A/N: So sorry this has taken me so long to get up. It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks. I hope you enjoy the end of this fic! I had so much fun bringing this little idea to life.

Their paths don't cross at any point during the day. He knows they're both busy, doing their best to shore up the holes that are hemorrhaging through the firm after the events of yesterday, but it's unsettling all the same. Donna is his rock, more so than Harvey had even really realized previously, and not seeing her, the doubts brought on by his conversation with Thomas weighing on his mind, unnerves him more than he'd like to own up to.

And he's stuck at the office with Samantha, doing their best to stick it to Eric Kaldor and Ellen Rand until it's late, the early hours of the morning before they finally drop their files and head home for the evening. Harvey only makes it to the lobby of the building though, contemplating a cab to his own, lonely, empty apartment, before he decides that despite their conversation earlier, he doesn't want to spend tonight apart from her.

The ride is quick at this time of night, no traffic deterring them and it's no time at all before Harvey is standing before that door he's so familiar with, the gilded 206 staring back at him like a challenge. He raps his knuckles quickly against the wood, hoping that she might still be awake, that he isn't intruding on her with this newfound need and desperation for her.

It's a few minutes, nearly long enough his knuckles are lifted to knock again, before he hears a shuffle behind the door, waiting for it to swing open as a confused and disheveled Donna greets him. "Harvey… what are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you," he answers honestly. Perhaps the most honest thing he's said in the past twenty-four plus hours. Other than the fact that he's in love with her.

Donna's expression softens, a warm, welcoming smile slowly spreading across her features and she reaches out to grab his wrist, looping her fingers around it as she pulls him into her apartment. Her arms follow suit, wrapping around his neck and drawing him into a gentle kiss. Soft. Familiar. Something that Harvey is already addicted to.

"I missed you today," she murmurs quietly against his lips.

He nuzzles his nose along her temple, hands stroking up and down her back as he responds, "I missed you, too."

She draws him deeper into her apartment, dragging him along until they are settled on her couch, staring at each other, hands intertwined. Silence settles heavily around them, both comfortable and charged at the same time until Harvey works up the nerve to tell her what's weighing on his mind.

"Thomas came to see me earlier."

Surprise flickers over her features and Donna shifts infinitely closer to him, almost undetectable, had he not been hyper aware of her every movement. "What did he say?" she questions, trepidation laced through her words.

Harvey's thumb strokes over the top of her hand where they're joined, doing his best to remain casual as he tells her the truth. "That I'm not good enough for you."

The frown that mars her features, forming a little wrinkle between her brows, does a bit to ease his concern. However, it's not enough to quell the doubts that have trickled in throughout the day. Is this a mistake? Can he give her what she deserves? Is he enough to make her happy? What makes him so special? Round and round they've gone, questioning everything he's put stock into in the last day. The last fucking decade.

Donna cups his cheek in her palm, stroking her thumb back and forth across his cheek. "You know that's not true, right?"

"Is it not?" Harvey questions. "There's plenty of history that would indicate otherwise."

She shakes her head, unwilling to give into this line of conversation. But Harvey isn't ready to let it go. If they're going to make this work, if what they have between them is real, then they need answers to these questions.

"Why did you tell me you didn't feel anything? Last year, when I was with Paula and you kissed me. You told me you didn't feel anything and, obviously, that was a lie. Why haven't you said anything in all these years, Donna? Fifteen. Fucking. Years." The memories crowd through his mind, pushing out everything else. Flashes of their lives together, in and out of the office, the way they've become so intertwined without either of them truly realizing it until now. Because whether he'd been emotionally aware or not, this woman has been by his side for a decade and a half. Rule or not, they've always been more than whatever bullshit they've told themselves, what they've told the world. They've been pushing each other away for so long, pretending they aren't everything, and he's tired of it.

"Why did you run after Liberty Rail?" she counters, a hard look in her eye as she pulls her grip from his and wraps her arms around her drawn up knees.

