As requested, the beginning part of my story Submit. I have no idea why I started writing it in the middle, but it's quite fun to go back and write the start. Read, review, love you. Ps I can never be bothered to proof read so pls ignore any typos xo

"Look at me," Harvey's voice had cut through his foggy mind. He had suddenly become hyper aware of the tone of dominance that ran through it. He sounded like an angry dad talking to his teen son. Mike swallowed as Harvey approached him slowly and struggled to look at him. Why was this so hard? They were both men. Equals. Kind of. "You're high," Harvey said, his voice depressingly devoid of emotion. He sounded so empty, like he had suddenly switched off all care for Mike at all. "Get out."

"Harvey," Mike panicked, his breath catching in his throat. Was this is? What is over? The friendship, the bond? Harvey had so quickly become so important to him, and he'd messed it up. Did harvey mean get out of the office? Or the firm? Or his life? Mike wanted to cry. He could feel tears brimming in his eyes, warm and bitter. Louis made him. "You don't understand! Louis…"

Harvey's mind was a mess. He was trying so hard to keep his cold, uncaring exterior up and that damned kid wasn't making it any easier by standing there looking like he was about to cry. If he cried, Harvey didn't know what he would do. He was so angry at the man in front of him, and he couldn't place why it mattered so much. But it did. And he knew one thing for sure. The urge inside him was growing to grab the damned boy and smack some sense into his behind. But, he reminded himself, Mike was not one of his subs. And that wouldn't be professional. He needed to get rid of him so he had time to cool down and think this over.

"Out."

"You're not listening to me!" Mike insisted, his heart thudding. This couldn't be happening.

"Michael," Harvey growled, clenching his teeth together. He turned his back on Mike and walked back towards his desk, as a precaution. A vein pulsed in his forehead. Why couldn't the damn kid ever obey him?

"What? You're being mean!" Mike insisted, the pot making him reckless. He didn't want to leave and spend the whole rest of the day stressing about whether or not Harvey was going to hate him forever. "I tried to ring you but you never picked up so it's your fault because you failed to protect me from Louis and-"

That was it. You failed to protect me. How dare the boy stand there and accuse him of that? Harvey would have killed to protect that damn insolent little idiot. Harvey lost all sanity and spun around, crossing the room in seconds. Before he had time to think, he roughly grabbed Mike's forearm, yanked him so he was side on and smacked his upper left thigh hard. Mike squeaked, more shocked than hurt.

"You make your own choices," Harvey growled. "Now get out of my office."

Mike practically legged it from the office at that point. Not because he was freaked out. Not because he was planning on filing a sexual harassment case against Harvey. No, it was because at the feeling of Harvey's rough hands on him, his dick had suddenly decided that it wanted to say hello to the world. Shielding his growing bulge with his hands, Mike jogged down the corridor to the men's toilets and threw himself inside, locking the door behind him.

He sank down onto the toilet, and tried to breathe. He was as high as a kite, and now he was horny as well. What the hell was this day turning into? He buried his face in his hands and tried to clear space in his head. It was hard when all he could feel was the throb of his dick, and the sting on his leg where Harvey had smacked him. But why had Harvey smacked him? It was odd. If the man had been angry and wanting to hurt him, he would've punched him. Smacking him seemed so much more...intimate. And kind of embarrassing. But also hot.

Mike groaned. He'd had a hard enough time ignoring his crush on Harvey as it was. Now he had an added thing to fantasise about. That is, if Harvey forgave him and didn't fire him and refuse to speak to him ever again.

-
Harvey was sat at his desk in a daze. He should not have done. Repeat: he should not have done that. True, the kid deserved it. But also, no. Harvey had always been a dominant man, and the relationships he had been in in the past had involved the concept of discipline, when and if, it was necessary. And with Mike, it always seemed goddamn necessary. But, he reminded himself, he wasn't in a relationship with Mike. He had no right to lay a finger on him, let alone slap him in the office. That had been a step too far.

Harvey didn't get rattled by things, and he wasn't rattled by this. Something told him that Mike wasn't running off to tell anyone. The moment his hand had connected with Mike's leg, he had seen something in Mike's eyes that he was too high to hide. Arousal. Interest. Something positive. He hadn't been horrified at any rate.

