The Suits Network

Dec 09, 2011 11:40

Title: The Suits Network
Author: tafidadarling
Fandom: Crossover between The Social Network and Suits. (Yes, I was so creative with the title.)
Characters/Pairings: Mark/Eduardo, Harvey/Mike, Mike/Eduardo and mentions of pretty much all the characters from the movie and show.
Rating: FRM for language, heavy suggestive themes, and alcohol/drug use.
Word Count: 11,823
Spoilers: The movie The Social Network and up to and including 1x04 Bail Out.
Summary: New York City’s best closer Harvey Specter disagrees with his associate Mike Ross’s intentions to represent Eduardo Saverin who is suing his best friend. To solve an office spat over an office spat, Harvey calls up Mark Zuckerberg and offers his help pro-bono.
Notes: Wrote this for the TSN-a-thon months ago. I kind have stopped posting fic to my journal on here, but I'm going to try and start being good, posting my bigger stories here.

Posted to mark_eduardo, socialnetwrkfic, and suits_slash.


Eduardo usually left his night class around 9 p.m. Calculating the distance from economics building to his dorm, he would be in his room by 9:13 p.m. exactly. If Mark’s date with Erica was going smoothly, which the odds of that being true were one to one million against, then he shouldn’t return to Kirkland until approximately midnight. It was only their second date, therefore Eduardo allotted time for a goodnight kiss and nothing more. This meant Eduardo had time to study, so he buried himself in his textbooks, not even bothering to change out of his suit. It wasn’t until around 2 a.m. that he allowed himself to check Mark’s blog to see how things had gone. He didn’t read past Erica Albright is a bitch before he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. His dorm was on the other side of campus, after all, and Eduardo had to get to Kirkland to stop Mark from doing something they would all regret.

Eduardo did not know what time it was when Mark told him, “I need you” but he knew he would always remember the moment.
“I’m here for you,” he said without second thought.

Dustin rolled around on Mark’s bed attempting to hold in his laughter. That was the last time Eduardo confided in him. At least Chris sat quietly on the couch pretending to be engrossed in whatever was on the television.

“No, I need the algorithm you used to rank chess players,” Mark clarified.

Right. Eduardo should have known it wasn’t him Mark needed. Numbers. Numbers he could deal with. Just like Mark could deal with code, and Chris could deal with words, and Dustin could deal with… Well, Dustin was special. He was a good programmer, but it appeared he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“Wardo, come to help Marky. How sweet.”

Eduardo ignored him until later when he cheerfully informed them that, “The networks’ down” and their whole lives changed.
“Shit.”

***

Even lines. Clean lines. Clean, clear glass walls. The modern exterior of the law firm reminded Eduardo of the Facebook offices. Sean Parker was wrong. Young, fresh faces met Eduardo as he entered the lobby.

“Excuse me?” he asked quietly. He hadn’t felt this intimidated since his father expected him to explain his future plans to an entire room filled with his father’s business associates. He had only been thirteen at the time.

A woman with bright red hair framing her face that looked just as fiery sneered. “May I help you?”

“I’m here to see Ms. Pearson. I have an appointment.”

“Oh, Mr. Saverin. I thought you’d be older.”

Okay, so maybe Sean Parker was half right.

“Well, I guess it wouldn’t be every day a college student sues a major company,” Eduardo said, aiming for a joking tone.
The woman just stared and made a quick call. “Ms. Pearson will see you now.”

Eduardo was led to a large glass cage, much like the one where his trust was betrayed. He shook his head as if it could dislodge the memory. Jessica Pearson stood at her desk and a man was seated on the couch. Hands were offered and introductions were made.

“Hello Mr. Saverin. Please call me Jessica, and this is Harvey Specter. He’s our best closer, possibly the best in that state.”
“Oh don’t be so modest Jessica,” Harvey said. “More like the country.”

“I know. That’s why I came here,” Eduardo explained. “I’m pretty sure I can win this case. The law is on my side. However Mark… Mr. Zuckerberg can be manipulative. That’s why I need you. You would have to come to California for the depositions, but if you truly are the best closer, this case won’t even make it to court.”

“He is the best Mr. Saverin,” Jessica reassured. “I’m positive Harvey will take your case.”

“Actually Jessica, I don’t think so.” Harvey picked up a folder and flipped through. Eduardo could only assume it was his file. He knew it made him look bad, but Mark was no angel. “You didn’t look over the documents before signing them?”

