Warnings: slash, mild violence, h/c

Author notes: This was written for the suits xmas exchange at livejournal. A big thanks to my beta reader noteto_self who did a fantastic job and helped me a great deal.

Just a little too late

Mike could not believe that Mr. Jones wanted to meet him here. This had to be the worst part in all of New York. No scratch that, this had to be the worst part of the whole country. Mike had never seen anything more rundown or sleazy than this. Even the taxi driver, who had clearly seen a lot during his career, took off quickly as soon as Mike was out of the car. Slowly, he made his way over to the crappy apartment building where he was expected to meet Mr. Jones. He was their newest client and he had implicitly told Mike to meet him there, to show him the area where he wanted to built his new industry. Of course the residents weren't as pleased as Jones with this idea.

As he crossed the street, he noticed a group of boys blasting music and hanging out on the sidewalk. None of them looked too friendly and it seemed that at least three of them were on drugs. Intuitively, Mike started to walk faster. Today of all days, Harvey had decided to let him handle the client on his own. Mike just hoped Jones would be there on time. He really didn't want to stay longer than necessary.

Suddenly, his cell phone rang. After a look at the caller ID, Mike sighed.

"Hello, Mr. Jones," he answered politely.

"Mr. Ross," the deep voice of Jones said, "I'm really sorry, but I have to reschedule our meeting for another time. I can't make it today."

'Just great!'After Mike had ensured the client that it was no problem at all (and really who was he kidding?), he put away his phone with a frustrated groan. Mike turned around and looked at the street. No way he was going to get a cab here; so he took out his phone again and dialled Harvey's number.

"What?" Harvey snapped.

"Wow, you sound cheerful today", Mike answered sarcastically.

"What do you want, Mike? I'm really busy at the moment!"

"Well, Mr. Jones cancelled our meeting for today," Mike started to explain but Harvey cut him off.

"You just called to tell me that? This might come as a surprise to you, but I have real work to do, boy".

"Yes, I know that, Harvey," Mike said exasperatedly, rolling his eyes. "But you need to pick me up. No way I'm going to find a cab here. This place is bad, even for New Yorker standards."

"You're kidding, right?" Harvey asked irritated. "I don't have time to…"

"So just send Ray or whatever, I don't care," Mike interrupted.

"No, I need Ray myself. Just take the bus or whatever. I need to go now. And don't forget the briefs I gave you."

Before Mike could protest or say anything else, Harvey had hung up. 'Bastard,' Mike thought angrily. 'Just take the bus.' Right. Mike doubted that any bus ever stopped anywhere near this area. Because he didn't have another possibility, he started walking in the direction from where he'd came. He just needed to find the main road. There he could get a cab or take the subway. 'No problem,' he told himself as he walked past a shady figure that stood in a little alcove between two buildings. 'I'm going to be out of here in no time.'Unfortunately, the street was much longer on foot than it had seemed while he was in the cab. And it was getting darker in no time. Mike tried to ignore his surroundings and walked as quickly as he could when suddenly someone knocked into him.

"Hey! Watch where you're going," a tall guy grumbled. Mike held his breath; the guy reeked of alcohol. Behind him, Mike could make out two other men. One of them looked vaguely familiar. Apparently, the man also recognized Mike.

"Just look who we have here," he snarled at Mike. "If that isn't Mike Ross. What are you doing at a place like this? And all dressed up?" He looked up and down Mike's body, gesturing at his two thousand dollar suit that Harvey made him buy last month.

"I don't think that's any of your business," Mike responded more confidently than he felt. The wheels were turning in his head as he tried to remember where he knew this guy from.

"Well, that's sad, because me and my buddies here, we would really like to chat. You know, about your friend Trevor."

And Mike really should have seen that one coming. Sleazy place plus scary blokes equals Trevor.
"Look, I haven't seen Trevor in months," Mike said quickly to end this conversation as soon as possible.

"Oh yeah?" the third guy asks. "Aren't you his best bud? I'm sure you know where he is. He still owes us some money."

