A/N: This was inspired by a scene in Season 4 of Sex & The City where Carrie runs into Mr. Big and tells her the news that Aiden, her current boyfriend, is planning on proposing. The beginning of the short dialogue scene is inspired by that but everything else takes a life of its own!

It's a little OOC in my opinion for Harvey to so adamantly speak about Donna's love life. And I can't imagine he'd fight her on it so aggressively, but I tried staying to true what his words would have been, his actions, and I just missed posting fics so I figured, what the hell.

Critiques and comments are always Welcome! Also, if anyone had any ideas they'd like me to explore be it for my other multi-chapter fics or oneshots please feel free to leave them as reviews!

Office Gossip

Harvey was out of town at a meeting with clients. He'd spent three days in Philadelphia, bitching and moaning over the phone to Donna about how awful the client was being. Donna didn't need to be her to time the incessant phone calls correctly.

He called early in the morning around 6am, at midnight when he needed someone, but those weren't as unusual as the sudden 11:30 AM calls she got like clockwork everyday. They were her usual gossip chats they'd have in his office when she passed him his daily caseload. He clearly missed her. It was sweet.

At this one specific call, Harvey teetered towards a conversation topic they'd been unintentionally (intentionally) avoiding.

"How are things with Chad?" Harvey asked and she could hear leather squeaking beneath him, Donna pictured him in the back of a car, irritated at the car that's not Ray's. Donna smiled as she responded with an eye roll.

"You know his name now." Donna chided over the phone as she typed up the last of her document on her desktop, referencing the night Brad had been at the same bar Pearson Hardmen's crew ended up at, leading to an awkward yet inevitable meeting between brad and her group of work friends.

"Brad."

"Things are very good there, too."

"What was that?"

"What?"

"That smile, I can hear the gloating from over the phone," Harvey rolled his eyes and donna bit back a smirk at the fact she could hear that over the phone too.

They were getting very good at this blind communication thing almost four years into their work relationship.

"I don't think you want to know."

"I bet I can handle it," Harvey sarcastically replied.

"Are you sure?" Donna teased and Harvey sighed around a chuckle. "What the hell."

Donna paused, catching a shaky breath in before coming clean.

"I think he wants to marry me." Her words were half assured, half bashful.

"You think or you know?"

Donna let out the breath she had let in earlier, shaking her head wryly not sure why she's surprised he took the lawyer approach into the conversation. It's not exactly like she was gossiping with her best girlfriend who would've asked about their wedding destination already.

"I know, actually."

"So you've discussed it?"

"No," Donna rolled her eyes snappily, "it's just the kind of thing you know. Well it's the kind of think I know anyways" She murmured as she tired distracting herself with her computer monitor.

"Not going to happen." He said brazenly.

She wanted to knock him down a peg or two and hated his smug attitude. She should have taken the high road and stopped the conversation then and there knowing where it was going but she couldn't leave it alone had to hear outloud what he was going to say next.

She should've said Let's not talk about it, instead she said yes it is.

"I'm telling you he's going to propose." she adamantly reiterated.

"He's not the guy for you."

"He might be the guy for me." She insisted.

Harvey hummed. "He's not." Donna doesnt know what it is about this phone call that had harvey suddenly build enough courage to speak his mind so candidly about her love life, while hes been known to voice his hatred over the occasional guy she dates hed never been this close to the teetering edge of reality they both decide to ignore, of why exactly harvey cares so much and why he'll never give her the seal of approval.

Still, Donna is irritated with him so cockily declaring this guy isn't for her. That's not for him to decide. And she definitely wasn't in the mood to hear Mr. Eternal Bachelor try and give her love life advice.

"He is." Donna countered once more putting emphasis in her letters, teeth practically grating out her answer.

A silence fell through the receiver.

She could hear harvey swallow something down and his heavy breathing get louder through the phone.

Donna almost feels compelled to apologize but she's not sure for what.

"Are you gonna say yes, if he asks?"