“I thought they were supposed to be my lawyers.”

“Regardless, it was a stupid mistake a kid like you would make. Sure, the law is on your side, but I don’t think it’s the right side. Your partner did what he had to do for the company. I’m sorry Mr. Saverin. I’m not going to take your case.”

“Harvey, wait. Excuse me for a minute,” Jessica said. She followed Harvey out and Eduardo watched as they argued quietly.

‘This is why this see through office trend is a bad idea,’ he thought. At least the interns at Facebook would see when Mark was skipping meals to code.

“I’m sorry Mr. Saverin, but Harvey is adamant about this.”

“Oh,” Eduardo whispered. He hadn’t even heard Jessica re-enter her office. “Well, thank you for your time Ms. Pearson.”

“Did I say we weren’t taking the case?” Jessica asked. She continued standing in front of the door, her arms crossed defiantly. “Harvey has an ego the size of China. A blind man could see that. However, he isn’t the only closer we have with a perfect record. His associate Mike Ross hasn’t lost a case in the few months he’s been here. Has a better bed side manner too.”

“Associate?”

“What? Have a problem with someone young?” Jessica just smiled and opened the door. “Mike? Would you mind coming here?”

A man with messy blonde hair and a skinny tie that clashed with his suit walked in. “What do you need Jessica? Harvey skip out on your meeting?”

“Mike, I’d like you to meet Eduardo Saverin,” Jessica said, ignoring Mike’s question.

“Oh wow. Facebook, right? Pleasure to meet you. Shame what happened.”

“He’s suing them. You’re on the case.”

“A high profile case? Without Harvey?”

“Don’t look so surprised,” Jessica said with a laugh. “Enjoy California Mike.”

***

Eduardo was sitting on the floor, his head resting on Mark’s leg as he continued to refresh his fake Facebook page. His other hand was carding through Eduardo’s hair. He must not have realized what he was doing because since they had started whatever this was, Mark proved to not be very affectionate outside of the bedroom. Eduardo was afraid to speak, knowing it would break the peaceful spell that had fallen around the suite, but he had to talk to Mark.

“You know, you don’t have to go to California.”\

Mark’s hand automatically stopped. “Really Wardo? Have you ever heard of a successful company operating out of Massachusetts?”

“Boston Market,” Eduardo mumbled.

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I. Okay, maybe it’s me being selfish since here is closer to New York, but I don’t see why it has to be California.”
“It’s only for the summer,” Mark said softly. “I’ll miss you too.”

Eduardo couldn’t help but smile, and he pulled Mark forward in his chair to give him a kiss. The angle was extremely awkward. Mark eventually climbed down onto the floor with Eduardo, locking his arms in a loose embrace around Eduardo’s neck.

“You’ll call whenever you have a chance,” he said sternly.

“Yes Mom,” Mark replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Well, that just ruined the mood.”

“Good,” Dustin shouted from the other room. “In case you two lovebirds forgot, I’m still here. You know what? Never mind. I’m going to go to the CS lab.” He grabbed his laptop, the power cord whipping behind him, and marched out the door.

“It’ll be okay,” Mark said once Dustin’s tirade was over. “We’ll figure it out.”

It wasn’t something Mark would normally say, but it appeased Eduardo. He allowed Mark to lead him to the bed where he took Eduardo apart with his lips and his teeth and his hands. Eduardo bit his bottom lip so hard he could almost taste the iron, his head thrashing against the scrunched up pillow. Once he was completely undone, Mark gave him a quick kiss before getting up to check Facebook ‘one last time.’

***

Mike knew Harvey hated, no. Hated didn’t even begin to describe it. Harvey despised when Mike just barged into his office, but this was definitely more important than whatever client he was currently on the phone with. Donna glared at him as he brushed past.

“Careful. Some day your face is going to freeze that way,” Mike warned.

“Well, at least my eyebrows won’t be permanently half-way up my forehead,” she quipped back.

Harvey tried to keep a straight face when he saw Mike, but it was evident he was not pleased. “I’ll have to call you back,” he said and hung up before the client could object. “See kid, you’re still not getting it.”

“Your meeting with Jessica was about the Saverin case, wasn’t it? Why didn’t you take it?”

“He made a rookie error. Since I already have one rookie to clean up after, I don’t see why I should even bother.”

