He loved everything about her. They way she smiled, they way she talked, maybe even the way she yelled at him sometimes, telling him right from wrong, when he was so misguided by his anger. She truly made him a better person, even if neither of them realized that, people around them did.
His caring makes you weak attitude had more and more faded over the years as Donna told him over and over again that emotions meant strength and good things.
"Stop looking at me like that-", she stated, brows furrowed but with a soft smile on her face. He really didn't mean to look at her that much but he got lost in his thoughts and it somehow happened.
"And how exactly do I look at you?", he questioned with the sole intention to make her a little nervous.
"Harvey, don't play this game. You know how you look at me and it's…-", she stopped there.
"It's what?", he asked again, not letting it go.
"Bringing me a little bit out of my concept. Now you have it!", she bursts out, trying to stay serious.
"Am I seeing this right or are saying that I am making you nervous?", he was clearly enjoying himself.
"Stop it-", she voiced a little more forceful while boxing his biceps with her little fist.
"Oh please, that was ridiculous, Paulsen", he gave back, trying to suppress a laughter. She couldn't help herself but laugh too. She knew it was, but he kind of had her there.
Usually, she was the one to pull these kind of things off with him but now he was the one who used her own weapons against her.
"You're such an idiot, Specter", she deep dived her spoon into the box one more time, so she didn't say any more stuff that would get her in that position. She already admitted enough tonight. Somehow she needed to fight back.
"Don't even pretend like I didn't see your looks earlier when you came in here and saw me wearing your sweater", she saw him blush and stare a little nervously down to the vanilla gelato.
"Ha, I got you right there!", she let out with a triumphant grin on her face.
"If anyone is making anybody here nervous, it would be me", she continued with all her confidence.
"Guilty as charged", he admitted to her surprise.
She only stared back with a shocked look on her face.
Never would she have thought that he'd give in so easily.
"I mean-", he paused there for a bit, looking at her, trying to read the expression on her face.
"You know how you look, Donna", he continued with his voice going noticeably softer. She didn't expect any of that which left her at a loss of words.
"How do I look?", she asked with a devilish look on her face.
"Tell me-", when she realized that he was reluctant on answering. She raised her eyebrow and bit her lower lip, knowing exactly that she had the upper hand now.
That was how she liked it.
He stayed silent for a little, not sure how to put all of the things she was doing to him in words.
"Donna, you know exactly how you look in your dresses even though you play innocent at the office", he whispered in her ear as he was leaning closer towards her with the sole purpose of making her nervous. His voice sounded honest and the atmosphere shifted from flirty to something deeper.
His hand rested now on her leg and he knew exactly how his touch was effecting her.
"I tend to have that effect", she tried to make it sound nonchalantly.
Their faces were closer, closer than ever before except from the other time. All of this was going more and more in the direction of it if one of them doesn't interfere.
"You really do", he voiced in a quiet and a little thoughtful voice.
His fingers were now drawing soothing circles on her leg and she slid off the chair, coming up to standing.
He was still sitting but significantly taller than her.
She placed her hand on his jaw, gently moving his head back from the position on her ear. She wanted to look him directly in the eyes. His expression flinched a bit when her fingers moved over the stitched up spot on his cheekbone.
"Sorry", she whispered in an apologetic voice. His soft brown eyes were gazing at her lips. He barely felt a thing, just his skin tingling under her touch. Never had a woman had this effect on him.
"It's okay", he gave back with a soft smile, pulling her close to him by her waist.
She knew what was about to happen next and that was kind of inevitable, considering the tension that has been between the two that evening and the better part of the last seven years, but she couldn't just give him. She was fighting against this feeling for so long and it she just couldn't let it happen.
At least not yet.
She placed her hands on his shoulders and let her head rest there too. Her head fitted perfectly in the crook of his neck.
He placed his chin on her head, breathing in the scent of her shampoo, and all the memories from the other were flashing into his mind.
Everything was the same and so different at the same time.
"Maybe, we should go get some sleep", she voiced a little tired, slowly letting go of him, trying to retain a safe distance between them.