Donna doesn't know what to say to that. She's silent on the phone, and she didn't want him to take her silence as defeat so she blurted the first thing that came to her mind.

"You know, sometimes, I wonder if there's a reason we can't talk about this."

"Who said we can't?"

"I don't know."

"He's not good enough for you."

"How would you know, you've never even properly met the guy."

"Trust me I know. He's not the guy for you he's so.. Goddamn boring."

"Excuse me?"

"He is! He's a god damn teacher for christ sake."

"I'd be marrying him Harvey, not his job. Like you're one to talk, you're a lawyer."

"Hey, the law is exciting the way I do it." She hated how calm he sounded as he dismantled another one of her relationships, like it was nothing to him. Like he had no skin in the game but was happy to completely alter her life over the phone in the middle of the work day.

"Well Brad excites me and that's all that matters."

"Even if he does propose, you're not saying yes."

"Wow. Is that a demand Mr. Specter?" His name dripped with venom out of her voice. She doesn't get where he got off talking to her like this, doesn't know how their conversation has veered so far away from the topic of the Henderson files and Maggie's secret pregnancy from Kevin in Accounting.

"Donna, I know you, and there's something missing there. I know it."

"Well what's missing in this conversation right now is some boundaries. You can't tell me not to marry the guy Harvey just because he doesn't meet your incredibly high standards, you're not the one he's going to get down on one knee for."

"I wasn't demanding you not marry him. I was telling you you're not going to go through with it."

"Why- why do you think-"

"Because you're not ready! For all the talks you give me about my commitment issues you're the same way."

"Excuse me?"

"Donna c'mon can you really imagine yourself settled down already? Marriage, moving in, kids one day soon?"

"I'm sorry I didn't realize we invented a time machine and took it back to the 50s."

"You know I'm right."

"I have to go."

"Wait Donna-"

"No, Harvey. I have to go. Goodbye."

She hung up on him.

She thought he might try calling but Harvey Specter wasn't one to make calls he knows will go unanswered. Part of Donna ignored the sting of rejection and humiliation she felt that he didn't reach out- she knows better. Still, to have him be in the wrong and not even dain to attempt to apologize hurt. It hurt her feelings as his close friend and it definitely bruised her ego because she wasn't the type of person to put up with someone who blatantly disregarded the amount of respect she deserved.

He texted her that evening, around six o clock. A very simple Im sorry

She ignored it, shoving a large piece of her salmon skin roll into her mouth, placing her phone far away from her and focusing her attention back to her Criminal Minds rerun.

At 8 pm, when she was on her second glass of wine, he texted again. I just want you to be happy. Does he make you happy?

At 9 pm, after she'd taken extra care with her skincare routine and put on her favourite pair of pajamas, she got another text.

I hate it when we fight.

Donna sighed, annoyed with his ability to write the simplest of declarations that manage to tug at her heart strings and reassess her ban on responding to him.

The next morning, she took her time getting ready, purposefully testing her routine and how long it took her to get ready, wanting to be on time- if not late-instead of her usual early at the office.

It felt like a professional Fuck you to harvey.

She also scheduled a date night with Brad for that night as well.

She didn't think too much of how Harvey was on her mind and not sweet Brad when she thought of seeing him, and she didn't analyze how she felt happy with her plans after he agreed not because of their impending relationship, but because she was looking forward to proving Harvey wrong.

She didn't think about how Harvey had been the only thing on her mind for over twenty-four hours.

She swiped her last layer of lipstick and grabbed her keys as she was determined to walk all forty minutes to work, delaying her arrival some more.

When she got to the office, she purposefully ignored Harvey's large glass walls, keeping her eyes directed straight at her own table,monitor and desk.

She put her coat on the back of her chair, plopped down on the chair and turned on her computer before settling in, fully adjusting her seat and purse next to her.

She felt him hover over her.

He slid her favorite peet's coffee drink over to her, a caramel chai latte that was only in season in the fall.

