AN: Hi! I've recently binged Suits, fell totally in love with Darvey and then dove into the world of fanfiction. My head started writing up stories and I've finally attempted to put one into real words. I must admit I'm a little nervous about publishing this, seeing as there are so so so so many amazing stories and writers out there already. And I'm not a native English speaker, although I did write stories before for another fandom and that went pretty well. Anyway, enough of my rambling here, I hope you enjoy the story annnnnd feedback is always very welcome!
PS: this story is set post-9x10, fully in canon with Darvey living in Seattle and working with Mike and Rachel.
PPS: it's gonna be a multi-chapter, I can't say how many chapters yet, but it'll be quite a few ;)
"Donna?" Harvey leans against the doorframe of the bathroom door, looking at his wife. It has been a long day – a long week already, even though it's only Wednesday. It's the kind of week that provides enough work for him to know they'll be working through the weekend. The weekend that he had promised Donna to keep free for celebration of their one-year anniversary that's coming up next Tuesday. But while Harvey was still sorting through the paperwork left over from the case that he finished up last week – a win, after working on it for months – Mike came to him with a new case. A case that can't be pushed up, a case that's big and urgent and going to court on Monday. Mike outright admitted to Harvey that he couldn't do it alone. And Mike admitting like that takes something big, Harvey knows that much. So he knew that he had to push the weekend with Donna and work with his friend – now his boss. That, however, is not the reason he is looking at Donna with a concerned expression on his face.
As soon as Mike told Harvey he needed him, he went to talk to Donna, to apologize in advance for the ruined weekend. She had smiled wearily at him before reassuring him that she understood and that she loved him for always working so hard to do the right thing. Although her words were a relief, something had felt off. Something that Harvey hadn't paid much attention to; he needed to get to work. A couple of hours later, however, Mike mentioned something about Donna scolding him about something the day before and again today. And while the kid tends to do stupid things sometimes, Harvey doesn't think he did things that needed scolding twice in as many days. When Mike mentioned it, they were busy and Harvey didn't pay much attention to the comemnt. The thought got pushed to the back of his mind, but it resurfaced when he walked toward Donna's office at the end of the day and saw Rachel coming out, with an agitated expression on her face. He had stopped her, "what's going on?" Rachel narrowed her eyes and sighed, "something's off with Donna, but when I asked her about it she bit my head off. After lecturing me on some signatures she needed but I hadn't gotten her yet." Harvey nodded, the story sounding familiar to what Mike told him. "I'll talk to her." He promised, also remembering his own feeling after their exchange hours prior.
It took Harvey some time to gather courage to talk to her – although he pretended he was just looking for the right moment. When she had gotten up from the couch a few minutes ago and announced she was going to bed without so much as looking at him, he knew he had to do it now. So here he is, leaning against the doorframe while she is cleaning her makeup off of her face. She doesn't turn around to face him but catches his eye in the mirror. "Harvey," she responds, her lips curling up in a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "Are you okay?" He asks her after a short silence. In his head he tried all kinds of questions to try and figure her out but talking about feelings has never been his strong suit. She diverts her gaze to reach for another makeup wipe before looking back at him – still through the mirror, "why wouldn't I be?"
When Harvey doesn't answer Donna's question, she focusses her attention back on cleaning her face. She wipes the last bits of concealer away from under her eyes and discards the wipes, grabbing her toothbrush as she hears Harvey's voice behind her again, "you seem… off," he tells her, "not just today, but for the last few days," that was something he had realized at some point during the evening, "Mike and Rachel noticed it too-" "why were you talking about me?" Donna turns around and looks at Harvey, a frown on her face. He mentally curses himself for choosing the wrong words, "it just came up," he defends himself, "Mike told me you've been hard on him. And I ran into Rachel outside your office." Donna huffs, "it's just a long week, Harvey." She says before turning back to the sink and applying toothpaste to her toothbrush. Her words are the same words he thought just a few minutes ago, but he doesn't believe that to be the full story. They've had many long weeks before and she was always the one that stayed sane while he occasionally spiraled out of control.
