A different perspective following 7x10 and the argument between Donna and Harvey in 7x11. Harvey and Donna are not on speaking terms at all after Donna had kissed Harvey, will the news of their best friends' departure change that?
It was 9pm and Donna was still at the office. It had been almost a week since Louis' words echoed through Donna's mind, almost a week since those same words made her impulsive, and therefore almost a week since she had kissed Harvey in her office. As she sat with her back to her desk staring out at the New York skyline, with the moonlight glow settling onto her pale, freckled skin through the glass, she replayed the last time she had spoken to her best friend.
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"I'm sorry Harvey.." she had said softly, hands lingering over his chest, hazel eyes boring straight into his brown ones, "I just had to know", and with that she pulled away, leaving him standing, mouth agape and confused, alone in her office. The day after she had tried to talk to him, tried to explain, but Harvey, being Harvey, did not want to listen and definitely did not want to speak about it. She knew she had been wrong and so a part of her understood and accepted the way he was acting, he was in a relationship and it wasn't her place, but a part of her wasn't regretful, and a part of her knew she would do it again. She had needed that clarification, and that's what she had told him.
"I told you, Harvey. I needed to know"
"Know what? Our lines have been perfectly clear for a long time". He had deflected immediately.
"Our lines are as blurry as lines can get". She had countered. "I'm the person that you call at 6 in the morning, or at midnight when you need someone. We smile, we drink, we flirt"
"That doesn't mean I want more" he had interjected quickly. Donna hated to admit that the urgency of his reply made it harder to hear, and her heart has ached every second afterwards. She knew he was serious about Paula, but at the same time, it felt like he was desperate to move on, desperate to prove for certain that he doesn't, and never has, cared for Donna in that way. She didn't want him to think he had a upper hand. That he could have Donna wrapped around his finger because she was hopelessly in love with him and would do anything for him. So she did what she needed to do. She put on a brave face and hid behind the wall of her true feelings.
"Well, for the record, neither do I". She hit back. She could swear she saw his facial expressions change; his brows furrow a little, his eyes breaking their strong hold ever so briefly. She reminded herself that it couldn't mean anything. That she was creating an ideal scenario where he would fold and lay out the cards that she had wanted him to. Not this time. In fact, things went from bad to worse. Harvey had blamed her for making him a cheater, for potentially ruining his relationship with Paula, and had told her he didn't trust her judgement. It had taken everything Donna had, everything she had learned during her acting years and every bit of strength, to remain emotionally resilient to what she was hearing. She had really pissed him off and he was really letting loose. And for the first time in over a decade, she was sure this would be the end of Donna and Harvey.
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They hadn't spoken since. Harvey had steered clear of Donna's office, choosing to walk the long way around to his own. He was too hurt to speak to her. She was the one person he trusted completely and if he were honest, she had let him down. She was supposed to know him better than anyone, yet had made him feel like a cheat, the one thing that he did not want to be. Ever. During firm meetings, they avoided eye-contact completely, or Donna made up some excuse about not needing to attend. Harvey knew he was the reason, and each time he felt relief at her absence, he also felt his heart sink a little further. What had they become? Harvey and initiated it, he was pretending like she didn't exist and after a few days, Donna started to act the same. She didn't like that she felt almost as though she was waiting for him to come around, to forgive her. She was Donna. No one was going to treat her like that. And so they continued with their daily lives, simply acting like the other didn't exist. It didn't go unnoticed by their friends. Rachel had asked Donna multiple times about it and Donna had simply stated that they had just "grown apart". Rachel, of course, didn't believe a word her best friend was saying, but knew better than to question the redhead further. Rachel had still however managed to collect more intel than Mike, who had received only annoyed glares from Harvey, which Mike knew better than to overlook. They had decided to drop it, hoping both Harvey and Donna would come to the realisation by themselves, because they all knew that neither can survive without the other. They needed to be in each other's lives one way or another.
"Hey, Donna". Donna was startled by the soft voice of a guest in her office. She was off her game. She usually knew who was behind her without hearing them speak. She spun around on her chair to meet the eyes of her best friend.
"Hey, Rach". Donna's smile didn't quite meet her eyes and Rachel could see that her friend was tired. Donna's eyes were a little darker than usual, and although Rachel would never dare say, her hair wasn't as perfectly placed as usual. If she were honest, it pained Rachel to see her friend this way, a shell of her former self, and this was making the unexpected stop by Donna's office a little harder than she had once hoped.
"I need to speak to you, Donna. Can we go grab a drink?" The brunette said with a smile, trying her best to hide the shakiness in her voice.
Donna might be a little off her game right now but she knows her best friend, and that smile wasn't fooling her. "Let's talk now, Rachel", Donna said as she motioned for her to join her on the couch in her office, "what's going on?". She was worried. She admittedly felt sick. Donna's gut instincts were rarely wrong and her gut was telling her that she was about to hear something she did not want to hear.
Rachel cleared her throat, sat beside her best friend and stared at her hands in her lap. She twisted the engagement ring on her finger, anxiety radiating from her body, which only made Donna more nauseous.
"Rachel, talk to me" Donna's spoke clearly, desperation laced in her tone.