She looked up at him, his eyes protruding his best sorry puppy brown eyes, that were sunken in with a level of tiredness she'd like to think was because of their fight, leaving him restless and guilty but she knew better. She knew it was his red-eye and his trip that disrupted his routine.

Donna cocked her jaw slightly, doubling down on her stance not to cave, even if he gave her his signature im sorry coffee treat.

She let her eyes avert back to her monitor effectively ignoring him.

She could tell from the corner of her eye he was exasperated, his eyes and forehead doing that wrinkly thing she thinks makes him look stupid.

"If you like Brad-"

"I do, like Brad."

"Then I'll shut up about it."

"Good."

"I just don't understand why you can comment on my relationships but I cant-"

"What relationships harvey? You're comparing your three day hook up with the guy I'm telling you might propose to me. And for the record whenever I do comment on your quasi-girlfriends, I'm doing it to support you. To encourage you, and help you find.. I don't know whatever the hell it is you should be looking for. I don't do it to just-"

"Just what?"

"Come out looking like the better option. Because thats what you do. That feels like your agenda. When we both know you don't want that." Harvey stiffens at her words, as if he'd been caught red-handed with nowhere to back out. Donna continues on with her speech "So it really boils down to your egomaniacal need to be the best at everything including this." she gestures her hand as she grabs the cup of coffee he set on her cubicle, "and I do not have commitment issues." She snapped the last sentence out.

Harvey nodded, his hands shoved in his pockets as he teetered on his heels then bounced back on his tiptoes. "Well for the record, I was just looking out for you. I care about you, and I was just sharing my opinion, it's what friends do, its what we do. All the god damn time. And you can't just-"

"Just what?"

"Shut me out because you don't like it."

"I wasn't shutting you out. I was mad. I needed space. I'm here aren't I?"

"Yeah, you are."

"I am not leaving you Harvey, I know… thats a fear you have. But I will alway come back. Even when you're being a dick about my boyfriend."

"Just- I just want to make sure its what you want, thats all."

"Why do you think I don't want this?"

Harvey heistates, clearly focusing on her demand for him not to speak about it anymore. She gestures with her arm for him to go on, leaning back in her chair getting ready for whatever it was he was about to admit.

"You didn't once say you were excited. Or that you were gonna say yes. And you didn't make one joke about your wedding."

Donna felt stumped at his rebuttal.

She wanted to say he never gave her a chance to, she wanted to say they never talk about this but Harvey interrupts her train of thought, "You don't talk about him, the way you're meant to."

"The way I'm meant to?"

"Honestly Donna, I've seen you be more enamored with Louis Litt."

Donna couldn't help but let out a chuckle despite it falling meekly out of her lips. "Oh."

"What?" Harvey asked wearily bracing himself for another lecture.

"That…was actually a valid point."

Harvey blinked at her. "Are you saying I was right? What's the date today I wanna write this down-"

"You were not right about how you went about telling me that asshat." Donna snapped at him.

"But…yes. You actually gave me something to think about."

Harvey sent her a tiny smug smile, before righting his reaction. "For the record.. I am sorry that I was right."

"Well for the record, I'm sorry I bit your head off. You did deserve it though." She mumbled the last part and Harvey rolled his eyes at her.

"Ok, enough chit-chat we've got work to do." He walked away, going back to his office, and Donna sighed inwardly, not ready to get into work mode after having a bomb dropped on her latest attempt at a love life.

She trotted behind him, trusty chai latte in one hand, the other holding his new caseload.

"Wait, don't you wanna hear about the Vasquez Brothers' on the 50th floor?" she half hollered the sentence as she followed him.

"What about them?" he sighed exasperatedly.

"They're both dating the same girl. And don't know it yet." Donna let her eyes go wide dramatically as Harvey sat down at his chair, frowning in surprise at her news.

"But- What? How?"

As Donna launched into her latest tidbit of gossip her eyes sneakily glanced at the clock on his wall and smirked to herself. 11:30- right on time.