He stood there to the side of the walkway, watching as Mike left the party; his eyes following his associate, no, he was his colleague now, /finally/ as he wandered back to his new office.

Mike had just been made Junior Partner and the associates, paralegals and other office staff had thrown him a little impromptu celebration at the end of the day. Most of them were happy for him. Kyle and Greg had celebrated and congratulated Mike along with the others, but Harvey could see the jealousy burning in their eyes. /Well, his puppy had earned this promotion and if those two douches didn't like it they could just go suck-it!/

He watched as Mike stood in front of his door, just staring as the words that had been applied to the glass earlier that day. ~ Mike Ross, Partner, Junior ~ He watched as Mike slowly ran his fingers over the words before opening the door and entering the office. He watched through the glass as Mike walked around the room, touching the bookcase, the backs of the chairs, the conference table, the picture frame on his desk, before finally stepping behind the desk. He watched as Mike took a deep breath and he watched as his big, goofy, trademark grin slowly emerged on his face. He laughed lightly as he watched Mike suddenly flop down into his chair. /Puppy still doesn't know how to sit down like an adult./ He watched as Mike looked up, making eye contact with the kid, letting him see what he thought of his puppy's tendency to flop down in his chair.

He looked up from his new desk, out to the where the party was starting to wind down, out to where he saw Harvey standing, looking back at Mike. He saw the smirk on Harvey's face and just knew that Harvey had gotten a bit of a laugh out of the way he had just flopped into his chair. He couldn't help it. He knew he was at the adult table now, but he was reluctant to fully let go of the puppy inside. He was ecstatic that he had finally made Partner, but he was equally saddened by the thought of not being Harvey's associate any longer. He would miss working along side the man that had become more than a boss to him, more than a mentor. He had become his friend, though, when Mike was honest with himself, he admitted to at least himself that he had always wanted a little more than friendship from the older man. So many times it seemed as though the relationship he craved was within his reach, but he'd known better that to reach for it yet. He knew that, as his boss, Harvey would never be more than a friend, not without damaging both their careers. /He's not my boss anymore, though. We're actually colleagues now. Equals. Finally./

He watched as Harvey lifted his drink to his lips and sipped from it. He watched as Harvey lowered the glass again, still with his eyes on this office. He watched as Harvey turned his head and looked over the common area that had been so full an hour ago, but was now nearly empty. He watched as Harvey watched the last few stragglers tossed their cups in the trash cans, picked up their belongings and left to find a new venue to continue the party. He watched Harvey turn back to look at his office again, alone now in the empty common room. He watched as Harvey slowly set his glass on the nearest flat surface without even looking to see if there was a flat surface to set it on. /How does he do that? I would've totally dropped it on the floor!/ He watched as Harvey started walking, slowly, towards the new Partner's office.

He took his time getting to Mike's office, enjoying the building tension he was getting from the anticipation, knowing this to be just the first of many, many times he'd be taking this walk. Knowing also that not one of those future times will turn out to be as monumental as this one. He had waited four years for this. Well, four years, five months, two weeks, three days, four hours, twenty-seven minutes and some-odd seconds. That's how long it had been since Mike had walked into his interviews and turned his world upside down. That's how long it had been since Mike had come into his life and begun to show him that caring wasn't a weakness. That's how long he had been fighting the urge to do what he was on his way to do now. He knew it was going to be worth the wait.

He waited while Harvey took his sweet time getting to the door. He laughed a bit as Harvey lightly knocked on his door and looked pointedly at him as if to say 'See, Rookie. Like this.' He rolled his eyes as he waved Harvey in. He had learned so much from this man, but at the same time, he knew that Harvey had learned from him, too. He hoped that they would never lose that dynamic of their relationship. He waited as Harvey just stood there in the now open doorway, locking eyes with him for what seemed like just seconds and like eternity, both at the same time. Time seemed to pass differently for them. Just like the last four and a half years. It seemed to take forever for him to reach the point where he was invited to become Harvey's equal, yet looking back on it now, it seemed to have passed in only moments. It seemed unreal to him that he had ever not known this man, ever not had him as the central figure in his life. He felt like he had been waiting all his life for this, like everything that had happened in the past, both the good and the bad, had led him here to Harvey, to this life, to this moment. He knew that no matter what happened in his life before and after this moment, it would all be worth it, just to have this one moment in time with Harvey.

Slowly, Harvey stepped into the office. He stopped as the door silently swung closed. The only light in the office coming from the lamp in the corner and from the few still on in the outer office. The only sound either man could hear was the beating of his own heart. As each man watched the other, smirks turned into soft smiles, an air of 'at last' filled the room, a feeling of calm settling over them. Then Harvey was moving.

Harvey walked to the desk with a fluid grace that Mike knew he would never have. Mike turned his chair to face Harvey as the older man came around the desk to stand in front of him. His smile grew as Harvey reached out and wrapped Mike's 'skinny-ass' tie around his hand and tugged, pulling Mike out of his chair to stand a hairsbreadth from chest-to-chest with Harvey, his hands itching to rest on Harvey's hips. As they stood there, not touching, savoring this moment, looking in each other's eyes, each knowing that the other man wanted this just as badly, Harvey saw the delighted sparkle in Mike's eyes. Mike saw the depth of feeling in Harvey's. The air around them thickened.

Suddenly, Harvey gave a jerk on the tie and, with a low growl, laid his lips over Mike's, relishing the sigh that escaped the young man's lips as he was finally allowed to touch. This first kiss was soft and gentle, full of passion and full of love. It was like coming home, like being lost for years and finally finding their way back to where they truly belonged.

As they slowly broke apart, both men taking a moment to lock this treasured moment away and, before opening their eyes, each drew in a ragged breath and breathed out, "Finally."

~fini~