce them – just what was he hiding? Or maybe...maybe it was just that Harvey didn’t like mysteries.
One of the staff pointed him in the direction of a big living room, and Harvey was just about to go in when he almost bumped headlong into Mike coming out…with a white haired old lady on his arm.
“Harvey…what the…?” Mike stood there, looking at him with an expression of shock on his face.
“You lost your cell phone,” Harvey said, holding it out.
Mike took it, looking confused. “Oh. Right. Um…am I late for the…uh… meeting?” he asked, glancing at his watch.
“No, I just wanted to give you back your phone,” Harvey said. “You know how I feel about you being out of contact.” He gave Mike a meaningful glare that encompassed both annoyed boss and stern dom.
“Right. Okay.” Mike just stood there, clearly floundering, mouth opening and closing like a fish.
“You must be Mrs. Ross,” Harvey said, to smooth over the awkward moment. He held out his hand. “I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Mike’s boss, Ha…”
“Harvey Specter,” she said, taking his hand in a firm grip and gazing at him keenly. “I’ve heard a lot about you too, Mr. Specter.”
“Nothing good, I suspect.” Harvey grinned at her. The Harvey Specter charm never failed to soften even the hardest corporate heart, so he felt sure this old lady would be a complete pushover. He wasn’t entirely sure why he wanted her to like him so much, but she was important to Mike, so that made her important to him too, in a way. “The associates never have anything good to say about the senior partners!”
There was no reason why she had to know about their relationship outside work if Mike wasn’t comfortable with that. He was Mike’s boss, and he was returning Mike’s phone – he had an entirely legitimate reason to be here if Mike wanted to laugh it off. “And please – call me Harvey,” he added.
Mrs. Ross gazed at him from eyes that were far shrewder than he’d been expecting. “Michael, I’m feeling quite a chill – would you go and get my shawl from my room,” she said to her grandson, who was still standing there, looking both furious and upset at the same time. Harvey could have kicked himself; it seemed that Mike really wasn’t happy about him meeting his grandmother.
Mike looked as if he’d rather be Louis’s personal slave for a week than leave Harvey alone with his grandmother for a few minutes, but he didn’t really have a good reason to refuse her. So, with a flash of his eyes in Harvey’s direction, clearly mutely pleading with him not to say anything too revealing, he ran off.
“I’m so sorry for intruding, Mrs. Ross. Mike is a good employee, and I just wanted to make sure that he got his cell phone back,” Harvey said smoothly, obeying his sub’s unspoken wishes, giving no hint of their personal relationship.
“Nonsense.” The vehemence of her tone made him take a step back in surprise. “I’ve been wondering when I’d finally meet you – I figured Michael would introduce you in his own time, but I’m guessing you lost patience and decided to see for yourself what the old girl is like.”
“Uh…” It was one of those rare times in his life when Harvey was completely lost for words.
“Well, I’ve been wondering what you’re like too, Mr. Specter,” she continued, flashing him another one of those shrewd looks. “See, sometimes when Michael talks, I think you’re good for him. But other times, I worry you’re too slick, too arrogant, and that he’s just too dazzled by the looks, and the charm, and the fancy suits.” She waved her hand at Harvey’s pale grey suit with dark purple tie, each designed to perfectly complement the other. “Don’t get me wrong – I’m very pleased you offered him a job and got him out of that no-good life he was leading. But…” She paused, gazing at Harvey critically. “I’ve often wondered if it wasn’t a case of out of the frying pan into the fire.”
Harvey rocked back on his heels, reassessing this little old lady. She clearly wasn’t the type to be easily charmed – she was far more formidable than he’d expected.
“I knew Trevor wasn’t any good for Michael, but I had a suspicion that you might be even more dangerous, in your own way, Mr. Specter,” she continued.
“And now that you’ve met me?” he asked.
“Now that I’ve met you, I know I’m right.” she replied. “You *are* dangerous. You’re everything I was afraid of, Harvey Specter.”
“Good,” Harvey said, nodding slowly. “You’re right to be afraid, Mrs. Ross. I could chew Mike up and spit him out.”
“That’s what I thought.” She gave him a dark look.
“But I won’t,” Harvey told her honestly.
“How do I know that?”
Harvey paused. Nothing they’d said so far went beyond his role as Mike’s boss, and he didn’t have Mike’s permission to reveal anything more than that.
He didn’t know how to explain to her that Mike would always be safe with him. He couldn’t tell her how it felt to have someone trust him so completely that he could haul them over his knees and spank them so hard their ass glowed, and for them both to love it so much that they wanted to keep doing it – over and over again.
He couldn’t tell her about nights spent on his couch, Mike resting between his open legs, a bowl of popcorn on Mike’s lap which they both devoured as they watched movies together.
He couldn’t tell her how fantastic it felt to hold Mike’s wrists in his hands and pin him to the bed while he slowly made love to him, with Mike offering everything up, holding nothing back.
He couldn’t tell her that Mike’s amazing brain turned him on as much as his adorably bad impersonations, or how much he loved it when his brilliant associate brainstormed with him, both of them on fire, firing ideas back and forth at each other. He’d never met someone who was so much his intellectual equal before, not even Jessica, and he loved it.
He couldn’t tell her that he loved Mike’s body almost as much as he loved his mind. He couldn’t divulge how kissable Mike looked when he’d cycled half way across town to meet him, his cheeks flushed and rosy, and his hair tousled and messy.
He couldn’t explain how it made him feel when Mike looked up at him through his eyelashes and threw out some sly, cheeky comment that made Harvey itch to grab him and spank him right there and then. He couldn’t reveal that he’d never had this with anyone else, that they fit together, and that Mike was the perfect sub for the kind of dom he was.
Mike wouldn’t want her to know any of this, so he couldn’t tell her any of it. Hell, he hadn’t even told Mike any of this. Harvey knew he’d fallen in love with Mike a long time ago, and he wasn’t too proud to admit it – but only to himself, not to anyone else. Not to Mike and definitely not to this shrewd old lady standing here, who was the only other person in the world who loved Mike Ross as much as he did.
He cleared his throat and was about to make some attempt at a reply when she gave a little start.
“Oh,” she said suddenly, and those blue eyes of hers were as sharp as her grandson’s when he was in pursuit of some legal truth buried in a mountain of paperwork. Her expression softened. “Well then, that’s different,” she said, patting Harvey’s arm.
“I didn’t say anything.” Harvey frowned.
