LOVE IN DISGUISE

Summary: When Louis sets Donna up on a blind date, Harvey accidentally stumbles upon her secret. He is on a mission to make it happen, but bothersome rules and unplanned events keep getting in the way. Can Harvey change the odds to work in his favor? A lighthearted story about loyalty, (mostly) pleasant surprises, thoughtful friendships and affections to bring them closer together. Harvey's POV.

A/N: A brief set-up.

*Pearson Specter Litt Dynamics: Jessica, Harvey, and Louis are co-managing partners of the firm. Donna works as an executive assistant to Harvey. Mike is a junior partner, mentoring under Harvey's wing.

*Harvey and Donna's Relationship: After that one intimate night together (when Harvey quit the DA office), they never crossed the line again.

Warning: If you are allergic to fluff, please do not attempt to read. This story is meant to be happy and light, one written to prevent a medical condition called Early Onset Darvey Deficiency. Then again, if you've made it this far, maybe you're immune to fluffiness.

1 - LET ME BORROW A FRIEND

"Donna, I need you to reschedule my two o'clock? A case just came in and I..."

Harvey trailed off when he realized it wasn't Donna who'd just walked in. It was Louis, anxiously stalking towards him. When he'd mentioned 'a case just came in', he hadn't thought it would be cryptic for 'a Louis just came in'. He had a real case to work on - one that involved tedious legal documents, overpaid rival attorneys, and cold courtrooms.

"Thank God, you're here," Louis huffed out, eagerly seating himself across Harvey's desk.

"I am here, unfortunately. So you can thank 'me' instead," Harvey grumbled, putting in no effort to hide his annoyance. "Seriously, how the hell did you get in?"

Except for Mike, no one got past Donna without an introductory 'beep' to Harvey. And especially not His Majesty de la Louis. With him, Donna would flag Harvey an early warning, giving him a chance to engage in non-existent client calls or run to imaginary meetings (also known as 'take-a-trip-down-to-the-bagel-stand'). On occasions when encountering Louis became inevitable, the notice in advance still allowed Harvey to properly brace himself. In other words, he'd be granted sufficient time to numb his poor soul with lots of coffee first. It wasn't that he hated Louis. In fact, Harvey had great respect for the man, but Louis had extreme tendencies to either get too vested or completely distracted in conversations. Given a choice, he preferred to spend his days sans Louis.

When Harvey looked out impatiently towards Donna's desk, Louis followed his line of sight and said, "She...uh...went to see Malcolm on 19th. Something about taxes." He accompanied his nervous tone with a wince.

Louis was acting very strange - even his head twitch was 'twitchier' than usual. Sensing a dodgy scheme, Harvey narrowed his eyes. "And you know this...how?"

"Because I...uh...pretended to be Malcolm when I called her earlier," Louis confessed weakly. Then, his next words came tumbling out like his life depended on it. "That's not the urgent matter here, Harv. I need your help, and it concerns Donna. Since she hears everything through your speakerphone, I had to divert her away. So are you going to help me or not, Harv?"

Harvey held Louis's gaze, thinned his lips, and with both hands pressed against the desk, he slowly leaned forward. Louis mimicked Harvey's actions, obviously anticipating a cooperative response.

"Louis…," Harvey began. Louis nodded, eyes rounding with hope. "If you 'Harv' me again, I promise that your face and my windows will become very well-acquainted."

Harvey had always hated being called 'Harv'.

Louis also knew without a doubt that the asserted threat was an empty one. Over the years, the two of them had pushed their more serious conflicts aside, and exchanging harmless taunts had become their unconventional but effective way of 'talk'. At the end of the day, the insults were not taken personally anymore. They even reveled in the verbal sparring of wits.

This time, the comeback drew a disappointed scowl from Louis. Sighing impatiently, Harvey shifted his focus back to his laptop. Then again, if this was really about Donna, he should offer his assistance. He owed her that much. Without looking at Louis, he asked, "What's all this fuss about?"

"Do you have friends I can borrow?"

What the hell did I just hear? Harvey froze, instantly regretting his decision to help.

Some days, Harvey wondered whether he ran a law firm or a prestigious mental asylum. He dealt with so many kinds of crazies in this place that it had to be a medical miracle he hadn't entirely lost his mental faculties. And the most generous contributor and winner of the firm's best-in-class eccentricities was the co-managing partner sitting across him.

There was no denying that Louis was a smart and hardworking lawyer. But ever so often, the man would stun Harvey speechless with the most bizarre sayings. This was another classic. No, this was beyond classic. 'Do you have friends I can borrow' was undisputedly a new low in Harvey's records. How could anything good come out of a conversation that involved those words?

"Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Louis prompted against the prolonged silence.

"Yes. It just takes awhile to process all your...originality." Harvey shook his head in disbelief. "Damn it, Louis. Stop wasting my time. Go play with your dolls or whatever make-believe friends you have."

As confusing as it was, Harvey didn't bother to find out what the question meant because he was too afraid to uncover the truth behind it. The two of them still had to work together after this unworldly conversation was over, and Harvey was determined to keep what salvageable regards he had for Louis intact.

"Wait! I admit that my question came out weird. I swear it didn't when I asked it in my head. But it sounded a little pervy…," Louis's voice faded out when he observed Harvey's 'shut-up-or-I'll-throw-my-pen-at-your-face' expression. With a little more composure, Louis tried again. "Listen, I made a pact with Donna a few weeks ago. We're supposed to set each other up on a blind date, and hers is happening soon."

Donna. Date. What? The words finally sunk in, and Harvey automatically gave Louis his undivided attention. "Like a double date?"

