Work Text:
Harvey was finally sixteen.
To say he was excited was an understatement.
His parents were soulmates, and growing up, Harvey had watched the way they looked at each other. The lingering smiles, the effortless affection, the quiet understanding that seemed to exist without either of them saying a word. But more than anything, it was the way his dad talked about his mom that stuck with him.
It wasn't just love. It was admiration. Like every time Gordon Specter spoke about Lily, he was reminded how lucky he was to have found her.
Harvey wanted that.
He wanted to meet his special someone. The person who would understand him better than anyone else. The person he would spend the rest of his life with.
According to everyone, he should be able to contact his soulmate by now. But all day, every time he tried to reach out, he felt nothing.
From everything he had been told growing up, he should be able to communicate with his soulmate through telepathy. It was described as opening a door into the other person's mind. No matter where they were in the world, as long as they were both sixteen or older, they should be able to hear each other's thoughts.
Well... not exactly hear each other's thoughts.
You couldn't read each other's minds. You could only speak to one another. And if you wanted privacy, you could simply shut the door, closing the other person out until you opened it again.
Some people said they didn't even exchange words the first time they connected. They described feeling a gentle tug, a flutter in the back of their mind, or the faintest brush against their thoughts before either of them spoke.
But Harvey felt nothing.
It was as if the door in his mind didn't exist, or if it did, it was locked tight and deadbolted.
Of course, he was a little disappointed. He had spent years looking forward to this day.
But that was alright. It just meant his soulmate was younger than he was.
He repeated that to himself throughout the day, trying to ignore the small voice in the back of his mind reminding him about the 1% of people who never found a soulmate because they simply didn't have one.
Harvey pushed the thought away as quickly as it came.
His soulmate was just younger than he was. That was all. He could wait.
And one day, when they turned sixteen, he'd finally hear them…
That's what Harvey told himself for two years.
He was eighteen now, and he felt hopeless.
His parents were taking him out to dinner to celebrate him becoming an adult, but he couldn't find it in himself to be happy. It was supposed to be a milestone, a day he had looked forward to for years. Instead, all he could think about was the silence.
For two years, he hadn't heard a single thing from his soulmate.
No gentle tug. No voice. Nothing.
The doubts he had tried so hard to ignore had settled in and refused to leave. Maybe he really was part of the 1%. Maybe he simply didn't have a soulmate.
Harvey got home early to get ready for dinner with his parents.
He tossed his keys onto the entryway table and shrugged off his jacket, expecting to be greeted by the familiar sounds of the house.
Instead, he froze. His mother was on the couch, kissing another man.
For a moment, Harvey couldn't move. His mind refused to process what he was seeing.
His parents were supposed to be the perfect soulmates. The couple he had spent his entire life wanting to be like.
All he felt was pure hatred.
Fuck it.
The words echoed through his mind as he turned on his heel. He yanked the front door open and slammed it behind him, ignoring his mother's voice calling after him.
From that moment on, Harvey didn't care if he had a soulmate.
He didn't want one.
If soulmates could do this to each other, then what was the point?
Maybe the bond didn't mean anything after all.
◇
Eight years later...
Harvey had just been hired at Pearson Hardman as a senior associate. Better yet, he had managed to bring his secretary, Donna, from the DA's office with him.
He had only been at the firm for a few days, but they had already fallen back into their usual rhythm.
"Hey, Donna, I need the-"
Without even looking up from her desk, Donna reached for a file and handed it to him.
Harvey took it without missing a step.
"I also didn't have the chance to-"
Donna absently slid a fresh cup of coffee into his free hand.
Harvey smirked.
"Marry me?"
Donna smiled to herself before finally looking up at him.
"Sure, but I don't think Stephen is going to like that."
Harvey let out a quiet sigh. Stephen was Donna's soulmate. Just like everyone else, she had soulmate.
"Maybe Stephen wouldn't mind sharing," Harvey said, covering the sigh with a wink.
Donna laughed.
"Oh, Stephen doesn't share." She leaned back in her chair with a smug grin. "I'm that good."