“Yes, you did. Look, I’m not a fool, Harvey. Michael’s talked about you non-stop for months, and after a while I figured it went beyond the hero worship of a young lad for his hotshot boss.” Harvey gave a wry smile at that. “What I didn’t know was whether it was one-sided or not, which is why I’ve been so keen to meet you, so I can see for myself.”
“And have you?”
“Yes.” She tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and began walking alongside him. “And I have one thing to say to you: don’t ever hurt him, Harvey Specter, or you’ll have to answer to me.”
Harvey looked down on her. “I won’t,” he said honestly, all attempts at charming her gone in the sure knowledge it wouldn’t work with this strong old lady. “I couldn’t.”
“Does he know?” She glanced up at him, squeezing his arm with her hand.
“Know what?”
“That you’re in love with him?”
Harvey felt the breath catch in his throat, but he had no intention of issuing a denial that wasn’t true. “We’ve never talked about it,” he replied.
“You’re afraid that he doesn’t feel the same way,” she said, accurately. “Hmm, you’re an interesting man, Harvey. So strong and self-assured – some would say arrogant – and yet there’s some inner core of vulnerability, isn’t there? Oh, you do your best to hide it under all this.” She waved her free hand at his suit. “But it’s there. I wondered what Michael saw in you – I felt sure my grandson wasn’t the type to be dazzled by all the money and power and that sharp tongue I know you possess. I hoped not anyway. I hoped Michael wasn’t just taken in by the flashy exterior, and I can see now that he wasn’t. You have a lot more going on underneath than you want anyone to know, Harvey.”
“And you don’t beat about the bush,” Harvey replied, feeling winded by her analysis.
“When you’re as old as I am, you don’t have time.”
“Oh, come now. You aren’t that old.” Harvey smiled at her. She didn’t smile back; she just squeezed his arm urgently.
“I’m old enough not to have a whole lot of time left, and I want to know that when I’m gone Michael will have someone who loves him with all their heart, the way I’ve always done, and who’ll look out for him and care about him until the day he dies. Is that person you, Harvey? If not, then get out of his life and let him find someone who is.”
Harvey paused, staring straight ahead, unable to make an answer for a moment. Then he pulled himself together and nodded, looking down on her again.
“I could be that person,” he said quietly.
“But?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Is that what Mike wants? I don’t think he ever exactly considered himself to be gay before. Maybe he wants something more traditional – a wife and family?”
“Maybe he does. Or maybe he just wants a great affair of the heart that will be with him all his days. Only he knows the answer. You should ask him.” She shrugged. Then she paused and looked at him sharply. “Oh, I see. You’re afraid. I took you for many things, but not a coward, Harvey Specter.”
“I’m not a coward,” he snapped back, just as sharply. He hesitated for a moment, but there was no escaping this woman’s perceptive gaze, so finally he sucked it up. “I lost someone once,” he told her. It still hurt when he thought of his little brother’s death. Patrick had been his whole life when they were kids, and there was a big hole in his heart that still ached.
“So did Michael,” she replied softly, patting his hand. “That’s why you understand each other so well. You know, I wondered why he didn’t bring you along to meet me, and now I can see why.”
Harvey raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“That’s something else you need to ask him too. Dear lord, you boys really need to talk!”
“We do. All the time.” Harvey grinned at her.
“Not being smart with each other and showing off – not that kind of talking. I mean talk about what’s going on in here.” She placed her hand on his chest, over his heart. “Where it counts. You’re both scared because you both know what it’s like to lose people you love. You’re both terrified of experiencing that loss and pain again – I understand that. But at the end of the day, I think you’re crazy about each other, and you’re both just too chicken-shit to admit it.”
Harvey laughed out loud at her choice of language. It was an odd juxtaposition coming from such a refined-looking old lady.
“What’s the joke?” Mike ran up, clutching his grandmother’s shawl, an anxious look etched on his face.
“Your grandmother was just amusing me with her insights.” Harvey grinned at him.
“You’ve been charming her,” Mike said accusingly.
“On the contrary – she’s been charming me – I feel quite disarmed by her.” Harvey gave Mrs. Ross a quick little smile.
“We should be going,” Mike said, glancing at his watch, clearly eager to get Harvey out of here as quickly as possible. He placed the shawl around his grandmother’s shoulders and then gave her a hug and kissed her cheek. “Bye, Grammy!”
“Goodbye, Mrs. Ross.” Harvey held out his hand, but the old lady ignored it and drew him into a hug too.
“Come and visit me again soon,” she told him loudly. “And next time don’t wear the suit,” she whispered into his ear. “I can see through it anyway.”
He gave a little laugh and drew back, ignoring Mike’s startled look at the hug. “Next time then, Mrs. Ross.”
“Next time?” Mike hissed under his breath as they walked back towards the car. “I didn’t ask you to come along *this* time. Why the hell do you think there will be a next time?”
“You heard your grammy – she likes me. She wants to see me again.” Harvey gave him a smug smile, preening just a little.
“Oh just shut up and get in the car.”
“So, I’m thinking now would be a bad time to spank you,” Harvey said as they got into the waiting car. He liked spanking Mike in the car; he liked how deliciously embarrassed Mike was by the fact Ray could hear everything that was going on. It made Mike very amorous when they got home – that kind of embarrassment always made him horny.
“A very bad time!” Mike growled. “Don’t even think about it. Damn it – why did you show up like that, Harvey?”
“I don’t know.” Harvey glanced out of the window. “I suppose I just wanted to meet her. She’s so important to you, and it’s not as if you haven’t met someone important to me – and within 24 hours of us sleeping together the first time. At least I had the decency to wait a few months before paying *your* nearest and dearest an unexpected visit.” Harvey gave Mike a little glare, and Mike took a deep breath and sighed.
“Okay. True,” he conceded, and not for the first time, Harvey wondered what exactly Bertha had told Mike about him. He’d tried to pump them both for information, but they were as tight as clams. He knew that she’d told Mike some things about his difficult youth, but he wasn’t sure which details Mike knew. There was one thing in particular he wasn’t sure if Mike knew, but it was too big and too dark a secret for Harvey to broach it, if Mike didn’t know about it already. He wasn’t sure how Mike would react, and he dreaded that it might cause him to lose Mike’s respect and affection. Besides, he’d worked damn hard to put that particular part of his past behind him, and he didn’t want to dredge it all up again.
