A/N: Hi again. So this chapter is really just setting up the story. It's necessary but it's obviously not one I was super excited to write. I mainly just wanted to set up the background and maybe try and develop the house dynamic a teeny tiny bit. I tried to make it as clear as possible. :S So, I decided to just put it up quickly so I don't forget any of the stuff I'm excited about... I don't quite know why I felt you needed to know that. I have nothing to do with "Graceland" or USA and I am in no way profiting from this fic.

Enjoy X

Chapter 2

Charlie was right, Mike had done a great job on his last mission. He had been undercover with one of California's most powerful Russian crime families, the Novikov, for a few weeks. Mike had begged to be assigned a case of his own, tired of shadowing the others so Briggs told him to try and get as close to the top as he could. Mike, ever the over-achiever was determined to impress Briggs and, truthfully, the rest of his house-mates as well. He'd finally learned to pretty much disobey every rule in the FBI manual and was willing to take some risks to get attention.

He had introduced himself as a mid-level east coast drug dealer who recently had to relocate to California after he pissed off the head of a rival family over there. In one lie Mike had explained why no one had ever seen him around before, he'd gained their trust in a "my enemy's enemy" kind of a way and he'd accounted for the cheap product he was offering. He'd also managed to get close to the top of the operation with his high quality product (generously donated by Jakes and all it had cost Mike was a mere three turns of the chore wheel) While Mike was quite proud of himself, to say that the others were less than impressed was an understatement.

"What, you want a medal?" was Briggs somewhat discouraging response, "Johnny was making up crap ten times better than that last night at the bar and he just wanted to get laid."

"Hey, give him a break, Briggs," Johnny interjected, slinging an arm around Mike, "some people are naturally exceptional, like me," he flashed a cheesy smile, "and others just need to coast sometimes. Don't feel bad about your inadequacies, Mike. And hey, man, don't get upset if you never reach my level of perfection." He thumped Mike right between the shoulder blades before giving him a wink and moving on, laughing. Mike winced as he tried to figure out whether or not Johnny was serious about the first part before he continued."That story was pretty weak, though."

"You two are assholes," Paige groaned.

"Thanks, Paige," Mike's blue eyes lit up a little, his mood lightening at the sight of one of his friends coming to his aid, "You don't think my story sucks, right?" Paige's face dropped and she quickly exited the room, pretending her cell phone was ringing. Great. Mike hung his head only to catch sight of a small hand moving to lace with his.

"It's not lame, its vague." Charlie argued.

"It's average." Briggs challenged.

"It's smart. It's generic, it's hard to trace and it could apply to about a half a million guys. Mike could be anybody. I mean, isn't that what you're always telling him to do, be vague? He obviously chose something that average on purpose, right, Mike?" Charlie's eyes widened a little when Mike hesitated. He was so busy grinning as he watched her defend him that he missed his cue to confirm it.

"Oh, yeah. Yes. God, I mean obviously I did it on purpose," Mike was met with three pairs of suspicious eyes and so he went on the defensive, "You know, I am sick of you guys thinking I'm an idiot an-"

"Yeah," the whole room turned in stunned silence as Jakes uttered more than a grunt for the first time that morning... before he restored normality, "Mikey here got a hefty 1700 on his practicals after all, didn't you, Levi?" he smiled wickedly, his words dripping with sarcasm. Briggs and Johnny coiled up laughing and even Charlie had to bite her lip to keep from giggling.

"Thanks. Thank you. The support is wonderful." Mike was trying to save face but he couldn't help but feel really dejected. At that moment he felt a soft nudge in his ribs and looked up to see Charlie, by his side, giving him a reassuring wink as her full lips pulled up in a warm smile. It was all Mike could do not to kiss her there and then.