Harvey chuckled, shaking his head as he turned toward his office.
He disappeared into the corner office, coffee in one hand and the file in the other, leaving Donna to return to whatever she had been working on.
That was when he felt it. A faint flutter in the back of his mind.
Harvey stopped in his tracks. His grip tightened around the coffee cup as he stood perfectly still, waiting to see if it happened again.
Nothing.
He let out a slow breath. It must've been his imagination.
Shaking it off, he walked over to his desk and lowered himself into his chair.
“Hello?”
Harvey froze.
His eyes darted around the office. There was no one here. He looked toward the open doorway, then at his office phone. No active line. No speakerphone. Nothing.
“Is anyone there?”
Harvey's heart skipped a beat. That voice hadn't come from outside the room.
It had come from inside his head.
Instinctively, Harvey reached for the door in his mind, the one that had been locked shut for the last ten years. But now, it stood wide open.
“Uh... hello?” Harvey cautiously thought back, unsure if the other person would hear him. He hesitated in the doorway of his own mind, peeking through as if he expected someone to be standing on the other side. This was impossible.
It had been ten years since his sixteenth birthday. Why now?
There was a brief pause.
“Oh! You're a dude.”
Harvey frowned.
“Don't call me dude.”
“My bad. I'm Mike.”
Mike.
Harvey rolled the name around in his head before asking the first question that came to mind.
“Mike... how old are you?”
“Isn't it obvious? It's my sixteenth birthday today!”
Harvey slowly leaned back in his chair. His eyes drifted to the ceiling as every thought in his head came to a screeching halt. He was sixteen. He was a child.
For eight years, he'd convinced himself he didn't have a soulmate. He'd told himself he didn't want one. And now, after all this time… His soulmate was a sixteen year old kid.
“Don't talk to me until you're twenty-five.”
The silence that followed was almost comical.
“Wait! How old are you?”
“Older than you.”
Harvey sat forward again, setting his coffee beside the stack of files on his desk. Soulmate or not, he still had work to do.
“Don't do this. Just tell me.”
Harvey let out an audible sigh.
“I'm twenty-six.”
Another pause.
“Oh my God... you went ten years without knowing you had a soulmate?”
“Yes, kid.” Harvey pinched the bridge of his nose. “Now, I'm at work, and I'm busy. I really don't want to talk to you until you're older, so can we please keep our conversations to a minimum?”
“Why don't you want to talk to me?”
Harvey rolled his eyes before making eye contact with Donna through the glass walls of his office. One of her eyebrows was raised.
Harvey tilted his head as if to say, ‘What are you staring at?’
Donna simply smirked before returning to her work.
Harvey looked down at the file in front of him, pretending to read it.
“Listen, kid. Until you're older, you're not going to understand this. Right now, you think you're grown. You think you're old enough for everything... but you're not. Hell, twenty year olds seem like children to me.”
He paused, searching for the right words.
“I'll be here if you ever need to talk. But until you're twenty-five... I don't want you getting attached to me.”
For a moment, Harvey felt a gentle tug against his mind, as though Mike was standing on the other side of the door, unsure whether to leave.
“Fine.” Mike sounded disappointed. “Can I at least know your name before I go?”
“Sure. I'm Harvey.”
There was a beat of silence.
“Alright, old man. Talk to you later.”
Before Harvey could respond, it was as if the door in his mind slammed shut.
Harvey let the file slip from his hands before burying his face in them.
"So..." Donna said as she stepped into his office, a knowing smile on her face. "What was that about?"
Harvey lowered his hands and looked up at her. He let out a long sigh before pinching the bridge of his nose.
"He's sixteen today."
Even though Donna had already figured it out, the words still caught her off guard.
"Oh..." she said softly.
Then, unable to resist, she smirked.
"Wow. Look at you, cradle robber."
Normally, Harvey would've had a comeback ready before she finished the sentence. This time, he didn't even crack a smile. He simply stared past her, his mind somewhere else entirely.
The smirk faded from Donna's face.
