I'm just a normal boy that sank when I fell overboard.
My ship would leave the country but I'd rather swim ashore
- Into the Ocean, Blue October
Harvey works the knot in his neck exhaling roughly at the small notebook on his desk. By the time he'd gotten home last night he'd walked in to find a pillow and blanket waiting for him on the couch and he suspects when he leaves in an hour it'll be the same thing.
Part him is almost relieved and the larger part hates himself for it.
Weak.
That's what Malik accused him of being - maybe the asshole's right.
Anger pulses through him when a subtle cough snaps his attention to the door and surprise washes over him but he manages to keep his expression impassive, his mouth opening of its own accord,"I don't recall inviting you up."
Scottie doesn't flinch at the abrasiveness. She's knows the man a long time and shrugs her shoulders. "You didn't. I had a case." It's the truth but she doesn't tell him she requested it. When the news of him getting engaged reached her it was too tempting an opportunity to pass up and she invites herself inside the office, stopping to lean on one of his guest chairs. "I heard you were getting married, thanks for the heads up."
He doesn't quite wince but there's a brief second of hesitation in his expression. Was he supposed to have told her- maybe, who the hell knows? He's not exactly up to speed on ex etiquette and she didn't tell him when she was engaged. Not that it had worked out any better for either of them. "Yeah, well..." he musters an excuse, "I've been busy."
She nods slowly, taking in his hardened features and the late hour. For someone supposedly in honeymoon bliss he certainly doesn't look it and she tilts her head curiously. "So its true then. Harvey Specter, 'eternal bachelor' of law-" her fingers mock him with inverted commas, "is finally setting down and tying the knot."
He glares at her, not bothering to dignify the question with a response. He's getting enough shit from people as it is and returns to his laptop opening anything he can use as a distraction.
The silence is disconcerting. The man she knows would usually banter back, in the least kick her out and she straightens raising an eyebrow. "Trouble in paradise already?" Something flashes across his face but it's gone before she can decipher it and concern quickly replaces the teasing nature of the visit. She didn't come with an agenda, despite what Donna would think. Maybe on some level the idea of closure had spurred her on but now she's here the history between herself and Harvey holds a stronger weight and she circles round the chair taking a seat.
He glances up with a surprised look and she doesn't blame him. Their relationship has been through several different phases over the years and always seemed to skim around friendship but however they got here, she knows him and something is clearly wrong. "Harvey, what's going on?"
He huffs air around his mouth not sure why she's asking the question. Talking isn't something they don't do (they never did) and he's not exactly in the mood to open up and give the legal scene more to gaff about. "Nothing"
"Bullshit." She calls him out straight away but he doesn't seem anymore inclined to answer and she warily bites the inside of her lip. They have a history and he might not like it but in a situation like this she has every right to use it. "I've only seen you like this once." She watches his gaze snap to hers and it's clear he knows the time she's referring to. Good. It means they're on the same page and her lips curve into a smirk, "unless you want me to bring that up, start talking."
He swallows hard at the threat, their past law school days ricocheting back to haunt him but it does ram home an old truth. For all their recent faults and lack of trust, back then -when he'd really needed her- she hadn't let him down and he gives in with a begrudging sigh. "We had a fight, happy?"
She would be, if it offered any insight and all and she starts with a simple assumption. "Your fault." To her genuine surprise he actually nods and she slides back in the chair making no attempt to cover her shock. "Holy shit-" she exclaims with a bemused expression, "I don't think I've ever seen you admit to being wrong before."
He's about to tell her to fuck off but she catches him off guard before the expletive slips out.
"Lets go for a drink."
She looks entirely serious and the sentiment playing with fire echoes around his head. "That's not a good idea."
"Why?" She challenges, raising an eyebrow, "afraid you'll end up back in my hotel room? He shoots her a pointed glare that doesn't deter her. They both know he's goddamn painfully loyal so where's the harm in hashing out his problems over a few shots. "Come on, you're not going to fix whatever it is stewing in your office." She dangles the carrot, baiting him, "and I'm a women. Who else are you going to take advice from, Moby goddamn dick?"
He snorts at the reference to Louis and well, fuck it- she has a point. "No tequila."
