Chapter Text
The revolving fan whirling above his head did little to calm the impatience settling in his nerves. Mike’s eyes flicked from the fan, to the door then to the sea of knitted brows and twisted faces in the student-filled seats in front of him. Mumbled groans and sighs rang throughout the examination hall amidst the soft crinkle of papers and scratching of pens and pencils. Sealing fates. Fates that were destined to involve a premature death if they failed this exam.
And it wasn’t an exaggeration.
Not when everyone in this class was one of Professor Specter’s students. With that factor added in the mix, it was best to start planning a funeral once you received anything less than a perfect grade.
But that’s what Mike wanted. Because to die, you need to come in contact with the killer. And this killer, Harvey Specter, was Mike’s one way ticket into speed-running law school and out of boring-ass classes.
His eyes tracked Harvey around the room like a puzzle Mike just couldn’t figure out– but he whole heartedly believed that no such thing existed. He was too smart to get lost in the maze that was Harvey Specter.
“Eyes on your own paper,” he barked, eyeing one student in particular for a moment too long. Judging by the way they shrank under his gaze, it was obvious that they wouldn't be thinking of cheating again for quite a while.
His frame was tall, back straight and head craning left and right as he strode between the desks so he could scan over every head in the room. The suit he wore hugged his form, not too tight, but clung just enough to allude to the results of whatever workouts he did in his little free time.
Accompanied with… the other things he did in his free time.
But those were just rumours. Meaningless whispers shared between students about their too attractive and too strict teacher because they were bored. Stuff like that just… didn’t suit him. No way. Not when he was so stoic, not when he refused to talk to a student getting a hundred on every test after hours.
But it was getting harder to believe that with those pictures circling around campus. The one’s with him and different women. And men. Mike shook the thoughts out of his head. He didn’t have time to criticize anyone’s… sexual preferences. He couldn’t care less if the guy got it on with whips, and chains… or whatever other kinky shit he liked. Especially not when Harvey had what he wanted– skills.
So, this plan had better work.
It was the only way Mike could think of to get that boulder of a man to talk to him, and was also one of his more favoured schemes: Mission ‘Kiss His Ass.’ But before he could start doing any ass kissing, he had to actually get Harvey’s attention– which has posed quite the challenge.
Mike didn’t realize he'd been staring so much until Mr. Specter looked in his direction with a frown that seemed to have something beneath it, “If you’re trying to find the answers on my face, Mr. Ross, you won’t get very far.”
A chorus of soft chuckles rang out throughout the room, but it didn't phase Mike, “I don’t need answers,” the reply was instant, "I'm done.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw, it was barely there but Mike saw it. Harvey looked unimpressed, almost mocking. Harvey only huffed in response before continuing his rounds along the aisles. Only a few moments passed before there was the ring of an alarm.
“Times up,” Harvey drawled, moving to take up the first person’s paper, “Put your pens down.” Groans of frustration followed his words and people started getting up out of their seats, throwing their bags over their shoulders and shuffling out of the room one by one. Mike didn’t move for a long time and only watched as Harvey took up each paper, gathering a small pile in his arm. He waited. Watched.
He couldn't be wrong about this.
Mike was never wrong about these things.
Because he was, without a doubt, one of those students.
The ones that always seemed like they never studied, never stayed late after school and looked like they’d been to a five star resort during exam seasons– the time when the only fuel students had was ten mugs of coffee and the weighted fear of failing. Yet, he always passed. And not only did he pass, he got the top score. For every single test without failure.
At Harvard law school
When the door finally clicked behind the final person to exit the room, Mike pushed up from his seat and shifted so that his bag was draped over one shoulder. Then, as if on cue, he heard that low, familiar voice behind him:
“You,” His voice cut through the silence, stopping Mike in his tracks.
He looked over his shoulder to meet Harvey’s gaze. The plan was in motion. It took everything inside Mike not to smirk.
“Stay. We need to talk.”
“About what?” He knew goddamn well what he wanted to talk about, but he had to play coy. Harvey gave him a look that said that Mike was asking too many questions, so he clamped his mouth shut.
Mike watched silently as Harvey collected the remainder of the papers and organized them into a neat pile. The classroom was quiet. Too quiet. Only the sounds of Harvey's light footsteps filled the empty walls, as he crossed the classroom towards his desk. Mike hoped internally that he couldn't hear the sound of his heart.
Take the bait.
Take the bait
Take the–
“Do you know what your average is for my class?” He rounded his desk at the front of the class and gently placed the pile of papers on top of it.
Hell yes.
The bait has officially been taken. Mike sunk his teeth in his bottom lip so as not to smile. He sucked in a steady breath to steady the clatter of his heart against his ribs before speaking. “Enlighten me.”
