Chapter Text
Scottie
Dana Scott was a smart person. She knew she was. Other people knew she was. No one ever questioned her competence or her amazing law prowess. She was top of her class in Harvard. She worked for the best international law firm there was. That was why she couldn’t fathom why, when it comes to one Harvey Specter, she seemed so incredibly and unbelievably stupid.
She really should have better taste in men.
Sitting there, in Harvey’s condo’s balcony waiting for said person to arrive, she started calling into question everything she had ever believed in her life. She had naively thought that she was a strong, independent, woman who “didn’t need a man”. But really, she could still kick ass like nobody’s business. It was just that, she was human too. She fell in love just like everybody else.
It was also because she had never met anyone like Harvey Specter. It seemed like such a cliche and she hated thinking about it in those terms but it was the truth. She tried. Oh did she ever. She tried loving another person and she even got engaged but it turned out that one look, one touch and one kiss from Harvey and she was a goner.
She heard the familiar turning of the knob and her heart started beating faster. She didn’t really know what she’d tell Harvey, or why she really was there in the first place. All she knew was that she wanted to talk to him, to see him at least, even though he’d made it clear last time they saw each other that that was never gonna happen.
She slid the doors of the balcony open and came face to face with...
...a tired and harassed-looking Mike Ross. He looked terrified and spooked and she supposed it had something to do with her suddenly appearing in front of him but she ignored it for the more important question in her mind. “You’re not Harvey,” she said, confused.
“No, I’m not,” Mike said, the surprise and shock subsiding now. He looked equally as confused as Scottie.
“What are you doing here?” Scottie asked, baffled. What would Mike Ross need in Harvey’s condo? Maybe he was picking up something?
Mike seemed to have regained his confidence somewhat. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” He said, dropping his keys on a bowl on the counter by the kitchen. Scottie continued to watch, transfixed, as he loosened his tie and kicked off his shoes like he lived here and...
...wait, did he live here? Did Harvey move and he gave his associate the rights to his old condo? “Where’s Harvey? Did he move?” She asked instead, refusing to answer his question. She didn’t need to answer baby Harvey’s questions, did she?
“Move?” Mike asked, grabbing a beer from the fridge. “You want one?” He said, indicating his drink.
She shook her head, still so confused. Before she could say anything else though, the knob of the door started turning again and in came Harvey.
He didn’t seem to notice Scottie at first, saying, “Mike, I told you to lock the doors whenever you-” that was when he stopped and noticed Scottie. “Scottie,” he said, looking vaguely amused and somewhat worried. “I knew I shouldn’t have given you a key to my place.”
“Is your associate living with you?” She asked suddenly. She really didn’t intend it to mean other than Harvey maybe helping out a friend who may had been evicted but when Mike Ross seemed to choke on his beer and the normally stoic, composed Harvey Specter’s eyes widened, she put two and two together and almost fainted herself.
“Yeah, okay, I’m gonna go shower,” Mike Ross said awkwardly, exiting as quickly as possible from Harvey’s and Scottie’s presence.
When he was gone and there was only silence, Harvey cleared his throat and said, “What are you doing here, Scottie?”
Stupid. So stupid. She thought that maybe... Well, that’s not happening now, is it? “So you... and Mike Ross?” She said in disbelief, because as much as the facts speak for the case at hand, she still can’t get herself to believe it. It just couldn’t be true.
Harvey shrugged and it was so uncharacteristic of him that it threw Scottie in for a loop. “You can ask exactly three questions,” was all he said.
“How long?” Was the first thing out of her mouth even though it really hadn’t been what she wanted to ask.
“About a year now,” he answered, loosening his tie and sitting on his really comfortable looking couch. She still had memories about that couch, or about Harvey’s entire condo, really. It wouldn’t do her good to think about those things now, though.
She knew Harvey has had relationships with men. It wasn’t exactly a huge secret on his part. Harvey had never been anything but confident and sure about himself. But a year? That was a surprise. She really thought that he couldn’t have a relationship because he wasn’t capable of having one.
“When?” was her second question. When did it start? When did it happen? Was it before or after she declared her love for him? Was Mike Ross the whole reason why he couldn’t even try with her?