And she has him there… He'd been a coward. Sprinting as fast as he could from admitting his true feelings for her at the time, pretending that it hadn't been a revelation in their relationship. But that was in the past, removed from where they are now, from who Harvey is now. So he gives her honesty, nothing more than the truth as he tells her, "Because I was scared of losing you. Of saying how I felt. Hell, I couldn't even access all of that emotion back then, I'd been avoiding it for so long."

Ironically, Paula had been the one to point that out to him, and had forced him to unpack layers of crap he'd been clinging to like a life raft for years. They might have blown up in smoke by the end of things, but he can't deny how instrumental she was in getting him to this point, with the person he was always meant to be with. Harvey sighs, adding, "I was scared of admitting how important you were to me and the bottom falling out like it had with my mom… of opening myself up to that kind of pain for a second time."

It isn't easy for him to admit that to her, to lay open the vulnerability of his softest parts before her, but if there's one person he trusts with that knowledge… It's Donna.

"I would never do that to you, Harvey," Donna tells him earnestly. "I'm never going to leave you. I'd never hurt you the way she did, betray your trust that way." Her words are pleading, even as she cups both his hands in hers and pulls them between her breasts, trying to connect them inexplicably. "I'm not saying this is all on Lily, but I promise you, I love you. Nothing is going to come between that." Donna pauses, inhaling deeply before she vows, "You are it for me."

Harvey cups her face in his grasp, drawing their mouths together for a gentle, lazy kiss. When they pull apart, Donna feels like she owes him an explanation to his initial question.

"I was scared," she admits, flashbacks of everything she'd been feeling at that time coming to the surface. Hurt, confusion, guilt, fear. How overwhelmed she'd been by the amount of change occurring then, the distance in their relationship. She'd done the exact same thing that Harvey had done a year previously, and had run far and fast from the truth of what they felt between them. She's no better than he is when it comes to how their relationship has progressed in the last fifteen years. "I knew how angry you were with me, how much you hated me for putting you in a position that made you feel like a cheater, and I panicked. Backpedaled." Donna's gaze levels against his, no lies or half truths between them anymore, as she says, "I said it didn't mean anything to let you off the hook, Harvey. And you took it."

God, the amount of miscommunication between them, how often they'd lied straight to the other's faces all for the sake of maintaining the status quo, of not upsetting the boat, or rocking the fragile give and take of their relationship is actually astounding.

Donna shrugs a shoulder, adding, "Besides they were my emotions to deal with not yours. It was clear you didn't reciprocate them, what was I supposed to do?"

It's a lie. Harvey distinctly remembers the way he'd felt the moment Donna's lips had met his, the sheer streak of need that had arrowed through him, how he'd wanted to grip her hips and press her back into the wall of her office and devour her. That tingle in his fingers echoes even now. But it had been over nearly as quickly as it had begun and the guilt had hit him the moment she'd fled from her office and he'd lashed out in anger rather than face the truth. Condemned her when she'd only pointed out something he wasn't ready to admit.

"I never hated you," he tells her, reaching to wrap a hand around her calf and drawing her legs into his lap so he can stroke absently up and down the muscle. "I could never hate you, Donna. You know that. The problem was that I did reciprocate them, and I wasn't ready to admit what that would mean for us or for me and Paula. So I blamed you."

She studies him in that way she has, the one that strips him bare, but he isn't afraid to let her see what lies beneath the surface anymore. Nearly losing everything has put so much into perspective. "What changed last night?"