“We’re still taking the case, of course.”

“Sure. Let her dump it on Louis or one of the other junior partners.” Harvey picked up the receiver and went to dial back his client.

Mike grabbed his hand and then flinched back. “You don’t understand. We’re still taking the case. I’m taking the case. Jessica put me on it. I mean, I’d love to work with you. We always do better when combining our heads, but I’ve already signed my first big client. Now I’m on my first big solo case. This is far from housing court.”

“Wait. Jessica put you on the case?”

“Yeah. What? Is there something wrong with that?”

“Something… Something wrong?” For once, it appeared Harvey was speechless. “I didn’t want that case, and she put my associate on it? Of course there’s something wrong.”

“You don’t think I can handle it?” Mike asked, hurt.

“Don’t make me have to say I think you can. You know that’s not the issue. I can’t have you out in California. There are cases here you need to work on.”

“Oh, like more cases at housing court?”

“Look Mike. The kid is wrong. Don’t waste your time on him.”

“That kid could have been me if you hadn’t swooped me under your wing, oh great mentor,” Mike snapped.

“How? You would have built an enterprise with Trevor dealing dope?”

Mike stormed out of Harvey’s office and found Jessica talking to a very distraught looking Louis. “When is the initial hearing for the Saverin case?”

“In a week.”

“I’m going to take the whole week off and prepare at home and leave on Sunday. Is that okay?”

Louis frowned even more if that was possible. Jessica noticed and honest to goodness laughed. “Go right head Mike.”

***

“How do you do that?” Eduardo asked again. “You always get girls to hate us.”

“Considering both you and Chris are gay and I’m pansexual, I honestly think only Dustin would care since he has no other options.”

Eduardo blushed and tried to hide his face behind the collar of his jacket. “Who told you? Was it Dustin? Not Chris?”

“Don’t worry. Your friends didn’t rat you out,” Mark said bitterly. “I figured you would tell me when you ‘were ready.’ I don’t understand why you hadn’t yet. It’s not like I’m one to judge.”

“Mark, you just made a website that compared girls’s hotness after calling your ex-girlfriend a bitch on your blog.”

“So?”

“Never mind. So, what’s the plan then?”

Mark stopped abruptly and Eduardo tried to recover after walking right into him. “What plan?”

“I mean, what are we going to do about Facemash?”

“Nothing. That’s over and done with. We move onto the next project.”

“And what would that be?” Eduardo asked, steering Mark back onto the path.

“Not sure yet. So why didn’t you?”

Eduardo paused as he held the door to Kirkland open for Mark. “Didn’t what?” he asked, confusion twisting his features.

“Tell me you were gay. The only reason I could come up with was there’s a reason you wouldn’t want me to know, but would could that possibly be?” Mark refused to move, and Eduardo did not want ot have this conversation outside.

“There isn’t a reason,” he said exasperated. “I just wasn’t ready. It took awhile to work up to telling Chris even though he’s out. Then it took even longer to tell Dustin. I was going to…”

Mark stood up on his tip-toes and kissed Eduardo. It was short, and Mark’s lips were chapped. Eduardo had to fight down the urge to chastise him to use Chap Stick more often. Instead he let the door go and it slammed shut. He fisted Mark’s oversized hoodie, and Mark had never looked more like a child trying to fit in at Harvard then he did in that moment. Eduardo ignored the other students filing around them, staring as if they were making a scene.

‘It was just a kiss,’ Eduardo thought. ‘Holy shit, I just kissed Mark.’

“You broke up with Erica.”

“Yes, as you dutifully pointed out. If you meant to say how soon it is for me to ‘move on’ I was well aware that she and I weren’t compatible.”

“Oh. Good.”

Eduardo kissed Mark then, and this time he gave everyone something to stare at.

***

Harvey watched Mike pack his bag before slinging it over his shoulder and stopping to say goodbye to Rachel. He then waited approximately five minutes after Mike’s face disappeared behind the elevator door and calmly said, “Donna?” It was only 6 p.m. and Harvey wanted to leave the office.

“Don’t tell him I said this,” Donna said, her voice quiet and distant through the speaker. “But he’ll be fine.”

“I’m not worried about him. What makes you think I’m worried about him?”

“Oh please. I saw your little lover’s quarrel. You’re absolutely terrified that he’s making a mistake taking this case.”

