I'll see you soon, okay?"
"You know you don't have to go," Donna reasons, tilting her head and waving him off. The last thing she wants to do is inconvenience someone that has shown her nothing but kindness and support when no one else has ever taken an interest.
"Your big opening night, I wouldn't miss it," he says, and she smiles at the pride that her regular feels for her accomplishment, a blush coming to her cheeks at how sweet he is. "I'll be the one clapping the loudest at the end," he winks at her.
"Fan club of one, I like it," she teases, looking down.
"I have a feeling there's more than just me in that fan club," he nods, his voice taking on a soothing quality, like he was really trying to ease her into the idea that she might not be as alone as she believed herself to be.
"'ll see you there," she waves, as he takes off, before looking down and seeing he'd left her a more than generous tip, as usual, no matter how much she assured him that she was fine. But every time he'd just insist it was for the 'excellent service.' Shaking her head with a smile, she turns to head back to the kitchen, when she sees him through the window.
Harvey is dressed in his usual, but his hair is a bit disheveled, his tie askew, and the way he's clenching his jaw tells Donna that he's stressed about something, nearly pacing the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.
She waits a minute for him to come in, his back now turned to her. She can't see what he's doing, but it looks like someone's approached him, based on how tense he looks from behind.
Donna's heading outside before she can stop herself, wanting to make sure that everything is okay, the wind hitting her in the face, whipping her apron around, winter having arrived early this year. Her bangs are blowing in her face, obscuring her view.
She turns towards Harvey, only for her smile to drop when she sees he's talking to a man she's never seen before, his curly hair not holding up in this wind, but his face has a conniving look as he seems to be reprimanding Harvey, in public. She realizes her mistake of coming out, and moves to head back in, but it's too late. They've already seen her.
Harvey looks at her, like he's trying to tell her to leave, but the man he's standing with steps forward, his eyes raking over her, making her entirely uncomfortable, as if he's sizing her up, deciding the best way to leverage her to his advantage.
"And who's this?" He attempts to smoothly introduce himself, and Donna looks over him to Harvey, who has his head in his hands, as if he's clearly embarrassed and inconvenienced by her. It has her shrinking into herself, not wanting to be the person he hides.
"No one," Harvey says, before Donna can get out a word.
"I was just looking for a customer, he left his card, I wanted to catch him before he left" she says, nodding, pretending she didn't know Harvey at all. It's what he wanted. He'd never once introduced her to anyone at his work, she'd never even been to his office. He liked to keep things separate, and she was not a part of his work life. She didn't know what she was to him, everything and nothing. And this was the proof.
"Well, we wouldn't want to keep you," the mystery man says, his eyes boring into her's, and she looks away, back at Harvey.
"No, we wouldn't," Harvey bites, barely looking at her. "I'm heading back," he turns, beckoning whoever this man was to walk with him.
Donna just stares after them as they make their way down the sidewalk, sniffling as the wind bites at her cheeks, likely turning them the same shade as her hair.
She doesn't know what she'd done to deserve that kind of treatment, reminding her that no matter how close she thinks they've become, he wasn't ready for the weight of whatever they had building between them.
"Bye," she mumbles to herself, watching him walk away.
"Did you—"
"Not now, Donna," he snaps at her, and her brow raises at his tone, before she crosses her arms, giving him a look that could very well shoot daggers.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I disturb you at your work?" Her sarcastic tone cutting through the ice between them, playfully taking the towel and wiping down the table he was sitting at.
He sighs, seemingly realizing that planting himself at one of her tables as she closed was a hindrance to her, not him.
"I'm sorry, it's just…this case, I don't like being accused of things I didn't do," he squints at the file in front of him.
Donna just stares at him, exaggerating her dropped jaw.
"What?" He looks up at her when she doesn't say anything.
"Just relishing an actual Harvey Specter apology," she says, a grin slowly coming to her lips, and he shakes his head at her.
"You're ridiculous, you know that?"
"And yet, here you are. So what's the case?" Her voice going up on the last part, knowing he wasn't actually going to share the details.
"Cameron," he huffs. And that's all she needs to hear to know.
She scrunches up her face up in disgust. The same face she'd made on the night they met that he'd laughed at, saying it let him see all her freckles.
"What?" He asks, not looking up. "I can hear you making that face," and she can see him fighting a grin.
"Nothing, I'm just thinking about how right I was about him."
"Hmm," he hums, still not looking up.
"And you," she adds, having not forgotten what she'd seen in him the the first time they'd met, and although she's sometimes failed in reading him correctly, and had watched his emotional growth through the years, she'd never wanted to change him, instead wanting to preserve that goodness she'd detected.
She sees him still from his work, and she turns with a soft smile to go back to the kitchen, wiping down her station, making sure everything was locked and turning off lights, and grabbing her bag and book.
"Come on, I'm ready to go home," she hits his arm with her hip, and he gathers his files, walking beside her as they begin to leave. She can feel the heat coming from him, his arm brushing up against her own as they walk out, and she has to stop herself from shuddering against him.
He walks ahead of her, exiting first, but stands guard as she turns her back to lock the doors, and she can feel a blush coming to her cheeks at how instinctual he does things like that, not even realizing that he's protecting her, always, even when she sometimes misconstrues it because he can't control the anxiety that comes with it, coming out in anger.
Ray is waiting for Harvey, and she knows if she didn't live literally right up the street, he'd have offered her his car, but instead, his hand comes to rest on the small of her back, and the shudder from before can't be hidden any longer. They never touch each other, a silent promise they'd made not to make things more difficult than they already were.
They walk in silence, Donna unsure of what to say, her fingers playing with the pages of her book, and she can see Harvey open his mouth several times, but he quickly bites his tongue before anything can escape his lips.
When they make it to her building, they stop, and Donna rocks back and forth on her feet, nervously.
"Well, I hope you figure out your case, you always do," she looks up at him with hopeful eyes, her unwavering faith in him having been rooted inside of her long ago.
He shoves his hands in his pockets, looking away from her, as he nods, letting her comment settle within him.
Harvey leans in, and she catches her breath, not sure what he's going to do, but him stepping into her space, has her ready to abandon every rule she'd made for herself. Leaning towards him, she loses any cool she'd attempted to have, and accidentally drops her book
He hesitates, his hands released from his pockets, but he doesn't reach for her, thinking better of his actions, instead, breaking the moment, the book falling shaking him from whatever reverie had momentarily overtaken him, and he bends down just as she does.
She can see his eyes glowing warmth as the streetlights reflect every emotion that he doesn't want her to see, right back into the flecks of green that threaten to overtake the amber waves.
"I should get going," he mutters, handing her the book, and she stands, quickly, not letting their fingers brush together, sure she'd lose all resolve at that point.
He waits for her to get inside, before turning back towards Ray, and she finds herself watching as he walks away.
"Bye," she whispers to herself.