The men were coming closer now and Mike tried to back away, but there were three of them and only one of him.

"Maybe we should give him a message for Trevor," one of them suggested and pulled Mike closer by his jacket. "Tell your friend this is what happens to him if he doesn't bring us our money soon." Then he hit Mike in the face with a hard blow. The others were howling with laughter as Mike stumbled backwards. He tried to straighten up quickly only to be put on the ground again by another blow. This time his nose started bleeding and he could taste blood in his mouth. Mike's head hurt badly and his sight had turned a bit fuzzy. Soon the men started kicking him and his whole body hurt like hell.

Finally, the beatings stopped but Mike couldn't move. They left him there on his own, lying on the street. After a few minutes, Mike felt able to move again and searched for his phone, but as he pulled it out of his pocket he saw that it was completely smashed. When Mike tried to stand up, his world tilted and everything turned black as his head hit the pavement again.

Mike wasn't sure how much time had passed before he heard a familiar voice yelling. "Shit, Mike, What happened? Mike? Mike, answer me!" He felt people running around and screaming; or was it just one voice screaming? He couldn't tell. "Shit!" There it was again, this familiar voice. It sounded panicked and Mike wanted to say that everything was fine, but he felt he couldn't find his voice. All that came out was a painful moan. "Mike, stay with me," the voice said, and then louder "Call 911, Ray. Quick!"

Mike must have passed out again, because the next thing he remembers is this dazzling light and he was lying on something more soft than the ground. Around him, Mike slowly started to recognize the outlines of three people and he twitched, afraid that the men had come back for another go at him. But then his eyes slowly adapted to the light and he could make out the face of the person that was bending over him.

"Harvey?" he croaked.

Harvey looked down at him reassuringly, "It's okay, Mike. Don't worry! Everything will be okay. I'll make sure of it," he said calmly, but if Mike didn't know better, he would say that he heard a trace of worry in his voice.

"Where am I?" he asked him as he tried to make out his surroundings.

"You're in the ambulance. We're taking you to the hospital," Harvey answered, and Mike registered the two other people as paramedics. One of them now pushed Harvey out of Mike's view and started examining him more closely. However, Mike didn't really notice what the paramedic was doing to him. All he knew was that he couldn't see Harvey anymore.

"Harvey?" Mike croaked out anxiously.

"Yes, I'm here Mike," came the instant reply and finally he could see his face again.

"Stay with me, please!" Mike knew how vulnerable he sounded but he was hurting and he didn't want to be alone right now.

"I'm not going anywhere," Harvey responded and softly squeezed his arm. Relieved Mike relaxed and soon he drifted off again.

When he woke up the second time, there was only a little light in the room. Still, he recognized the hospital bed he was lying in. Mike's whole body was aching and as he tried to move his head to look around the room a small wave of nausea hit him. Harvey was sleeping in a chair next to his bed; his head was held up by his right hand, and his suit was completely rumpled. Mike looked over his sleeping face and was surprised at how peaceful Harvey looked. He was touched that his boss apparently had stayed at his side the whole time.

Slowly Harvey's eyes fluttered open and Mike secretly had to admit how adorable he was as he blearily took in his surroundings. Finally, Harvey's eyes fixed on Mike and as soon as he noticed that he was awake all the tiredness vanished from his face.

"You're awake," he stated the obvious. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," Mike admitted. "And my head feels like someone ran over it with a truck." Harvey stood up with a nod.

"I'd better get the doctor. He wanted to check on you when you woke up."

Determined, he left the room but quickly returned, followed by a doctor and a nurse. They asked Harvey to leave during the examination but Mike flinched at that and nearly begged them to let him stay. He probably hit his head harder than he thought. Of course, Harvey stayed, and the nurse smiled.

"He's really cute, your boyfriend," she said to Mike with a wink. "Nothing got him to leave your side this whole time."

