Chapter 1

It had been a long day. Heck, it had been a long week, and Harvey Specter was hoping for some good news. He had just spent the last two hours in a senior partners meeting, discussing their quarterly results and drawing on all his will power not to up and walk out when Louis tabled a proposition to change the brand of the bran bars they stocked in the kitchen. The entire meeting, Harvey was preoccupied with only one concern. Paula had given him an ultimatum. Her or Donna. It was something that had caught him by surprise and frankly, he had never considered his relationship with Donna to be a problem. But time and time again, it keeps getting brought up as an issue. With Scottie, with Donna's ex boyfriend, whatever his name was. And now again with Paula. He guesses perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise then. And her kissing him didn't really help matters.

He had spent the entire day trying to figure out a way out of it. He was Harvey Spector for god's sake. He makes a living making the impossible happen for his clients and he was damn good at it. But Paula's ultimatum was black and white. Either Donna leaves the firm, or their relationship ends. And he couldn't find a way around it. But the second most capable person in the firm to make the impossible possible was the subject of his dilemma and she may have found a solution. And he's hopeful that she has pulled through.

"Do you think I don't hate this? Do you think I haven't racked my brain trying to figure out some other way out of this? Because I have Donna, and I don't see one!" He looked at the redhead in front of him with an air of desperation and admission of defeat. He did not admit defeat often and it was killing him.

"Maybe I do" she replied, before turning on her heel and walking out of his office with a sense of purpose and determination.

Harvey strides down the hall and into his office. He reaches for the phone on his desk, ready to dial Donna's number, needing to hear some good news. That she's fixed it. Fixed it like how she has fixed his life every day for the past thirteen years. His hope is shattered as he notices the letter of resignation on his desk. Fuck. With every sentence he read, his chest grows tighter. She couldn't fix it.

He raced out of his office and barged into hers next door. Everything that made the office hers were gone. Her mug with the stupid Shakespeare pun was gone. As was the pot plant she kept on her windowsill and the trinkets she kept on her shelves that gave the office the Donna touch.

This was it. If getting out of it didn't work, this was his choice to the ultimatum, right? Paula was his first chance in a long time to have a proper, grown up relationship. He was no longer in his 20s. Hell he has even said goodbye to his 30s. For the longest time, Harvey has only had one goal, to be the best goddamn lawyer in New York. But he sees what his brother Marcus has with his wife and his kids. He sees how his family looks him and he wants that too. Donna's departure will allow him to have this, right? He tries to justify this to himself, convince himself that this for the best. But why does it feel so wrong?

...

He could count on one hand the number of times he has come face to face with door bearing the numbers "206", and each time represented a significant development in their relationship. Tonight will be no different. The past 45 minutes were a blur but judging by where he was currently standing, he must have left the office, jumped in the first cab he could find and directed the driver to her apartment block. He raised his fist and knocked three times. It didn't take long until he heard feet shuffling towards the door inside. The door opened slowly and suddenly they were face to face. Harvey releases a breath he didn't even realise he was holding.

As soon as she heard those knocks, she knew exactly who it was. She half expected him to visit that night. In fact, she expected him around 15 minutes ago so he's a bit behind schedule. She looked at his face and swears he had aged five years in the past week. His usual confident posture was non existent, causing him to appear half an inch shorter. Her heart dropped, knowing that she was the reason why.

"Can I come in?" he asked softly, gazing at her with those soft brown eyes.

She nodded and opened the door wider, inviting her former boss inside. They silently made their way into her living room where he took a seat on her plush, grey couch. No words were needed between the two. They had been the closest person in each others lives for the past thirteen years. And they both knew that things will now never be the same. She pours them both a glass of scotch, from a bottle she keeps at her place that she only drinks when he's visiting, which isn't all that often. She sits down beside him and hands him a glass, watching as he downs the whole glass in one go.

"I'm sorry" he chokes out as his swallows, staring intently at his empty glass. He doesn't have the courage to look at her. "I'm sorry that this is how…it has happened."

"You mean how we end things between us?" she challenges. "How I'm essentially forced out of my job, my family at the firm…out of your life?"

He looks up at her with pain etched in his face. It's killing him inside too. He looks back down at his glass, almost in shame, as they continue to sit in silence. After years of banter and flirting and bickering and telling each other everything that's going on in each others lives, both were now at a loss of words. What happens now? Will they see each other again?

"Does Paula know that you're here?" she asks, breaking the silence.

"No, her sister's in town for the week. They've gone to see a Broadway show. She's not expecting me tonight" he responds. He raises his head and looks her in straight in the eyes. Suddenly something shifts inside him. Maybe it's the scotch, which he downed too quickly, hitting his bloodstream and clouding his mind. Or maybe it's hitting him that he's saying goodbye to the most important woman in his life for over a decade. His eyes darken as he reaches to caress her cheek and rests his forehead on hers. She closes her eyes as they fill with tears before spilling over, running down her face and wetting his hand. They stay frozen in position for a moment, the only movement in the room being their breaths caressing each other's lips. It's not certain who made the move but slowly the gap between them vanished and their lips brushed together again for the second time in a week. Only this time, both parties were in consensus.

All rhyme or reason flew out the window. Right now, it didn't matter that this was the very reason why they got caught up in the mess to begin with. It didn't matter that she resigned a few hours ago. And it didn't matter that there was a Paula. The only thing that mattered was each other and right now that felt right.

Donna slowly pulled back and opened her eyes, and stared at him through her drenched lashes. Grabbing his hand, she stood up and led him towards her bedroom. An unspoken truce passed. Both know that tomorrow everything would change. But tonight, they would cherish each other like they did thirteen years ago. Both know that he will wait until she falls asleep before quietly leaving her apartment. And when she wakes up tomorrow morning, she will be alone. Because tonight is goodbye, and tomorrow, their new lives start, without each other.

Donna wishes she could say that when she woke the next day, she continued her usual Saturday morning routine with her weekly yoga session before having breakfast at the café around the corner. She wishes she could say that as an independent, strong woman, she brushed her feelings aside and carried on with her day. But instead it still hurt when her expectation came true and she woke to an empty bed. It still hurt when he didn't call or text or even leave a damn note. And it hurt as she stayed in bed all day, crying over losing Harvey Specter.