Just a series of oneshots about our favorite couple stuck at home during the pandemic. Prompts are always welcome!
Donna pushes the switch to turn on the lights over the dinner table – that has become her workplace over the past few months. She walks back towards it and lowers herself down behind her laptop again. But she can't get her attention back towards the screen. Her gaze lingers on the large window, that has been covered in raindrops ever since she woke up. Dark clouds fill the sky behind in, and she lets out a long sigh. It's has been like that all day, which is the reason she finally decided to turn on the lights.
Five minutes later, Donna is still staring out of the window. After a cold but sunny weekend, clouds rolled in overnight, pouring rain out over the city. It was still dark when she got out of bed this morning – awoken by the alarm Harvey still dutifully sets each morning. She had spent the first part of the day working in her yoga pants and a sweatshirt, the glumness outside also impacting her mood and taking away her motivation to dress up for the day. Around noon, she took a shower and changed, but that didn't do much for how she's feeling.
After managing to work for a little while, Donna lets out a long sigh. Her attention is pulled back towards the window, rain now slamming against it. She glances towards her laptop, but her motivation is far gone. Working from home has reduced her job to reports and assessments, spreadsheets and paperwork. Occasionally, she speaks to people on the phone or on a video call, but that's about it. And that is not why she has gotten into this job. Sitting behind a desk is not the way she operates. She talks to people. Face to face. And then she figures out what needs to be done. That's what she likes and that is what she is good at.
Donna leans back in her chair, turning her head towards the hallway. If the sheer force of willpower could make people appear, Harvey would walk in right now. But he is in the spare room that they turned into a study for the whole 'working from home' situation. They tried working at the kitchen table together, but only ended up distracting each other. Now Harvey works in the study, because he knows she liked this place better, with the light falling in from the large windows. She is grateful to him for that, because being cooped up in the small spare room might actually drive her crazy. Although she feels like she is heading there anyway. She blows out another long breath and plants her elbows on the table, resting her head into her hands.
When Harvey does walk in, a little while later, Donna is still in the same position. "Hey," he softly greets her, a hand trailing over her back as he lowers himself in the chair next to her, "are you alright?" She just scoffs, not even lifting her head. He threads his fingers through her hair, tucking a few locks behind her ear to get a peek at her face. "Did something happen?" He carefully asks. At that, she lifts her head, looking at him with an incredulous expression on her face.
"Did something happen?" Donna lets out a bitter, ironic laugh, "maybe you've missed it, Harvey, but we're in the middle of a fucking worldwide pandemic!" She exclaims, "we have to work from home, we can't see our friends. Our families. People are sick. People are dying. And-" "I know," Harvey interrupts her, eyebrows drawing into a frown, "but that's not new."
Harvey stays quiet, giving Donna time and space. Over time, he has learned that probing her when she doesn't really know how she feels only makes her shut down. His fingers trace slow patterns on her back while he studies her. He hates that he doesn't have the same ability to read other people she does, instead he has to rely on her to open up, something that is still hard to both of them after so many years of repressed feelings. But he waits calmly.
"It's just a lot," Donna eventually admits, her eyes cast down to her fidgeting fingers. Harvey nods, scooting his chair a little closer and taking one of her hands in his. It's been a year of this pandemic now, and it's taking a toll on everyone. Over the past months, both of them had bad days, slight breakdowns and the occasional outburst. Lately, he has been feeling alright, and he thought she was too, but apparently she is struggling more than he thought.
"Do you want to talk?" Harvey asks, after another silence. She glances at her laptop and then back at him, "don't you have work to finish?" He tilts his head a little, a flicker of concern in his dark eyes, "I can push that to tomorrow. One of the advantages of working from home," he offers her a slight smile, but when she doesn't reciprocate, he turns serious again, "whatever you need, Donna."
"A glass of merlot," Donna immediately answers, eliciting a soft chuckle from Harvey. Her face softens too, and she gently squeezes his hand as he stands up. She closes her laptop and makes her way over to the couch, where Harvey joins her with two large glasses. She smiles gratefully at him as he hands her one of the glasses before sitting down next to her. She had taken her favorite place in the corner, her knees drawn into her chest. He gently takes her ankles and pulls her legs over his, stroking lightly over her thighs.
After a few large gulps of wine, Donna looks at Harvey. His hand stills on her leg as he focusses his attention on her. She inhales slowly, "I'm just tired. And so done with this. Being home all the time," she lowers her eyes, "I feel a little… isolated." She swallows before looking back at Harvey, "and don't get me wrong, I'm so glad that we're together," she quickly tries to amend, "I don't think I would have survived this if I had been alone. But…" She trails off, shrugging slightly.
"You need people," Harvey gives Donna's leg a soft squeeze. She nods, grateful that he understands. She has been Facetiming Louis weekly, Rachel even more frequently than that. She speaks to her parents at least once every two weeks. But nothing comes close to real connections. She misses going out for dinner or lunch or drinks. She misses hugging and touching. But most of all, she just misses being with people, with friends but honestly everyone, from coworkers to cab drivers.
Harvey quietly listens to Donna unburdening herself. He knew being stuck at home is harder for her than it is for him. He can honestly see the advantages of not having to go into the office, of being able to arrange his own schedule, of not having to deal with people all the time. And that's exactly the difference between his wife and him. He works well alone while she thrives with others around.
Maybe, Harvey realizes, he should have seen that Donna was this unhappy. His hand moves over her leg again, before reaching for her hand. He softly squeezes, trying to find the right words to respond. His thumb skates over her knuckles, "how long has this been bothering you?" He softly asks. She gives his hand a soft squeeze, "I don't know," she admits, "this whole situation sucks," she chuckles wetly, "but the weather today isn't helping either."
Harvey looks at Donna, eyes red rimmed and makeup smudged, but somehow a small smile on her face. He tilts his head slightly, wordlessly asking her to explain. She shrugs, "thank you for listening," she squeezes his hand again, "I just really needed to vent." He relaxes at that, "anything else you want to get off your chest?" She shakes her head, "I'm just tired of all of this. And I can't wait for it to be over. But for now," she shifts a little closer to him, "I just want to spend a night with my husband and forget all about it," her voice has lowered to a whisper, her breath hot on his neck. He faces her, glad to see the sparkle in her eyes, "I think we can arrange that," he tells her, leaning in to kiss her as his hand already inches up her thigh.