Harvey picked up one of the baseballs lining his desk and began tossing it back and forth. It was a habit he had picked up from Mike, and he normally didn’t realize he was doing it. “That’s where you’re wrong. Donna, I need you to clear my schedule. I’m going to California.”

“You’re actually taking the case after saying no?” Donna asked, genuinely surprised.

“Not exactly.” Harvey switched the speaker off before Donna could say something and then did some digging. Despite running a social networking site, Mark Zuckerberg was exceedingly difficult to find. Even though Harvey constantly ensured Mike he did his best to make it look like he did a lot of work when he wasn’t, it truly passed off since he often did spend nights pouring over files. He could do research too, and it paid off in a direct number to Mark Zuckerberg’s office.

“City morgue,” said the voice on the other end, and Harvey almost hung up thinking the kid had played a practical joke. “You stab ‘em, we slab ‘em.”

“Yes, you’re very clever,” Harvey said with a sight. “Is this Mr. Zuckerberg?”

“Yo Mark. Phone’s for you.”

Harvey could hear the receiver being handed off as another voice said, “Of course it’s for me Dustin. It’s my office.”

“Hello Mr. Zuckerberg. I’m Harvey Specter.”

“I’m not interested,” Mark said curtly.

“How can you be when you don’t know what I’m offering?”

“You sound like either a sleazy lawyer or corrupt salesman.”

“You are right. I am a lawyer and…”

“And I don’t need a lawyer,” Mark said sharply. “I have a lawyer. I have several lawyers.”

“Listen kid. You think you know what you’re doing because you started something and it grew, but you don’t.” Harvey realized he was grasping the baseball in his hand so tightly his knuckles had turned white. He dropped it and watched it roll slowly off his desk. “Mr. Saverin is suing you for money that legally is his but that he does not deserve.”

“I don’t care about the money.”

“You have to care about the money, and you obviously do since you haven’t made him go away yet.”

“You see right through me,” Mark said sarcastically. “I think my lawyers can handle it. Why do you think you’re even more qualified for the job Mr. Specter?”

“I’m glad you ask that Mr. Zuckerberg. First off, I’m the best damn closer in the country. However, the second reason is more important. My rookie associate is defending Saverin when I told him it was a mistake.”

“Wait. Then how can you…”

“I can if I work pro-bono, and I’m willing to do that for you Mr. Zuckerberg.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” Harvey said as he picked up the baseball from where it fell. He walked back over to his desk and straightened it in its stand. “Why would you cut out your best friend from the company you started together?”

***

The sound of plastic upon plastic was intensely gratifying, but it was the flash of emotion that crossed Mark’s face that had Eduardo grinning smugly. Of course he would care if his poor laptop was hurt but no this boyfriend. His boyfriend was completely disposable.

Eduardo told himself to keep eye contact. He couldn’t give Mark the satisfaction of peering down at the hundreds of pieces littering the floor, calculating how grave what he’d done truly was. No, Eduardo looked Mark straight in the eye as he yelled because there was no other way to hold back the tears threatening to fall. Hundreds of tears to join the hundreds of pieces.

“You better lawyer up asshole because I’m not coming back for thirty percent,” Eduardo said. He could feel the hatred coursing through his veins. He wanted nothing more than to dig the knife in even deeper. “I’m coming back for everything.”

Dustin trailed after Eduardo, weaving between the two security guards and muttering something Eduardo couldn’t make out, but it resulted in them being alone as the elevator made its way up the floors. Dustin watched the light climb up, and Eduardo knew better than to force Dustin when he was thinking of what to say. Dustin rarely thought before he spoke, so they always knew it had to be important.

“I didn’t know,” he eventually whispered. “I mean, I suspected something was up. Sean was… scheming. I’m so, so sorry Wardo.”
“Don’t apologize Dustin. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“No, I do. I could have done something.”

“Have any of us ever been able to talk Mark out of doing something once his mind was set?”

Dustin laughed nervously. “You have a point. Hey, if you were able to talk him out of Facemash maybe we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“I wouldn’t wish that,” Eduardo whispered. “Even with what happened.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“It’s all over. I’m… I’m going to sue him. I really am.”

“Well, I love you man, and I love Mark. I don’t know what else I can say. See you around?”

“Yeah, see you around Dustin.”