There it was, that tick in his jaw again, but he concealed it as fast as Mike recognized it. Harvey opened a drawer at his desk and fished out a file from it, flipping through the pages until he stopped at one in particular and began to read the contents off the page, “Mike Ross, cumulative average, zero.” The number rolled off his tongue like it was bitter. “No assignments submitted. You’re rarely present and you’ve successfully managed to screw up every. Single. Exam.” He inched the bridge of his nose, “Yet, you act like a smartass in my class.”
Harvey threw the folder carelessly onto the desk and dropped back in his chair, swivelling in the seat with dark eyes, “Care to explain?”
Despite the tension that took root in the room, Mike was anything but worried. In fact, he strode over to Harvey’s desk as if he held the world’s greatest secrets in the palm of his hand. Mike took hold of one of the chairs and drew it right in front of Harvey’s desk before taking a seat. He leaned forward a bit before finally breaking the silence:
“...Have you ever heard of eidetic memory?”
Harvey’s brows furrowed, more in irritation rather than confusion, “something you clearly seem to lack,” he countered instantly, his eyes flicking down to the file then back up to meet Mike’s gaze. “Look, I don’t have the time to entertain whatever gimmick you’re trying to pull,” he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. “If you want to continue being a part of my class, I suggest you get your act together and quit–”
“Embarrassing you?” Mike finished for him, and based on the way his eyes darkened, Harvey wasn’t pleased with that. At all. And Mike knew that, he just couldn't have cared less. “You’re not as hard to read as you think you are, Harv–”
“Mr. Specter.” He corrected swiftly, his voice dropped by a few notes.
He was thrown off balance, but only for a moment. Mike cleared his throat and echoed, “Mr. Specter.”
Harvey only looked at him for a moment, letting his eyes sweep up, then down Mike’s form like a physical touch. Like he was keeping Mike in line with his gaze alone. Then, he leaned back in his chair, propping his elbow up on the armrest, “And why is that?” he drawled, he had an expression that made it look like he was watching grass grow. “Why am I so ‘easy to read’”
Mike swallowed dry, his fists opened and closed at his sides. Something about the subtle shift made a faint heat rise up to his cheeks, but he didn’t let it show. “It’s the way you walk. The way you dress,” Mike sucked in a sharp breath, “you have such a high ego that your body can barely contain it.” His eyes watched Har– no, Mr. Specter’s face to see if he was starting to hit a nerve. “And what other way is there to mess with someone’s ego than to show others that they’re not really as good as they think they are?”
Harvey scoffed, slightly mocking, but Mike could tell that he was amused by all this.
“You don’t bat an eye at the people who pass your class with flying colours. But when they fail? All hell breaks lose,” he continued. “Your class is a reflection of you. If someone who's getting flawless scores on every other exam starts getting zeros in your class… what will people say about your skills?”
Understanding dominated Harvey’s features, and in an instant, his smirk grew, “you failed so I'd keep you back. Didn’t you?
Mike’s own grin widened, that gave Harvey all the answers he needed, "The probability of getting a zero on a multiple choice exam is close to none,” Mike continued, “Unless you know all the answers, that is.”
“Or you’re just an idiot beyond what any probability can measure.”
He was undeterred by the remark. Mike smirked, and shifted to the edge of his seat, “What if I told you that I can consume knowledge faster than anyone you’ve met in your life?”
“I’d tell you you’re full of shit,” he snapped back.
Mike considered for a moment before glancing down at Mr. Specter's desk. His gaze lingered on a particularly thick book— a law book. The one that you had to know front to back to have any chance of passing this very examination. “That's a Barbari Legal Handbook, right?”
Harvey followed his gaze to the book before looking back to Mike with a cocked brow, he nodded.
A faint smirk curled his lip up, “read me something,” Mike leaned forward, pressing into Mr. Specter's space with a confidence that hadn't been there a moment before, “anything.”
Harvey gave him a skeptical look. He didn't have time for this. He had other classes to teach. Other trials to win. The last thing he had time for was humouring a cocky college student. But something about the look in Mike's eyes piqued his interest.
Without breaking contact, Mr. Specter pulled the book towards him, and without much thought, he opened it to a page. His eyes roved over the contents before he looked back up to Mike, “what are you playing at, Ross?”
“Whatever wins the game.” He tilted his head, holding Harvey's gaze. “C’mon. Read.”
Harvey scoffed before looking back down to the book, “Vendor shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Client from and–”
Mike cut it, “–against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising from or relating to any third-party claim based on Vendor's breach of this Agreement or negligent acts or omissions.” No stutter. No pauses.
Harvey was silent for a while, his gaze flicking over the words as he crosschecked the content in the book with Mike's words. It was perfect. Too perfect. A wolfish grin spread across his face and he looked up at Mike. “How did you…”
“I told you. Eidetic memory.”
Neither of them spoke for a long time. Not when Harvey’s eyes roved over Mike as if he was trying to read his thoughts. He leaned forward and rubbed at his chin. Mike felt like an exotic animal being watched in a zoo. “You want something from me.” Harvey finally broke the silence, “what is it?”