Harvey looks a bit sheepish as he says, "Truthfully?" only to be met with a bemused smirk and a nod from Donna. "Something Samantha said to me made everything click." Recalling his revelation, the moments leading up to it, Harvey begins to explain, "After the hearing, I tried to call you but you didn't pick up and everyone was gone when I got back to the room. So I went back to the office. Tried to go out with Alex and Robert, but they have families and other priorities so I just sort of wandered around until I ended up in Samantha's office." He pauses, remembering the sense of loneliness he'd felt and Donna's toes curl into his thigh, encouraging him to continue. "She was telling me about who Robert is to her, how he is the only person to ever really see her, flaws and all, and how he loved her anyway. How hard it is to find someone like that and I realized you've always been that person for me." His brown eyes meet hers intensely, hoping she can feel the emotion coursing through his body, just as it had the night previously that had driven him to her doorstep. "It was like a dam broke. Suddenly I knew I had to see you, that I had to tell you how I felt. That you're it for me, Donna. That I love you and I have for years."

Her eyes are glassy, a layer of tears being held at bay, heart in her eyes as she listens to him. It's everything she's hoped for all these years and yet so much more. She still can't quite believe this version of Harvey is sitting in front of her, recalling that cocky attorney she'd first met in that bar many moons ago. They've both come so far.

Words fail her. A rare occurrence, and Donna doesn't quite know what to say in response to that, so she decides to show him instead, shifting and straddling his hips. Her fingertips trail lightly from his temple down his cheeks to his jawline as she grins at him and lowers her mouth to his. There's no urgency to this kiss, just lazy acceptance that finally they've made it. That this is now their reality. That every moment of hurt and denial and longing over the last decade has been worth it to lead them here.

Harvey's tongue sweeps into her mouth, exploring languorously while his hands slip around her waist to settle at the small of her back, gripping her camisole. And he tastes just as she remembers from this morning, the press of his mouth to hers sparking a tingling sensation through her limbs while she gently rocks on top of him, losing herself in the moment.

Eventually, they draw their mouths away from one another and Donna tips her forehead against Harvey's, breathing heavily but affectionately into the minuscule space between their lips, "You're an idiot."

Chuckling, Harvey responds, "I love you, too," before eagerly claiming her mouth again. His tongue sweeps into her mouth, exploring and teasing at the same time until he earns that tiny groan in the back of her throat, feeling the vibration through his bones.

Before this can go too far though, Donna wants to make sure they're good, that she's quelled the doubts that had driven Harvey to her door for the second night in a row. Drawing back just enough that her gaze can meet his, she tells him, "Everything you just told me, you opening up, being ready to talk about these types of things, that's why you're good enough for me. Why I love you. One of many reasons actually. I've just been waiting for you to catch up, but I've always known the man that you are, Harvey." Her palm lands on his chest, right over his heart as she adds, "I've always known what's in here and that's more than enough for me."

A growl rumbles from his throat as Harvey's mouth lands on hers again, hands streaking up to thread through her hair, gripping enough that it sends a little thrill down her spine as Donna continues to grind her hips into his, feeling his arousal steadily growing with each passing second. His free hand has slipped beneath her top, stroking his thumb over the bare skin at the small of her back and it's teasing more than anything else. She needs more.

Her hands work their way between their bodies, easily loosening the knot on his tie, pulling it and him a bit as she drags his lower lip between her teeth and gives him a wicked grin once they part a bit. Wordlessly, Donna rises off his lap to her feet, keeping that grip on his tie as she drags him behind her toward her bedroom. There's only one way this night is going to end and the anticipation has a thrill skittering down her spine to her toes.

"Ms. Paulsen… you wouldn't be leading me off to have your wicked way with me, would you?" Harvey teases, his voice that gravely tone that has heat pooling in her belly.

"You bet your ass I am," Donna sasses back, turning to face him as they reach the foot of her bed and they're right back to the point they'd been the night before, except both of them know what to anticipate this time around.

It's still so new, the novelty not yet worn off of actually being able to touch each other, to give into the desires they've suppressed for so damn long. Hands explore as they rid each other of their clothes, stripping each other bare as they have their souls. This is everything that they've been missing, what they've been searching for without even fully being aware of it, but they just fit together like they've always been.