“After the merger,” he answered. As always with Harvey, it was like pulling teeth when you were trying to get answers from emotional questions.
So after she declared her love for him. After she fell so low in the emotional ladder that she almost couldn’t get back up. “Who made the first move?” was her last question. It was important to her, because then if it hadn’t been Harvey then maybe-
“Mike did,” Harvey answered but the momentary feeling of hope she felt was completely squashed when he immediately said, “but if he hadn’t, I would’ve.” And really, Harvey had never been anything but confident and sure of himself.
She didn’t realize she had been crying until she felt her voice break on her next words. “You said you cared about me.” She said accusingly. She held on to that. She held on to that tiny little bit of hope that someday, maybe someday they could be more than what they were now.
“I did,” he said, standing and crossing the room towards her. “And I do, Scottie. You will always be someone I care about. You will always be important to me. But I love Mike. I really do. I don’t know why because more often than not he is a giant pain in the ass but...” he trails off.
Harvey Specter not knowing why he loved someone. It must be true love.
Maybe they’d passed their moment years ago. Maybe they had had so many missed chances. Maybe if she hadn’t been so focused on her career... but no. It wouldn’t do her good to think about that now. Maybe she really had just lost her chance the moment Mike Ross crashed into Harvey Specter’s life.
In a final act to be petty, she said spitefully, “He’s half your age.”
“He’s ten years younger than me. That’s hardly half.” He said dismissively. “I’m sorry Scottie. I really am. But Mike... He’s it for me.”
And wow. Coming from Harvey Specter, that was almost a declaration of love, forever and ever, ‘til death do they part.
And now that she was looking for it, she finally saw it. The condo wasn’t just Harvey’s anymore. It was subtle but it was there. There were the books that she couldn’t ever remember Harvey being interested in scattered all over the coffee table. Skinny ties hanging off one surface or another and a panda painting hanging off the corner that looked so out of place. The condo was messy in a way that it had never been when it was only Harvey living there. She should have noticed it sooner but she was too preoccupied, thinking about whether or not Harvey would still be into their tradition of reunion sex.
Apparently not.
Mike emerged from the bedroom then, out of his suit and into an old, faded Harvard shirt and sweatpants. He looked so at home in this place, this place that she could never have, and this unbelievable, unfathomable anger rose up in Scottie like flames trying to eat her from the inside out. Outside, she looked as calm as could be but inside, she wanted to rip something apart. This... this kid who took Harvey from her. She hated him and if she ever had the chance to run into him in court or some other circumstance, she’d be sure to annihilate him. It was irrational but she was in love. Nobody was ever rational when they were in love.
Mike hastily made his way to the fridge to grab a bottle of water, trying to be inconspicuous as possible even though his efforts were futile. All she could see was him. Even Harvey had momentarily disappeared from her view. Mike also grabbed some papers from the coffee table, said good night to Harvey with a kiss on the cheek and disappeared into the bedroom again.
It was in that simple act, that kiss on the cheek, that she saw it. It was as innocent as it could be but it also spoke volumes about their relationship. And that kiss? That was Mike staking his claim, subtly telling her to back off, that he was as invested in this relationship as Harvey was.
“Does anybody else know?” She asked, hastily wiping the tears from her eyes.
Harvey shook his head. “A few people.” Scottie knew that in Harvey-speak, that meant Donna. “We never really thought it was anybody’s business.”
She nodded. There really was no use trying to find a loophole into this mess. They couldn’t have been more different, Mike and Harvey, and at the same time, they couldn’t have been more alike. They were perfect for each other and that just fucking grates.
“I’ll show myself out,” she said, looking him straight in the eyes. Harvey nodded, reached out and kissed her on the forehead. Then with one last look, he went off and disappeared into the bedroom where Mike Ross was waiting.
She grabbed her bag off of the couch, wiped her tears and held her head up high. She walked out of Harvey’s condo feeling a little more like herself already, smart, capable and not stupid about love.
It would hurt now. It would hurt like never before, knowing that she couldn’t be with Harvey not because he was incapable of caring but because she was not good enough. But she knew, like all other things, it would pass. Someday, they could bury the hatchet and they could be friends again but in the meantime...
...she really would like the chance to crush Mike Ross in court.