Harvey had wanted this for a very long time. In fact, since that first day when Mike burst into that interview room, all handsome and boyish and needy. He needed someone to guide him. But Harvey had watched him flirt with Rachel and watched him as all the girls in the office watched him and decided that it was a no go. He got enough out of being Mike's boss, exerting his power over him that way and trying not to resent the sides of the power dynamic he so wanted. Like to fuck him senseless and then cuddle him afterwards. Harvey was a man of control, and self control was one of his strong points. Until today.

He was still struggling to control his anger. Every few seconds he got the urge to barrel through the office, seize Mike and wallop him for smoking weed. But that would be wrong. Even if Mike hadn't been repulsed by the smack, that didn't mean anything. Harvey must not get ahead of himself. Most people, he reminded himself, didn't live in that world.

-
Mike had gone home after he had recovered enough to leave the bathroom without an erection. He knew he was too high to do anything useful and he didn't want to run the risk of bumping into Harvey and seeing the indifferent disgust on his face that he had displayed earlier. So, he went home, got into bed and tried not to cry. He felt like he was losing everything. And the pathetic thing was, he didn't even care about the job. It was Harvey. He didn't want to lose Harvey. They had become so close so fast. Not to mention the fact that the man was gorgeous, and funny and smart. And Mike felt so safe around him. He knew that no matter what happened, Harvey would fix it. Harvey was a safe bet. And Mike had never had a safe bet.

And now, because he was a big stupid idiot, he might have ruined everything.

Harvey had told him to get out. It just kept replaying in his head. Now get out of my office. Get out of my office. He had been so angry. He had looked so hurt. Like Mike had betrayed him. Which, Mike knew, he had.

At about ten o'clock, Mike crawled out of bed because the munchies had hit full force from the weed. He dug around in his fridge and extracted last night's leftover pizza, along with some crisps and chocolate bars. He retreated back to his bed, wrapped his duvet around himself and propped himself against the wall to eat.

There was a sudden hammering on his door, loud and insistent. Mike jumped, but carried on sitting where he was. It wouldn't be Grammy at this time, and Grammy couldn't possibly knock that hard. And nobody else knew where he lived. The area he lived in wasn't good. Last week, in the block across from his, people had been robbed by men banging on doors and then beating the people who opened them and stealing their valuables. They still hadn't been caught. So Mike stayed stock still, a slice of pizza hallways to his mouth as he tried to muffle the sound of his breathing.

And then, in a moment of horror, Mike saw the door handle begin to turn and remembered that, in his high and strung out state, he hadn't locked the door. He was frozen in fear, completely unable to move. And that was how he was going to die. In a duvet cocoon, surrounded by food and a slice of pizza stuck halfway to his mouth.

"Mike?"

Harvey's head poked it's way round the door and Mike felt relief coarse through his body. He wasn't going to die.

"You scared me!" Mike accused, allowing the pizza to drop. His hands started to shake as he allowed himself to breathe again. Harvey stepped inside and shut the door before turning to look at him. "I thought I was about to get killed. Answering the door is dangerous at this time. We don't all live in the million dollar district you know.."

"Clearly," Harvey said curtly, his eyes scanning Mike's studio, disgust quite clearly etched on his face.

"Rude," Mike muttered. "What are you doing here? And how do you know where I live?"

"I'm still angry at you," Harvey informed him as he took two steps forwards and looked down, disgruntled, at a pair of boxers Mike had discarded on the floor.

"Er? Why would that mean you would come to my house?"

Mike wondered if he should get up. He felt weird cocooned in his duvet whilst Harvey strode around surveying everything. Harvey, however, apparently satisfied that he had looked at everything with disgust, stalked over to the bed. He shot that a suspicious look, too, and then settled down on the edge of it.

"I needed to tell you that you aren't fired," Harvey replied, trying not to look at Mike directly. Instead, he looked at the cracks in the wall. He wondered if the place had damp and assumed it probably did. He had to get Mike out of there. "Because who knows, if you thought you didn't have a job to go to, you might spend the weekend taking cocaine and falling back into the hole I helped you crawl out of."