“But you meeting my grandmother is a big deal, and we should have talked about it first,” Mike said firmly.
“We don’t though, do we?” Harvey glanced at him sideways. “Talk? Not about the big, important stuff anyway.”
Mike flushed and dipped his head to look at the floor of the car. Harvey continued gazing at him until Mike glanced up again.
“What do you want to talk about then?” Mike asked sullenly.
“Why didn’t you want me to meet your grandmother? Are you ashamed of this? Of us?” Harvey paused. “Of me?”
Harvey knew Mike hadn’t identified as gay before they’d started their relationship. Maybe he was having second thoughts. It was certainly a big deal for him to come out to his grandmother – maybe he intended to get Harvey out of his system and then return to a straight life with some sweet, pretty girl, like Jenny, and leave his kinky streak behind for good.
“It just wasn’t the right time.” Mike shrugged, clearly unwilling to discuss the matter further. Harvey wondered if it would ever be the right time.
He glanced out of the window – it had been trying to snow for days but it either fell as sleety rain, or a few flakes drifted down and melted upon hitting the ground.
“Okay,” Harvey said. It was cold out there – and it was in here too, but he was too used to this particular chill to want to breach it. It felt familiar and safe. “Talk over. Let’s have some fun now!”
“Aye aye, Captain! So, are we going to go buy the tree now?” Mike changed back into his lovable sub again in a heartbeat, clearly just as relieved as Harvey to move out of such dangerous waters.
“No need.” Harvey took out his iPad with a flourish. “I ordered one earlier; I thought it’d save time.” He handed Mike the iPad, with the picture of the tree on it. It was pure white, its thin, minimalist branches glistening in the picture.
“What?” Mike looked at the picture and then back at Harvey, as if he’d gone insane.
“Problem, Pup?” Harvey asked, confused. “What’s the matter? I thought you’d be pleased. This is a good tree – it’s the most expensive one I could find online. It also comes pre-decorated, so we won’t have to waste time doing that. And it has fibre optic lights on every branch – they sort of glow. I know lights are important to you for some reason. I thought it was very elegant and tasteful; it’ll look nice in the living room.”
“No.” Mike handed him back the iPad and turned to face him. “No, no, no, no, no, Harvey.”
“I think I might be hearing a ‘no’ here.” Harvey frowned.
“NO!” Mike practically shouted it. “No, Harvey. This isn’t something you acquire, like all your baseballs and basketballs and records! You don’t choose the most expensive, beautiful one you can find, just so you can show it off and have people envy it. Damn it, this is so fucking *you*. I’m surprised the tree doesn’t come encrusted with Swarovski crystals on each branch.”
“Do they make trees like that? Sounds nice,” Harvey mused. “So, what’s wrong with the tree, Pup?”
“It’s too perfect! And you don’t buy them online pre-decorated! Where’s the fun in that? No. Cancel that order. You, Harvey Specter, are going to come with me, and we are going to do this together. I will make you get into the spirit of Christmas, if I have to force you!”
“Ah, peace on earth and goodwill to all men.” Harvey sat back in his seat, rolling his eyes. “I’m beginning to see why so many people commit suicide over the festive season.”
“And I’m beginning to see why so many people murder their partners.” Mike gave him a death stare.
They looked at each other for a long moment, swapping glares of dark intensity, and then they both burst out laughing. “Okay, Mike.” Harvey sighed. “Let’s go buy this tree then.”
~*~
End of Part One
Part Two
Author: Xanthe
Fandom: Suits
Pairing: Harvey/Mike
Rating: NC-17
Category: Slash
Genre: BDSM, romance, angst, holiday fic
Warnings: Features a loving, consensual, gentle BDSM relationship. And some Christmas sappiness!
Wordcount: 12,000
Status: Complete
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Spelling: I’m from the UK, so I use UK spelling in all my stories.
Author’s Notes: This is my Xanthe Xmas offering for this year☺. This story is set in my Possession story-verse. Some allusions are made to Possession, but you don’t have to read that to understand this.
Many thanks to:
bluespirit_star for beta and for letting me ‘borrow’ some of the ornaments mentioned in this story from her own tree!georgiesmith for US beta.flyingnorth, Haggy, N and S for audiencing.Summary: Can Harvey meet Grammy for the first time, tolerate a tree in his apartment, broach a difficult subject with Mike, and also, somewhere along the way, learn to like Christmas?
“We’ll get you there,” Mike said, in a patronising tone of wise sympathy. “We’ll break you into the joys of Christmas eventually, Harvey Specter Scrooge.”
By Xanthe
Harvey woke up hazily from a dream and stretched out a sleepy hand to pull Mike in close...only to find an empty space in the bed beside him.
Harvey rolled over and glanced at the clock: 2.16 a.m. Mike often suffered from insomnia, but Harvey was such a deep sleeper that he rarely noticed. He usually only found out that Mike had been up half the night when his associate looked like he was about to fall asleep in the middle of a meeting the following day.
They had a busy day ahead, with a lot to cram in before the Christmas break, and Harvey was determined that Mike perform as brilliantly as the senior partners both expected and demanded. His associate’s performance reflected on him, and he didn’t want Mike flaking out half way through the day because he’d been up surfing the net all night.
Harvey got up, feeling irritable about his interrupted sleep. He pulled on his bathrobe and strode out of the bedroom and into the living room, fully prepared to give Mike a piece of his mind…and then stopped.
Mike was sitting on the carpet, his laptop open in front of him and a half-eaten bowl of cereal beside him. He was dressed only in one of Harvey’s own shirts – the one he’d worn when they’d gone out to a bar the previous evening. Mike’s hair was a dishevelled mess, and he looked up when Harvey stormed into the room and gave him one of those sweet, heart-stopping smiles that always melted Harvey’s heart, however hard he tried to pretend they didn’t.
“It’s the middle of the night,” Harvey growled, attempting to find his earlier annoyance.
“I know! What are you doing up? Usually it takes something as loud as a freight train running through the bedroom to wake you up…or, you know, my mouth wrapped around your cock.” Mike flashed him a grin so innocent that it was entirely at odds with what he’d just said. Damn it – that kind of grin was precisely why Harvey found it impossible to stay mad at Mike for long.
“You should be sleeping. We’ve got a big meeting with the Scanlon brothers tomorrow to go through their acquisition paperwork and complete the deal, and you know I need you at the top of your game for that.” Harvey glared at him.