The next morning Mike awoke alone. Not getting to spend the night with Charlie would have turned his mood sour on its own but he was still pissed about the teasing he'd received yesterday. He got out of bed, determined to impress the Russians and the house-mates. He quickly threw on his work-out clothes and set off on his usual route but not before stopping into Charlie's room to see was she home. He breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted the top of her head poking out over the duvet. He hated when she stayed out all night but he'd learned not to question her about it or ask her to be more careful. That was the only real fight they'd ever had. Even though it was hard, they had to trust one another not to do anything too stupid, not to put themselves in unnecessary danger. At the same time, though, they had to accept that this job, life at Graceland was dangerous and they couldn't let their worry stop them from carrying it out properly.

Mike soundlessly made his way over to Charlie's bed and paused for a minute to watch her sleep before rearranging her covers where she'd kicked them off. He leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead.

"What did I say about before noon?" came Charlie's sleepy voice. She didn't even bother to open her eyes.

"Right, sorry." Mike whispered as he made for the door, feeling a little rebuffed.

"Mike, I'm kidding, get back here," Charlie snapped. She would have been more amused by his obedience if he hadn't woken her at 6 a.m. Her sense of humour wouldn't kick in for another four hours. Mike smiled in relief as he took Charlie's now outstretched hand and allowed himself to be pulled down on the bed beside her. He heard her mumble the word "idiot" as she nestled into him.

"You're crazy getting up this early," she whimpered, but when he didn't react she began to feel uneasy, "What's the matter, Mike?"

"I have to go figure out what to do next with the Russians," Mike sighed as he pulled her closer, "I've got to impress them." he closed his eyes wearily as Charlie turned to look at him.

"Mike look at me," she took his face in her hands, sitting up, "You don't have anything to prove, okay? You are smart and you're enthusiastic and you're good at your job. None of us caught on as quick as you," Mike fixed her with a sceptical stare, his eyes narrowing. "What, you don't believe me?" there was an edge of irritation in her voice but she she sighed and continued, "Okay, answer me this: why would everyone be so threatened by you if you weren't doing a good job, huh? Why would they give you such a hard time? You don't think Briggs knows you're only gonna work harder the more he underestimates you? It's because they know you're strong and they know you're a hard worker. Give yourself a break, baby" Mike chewed on that for a minute, his brow furrowed and his lip pouting in thought.

"Yeah but, Charlie, what if you're wrong?" Mike's eyes were filled with uncertainty and his bottom lip was still jutting out. Charlie felt her heart break a little. She inwardly vowed to kill the others once she was fully awake and at her full strength.

"Aww, puppy," she pressed a kiss to his forehead, "If I'm wrong then screw them. I guess you cant please everyone, right? And besides, the only opinion you should care about is mine." she teased, grinning playfully. Mike returned her smile, his eyes lightening and his mood lifting considerably. He kissed Charlie a final time and felt himself walking a little taller now that he knew at least she had confidence in him. Maybe her opinion was the only one that mattered to him. He blushed as this thought crossed his mind and thought the better of saying it out loud. Charlie had a lot of pillows and cushions that could be used as projectiles and he knew it was far too early for "his mushy gushy bullshit" as she'd affectionately named his softer side.

Mike set out for his run with a decidedly different mindset. He was still out to impress but now it was Charlie and only Charlie's good opinion he sought. If she had faith in him he was going to show her it had not been misplaced.

Mike swore he would not let himself go home until he'd come up with a plan. He could handle the physical exertion but he was dying to get home to the beautiful girl who'd promised she be waiting for him in the empty house when he returned. Mike felt his pulse quicken so he shook his head and forced himself to focus on the task at hand.

Mike ran for miles, unable to create anything worthwhile. He had to try and think of something dangerous, something risky- something stupid. Mike was not good at trusting in "stupid." Mike wasn't Briggs. Mike couldn't just act off instinct like Briggs, at least not when the stakes were really high, like on his first night in Graceland with the other Russian crime family, the Vzakonye.