"I know how you feel about soulmates," she said quietly as she took a few steps closer to his desk. "Are you okay?"
Harvey finally looked at her and gave a small shrug.
"I don't know, Donna," he admitted, the vulnerability in his voice surprising even him. "I truly thought I didn't have one. And honestly... I didn't want one. After everything with my parents..."
His words trailed off as he shook his head.
"I was nice to the kid, but I was firm. It's not his fault he ended up with a twenty-six year old soulmate." Harvey leaned back in his chair with another weary sigh. "I told him that until he's twenty-five, we need to keep contact to a minimum. If he ever needs to talk, he can. But right now… he is just a kid."
Donna nodded thoughtfully.
"I think you did the right thing, Harvey."
She rested a hand on the back of one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"And when he does get old enough..." she said gently, "Try to let him in… not everyone is your mother."
◇
Harvey hadn't heard from Mike for a few months. Outside of the occasional tug in the back of his mind, as if Mike was simply checking in on him. Harvey always tugged back, giving the kid reassurance that he was still there if he ever needed him. It was enough.
Harvey was working late one night, a couple glasses of scotch into the evening as he worked on a pro bono case Jessica had assigned him as punishment for pranking a fellow associate, Louis Litt.
The office had long since emptied out. The only sounds left were the quiet hum of the fluorescent lights overhead and the occasional scratch of Harvey's pen against the paper as he jotted down notes in the margin.
He felt that familiar tug in the back of his mind.
Without looking up from the file, Harvey gave a slight tug back as he continued working, taking notes.
“Harveyyyyyyy.”
Harvey's pen stopped moving. Something felt... off.
From what he'd heard from other people, soulmates could often sense when the other was sick, injured, or intoxicated. Not perfectly, but enough to know something wasn't right.
Mike felt different.
“Yes, Mike?”
“Oh my God, hi.”
Harvey could almost feel the grin in the kid's voice. It was followed by a fit of quiet giggling that echoed through the doorway in his mind.
“Mike... are you stoned?”
“Oh my God, you're so old.” Mike laughed again. “Who says "stoned" anymore? I'm high, Harvey. Soooo high.”
Harvey's pen slipped from his fingers, clattering onto the desk.
"You're sixteen, and weed is illegal." Harvey rubbed a hand over his forehead. "What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking..." Mike giggled again. "Nothing. I'm with my friend Trevor. He convinced me to smoke."
Harvey frowned.
"I don't like Trevor. He sounds like a bad influence."
"Are you jealous, Harvey?"
Harvey was absolutely not jealous of a sixteen year old and his best friend. He was concerned. He didn't want this kid getting high and heading down the wrong path.
"Mike, that's not what this is," Harvey spoke through the doorway, his tone firm. "But if you want to keep making decisions like this and have our first time meeting be me representing you in court, then so be it."
Silence.
Harvey could still feel Mike's presence on the other side of the bond, but the teenager didn't say anything for a long moment.
"You're a lawyer?" Mike finally asked.
Harvey sighed. He hadn't meant to reveal that much about himself, but it wasn't exactly a secret.
"Yes, kid. I'm a lawyer."
"I want to be a lawyer."
Despite himself, Harvey smiled.
"Well, then do well in school, get into Harvard, and maybe I'll convince my boss to let you work for me."
The offer slipped out before Harvey had a chance to think about it.
But he could practically feel Mike light up through the bond.
"I would love that," Mike said, his voice softer now. "But I have to stay here in New York after college so I can take care of my Grammy."
Harvey's brows shot up.
"You're in New York?"
"You're in New York, too?"
Harvey didn't answer. He didn't need to. He could tell that Mike already knew that answer as he felt excitement radiating through the bond was answer enough.
"Don't think about it, Mike," Harvey warned. "I still don't want to meet you until you're twenty-five."
"But if I get arrested... I get to meet you sooner?"
Harvey let out a dry laugh.
"Don't even think about it. I doubt your parents or your Grammy would appreciate that."
There was a brief pause.
"My parents are dead."
Harvey closed his eyes. Of course.