"Donna," Harvey sighs. Once again, her eyes meet his through the mirror. He holds her gaze, "I'm worried about you," he admits. Because that's the real reason he's talking to her about it. He couldn't care less about whatever she says to whoever at work, but he does care about the underlying problem. Because as long as he's known her, Donna has never scolded people without reason, and she has never lectured people on stupid things like signatures. And now that she's taken her makeup off, he can also see that her fair skin is a shade paler than usual. "Donna," he pleads when she doesn't answer, "talk to me."
With a soft breath out, Donna turns around to face Harvey. He closes the distance between them, his hands automatically falling to rest on her hips. She looks into his dark eyes and sees a concerned look that she doesn't particularly like. "It's nothing," she assures him, "I haven't been feeling well the last couple of days. Some sort of stomach bug, I think." She leans into him a little, "just – don't worry about it, okay?" He frowns a little at her explanation, "why didn't you just say so? Take a sick day?" He wonders aloud. She lets her right hand roam over his muscled left arm, eventually resting against his chest. The contact distracts him. She can see it in his eyes; the concern flickers a little, it isn't constant anymore. "Harvey," she smiles a faint smile, "when have I ever taken a sick day?"
Harvey nods lightly, but he still isn't entirely sure that she's telling the whole truth. He's getting better at reading her, and something in him tells him that he just needs to push a little bit further. "But why didn't you say something," he asks again, "we're not just colleagues…" Donna looks into Harvey's eyes and sees in his sincere expression that she is not going to get out of this by a few distracting touches. "Mike came to you with the LuvaCorp case today," she starts, "but he has been working on it for over a week now, trying to figure it out by himself. Rachel has been juggling her own work while trying to help Mike. And you had all the paperwork from the hearings last week to get through," she shrugs lightly, "I didn't want to burden any of you any more."
"Donna," Harvey's right hand travels up and gently rests against her cheek, "telling me how you feel is not burdening me." His thumb brushes over her soft skin. She leans her face into his palm. "It's not that bad," she mutters, "I'm starting to feel better. I'll be good as new tomorrow." She smiles at him, but just like before he notices the smile is not reaching her eyes. "Hey," he wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her a little closer, "it's also okay if you're not okay. Even the mighty Donna Paulsen is allowed to get sick sometimes." She lets her eyes fall closed for a second as she nods, her body relaxing into him. He presses his lips against her forehead, but then pulls away again, "you do feel a little warm," he notes, "do you think you're running a fever?"
It takes a while before Donna answers Harveys question. "Not really," she mumbles eventually, neither a denial nor a confirmation. His right hand – the one that was resting on her cheek – carefully brushes over her face, feeling the temperature of her forehead. "You thought it was the stomach flu?" He asks, trying to get his facts straight because that's just what he does. Donna takes a step back, making both his hands fall from her body to his sides. "Yes, Harvey," she is annoyed by his adamance to talk about it, "a stomachache, bits of nausea, maybe a slight fever. Is this deposition over now?" Without waiting for his answer, she brushes past him, exiting the bathroom.
Donna has just slipped into her pajamas when Harvey approaches her in the bedroom. He gave her a minute to cool off before deciding he didn't want to fight with her. She's standing with her back towards him, and even though he's sure she knows he's here, she isn't turning towards him. "I didn't mean to make it feel like I was questioning you." He says, standing directly behind her, but not reaching for her yet. "That doesn't really sound like an apology." She turns to face him, never one to back down from a confrontation. Now Harvey dares to close the distance between them, stepping towards her and taking her hands. "That's because it isn't," he simply tells her, "I'm not gonna apologize for being worried about my wife." The last two words soften her. She rolls her eyes, but he can see that she isn't mad anymore. She softly squeezes his hands before she speaks, "it's just not that big of a deal and I don't need you to worry about me when we've got enough to worry about at the firm." She tells him. He shakes his head, "you'll always be more important to me than whatever is going on at any firm." He tells her before pulling her against his body and wrapping his arms around her, "you know that, right?" She nods against his shoulder, relaxing in his embrace.
Soooo, that was the first chapter! Let me know what you thought, things you liked, things you didn't like, I want to know all of it!