"Sure", he replied, still in his special soft voice that he only had when he talked to her and instead of that she just walked into the bedroom, she took his hand, gently pulling him off the chair so he would follow behind her which made him grin internally.
He couldn't let go and neither could she.
Even if they didn't kiss, what they were doing made them become closer than a kiss ever could.
Entering the bedroom she let go of his hand and made her way to the bathroom.
"Do you have a toothbrush for me?", she asked a little curious.
"Which color do you want?", he gave back with a smile on his face.
"It seriously concerns me how prepared you are, and I'd like to have a red one", she replied with a small laugh.
"I mean, what can I say, I like to be prepared and here", he walked past her into the bathroom attached to his bedroom, opened the upper shelf and handed her a brand-new red toothbrush. She flashed him a smile and closed the bathroom door behind her.
She returned after a few minutes and to her surprise he was already laying in bed, looking like he was asleep.
The events of the evening still seemed so surreal to her and she had to no clue how it came that suddenly she was landing in bed with Harvey Specter, once again.
Only this time, it was different. So many things were different.
She quietly hopped into bed right next to him, totally caught by surprised when he stretched out his arm to pull her closer.
His hand grabbed her waist, while he robbed towards her as well.
She went with it and placed her head in the crook of his neck, it was just as comfortable as she remembered.
"You're so small", he voiced, totally out of context.
"No, I'm not", she gave back, a little fake-offended.
"Yeah, you are", he threw back out of pure provocativeness.
"Without your heels you are", he added, trying to compromise.
"Okay, maybe but just compared to you", she admitted, cuddling a little closer in his direction. As a response he pulled up the blanket higher to tuck her in tighter but let his hand still rest on her waist. Hers was playing with the hem of his shirt on his back, her arm wrapped around his body.
"Can I be honest with you?", he asked, a shy tone was in his voice and she didn't know what to expect.
"Sure", she gave back slowly and moved her body a little bit higher, so she could see his face. The expression on his face looked a little curious and she could see that it took him a lot of courage to say what he was about to say next.
"Uhm, I thought about this happening, with you, sometimes I imagine us-", he didn't know how to continue when he saw a soft smile growing on her face. With their faces only mere centimeters apart, he could see every freckle and from so close, she looked adorable.
"I would lie if I say that I never, you know, there are times when I can't help but imagine but… you know that we'd make a horrible couple", she let out a laugh, avoiding to look him directly in the eyes. It has flashed into her mind many more times than she'd like to admit to.
"I mean, we both are so stubborn, too much of a workaholic and you know, we simply wouldn't work", she tried to convince herself more than him.
"And imagine us having kids, that would be horrible, both of your stubbornness combined", he added with a grin on his face, mirroring her expression. He didn't know if this was a game they were playing or not. Every line that they drew in their relationship before has somehow shifted this night.
"At least they'd be cute", she interfered letting out a chuckle.
"But exhausting if they come after their mother", he replied, forcing a serious voice.
"That's nothing compared to if they come after their dad", she gave up with her eyebrows raised.
"Okay, you won", he gave in.
"But seriously, do you ever want kids?", he asked in a soft voice.
"I don't know. Yes? Maybe?", she was a little lost in her thoughts. To be quite honest, she never seriously thought about having kids until now. She was single, happy with her life and thriving in her work, but somehow she wanted more.
Still, she couldn't figure out to what part of life that "more" was applying to.
"And what about you?", she now rested her head on her arm as he was doing the same.
"I don't know, I don't really think that I'd make a good dad-", that was an answer that she didn't expect.
"Harvey…", she started with a soft voice, "I think you'd make a good dad and I think you'd definitely grow with it", she continued, looking in his eyes with a smile on her face.
She was sure of that. In her mind she sometimes pictured him being adorable with kids, teaching them baseball and all that.
To be honest with herself, she pictured him with kids more often than she'd like to admit. Maybe even with their little one which was completely ridiculous to her but she couldn't ban that happy picture from her mind.
He just let out a content say, gesturing her to crawl in his arm again, both of them dozing off with the thought of little strawberry blonde kids running around.