"I'm sorry, kid."
"Don't call me kid... please?" Mike's voice had lost most of its teasing. "It's weird having my soulmate call me 'kid.'"
Harvey rubbed at his temples.
"I get it. But that's what you are to me. You're sixteen." He sighed before steering the conversation back to where it belonged. "And I need you to start making better choices. Don't let Trevor talk you into doing things like this again. You're young. Drugs and alcohol can affect your brain a lot more than they do an adult's. I need you to be smart."
"Okay, Harvey..." Mike replied earnestly. "I'll try."
A second later, his tone brightened again.
"But just so you know... I have this freaky memory thing. I think it's like a photographic memory."
Harvey raised an eyebrow. That was actually pretty impressive.
"Then use it for something worthwhile. Get good grades, earn scholarships, get into college, become a lawyer..." A familiar smirk spread across his face. "...and maybe one day you'll be almost as good as me."
"Almost?"
"No one's as good as me."
Harvey felt Mike laugh through the bond.
Before he realized it, he was smiling too.
"I'm getting sleepy. I'll talk to you later, old man."
"Talk to you later, ki-" Harvey caught himself. "Talk to you later, Mike."
◇
Harvey would hear from Mike from time to time. It was never predictable. Sometimes months would pass without a single conversation. Other times, Mike would pop into his head once a week with a random question or story.
The one constant was the tugs.
Almost every day, Harvey would feel a gentle pull in the back of his mind. A silent, Are you still there? Harvey always tugged back. Just enough to let Mike know he hadn't disappeared.
The kid needed the reassurance. Hell... if Harvey was being honest with himself, so did he. Everyone in Harvey's life had left him eventually. His mother. His father, in a way. Relationships that never lasted. And judging by the way Mike reached out almost every day, it seemed like he had his own abandonment issues.
Neither of them ever acknowledged it. They just kept tugging back.
Though today was a special day. It was Mike's eighteenth birthday.
Harvey figured the kid deserved something. So, for the first time, he decided to reach out first.
"Happy birthday, Mike."
The words slipped through the doorway in his mind. Harvey wasn't entirely sure it would work. Mike had always been the one to initiate their conversations.
There was a brief pause.
"Harvey... did you just reach out to me first?"
Harvey smiled despite himself, rolling his eyes as he leaned back in his chair.
"Yes, but don't get used to it."
"If this is your birthday present to me... it's lame."
Harvey let out a laugh, loud enough that Donna glanced up from her desk through the glass office wall.
He simply waved her off.
"Sorry, Mike, but that's the only present you're getting from me for a while."
"Again. Lame."
Harvey shook his head.
"What are you and your Grammy doing tonight?"
"Nothing crazy. Just dinner. We're also kind of celebrating because I got my acceptance letter from Columbia this week."
Harvey couldn't help but smile. He'd done it. Next stop, Harvard.
"Look at you." There was unmistakable pride in Harvey's voice. "Keep it up... and don't let Trevor get you into trouble."
Harvey felt Mike sigh through the bond.
"Harvey, he's my best friend..."
"I don't care," Harvey replied firmly. "Don't let him ruin this opportunity for you."
There was a brief silence between them.
"You have a weird way of showing you care."
Harvey paused. Was that what he was doing? Caring for Mike? The thought caught him off guard.
"I don't care," Harvey insisted, though the words didn't sound nearly as convincing this time. "I'm just making sure my future associate is making good choices. You and your photographic memory are going to come in handy."
"You know, normal people use others for their bodies, not their brains."
Harvey couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"Mike, shut up."
"I can hear you laughing," Mike teased. "I've got to go. Bye, Harvey."
"Bye, Mike."
◇
The next time Harvey heard from Mike, it wasn't under pleasant circumstances.
Harvey had brought home a woman he had met, and successfully charmed, at a bar earlier that night.
They stumbled into the living room between quiet laughs, shedding jackets and shoes along the way. A trail of discarded clothing slowly began to form across the hardwood floor as they made their way toward the bedroom.