The elevator door sprung open and Eduardo slouched against the clear wall and stabbed the ground button. Clean, clear glass walls. Eduardo hated the modern look. He liked the appeal of old America. It was abundant at Harvard. He supposed he would go back to school now and hire the best damn lawyer money could buy. Mark didn’t care about money? Eduardo would see about that.

***

“How many times am I going to have to relive this?” Eduardo asked. He ran his fingers through his hair, musing up the excessive amount of gel he wore in yet another futile attempt to look older. “It’s bad enough I’ve relived it hundreds of times in my head.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Saverin, but we have to cover everything so we can have a solid case,” Mike explained.

“Please Mike. Call me War… Eduardo. Mr. Saverin just makes me think of my father.”

Mike smiled and didn’t mention the hair, the suits, the accessories that Eduardo most likely did not realize made him more like the older Saverin than he would admit. “Okay, so I know this is going to be difficult. Just take your time and start from the beginning.”
“Well, I guess it stated with Erica.”

“Erica?”

“Erica Albright. Mark was on a date with her, and she called him an asshole and walked out. It’s what eventually led to Mark making Facemash.”

Mike scribbled down the name and a few other notes. “Okay, good. I’ll track her down for the depositions.”

“Wait, why? She didn’t have anything to do with this. There’s no point in bringing that all back up.”

“It’s just to be thorough,” Mike reassured. “Solid case, remember?”

“I don’t want to embarrass Mark,” Eduardo protested. “Yes, he can be an asshole. We don’t need Erica to prove that. I went out with mark longer then she did. Besides, I’m not suing him for being an asshole. Even if that is one of the reasons why we’re here in the first place.”

Eduardo had been pacing the room and collapsed on the couch next to Mike. He buried his face behind his hands and sighed.

“Uh, how long did you and Mr. Zuckerberg…”

“Date? Look, I’m sorry Mike. I should have told you right away, but there wasn’t ever a good time. I knew I’d have to eventually. I’m not ashamed of it. We only never went public because of the fact that we worked together.”

“Eduardo, I know you don’t need me to tell you that this could potentially ruin our case.”

“I didn’t freeze the account because we had been fighting as a couple. It was purely a business decision. And to answer your question, it was about a year. We got together after Facemash.”

Mike reached out and rested his hand on Eduardo’s knee. “I really am sorry,” he said quietly.

“Yeah. So am I.”

***

The rain was freezing despite the warm California air, and Eduardo tried to pull his jacket around himself even tighter. He had been knocking on the door for ten minutes. At first he feared he might have the wrong address and would be waking up the entire household at the indecent hour of 3 a.m. However the dull throb of music confirmed that Eduardo was at the right house, but no one could hear him. When Sean answered the door, Eduardo thought how he would rather still be waiting in the rain instead.

“What is he doing here?” he asked Mark once he slammed the hallway door shut.

Mark evaded the question of course and started ranting about everything they had accomplished so far. Eduardo’s head started to spin.

“I need you out here,” Mark said quietly. “Don’t tell him I said that.”

“Why? You still don’t want Sean to find out? Mark, he’s going to eventually if he’s working with us.”

Mark surged forward and kissed Eduardo roughly, shoving his back against the wall, and tried to unbutton his soaking wet pants. “I don’t want you to get left behind,” he whispered, trailing kisses along Eduardo’s neck.

“What do you mean get left behind?”

“I need you Wardo,” Mark said with a choked off moan.

“Okay, yeah. I’ll stay,” Eduardo aid because what else could he say.

***

“Did Mr. Saverin ever do anything that would have been just cause to cut him out of the company?” Harvey asked.

“No,” Mark said simply, refusing to look up from his laptop.

“Nothing at all in the entire year?” Harvey glared at Mark and, not for the first time that day, questioned why he was doing this again. “You wouldn’t even consider freezing the account cause? It was a reckless and immature move.”

“It’s what he had to do.”

Harvey frowned. In the one day he had known Mark he could tell that wasn’t something he would normally say. He had just brought up the subject of Eduardo and, while Mark had been mostly unresponsive before, he was even more so. His typing sped up and he refused to glance in Harvey’s direction once in awhile to acknowledge that he was there.

“Well, I’m going to have Rachel, one of our paralegals back in New York, go through Mr. Saverin’s life since Facebook started. If there is anything she will find it. When were you going to tell me you were still in love with him?”