“I’m always at the top of my game. You know that.” Mike gave him a sly wink. “Anyway, I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d come out here and figure out some stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” Harvey frowned, wondering if they’d missed something with the Scanlon paperwork.
“Where to put the tree,” Mike told him. “It’s been bugging me. See, everything in your apartment is so neat and ordered; you haven’t left room for seasonal variations.”
“What?” Harvey tried to drag his mind away from the Scanlon case to fathom what on earth Mike was babbling on about.
“Seasonal variations,” Mike repeated, getting to his feet. “So, I downloaded some interior design software, entered the precise measurements of the room…and voila!” He waved his hand at a corner of the room. “This is where we’re going to put it.”
“Going to put what?” Harvey wondered if they were talking different languages here.
“The tree!” Mike said excitedly. “Here - right here.” He jumped into the corner and waved his arms around, looking faintly ridiculous dressed only in Harvey’s black shirt, which was just a bit too big on him, the sleeves flopping over Mike’s hands in a way that was…positively endearing.
“Why do you keep wearing my shirts?” Harvey asked, suddenly realising that this wasn’t just a one-off. It had happened several times and was becoming a habit. He’d lost count of the Sunday mornings when he’d got up to find Mike sitting on the sofa, watching TV, dressed only in the shirt Harvey had been wearing the previous evening.
“I like them. So, what do you think about here?” Mike’s cheeks were slightly flushed – a sure sign that he was hiding something – but what?
“You have your own shirts,” Harvey pointed out.
“Yeah. Anyway…like I said, right here.” Mike jumped up and down on the spot.
“They’re not even clean shirts.” Harvey wrinkled up his nose fastidiously. The idea of putting on someone else’s worn shirt wasn’t appealing to him.
“They’re not dirty. I mean, you only wear them for a couple of hours when we go out, and then you put them in the laundry hamper. I’ve never known anyone wash their clothes as often as you, Harvey.”
“It’s called hygiene, Mike.”
“Or being OCD,” Mike muttered under his breath.
“What did you say?” Harvey crossed his arms over his chest.
“Nothing. Look, they’re not your work shirts,” Mike pointed out, as if that distinction was important, which, Harvey had to concede, it was. “I know those are sacrosanct and wearing them is punishable by death or something. Even if a laundry snafu means I’m completely out of shirts – even *then*, I know that the sacred Specter work shirts are not to be worn by anyone other than the great man himself. You made that oh-so-very clear last time I made that mistake.”
Mike’s eyes were gleaming the way they always did when he was needling him, and Harvey felt himself slipping effortlessly into dom mode. He liked being teased by his sub more than he would ever admit – although he had a suspicion that Mike knew it anyway.
“I’m glad that you’ve learned that lesson at least,” Harvey said, remembering the very satisfying spanking he’d given Mike on that occasion.
“Well yeah.” Mike made a face. “I couldn’t sit down for two days without wincing!”
Harvey grinned at him. He loved it when Mike talked about the spankings they both enjoyed far too much; it gave him a feeling of power that ran straight to his cock.
“That *was* a damn fine spanking, if I do say so myself,” he murmured happily. It had been a very exciting little scene. He didn’t really mind Mike borrowing one of his work shirts in an absolute emergency, even if they did look ridiculous on him, but it had made a good excuse for handing out a nice long spanking.
“Anyway…” Mike said, flushing to his ears now. “I thought here. For the tree.”
“What tree?” Harvey tried to get his mind back on the original topic of conversation.
“The Christmas tree.” Mike rolled his eyes as if talking to an imbecile. “This is the only position in the room that really works, plus it’s close to an electrical outlet.” Harvey raised an eyebrow. “For the lights?” Mike said slowly, as if he really was talking to an imbecile now.
“Ah, I see.” Harvey nodded. “And no,” he added.
“No lights?” Mike looked disappointed.
“No tree,” Harvey said firmly, and now Mike looked positively crestfallen. Harvey wondered if this was what kicking a puppy felt like; it wasn’t a pleasant sensation.
“No tree? At all?” Mike’s voice might even have wobbled a little.
“No. It’ll mess up the apartment. Everything has a place, Mike – it’s all neat and ordered, like you said, and this is the way I like it. No clutter. Nothing unnecessary.”
“You think a tree is unnecessary?”
“We seem to manage without it the other eleven months of the year, so yes.”
“It’s not Christmas the other eleven months of the year!”
“Trees are for kids,” Harvey said curtly.
Mike’s expression softened, and he put his head on one side thoughtfully. “You never had one growing up, did you?” he asked softly.
“No,” Harvey growled. Not after his mom had left anyway. There was barely enough money for food – sometimes there *wasn’t* enough money for food. There sure as hell wasn’t any for something as useless as a tree.
“All the more reason to have one now! To make up for what you missed out on as a kid.”
“I don’t think it works that way. It might have meant something when I was a kid – now it just seems like a giant inconvenience.”
“Maybe because you don’t know how much fun it is – finding the right one, bringing it home, putting stuff on it, and making it light up. It’s fun, Harvey!” Mike grinned.
“No. Having sex is fun, watching Star Trek is fun, and winning a really tough court case is definitely fun. Sticking a tree in the corner of the room and throwing glitter at it is stupid.”
“Tinsel.”
“What?”
“Tinsel – not glitter. C’mon, Harvey. Don’t be a Scrooge! It’s our first Christmas together – it’s a chance to create some new traditions.” There was a pleading look in Mike’s eyes. Harvey stared at him, unconvinced. “When I was a kid, my Dad used to make a big deal about Christmas,” Mike told him earnestly. “After he and Mom died, Grammy took over. We always bought the tree together, decorated it together, and ate Christmas cookies together after. It is fun, I promise. Why not just try it? If it isn’t, we don’t have to do it again next year.”
Next year. Mike said that like he was still going to be here next year. He wanted to create some new traditions – as if him being here not only next year but for every Christmas thereafter was also a given. Harvey was surprised to find that eased some tiny, insecure part of his heart that he kept walled off and armoured against the inevitable losses that he expected life to throw his way. Losing his mother had been bad enough, but losing his little brother had almost broken him. He had never expected to keep Mike forever…but maybe, just maybe, Mike was here to stay? That thought made the armoured part of his heart soften, just a little.