Harvey's lips found the side of her neck, lingering there as she smiled and threaded a hand through his hair.
He needed this.
It had been a while since he'd let himself forget about work, forget about soulmates, forget about everything weighing on his mind.
"Hi, Harvey!"
Mike's voice rang through his head.
Fuck.
Harvey froze for the briefest moment before forcing himself to keep moving, hoping the pause had gone unnoticed.
Maybe if he stayed silent, Mike would assume he was asleep.
The woman beneath him let out a quiet giggle as she fell back onto the bed. Harvey reached for the buttons on his shirt, trying to keep his attention where it belonged.
"Harvey, I know you're awake."
Harvey ignored him. He leaned back down, trying to refocus on the moment. His hands were now sliding her panties down…
"Harveyyyyyyyy."
Harvey closed his eyes for a second.
"Mike, I am busy right now," he spoke firmly through their doorway, trying not to sound as exasperated as he felt.
There was a beat of silence.
"Harvey... are you sleeping with someone?" Mike's voice asked softly.
Harvey let out a long sigh.
"Yes, Mike. Please leave me alone."
"Is something wrong?" the woman asked, looking up at him. Harvey hadn't realized he'd sighed out loud or completely stopped moving.
"No, sorry. I-"
"You're sleeping with someone else?" Mike interrupted Harvey's train of thought, his voice laced with hurt.
"Mike, we can talk about this later," Harvey replied through their bond, his tone just as firm.
The woman frowned.
"Oh my God..." Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. "You're talking to your soulmate. Are you cheating on them with me?"
"I'm not cheating," Harvey replied quickly. "We're not together."
"Fuck you, Harvey. How dare you." Mike responded to him. Even though he couldn’t hear what Harvey was saying to the woman, he was pissed that Harvey was sleeping with someone else.
"Mike, we aren't together," Harvey shot back. "You're eighteen. You're still a kid."
The woman slowly slid out from beneath him and began pulling her clothes back on.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, avoiding his eyes. "I don't sleep with people who have soulmates."
"Wait-"
"I'm an adult now, Harvey. And I've never slept with anyone. I haven't even dated anyone since I found out about you."
Harvey's mind ground to a halt.
Trying to hold two conversations at once was difficult enough, but hearing Mike's confession while the woman stood in front of him made it nearly impossible to think.
A moment later, he heard the apartment door open then shut. She was gone.
Leaving Harvey alone with the silence... and Mike.
"Listen, Mike." Harvey sat down on the edge of the bed, rubbing a hand over his face. "You don't have to do that. You can date. You can sleep with whoever you want. Live your life. I'm not going to stop you. In fact, I want you to."
He paused, choosing his words carefully.
"Get some life experience. Meet people. Figure out who you are. I meant what I said a couple years ago. I don't want to meet you until you're twenty-five."
Silence.
Harvey could still feel Mike's presence through the bond. But it had changed. The warmth that usually accompanied Mike's voice was gone, replaced by an unsettling emptiness.
"Mike..." Harvey said quietly. "Talk to me."
After another long pause, Mike finally spoke.
"Fine."
The single word was flat. Emotionless.
"I'll go live my life."
Before Harvey could respond, the connection vanished.
It wasn't just that Mike had closed the door. It was as if he'd slammed it shut and thrown the deadbolt.
For the first time two years, Harvey reached for the bond...and found nothing but a locked door.
◇
The next year was torture.
Harvey had gotten used to the daily tugs. The occasional conversations. The quiet reassurance that, somewhere out there, Mike was still there. Now… There was nothing. Every now and then, Harvey would reach out through the bond, giving it a tentative tug. Just hoping for something. But most of the time, he was met with silence.
He even wished Mike a happy nineteenth birthday, and was met with nothing.
Every once in a blue moon, whether Mike was drunk, high, or just having a particularly bad day, Harvey would feel a faint tug in return. But nothing more. Just enough for Harvey to know Mike was still alive.
He hadn't realized Mike could hold a grudge that long.
And if he was being honest with himself… He missed the kid.
