Harvey wakes to a foreign sound jingling through the darkness but his attention is drawn to the weight spread across his chest and a lazy smile settles over his lips. Top gun is still playing mutely in the background illuminating the mop of red red curls feathering his shirt and he lifts his hand, ignoring the cushion lodged awkwardly in his back, to lightly brush the strands from Donna's face. He has every intention of waking her slowly, watching the faint blush that he knows will paint her cheeks, but a wooden wrench robs him of the chance flooding the small apartment with a harsh light.
Donna jerks up, nearly falling from the couch as her eyes land on the prominent figure of her mother silhouetted in the doorway. It's only Harvey's firm grasp that keeps her steady but she rushes to detangle herself throwing the women an irritated and confused glare. "Mum, what the hell?"
"Language Donna!" Diane issues the reprimand dragging her suitcase in and directing her surprised attention to the man haphazardly strewn beside her daughter. The last time they met he was younger and far more well-presented causing her mouth to quirk with a faint hint of disapproval. "Harvey, this is certainly unexpected."
He doesn't fluster -ever- but this time he does, heat burning his cheeks as rushes to stand and defend the situation. "Mrs. Paulsen, this isn't-"
"What it looks like?" She counters, foot drumming a beat of impatience into the warn out carpet. His concern over the phone had been evident and she appreciates he took the time to call but even so, she isn't sure what to make of finding him canoodling inappropriately with her ill daughter.
Donna can feel the judgment radiating from her mother and mortification rolls through the aches and pains stiffening her body. She thought they'd reached an amicable agreement over her not visiting but clearly something had been lost in translation or rather, blatantly ignored. "I told you yesterday I don't need-"
"Your worried mother interfering?" She supplies, her eyes quickly scanning the apartment."Judging by the state of this place it looks to me like you do."
Donna's eyes bulge at the statement but Harvey has the common sense not to react gaining back a semblance of composure as he moves to assist with the luggage and diffuse the situation. "Mrs Paulsen... Diane," he amends with his best charming smile, "I'm here with honest intentions I swear. We both know someone has a tendency to be a little stubborn, I just wanted to make sure she was doing ok."
"Jesus." Donna mutters the curse under her breath flinching as her mother issues another warning about language. In about two seconds she's going to take her 'unnecessary language' and shove it right up the women's-
"Why don't I grab us some breakfast?" Harvey shifts his gaze from Donna's frustrated glare back to Diane as he breaks out the peace offering, "how does a croissant and coffee from Lafayette Grand sound?"
"I think that's the first sensible thing anyone's said since I arrived." Diane confirms, planting her hands on her hips and regarding her daughter with a raised eyebrow, "I'm amusing there isn't any food in the kitchen, aside from what's growing in there."
"Oh my god..." Donna exhales her frustration stretching a hand over her face as the women disappears behind her, presumably to find something to start cleaning with. When her gaze returns to Harvey the amusement splashed over his face is beyond irritating and she pointedly mouths 'do not come back' with all the authority she can muster.
"What was that honey, no sugar extra whipped cream?" It rolls off his tongue slipping out through a beaming grin that's quickly replaced by a grunt as she hurtles his suit jacket directly into his chest. He's about to protest but her mother calls out, enquiring about the lack of cleaning products, and he clamps his mouth shut executing his escape while she's distracted.
Phone in hand he makes his way and not surprising Ray is out the front of the building within five minutes, eyes fixed with a curios glint as Harvey climbs into the car.
"I trustMiss Paulsen is feeling better this morning?"
The prompting question causes Harvey to freeze mid-way through doing up his belt. He hadn't considered how leaving her apartment in the early hours of the morning might look but isn't about to be thrown off his game again and he doesn't have to explain himself. He's not twenty-five and he's getting way too old for this shit. "Not one word-" he clicks the buckle, cocking his head at the drivers amused expression, "my place first, then we need to make a quick stop."
