Thank you all for your patience and your wonderful comments! I always look forward to hearing from everyone! I am very sorry for the usual long delay. Things are happening now, though, and it's gonna be a bumpy ride!

Harvey didn't want Mike to know about Scott. He definitely didn't want him to know about their altercation in the conference room. But with the glass walls and Scott's words to the kid out by the coffee cart, Harvey realized it would be near impossible to keep it a secret.

When Mike came back up he looked darkly pensive. His eyes met Harvey's through the glass and he didn't budge.

Donna said something to him. Harvey couldn't hear it but he could see her lips moving. He could feel himself holding his breath as he watched and waited, every muscle tense in the terrifying reality that Mike could very well turn around and go find Scott.

And then his office door was being pulled open and Mike was standing in front of his desk. He looked nervous and anxious. "Donna said you talked to Jessica?"

Harvey could still feel the coil of nerves inside as he nodded. "I did. You're now an official employee of Pearson Hardman. Congratulations!" he said, forcing everything unpleasant behind a stone wall in his mind. He didn't want to think about Scott. He just wanted to tell Mike the good news. That he was staying here. Staying with Harvey. He flashed him a grin.

It seemed to be infectious, because Mike relaxed a little and gave a slow grin in return. "Awesome."

Harvey raised an eyebrow. "Just 'awesome'? You've got the entire Oxford English Dictionary memorized and readily available in your head and all you can think of to say is 'awesome'?"

Mike gave a laugh and sank into a chair. "Yeah. Like, stuffed crust levels of awesome."

"That's it. You're fired," Harvey joked with a straight face.

It was a testament to how comfortable Mike felt with him that he only laughed. "Hey, if you fire me I can file for unemployment. So I can still get that pizza," he grinned.

Harvey relaxed into his chair as they continued to celebrate with cheerful quips and quotes. He let himself forget about Scott and enjoy the moment with Mike. Of course he never really forgot about that poor excuse for a human being. Not really. But for now he'd try his best to keep Mike smiling. He loved that smile. It was the first thing he'd seen of Mike. That hesitant smile from the battered boy in the tattered clothes in his hallway. And he was going to keep him safe from that monster.

That night they went home with Mike's favorite heart failure-inducing pizza, just to celebrate, and Harvey nervously eyed Scott's door. He noticed that Mike was purposely not looking at it, eyes focused on Harvey's front door all the way in.

They changed out of their suits and settled on the couch. As Harvey handed Mike a slice of the pie, the tension in the room had grown stifling. "So tomorrow… I'll be at court all day. Did you want to come with? There's nothing for you to do at the office yet." He wanted him close.

"I don't need a babysitter, Harvey," Mike said, mouth full of pizza. "I'll just stay in, I guess. As long as you don't freak out like you did last time."

"Well you did manage to injure yourself without my supervision."

Mike didn't laugh at his joke but looked rather indignant. "I'm not a child. I'm an adult. And I'm perfectly capable of making rational decisions."

Harvey was tense again by the time Mike was finished. This wasn't how he had wanted things to go. He was going to take the kid out originally. Not just get him cheap pizza. He had wanted to go out on their first real date. But of course Scott was there to poison everything. And he had a feeling Mike's attitude had very much to do with his encounter by the coffee cart earlier.

"Is this about something I did?" Harvey asked him with care.

"Just...go to court," Mike snapped irritably. "I'll be okay. You can call me anytime."

Harvey gave him a worried frown. It was because he was worried about Mike being so close to Scott with no one there to protect him. But Mike must have thought it was for his harsh tone because a moment later he felt Mike's hand on his arm.

"Harvey. I'll be fine. Really. I didn't want to make you upset. I just don't want you to have to worry about me all the time. If I need you for anything, I promise I'll call you."

It was slightly reassuring. But Harvey had little choice but to accept. He wearily gave in and nodded before he leaned in to kiss Mike. "Okay."

Mike returned his kiss, much to Harvey's relief and pleasure. And the kid's hand was on his chest, sliding down to slip beneath Harvey's shirt. And then Mike pulled back, a blush on his cheeks. "Sorry."

Harvey pulled him back in, a tender smile on his lips. "Don't be. We'll take it slow."

Mike smiled back, eyes meeting his now, and he returned his hand and his lips to their former position.

Their pizza grew cold as they took pleasure in each other's company until finally they fell onto the couch together.

"This is ridiculous," Harvey growled in frustration as they started to settle there. "My couch is getting grooves in it from us sleeping on it." He had spent quite a bit on that sofa, and it had been exactly shaped for his bottom before he had met Mike. Now it was molded for a completely different use and he hardly ever used it to watch TV anymore. He was always too occupied with Mike now.

His frustration only made Mike laugh. "But this way I get to sleep next to you."

And Harvey's lungs were suddenly empty, his stomach clenched, and his heart stopped. And then the world was rushing back in again, blood pumping cacophonously in his ears. A wide smile spread slowly across his face from ear to ear. He kissed Mike again, just a tender press of their lips, and said, "Come to bed with me."

"What happened to 'we'll take it slow'?" Mike gave a soft laugh, as if he was afraid Harvey wasn't being serious.

"Just to bed," Harvey said. "Sleep with me."

And Harvey's heart began to beat frantically as Mike's smile mirrored his own. "You had better mean that, or else that was the worst solicitation for sex I've ever heard."

Harvey laughed as they moved into his bedroom. He knew there was still the elephant in the room looming over their future, but for now he was content to let things be again. He pulled Mike close to him as they settled in for bed.

I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are welcome and very greatly enjoyed and appreciated. :D