It didn't take Donna long to figure out something was wrong. Eventually, she dragged the whole story out of him. To Harvey's surprise, she didn't scold him or make fun of Mike.
"In all honesty," Donna said, "I understand both of you."
Harvey looked up from the file on his desk.
"He's young, and you're not together. Dating or sleeping with others is inevitable," she continued. "But he also has every right to be upset. Whether you like it or not, you're his soulmate. Hearing that you are being intimate someone else was bound to hurt."
Harvey sighed. He knew Donna was right. She usually was.
Harvey was a Junior Partner now.
He was proud of himself. He had earned the promotion, and with it came a reputation. More and more clients requested him by name, and more attorneys around the city knew exactly who Harvey Specter was.
He was buried in one of Jessica's cases when he felt it.
A familiar tug.
"Harvey..."
Harvey froze.
His pen stopped moving, suspended over the legal pad.
He hadn't heard Mike's voice in over a year.
"Mike?" Harvey answered immediately, the word coming out far more desperate than he intended.
"Harvey... I fucked up." Mike's voice was barely above a whisper.
Harvey immediately sat up straighter. His personal feelings vanished. Mike hadn't spoken to him in over a year. And the first thing he did was ask for help.
"Talk."
"I needed money... something to help pay for Grammy's medical bills." Mike's words came out rushed, his nerves evident. Harvey could practically feel him trembling through the bond. "Trevor convinced me to memorize a math test and sell the answers to other students… We sold them to the dean's daughter."
Harvey closed his eyes. Of course it had been Trevor's idea. Every time Mike found himself in trouble, Trevor seemed to be standing right beside him, encouraging him to make another terrible decision. That didn't mean Mike wasn't responsible. He was. But Harvey couldn't help thinking Mike would have been in a hell of a lot less trouble if Trevor had never been in his life.
"Harvey... I can feel that you're mad-"
"I'll handle it," Harvey cut him off. "But I have two stipulations."
"Anything," Mike answered without hesitation.
"You never disappear on me again."
There wasn't even a pause.
"Done."
Harvey took a slow breath.
"And you drop Trevor."
Silence.
Harvey didn't say another word. He wasn't going to negotiate. He sat perfectly still, waiting for Mike's answer.
"Okay..." Mike's voice was quiet. "I'll drop him."
"Good."
Harvey's tone softened just enough for Mike to hear the concern beneath it.
"I'll save you. But Trevor's future isn't my concern."
"Harvey-"
"This is not up for debate."
Harvey shut the door this time. He didn't want to hear another argument.
He immediately went into action.
"Donna, clear my schedule for the rest of the day."
Donna looked up from her desk. She didn't ask any questions, as if she already knew it had something to do with Mike.
"I'll take care of it."
That same day, Harvey met with the dean.
Luckily for Mike, Dean Kyle Thomas was in the market for a new attorney. Harvey made him an offer. He would waive his retainer fee in exchange for three things: Mike stayed enrolled, Harvard was never informed of the incident, and Mike kept every one of his scholarships. Kyle didn't hesitate. He knew he was getting the better end of the deal. Not only was he getting an attorney from one of New York's best law firms, he was getting Pearson Hardman's best closer.
For free.
"So," Kyle said as he signed the retainer agreement, "why do you care so much about that kid?"
Harvey glanced down at the paperwork. He didn't want to tell Kyle that Mike was his soulmate. Outside of the age gap, it may cause Kyle to want more out of this deal then what he was already getting.
"I'm not sure if you know this, but he has a photographic memory."
Kyle nodded.
"I've heard."
"He's going to make a hell of an associate one day. He’ll make my life ten times easier."
Kyle chuckled.
"I see." He slid the signed agreement across the desk. "Do you want me to make sure the other kid doesn't get expelled?"
Harvey didn't hesitate.
"No. I don't care about him."
"Then he's gone."
Kyle stood, extending his hand.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
Harvey shook it.
"If you need anything, call me. I'm your guy."
Harvey left the dean's office and didn't make it more than a few steps before reaching for the bond.