The unconcealed anger and disgust in Harvey's tone nearly broke Mike. And the man couldn't even look at him. This was it. They would work together, but that was all. The companionship, the warmth...Mike had ruined everything. Like always. School, college. Dead end jobs. Everything Mike touched, he screwed up. And he always ended up with nothing.

"Harvey, I'm sorry-" Mike began in a pleading tone, his throat constricting with grief.

"What is that?" Harvey interrupted, distracted. His face was contorted in horror as he stared at the food in front of Mike. No wonder the boy looked malnourished if he was eating crap like that. The urge to protect Mike rushed through Harvey again and he had to fight himself not to jump in too fast. He needed to do this properly, he needed to find out where he stood. If Mike didn't want looking after, Harvey could hardly force it upon him.

Mike was finding this all too much to deal with. One second, Harvey was mad, the next he was critiquing everything about the way Mike lived. What was going on in his head? Mike didn't have a clue.

"It's...it's a pizza?" Mike said, confusion etched on his face. "You...er...want some?"

"Do...I…" Harvey spluttered, caught off guard for a second. He reached over, picked up the box and deposited it on the dressing table.
"Have you never eaten pizza before?" Mike muttered, wrapping his arms around his knees for something to do.

"I have eaten pizza," Harvey sniped. "I haven't eaten undercooked bread smothered in oil and what looks like pig skin."

"Again. We don't all live in the million dollar district," Mike said quietly. He was tired. It had been a bad day. He just wanted Harvey to say his piece, tear him down and leave. Then he could cry the weekend away, and hopefully by Monday have come to terms with the fact that their friendship was shot.

"I pay you plenty," Harvey said, his tone slightly harsh. He hadn't meant it to be, he was just shocked by Mike's lifestyle. He had never imagined it was this bad. He tried to mentally calculate the rent and outgoings, wondering if it was his fault. Maybe he hadn't provided him enough. Maybe he-

"Grammy is expensive," Mike reminded him, resting his head on his knee and peering at Harvey through bleary eyes. Harvey looked very out of place in his apartment. Like an ornament in the middle of a junk shop.

"Not that expensive," Harvey argued, the numbers clicking in his head. Mike definitely had enough money to move out of this hellhole. "You must have money left over. Lots. What are you doing with it?"

"That's a bit of a personal question," Mike snapped, feeling defensive. This conversation was going nowhere that he could understand. Sure, he had messed up big time today. But what right did Harvey have coming over here, uninvited, and criticising everything? And questioning Mike about what he did with his money?

He didn't like the way that Harvey was looking at him. It was too...searching. Like he was trying to get inside Mike's head. And it was kind of working.

"You're saving it," Harvey said slowly, reading the defense on the kids face well. He was an open book, Mike was. No poker face for this kid. "You're saving it, because you're convinced, like always, that you're not going to make it. You want a safety raft, for when this goes wrong, like everything else."

Mike was on his feet before he knew what was happening. He finally snapped. He just wanted to be alone, to cry and sulk and sink. He didn't want Harvey to be sitting on his bed, sneering at the fact that Mike always screwed everything up. Harvey knew why he needed the money. Harvey knew he was a fuck up.

Mike stormed over to the door, and yanked it open. Harvey was still sitting on his bed, looking unperturbed.

"Get out," Mike said, with less conviction that Harvey had managed earlier.

"No."

"Harvey, get out of my flat."

"No."

"Fine," Mike spat. The man was so infuriating. And he looked so handsome in the lamplight and it was so unfair that Mike was such a screw up because Harvey Specter was far too good for someone like him. "I'll go."

And even though he was wearing a baggy t-shirt, sweat pants and no socks, Mike threw himself out of the room. Adrenaline was rushing through him, he felt simultaneously angry and heartbroken. He felt...anchorless. Like he had been cut loose and was spiralling around and couldn't do anything to stop himself. It felt oddly like a dream world. He'd made it down the corridor and was approaching the stairs when a strong arm hooked around his waist and pulled him to a halt.

"Where do you think you're going?" Harvey asked, his voice stern and angry again.