Mike was standing there, that hopeful look still in his eyes. His hair was sticking up in tousled points, and that shirt – that stupid shirt – was hanging too loose on his shoulders, reaching to his mid-thighs, just about covering his modesty, the too-long sleeves flapping over Mike’s hands. He looked a complete mess…and Harvey had never loved him more.
“Come here,” Harvey said, and he was surprised to find that his voice sounded particularly deep and throaty.
“Why?” Mike asked cautiously.
“Because I say so.” Harvey beckoned to him.
Mike hopped towards him, looking part-terrified and part-excited, the way he always did when Harvey took that tone with him.
“It’s the middle of the night, and you’re standing here rambling on about trees when we have a big meeting tomorrow, so clearly I’m going to have to spank you to sleep,” Harvey said firmly.
Mike’s eyes flashed in eager surprise – Harvey liked to keep the timing of his spankings unpredictable, and he guessed Mike hadn’t seen this one coming. He grabbed hold of Mike’s wrist and sat down on the couch, then pulled Mike over his knees with one smooth tug of his hand. It satisfied Harvey enormously to see how easily Mike got into position – his sub had become so used to it that it felt like he belonged here.
“Does this mean we’re getting a tree?” Mike asked over one shoulder, grinning cheekily.
“No, this means you’re getting a spanking,” Harvey replied, lifting the hem of his shirt to reveal Mike’s enticingly soft buttocks.
“And a tree?” Mike asked, still grinning.
Harvey just wrapped an arm around him, pulled him in close, and set about spanking his perfect white bottom. How he loved doing this! Mike’s butt cheeks always quivered so invitingly under his hand, and he always squirmed so deliciously on his lap. Harvey loved the little moaning sounds Mike made in the back of his throat during the initial phase of the spanking, before it started to really sting.
Harvey knew how to warm his sub’s ass gradually – starting slowly and building up to the really hard smacks as the spanking progressed, although he doubted that Mike ever noticed the subtlety. His sub was too busy screaming his head off and promising Harvey blow jobs and any manner of sexual favours if he’d just stop, even for a second. Harvey never stopped until he was finished. He never let up for an instant, and he had a feeling Mike would be very disappointed if he did. Harvey loved immersing himself in the power play with his boy, getting a feel for just how much Mike could take and just how much he wanted to hand out. It always felt so damn good.
Mike was panting now, his body twisting and turning in a pointless attempt to get free. Harvey just fastened his arm even more firmly around Mike’s body, held him tight, and peppered that beautifully reddening ass with even more spanks. He didn’t stop until Mike’s bottom was a fetching shade of glowing red, and his sub was an exhausted wreck over his knees. Then he began slowing down, gently bringing them both back to earth.
Finally he stopped, surveying his handiwork with considerable satisfaction. Mike’s bottom was so warm he could feel the heat radiating off it, and he looked completely loose and relaxed now, his body sprawled out in a pose of artless submission over Harvey’s lap. Harvey reached out to brush Mike’s messy hair with a gentle hand, and Mike made a mewling sound and pushed his head up into the caress like a cat.
“Yes,” Harvey found himself saying. “You can have the damn tree.”
Mike grinned, his eyes alight with that spaced out, dreamy look he always got after a spanking. Harvey couldn’t believe he’d had the good fortune to stumble upon the one sub in the world who loved being spanked as much as he loved giving a spanking. Mike scrambled out of Harvey’s lap and then deposited himself back on it the right way up, squealing as his hot ass made contact with Harvey’s knees.
“You’ll love it,” he said, nuzzling Harvey’s face and then delivering a happy kiss to his lips. “The whole Christmas tree thing – you’ll totally love it.”
“Unlikely,” Harvey retorted.
“Mmmm.” Mike wrapped his arms around Harvey’s neck and kissed him again. When he drew back, Harvey saw that his sub’s eyelids were drooping. “Tired now,” Mike muttered into his neck. “Carry me to bed, Captain!”
“You’re far too heavy,” Harvey complained, sorely tempted all the same; an armful of freshly spanked Mike could never be a bad thing.
“You’re horny…” Mike moved his hips, and Harvey’s thoroughly interested cock lurched eagerly.
“And tomorrow is a big day, and we both need to be fresh, Pup,” Harvey said firmly.
“I’m feeling kinda fresh right now.” Mike grinned at him suggestively.
“Not that kind of fresh.” Harvey gave an exasperated sigh and got up, only to find that Mike was clinging on to him like a baby monkey – and he was far too big and heavy for that. Harvey was about to pluck him off and dump him on the floor when Mike leaned into his neck.
“They smell of you,” Mike whispered into his ear.
“What?” Harvey frowned.
“The shirts…that’s why I take the one you wore the night before out of the laundry hamper. They smell of you. Makes me feel…safe.”
Mike leaned in again, his soft hair resting against Harvey’s cheek, and really, what else was Harvey to do but wrap his arms around his beautiful, sleepy sub and carry him next door to bed?
As it turned out, Mike performed magnificently in the meeting with the Scanlon brothers, and Harvey felt himself swell with pride – not that he’d ever tell Mike that, of course. It wasn’t as if Mike didn’t know how brilliant he’d been – he glowed afterwards with that cocky confidence that reminded Harvey of himself at the same age. He liked to think he’d toned it down into something more suave (some would say arrogant) over the past ten years, but looking at Mike’s happy, flushed face, all Harvey could think about was how good he’d looked draped over his lap in the night, similarly flushed and happy.
“We put it down!” Mike twirled imaginary pistols and then blew away imaginary smoke and replaced them in imaginary holsters. “We blew them away, Harvey!”
“Hmm. Well, the case isn’t closed until their cheque hits the Pearson Hardman bank account, but I will concede that went okay.”
“Okay? Just okay? That went better than okay! We were smokin’, Harvey.” Mike grinned at him delightedly. Then he glanced at his watch and his expression changed. “Shit, it’s late – I told Grammy I’d go visit her this evening. Look – why don’t you pick me up in a couple of hours, and we’ll go from there.”
“Go where?” Harvey said absently, glancing at the documentation the Scanlons had signed, checking through some details, just to be sure.
“To buy the tree.” Mike stood in front of him, hands on his hips, glaring at him. “Tell me you haven’t forgotten about the tree, Harvey.”
“What tree?” Harvey asked, just to be difficult.
“The Christmas tree! The one you said I could have because I look so damn adorable when I’m being spanked!”
“Ah yes, the festive arboreal torture you intend to put me through.”
“You’ll love it!”