"Oh my God, Vzakonye." Mike stopped in his tracks as inspiration practically smacked him in the face. Technically, he was still in with the Vzakonye. Frankie something, that had been his cover. Well what if Frankie went to the Vzakonye with a tip off about his other Russian friends, the Novikov, he could tell them about that huge drop that was going to happen that night. Why? Maybe he wanted to atone for killing two of their men that night. (They didn't have to know it was Briggs that shot them.) So, if everything went to plan, the drop would be intercepted by the Vzakonye, the Vzakonye would get the hell out of there only to be stormed by the FBI the minute they made it home. Mike giggled to himself as the best part of his plan dawned on him: none of this could be traced back to Mike. Who'd tipped them off? Some guy called Frankie. Mike wouldn't even have to blow his cover.

Mike whipped his phone out of his pocket and dialled in a giddy frenzy.

"Charlie, it's Mike. Listen, remember that make-up job you did for me on my first case? Yeah, the scar on my forehead. Well, I need you to do it again. I'll be home in ten."

"You got a plan, Mikey?"

"Yup. It's risky, it's crazy, it's messy- I mean, it's got about a dozen moving pieces. It's confusing and it's going to be almost impossible to pull off."

"Sounds perfect."

Mike laughed as he hung up. He punched the air and practically floated home with a smile so big his cheeks hurt.

And, miraculously, everything had gone to plan. Thankfully, Briggs had only shot two insignificant henchmen that night so the Vzakonye didn't shoot Mike the second he walked back into Sorin's Autoshop. He offered the tip and sure enough, that night, the new Russians, the Novikov family, had all of their cargo jacked. Then an hour later the Vzakonye's efforts proved fruitless as they were stormed by Johnny and the SWAT team. The only hiccup had been the murder of two out of three of the Novikov brothers. The (formerly) three brothers headed the Novikov operations and were three of the biggest king pins on the west coast. Mike probably would have been more concerned if he hadn't been too bust basking in the glow of his newly garnered praise.

The next night at the bar Mike didn't pay for any of his drinks. Briggs was practically giddy, delighted that Mike was finally learning from his "infinite wisdom" as he put it. Johnny, well, Johnny was just pleased he'd had a chance to storm the crime den- his favourite past time. Jakes offered a gracious nod by way of praise before toasting to "Levi's triumph." (Mike sighed as he realised that nick-name was never going away) Mike blushed when Paige had given him a kiss on the cheek and he beamed whenever Charlie shot him a wink or quickly kissed him when no one was looking. She grinned proudly the whole night and Mike even heard her whisper "I told you assholes he could do it" when she thought he was out of earshot.

Mike took a triumphant gulp of his beer but felt it turn sour in his mouth as he caught sight of Charlie dragging Johnny up to dance. He wasn't jealous, simply frustrated that he couldn't wind his arms around her and have her press her gyrating hips against his. Later that night Mike pulled Charlie into a concealed corner to kiss her passionately.

"Lets just tell them," he pressed the plea to her lips as he paused to catch his breath, "They're going to have to find out sooner or later. And the sooner they find out the sooner we can stop all the secrecy." Charlie pulled away and shot Mike a quizzical stare, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. "... all the relationship secrecy." he qualified with an exasperated roll of his eyes. Charlie giggled and pressed another kiss to his lips.

"Soon, okay?" Mike sighed and nodded as she wiped the smudged lipstick from his face and smoothed his hair down. He pressed a last kiss to her forehead before she slipped away. Mike stood there for a minute, still dizzy from their embrace, totally unaware of just how soon their secret would be revealed.

A/N: So, as I said, I just wanted to set up the case Mike was working on (which I tried to make as clear as possible but if it's still really confusing let me know.) don't worry though, its not important really, I just wanted it to be established. Bit of a flashback there, I hope that was clear. So what I'm saying is, sorry if that was really messy and confusing but bare with me, the worst is over. Comments/ suggestions would still be really helpful, nothing is set in stone in my mind just yet. I really hoped you enjoyed it and, of course, thanks for reading. X