"Get off me," Mike squawked, thrashing around. Harvey's arms tightened around him and he tried not to get mad. He had been infuriated beyond belief when the kid had walked away from him. Nobody walked away from Harvey Specter. Especially not Mike. Especially not if he was walking out into the night in a rough area of town with no shoes on.

Harvey moved his arm up so that it was pressed tightly against Mike's upper chest, and he pulled him roughly back against his chest. Mike was lighter than he thought, and easier to manhandle. Mike, for his part, struggled to breathe as Harvey's body pressed against his back, warm and solid behind him. It made him feel a little less anchorless.

"Stop acting like a child," Harvey growled in his ear in a tone that sent shivers down Mike's spine. "Stop fighting me."

Powerless to resist the steel in the man's tone, and accepting that Harvey was stronger than him, Mike stopped flailing and felt his body sink slightly into Harvey's. Harvey could feel himself beginning to smile. It was so easy to get Mike where he needed him to be. Just a stern voice, and Mike's headspace was his.

"Good boy," he whispered, as they stood there for longer than strictly necessary, Mike breathing heavily and Harvey holding him tightly in place. Mike tried to ignore the intense pleasure he felt, both mentally and erotically, at those words. "We need to talk," Harvey said eventually as he released Mike from his hold and gestured for him to go back down the hallway. Mike looked like he was about to protest, but a look from Harvey was enough to stop him.

Swallowing his pride, he turned and padded back to his flat like a naughty child being sent to his room after a tantrum. He was aware of Harvey following close behind him. When he was inside, Harvey stepped inside too, shut the door behind him and locked it.

"Sit," Harvey said, gesturing to the sofa.

Mike did as he was told. He told himself it was because he just wanted to hear Harvey say his piece so that he could get to bed quicker. But really it was because he was powerless to resist. For some reason, every cell in his body screamed for him to obey Harvey. That was just the kind of man Harvey was. Or, maybe, it was the kind of man Mike was. Mike didn't know, and was too tired to care. Harvey followed him to the sofa and sat, closer to him than he had been expected. Their thighs were almost touching.

"You know, you haven't said the one thing I thought you would," Harvey said, turning his head so he was looking at Mike. He wanted to read his face.

"What thing?" Mike asked, shifting in his seat. His lips felt ridiculously dry.

"I smacked you," Harvey said, very matter of factly, refusing to break Mike's gaze. "You haven't said anything about it."

"I guess I deserved it," Mike said, trying to sound casual. His face flushed red, though, as he remembered his intense arousal.

"You most certainly did," Harvey said quietly, feeling his rage swell slightly. He pushed it down. There would be time to assuage it later. "That being said, it is not something your boss does every day. Did you not find it strange?"

Mike shrugged.

"I...er...it seemed like the kind of thing you would do?" Mike offered, with a shrug. "You're so bossy. And controlling."

"Thanks," Harvey said drily, feeling slightly smug. It was the kind of thing he would do. "Mike. Are you straight?"

And suddenly, Mike's heart was thudding faster than it ever had in his whole life. Harvey. Asking him if he was straight. Was...why would Harvey want to know? Mike had imagined this day ever since the moment he saw the gorgeous man stood there in his three piece suit. Mike had dreamed it, fantasised it, woken up hard about it. Mike wasn't gay, per se. He fancied women, and liked having sex with them. But...they didn't hold him for long. They were like lukewarm water on a hot day. Okay, but not what he really wanted. He'd tried, for Grammy, to find a girl that fit him well enough to settle with. But he just couldn't. He had never been able to love a girl. But he had loved a man. And it had been a kaleidoscope.

"Mike?"

Mike's eyes snapped to Harvey's. He'd been lost in his thoughts. And as Harvey met his gaze, Mike could see it. And he should have seen it before. But he hadn't, for a second, dared to hope. So of course he hadn't looked for it. Because what would Harvey want with him? He was just some rookie stoner kid, who didn't even graduate college.

"No," he managed to croak out. "No, I'm not."

