to freya, who I am so proud of, who is one step closer to her career as of today

He's at a loss for words. Mike Ross, his protege, his sidekick, his friend- had just slammed his own door in his face, accusing him of things so terrible he'd never be able to repeat it. He can't do anything for a moment, jaw agape and eyes widened at the blowout he'd received in the short span of two minutes.

He had been looking forward to having Mike around after the case, thinking that they'd finally be able to bond and catch up after all of the business bullshit had wrapped up. Admittedly, he's slightly annoyed at the loss, but can't deny a small sense of pride at the masterpiece Mike created. After all, he had been his mentor for years, knows that his guidance was fundamental to Mike becoming the type of hot-shot ballsy lawyer he is today. Most of all, he was excited to share a new chapter of his life with Mike, one that comes with Donna and the type of relationship the puppy's always wanted to see.

To have all that thrown in his face so unexpectedly... hurts. And he doesn't know how to deal with it much except to bow his head and let out a defeated sigh. It hadn't even been his fault, and doesn't know if he's more hurt about the accusation that he let Samantha get away with this or that his character had changed for the worse. Was there anything he could actually do right?

"Hey.. are you okay?" he hears her ask hesitantly. He knows she can tell he's in emotional turmoil. He hates that she had to witness all of that, hates that Mike cut her off when she came to his defense. Immediately, he hears her walk closer and closer to him until her bright red hair enters his downcast line of vision. She brings her right hand to caress his cheek, and he immediately feels a little better and wants to do nothing but lean into her touch. He closes his eyes, unable to bring himself to look at her yet, a feeling of shame creeping in.

Harvey's really not used to feeling vulnerable-he's dealt just fine brushing everything under the rug. But she's here now and he's so comforted by her presence alone that he contemplates sharing everything he's feeling, despite how foreign it feels to him.

His hand goes towards his face to caress hers, before pulling her in for a hug. He's almost half a foot taller than her, but burying his face in her neck makes him feel like she's the one encompassing him. She rubs her hand up and down his back slowly, and he releases a deep breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"Do you... want to talk about it?" she whispers, as if almost afraid to ask. Harvey immediately recognizes Donna's ability to read him so well again, aware that she knows he's struggling to describe how he's feeling. It'd be so much easier to leave her embrace, call Mike an asshole, and get on with their night. But his scars run deep tonight. From Jim calling telling him to reevaluate himself a few days ago to Samantha yelling at him earlier this afternoon, he doesn't have anything left in him to keep fighting.

He nods slowly into her hair hesitantly, as if he were dipping his toe into a pool on the first day of summer.

She pulls back to look at him, and he's finally able to meet her gaze. Her hand moves from his back to the back of his head, and she takes a moment to take good look at him for a second. She's treading very carefully, he can tell. This is new ground for him, and for his sake, she knows to be cautious so he doesn't feel the need to run away and shut down instead.

"Let's go to the couch," she murmurs. She takes his hand and they glide silently over to his furniture. She takes off her shoes and sits down first before guiding him to lay down with his face in her lap.

He's still feeling shy and unsure of how he's how to express himself so he turns to face her, hides his face at her stomach, and wraps his arms around her hips. It crosses his mind that it might seem extremely childish of him, but he can't really find himself to care all that much. She lets him be, running her hands through his hair without saying a word.

"I-" he starts.

"Mhm?" she murmurs after a moment's pause.

"That made me feel so shitty," he's finally able to utter out into her torso.

She says nothing, just continues the soothing pattern on his head, leaving him with the space.

"How could Mike think I would do that to him? I get that we butt heads when we work against each other, but I can't believe he'd think I'd stoop that low just to win,"

He's silent for a moment, focusing on the feel of her hands. He usually hates it when people mess with his hair, but her touch brings an entirely different meaning to the action altogether.

He starts again, in a softer voice as a lame attempt to hide his embarrassment. "I really thought he wanted to come back and visit me, visit us. I thought the whole case was just an excuse for us to hang out again. I really can't believe he really came so far after all this time just to beat me" he admits.

"Oh, Harvey," is her only response, because she knows he's getting the pinnacle of his exhaustion.

"Do you think he really thinks I've lost myself?"