They fall back into her bed together, Harvey hovering over her as their mouths fuse together, unwilling to part for more than a few seconds at a time for air. She tastes just as glorious as he remembers, spicy and warm while his hands explore her body. His grip brushes over her peaked nipples, the pebbled nubs ricocheting up his desire for her as he cups her breasts and kneads them roughly.

"God, you're beautiful. You have no idea how much I want you, Donna," Harvey exclaims a bit breathlessly into her ear.

Her thoughts are in shambles, her brain only able to focus on the sensations Harvey is pulling from her body, that aching need that overwhelms her. Her arms lock around his neck, arching her hips up against his hard length in clear invitation as she murmurs, "Show me."

He doesn't need anymore invitation than that before he's angling himself toward her entrance, sliding just the head of his cock in before drawing back and slightly forward, teasing her and relishing the low growl of disapproval and pleasure at his teasing that the movement elicits out of her before he slides all the way home.

"Ugn, yes," Donna moans, wrapping her legs around Harvey's hips and arching them upward to meet him thrust for thrust. He feels amazing, stretching and filling every inch of her, each glide of his cock a delicious slide of friction that has every one of her senses tingling, all her focus centered around where their bodies are joined.

Their mouths meet sloppily, needing to be as connected as they can be to each other, driving the others' base desires higher and higher with each stroke and her hands explore the planes of his back, the muscles flexing as he moves inside her, driving her pleasure. It's ridiculously hot and if she weren't already so far gone, Donna might be able to consider that no one has ever made her feel like this. Not since the last time she and Harvey had crossed that line, and she's been chasing this feeling ever since.

But every coherent thought has been wiped from her mind and it doesn't take long before she's gripping his shoulders, her nails digging in, sure to leave little red welts as her body spasms as Harvey pushes her over that edge, the wave cresting over and over again with ecstasy. He follows not two minutes later, groaning and burying his face in the crook of her neck as his body goes rigid and he releases into her.

With a grunt, Harvey collapses on top of her and Donna sucks in air at the unexpected weight of him pressing her into the mattress, but she doesn't make any move to shift, enjoying the feeling.

"You're going to be the death of me," Harvey breathes against the column of her neck, heaving a bit as he catches his breath from his orgasm.

Donna chuckles, turning her head to peck a light smooch to his forehead, threading her fingers through his hair and playing absently with the strands. "Gotta make up for thirteen years of missed opportunities somehow."

His laughter rumbles through his body, rocking her own as he lifts his head and kisses her in a long and thorough kiss before separating themselves and shifting into a more comfortable position curled into each other, Harvey's arm anchored around her waist as he spoons her. That's how they doze into slumber, soothed by the rise and fall of the others breathing and the steady beat of each other's heart. Exactly where they're meant to be.

-:-

Waking up to Harvey wrapped around her is just as marvelous as it had been the morning before. She takes a few minutes to enjoy it, listening to the gentle wisp of his snores and the way his chest expands into her back and falls away with his steady breathing. The pads of her fingers trailing up and down his forearm as she relishes this peace, replaying their conversation last night over in her head. It had been hard to hear that he hadn't thought he was good enough for her, Donna isn't used to Harvey having doubts very often, but she hopes she'd done enough to assuage them. It'd been refreshing to have an honest conversation about their true feelings too, further proof that this time is the real deal.

Inevitably though her thoughts drift to Thomas, what Harvey had told her he'd said to him and the guilt is still prominent, a sick feeling settling in her gut, causing her to shift slightly closer to Harvey for the smallest bit of comfort. She's treated him horribly, however unintentional it had been, but this is worth it. Still, she needs to deal with the situation. It isn't fair to string him along, or to make him think there's still hope for them when every space of her heart belongs to the man sleeping next to her.

Donna lays there for another couple of minutes, nearly allowing herself to doze back to sleep, but the alarm ringing on her bedside table startles her out of her drifting state and Harvey groans and buries his nose in her hair. Time to face reality once more. She shuts the alarm off quickly and shifts to face Harvey, grinning at his sleep mussed hair sticking out at odd angles, so very not Harvey Specter. "Good morning."