“Don’t sound so smug,” Mark said, actually smiling. “That was hardly privileged information. Wardo and I only stayed out of the public’s eye for Facebook. Every employee who worked here at the time had to sign a nondisclosure agreement although I never thought it would be necessary.”

“Though you honestly think your personal relationship will be left unscathed by this. Mr. Zuckerberg, I have seen marriages collapse when the lawsuit was for a fraction of the money Saverin’s suing you for.”

“You really have to stop acting like you know Wardo and I. Now, if you don’t mind, I have to fix a glitch in one of our new applications.”

“I do mind,” Harvey said as stubborn as ever.

“And I wasn’t asking.”

An intern opened the door to Mark’s office with a quiet, “Mr. Specter?” Harvey briefly thought of smashing Mark’s laptop, but considering what happened to the last person to do so, he left without complaint.

‘Got to admit, kid is smart,’ he thought.

***

Studying public relations had plenty of benefits Eduardo found out. The night before he and Mark were to leave for New York, Chris burst into the suite whistling loudly.

“Wardo. Mark,” he had called. “You guys are not going to believe this. I set up another meeting.”

“Chris, we already have ten meetings,” Eduardo had said with a sight. “Getting Mark to sit through those ten will be torture enough. You’re just going to have to cancel.”

“But it’s with Sean Parker. The guy who founded Napster. He’s seen The Facebook and really wants to meet Mark.”

Mark had decided to pay attention then, completely abandoning his laptop and joining the conversation. “Don’t be stupid Wardo. Of course we’ll go. Sean Parker is like us: starting a company young. Better than wasting time on pompous, potential investors.”

“Wait, so he can’t wait to meet Mark? What about me?”

Chris had ignored Eduardo and handed Mark a slip of paper. “Time and place. Don’t be late.”

Several days later, Eduardo was compulsively checking his watch. He had done his research on Sean Parker, and he should not have been the least bit surprised that he could not bother to show up at the right time.

“He’s not a god,” he mumbled in response to something Mark had said in Sean’s defense.

“Then what is he?”

“He’s twenty-five minutes late.”

Eduardo knew as soon as he first saw Sean that he disliked him. He stopped to say hello to everyone he passed so Mark and Eduardo could clearly see that he knew people. When he finally stopped at their table, he introduced himself as if he didn’t expect them to already know. Eduardo reluctantly let go of Mark’s hand, for they had been discreetly holding them under the table, and shook Sean’s. The dinner was one of the most uncomfortable moments in Eduardo’s life. Sean ranted about all that had gone wrong with Napster, and Eduardo kept thinking that he was not very good at selling himself as an important assent to The Facebook. Once they finally arrived onto that topic, Eduardo started by asking about advertising since that was what they were supposed to be doing in New York in the first place.

“Well, neither of you is right yet,” Sean said. Eduardo nodded and thought, ‘I can live with that.’

Sean left not too soon after. Eduardo was thankful that it was over and done with - positive that he could put it all behind him now. However once he and Mark had settled down in a cab and told the driver the name of their hotel, Mark brought it up again, his voice quiet but firm. “You want to end the party at eleven.”

“Could you please stop using the nonsensical party analogy?” Eduardo asked. “You don’t even like going to parties.”

“That’s because I’d rather be alone with you,” Mark said, resting his head on Eduardo’s shoulder.

Eduardo couldn’t help but smile at the sign of affection. For Mark, it was more than what he was normally comfortable with, especially in public. Eduardo could feel his anger subsiding fast. They could always discuss advertising another time.

***

“I should inform you, as my lawyer, that I’m also a witness in another lawsuit against Mark,” Eduardo said.

Mike’s fork clattered to his plate. Eduardo had invited him out for lunch before they were to continue going over the case. Their food had just arrived when Eduardo decided to share this piece of information.

“I thought we were going to eat first,” Mike said with a nervous laugh. “I assume you’re referring to the Winklevoss and Nerendra lawsuit.”

“Yes,” Eduardo said without looking up as he pushed his food around. “Cameron Winklevoss came to me when he heard that I was suing Mark as well and asked. They figure I’ll be able to say Mark was stealing code from Harvard Connection for Facebook.”

This time Mike started choking on his drink. “Was he? Did you know?” he asked, still coughing.

“What? Oh no. Mark didn’t use any of their code. He was always capable of taking something, an idea, and making it better.”
“So why be a witness then?”

