I own nothing, and am just borrowing for my own pleasure. And hopefully yours. How fun would it be to own live Darvey action figures though!

In retrospect, Harvey probably shouldn't have gotten into the ring with Donna's boyfriend. But Donna of all people should've known leaving him alone with Mitchell couldn't end well.

Her appearance rescued him for the world's most dull business mixer event an hour in, covered from shoulder to feet in a turquoise dress that fit her body like liquid. Liquid he could imagine effortlessly pooling at the floor with the pull of a zipper. He brushed aside the image and where that led his thoughts as they met eyes from across the room. A grin spread across his face. It quickly faded though, as an arm slipped through hers. Donna's head turned, a small smile offered to the man alongside her.

The guy was a tall blond, dressed in a tux fitted in all the wrong places, like he was making a statement that didn't quite come together.

They aproached and stopped just short of the distance Donna would normally be comfortable, creating unusual distance most likely for her date's sake.

"Harvey," she greeted.

"Donna. You look incredible." Not unusual. It's part of what made them the perfect team; never a detail ignored.

"You do too," she offered in a more formal way than she usually would.

She always kept him and her boyfriends in separate corners, but her distant demeanor made him feel a need to defend his spot. Usually to the outside they were boss and assistant. He'd been struggling with something since the Liberty Rail situation. He'd put it down to her leaving him, and then coming back, and all the stress from Mike being in prison. She was his closest confidant; his friend sure. But there was a space that they occupied together he didn't want severed. The space had begun melting into areas beyond work, and he didn't like her ignoring it. "This must be Malcolm."

"Mitchell," she corrected, narrowing her eyes.

He knew it was Mitchell. He just didn't want Mitchell knowing he knew it easily.

"Nice to meet you, Harvey was it? How do you two know each other?"

Touche. Harvey didn't buy for a second the guy didn't know the answer to that.

"Harvey's my boss. Remember?"

He knew it. Boss. There was that distance that made him want to defend himself as more. He slid closer to Donna, ignoring her tag along. "I didn't realize you'd be here."

"Well, Mitchell needed to network, so I thought I'd come for support, all while appeasing Jessica."

"Oh, you're chasing clients on your own now? If you were looking for a bonus, you could just ask, Donna. I'm due to take you shopping again." She might be Mitchell's girlfriend, but they had history on their side.

Her eyes widened as she glanced uneasily at her date. Mitchell's mouth set in a straight line as his shoulders tensed.

No quip about someone needing to chase clients. No smart remark about not needing clients to deserve a bonus. This is why her being in a relationship bothered him. People might mistakenly call it jealousy, but her treating him like a stranger was bullshit.

Okay, maybe he was being a bit of a dick. He'd always avoided getting in the way of her relationships in the past, unless it was quietly passive. Stephen was the exception, but he deserved that fight.

Interferring in Donna's relationship would make him an asshole. Which he was, but he respected her too much to do her fucking up, even if it bothered him to come face to face with her boyfriend.

Harvey sucked in an irritated breath. He'd attempt to be civil, for tonight anyway, even if it was overrated. "So, what is it you do, Mitchell?"

"I'm an Anesthesiologist."

"At a business mixer?" Harvey's brow furrowed, a slight smirk on his lips. He had him beat financially by a long-shot.

"His team is looking for office space. It's hard to come by in Manhattan," Donna said.

"Maybe he could get something on our floor." His head tilted, failing at suppressing a smirk in Donna's direction.

Donna's eyes widened in alarm. So she didn't want her boyfriend around all the time.

"Oh really, you have something?" Mitchell asked.

She kicked Harvey's shin, Mitchell seeming oblivious.

Right, not causing problems. "Oh that's right. My partner just gave the space to a bunch of dickhead investers." See, he wasn't always an asshole.

Donna's shoulders relaxed.

"That's too bad. My father's company has a lot of contacts here tonight, so I'm sure I'll find something."

"He's a Vanberg," Donna threw in pointedly at Harvey.

The Vanbergs? Shit, that family was loaded. Points for Mitchell: Money. And Donna. Points for Spector: Fashion sense. And also Donna. He had more hours with her. Minus the late night kind he didn't want to think about.

The rest of the conversation Mitchell droned on about surgery hours, medical politics, and asked casual law questions.

Harvey scored another point for himself labeled: not-boring-as-fuck, and surpressed his annoyance, trying to nod and respond at the right times. For Donna's benefit only, he didn't use a lame excuse to end the conversation.

Despite Mitchell dragging Donna away to socialize frequently, they kept ending up in the same circles. One of the moments they were away Harvey managed to set up the bait for a new client with killer billable opportunities, so his obligation for the evening was handled.