He grunts, acknowledging her, but not yet opening his eyes as his arm drags her closer into his chest, nuzzling next to her on the pillow. "Mornin'," Harvey responds gruffly and the deep rough tone sends a little shiver down Donna's spine, but they'd already been late yesterday morning due to their inability to keep their hands to themselves and as much as she wants him again, she will not have it happen a second time. They're supposed to be the leaders of the firm and they can't keep showing up late together or everyone in the entire office is going to know what's going on between them.

She's not quite ready for that, eager to stay in their new bubble of coupledom for just a little longer. "We have to get up, Harvey. We're going to be late."

"So?" He huffs, finally blinking his eyes open to stare at her with a hint of mischief in this gaze.

Donna gives him a gentle shove to the shoulder and narrows her eyes at him, "So, you need to go or you're going to show up in the same suit as yesterday and you know Louis is going to notice. And I need to shower and get in myself."

Humming thoughtfully, Harvey muses, "Hmmm a shower, now there's an idea." The image of Donna slick and naked exciting him in a physical way that is impossible for either of them to ignore. The redhead rolls her eyes at the blatant intent behind the statement, not to mention his desire pressing into her thigh, but she can't help herself from swinging her thigh over his, pressing against him. Harvey's hand slides languidly along her torso, teasing the side of her breast before cupping it and tweaking a nipple between his thumb and forefinger as he's wont to do. "I promise to make it worth your while," he nearly purrs into her ear in that sexy bedroom voice that chips away at all her resolve, his lips trailing down her jaw.

And well, she's only human… "If you make us as late as yesterday, I'm setting up dinner dates for you and Louis for a month," Donna threatens, even as she gives into what her body craves.

Harvey chuckles, nipping at her ear before licking the sting away and shifting above her. "Deal."

-:-

True to his word, Harvey had made quick but thorough work of satisfying her before leaving her to finish getting ready with a casual kiss that feels so natural she loves it even more and a promise to see her at the office. She's a bit rushed but there's a bright smile on her face and a glow of happiness she can't quite mask as she steps off the elevator, greeting people by name as she passes by, on a high. That feeling comes crashing down as she turns the corner into her office and spots the huge bouquet of flowers on her desk, the grin on her face slipping.

Her steps slow as she nears the arrangement, dropping her purse thoughtlessly on the cabinet along the windows and reaching for the card tucked between the blooms. She knows who they're from even before she reads the card, hand written of course.

Something to make your office as beautiful as you are. I know we have a lot to talk about, but I'm still here, Donna, and I'm not going anywhere. All I'm asking for is a chance to show you what we can be together. Please let me have the opportunity to make you the happiest woman in the world.

x Thomas

Her happy mood instantly seeps out of her limbs, replaced by an overwhelming sensation of guilt. Here is this amazing man that is still trying to win her heart after everything she's put him through the last couple of days and she's off having (albeit mind blowing) sex with the man she's technically cheated on him with. This isn't who she is and certainly not who Donna wants to become. She's got to end things so they can both move on with their lives.

As much as she wants to run off and take care of it immediately, she's not quite sure what she's going to say to him yet and she does have actual work that needs to be taken care of. So Donna shifts the vase from her desk to the corner behind her and settles into her chair, answering emails, processing paperwork, reading over a few contracts, but the bouquet haunts her from the corner of her eye all morning. Taunting her that she's betrayed someone she truly cares about and her mind is distracted with how she's going to make it right.

Eventually, she finds her way to the copy room. Her safe space, the place she escapes to when she's too much in her own head and needs to work out her emotions. Usually it works, but she's lost in a daze when Katrina tiptoes her way in, offering a slight smile as she says her name in a way that is evident it's not the first time.

"Sorry, I was just thinking. Do you need the machine?" Donna asks her, gesturing to where it's whirling away on the contract she's copying.

