They have a Halloween tradition. One she instigated following the first Halloween they worked together when he made the mistake of telling her he never answers the door to trick-or-treaters.
Donna always takes the day off work, although she's mysterious as to why. All these years later Harvey still doesn't know precisely what she does that day. But at some point in the early evening she stops by his apartment. She brings a bag of candy with her and fills a bowl for him to hand out to the kids that knock on his door.
She always comes dressed in her costume and it's always impressive. He pretends he hates everything about Halloween, grumbles every year when she forces him to hand out candy to a bunch of kids dressed in costumes he never usually guesses right. But secretly Harvey loves the once a year dress up parade she does for him.
She doesn't usually stay long, just enough time for them to share one drink and for him to appropriately ogle her outfit choice. Then she's off to wherever it is she goes to celebrate the night, dressed as Poison Ivy or a devilish witch or catwoman. And he stays home and dutifully hands out the candy she brings him, because like it or not, he always does what she asks him to.
This year she's late. And since Donna is never late for anything, he's convinced himself she's not going to come. With all that had happened recently, all the mistakes he has made, Harvey can't really blame her for deciding to abandon their tradition this year.
There's yet another knock on the door and he groans to himself, thinking he should just ignore it. Wonders if maybe he ought to stick a sign on the door saying "no candy" so the kids will leave him alone. He always gets a lot of trick-or-treaters for someone who lives on the top floor and he's always had a suspicion that Donna has a deal with his doorman to direct them all his way.
When the knocking turns to an insistent banging, fists loud on his door, he drags himself out of his chair, feeling a sudden flicker of hope that just maybe she's come after all.
He throws open the door, and he's met with a sight that sucks all the air out of his lungs. His intuition proved right, because Donna is standing there, and that alone, the fact that she had still actually come, is enough to make his heart leap. But then he lets his eyes run over her outfit and heat tickles down his spine.
Her costume isn't even technically something that would be considered overly sexy, he thinks, not in comparison to some of the downright indecent costumes he knows some people wear.
She's dressed as a baseball player, which he thinks is a totally out of left field choice for her considering her previous outfits over the years. She's wearing a replica Yankees outfit, but it's very tight, and very low at the front and he can't make his eyes look away.
Her hair is in a ponytail, tucked through a baseball cap, and he finds that distracting as well, seeing her hair swishing form side to side, her long neck bare and exposed in a way he's rarely got to see before.
"Trick-or-treat," she says with a grin, but he still can't function enough to form words. He has no idea why, but this year's costume has rendered him speechless.
She brushes past him, strutting into the apartment like she owns it. "Close your mouth Harvey," she calls over shoulder as she heads for the kitchen.
Donna drops a bag of candy down on the counter and pulls a large ceramic bowl from the cupboard. He loves that she knows exactly where to find it, loves the way she treats his apartment like her own whenever she visits. The bowl is still the same one she used on that very first Halloween, so many years earlier. There's a large chip in it now, but he can't bring himself to replace it.
She fills the bowl with candy and then spins on her heel, turning to him. "There you go, all sorted. No excuse for being a grinch now," she says in a teasing tone.
"Was this really necessary?"
"Absolutely."
It's their usual banter, same as every year, but he enjoys it. He pours them both a drink as she deposits the bowl on the table near his door, ready for the next knock.
They share a drink like always, and chat easily like always, even though he struggles to keep his eyes on her face. He swears her outfit is spray painted on, it's that tight fitting.
She catches him staring yet again as she finishes her drink, and it's not like he doesn't admire her every year, but he knows he's been obsessed with looking at her tonight.
"So what do you think?" she asks with a crook of her eyebrow, waving a hand down her body indicating her costume.
"It's certainly an interesting choice," he equivocates, not sure he should give his honest opinion on just how much he likes her outfit, or the effect it has on him. "I didn't know you were such a fan of baseball," he adds, because he is still surprised by her choice.
She shrugs, standing up from the barstool and picking up her handbag, preparing to leave. He's always disappointed when their drink is over, always wonders if she would stay for another, delaying her evening plans for him, if he asked her. But he never has.
"I'm not. But you are," she answers him simply, and he can tell she's watching him for a reaction. The comment has him spinning and he doesn't know how to respond. Donna heads to the door, and he follows behind her because he knows there's unspoken meaning in her words. The idea that she selected this year's costume with his taste in mind, it's a statement he's not sure what to do with.
She touches the handle, then pauses, turning back to face him.
"I'm sorry I was late tonight," she says softly, looking like she wants to elaborate further, but doesn't.
"I thought you might have decided not to come."
"I thought about it." He feels his heart drop a little at her confession.
"Why?"
"Because even though it's Halloween, I'm so sick of playing pretend." Donna seems surprised by her own honesty, as her eyes flick away from him for a moment.
Harvey gets a sense that he's in a moment right then. One of those life changing times where you can look back and see that one decision changed the entire path you were taking. He knows they've been here before, more than once, and this time he's determined to take the right path, the one he's always been too afraid to try. Until now.
He steps closer to her, erasing almost all the space between them. "What are you pretending about?"
"The things that I feel. The things that I want," she answers, her voice barely above a whisper.
She's playing vague with her words, as though she's still too afraid to throw the full truth out into the open. But it doesn't matter. He knows. Harvey closes the final step between them and brushes the back of his hand over her cheek. She trembles at his touch.
"Is this something that you want?" he says quietly as he leans in, ready to press his lips to hers. Ready to show her everything that he wants and all the things that he feels.
Suddenly there's a knock on the door and he absolutely cannot believe the goddamn timing of it. They freeze in position, just an inch of space between their lips and he thinks maybe if he just ignores it they'll go away. But then the knocking starts again.
Donna looks at him, a small smile on her face and her teeth biting into her bottom lip and he thinks she might be trying not to laugh.
He groans as he steps back, grabbing hold of the bowl of candy. He pulls open the door to reveal a miniature princess and something he thinks is meant to be a dinosaur. He honestly doesn't care as he shoves the whole bowl of candy into the hands of the princess.
"Here you go kids, enjoy. Spread the word were out of candy will you," and then he flings the door shut again on their equally surprised and thrilled faces.
He turns back to her and she's giggling now, her eyes crinkled as the chuckles turn into full blown laughter, her head tilting back. He's struck by the thought that he doesn't think she's ever looked more beautiful.
"Harvey," she laughs, "what did you just do."
"I think what I was about to do is much more important," he responds and her laughter halts.
He nudges her back against the door, lets his hands come to rest on her waist as he leans in. He finds himself pausing as his lips hover over hers, because he knows after this there's no going back and he wants to be sure.
"Are you ready to stop pretending Donna?" he whispers. She answers him with a yes and her lips pressing up to meet his.
Halloween, Harvey decides, as he kisses her with abandon until she leads him off towards his bedroom, is most definitely his favourite holiday.