Ray obliges with a nod and Harvey ducks his gaze down to his phone, a smirk forming on his lips as he reads the text from Donna.
DO NOT COME BACK!
Oh, he's going back alright and he's going to win her mother over with every ounce of charm he possesses.
In a moment of decisive genius he get's Ray to go to the exclusive bakery while he runs up stairs to take a shower and after a quick shave he pulls out his lucky rustic brown Gucci suit pairing it with a maroon tie. He spends a longer than he should on his hair slicking it back into its usual coiffure and when he's satisfied checks his watch, feet kicking towards the door.
It takes them thirteen minutes to drive back bringing the total elapsed time to just shy of an hour and he wears a broad smile as Donna answers the door practically glowering at him.
"I thought I told you not to come back." The scene is reminiscent of the night before but she keeps the space between them open her eyes falling on the tray of coffee. After the morning she's had she desperately needs it but the humour in his expression keeps her from reaching out.
"And miss out on a chance to impress my future mother in-law?" He motions over her shoulder making fun of the assumptions being made, "no chance."
She baulks at him folding her arms tightly over her chest in response. "I am going to kill you."
"No... you're going to kill her-" he corrects, keeping his voice hushed, "which is why I'm here. No matter how good a closer I am there's no way in hell I'd be able to get you off those charges."
A sigh creeps into her throat as he extends the tray and she reluctantly gives in too tired not to accept the gesture. Still, it doesn't stop her from fixing him with a stern glare. "You make one joke about us being a couple, I will end you. Got it?"
"Loud and clear." He accepts the warning watching her eyes flutter closed as she draws in the hit of caffeine. She looks paler than when he left and the amusement slips from his face replaced by a pronounced worry line. "You ok?"
"Tired..." she admits, taking another sip of the hot liquid. The headache from yesterday has gone but she's still feeling lethargic and her mothers whirl-winded cleaning rampage hasn't helped any.
"Come on-" he instructs waving the bag of pastries, "breakfast and then bed."
It's a tempting suggestion but she isn't going to get a second's peace with the flurry of stress going on in her small apartment and she tilts her head up rolling her eyes, "Harvey, my mother-"
"Will be with me and then Ray, enjoying an all expenses paid shopping trip around the city." He makes the offer, a small smile returning to his lips as her expression relaxes and he decides the hole in his wallet is a small price to pay. Following her inside, he winces as the sterile smell of cleaning products hits his senses and seeks out her mother finding her in the kitchen wearing the same gloves he had on the night before.
She turns at his arrival, her gaze roaming his suit, and he draws from the strategically placed well of confidence. Brown says he's not trying too hard to impress but the wide lapels and maroon tie speak to his character; confident, charming and completely unflappable.
"Here, let me give you a hand with that..." he feigns removing the jacket, anticipating the curt shake of her head.
"Don't be ridiculous Harvey, you've been to enough trouble. Sit down and relax." She offers him a polite smile, surprised by his return but keeping the wariness momentarily under wraps. The commitment he's showing is commendable but after her daughters thirteen year obsession and everything she's read in the tabloids it's her motherly right to be slightly distrusting of his intentions.
"Only if you agree to do the same." He winks, rising above the air of tension to extend the coffee and is relived when she trades him for a large round plate. Unflappable or not the need to win her over is important and he distributes the pastries evenly, following her back out into the living area and perching himself beside Donna on the three seater. Diane takes the recliner, lips poised over her coffee, and he takes a sip of his own nearly spitting it out when she asks if they've ever slept together.
So much for composed.
"No-"
"Yes." He counters Donna's quick answer with a cough ducking the hostile glare she shoots him. He's well aware who's asking and he probably should lie but the frankness demands honesty and in his world respect isn't built on a foundation of half-truths. "It was a long time ago and after that we both decided to keep things professional."
Surprise rests in Diane's throat as she reaches over placing a croissant on top of her neatly folded napkin. She gave up trying to wrangle honestly out of her daughter-turned-actress years ago but the lawyers candor makes a refreshing change and she has no apprehension raising the bar. "And now?"