"It's done."
"What?" Mike sounded stunned. "Are you here? Right now?"
"I'm leaving," Harvey replied as he headed toward the administration office exit. "Don't bother trying to find me."
He pushed open the door.
Someone slammed into his shoulder.
"Shit-sorry." The blond teenager stumbled back a step before looking up with his bright blue eyes.
Harvey froze. That voice.
"Mike! What the fuck, man?" another student yelled from farther down the hallway. "You're selling me out?"
Trevor.
Harvey reacted before he had time to think. He stepped in front of Mike, placing himself between the two college students.
"No, Trevor." Harvey's voice was calm. "I am."
The hallway seemed to fall silent.
Trevor stared at Harvey, confusion quickly giving way to anger.
"Who the hell are you-"
"Harvey?" Mike's voice was barely above a whisper.
Harvey looked over his shoulder. For the first time, he was seeing the kid he'd spent the last few years talking to.
Mike looked exactly like an nineteen year old should.
Too young. Too skinny.
Harvey forced himself to keep a stern expression, even though he couldn't deny the relief he felt at finally seeing him.
"I told you not to find me."
Mike bit down on his lip, unsuccessfully trying to hide the smile spreading across his face.
Harvey looked away, pressing his lips into a thin line as he fought back one of his own.
"Harvey?" Trevor scoffed. "As in your lawyer soulmate? You called your fucking soulmate?"
Trevor took an angry step forward.
"Trevor." Harvey's voice cut through the hallway. "I'd recommend you go have a conversation with the dean."
Trevor's attention snapped back to him.
"And I'd strongly suggest you never speak to Mike again."
Harvey took one deliberate step toward him.
"Because I'm sure the District Attorney would love to hear about you selling weed."
Trevor's face drained of color.
The anger was still there. But now… So was fear.
Without another word, Trevor turned and walked into the administration office.
Harvey turned back toward Mike, giving him one last look before starting down the hallway.
"Harvey-"
"I've told you this multiple times already," Harvey replied. He could hear Mike hurrying after him, but he didn't turn around. "I didn't want to meet you until you were twenty-five."
"It was an accident." Mike's voice was full of desperation. "I got called to the dean's office before I knew you were here. It was an accident, I promise."
Harvey slowed to a stop. After a moment, he turned around.
Mike had stopped a few feet behind him, looking equal parts guilty and hopeful.
"Be good, Mike." Harvey's voice had softened. "I gave you a second chance. Don't waste it. Go live your college life... and make good choices."
Mike swallowed hard before giving a firm nod.
"I will."
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Harvey gave him the smallest smile and a single nod before turning to leave.
By the time he reached the curb, Ray was already waiting with the car. Ray stepped out, opening the rear passenger door without a word.
Just as Harvey slid into the back seat, Mike's voice echoed through the doorway in his mind.
"You are so hot."
Harvey couldn't stop himself from laughing. The kid was bold, Harvey will give him that.
"And you're nineteen."
"You're cold."
Harvey shook his head as Ray pulled away from the curb.
"You're still nineteen."
◇
Five years later...
The next five years were calm.
As Mike got older, they gradually began talking more and more.
The daily tugs returned after Harvey saved Mike from being expelled. Before long, they were talking every couple of weeks. Then it became weekly. Eventually, they talked almost every day.
Mike had also listened to him. He dropped Trevor, something Harvey had honestly never expected him to do. Trevor was like a drug to Mike, but he proved Harvey wrong by cold-turkeying it.
Apparently, according to Mike, his Grammy had been thrilled when she found out.
"She said anyone who convinced me to drop Trevor deserves a medal."
Harvey had laughed at that.
"At least I have your Grammy's blessing."
"You definitely do."
Today, Mike was graduating from Harvard. Even though Mike was only twenty-four, Harvey had decided it was finally time for them to officially meet. Truthfully, he'd wanted to meet him for a while now. But there was another reason.
Harvey had recently been promoted to Senior Partner, which meant he finally got his own associate. And he already knew exactly who he wanted. Mike Ross.