“I don’t know,” Eduardo said with a shrug. He finally looked up and started Mike straight in the eye. “Maybe I just want to make sure that I still have his attention.”

“You must really hate him,” Mike said. Before he realized what he was doing, he reached across the table and placed his hand over Eduardo’s. “I will do everything I can to help you win.”

“Well, you are the best, right?”

“Minus Harvey, right.”

“What’s his deal anyway?”

“Harvey… Well, Harvey is one of a kind. He has this reputation as a shrewd lawyer who doesn’t give a crap about anyone, particularly his clients. I think deep down he does care, but apparently you can’t move forward in the law world without being an asshole.”

“You manage,” Eduardo said as he gave Mike’s hand a squeeze.

“I’m only an associate.” Mike quickly pulled his hand back. “I shouldn’t even be working for Harvey.”

“Mike, don’t do that. Don’t put yourself down. Trust me. I know all about that. You can’t beat yourself up because you don’t think you’re meeting other’s expectations. You are a good lawyer.”

“Yeah, I am god at what I do,” Mike mumbled.

“We both try a little too hard, don’t we? Though you wear the suits better.” Eduardo looked away again and blushed. “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it was,” Mike said, and they both started laughing. “It’s alright Wardo.”

Eduardo did not correct him.

***

“Mark, what is this?” Eduardo held the piece of paper as far away from his person as he could. The distance only obscured the words he had already read; it did not make it less real.

“It’s a cease and desist letter,” Mark said. He clearly did not think it was an issue. “Are you even hearing me Wardo? We can’t start advertising on The Facebook . Right now everyone thinks it’s cool. We’re the presidents of our own final club, remember?”

“We won’t be for much longer. This says the Winklevoss twins are saying you stole their code. Did you?”

“They came to me with an idea. I had a better one,” Mark said quickly. Eduardo almost did not believe it at first, but it was the first time he had ever seen Mark nervous. “I did not take any of their code.”

“Well, they seem to think you did. We have to do something about this.”

“I took care of it.”

Eduardo started at Mark incredulously, the letter still clutched tightly in his hand. “Really?”

“Really Wardo. I took care of it.”

Mark looked uncomfortable as Eduardo kneeled down in front of him. “Mark, if there is anything, and I mean anything at all, I’m the guy you can talk to. I’m not only your best friend but your boyfriend and now business partner. You should be able to tell me these things.”

“Best friend, I guess yes. Only because Dustin is my other option. Business partner, yes. That much is true. Boyfriend? No.”
“I’m not going through this again,” Eduardo groaned.

“But I thought you wanted to talk about these things,” Mark said sarcastically. “Wardo, you know I don’t want to put a label on this.”

“Says the guy who meticulously labels all his files.”

“Programs are easy to label. Humans are more complex. There isn’t a code I can type to make you behave differently.”

“I’m not Erica,” Eduardo whispered.

Mark locked himself in his room for the rest of the night.

***

Mike was on his way out of the lobby when he heard a familiar voice. He back tracked and stood discreetly behind a planter to watch the man who appeared to be flirting with the woman working at the check in counter.

‘That’s definitely something he’d do,’ Mike thought. ‘But what would Harvey be doing in California?’ He laughed at how ridiculous the notion was and started for the front door again.

“Mike. There you are. I was wondering when I was going to run into you.”

“Harvey,” Mike said surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, Mr. Zuckerberg was nice enough to set me up at the Hilton, but it just didn’t seem right. I looked up where you were staying and got a room here. I have to say it’s a step down from the Hilton, but at least it’s closer to the Facebook offices.”

“No, I meant what are you doing in California? And what about Facebook? Harvey, what is going on?”

“I’m representing Mr. Zuckerberg, of course.”

Now Mike was positive he had gone insane. “You can’t do that,” he shouted.

“Yes I can. I took the case pro-bono.”

“Okay, now I know you’re joking. You’d never willingly take a case pro-bono. So what is it? Jessica make you fly out after all to help me?”

“Oh no. Not at all,” Harvey said with a smirk. “The lovely Jessica still has the utmost confidence in you. However, I still don’t. See you tomorrow.”

Mike watched, dumb-struck, as Harvey walked away.

“Shit.”

Part Two

pairing: mike/eduardo, pairing: mark/eduardo, author: tafidadarling, rating: frm, category: slash, fandom: suits, crossover, pairing: harvey/mike, fandom: the social network

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