"Fine." She agrees to the term with her own condition, "but you're paying hotshot, you don't get to tap this resource for free. Not anymore."
She winks and the blatant innuendo doesn't go unnoticed but he let's it slide, ignoring the fact following her is probably going to land him even further in the dog house. He really should call Donna but quickly packs up his desk instead and against his better judgement powers off the phone. Last thing he wants to do is call her after a few too many. That would be a mistake and he gathers his keys and wallet leaving behind Scottie.
They don't go far, winding up in a cheap corner pub that smells like cigarettes with a faint hint of desperation. It matches his mood perfectly and he orders the first round going straight in with pints- really taking him back to their law school days. By the time they're down two he feels the edge starting to lift and when she swings a leg over her knee at the bar, clearing her throat, he preempts what's coming. "I tanked a case."
A martini drops in front of her and she absently swirls the straw with a nod. "I heard." Something as notorious as Harvey Specter being beaten doesn't exactly slip through unnoticed and she raises an eyebrow. She wants to ask what happened but figures it's more appropriate to try and be supportive. "You're not superman Harvey, it was bound to happen sooner or later."
"Not like this." He shakes his head, hand gliding around the edge of his beer. He lost when Mike went to jail, when the odds had been impossible to beat but he'd fixed it. This time it was something so ridiculous, something a first time lawyer could have been able to swing and he fucking missed it.
She intercepts the look of self-pity on his face with a shrug. "So you screwed up, it happens."
Somebody has to lose, is what she doesn't say out loud. His ego has always put him above everybody in the real world but attacking it now won't help. He's already beating himself up enough and honestly she almost prefers him arrogant and self-assured. "It's hardly going to make a dent in your career."
"Tell that to Andrew Malik-" he spits, taking a lengthy sip of beer. The man's been waiting for years to take him down, looking for any opportunity and he just handed one over on a silver platter.
He empties nearly half the glass as the name registers with her. She'd heard he'd taken Donna to court a few years ago and was the reason Jessica Pearson was disbarred, slipping more of the pieces into place. "Your worried he's going to come after you." It's there in his expression but there's more and she lifts her head with sigh realising what she's been missing. "You're worried he's going to go after Donna." He drains the rest of his beer in answer and she fiddles with the straw in her drink again. "That's what you fought about?"
He shakes his head. "I didn't tell her."
A humourless sound catches in her throat because there it is- the reason why he's out drinking with her and not at home with his fiancée. "Harvey Specter shutting someone out, now there's the man I remember."
It's a dig but he can't say it isn't true and waves the bartender over for another round. He once said he'd call her if he ever fixed himself and the last time they'd spoken he admitted to being a work in progress but since taking the plunge with Donna things are different, he's different. Donna brings out the person he wants to be not the man he was, even if it isn't always the easy path to take. "Things were lot simpler back then," he laments, sliding a bill over the bar and taking his fresh pint.
"Simpler maybe..." she throws back swallowing a pang of jealousy. Getting caught up in their past isn't why she's here. She moved on from their relationship but that doesn't mean aren't parts -good and bad- that haven't stayed with her.
He watches her replace the martini in her hand with a new one, dipping his brows at the ambiguity. "What's that supposed to mean?"
It means, he was a giant pain in the ass but she doesn't regret going there with him. She owed it to herself to try and there were moments, several in particular that make her lips curve behind the edge of her glass. "We had fun didn't we?"
There's a mischievous glint in her eye and he feels heat rush the back of his neck. "Scottie."
The warning is clear and she ducks her head shaking off any embarrassment. She know's where they stand but if he really wants to make things work with Donna he needs to avoid making the same mistakes. "I'm just saying... remember what happened when you kept Mike from me?"
"That was different."
She wants to ask how but the tight pull of his expression stops her and she feels a stir of rivalry as she answers her own question, "because you back then you were protecting yourself." This time he isn't and she steels herself against the echo of hurt, trying to push it out of her mind. It's stupid to compare herself. Since she met Donna it's been clear the women never had to force anything with Harvey the way she did, just proving things turned out the way they were supposed to.
"You can't save her from this Harvey." She makes the point flatly, "people are going to talk, that's the way the world works. Lawyers prey on weakness."