"Not a double date. A. Date. For. Donna. For someone who prides himself for being the city's best closer, you have such awful listening skills."

Harvey didn't understand what the big deal was. Donna could get her own dates; she'd been doing so for as long as Harvey could remember. On date nights, she'd leave the office a little earlier. Sometimes, he would tease and give her unsolicited advice. Usually, he'd feign ignorance to save her the awkward embarrassment. Donna had always made it clear that she didn't mix business with personal matters. To that effect, she'd never dated men from their firm. Though Harvey had always respected her principles and never pried beyond what she offered voluntarily, this was the first time he was hearing about Donna going on blind dates. Admittedly, he was very curious.

Louis spared a sidelong glance towards Donna's desk. Once assured that it was still vacant, he hastily explained, "I need to return the favor. Donna introduced me to her friend, Kate, two weeks ago. And wow! Kate is this amazing woman who loves cats and tennis. We had the most wonderful date when I took her mudding-"

"Ewww! Stop right there, Louis! I don't want to hear about your love life and definitely not about mudding!"

"Killjoy," Louis snapped irritably but in an instant, his tone turned pleading again. "This is serious. Donna tells me she's looking for 'the one'. She's done with casual dating and wants to settle down. I've been given such an honorable task, and I absolutely cannot fail her. The date is happening this Thursday, and I have no one for her. Nada. So help me out, Harv...eyyyy. Give me a name. A number. Let me borrow a friend who deserves to date Donna."

Donna telling Louis that she was ready to settle down was...interesting, for lack of a better word. He pushed that learning aside for now.

'A friend who deserves to date Donna.'

Knowing how devoted Louis was to the woman, Harvey was almost flattered that Louis believed he hung out with worthy people who deserved Donna - emphasis on 'almost'. Their whole conversation was turning out to be so ludicrous that Harvey found it unexpectedly amusing. He decided to poke fun at Louis.

"Louis." Harvey frowned, kept his voice soft, and made sure each word was laced heavily with despair. "I wish I could help, but other than Donna, you, and Mike, I don't have any other friends. Work's been so demanding that I can't seem to..."

Louis looked so genuinely hurt on his behalf that Harvey failed to keep a straight face and blew his own cover. He didn't have the heart to see his prank through when Louis was so sensitive.

"I'm kidding, Louis! There's no need to look so sad." Harvey chuckled before adding more seriously, "But no. My friends are off limits. In fact, if you come anywhere near them, I'll help them sue your ass."

"Jerk! Of course, you were only playing me. But know this, smart ass. It didn't all go to waste. You've just given me an idea. I'll go ask Mike instead. He'll have someone for Donna."

Harvey snorted at the poor idea. Mike's friends were likely immature boys who were only good for pool parties and burger joints. Five minutes into the date, Donna would smash their heads with one of her designer handbags. On second thought, she wouldn't. Their heads would stain and devalue her handbags.

While Harvey kept those thoughts to himself, Louis continued to sit there. Hadn't they'd come to an understanding that Harvey wasn't going to lend his friends? Before he could invite his guest out, Louis inquired, "What kind of a man does Donna like? What's her type? Any specifics?"

Everyone knew Harvey and Donna had been colleagues and friends for a long time. But did Louis truly believe they shared cocktails, braided each other's hair, had pillow fights, and discussed about their preferred types? Apart from the pillow fight - which Harvey thought would be kind of fun - nothing about those prospects appealed to him. He was especially not interested in listening to Donna talk about other men. Even they had boundaries.

Harvey ignored the question and yawned, an attempt to chase Louis out of his office. When Louis didn't move, he had to go for the direct approach. "Go. Away. Louis." Each syllable was deliberately enunciated with utmost annoyance.

There, that had to be straightforward enough.

"Fine, fine. I only came to you because I thought you'd care about Donna's happiness," Louis mumbled as he headed out. "See you in Jessica's office at four?"

"I'll be there," Harvey replied, already dreading their bi-weekly managing partners meeting.

Outside his office, Donna was making a beeline for her desk. She looked like she was ready to murder Louis, which meant the truth about fake-call-Malcolm was out. Louis covered his face with a folder and took off in the opposite direction. Harvey watched the childishness play out before his eyes and stifled a laugh. It was just like Louis to believe that Donna wouldn't see him simply because they hadn't made eye contact.

Donna turned to Harvey and mouthed, "What the hell?"

He shrugged and watched Donna chase after Louis. Harvey wished he could join her hunt down, but he had a case to work on.

Hours later, however, he was no where near being productive. It was impossible to get anything done when Louis's words repetitively echoed in his mind.

'Donna tells me she's looking for the one. She's done with casual dating and wants to settle down.'

That was only one of two niggling thoughts that distracted him. The lesser evil. It was the other thing that Louis had said which bothered him to no ends.

'I thought you'd care about Donna's happiness.'

Harvey did care about Donna's happiness. Because he cared, he was going to find out where her date would be. Because he cared, he was going to make sure the man Louis set her up with was good enough. If she was looking to settle down with 'the one', as her long time friend, it was his duty to look out for her. At least, that was how Harvey justified his reasons for wanting to crash Donna's blind date.

Because he cared.

A/N (aka. Author's Nonsense): Right, Harvey. Justify away, my man. By the way, if you happen to have a friend who deserves to date Donna, please contact Louis. He really needs to borrow one urgently.

*Courtesy Matters: Once again, just adopting the characters for a while. Still don't own any of them - because if I did, the imaginary indie band I'd formed with them would have sold a billion records, and we'd now be teaching less privileged kids how to sing and dance. Mad and unlikely? Right...I should really do something about my daydreaming tendencies.