They both sit in silence for a few moments. Harvey can hear Mike's heart thudding in his chest. Afterwards, they could never quite call it as to who moved first. But suddenly, they were kissing. Harvey was quick to dominate the kiss, bringing a rough hand up to grasp the back of Mike's head, the other hand curling tightly around the back of his neck. Mike allowed himself to be kissed, relishing the mint and coffee taste of Harvey and the way the man's hands were rough but made him feel safe.

Harvey broke the kiss off when he thought that his self-control was waning. It would not do to have things barrel on too fast, before they were sure what they both wanted. He could so easily fuck Mike, right here, right now, but he knew that this was too precious to mess up. Mike was too precious.

Mike looked at him, with big blue eyes full of elation and lust, and Harvey swallowed harshly. Jesus.

"I...er…wow…" Mike mumbled as Harvey shifted slightly away from him. Mike knew what he was doing. Mike, too, sensed that they were standing on the brink of losing control.

"You have no idea," Harvey said slowly, looking Mike straight in the eye. "How long I have wanted to do that."

"One thousand, seven hundred and eighty two hours," Mike replied, his heart fluttering at that statement. And there he had been, trying to conceal his crush, when all along Harvey had felt the same! "That's how long I wanted you to do that."

"The day we met?" Harvey asked, a wry smile dancing across his lips. God, that kid had needed to be taken in hand so bad.

"The day we met," Mike nodded, smiling back.

"We need to talk," Harvey said, ready to say his piece. "About what it is that you want. I want you. I want you in whatever capacity I can have you. But what do you want, Mike? I'm assuming you're bi. I'm not. I don't need open options."

"Sort of...but not really," Mike said quietly, flushing slightly. He'd always been embarrassed by his feelings, always wondered why one attraction was so much more potent that the others. "I...I want to be with...a man. With. You."

Harvey was finding it hard not to smile. For someone with such a brilliant mind, Mike sure was lost for words.

"Good," Harvey said. "I will tell you what I ideally want, but I don't want an answer from you right now. I want you to have time to think, process and test the idea out to see if that is what you want. Okay?"

Mike nodded his agreement. His fingers were trying to work a hole in his sweats as he pulled at loose threads nervously. Harvey's hand touched his, stilling his fingers. It felt so good, to have his hands so gently on Mike's.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I like to be in charge," Harvey said with a wry grin. He began subconsciously tracing circles on the back of Mike's hand, both to reassure the boy and himself. "That translates into my relationships. Typically, I engage in dom and sub relationships, where I'm the dom. It's not the kind of thing where I control your life and you're some kind of a slave. It's more like...I want to look after you. You are mine and I want you to know that. If I tell you something, you do it. And obviously it's not things like do the cleaning, or take out the rubbish. Like I said, it's not a slave thing. It's just a...power thing. If you're mine, I need to know that you will obey me and that you will do as I say. If you don't, I punish you. If you do, you'll like the results. And if, at any point, you're not comfortable with something, all you have to do is tell me. The most important thing to me is looking after my sub. That's all that matters."

Mike was feeling a whole cacophony of emotions. The strongest was jealousy. He didn't like the idea that other people had been Harvey's in that way. That Harvey had referred to someone else as his, that Harvey had found looking after someone else the most important thing. He was also feeling aroused. The idea of belonging to Harvey was kind of hot. And the word punishment sent a thrill down his spine. But also, it was confusing. What if he didn't like being bossed around? Although, Harvey did that anyway, thinking about it. But what if-

"Mike, don't think about it now," Harvey said, stilling the thoughts in his head by putting a gentle hand on his cheek. "I want you to consider it properly. I'm not forcing anything. I want to be with you, anyway. Whatever you choose. To be with you, I would forgo that side of the relationship. Really, I would. But I think that you need to think about it, because I think that it's the kind of relationship that would benefit you. Take today for example. If you'd known that you would have to come home and face me, do you think you would have made the same bad choices?"

Mike bit his lip and shook his head slowly, the shame for his actions rising up again. Still, though, he reassured himself. At least he hadn't lost Harvey. That had been the worst part of it all. Thinking he had lost Harvey.

"Okay, so think about it," Harvey said softly. "You have as long as you want. We can talk all you like. But for now...I want to deal with what happened today."