"No shit-" he mummers into his drink, voice thick with sarcasm, "and I'm paying for this advice?"
She rolls her eyes at his tone. "You need to turn it into a strength."
"Yeah?" He scoffs shaking his head, "and how exactly do I do that?"
"You could try not fucking up again." There's an air of sarcasm to the suggestion but she swivels her straw growing more serious."You need to get Malik out of your head. As soon as you start kicking ass again he won't have a reason to drag Donna into anything."
He seems to relax slightly, like it genuinely hadn't occurred to him, and she sits back properly taking him in. He looks like shit; a reflection of the relationship he's in- but not in the way most people would think. Anything able to rile him up this badly is something he has real emotions about and that'e a feat in itself.
He catches her staring and picks up his beer with frown. "What?
"Nothing." She sips her drink ready to shrug it off but he latches on, challenging her with a raised eyebrow.
"Come on, don't wuss out on me now." He doesn't know if it's the alcohol or just the fact he's getting things off his chest but his lips are looser, though he regrets asking when she leans forward with a strained sigh.
"There was a time I thought, maybe, one day you'd fight this hard for me." It's a heavy admission that she breaks with a forced huff of amusement, "I convinced myself you didn't have it in you, that you weren't capable but... here we are."
He doesn't think it's meant with any malicious intent but he still feels guilty. There was a time, several in fact, he'd really tried to make it work between them and now he knows why he couldn't... but that doesn't change how he handled everything. "For what it's worth Dana, I am sorry."
She smiles and it's more genuine, though it could just be because the bartender preempts another round of drinks which she's grateful for. Still, the apology means something and she switches out her glass genuinely grateful- maybe even finding the closure she was looking for. "It's okay. Donna is... I mean she's smart, driven, loyal-" she waves a hand motioning to her skirt, "legs that go one for days."
He let's out a low chuckle, surprised to find things veering away from awkward. It's nice for a change and he slides a fifty over the bar deciding it's money well spent. "Thanks, for..." he tilts his head letting the situation speak for itself, "you know."
"I'm happy for you Harvey." And she does mean it. He may be a hard man to get over but hopefully no one else is ever going to have to stumble across the fact. Providing he can figure things out with Donna before his career goes swirling into an abyss. "This one's for free..." she decides pushing one last piece of advice towards him, "retire the horse and dump the white knight get up. Donna can handle it. Believe me, she's stronger than you are tough guy."
He snorts but doesn't disagree. With everything going on Donna's been nothing but pillar of support and he's being a fucking idiot; out drinking when he should be at home trying to fix things between them. "I think we both know where I need be right now."
He steps down off the stool, finishing the last of his drink and she swivels towards him with a teasing smile, "not my hotel room?"
His lips curve in repose, hand wrapping over her shoulders as he places a light kiss against cheek. She sighs when he pulls back and without saying goodbye starts toward the door. It's fitting. They always wind up crossing paths in some form or another anyway and she waves over the barman ordering herself a shot of tequila.
"Make that two."
A thud echoes at her feet and she takes in the solider next to her with with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry ma'am." He gives her a lopsided smile, "I just got back from a trip, could really use a drink."
"Well in that case." She motions to the empty stool beside her, gaze washing over the sandy haired man. There's something oddly familiar about him and her brows furrow as she tries to place it. "Marine?"
He shakes his head. "Delta Force." The two shots land on the bar and he picks one up tipping it towards her, "cheers."
She knocks hers down with a wince, catching his smirk out the corner of her eye and she feels the hair on the back of neck stand on edge. There's just something about him she can't shake and doesn't argue when he orders a second round. "You got a name solider boy?"
"Yes ma'am." His grin widens as he extends his arm towards her, "Logan, Wyatt Logan."
She smiles at the introduction, a light flush creeping over her skin as she shakes his hand. There's an inexplicable pull between them that she can't quite explain but she doesn't try to. Instead she let's the conversation take a more natural course. "So Wyatt Logan, what brings you to New York?"
"That would be classified ma'am." He takes the second tequila with a wink, "but it is one hell of a story."
There's something about the way he says it that intrigues her and she bites down on the curve of her lip. Harvey Specter isn't the only good looking, charming man out there and for the moment at least, Wyatt Logan has her full and undivided attention.