The blonde nods, "Yes, but whenever you're done." Hesitating for a moment, she continues, "What were you thinking about, if you don't mind my asking. Seems like it was troubling you and you've been there for me a lot lately so if I can return the favor I'm all ears."

Donna's head tilts to the side, studying the other woman. She doesn't want her and Harvey's relationship all over the firm at the moment, but she's positive Katrina isn't the type to gossip and as much as she'd like to discuss it with him, she doesn't think Harvey is necessarily the best person to unload her mixed emotions over Thomas on. Her shoulders sag a bit as Donna lets out a weary sigh, "It was. Is. I hurt someone I care about and I'm going to have to do it a second time and I don't know how to let him down gently."

Katrina nods, an all too knowing look on her face. "This is about Thomas Kessler?"

"Yes," Donna confirms, and then it all just tumbles out of her. "We've been seeing each other and then everything got all screwed up after I told him about Simon Lowe and then the lawsuit and the hearing and Harvey. I thought it was over between us and then Harvey showed up at my door and we—" she trails off, leaving the obvious unspoken as she digs her teeth into her lower lip and offers a helpless wave of her hand. "And then Thomas showed up yesterday morning on my doorstep and said he wants to fight for my heart, but it's, well, it's been spoken for, for a long time now, and I was fooling both of us into believing it wasn't."

"Wow," Katrina draws, absorbing the uncharacteristic word vomit Donna's just unloaded on her. She recovers quickly, however, and says matter of factly, "Well, as someone who knows you, I know you'd never intentionally hurt anyone, and it might be a hard truth, but…" She pauses, hesitating before speaking her mind, "You and Harvey have always been a pair and if he's finally realized it and you're both happy about it, I think that's something you should be celebrating. Thomas might be upset now, but it's better in the long run to be honest about what you're feeling. You taught me that," the blonde adds with a little smirk.

Donna lets that sink in for a minute, and the other woman is right. She should be celebrating this amazing development in her life, something she's wanted for a long time and she's only been prolonging everyone's suffering by not being honest to Thomas about how she's feeling. It's better to rip the band-aid off. He deserves to find someone that can love him the way he warrants, someone that can make him as happy as she's been these last two days.

"You're right," Donna tells her, gathering up her pages and straightening them as she offers her friend a grateful smile. "I appreciate the advice and the ear. If you'll excuse me, I have something I need to go take care of."

As she's striding toward the door, Katrina calls out, "Oh, and, Donna?" causing her to spin around and face her again. "Congratulations."

The immediate grin truly speaks volumes as she replies, "Thanks, Katrina."

There is no more avoiding this conversation and as soon as Donna gets back to her office she's grabbing her handbag and heading for the elevators once more to make her way to Thomas's office. The entire cab ride there she's rehearsing what she's going to say, how she can convince him that what he thinks he's fighting for was an illusion she created, had deluded herself into believing it was enough. It was naive and a fair amount of wishful thinking and she'd never intended to drag him into her messy history, but here they are.

He's hunched over his desk, pencil dragging lines across the page, completely absorbed and focused on what she can only assume is a new design and for a moment, Donna stands silently in the doorway, studying, imagining how all of this might have played out differently.

She must make some noise that alerts him to her presence though because his head whips up a second later and he smiles at her, far too easy, too forgiving for what she's here to do. "Donna," he remarks, a hint of surprise in his tone, rising from his seat and coming around to greet her. "I wasn't expecting to see you this afternoon, you got my flowers, I take it? I'm so glad you're here."

"Thomas—" Donna attempts to cut him off but he waves her protest away and gestures for her to sit, insisting until she relents as she settles into a chair at his desk. She's surprised when he seats himself next to her rather than behind it again, but this at least makes her feel like they're on a bit more even footing. Sighing, she confirms, "Yes, I got them. They're beautiful. Thank you."

His demeanor is wrong, too cheerful, too casual. He should hate her, shouldn't want anything to do with her and it's a testament to who he is that he can maintain his calm and dependable personality after everything that's happened.