"I am really sorry…" Mike broke out, perturbed by the sudden edge in Harvey's voice.

"I think you probably are," Harvey said slowly. "But that doesn't change anything. You did what you always do, and took the easy option. There were a million other things you could have done, but you didn't. For one thing, I told you that your drug test would be clean. You didn't believe me. If you'd believed in me a little more, you would have been able to tell Louis to shove off. You could also have called Donna, because you know she is always able to get a hold of me. But you didn't want to, did you? Part of you wanted to do it, didn't you? Louis just dangled it in front of you."

"I…" Mike coughed. His cheeks were burning and he felt like a chastised child. And it was true. He hadn't fought very hard to get out of it. He missed weed. It made him feel a little less...strung out.

"We had a deal," Harvey said, his voice brittle. "And you disobeyed me. I didn't make that rule up for fun, Mike. I know what drugs can do to a person. I know what they did to you. They kept you, stuck in this box, wasting away your brilliant mind. You were ruining yourself, Mike, and every time you slip, you're doing it more. You aren't in the same place anymore. You're not a bike courier. You can't just slip anymore. You'll lose everything. That's why I said no more weed. Not because I'm boring."

Mike didn't have a response to that. His ears were burning, and his face was burning, and he just wanted a hole in the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

"I am furious," Harvey continued. "I risked everything because I wanted to give you a way back into the world where you belong. I put my job on the line every day for you, because I want you to achieve everything that you can. And yet - I want it more than you. You need to buck your ideas up, kid."

"I know," Mike mumbled, because he felt like Harvey wanted him to say something. "I'm so sorry. I - I just...messed up."

"Yes, you did," Harvey said tightly. "Now. I know what I said, and I know I said you could have time to think about the dimensions our relationship might take. That being said, this issue is separate from that and needs to be dealt with. I need to make sure that you never do that again. I need to make sure you know how strongly I feel about you making the right choices. And this is separate from our relationship. As your boss, as your friend, I need to know that you're not going to smoke weed again. So. I'm going to punish you."

He didn't phrase it as a question, because he could tell that Mike was in overload with everything that was happening. If he gave him an option, Mike would spend the whole night panicking about what the right choice would be. And, if he gave him an option, Mike might decide no and then Harvey would struggle to move past what Mike had done. If he had been punished for it, Harvey would be able to move on. If he hadn't, he would struggle to forgive him. And he didn't want Mike to think he could get away with smoking weed around him, whether that was as his boss, friend or...something more.

Mike had been somewhat expecting this from the moment Harvey had smacked him in his office. It seemed the logical conclusion. And for his part, Mike was wracked with guilt and if getting punished could make it go away, he was game. He just felt so awful. He felt like he had betrayed Harvey, like he had let him down after everything the man had done for him. He would do his penance, if it earnt him forgiveness.

He nodded, swallowing

"Okay," he said, sounding more convinced than he felt. "Yeah. Okay."

"Would you be happy to relocate?" Harvey asked, with another disparaging glance around the flat. "I'm sure you won't want to be alone when I'm through with you, and there is no way in hell I am sleeping here. I might get bed bugs. Or diptheria."

"I don't have bed bugs," Mike grumbled, but he agreed. Something told him that Harvey would throw a nuclear level tantrum if he had to sleep at Mike's.

-

In the car on the way to Harvey's, Harvey told Mike that he was going to be spanked, and that he could safe word (they had agreed on diptheria) out if he needed to. But Harvey had been clear. The safe word was only to be used if Mike felt like Harvey was being too hard on him.

"You'll want to say it after the first few slaps," Harvey informed him, with a devilish grin. "But it's not going to help if you do that. You need to accept, in your mind, that however much it hurts, you deserve it. The safe word is precautionary. I don't expect you to use it, because I know what is and isn't too much."

-

And that is the story of how Mike found himself at Harvey's apartment, standing in front of him as the man lectured him like a small child. By the time the lecture was over, Mike was practically on the verge of tears. But he had decided that he wasn't going to cry. However much it hurt, he wasn't going to cry. He was going to take it like a man, to show Harvey he was brave and sorry for what he had done.