Mitchell kept putting off dancing with Donna, and when he was finally about to take her out to the floor, he appologized as he spotted someone he wanted to meet with free. Donna told him she was taking a break from schmoozing, leaving Harvey alone with her for the first time of the night.

Donna sat a seat away from him.

They met eyes and she looked away. "Are you sorry we ended up at the same place tonight?"

His brow scrunched together. "No, why would you ask that?"

She cocked her head, staring pointedly at him.

He did a small shrug, grinning. "So, I don't like to share. I'm still happy to see you."

"You need to play nice, Harvey."

"I'm trying," he said with pointed annoyance.

She kept her gaze on him, her expression unfaltering.

"I even offered the guy office space."

"And I'm sure that was totally genuine."

He grinned into his drink.

"You do owe me a shopping trip now," she said with an edge in her voice.

"Did you get a client?" he challenged.

"No, but you only managed to because I didn't throw a drink at you earlier."

"If you had I would have gotten another client. Damon Symmonds is a sucker for a guy mistreated by women in his life."

She rolled her eyes. "He's a sucker for middle-aged attractive men. That's why his wife did the mistreating."

"Are you calling me attractive?"

"I was focussing more on the middle-aged."

"Aren't we almost the same age?" He motioned between them. "Got any plans for the big five-oh yet?"

"Do you?" She tossed a mint at him and he grinned.

"What about a dance?" The words felt foreign, but somehow right.

"What?" Her eyes widened.

"What if I offer you a dance?"

"If by dance you mean I let you step on my shoes and you buy me two new pairs, that might repay a portion of how much a pain in the ass you've been tonight." She sipped her wine, with an annoyed look he knew was all show.

He held up his palms. "I'm not doing anything other than what I usually do."

"Exactly. It's normal for you to be a pain in the ass. Which is why I deserve my extra large collection of handbags and shoes."

"You're speaking that way to your boss, you know." He made a point to emphasize her words from earlier.

"What are you going to do, fire me?"

"I won't. Only because my clients hate change."

"What clients?"

He downed the rest of his glass of wine, ignoring her low blow.

She darted her eyes to where other guests were dancing. "Are you going to honor your deal with me, or continue annoying me with dull conversation?"

He bit the inside of he cheek at how incredibly infuriating she was, before standing and offering her his hand. He pulled her towards an empty spot on the parquet floor in the center of the room.

She hesitated before meeting against him. "You know this isn't a good idea."

"Just count steps and you'll be fine, Donna," he offered matter-of-factly as he pulled her toward his body.

"You know what I'm talking about."

He pulled back, studying her a moment. Her hair was piled elegantly on top her head in an updo with pieces framing her face, one of the many ways she turned heads more than the majority. He wasn't sure he knew anything for certain when it came to her anymore. "You hadn't mentioned him in a long time." Harvey cocked his head in Mitchell's direction.

"You know I don't like to mix my love life and business."

"We stopped being just business a long time ago and you know it."

He noticed her swallow, silently moving with him through several phrases of the music. "You can't do this Harvey."

"Do what?" He pressed his face alongside hers, trying to make his movements natural and platonic, despite how perfect their unusual state pressed together felt.

"Say things like we're not just business just to forget them tomorrow. Especially when I'm with Mitchell."

"What? We're friends."

This time she cocked her head, giving him a glare that showed her patience was thin.

He let out a frustrated sigh. This wasn't the time to do this. "You know I'd never go there Donna unless he wasn't in the picture."

"Well he is and you're leading me there." Her voice had raised, and she glanced around them with unease on her face.

He frowned, not caring about the rest of the goddamned room. Her feelings did mean something though, and he tried to be extra aware of that since she'd returned to his desk. "I'm…" Confused? Tempted? Having a hard time separating the business and personal in my head? "Sorry."

She looked away, sighing, falling back into their steps.

They fell into silence as they danced, and with the quiet his senses climbed. The soft curve of her bare back against him fingertips, inches from getting more intimate. She felt right pressed against him, too comfortable and familiar. The kind of familiar that denoted their deep connection. He sucked in a breath, which drew in the citrus and almond. The scents so familiar and right he ignored the urge to taste her skin.

This was Donna, not someone harmless to seduce. The situation with Mike had taken its toll, and that's what these thoughts were about. Isn't that what he learned going to therapy? Feelings aren't always what they seem like on the surface.

"Harvey…" her voice trailed off softly against his ear.

He closed his eyes briefly over how intimate her breath felt there. "What?"

"Were you implying you would go there?"

He stalled his steps.

"If Mitchell wasn't in the picture..."