"I.. Urm.. I know this isn't great timing, you know with whatever it is that's going on between you and Harvey, but, well, this was something that we had already decided on, and well, I know that you don't really want to talk about it, but you know I'm here for you right? Donna, you're my best friend and you always will be and nothing will change that and I'm sorry that you're hurting but I.." She's interupted by Donna raising her hand.
"Rachel. Stop. Please. You're avoiding. Just tell me what you really came here to tell me".
"Mike and I are moving to Seattle. In a week." The words just tumbled from Rachel's mouth. There. She had said it.
Donna's eyes widened as she processed the news. "You're what?! Sorry. Okay. Seattle? Why?"
They spend the next hour talking it through and Donna comes to accept this as good news. She wants the best for Rachel, of course she does, but it definitely doesn't make it any easier. She can't help but let her mind wonder to Harvey, who as Rachel had just informed her, was receiving the same news from Mike right now. How was he going to take this? Usually they would use each other for support, relying on the strength of their own friendship to carry them through any difficult times. Except the only issue now was that their friendship didn't really exist anymore, and well, Harvey had a new support system with Paula. Donna's heart ached. She longed for stability, for that connection with someone. Someone to hold her hand through the tough times, someone to love her and comfort her when she needed it the most. Instead, she did what she always does. She smiled, put on that brave face and gave her best friend the biggest hug, and with tears threatening to spill, she whispered in her ear.
"I'm happy for you, Rach. No matter what's going on in my life, I never want you to feel like you can't share parts of yours with me. I'm just going to miss you so much".
And with that both friends were crying.
"I'm definitely going to miss you more" Rachel sobbed as she pulled back from Donna's embrace.
"Probably" Donna shrugged with a smirk, "I'm Donna", which made Rachel burst out laughing.
"There's just one more thing, Don. And I really need you to get on-board with this. For me. Please." Rachel eyed her best friend with pleading eyes and Donna already disliked where this was headed.
"What is it?"
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"Absolutely not. Not happening. No way you thought I'd agree to that Mike". Harvey announced, annoyance evident in his tone. His hair was ruffled, shirt sleeves up and top button undone with his jacket and tie having been discarded around 3 hours ago. He was on his fourth drink of the evening, and boy was he glad he'd had them before speaking to Mike.
"Come on" the youngster tried with some enthusiasm, only to be cut short by his boss.
"Mike. I said no. Firstly you waltz in here without a care in the world, tell me you're up and leaving for Seattle in a week, and then, THEN" he emphasises, downing the remainder of his drink and pouring himself yet another glass of the amber liquid "then you ask me to go away with you for the weekend, with Rachel... and Donna". He's met with silence, and turns to face Mike, only to be met with sad eyes looking up at him. "Oh, I'm not falling for that kid. They might work on Rachel but they're not working for me".
Mike grins, only briefly, as he notices the serious expression on his best friend's face. "Harvey. Rachel and I have had this planned for weeks, way before this thing with you and Donna happened". Harvey notices the way he says thing and realises Donna must have also refused to tell anyone what happened. Harvey shoots him a glare. A glare that tells Mike to not pursue that topic of conversation any further, and he obliges.
"Look, it's just a weekend. We wanted it to be special, a sort of going away celebration. A chance to spend some quality time with our best friends before we leave Harv, away from this place. Harvey, please. We already booked the log cabin, the place is incredible and we even sorted the days off. It was supposed to be a surprise but we figured it wouldn't have been fair to throw you both in the deep end right now" he says with his arms outstretched, motioning around Harvey's barely-lit office. Harvey sees the desperation in Mike's eyes and scans his office. Papers littered every aspect of the room, his jacket was discarded over his seat and his tie on the floor. Mike had a point, the firm was overbearing and although they saw each other every day, it was always business, not pleasure. Harvey wanted to say yes immediately because if he was honest with himself, he wanted to spend the time with Mike. Who knew when the chance would arise again?
Harvey's expression softens. "Mike, I don't know if it's a good idea" he says truthfully as he leans against his desk, the long day catching up with him.
"If it makes it any easier, the place is huge and Rachel is dying to spend some girl time with Donna so it'll be kind of like a boy's weekend away. Might not even see the girls". Mike knew he was almost begging now but he didn't care. He needed Harvey to say yes because he trusted that Rachel was working her magic with Donna in the office next door.
"Okay" Harvey concedes with a sigh. He was worried. He knew it would be a complicated and strange weekend, but he had to admit that he needed this. He needed to say goodbye properly to his best friend and if that meant spending the weekend with Donna, then he would have to find a way to deal with it. "You're bringing the drinks, Pup"
"Deal" Mike affirms with a nod. "Thank you, Harvey. Really."
"Oh shut up, you big softy. Drink?"
"Make it a double" Mike replies. "My boss keeps giving me shit for no reason"
Harvey lets out a light chuckle as he pushes his tired body away from his desk to pour them a drink. He had 2 days to prepare himself for a weekend away with two of his closest friends and his best friend of 12 years whom he hadn't spoken to, or even looked at, for almost a week. Could he even call Donna his best friend anymore? Was ex-best friend a more suitable title? No. He didn't like the sound of that. He shoved that to the back of his mind and tried to regain some focus. 2 days. Shit. What had he gotten himself into?