Harvey had given Jessica a heads-up that he intended to hire him.
She hadn't objected.
She had simply looked at him over the top of a file and issued one warning.
"No shenanigans."
Harvey had rolled his eyes.
"As if I'd cause shenanigans."
Jessica's unimpressed stare had been answer enough.
Mike had no idea Harvey was going to be at his graduation.
He had heard Mike mention that his Grammy wouldn't be able to make it. She was back in the hospital, and Harvey knew Mike was expecting to celebrate alone.
Not today.
Harvey sat quietly among the crowd as graduates filed into the auditorium. Every so often, his eyes would drift toward Mike, who looked... different. Older. More confident.
He was not the scared nineteen year old Harvey had met outside the dean's office. He was a man. A young man, but still not a kid anymore.
When Mike's name was called, Harvey watched him walk across the stage to receive his diploma.
As the ceremony continued and the speeches began, Harvey couldn't help but smile.
Third in the class.
Mike had been insufferably proud of that fact, happily reminding Harvey every chance he got that Harvey had only graduated fifth in his own class.
Harvey opened the doorway between their minds.
"I'm proud of you."
He watched as Mike bit his lip, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"I'm in the middle of graduation. Can I talk to you later?"
Harvey couldn't help but chuckle.
Mike had absolutely no idea he was sitting only a few rows away.
"Of course."
As the ceremony came to an end, Harvey made his way outside the auditorium. He stood off to the side, watching as graduates poured through the doors, immediately finding their families and friends.
Harvey's eyes searched the crowd until they landed on Mike.
Still dressed in his cap and gown, Mike stepped outside and glanced around for a moment before adjusting the strap of his bag and heading toward the street.
Harvey opened the doorway between their minds one more time.
"Where are you going?"
As Mike answered, Harvey started walking, staying a few steps behind him.
"I'm going to catch a cab and then a flight back to New York."
"You sure you don't want to drive with me?"
Harvey spoke the words out loud.
Mike stopped dead in his tracks. He slowly turned around. Those bright blue eyes went wide with disbelief.
"Harvey?" A grin spread across Mike's face. "You came to my graduation?"
Harvey slipped his hands into his pockets.
"Of course I did. I had to snatch up my associate before another law firm beat me to it."
Mike rolled his eyes as he closed the distance between them.
"Is that all?"
Harvey's lips curled into a smirk.
"I may have wanted to see you."
Mike laughed.
"You're a year early."
He glanced dramatically at his watch.
"I don't know, Harvey. You're usually pretty strict about these things."
"I can bend the rules a little," Harvey replied with a smile.
He took a moment to really look at Mike.
Somehow, he'd managed to grow another inch. He was nearly as tall as Harvey now, and the skinny teenager Harvey had met outside the dean's office had long since disappeared.
"You actually look like an adult now. You're not all small and scrawny anymore."
Mike laughed, giving Harvey a small playful shove.
"Shut up, old man." His eyes wandered over Harvey's face before a grin spread across his own. "Is that gray I see in your hair?"
"I am thirty-four, Mike," Harvey replied, rolling his eyes. "I do not have grays yet."
"You sure about that?" Mike teased as he took another step closer.
Harvey smiled.
At some point over the last year, he'd stopped seeing Mike as the nineteen year old he'd rescued, or the sixteen year old he first talked to.
Mike was a grown man.
He had matured. He'd left Trevor behind. He'd stopped making reckless decisions. And every time life knocked him down, he'd gotten back up without Harvey or his grammy's help.
Somewhere along the way... Harvey had fallen in love with him.
Mike had never once tried to hide how he felt. Maybe this had always been inevitable.
Harvey reached out, resting a hand against the small of Mike's back before gently pulling him closer.
Then he kissed him.
For the briefest moment, Mike stood completely still, caught off guard. Then the surprise melted away, and he kissed Harvey back. When they finally pulled apart, Harvey couldn't help but smile.
"You ready to go?"
Mike smiled right back.
"I can introduce you to the firm tomorrow."
"Absolutely."
THE END