“I’m regretting it already – although you did look good ass up over my knee,” Harvey admitted. “It’s definitely your best angle.”
“Hah!” Mike pouted, but Harvey thought he looked pretty pleased. Mike leaned in close. “It was definitely a good one – thanks, Captain. I might have been too spaced out to say that last night, so I’m saying it now. Always give thanks for the spanks.” He grinned ridiculously at the rhyme, and Harvey rolled his eyes.
“Go!” Harvey said. “I’ve got to get all this filed before everything grinds to a halt for the holidays, although why the entire place has to shut down like this every year is beyond me.”
“Aw, anyone would think you don’t like Christmas, Harvey.”
“I don’t! It’s impossible to get any work done because everyone’s away, people start kissing randomly under every stray bit of foliage they can find, and the same irritating songs are on permanent replay in every store you go into. It’s excruciating.”
“Aw, I’ll show you how to love Christmas. I’ll make it my mission.” Mike puffed out his chest importantly.
Harvey rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
“Yup! So – see you at the nursing home in a couple of hours?”
“Mmmm.” Harvey waved his hand at Mike in agreement and returned to his paperwork. He had to get all this done this evening as everyone would disappear for the holidays after that. He’d always hated how Christmas got in the way of his work before, but somehow, this year, it wasn’t annoying him quite as much. He wasn’t going to tell Mike that though.
As it turned out, he finished up in good time and arrived at Rickling several minutes early. He had picked Mike up from here before, but so far he’d never met Grammy. He wasn’t sure if Mike was shy about introducing him as his boyfriend – they’d never really talked about being ‘out’ as the subject never really came up for them. They worked all hours and then fell into bed for some kinky sex at the end of the day – and they hadn’t talked at any length about what that meant or where they were headed.
Harvey sat in the back of the car and texted Mike to let him know he was waiting outside – only for an answering bleep to make him roll his eyes and fish out Mike’s cell phone from down the side of the seat next to his, where Mike must have dropped it. Typical! Nine times out of ten Mike forgot where he’d left the damn thing.
Harvey glanced at the cell phone and then back at the nursing home, and then, feeling suddenly curious, he told Ray to wait for him, and he got out of the car.
He wasn’t sure what he intended as he strode into the nursing home. He definitely didn’t intend to embarrass or betray Mike’s secrets in any way. Maybe he was just curious as to what the famous Grammy was like, or maybe he wanted to know why Mike was so reluctant to introduce them – just what was he hiding? Or maybe...maybe it was just that Harvey didn’t like mysteries.
One of the staff pointed him in the direction of a big living room, and Harvey was just about to go in when he almost bumped headlong into Mike coming out…with a white haired old lady on his arm.
“Harvey…what the…?” Mike stood there, looking at him with an expression of shock on his face.
“You lost your cell phone,” Harvey said, holding it out.
Mike took it, looking confused. “Oh. Right. Um…am I late for the…uh… meeting?” he asked, glancing at his watch.
“No, I just wanted to give you back your phone,” Harvey said. “You know how I feel about you being out of contact.” He gave Mike a meaningful glare that encompassed both annoyed boss and stern dom.
“Right. Okay.” Mike just stood there, clearly floundering, mouth opening and closing like a fish.
“You must be Mrs. Ross,” Harvey said, to smooth over the awkward moment. He held out his hand. “I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Mike’s boss, Ha…”
“Harvey Specter,” she said, taking his hand in a firm grip and gazing at him keenly. “I’ve heard a lot about you too, Mr. Specter.”
“Nothing good, I suspect.” Harvey grinned at her. The Harvey Specter charm never failed to soften even the hardest corporate heart, so he felt sure this old lady would be a complete pushover. He wasn’t entirely sure why he wanted her to like him so much, but she was important to Mike, so that made her important to him too, in a way. “The associates never have anything good to say about the senior partners!”
There was no reason why she had to know about their relationship outside work if Mike wasn’t comfortable with that. He was Mike’s boss, and he was returning Mike’s phone – he had an entirely legitimate reason to be here if Mike wanted to laugh it off. “And please – call me Harvey,” he added.
Mrs. Ross gazed at him from eyes that were far shrewder than he’d been expecting. “Michael, I’m feeling quite a chill – would you go and get my shawl from my room,” she said to her grandson, who was still standing there, looking both furious and upset at the same time. Harvey could have kicked himself; it seemed that Mike really wasn’t happy about him meeting his grandmother.
Mike looked as if he’d rather be Louis’s personal slave for a week than leave Harvey alone with his grandmother for a few minutes, but he didn’t really have a good reason to refuse her. So, with a flash of his eyes in Harvey’s direction, clearly mutely pleading with him not to say anything too revealing, he ran off.
“I’m so sorry for intruding, Mrs. Ross. Mike is a good employee, and I just wanted to make sure that he got his cell phone back,” Harvey said smoothly, obeying his sub’s unspoken wishes, giving no hint of their personal relationship.
“Nonsense.” The vehemence of her tone made him take a step back in surprise. “I’ve been wondering when I’d finally meet you – I figured Michael would introduce you in his own time, but I’m guessing you lost patience and decided to see for yourself what the old girl is like.”
“Uh…” It was one of those rare times in his life when Harvey was completely lost for words.
“Well, I’ve been wondering what you’re like too, Mr. Specter,” she continued, flashing him another one of those shrewd looks. “See, sometimes when Michael talks, I think you’re good for him. But other times, I worry you’re too slick, too arrogant, and that he’s just too dazzled by the looks, and the charm, and the fancy suits.” She waved her hand at Harvey’s pale grey suit with dark purple tie, each designed to perfectly complement the other. “Don’t get me wrong – I’m very pleased you offered him a job and got him out of that no-good life he was leading. But…” She paused, gazing at Harvey critically. “I’ve often wondered if it wasn’t a case of out of the frying pan into the fire.”
Harvey rocked back on his heels, reassessing this little old lady. She clearly wasn’t the type to be easily charmed – she was far more formidable than he’d expected.
“I knew Trevor wasn’t any good for Michael, but I had a suspicion that you might be even more dangerous, in your own way, Mr. Specter,” she continued.
“And now that you’ve met me?” he asked.
“Now that I’ve met you, I know I’m right.” she replied. “You *are* dangerous. You’re everything I was afraid of, Harvey Specter.”
“Good,” Harvey said, nodding slowly. “You’re right to be afraid, Mrs. Ross. I could chew Mike up and spit him out.”