It hurts to hear how sad he sounds. If she's honest, she's slightly furious at Mike. He truly was a miniature version of Harvey from years back, when he had just started- hot headed, reckless, with severe cases of tunnel vision at the worst times possible.

"Harvey, you know that's not true,"

Her validation, while simple, makes him feel stronger somehow. He escapes the safety of her lap and turns his body so that he's looking up at her.

"It's not just Mike, it's your dad too..."

Her facial expression immediately turns into one with concern.

"My dad? I thought you made things right with him?"

"I did. But before that, he taught me to think about who I was and to at least treat you better than I did him,"

"Oh my god," Donna breathed out. "I didn't know he said that, I'm so sorry," she makes a mental note to call her father in the morning to sort things out. He nods his head in acknowledgement, as if reading her mind.

His next question almost breaks her heart.

"Why do people think so lowly of me?"

"Harvey..."

He closes his eyes again, and brings his hand to pinch his eyebrows together.

"Can't they see I'm trying?"

"Harvey... hey... hey!" she gently pushes away his hands and and tilts his chin so that he's looking straight at her.

"Mike Ross does not think you are a bad person. He loves you, Harvey, despite everything he just said. You and I both know he's just as tempered as you were when you were starting out. He's definitely having one of his tantrums right now because no offense, him and Sam are such sore losers because they got too good at winning. I'm a hundred percent certain that he used this case as a way to come back and find you, even though he lost sight of his ultimate goal towards the end. That's his loss, not yours, and it says more about his character for lashing out the way he did than it did for you when you told him to just accept Samantha's addendum."

"As for my dad...Harvey, if you think for one second that I don't feel like the most appreciated girlfriend in the world, you'd have to be blind. You pick up pizza with yellow tomatoes for me, you let me cozy up to you at night even when my feet are cold, and you've taken on my own struggle of communicating how I'm feeling when I'm upset. These are all things my dad doesn't see, because he's only in town once a year! But it doesn't even matter because I get to experience it all. So maybe I don't say it enough, but dating you and seeing how much you've changed over the course of this month will be something I'll treasure forever,"

"You didn't do anything wrong," she finishes. "You just did the things you had to, and that unfortunately involved people who don't take your newly evolved level-headedness well."

He stares at her, not saying anything.

"You're a good man, Harvey. I've always known that, and know now that you're trying to make yourself better. I'm sorry some people don't see it that way, but you're doing a really great job,"

He still says nothing. She isn't sure if he wants more solace, or has finally reached a point where he wants to say no more.

"Want to watch Survivor?" she tries, as a last Hail-Mary attempt.

He chuckles a little, before silently rolling around to his other side and off the couch. She stares at him curiously as he moves to his record collection, and it isn't long before a smooth and romantic jazz melody is heard.

He comes back to her, facial expression now more stoic and cryptic. She can't be sure if this is a defense mechanism or not. After all, this is new territory for both of them, and she's just as new to this as he is.

"Dance with me," he says.

She stands up, naturally gliding her hand into his. He pulls her close and they sway alongside the slow beat of the music. He's holding her so close to his heart, she doesn't know where he begins or where she ends.

Harvey doesn't say anything for a while, but it's because he's trying to come up with a way to thank her for what she's done for him tonight. She doesn't know it, but his heart has swelled up to the size of a balloon after talking with her. Tonight, he's accomplished a new level of emotional security, one he's never dreamed about being able to reach, and it's all because of her. Her and her ability to accept him in his state with open arms. Her and her willingness to be there for him, prepared to battle his demons side-by-side and have him come out of the whole ordeal feeling better about himself than ever. Bachelor Harvey would have been up to his eyeballs in Scotch right now, but he's a lucky bastard and now has her to ground him instead.

He'd never doubted it before, but knows for a fact now that he can trust her with everything- his finances, his work, and his heart.

Before he can think about the repercussions of his words, he finds himself pulling back and whispering to her,

"I love you, Donna,"

And before he can freak himself out about what would happen next,

there's a smile, and a

"I love you too, Harvey,"

and in that moment, Mike and James and everyone else are completely forgotten.

Nothing else matters.

It's only him, with her, and they are forever.