Halloween - Gambling Man

"Stop it."

Harvey feigns innocence, gleaming across the desk at his secretary. "Stop what?"

Donna leans back, crossing her legs, watching his gaze subtly flick down, and thinks she really shouldn't encourage him. Her new boss is dangerously easy on the eyes, more attractive when he turns on the charm, but a little self-indulgent flirting never hurt anyone, and she meets his gaze with a smirk. "You know what."

His mouth twitches at the corners. If she's expecting him to be embarrassed, he's not. Being caught out is half the fun. And when she strutted in, surprising him by asking to leave early for Halloween (not just marking the afternoon in his calendar) of course his mind dared to picture her costume. He is human after all... and instead of playing coy, he calls her bluff. "Sexy nurse?"

She slants her head with a bemused look. "You honestly think I'm that generic?"

He picks up his pen, twirling it between his fingers. "Sexy cop?"

"How is that less generic?" she asks, regretting the question when he shakes his wrist at her.

"Handcu—"

"Do not finish that sentence." She waggles her finger, warning him away from the innuendo.

He grins, stilling the pen, and biting down over the lid more thoughtfully. He's never had any real interest in getting to know a woman prior to the redhead turning up on his desk several months ago, but he skims over the titbits of facts he's gathered and stored away—disappointed when he still draws a blank.

She snorts, shaking her head at his befuddled expression. "You've had how many Halloween dates, and that's the best you can come up with?"

"What makes you think I'd go anywhere on Halloween?" he hits back with a smug smile. In his opinion, the whole thing is ridiculous. It's the one night of the year he'd rather be at home, avoiding the hoards of children, and then later, the drunk idiots ruining the ambience of an otherwise classy establishment. "I pull off handsome and mysterious every day, and I don't need a costume to do it."

Something in-between a scoff and laugh catches in her throat, but he is right about one thing; she can't see him getting dressed up and letting loose, no matter how much his ego could use an evening off. "You're a Scrooge, you know that?"

"At Christmas, sure." He drops the pen with a smile, his gaze falling to her soft pouty lips, and damn she's good. "Fine…" He rolls his eyes. "You can have the afternoon off." The confirmation has the desired effect, making her grin broadly, and he's hit by a stir of butterflies as she gleefully pushes herself up.

"Donna." He stops her, a hint of curiosity flickering in his expression. "Why ask?"

She knits her brows together, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you sneak out for auditions all the time…" He motions to her desk with a shrug. In his mind there's not much difference, but she obviously thinks there's one, because she pivots all the way around with a hand on her hip.

"Firstly, I don't sneak," she points out. "We agreed auditions were part of the deal. Halloween is… a revision."

"A revision?" He sits forward in his chair tapping his pen."Exactly how many of these revisions are you planning on making?"

"None… now I know I don't have to ask." She winks, her painted lips wrapping around a smirk, and he opens his mouth but promptly closes it again, leading her to tilt her head with a smile. "I'm kidding, Harvey. I'm not just going to up and leave you whenever something else comes along. We're a team."

He nods, a little dumbfounded by the statement. She's smart, witty, keeps him in line, and is undoubtedly the best secretary he's ever had, but he hasn't really considered just how much he's coming to rely on her being around. Usually, that sort of commitment would send him running in the opposite direction, but instead, relief absorbs the notion she isn't going anywhere.

A team.

He can handle that.

"Lana Lang?"

He grins the guess, and she turns on her heel, rolling her eyes. "You're an idiot."

"I heard that." His voice chases her out the door, his gaze trailing her swinging hips through the glass and, if he were smart, he'd reconsider running. But he's a gambling man, and from what he's seen so far; having Donna Paulsen in his life is worth the highest bet.

…..

? ﾟﾑﾻ? ﾟﾧﾛ ️? ﾟﾑﾻ? ﾟﾧﾛ ️? ﾟﾑﾻ? ﾟﾧﾛ ️? ﾟﾑﾻ? ﾟﾧﾛ ️

…...

"Donna, what the hell is this?"

Harvey's voice calls out from the other side of the closet door, and Donna peeks her head around, a faint blush covering her cheeks. The costume he's holding is from an eon ago—her first Halloween working at the DA's office, back when she was younger and a lot more daring. "It's Jessica Rabbit." She shrugs at the box like it's no big mystery.

He frowns at the red sequin ensemble that's half the size of an actual dress, his gaze dropping to the bright sea of colors and materials that still need to be unpacked. "Where's the rest of it?" he jokes, not sure what to do with the completely inappropriate and sexy as hell, almost outfit.

"Stop it," she admonishes, slapping his shoulder. "That was from twenty years ago."

He smirks, lifting up the strapless gown and admiring the plunging v-line, until it dawns on him that she actually went out in public wearing it.

"Besides..." she tugs the fabric out of his grasp, "it was more creative than a sexy nurse."

The comment triggers his memory and his eyes widen, his current-self mentally kicking his past-self in the shin. "That was your costume?"

"Yep." She pops her lips, enjoying the way he's squirming. "Shame you had to miss the party. Why was that again?" He shoots her a mock glare, but she blatantly ignores the warning. "Something about not needing a costume to look handsome and mysterious, and—"

She lets out a squeal as he leaps up, catching her sides, and leaving her gasping around her laughter until he finally relents, clasping her waist with a broad grin. "You were saying?"

She matches his smile, amusement flushing her already warm cheeks. "I told you we should have started unpacking the kitchen first."

"You're right. Then we could have gotten the can opener out, instead." He chuckles at the nudge she gives him, but he glances at the dress balled in her hands, and jumps back on the seducing train of distraction. "You know… Halloween is right around the corner. We could start celebrating a little early."

"We still have work to do," she admonishes, knowing exactly where he's going with the thought, but her resolve falters when he dips down, peppering a trail of kisses beneath her ear.

"We haven't... had a break in a while."

"We had one an hour ago," she tries to argue, but he slides his palms up and she meets his lips, murmuring the rest of her futile protest with a smile. "We're never going to finish unpacking, are we?"

"Maybe just the costume box." He grins, kissing her soundly, deciding that all those years ago he really was an idiot, but in the end, the gamble he took paid off.

Having Donna Paulsen in his life, in his heart, and knowing she's here to stay, is everything he ever hoped he could win.