Donna's eyes widen, her lips parting in a desperate bid to distract from the mortifying conversation but humiliation chokes the attempt. She wants the floor to open up and swallow her, anything to avoid the embarrassment, but to her utter surprise the shocked silence doesn't last as long as she's expecting.
"Now?" Harvey hesitates, dropping his gaze to fiddle with the lid of his coffee. He didn't envision having 'the talk' by proxy, and he won't dare look to his left, but he admits as much as he can. As much as a protective mother deserves to hear. "I'd like us to be something more." To his surprise the world doesn't implode under the weight of the admission and he risks glancing at Donna, finding her wide gaze with the slightest quirk of his lips.
He honestly can't tell if she's happy, shocked or pissed off but he hopes to tip the scales in his favour by keeping good on his promise to distract her mother. "I know this has been brief," he shifts his attention back to Diane, glancing down at his watch, "but if Donna can spare you for a couple of hours I could take you into our offices and show you around?"
The unspoken suggestion of spending time together piques Diane's interest and eyebrows lift, reluctant to leave but unable to resist following up on her budding interest. "Donna?"
The redhead is at a complete loss, still reeling, and shakes her head forcing an intelligible response, "yeah, go. I'm fine." Her mother excuses herself to freshen up but Donna barely registers the exit, the proceeding silence splintering with tension as Harvey moves towards one of the two remaining pastries.
The action is all it takes for her to snap.
"You told my mother. Thirteen years and you tell my mother, not me,that you want something more. What the hell is wrong with you!?"
He flinches as she pushes his hand away, unsure why he can't eat but deciding to pick his battles. Instead he retracts his fingers rolling back with a sigh, "what was I supposed to do?"
"Gee, I don't know?" She flaps her arm, pretending to think about it, "how about deflect, be emotionally unavailable, any one of other hundred defaults you have when someone asks you a personal question."
It stings, largely because it's true, but there's a silver lining to her frustration that detracts from his guilt. She's more pissed about her mother not what he actually said and the notion washes with a degree of smugness as he cocks his head, "you know, you're kinda missing the point here."
The point. It takes her a second to trail back and her jaw goes sack, the headache she'd managed to dodge starting to throb dully behind her temples again. In her rush to anger she had completely -one hundred percent- missed the point entirely. "You want more..." she repeats, the words suddenly foreign as she stares at him, "how much more?"
This time he's glad their alone, a hint of vulnerability stealing the smugness from his expression. "Everything."
The response renders her speechless and the untimely arrival of her mother prevents anything else from escaping. All she can do is watch as he pushes himself up falling back into the persona of calm and collected.
"Shall we?" He smiles at Diane but stops to rest his arm over the sofa lingering on Donna' gaze before moving to give her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Maybe it's a good thing he's leaving, give them both some time to process everything that's been said. "Get some rest and call if you need anything ok?"
She nods mutely, still at a loss for words as he ushers her mother out the door.
It closes with a jolt, plummeting the room into silence and the tension behind her brow thuds as the stillness settles. The reality of his confession feels like an elaborate hoax and she isn't sure whether or not to trust it but the scent of him lingering on the couch and the quiet peace tempts her to consider the possibility.
Why else would he stay over and willing playing host to her mother?
She steals a deep breath fighting the sudden wave of exhaustion pulling at her vision. She doesn't have to think about it now and lies down, lips curving in an involuntary smile as his words repeat in the silence of the room.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:* *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
AN: Please excuse any spelling mistakes. It's very late and I probably should have gone to bed hours ago :P Also does anyone know if Donna's mother has a name? It occurred to me I have no idea how to write her so I hope I've done ok :)
I'm a little torn with where to go next, whether to make Donna sicker or have her get better. Any and all suggestions welcome, they've been amazing at driving the story so far :)
Thanks again for the review! xx
