Author's notes:

This is my first attempt at writing in the Suits fandom… I hope I'm forgiven for leaving the Prison Break universe (even if you can never say never, I might go back to it someday).

With that, she left her office as fast as she could without running. Harvey was speechless and motionless for a moment then found his legs and went after Donna. He saw her enter the elevator and accelerated to be able to join her before the doors closed on him.

Donna stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights, afraid of what was going to happen next, afraid that it was the end. Their end. If he had stayed in her office, she could have pretended that it hadn't happened. That she hadn't kissed him (and that he hadn't kissed her back, even if she broke the kiss soon after). That her heart wasn't broken right now because of the situation they were currently in. She just wished that she could have pretended for a little longer. But it seemed that for once in his life Harvey was in a fighting mode. Just my luck, she thought. When you want him to react and fight, he doesn't do it but the one time you would prefer him to do nothing, of course he has to do something! In that case, follow her and prevent her escape. Because she was well aware of it, it was an escape. She was escaping. Escaping Harvey, escaping the mess the kiss was sure to bring, escaping the sad reality of her love life. She was deeply in love in Harvey, she realized it now, probably had been for years, and the kiss only confirmed it. When she recovered enough to look at him, anger was the first emotion that she was able to read on his face. She also detected surprise. Undeniably (and understandably) from being kissed "out of the blue" by his former assistant and now COO of the firm he was managing. Fear also seemed to be in the mix. She thought that she noticed sadness as well but it was probably her projecting her own emotions onto him.

He was the first one to speak: "Where are you going?"

She didn't respond right away but gave him a pointed look. It was obvious: she was leaving. "Home. And you probably should too." So far, her voice had been steady but she suspected that it changed when she added: "To see Paula or something?" The bitterness that she perceived in her tone disappointed even herself. She wanted to sound strong but most likely failed miserably.

"Don't bring her into this." His tone didn't allow for discussion and it hurt her a little more. "This isn't about Paula. This is about us, Donna."

She could have lashed out then. She could have told him: "There is no "us", Harvey!" The truth however was that even thinking that was difficult, almost too much, and she didn't have the strength to say it out loud. She remained silent, refusing to cry in front of him, at least not without trying to will her tears away first.

"So that's how it's going to be? You kiss me, say something enigmatic and then leave?!"

Yep, pretty much, she said to herself sarcastically. Besides, he was the one who wanted to talk now?! Really?! Okay then… "I'm sorry I kissed you, Harvey: That's what you want to hear?!"

"You can't do that, Donna!" His tone was accusatory, like what she had just done was completely illegal. "I can't do what, Harvey?" She matched his volume and expression. She was able to do that too. Because she had every reason to be. She felt more desperate than angry but she could certainly play his game if that was what he wanted. He wanted a fight, he would get a fight. At that point, what was there to lose anyway? So, she questioned aggressively: "I can't kiss you or I can't leave right after?!"

"You can't kiss me and say you're sorry without giving me some kind of explanation!" And with that, he pushed the emergency button and the elevator stopped its descent.

"I thought it was pretty obvious but I guess I should have expected no less coming from the man who has the emotional intelligence of a snail", she spat. She realized the absurdity of their exchanges and their current location/destination and her anger was not feigned anymore. If it was the reflection of their relationship, it was terribly depressing. Almost 13 years to arrive at that point? What point? Exactly. It felt like it had been all for nothing.

"I may have the emotional intelligence of a snail, as you so eloquently put it, but you are supposed to know better! You are supposed to be better, for god's sake!" His voice was louder suddenly and he glared at her when he continued: "And now you're telling me that it was all fake? That you lied to me?"

Her retort came as fast as his accusations and she yelled back: "What now? You want me to apologize for being a great actress too? For putting your happiness before mine?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "One, clearly you don't know everything about my happiness, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation!" Donna took his last sentence hard but he didn't give her time to come with a response. "Two, you think you're a great actress?!" He scoffed, with an offended expression. "I freaking deserve an Oscar for pretending not to be in love with you all this time!"

Apparently, it was her turn to speak but she was too stunned to say anything or even think about anything, other than the end of his statement, which was on repeat in her mind: "for pretending not to be in love with you". Then it hit her and she imagined that she had the same look as him earlier, minus the anger bit, as anger had left her as quickly as it had appeared. What was left was surprise, fear and sadness (now she was sure that sadness was part of the equation, she could feel it in every inch of her body). Surprise: she was more than surprised by his sudden declaration. Never in a million years had she thought him capable to say these words out loud. To her no less. Fear: she was scared that despite what he had just said, he wouldn't act on his words and nothing would change, at least nothing good for her. For them. Sadness: she was sad that she might have pushed them into a precipice, when her intentions had not been to do that. What had been her intentions? She didn't think that it had been clear in her mind at the time. It had been an impulse. The result of a horrible week (damn you, Malik), timely speeches (damn you, Mike and Louis) and almost 13 years of suppressed feelings (damn you, Harvey). She had said that she had kissed him because she had to know and it was true. But the first and most important reason was much simpler: she had kissed him because she wanted to.