Mike gave Harvey a thankful smile, deciding to ignore the boyfriend remark for the time being. And Harvey, to Mike's astonishment, blushed. Harvey Specter, New York's best attorney, cool in all situations, blushed. Incredible. Mike couldn't have stopped the grin on his face even if he tried.

After the examination, the doctor told him that he had a small concussion, a few broken rips and a lot of bruises. "But you should stay here overnight just to make sure that nothing else is damaged," the doctor advised when Mike wanted to go home immediately.

"I think you should listen to the doctor, Mike," Harvey said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Better be safe than sorry!" Mike nodded, too tired to argue.

Suddenly, another nurse entered the room. "If the patient is awake now, the police would like to talk to him," she said.

"Police?" Mike winced. He wasn't looking forward to describing every horrible detail of the night. "Can't I talk to them tomorrow?"

"Mike," Harvey started calmly, "It's best if you talk to them right now. When the memory is still fresh in your mind. Don't you think these guys deserve to be punished for what they did to you?"

Sighing, Mike let his head fall back onto his pillow. He knew Harvey was right. "Okay," Mike said after a long pause. "But would…" he swallowed, "would you stay with me when I talk to them?"

"Of course," Harvey answered immediately.

"Okay, I'll send them in now," the nurse said, having overheard their conversation.

Soon, Mike was facing two police officers, telling them what had happened. True to his word, Harvey was there the whole time. He put his hand on Mike's shoulder to squeeze it encouragingly and then simply left it there. Mike wasn't complaining; the warmth of Harvey's hand on his shoulder felt nice and it gave him the strength to tell every detail of the horrible night. After he had finished, Mike could feel Harvey's hand shaking against his shoulder with barely contained rage.

"They better wish they never meet me," he hissed angrily, so that the officers wouldn't hear him. Mike looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Harvey's concern made him feel oddly protected. Something he hadn't felt in a very long time.

After the police had left the room, Mike said to Harvey, "Thank you for staying with me this whole time."

"Well, it's my fault that you're in this mess," he looked at Mike apologetically. "I'm really sorry, Mike. I don't know what I would have done if you…and it would have been all my fault and…" He broke off and looked away.

"Hey," Mike said to him. "Look at me! This is not your fault! How could you know that these guys would attack me?"

"I should have picked you up immediately after you called. You even told me what a bad area you were in! But I didn't listen. I was too busy with my work."

"Harvey, it's okay. In the end it was you who found me. Why were you there anyway?" Mike asked, trying to change the subject and erase the guilt on Harvey's face.

"After you called, I finished my business faster than I'd anticipated so I told Ray to pick you up on our way back to the firm. I tracked the GPS on your phone, and when I saw the area you were in, and that you weren't moving anywhere, I started to worry. I know how bad that part of town is and I should have paid more attention to your concern, that's what makes this even worse."

"Harvey stop beating yourself up over this," said Mike, who couldn't bear to see his boss like this. "Just go home and get some sleep. You look horrible."

After Mike had done a lot of persuading, Harvey finally went home but he promised to come right back in the morning to pick him up. Before he left, Harvey took Mike's hand in his and squeezed it softly. "I'm really glad that you're okay," he said quietly and Mike's heart did a little skip.

The next morning, Harvey was there to pick him up. Like he was afraid that Mike would leave the hospital without him. This time, Harvey had driven there himself and as Mike slowly climbed into his car he asked, "Don't you have work today?"

"I took the rest of the week off," he replied as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. As it was Friday already this didn't mean much, but Mike had to calm his bouncing heart anyway.

During the drive Mike suddenly noticed that they weren't taking the right route to his apartment.
"My apartment is that way," Mike informed Harvey, but his boss only grinned at him.

"I'm not taking you to your apartment. You're staying with me until you're better," he said matter-of-factly.

"Harvey, you really don't have to do this. I'm fine. The whole thing was not your fault," Mike told him. He didn't want Harvey to feel obligated to take care of him out of guilt.

"The doctor said you shouldn't be alone right now. You need someone to take care of you," Harvey insisted.

