A/N: Hello! So I got a bug up my butt to write this but this is about all that I have, and I don't even know how this will end. I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, I just play with them ...
As quirky and sociable Mike was, he was a secretive person. He had a wall built around him that went sky high and even Trevor had never been able to completely scale his wall. For the most part, Mike let others see only what he wanted them to see, choosing his persona based on the situation. Even when he did let others somewhat inside his defenses, he wasn't any less open. Whereas the majority of the time he played cool and confident and sly, he was more quiet and serious and studious. It wasn't as though he had planned for it to turn out this way. Indeed, everything about how Mike operated was simply a product of the shit he had had to deal with over the years. The wall had been built to protect him from a repeat of life and any possible future attacks. And funnily enough, Harvey Spector had the most insight to Mike, even if he didn't quite know it.
It was for this reason that Mike froze when he saw Sarah and Mitchell Brown, while walking to Conference Room 3. They seemed innocent enough, standing there with the rest of the clients in the class action lawsuit, anxious expressions on their faces. Sarah had gone grey at the temples some, though most of it blended in with her fairly blonde hair. Where the only aging Sarah had gone through was the grey hair, Mitchell had gone through some radical changes. The muscle he used to proudly show off had melted some and blended into the layer of padding that now circled his once lean stomach. Wrinkles carved their way across his forehead and his once dark hair was now more salt and pepper than simply pepper. They seemed nice enough from a distance, and yet the sight of them was enough to stop Mike in his tracks, and it wasn't until Harvey walked past Mike and paused to probably berate him for just standing outside the room when there were clients to interview. However, Mike beat him to it and forcibly moved their bodies so that Harvey was facing the clients with Mike facing him. He looked at the floor, even though the Browns couldn't possibly see his face or recognize him now. It had been years.
"Harvey, I can't go in there," Mike whispered furiously, his voice and hands shaking with some emotion that couldn't be named. He looked at Harvey, trying to convey how important this was.
"Why not? I need you in there with-"
"I can't." Mike had never looked more vulnerable in the entire time Harvey had known him. There was something wrong, and he needed to know now. Harvey looked back to the clients in the room, not seeing anyone even mildly offending.
"Mike, what's going on?" he questioned, starting to get simultaneously worried and annoyed.
"Harvey … just don't make me go in there," Mike said, now pleading with Harvey.
"Or what? I can fire y-"
"My foster parents are in there, ok?" he interrupted, clearing not saying what Harvey was expecting him to say. "Don't. Please," he whispered, looking Harvey straight in the eye.
There was an array of emotions there, ranging from embarrassed to pleading to scared. Harvey looked at Mike, who managed to look years younger and weary beyond his years at once, to the group of clients in the room. He stared at the group as if he could discern who Mike was talking about simply by sight. He looked back at the kid, who had gone completely still in anticipation of what Harvey said next.
"Go to my office. We'll talk about this later," he said now walking away from Mike to the room, not wanting to give him the opportunity to object.
It was a long wait, and Mike wasn't good at waiting. Especially not in situations like the one he was currently in. Anxious and shook up as he was, Mike had forgotten to say hi to Donna before entering Harvey's office and simply walked right in. Harvey had probably already informed her he was allowed to be in the office, however, because she said not a word to him and continued on whatever task she was focusing so intently on. It wasn't until half an hour later, after contemplating what Harvey was going to say, that Mike had realized what he had done and gone out to apologize to the fiery redhead.
"Harvey told me something was up. Go get something to work on while you wait," she suggested a strange look crossing her face as she addressed him. Mike was too worked up to care and went to go get some briefs to look over.
Mike spent the rest of his time in the office, attempting to look over briefs, worrying over the conversation that was going to happen with Harvey and what he would say, and resisting the urge to run back downstairs and watch the Browns from afar.
By the time Harvey had made it up to his office, Mike was sitting still on his couch, trapped in his own head. He looked to Donna before approaching the room.
"He might have worn a hole through your carpet," she answered his unspoken question with hardly a glance to her boss.
"I'm sure," he returned, keeping his eyes on Mike and preparing himself for the subsequent conversation.
"What's going on?" Donna's face had softened with worry, also looking at the kid she had unwittingly started to like. "Why the background check on him? He's not in trouble again is he?"
"I don't know. Find anything?" he asked, turning to her.
"I'll let you know," she said, brow furrowing. "I think I found something, but we'll see."
"Thanks." With that, Harvey entered his office, not unaware of the small flinch Mike gave at hearing the door open.
Harvey sat down at his desk, trying to figure out where to start. He looked to Mike, taking in his rumpled stated, the leg bouncing nervously, and Mike staring at him with an unreadable look.
"I thought you lived with you grandma," he started.
Mike looked down, trying to find the words. "I did. After my parents … She's elderly. She's been in and out of the hospital for years. There was a time when I was fifteen that she got really sick and had to be hospitalized. We don't have any other family, so I had to stay home by myself. One of my neighbors found out and called the Department of Children's Services."
"And you were put in foster care," Harvey picked up when Mike had failed to continue.
"Yeah." Mike continued to stare at the floor, caught in between half flashes of memories and hoping Harvey would drop the subject there.
"Which ones were they?" He should've known better than to think Harvey would leave the subject at that.
"The Browns." Not the people Harvey was expecting. They were nice, quiet. Nothing that would get this kind of reaction from the Mike he knew. But then there was a lot he didn't know about Mike, and he was just starting to get that.
"You gonna tell me why I couldn't let you go in that room?" He was trying to be patient, Mike could tell, but Harvey didn't deal with this kind of thing. Emotions. Certainly not with other people's emotions.
"Nope."
"Mike-"
Mike looked up sharply. "No one knows. I … I can't tell you. Trevor didn't even know and he was my only friend at the time."
Harvey could see the effect this conversation was having on Mike. His knuckles were white from gripping each other so hard, to keep his hands from trembling. He was pale, and his breathing was coming out in shallow gasps, as if he couldn't get enough air and his leg was bouncing up and down like it was on its own energy pack.
"Why-"
"Harvey, I need Mike for …" Louis had barged in, obviously waiting until Donna had gone on a bathroom trip before coming in with Rachel in tow. The tension in the office was palpable, and Louis had trailed off realizing that he had just interrupted something big, while Rachel stood in the background looking between Mike and Harvey. "I can come back," Louis suggested.
Harvey seethed, hating Louis Litt more than he had ever hated him before. He was just about to answer in a way that could've gotten him fired when Mike answered for the both of them. "We were just wrapping up anyone."
That was something that Harvey filed away for later; Mike would rather work for Louis than talk to him about what had happened in his time with the Browns. Mike stood and made to leave the office with Louis, who looked between the two, trying to figure out what had been going on before he came in. Rachel looked down at her pile of papers uncomfortably, trying to be unobtrusive as possible.
Right as Mike walked out of the office, Harvey decided to put his last word in. "For now."
Mike stared at him sharply, before letting the door shut behind him. "Not if he had anything to say about it," he murmured to himself.
Tell me what you think!
Btw, I don't have too much time to spend on this