As if reading her mind, Harvey broke the silence and questioned her: "So what do you know now?" His voice was unexpectedly soft and his face devoid of the harshness that had inhabited it before.

She glanced at him and cleared her throat before answering quietly: "I know that I don't want to continue as if nothing happened."

Was she referring to the kiss or their long and complicated history of (not always subtle) flirtation and missteps? He nodded because regardless of what she meant, he agreed. He leaned on the wall next to Donna but still at a reasonable distance and put his hands in his pockets, encouraging her to continue.

"I know that my rule was in place to protect myself from falling for you but that I only fooled myself because it didn't work."

Harvey swallowed with difficulty, his eyes never leaving her, while her gaze remained on the closed doors in front of her. His heart ached for her. Visibly he wasn't the only one with issues. For once, he wished he could have been.

After another moment of silence, she added, barely above a whisper: "I know that it wasn't just all in my head and that our timing is awful like usual."

He closed his eyes and exhaled quietly before opening his mouth to speak: "Donna…"

"And now I know that I ruined everything", she chuckled in a self-deprecating manner, fighting back a sob and finally turning her head to look at him in the eye.

She was about to press the button to resume their descent when she heard Harvey's voice, not loud, yet firm: "I know that I settled with Paula." That caught her attention and she resumed her position next to him, letting her hand fall to her side. "I know that I could have said something about your rule when you started to work with me at the firm, or at any other time for that matter." He licked his lips to fight the dryness that seemed to be everywhere now: his lips, his throat, the air in the metal box. "I know that I could have confronted you after what happened with Stephen. I know that I could have told you that your rule was the only reason that prevented me from staying at your apartment but not before I had told you that I loved you." He passed his hand on his face and exhaled loudly, exhausted by his long day and even more by the events of the last hour. "I know that I was a coward. I didn't want to risk anything because I was afraid to lose everything. At some point, I convinced myself that it was all in my head too. Because why would you want to be with someone like me anyway? I mean "fucked up" doesn't even begin to cover it." He finished his last sentence with a sad smile. Gone was the confident lawyer who happened to be New York City's best closer. In his place stood a man who had never felt so vulnerable. He was avoiding her eyes now. Expressing his feelings (except for his frustration and anger) was not in his habit, as least not in such an articulated way. "So, when you said that you wanted more, I was even more scared that your "more" would not include me at all and I… panicked." He took a pause, still carefully avoiding her eyes. "So yeah, I settled… I don't love her. I am not in love with her. But she was accessible and I thought you were not…" He glanced at her and didn't miss the look she gave him in return. "I know, that's twisted…"

"I would go with plain stupid if you ask me", she interjected quietly.

"Okay, that was stupid, very stupid, and I am sincerely sorry because I know that I hurt you in the past, and more recently with Paula. But please, let me make things right. Please, don't give up on me." Harvey Specter was not one to beg, for anything, but he was ready to do whatever it took to repair the one relationship in his life that he didn't want to fail, that he couldn't fail.

Donna stared at him for a long moment, as if trying to evaluate the sincerity of his words. Harvey held her gaze, fearing that if he did not, she wouldn't think that it was worth it, that they were worth it, that he was worth fighting for. She nodded imperceptibly and it gave him hope. She looked at him again and collected her thoughts before speaking: "You're right, you hurt me. But it's not like you're the only one to blame here. We're both responsible for this mess… I know what I want but I also know that I need time for myself. Time to heal. Time to find who I am again. I know what I am in this firm but there's more to life than that… I need time and I think you do too."

He was puzzled: "You're leaving the firm?"

"Not indefinitely but yes", she replied. She saw his eyes go from confusion to heartbreak in an instant and regretted her decision. "Let's call it a long overdue vacation", she added to soften the blow of her words.

"Okay", he said quietly. He appeared resigned and pushed the button to resume the elevator's descent. When the door finally opened and Donna started to exit the elevator, he couldn't help but ask: "How long do you think you're going to be gone?"

Donna turned on her heels and looked at him, uncertain: "I don't know, Harvey… Four weeks maybe?"

"Okay", he repeated, nodding. "Take care of yourself, Donna", he said before the door closed.

"You too, Harvey."