“I want something… more.”
He arched his brow, “More?”
“More than books and classes. I have no problems with memorizing or tests,” he continued, “I want to be a lawyer. I want to learn by doing, and I’ve heard good things about you.” He paused and considered for a moment before murmuring, more to himself than Harvey. He felt a sliver of heat rise up to his cheeks, “...amongst other things.”
The corner of his lip twitched at the murmur. Was that… a smile? It left almost as quickly as it came and Harvey leaned back in his chair. “You want me to mentor you,” he concluded, "personally."
Mike’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat and he watched Harvey’s expression for the slightest change. Then, he nodded. “Yes. I do.”
Silence fell in the room, the air felt harder to take in all of a sudden. Too thick for Mike’s lungs to manage.
“I teach four different classes, all with over a hundred students,” He leaned back, the chair creaking under his weight in the silent room. “What makes you think I have time to teach a puppy how to sit?”
He wasn't sure if that made him upset or… tingly. Mike grit his teeth and sucked in a sharp breath, refusing to let the heat take over his cheeks, “You know why. I'm more than capable of–”
“–being a nuisance?” He cut in.
“I want to be a lawyer, Harvey.”
“Mr. Specter,” he corrected, again. “And you're at Harvard. Everyone wants to be a lawyer.”
“I’m not everyone.” Mike pressed his body against the front of the desk, something that Harvey hadn't seen before flicked in his eyes. “I'll do anything for this.” He regretted the words as soon as they rolled off his tongue, and even more so when Harvey’s grin went wide.
“Anything?”
He was in too deep to crawl out now. “Anything.”
Harvey let his eyes roll up and down Mike as if he was assessing a fruit at the Market. Then, he rose to his feet. Mike twitched at the sudden movement and felt his heart sputter a bit when he rounded the desk to stand right in front of Mike, looming over him like a storm cloud.
“My time is limited.” he remarked, folding his arms over his chest, “If I call you I expect you to be there. Not in a few minutes. Not when you feel like it.” he leaned in a bit, “When I call you”
“Yeah. When you call me” Mike shifted under his gaze and nodded.
“I don’t take bullshit excuses.”
“I’d never dream of it, Har–”
His eyes darkened and he cut in before Mike could finish, “Nor do I take disrespect from people who don’t use the right titles.” Mike clamped his mouth shut. Damnit, he forgot again. “I’m not your friend, Mike, I'm your teacher. Try that again and the only time you’ll get to be in a courtroom is as a defendant.”
Someone’s grumpy. Mike swallowed whatever snarky comment was threatening to roll off his tongue and managed a small nod. “Yes… sir.” Just saying it made a heat pool in his cheeks. The things he’d do to be a lawyer. Mike averted his gaze, letting his eyes drift off to somewhere in a corner of the room.
Harvey only stared at him for a moment before sighing. He leaned down and caught Mike’s chin between his thumb and index finger, angling his head up so that their eyes would meet. “You’re under my care now.” His eyes were dark and shrouded in an intensity that Mike couldn't get behind. In that moment he wished that he could read minds. “I don’t expect anything less than a perfect lawyer.”
Something about being ‘under his care’ made Mike’s chest twist. He wanted to ask what that entailed, but something told him that knowing would make him regret his choice– and Mike hated regret. “And I’ll be that.” He sucked in a sharp breath, “I’ll be more than that.”
Something that Mike couldn’t recognize flicked over Harvey’s face. His callaused hand shifted from Mike’s chin to the top of his head and he started stroking at his scalp. Slowly. Meticulously. Like… silent praise. Mike sat there and took it, he didn't really think Harvey would be happy with him getting up now. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed. But… it’s not like it felt bad. In fact it was–
“Keep your phone close.” Mike flinched at the sound of Harvey’s voice, “I’ll be calling you tomorrow.” He continued stroking his hair, slight but deliberate motions that ignited a flame in Mike’s chest.
“Yeah I– no, I mean yes, sir” Mike nodded.
Harvey looked almost pleased at the correction. Almost. He let his hand slip away from Mike’s head and his expression fell again, stone like, giving nothing away. He hated to admit it, but the loss of the warmth was… disappointing. His eyes flicked over Mike’s form once more and he didn’t speak, and Mike didn’t get up. Like he was waiting for permission.
Once again, he seemed almost pleased.
“You may go.” He turned away from Mike, circling his table again to sit in his seat.
Mike pushed up from the chair at his cue and fixed his bag on his back. He was successful, he knew that he would be, but it felt nice to know that he was. Just as he turned to leave the room he heard Harvey’s voice behind him:
“Don’t be late.”
Mike looked over his shoulder and nodded once before continuing out into the hallway. His heart pounded in his chest faster than he could manage. It must have been adrenaline. It had to be. When he got far =ther away from the examination hall he cursed silently to himself.
What the hell had he gotten himself into?