Flames

This is a two-shot(different stories, however) for EarthtoAlex who missed the prompt deadlines for 25 days… and I really liked her ideas. Hope you like it!

He woke to the smell of something burning. Surely he didn't leave the stove on…and he remembered putting out his joint in the toilet. Yes, getting high was risky with the job that he has now, but he's been going through a ton of shit. His Grammy's death being one of them. Mike blinked open his eyes and pushed himself into a sitting position on his couch. Scanning the room, it looked like everything seemed to be fine; must be some leftover smoke in the air. He closed his eyes and wiped his face tiredly; Harvey was right, he really needed to pull his shit together. Coughing, Mike opened his eyes again and looked at his watch.

"Shit!" He scrambled off the couch and ran to his closet. Harvey is gonna have his ass for being two hours late for work. In five minutes, he was grabbing his bike and heading for the door. He was in such a rush that he didn't even realize how hot it was or hear the faint sirens outside. And just as he opened the door he was met with growing flames engulfing the hallway. He could hear screams coming from inside other apartments and the heat of the fire making him sweat profusely. Mike paled as he began to back up into his apartment and head for the windows. But at that moment, he heard cracking coming from overhead and his ceiling caved in, things from the apartment above falling through…things that were on fire.

"Fuck." Now he was screwed…and trapped. There was no way out. The smoke began to enter his apartment causing Mike to cough and back up against his couch. The heat was nearly unbearable and his eyes were starting to burn. Another part of the ceiling started to fall and he jumped to the side just as the beam fell mere inches from where he was standing. It was getting harder to breathe, tears were filling his stinging eyes, and he felt like being in an oven. All exits were blocked and there was no way he was getting out of here alive. He was dying today…and he always thought Harvey would be the one to kill him.

~+SUITS+~

Harvey tapped his foot impatiently as Ray drove down the street in the shitty New York traffic. And he wouldn't be in the shitty New York traffic if Mike wasn't two hours late for work. When he reached that kid, he was gonna strangle him; Mike knew how important this client was to him and now they probably got fired…and that is what's gonna happen to Mike if he didn't have a good explanation for being late.

"Oh no." Ray said, slowing down.

Harvey perked up and frowned as he leaned forward to look through the windshield. What he saw made his heart stop; fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars were crowded around an apartment consumed in flames…Mike's apartment that was in flames. This would probably be a good explanation. Frantic, he dialed Mike's number, silently praying the kid was alright…but no one answered.

"Dammit Mike." This couldn't mean what he thought it meant. Mike couldn't be dead. He swung open the car door and bolted outside, pushing past the onlookers. Mike can't be dead, Mike can't be dead, please don't let Mike be dead. Just as he got next to a fire truck, the crowd started screaming causing him to stop and look up. Now he felt like he wanted to puke; the building was collapsing in on itself, the fire eating it up.

"No, no, no." He had to see if Mike was okay. He dialed the kid's number again as he quickly began walking towards the building. And he still got voicemail. "Come on, kid answer the phone." He stalked up to a fire-fighter who was on his walkie-talkie staring up at the building.

"Hey!" He shouted over the crowd and sirens. "Did you get anyone out yet?"

The fire-fighter looked down at him and nodded. "A few people. Is someone you know live here?"

"Yeah um…my associate; he has blonde hair, skinny, wearing a suit. Have you seen him anywhere?"

Under the hat shading his face, Harvey could see the man pale. "What? What is it?"

"Um…I'm not sure if you want to hear this but…my guys pulled out a guy matching his description. He was nearly all charred up; I'm sorry, sir."

Harvey swallowed as he fell back against a nearby car. This couldn't be happening; Mike- the guy he considered a little brother- was dead just like that. He wiped a shaky hand down his face as his breathing became erratic. Donna wasn't going to-

"Harvey?"

The man's heart leapt to his throat as he pushed himself away from the vehicle and turned around. That voice sounded so familiar, but Mike was dead right? Maybe he was just imagining things.

"Harvey!" He scanned the crowd and sure enough he saw Mike sitting in the back of the ambulance, face a bit blackened from soot, and wrapped in a blanket. Relief filled his entire body; he was finally able to breathe. Mike was alive and that's all he cared about at the moment. A small smile formed on his mouth as he quickly ran over to the kid.

"Mike!"

"H-Harvey?" Mike coughed. "What are you doing here?"

"Coming to bring your ass into work…but it seems that you've got other things on your mind."

"Yeah," Mike laughed humorlessly. "I can't believe it…I lost everything."

"Look on the bright side, now you can live in a decent apartment."

Mike barely smiled; there was no bright side to this. Everything that his grandmother owned and the only picture of his family had been in there. It really sucked ass.

"You okay?" Harvey said as he sat down next to his associate.

"Not really." Mike pulled the blanket tighter around him. Despite feeling like he just came out of an oven, he was so cold. He wiped his nose on his sleeve as he looked up at his destroyed building with a shudder.

Without thinking, Harvey placed a hand on the kid's back which earned him a confused glance. But he didn't say anything…yet. "It'll be okay, kid, I promise. You can stay at my place if you want."

Mike smiled weakly. "Thanks Harvey."

"Doesn't mean you'll live there forever like we're a married couple."

Rolling his eyes, Mike chuckled. "You know…it sounds a lot like you care."

The smile disappeared from Harvey's face. "Alright, if you tell anyone I said this I'll deny it and I will kill you, but yeah I was worried like crazy; I thought you were dead, kid."

"You know, I thought I was too. I actually don't even remember how I got out."

"You don't remember? That's a first."

"Yeah…I was trapped- both exits were blocked. I fell to the ground and that was it; I honestly thought I was gonna die."

"Well, you're not getting away from me that easily."

"Lucky me."

Harvey chuckled as he playfully pushed Mike to the side. He was never gonna take the kid for granted ever again.

FIN