"I just don't want to be a burden," Mike admitted quietly. Harvey turned to look at him, eyes going soft.

"You're not a burden. I would worry too much if I left you on your own." This was something Mike couldn't argue with anymore. This was the closest that Harvey ever got to admit he cared about Mike. A small smile spread out on the younger man's face.

"But I need some of my things first," he said.

"You can tell me what you need and I'm going to pick it up for you later. Right now you need to rest", Harvey replied with a voice that wasn't open for further arguments.

When they entered Harvey's condo, Harvey told Mike to make himself comfortable on the couch. Then, to Mike's astonishment, he started to prepare a proper breakfast as if he knew that Mike hardly touched the food at the hospital. While Mike lay on the couch, turning on the TV and Harvey was in the kitchen preparing the food, he had to admit that he liked how domesticated the whole situation felt.

After they had eaten breakfast, Harvey leaned back into the couch and took a considering look at Mike. "What?" asked Mike as he put his plate down on the table.

"It's just…I mean are you okay? Maybe we should talk about what happened," Harvey said cautiously.

Mike winced. What was there to talk about? He didn't even want to think about it. Quickly, he replied, "I'm fine, okay? And you heard everything I said to the police, yesterday. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I just want to forget about it and move on!"

Harvey sighed. "Alright! But if you ever want to talk, I'm here."

Mike spend most of the day napping on the couch.

In between naps, Harvey made sure he that he took the painkillers that the doctor had given to him. In the late afternoon Harvey joined him on the couch and they quietly watched TV. Before that, he had driven to Mike's apartment to get the things he needed for the night.

In the evening Harvey started to cook them some dinner and Mike, who was tired of lying down all day, decided to help. Although his cracked ribs still ached whenever he breathed, the painkillers were finally working on his pounding head so he was able to move into the kitchen and lean against the counter.

"What can I do to help," he asked Harvey, who looked up from his work at Mike's words.

"Nothing. Just go and lie down," was the reply.

Mike sighed. "Harvey, I don't want to lie down right now, I'm fine. I'm bored and I want to help, please." He looked at Harvey with big eyes and the older man laughed.

"You really are a puppy," he said. "Okay, fine. You can make the salad."

Mike beamed at him and started to slice the cucumber. "I didn't even know you could cook," Mike said conversationally and Harvey snorted.

"There's a lot you don't know about me!" Harvey answered and glanced at Mike out of the corner of his eye.

It was a nice evening, Harvey really could cook. The food was delicious. During dinner, they talked about anything but work, which Mike was secretly thankful for. This way he got to see a side of Harvey he hadn't seen before. Harvey was so relaxed and open and conversation was easy between them. As the evening continued, Mike started to wish that it could always be like this between them. It almost felt as if they were friends or maybe…maybe even something more. But Mike knew that wasn't possible. Harvey was his boss and soon everything would be back to normal. This connection he felt to him now would certainly be gone and Harvey would go back to being his normal, distant self.

During the night Mike couldn't sleep. He woke up after having relived the memory of the attack in his dreams, only this time Harvey was there and couldn't reach him in time. After that, he moved from the guestroom into Harvey's living room and looked out the big glass window into the night. Mike must have lost track of time, watching the city lights, because suddenly there was a soft touch on his shoulder, making him jerk. When he saw in the reflection that it was just Harvey, Mike calmed down.

"What are you doing up at this time?" Harvey's voice asked softly.

"I could ask you the same thing," Mike replied.

Harvey chuckled, "I couldn't sleep."

"Me neither."

"Is it because of the pain?" Harvey asked worriedly and Mike finally turned to look at him.

"No, I'm fine. The painkillers are still working. It's just that I…I had a nightmare and now I can't sleep," he admitted.

Harvey sighed. "I'm really sorry!"

"We've been through that already, Harvey. It's not your fault," Mike said, stressing each word.

