Author's Note: My first attempt at a Suits fanfic, because I ship Harvey and Donna so much. And I hope they end up together... eventually. Enjoy reading!
"I loved a maid as red as autumn, with sunset in her hair."
She was walking out of her apartment, emerald green dress fitting her body perfectly. And her hair – it was as lovely as the sunset sky. She stopped in her tracks, pretty sure that the line from somewhere she didn't know (which was a rarity) was directed towards her.
"I'm pretty sure you stole that line," Donna said without even turning to face the man she knows is leaning on his limo.
"And you don't know where I stole it from," Harvey answered as a rebuttal. Donna knows he is smirking, picturing him with that perfect face of his.
"What do you want Harvey?" she finally faced him, seeing for the first time that he was wearing a tuxedo instead of a usual suit. He is up to something, and she has a feeling that it concerns her. Right now, she really wished it didn't.
"If you go to that 'date' with Stephen Huntley, he's going to ask you to come with him to London." He cringes as he said the word 'date', as if it was something illegal.
Donna stared at him. What's between her and Stephen is none of Harvey's business. And if what he's saying is true, then he's a fool for thinking that she might actually say "yes" and leave him. "And you know that how?"
"Because you're not the only one who knows everything," Harvey answered. "Don't go."
He is a fool indeed. "Do you really think that I would go with him?"
"No, I think that you would consider his offer, and before you do just that, I'm doing something about it." He approached the matter as he would with a case, and just like with any case, he expects to win. "I've never seen your eyes sparkle the way they do when you look at him." They had that sparkle once, when you looked at me, but he would never say that out loud.
"My eyes sparkle?" Donna asked, amused.
"Donna…" Harvey whined.
Donna raised an eyebrow at him. "And how do you plan to erase that sparkle in my eyes and stop me from going somewhere I would never consider going?"
"Come with me tonight instead," Harvey gestured towards the limo.
"And cancel on Stephen?" she somehow knew it would lead to this. Harvey Specter doesn't wear a tuxedo and wait outside an apartment for nothing.
"I already took care of him," Harvey said. Donna threw a glare at him, a glare that demanded to know what actually happened to her supposed-to-be-date. "I said we had an emergency."
"An emergency, meaning a life or death situation?" Donna joked. "You're not a doctor, Harvey. You don't exactly have an emergency that would entail you to abduct your secretary from her date."
"Donna… just… please get in the car," Harvey almost pleaded.
She hesitated for a second, thinking that it would provoke him to actually beg her.
"You wouldn't want to waste a beautiful dress," Harvey teased. "And don't tell me you'll just have to wear that for another occasion because we both know that you never recycle a dress," he added when she was about to speak.
She threw her hands up in defeat. "Okay fine, you win! You get to woo your executive assistant into not leaving you."
Harvey smiled, a huge relief etched in his face.
He took her to see Cinderella on Broadway. He saw the slight smirk on her face that tells him that he was not wrong in his pick. However, when she looked at him, her face changed into something that only showed disappointment. She was a good actress, and quick. "I've already seen Cinderella."
"Is there anything you haven't seen yet?" And he was right. If there's a new show in town, Donna's right there to watch it. "Besides, you may have seen it, but I haven't. So don't spoil it for me unless I explicitly tell you that I need an explanation on a scene."
"It's Cinderella, not rocket science," Donna replied. "And I thought you were going to woo me. I don't feel wooed."
"Fine, let's just go to dinner," Harvey feigned defeat. He opened the door of the limo and gestured for her to get in, and just as she was about to, she stopped.
"I changed my mind," she grabbed Harvey's arm and they made their way into the theater.
Harvey had to admit that the show was good, but what made it even better was that his date was actually enjoying it. Donna had on a permanent smile, or at least she was smiling every time he would catch a glimpse of her. He thought to himself that he should have done this before – take her to see something. He gets free tickets often from clients and he politely thanks them and then completely ignores the tickets. He didn't realize until now that those tickets meant more time with Donna. But then again, that would just bring back the sparkle in her eyes.
"So where are we having dinner?" Donna asked when they got out of the theatre. "Somewhere fancy, I hope. But I'm a little worried because I make all your reservations for you. Do you even know how to make a reservation?"
Harvey just had on his confident smile. He was actually proud of where he's taking her.
Way back before his mother cheated on his father, Harvey Specter actually had an ideal date in mind. In his mind he had all the money in the world and he would book an entire baseball stadium for a night, with the table set up right at the pitcher's plate. But then his mother practically crushed the romantic side of him and his ideal date was pushed back into the deepest corner of his mind.
But this was Donna. If he were to exert all his efforts into a date, then he was glad it was her, and he was most certainly glad her finally had a reason to. They have practically been married for seven years and this was his first big gesture to her.
"I knew you couldn't make a reservation at a restaurant on your own," Donna remarked when they were inside the stadium. It was almost romantic, although it doesn't change the fact that there will never be anything romantic between them. "I just didn't know you had this side of you."
"What, a romantic side?" He tried to make a joke out of it. For someone who isn't exactly a 'date' date, this was admittedly, a little over the top. "You'll never know how many girls I've taken here before."
Donna knows. None. She knows every date that Harvey planned, they were always in some fancy restaurant, or a weekend getaway. He has never done this before, not for Scottie, not for Zoe. But she tries to shake off the implication of that.
They finish their dinner with Chunky Monkey as their dessert. They sat side by side as they share a pint, with her scooping off the parts with chocolate, and him scooping off the parts with banana. She never eats the bananas.
"So you pull this off because you think I'm going to leave you when Stephen asks me to?" Donna asked, amused.
"I told you before, I can't be me without you," Harvey was so sincere, it was making her uncomfortable.
But in that moment, she took his hand into hers, and looks deep into his eyes. "I'm not leaving you."
He stared into their joined hands, fully aware of the sincerity that it meant. "I know. I just didn't want to take chances."
"So are you ever going to tell me where you stole that line?" Donna asked, changing the subject, not wanting to get too deep that they can no longer go back to the surface.
"It's from 'A Song of Ice and Fire' and it's actually a song," Harvey informed her. "I may have read it, procrastinating while I was reviewing for the bar."
"Harvey Specter, procrastinating with a book in his hand," Donna teased.
"In that same book red heads were said to be 'kissed by fire'," Harvey added.
"Just so you know, being referred to as 'kissed by fire' is better than – "
She was cut off by the kiss he placed on her lips. She didn't even have time to gather her thoughts when he pulled back, looking just as surprised as she was.
"We should go," Donna said, not wanting to be in that awkward situation any longer.
The ride back to her apartment was eerily quiet. He hasn't said a word since he kissed her, and truthfully, she was thankful for the silence.
Ever since that other time, she tried to forget about whatever affection she may have had for Harvey. And she was successful. She kept their relationship strictly business and after some time, she can finally say that she only loves Harvey Specter like a brother. Now, she wasn't so sure anymore.
"Thank you for tonight," she murmured as she climbed out of the limo, wishing that he wouldn't come out of the car himself.
"Donna…" Harvey called out to her. Of course he went after her.
He wanted to apologize, but for what, he was not sure. He wanted to go back to that other time, and tell her that he… loved her. But he couldn't say it then, and he couldn't say it now. Besides, the sparkle in her eyes was no longer there. He lost the only woman that he could possibly love and instead got the best executive assistant in the corporate world.
"Good night," was all he managed to say.
She just smiled, and for a split second, Harvey saw the sparkle in her eyes.