He pulled back to see her face. The last time she looked at him this way, with a mixture of hope and fear, he'd let the battle in his head end with him declaring love and walking away. Therapy be damned; he wasn't going to deny his wants with Donna again. He needed to stop thinking. He'd been spending a lifetime doing it, and all it had gotten them was this elephant-sized unanswered question. "Would you want me to?"

Their eyes locked, and she blinked softly, her lips parting with a silent answer.

"Thanks for keeping my girlfriend company, but I think I can handle things from here." Mitchell appeared behind Donna as her lips closed.

Harvey's jaw tightened, the moment broken with Donna pulling away, staring at the floor. He wanted to object that they were in the middle of something, demand for Mitchell to disappear, but this wasn't his decision, it was Donna's. He swallowed back frustration, his throat dry.

"She's all yours," he said to Mitchell, striding toward the bar for another drink, forcing himself to not look back at the moment lost.

Three drink orders later, and Harvey was ready for the evening to end. He texted Ray and began toward the coatroom.

"Leaving Harvey?" Mitchell asked from behind.

He turned, spending an extra second studying Donna before answering. Would they go home together? He couldn't think about things like that. "I've already stayed longer than I intended to."

Donna frowned.

Mitchell clapped his hands together. "Well, good meeting you."

"Likewise." Harvey felt weird shaking his hand. Tonight was a mistake. They couldn't do this as long as Donna was with him. He more than anyone should've known even toying that boundary would only lead to trouble.

Donna's phone chimed, and she glanced at the screen and looked worriedly between them. "I- I have to take this." She looked to Mitchell. "Give me a minute?"

Harvey wanted to get out of there, but whatever the phone call was about must've been important considering the look on Donna's face. Harvey bit the inside of his cheek watching her rush into the hall.

Mitchell began to chatter again, but Harvey only half listened. "With lawyer's hours, I don't know how you guys take care of your health."

"Lots of MacCallan," Harvey said offhandedly.

Mitchell furrowed his brow.

"That's a joke." Harvey looked away to avoid rolling his eyes. "I jog before work sometimes, but mostly I spend lunches in the ring or hitting the bag." Harvey offered offhandedly.

"You box?"

"Since I was a kid."

"Where do you train?"

Harvey regained focus, curious where this was going. "This small gym twenty minutes from my firm. Reed's."

"Rough place."

"Is it? I hadn't noticed."

Mitchell laughed."I wondered if we ever ended up in the same circles."

"You box?"

"Don't sound so surprised. We should go some rounds sometime. I'll even come to your place."

Harvey studied him, amused. "I don't think Donna would be too happy with the idea."

"If we happen to run into each other there, no harm right?"

There was more under the surface with this guy then he let on, a challenge under the surface of casual invites. Now he itched to get this guy in the ring. "I don't turn down a fight."

"Neither do I."

Harvey's jaw ticked, just as Donna returned next to Mitchell. She shifted uneasily, her face pale.

"What's wrong?" Harvey frowned.

Mitchell swung his gaze to her, a hand on her back.

"Er- nothing. My sister's pregnancy isn't going well. They're inducing her in the morning."

"Julie?" Harvey asked.

"Amanda."

"Again?"

"Fifth times the charm. This one's a girl." Her face perked up a bit.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. You can visit," Mitchell said.

"Yeah. It's just..." She looked to Harvey. "Work's really busy."

"We can handle it. You should go." Harvey slipped his hands in his pockets.

She drew in a deep breath. "Are you sure? I'd try to come back quickly."

"Go." He pressed. "She'll need you."

She nodded. "Okay." She turned to Mitchell. "Do you mind if I drop out early? I'd like to go home and pack."

"I'll drive you," Mitchell offered.

"You don't have to-"

"I didn't finish all I wanted to, but it'll work out. Just give me a minute?"

Harvey wanted to be the one to take her. He wanted to interject that he had the car ready, and he was the one who knew her. But his attempts tonight at marking his place had already overstepped, and he didn't want to add to her stress.

She touched Mitchell's arm. "I'll meet you in the hall. Thank you Harvey."

He gave her a nod. "I'll see you when you get back."

Donna shuffled through the crowd. When she disappeared from sight, Mitchell jutted his too narrow jaw. "Sounds like the perfect time for us to meet in the ring?"

Harvey scrutinized the man, distrust and distaste littering his tongue. He smiled, his head tilting confidently, then handed him a business card without a word before walking away.

Well, that was my very first Darvey fic. These two won't leave me alone(thankfully!). I intended it to be shorter and more light, but Darvey took over, as I find characters do. It took me forever to get the nerve to post. I'll appreciate any reviews! They're so encouraging when I'm in a self-doubt cycle.