"You don't seem happy about them."

Dropping her gaze from his, staring at where she's wringing her hands together in her lap, Donna shakes her head, looking back up at him as she musters a bit of courage. "It's not that. But, Thomas, we need to talk. About the other day and yesterday morning. I owe you an explanation and more than that, an apology." The redhead can't help the way her voice thickens with emotion, her eyes going a bit glassy as she tells him sincerely, "I am so sorry you had to walk into that yesterday. You didn't deserve that and if I could change it…"

She trails off because truthfully, Donna doesn't think she'd actually change anything that's happened. The circumstances? The timing? Yes, but it's all led to exactly where she believes she and Harvey were always destined to be and she wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.

There's a muscle in his jaw that ticks, the only outward sign that perhaps he's not as fine with all of this as he's made himself out to be. "I told you, whatever you and Harvey did, we can deal with it. I want to work through it, to work on us. I believe we have a future together, Donna."

"Three days ago I would have said the same thing, but, Thomas, things have changed," Donna counters, a bit harsher than she intended, but he doesn't seem to be picking up on all the signals that they don't stand a chance in hell anymore.

"So you sleep with Harvey, let him sweep you off your feet, and everything you said to me the other day gets tossed out the window? I thought you were better than that, Donna."

It's harsh, but nothing that isn't warranted. Still, it stings because she cares about him, despite everything that's happened. Letting out another slight sigh, Donna admits, "I deserve that, but I thought things were over between us when Harvey showed up on my door that night. I'm not saying that makes it right, but I never meant to hurt you, Thomas. I regret that I have. Please believe that."

He shakes his head dejectedly, "I'm not sure what to believe anymore."

Reaching for his hand, Donna squeezes it, eyes locked with his. "You are such a good man, Thomas. You're kind and generous and considerate. Successful, dependable. There are a million ways I could sing your praises, even in the short time we've known each other, and I honestly wanted things to work between us. You might not believe that now, but it's true." God, why is this so hard? She hates hurting him, but Katrina had been right. It's better to be honest than pretend that she can give him what he needs. Looking down at her knees again, unable to meet his piercing gaze, she confesses, "But I can't help what's in my heart. Or who it belongs to."

Pulling his hand from her grip, Thomas leans back in this chair, crossing one leg over the other and lacing his fingers together as he studies her intently. "And you honestly think Harvey Specter can give you what you want. That he's not going to disappoint you at the first opportunity?"

Her instinct is to protest, to defend Harvey, as it always has been, but that's not going to get them anywhere, not going to make this conversation any easier for either of them to swallow. She trusts this time is different and that's all that matters. "Maybe so," she concedes, placating. "But that's a risk I'm willing to take." Donna pauses, debating her next words, but he deserves the truth. "I'm in love with him, Thomas. I have been for a long time and I've spent just as long pretending I wasn't. That I could move on." There's not much fight left in her on this topic, and she hopes desperately that he can see the virtue in her words, that he'll stop fighting the inevitable.

It's silent for a long time, long enough Donna nearly opens her mouth to spill more platitudes and easy let downs, whatever it will take for him to understand, before he speaks. "Well, I'm not sure there's much to say to that. I think you're making a mistake, a big one, but I'll respect your decision if that's really what you want. I wish things had worked out differently," he resigns.

"Maybe in another lifetime," Donna concedes. In an alternate timeline, one where she and Harvey had never met, where he had never wormed his way into the deepest parts of her, maybe then they could have had a proper chance.

Thomas stands, Donna following suit as he smooths a hand from her shoulder and down her arm, leaning forward to press a light kiss to her forehead. A goodbye. "I truly do wish the best for you, Donna."

"You too, Thomas."

She leaves without another word, both a bit melancholy and lighter at the same time. While it hadn't been easy, now she and Harvey can dive headlong into the future without anything hanging over their heads. And that feels damn good.