Harvey could tell that the boy felt awful for his actions. He was stood in front of him with his hands clasped together, his head bent dejectedly and eyes that looked suspiciously watery. Tiredly, Harvey wished they could skip out this bit and move to the bed where he could cuddle the little monster until everything felt better. But he couldn't. He felt too strongly about this. Whether Mike opted for the dom sub relationship or not, this weed thing could never happen again. He needed to make an impression that would last.

He reached out and wrapped his fingers around Mike's wrist, lightly tugging him until the boy was right by his needs. Wordlessly, he gestured. Mike baulked, but then slowly bent forwards and allowed Harvey to guide him over his knee. Harvey made sure that his body was rested on the sofa and reached behind his, pushing Mike a pillow to wrap his arms around.

"Do I need to recap what we're doing here?" Harvey asked, his tone gentler than it had been before, trying to reassure the boy slightly.

"No sir," Mike whispered, burying his face in the cushion. The sir didn't sound foreign to either of them. It fit. "I smoked pot when I promised you I wouldn't. It's bad for me and it can ruin my life, and I should have done as you asked."

Harvey felt an extreme swell of pride for Mike's answer. He hadn't asked for an explanation, but Mike had given one, willingly admitting his wrongs. He rewarded the boy by stroking his fingers through his hair, as reluctant to get started as Mike was for him to start.

He stroked for a few more moments, then, determined to get it over with, steeled himself and removed his hand. He placed it on Mike's bottom and tried not to think about the fact that he was finally getting to touch the ass he'd been admiring for so many weeks. There would be time for touching later. Right now, it just needed roasting.

Harvey drew his hand back and brought it down sharply against Mike's ass. Mike jerked slightly and squeaked into the pillow, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. That had hurt. More than he had been expecting. Harvey's hand was hard. But on the other hand, Harvey's thighs were warm and muscular underneath him and Mike quite liked that. He was both loving and hating his position. And he moved a little more towards the hating side as Harvey smacked him again...and again.

Harvey began to bring his hand down in a steady rhythm, covering the whole of Mike's sweat pant clad butt with hard spanks. Mike was doing well, staying quite still over his lap and whimpering quietly to himself. Usually, Harvey would lecture during a spanking. But today he opted for silence. If he was right, this was Mike's first spanking, and it would be an overwhelming enough experience as it was. For now, the spanks could do the talking.

Harvey delivered a good thirty solid smacks to his rear end before Mike began rethinking his resolve not to cry. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but it wasn't this. His ass was literally on fire. All of it hurt. It was like...burning your hand on a hot drink, over and over and over again. And he felt ashamed, and embarrassed, and annoyed with himself. And fuck it hurt.
Mike blinked away the tears and tried to breathe.

Breathing became a lot harder when, unannounced, Harvey hooked his fingers into the waistband of Mike's sweats and yanked them down to his knees. Mike baulked, and put his hand on Harvey's knee to try and push himself up.

"No!" he protested as Harvey grabbed his wrist and pushed it away so he couldn't get up. With his other hand, he grabbed Mike's black boxers and did the same. Mike suddenly felt exposed. And a tiny bit horny. "Harvey!"

"Do you deserve this spanking, Mike?" Harvey asked smoothly, his thoughts clouded. Mike's ass looked good in trousers, but fuck did it look naked. Naked, with the Harvey's handprints all over it. It was so...round. Mike was so skinny, but his ass hadn't got the memo. Harvey shut his eyes and tried to focus.

"Y...yes…" Mike mumbled begrudgingly. This was not the way he had fantasised Harvey first seeing his ass. And he was sure that Harvey's hand was going to hurt so much more on bare skin.

"Then let's get this over with," Harvey said, running his hand across the warm skin. Mike's ass was only a light shade of pink, but Harvey was nearly done. He knew that limits needed to be worked on. If he went too hard, Mike wouldn't be able to cope. The act of the spanking itself would be enough to warn Mike off future behaviours, he was sure. He could tell by the tone of the man's voice and the hunch in his shoulders that the embarrassment of being across someone's knee was deterrent enough. "You're doing so well, Mike. So well. I'm proud of you."