“That’s what I thought.” She gave him a dark look.
“But I won’t,” Harvey told her honestly.
“How do I know that?”
Harvey paused. Nothing they’d said so far went beyond his role as Mike’s boss, and he didn’t have Mike’s permission to reveal anything more than that.
He didn’t know how to explain to her that Mike would always be safe with him. He couldn’t tell her how it felt to have someone trust him so completely that he could haul them over his knees and spank them so hard their ass glowed, and for them both to love it so much that they wanted to keep doing it – over and over again.
He couldn’t tell her about nights spent on his couch, Mike resting between his open legs, a bowl of popcorn on Mike’s lap which they both devoured as they watched movies together.
He couldn’t tell her how fantastic it felt to hold Mike’s wrists in his hands and pin him to the bed while he slowly made love to him, with Mike offering everything up, holding nothing back.
He couldn’t tell her that Mike’s amazing brain turned him on as much as his adorably bad impersonations, or how much he loved it when his brilliant associate brainstormed with him, both of them on fire, firing ideas back and forth at each other. He’d never met someone who was so much his intellectual equal before, not even Jessica, and he loved it.
He couldn’t tell her that he loved Mike’s body almost as much as he loved his mind. He couldn’t divulge how kissable Mike looked when he’d cycled half way across town to meet him, his cheeks flushed and rosy, and his hair tousled and messy.
He couldn’t explain how it made him feel when Mike looked up at him through his eyelashes and threw out some sly, cheeky comment that made Harvey itch to grab him and spank him right there and then. He couldn’t reveal that he’d never had this with anyone else, that they fit together, and that Mike was the perfect sub for the kind of dom he was.
Mike wouldn’t want her to know any of this, so he couldn’t tell her any of it. Hell, he hadn’t even told Mike any of this. Harvey knew he’d fallen in love with Mike a long time ago, and he wasn’t too proud to admit it – but only to himself, not to anyone else. Not to Mike and definitely not to this shrewd old lady standing here, who was the only other person in the world who loved Mike Ross as much as he did.
He cleared his throat and was about to make some attempt at a reply when she gave a little start.
“Oh,” she said suddenly, and those blue eyes of hers were as sharp as her grandson’s when he was in pursuit of some legal truth buried in a mountain of paperwork. Her expression softened. “Well then, that’s different,” she said, patting Harvey’s arm.
“I didn’t say anything.” Harvey frowned.
“Yes, you did. Look, I’m not a fool, Harvey. Michael’s talked about you non-stop for months, and after a while I figured it went beyond the hero worship of a young lad for his hotshot boss.” Harvey gave a wry smile at that. “What I didn’t know was whether it was one-sided or not, which is why I’ve been so keen to meet you, so I can see for myself.”
“And have you?”
“Yes.” She tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and began walking alongside him. “And I have one thing to say to you: don’t ever hurt him, Harvey Specter, or you’ll have to answer to me.”
Harvey looked down on her. “I won’t,” he said honestly, all attempts at charming her gone in the sure knowledge it wouldn’t work with this strong old lady. “I couldn’t.”
“Does he know?” She glanced up at him, squeezing his arm with her hand.
“Know what?”
“That you’re in love with him?”
Harvey felt the breath catch in his throat, but he had no intention of issuing a denial that wasn’t true. “We’ve never talked about it,” he replied.
“You’re afraid that he doesn’t feel the same way,” she said, accurately. “Hmm, you’re an interesting man, Harvey. So strong and self-assured – some would say arrogant – and yet there’s some inner core of vulnerability, isn’t there? Oh, you do your best to hide it under all this.” She waved her free hand at his suit. “But it’s there. I wondered what Michael saw in you – I felt sure my grandson wasn’t the type to be dazzled by all the money and power and that sharp tongue I know you possess. I hoped not anyway. I hoped Michael wasn’t just taken in by the flashy exterior, and I can see now that he wasn’t. You have a lot more going on underneath than you want anyone to know, Harvey.”
“And you don’t beat about the bush,” Harvey replied, feeling winded by her analysis.
“When you’re as old as I am, you don’t have time.”
“Oh, come now. You aren’t that old.” Harvey smiled at her. She didn’t smile back; she just squeezed his arm urgently.
“I’m old enough not to have a whole lot of time left, and I want to know that when I’m gone Michael will have someone who loves him with all their heart, the way I’ve always done, and who’ll look out for him and care about him until the day he dies. Is that person you, Harvey? If not, then get out of his life and let him find someone who is.”
Harvey paused, staring straight ahead, unable to make an answer for a moment. Then he pulled himself together and nodded, looking down on her again.
“I could be that person,” he said quietly.
“But?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Is that what Mike wants? I don’t think he ever exactly considered himself to be gay before. Maybe he wants something more traditional – a wife and family?”
“Maybe he does. Or maybe he just wants a great affair of the heart that will be with him all his days. Only he knows the answer. You should ask him.” She shrugged. Then she paused and looked at him sharply. “Oh, I see. You’re afraid. I took you for many things, but not a coward, Harvey Specter.”
“I’m not a coward,” he snapped back, just as sharply. He hesitated for a moment, but there was no escaping this woman’s perceptive gaze, so finally he sucked it up. “I lost someone once,” he told her. It still hurt when he thought of his little brother’s death. Patrick had been his whole life when they were kids, and there was a big hole in his heart that still ached.
“So did Michael,” she replied softly, patting his hand. “That’s why you understand each other so well. You know, I wondered why he didn’t bring you along to meet me, and now I can see why.”
Harvey raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“That’s something else you need to ask him too. Dear lord, you boys really need to talk!”
“We do. All the time.” Harvey grinned at her.
“Not being smart with each other and showing off – not that kind of talking. I mean talk about what’s going on in here.” She placed her hand on his chest, over his heart. “Where it counts. You’re both scared because you both know what it’s like to lose people you love. You’re both terrified of experiencing that loss and pain again – I understand that. But at the end of the day, I think you’re crazy about each other, and you’re both just too chicken-shit to admit it.”
Harvey laughed out loud at her choice of language. It was an odd juxtaposition coming from such a refined-looking old lady.
“What’s the joke?” Mike ran up, clutching his grandmother’s shawl, an anxious look etched on his face.
“Your grandmother was just amusing me with her insights.” Harvey grinned at him.
“You’ve been charming her,” Mike said accusingly.