-:-

Day two of the Robert Zane disbarment fall out (due entirely to his own actions) had not been a picnic in any regard. Between fighting with Samantha, fighting everyone else, and the guilt weighing on him over all of it, Harvey is ready for a glass of whiskey and to hear Donna's voice when he turns the key of his apartment. He hadn't seen her all day again, his calls going to voicemail and her office empty when he'd brought her a bagel mid-afternoon, a suspicious bouquet in the corner. It had been a bit disconcerting, but he knew she'd been as busy as he was with cleaning up their mess so he hadn't thought much of it.

So the very last thing he expects to see as he makes his way further into his space, is candles flickering on the table, two place settings and a bottle of prosecco chilling, as if waiting just for his arrival.

"You're home," Donna calls out, stepping out of the bedroom in a stunning navy dress, cut up high on one thigh and angled to expose one of her shoulders, flaunting her porcelain skin for his perusal as his gaze drifts to her and the breath is knocked out of him.

"Damn," Harvey drawls in a low groan, eyes alight with desire.

"You like?" Donna asks, doing a little spin of approval with a knowing smile teasing at the corners of her lips. As if she doesn't know the precise effect she has on him.

Gliding across the space between them, Harvey utilizes the few seconds it takes to cross the room to admire her, slowly, casually until he can stroke his hands possessively down the sides of her body, gripping her hips in his palms as he leans in to whisper in her ear, "You knew I would love it. You look sexy as hell." His lips suckle gently at the skin just beneath her ear, scraping his teeth down toward the column of her throat.

Indulging them both for a minute, Donna tilts her head to grant him more access and strokes her fingers through the loose locks at the back of his head, before drawing back to meet his eyes. "It might have been a factor in the decision making process."

Harvey smirks, but he's not complaining in the slightest. In fact, being able to openly express his admiration for how beautiful she is without fearing what the consequences might be is rather refreshing. Jerking his head toward the set up at his back, he asks, "What's all this for?"

Donna's smile spreads as she loops her arms around his neck, comfortable in his arms at the moment. "We're celebrating."

His brows crinkle in the puzzled expression it's so rare to see on his face and her heart stutters a little in her chest. "Celebrating what?" Harvey questions.

There's not a hint of trepidation in her tone as she answers, "Us." Because they've made it. Overcome all the obstacles and still found themselves here, wrapped up in each other. And no matter what life throws at them, Donna is certain that as long as they're together they can take on anything. "I spoke to Thomas today," she informs him, feeling the automatic tensing of the muscles in his shoulders beneath her fingertips.

"You did… How did that go?" Harvey asks, doing his best to maintain that careful front he presents to the world, entirely unbothered.

Sighing, Donna admits, "It was hard. I hate that I hurt him, that he ended up as collateral damage. I never intended for that to happen and I can't help but feel like it's entirely my fault."

"It is not your fault, Donna," Harvey interrupts her. "If anything, the blame is on me for being such an oblivious asshole for so long."

While the description is apt, and causes Donna to chortle beneath her breath, she shakes her head, needing to get this out. "It was, but I can accept that. Things haven't played out as I would have expected them to a week ago, but I'm not sorry for the way it's turned out. Because now I have you and it's all I've ever wanted, Harvey." She beams at him, arching into him so they are pressed even closer together. "I love you. I always have and I always will, and that's exactly what I told Thomas. Because he deserved the truth and nothing he could have done would ever alter that certitude."

Relief mixes with arrogance in the planes of his face, the expression one that can only be described as tad cocky as he teases, "So you're all mine, huh?"

"Only if you're all mine."

A huge grin spreads across Harvey's face. One she loves to the depths of her soul. "I've been all yours from the moment I met you, Donna. You're stuck with me."

Even with all the ups and downs, the heartbreak and joyful memories combined, the life moments they've shared thus far over all their years together flash through her mind. Playing a highlight reel of everything that's brought them here, to this version of themselves, to the life they're about to embark on and Donna knows she wouldn't want it any other way.

Sometimes complications work out for the best.