"No, that's not what I…I just mean that…You don't know what it felt like to find you. I really thought that you…And only then I realized that…God, Mike" he broke off and ran his fingers through his hair, obviously frustrated that he didn't know how to explain himself. But Mike thought he understood him anyway. Slowly he took Harvey's hand, that was still in his hair, into his own. Then, even slower, Mike moved forward and put his lips on Harvey's. His heart was beating loudly in his chest but he had only a second to be worried before Harvey responded and kissed him back. The kiss was slow and soft and Mike couldn't get enough. After a while Harvey slowly pulled back but he rested his forehead against Mike's.

"Wow," Mike let slip. Harvey chuckled and his free hand started to caress Mike's cheek, "And I always thought you were completely straight," Mike said without thinking.

"Well, apparently I'm not," Harvey replied with a grin and moved in to kiss him again. This time the kiss was more passionate and both of them were soon gasping for air. Harvey moved his arms around Mike's body and drew him in even closer. Mike let out a hiss, the movement and pressure of Harvey's arms causing his broken ribs to hurt. Immediately, Harvey let go of him.

"Shit, I'm sorry," he said.

"I'm fine," Mike insisted and kissed him again. He didn't want this moment to stop. Harvey kissed him back shortly but then he drew away again. He chuckled at Mike's pout. "We should slow down. I don't want to hurt you." Obviously, the disappointed must have shown on his face because Harvey added, "We have time enough for that once your better again." Mike smiled happily. "Okay," he said and gave him a kiss, just because he could now.

After that Harvey took him to his bed. Just to sleep! The nightmare didn't recur that night and he was fast asleep in Harvey's arms.

Epilogue

Three month after the assault Mike moved in with Harvey for real. It just didn't make any sense to keep his apartment as he was at Harvey's most of the time anyway. Their relationship at work didn't change much and Mike was glad about that. He didn't want any favours from Harvey just because he was his boyfriend now.
However, they had the rule to not talk about work during their free time. This worked fine for both of them. This way they had a clear distinction from their private life and their work life.

Mike was lazing about on the couch and watching 'X Factor'. Harvey still wasn't home, and Mike assumed that his evening meeting with the other senior partners had run late. Since Mike wasn't allowed to use the kitchen by himself anymore, after nearly setting the stove on fire trying to surprise Harvey, he'd ordered a pizza that had yet to arrive.

"What the hell are you watching?" came Harvey's amused voice from the doorway. He must have been standing there quite some time, watching him on the couch. Mike turned his head and grinned at his boyfriend.

"Hey, this show isn't as bad as you think. It's really great," Mike insisted. Harvey only snorted.

"Yeah, sure," he said sarcastically. Mike smiled at him and held out his hand. "Come watch with me! Then you can see for yourself. I already ordered us some pizza." Grinning Harvey came over and took his hand. Mike pulled him down next to him on the couch. Harvey took off his jacket, loosened his tie and laid back. He moved his arm around Mike who put his head on his shoulder. For a few moments they watched the show in comfortable silence, just enjoying each others company.

"How did you go at the police station today?" Harvey broke the silence after a while, knowing Mike had gone in to identify his assailants earlier.

"It was okay. I'm just glad that they finally have them," Mike answered. He knew how much Harvey hated that he hadn't been able to come with him, but Mike knew he had an important meeting today that couldn't be rescheduled.

"Me too," Harvey admitted. "I hope they rot in jail for the rest of their lives." Then, after a pause, "I was so worried that day I found you. That's when I realized how completely in love with you I am."

Surprised, Mike turned his head and looked him in the eyes. It was the first time that Harvey told him that, although Mike had always known, or at least hoped, that he felt that way. It still made him unbearably happy to hear him say it now. Smiling, he leant in to kiss Harvey.

"I love you too," he whispered against his lips. Harvey's smile matched his as he put his arms around him and pulled him in closer to deepen the kiss. When they both turned to look at the television again, Mike snuggled close to Harvey, the older man said suddenly, "You know, this show really isn't that bad!" Mike laughed.