CHAPTER 14

Even if Harvey had planned to get back to his work sooner or later, he found himself enjoying this quality time with his son way too much to even think about his work.
They tried out a bunch of different multiplayer games but Harvey's favourite was definitely the LEGO Marvel Avengers game because first of all who doesn't love LEGO and second of all the game showed that they were great at teamwork.
The hours went by fast and they eventually decided to watch a movie before going to bed and of course they chose another classic movie.
When one of the saddest scenes in the movie came, Harvey glanced over at Mike only to see that the boy had fallen asleep and for a second Harvey considered waking him up and scolding him for falling asleep during a masterpiece but eventually decided against it.
The kid looked absolutely adorable and Harvey couldn't stop himself from taking a picture of him, not only because he wanted the picture for himself but also because he knew that Donna would melt when she saw it.
After taking the picture, he gently shook Mike's shoulder trying to get him to wake up so that he could go to bed but all he got from the kid was a soft mumble.
He didn't have the heart to leave him sleeping in this uncomfortable-looking position so he carefully lifted Mike up and he was surprisingly light for an eleven-year-old.
Harvey put Mike down on the bed before pulling the comforter over him and then he dared to place a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

"Good night, kid."

He whispered before leaving the room, glad that Donna hadn't been there to witness it, she'd never stop teasing him about being a big softie and not at all the coldhearted man he wanted people to believe he was.

The next morning, none of them mentioned what had happened last night.
Since Mike was almost a teenager, he would most likely find it very embarrassing that he had been carried to his like a little child.
They had breakfast and Harvey looked through the casefiles while Mike watched some TV before they left the apartment.
Ray drove him to school and Harvey told him to have a good day before the car continued to the firm.
It wasn't until he sat down by his desk and his eyes instinctively looked over at the couch that he realized that he actually missed having Mike around.
Sure, the kid had only been in his office for a week but it had been enough time for Harvey to get used to his presence.
It didn't really make sense for him to miss him since having an easily bored eleven-year-old in his office had been a big distraction.

"You miss having him around, don't you?"

Donna asked with a knowing smile, somehow being able to read his mind.

"And to think that you were actually hesitating to become his guardian."

She continued and Harvey found it as unbelievable as she did.
It hadn't been long since the kid came into his life but he had managed to change a lot in that short time and it was now unbelievable to think that he had almost let his fear stop him from this.
Sure, it was all still new and he was still as terrified as he had been back then but he didn't regret it.
Once they had gotten past the initial anger and hurt they had started to create something that Harvey hadn't even known that he needed.
Despite the fact that he still didn't really know how to be a father, he wouldn't change his decision to take care of his son for everything in the world.

Over the following week, they fell into a comfortable routine where they had breakfast together in the morning before going off to school and work, then they came back home and if Harvey had the time they played video games and/or watched a movie.
Mike also started to feel more and more comfortable in the apartment which, to Harvey's annoyance, meant that he started to get messier.
It started out by Harvey tripping over Mike's converse that had been kicked off in the hallway or the living room, then he started to leave his bag and his books all over the place and finally his clothes were found in the most random places.
Despite the fact that Harvey was annoyed by it and realized that his apartment would never be as neat as it used to be, the mess actually made it feel more like a home than it had ever felt before.

It was Friday afternoon and Harvey walked through the hallway, thinking about what they would have for dinner when he got home, when he thought that he saw his son sitting in Louis' office.
He was aware of the fact that his mind had been more and more filled with thoughts related to the boy and he knew that he missed having the kid around, but that was completely different from believing that he saw him when he wasn't there.
Harvey turned around and walked back to Louis' office, fully expecting that his mind had been playing tricks on him but apparently he hadn't imagined it.
Mike was really sitting by Louis' desk while the man was talking to him and Harvey frowned in confusion before he opened the door and walked inside without knocking.
Louis stopped talking while Mike turned back to him and gave him a look that screamed "help me".

"Why didn't you tell me that your kid's a genius?"

Louis asked before Harvey even had the chance to ask what was going on.

"He saw that the numbers were off before I even realized that something was wrong."

The man continued and held up some document that he was working on.
Louis was clearly amazed by Mike's attentiveness and Harvey knew that if Louis got the chance he would want to use Mike, as if the kid had been a dancing monkey.
Harvey would never be cruel enough to let his own son get caught in Louis' clutches.

"I'm honestly not surprised that you needed help from an eleven-year-old, Louis."

He said, mocking the man even if Mike had helped him too, and the man's face fell while Mike grinned.
Harvey beckoned Mike to come with him and the kid slowly got up from the chair before carefully passing Louis, as if he was afraid that the man wouldn't let him leave.
Once they had left Louis' office, Mike released a big sigh of relief.

"Thank God you showed up, I thought I was stuck with him forever."
"How did you even end up in Louis' clutches to begin with?"

Harvey asked in an amused tone, he was able to be amused by the situation now since the protective urge had disappeared when he had gotten Mike out of the office.

"I came here to talk to you but then I met Louis by the elevators, he told me that he wanted to apologize for our first meeting before he more or less kidnapped me. You guys should really up your security."
"I'll get you some pepper spray."

Mike grinned at his words before he told him why he had shown up at the firm to begin with.
He had come here to ask for permission to spend the weekend at his old house with his grandmother, since the old woman actually felt better for the first time since her hospital visit, and Harvey couldn't deny the kid the chance to spend some time with his grandmother so of course he said yes.
He didn't realize the consequence of this decision until hours later when he arrived home and realized how cold and empty his apartment felt without Mike there.
Even when he sat down to work on some casefiles, he found his thoughts drifting off and he spent more time coming up with different fun activities they could do next weekend than actually working.
It was crazy how much becoming a parent could change, not only change his life but change him.

Monday eventually came alone, even if it felt like the weekend had lasted forever, and Harvey found himself looking forward to the afternoon when Mike would return home and they could fall back into their routine.
Harvey began his day with a morning meeting with a client and despite his best efforts, he found himself thinking more about what movie they could watch next than listening to the client.
Once he was back at the firm, he steeled himself for meeting Donna, he knew that the secretary would somehow know that he had spent the weekend missing the kid and she wouldn't waste a second before rubbing it in his face.
When he arrived to his office however, his secretary didn't wear a smile on her face instead she looked worried.

"What's going on?"
"The school called, Mike never showed up this morning."

Harvey felt a sinking feeling in his stomach while Donna tried to mask her worry.

"I'm sure he's just playing hooky or something."

Despite her best efforts, she couldn't completely mask her worry and it was obvious that she was imagining the worst.
Harvey walked into his office at sat down in his chair before calling Mike with shaking hands and when he didn't answer, Harvey called Edith instead but according to her, Mike and Trevor had left for school earlier this morning.
Harvey spent over an hour calling and texting Mike while he couldn't stop imagining all different kind of scenarios, everything from the kid being kidnapped to him lying dead in a ditch somewhere.
Then finally he got a sign that his son was alive when Mike texted him the words "I'm fine", but when Harvey tried calling him again, he didn't pick up.
When Mike did show up again, Harvey was definitely going to kill the kid.