Mike felt a swell of happiness at those words, which was dispelled as soon as Harvey's hand came crashing down on his unprotected backside. It hurt so much more than it had with trousers on. It was like he was being hit by a bus. Or something like that.

Harvey delivered ten firm and stinging swats to each of Mike's cheeks in quick succession, and the burn was too much. Tears leaked out of the sides of Mike's eyes and he bucked a little, crying out. Harvey put his spare hand on the small of Mike's back, to reassure him and to keep him down.

"Ah...please...Harvey...please…" Mike choked out as Harvey began to smack the area of his ass where his butt met thigh and the skin was tender. The smacks were almost unbearable.

"No point begging," Harvey said, trying to maintain his stern demeanor even though the kid's teary voice nearly broke him. This was unusual for him. He'd been able to spank everyone else in his life without feeling a hint of emotion. With Mike, it was tidal waves. "I'll keep going until I know you've been punished enough."

Mike buried his face fully into the pillow and held on tightly as Harvey began to deliver the hardest swats yet to the tender area. Mike screwed his hands up into fists so tightly he thought he might break his fingers, trying not to beg again as the smacks became faster. Harvey peppered Mike's whole backside with swats, a lot lighter than he could have done, watching as it deepened to a more reddish pink. Harvey could feel Mike's semi pressing against his thigh and tried not to think on it. Tonight was not the night.

He raised his hand and brought it down as hard as he could, causing Mike to yelp and throw his head back in surprise. Harvey finished with four more punishing swats and then brought his hand back down to rest on Mike's butt. The skin was warm to touch, and Harvey knew his point had been made.

He allowed Mike to lay across his lap and cry himself out. He rubbed small circles on his back as he cried, and used the other hand to stroke his hair. And Mike, for his part, felt ridiculous. He was a grown man who had just been spanked like a baby. His butt stang, he was crying and...he felt strangely safe. Harvey's hands on him were gentle now, comforting. He felt like he was cared for. Looked after. Like he was anchored again. Oddly, given his position, he was at peace. He hadn't felt like that in as long as he could remember.

When he sensed that Mike had calmed down, Harvey gently pulled the man's boxers back over his pink backside, but pushed the sweatpants down fully so Mike could pull his legs out of them. Then he used his hands to guide Mike up and into his arms. Mike buried his face against Harvey's neck and Harvey inhaled the scent of him, smiling at the boy's messy hair tickled his ear.

"I'm really sorry, Harvey," Mike mumbled in his ear. He suddenly felt uncontrollably sleepy. All the crying and wriggling had quite taken it out of him. And it had been a long day. "Really sorry. I am."

"I know, kid," Harvey said, his voice gentle as he gave Mike a squeeze. "You are forgiven. But if you do it again, so help me."

"So will not help you," Mike whispered, shutting his eyes. Sensing the kid was seconds from dropping, Harvey stood slowly, pulling Mike up with him. He walked him through to the bedroom, and stopped at the edge of the bed.

"Crawl in," Harvey instructed gently, reaching around Mike and pulling the covers back. "You'll need to sleep on your stomach."

"Yes, stomach," Mike agreed, crawling across the bed and lying down on the far side. He stretched a hand out and patted the space next to him.

"I should sleep on the sofa," Harvey said, but he wasn't convicted. He didn't really see why he should. They had kissed after all. And it wasn't like he was going to jump Mike in the middle of the night. He just wanted to be close to him.

"No," Mike whined, too tired to open his eyes. "You just beat me. The least...you can do...is cuddle me...What kind of...sadist are you?"

Trying to contain a chuckle, and relieved at the fact that Mike clearly still wanted him despite the punishment, Harvey peeled his suit off and changed into a fresh pair of boxers. He slid into bed next to Mike, who wriggled like a worm until he was pressed right up against Harvey. He was lying on his side, and threw an arm over Harvey's body. Grinning, a powerful sensation of happiness blooming in his chest, Harvey tucked his arm around Mike, pulling the boy even more tightly against his side.

"Night night," Harvey whispered.

"I brought the bed bugs with me," Mike whispered back. "They were on my clothes."

Harvey rolled his eyes. The kid never missed an opportunity to wind him up.