“On the contrary – she’s been charming me – I feel quite disarmed by her.” Harvey gave Mrs. Ross a quick little smile.
“We should be going,” Mike said, glancing at his watch, clearly eager to get Harvey out of here as quickly as possible. He placed the shawl around his grandmother’s shoulders and then gave her a hug and kissed her cheek. “Bye, Grammy!”
“Goodbye, Mrs. Ross.” Harvey held out his hand, but the old lady ignored it and drew him into a hug too.
“Come and visit me again soon,” she told him loudly. “And next time don’t wear the suit,” she whispered into his ear. “I can see through it anyway.”
He gave a little laugh and drew back, ignoring Mike’s startled look at the hug. “Next time then, Mrs. Ross.”
“Next time?” Mike hissed under his breath as they walked back towards the car. “I didn’t ask you to come along *this* time. Why the hell do you think there will be a next time?”
“You heard your grammy – she likes me. She wants to see me again.” Harvey gave him a smug smile, preening just a little.
“Oh just shut up and get in the car.”
“So, I’m thinking now would be a bad time to spank you,” Harvey said as they got into the waiting car. He liked spanking Mike in the car; he liked how deliciously embarrassed Mike was by the fact Ray could hear everything that was going on. It made Mike very amorous when they got home – that kind of embarrassment always made him horny.
“A very bad time!” Mike growled. “Don’t even think about it. Damn it – why did you show up like that, Harvey?”
“I don’t know.” Harvey glanced out of the window. “I suppose I just wanted to meet her. She’s so important to you, and it’s not as if you haven’t met someone important to me – and within 24 hours of us sleeping together the first time. At least I had the decency to wait a few months before paying *your* nearest and dearest an unexpected visit.” Harvey gave Mike a little glare, and Mike took a deep breath and sighed.
“Okay. True,” he conceded, and not for the first time, Harvey wondered what exactly Bertha had told Mike about him. He’d tried to pump them both for information, but they were as tight as clams. He knew that she’d told Mike some things about his difficult youth, but he wasn’t sure which details Mike knew. There was one thing in particular he wasn’t sure if Mike knew, but it was too big and too dark a secret for Harvey to broach it, if Mike didn’t know about it already. He wasn’t sure how Mike would react, and he dreaded that it might cause him to lose Mike’s respect and affection. Besides, he’d worked damn hard to put that particular part of his past behind him, and he didn’t want to dredge it all up again.
“But you meeting my grandmother is a big deal, and we should have talked about it first,” Mike said firmly.
“We don’t though, do we?” Harvey glanced at him sideways. “Talk? Not about the big, important stuff anyway.”
Mike flushed and dipped his head to look at the floor of the car. Harvey continued gazing at him until Mike glanced up again.
“What do you want to talk about then?” Mike asked sullenly.
“Why didn’t you want me to meet your grandmother? Are you ashamed of this? Of us?” Harvey paused. “Of me?”
Harvey knew Mike hadn’t identified as gay before they’d started their relationship. Maybe he was having second thoughts. It was certainly a big deal for him to come out to his grandmother – maybe he intended to get Harvey out of his system and then return to a straight life with some sweet, pretty girl, like Jenny, and leave his kinky streak behind for good.
“It just wasn’t the right time.” Mike shrugged, clearly unwilling to discuss the matter further. Harvey wondered if it would ever be the right time.
He glanced out of the window – it had been trying to snow for days but it either fell as sleety rain, or a few flakes drifted down and melted upon hitting the ground.
“Okay,” Harvey said. It was cold out there – and it was in here too, but he was too used to this particular chill to want to breach it. It felt familiar and safe. “Talk over. Let’s have some fun now!”
“Aye aye, Captain! So, are we going to go buy the tree now?” Mike changed back into his lovable sub again in a heartbeat, clearly just as relieved as Harvey to move out of such dangerous waters.
“No need.” Harvey took out his iPad with a flourish. “I ordered one earlier; I thought it’d save time.” He handed Mike the iPad, with the picture of the tree on it. It was pure white, its thin, minimalist branches glistening in the picture.
“What?” Mike looked at the picture and then back at Harvey, as if he’d gone insane.
“Problem, Pup?” Harvey asked, confused. “What’s the matter? I thought you’d be pleased. This is a good tree – it’s the most expensive one I could find online. It also comes pre-decorated, so we won’t have to waste time doing that. And it has fibre optic lights on every branch – they sort of glow. I know lights are important to you for some reason. I thought it was very elegant and tasteful; it’ll look nice in the living room.”
“No.” Mike handed him back the iPad and turned to face him. “No, no, no, no, no, Harvey.”
“I think I might be hearing a ‘no’ here.” Harvey frowned.
“NO!” Mike practically shouted it. “No, Harvey. This isn’t something you acquire, like all your baseballs and basketballs and records! You don’t choose the most expensive, beautiful one you can find, just so you can show it off and have people envy it. Damn it, this is so fucking *you*. I’m surprised the tree doesn’t come encrusted with Swarovski crystals on each branch.”
“Do they make trees like that? Sounds nice,” Harvey mused. “So, what’s wrong with the tree, Pup?”
“It’s too perfect! And you don’t buy them online pre-decorated! Where’s the fun in that? No. Cancel that order. You, Harvey Specter, are going to come with me, and we are going to do this together. I will make you get into the spirit of Christmas, if I have to force you!”
“Ah, peace on earth and goodwill to all men.” Harvey sat back in his seat, rolling his eyes. “I’m beginning to see why so many people commit suicide over the festive season.”
“And I’m beginning to see why so many people murder their partners.” Mike gave him a death stare.
They looked at each other for a long moment, swapping glares of dark intensity, and then they both burst out laughing. “Okay, Mike.” Harvey sighed. “Let’s go buy this tree then.”
End of Part One
Part Two
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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on Dec. 23rd, 2011 09:31 am (UTC)I do love the wearing Harvey's shirt part
I do LOVE the spanking part
I do love the Harvey meeting Grammy part
I do love all the reasons why Harvey loves Mike
I do love that Mike get the tree and trys to concince Harvey to get one
I DO LOVE GRAMMY
I Do love this fic doesn't really ends here
And finally I love to go further with reading
*wavesandrunstothenextpart*
no subject
on Dec. 23rd, 2011 11:17 am (UTC)no subject
on Dec. 23rd, 2011 03:03 pm (UTC)no subject
on Dec. 23rd, 2011 03:42 pm (UTC)