The ideas for this story have been bouncing around my head for a while. Inspiration has come from tweets I've seen on twitter as well as interviews with Sarah. It's not going to be a light and fluffy story so if that's what you're here for then sorry! Would like to say a massive thank you to May (darveyscactus) for beta reading for me, you're a star! And thanks to Ali for also offering to give up some of her time. I really appreciate it! I hope you all like the first chapter. This will be a multi-chapter fic but I'm not sure how many yet. Anyway, enough from me. Thanks for reading!

He handed her a coffee: black, two sugars, splash of vanilla – their signature coffee. She grasped it with a smirk as the toast popped up. They'd gotten into a routine. She woke up slightly earlier than he did and took slightly longer to finish getting ready so he'd make her coffee and get started on the breakfast, whatever it may be that morning. They had time slots for the bathroom that they adhered to and it was working for them. They'd only been in this relationship for 2 weeks and one day but to an outsider's eye it would seem more like 2 decades. They knew each other's rhythms and patterns so well, which is understandable given their thing lasted for almost 14 years.

They had initially tried to keep their relationship a secret; turning up to work at different times, avoiding physical contact, code words. They'd been busted pretty quickly. Their accidentally obvious eye sex, their whispering, giggling, and, the straw that broke the camel's back, their decision to sneak off into the file room on the 8th day of their official relationship which saw them busted by Louis. The moment was one for the memory books: Donna was hoisted up against the end of the shelving unit by Harvey, who was placing kisses along her neck and collarbone, and Louis looked as though he'd just seen the secret plans for sudden global destruction. The couple giggled as if they were students behind a bike shed as Louis very bluntly stated "I need a day", before marching out of the office.

They arrived hand in hand at Specter Litt Wheeler Williams dressed impeccably and holding the status of the best legal power couple the world had ever seen. They disliked the looks and the whispers they received but they'd spoken about it on the 9th day of their official relationship. They were going to embrace it. That way it would become normalised sooner and they could become so accustomed to it that, eventually, they wouldn't even notice. Everyone would get used to seeing them together and it would die out soon anyway, they told themselves. They were right. The reactions had become lesser and fewer with every day that passed.

Their hands separated upon leaving the elevator, going their separate ways to their offices with one last parting smile.

Harvey walked towards his office with a swing in his step and a smile plastered over his face, he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to (and he did not).

"Good morning, Samantha, what can I do for you?" He wasn't going to let the blonde ruin his mood as he strolled into his corner office to find her stood looking out of his window. She hadn't received the news of his and Donna's romance very well. Her reaction was one of "you've ruined Robert's life yet you get to live happily ever after?"

"Louis asked me to wait here for you to arrive, seems he wants to speak to the both of us." She spoke with utter contempt and Harvey nodded in acknowledgement while ignoring her sour attitude. Fortunately for the both of them, Louis glided into the office with a file in his hand in that moment.

"I've a pro bono for you two to work on together." He announced to the dismay of both name partners, but he was quick to continue speaking to avoid any conflict. "Sexual harassment in the workplace. The alleged perpetrator is another attorney, Luke Manning."

"I met him a few times," Harvey responded instinctively. "He used to work at Bratton Gould. Does Alex know?"

"Not yet, but you understand why I couldn't give this to him. I want the two of you working on this together." Louis declared, handing the file to Harvey, who gave an assuring nod.

"We're on it, Louis," Samantha said with full sincerity. Louis was relieved he was able to kill two birds with one stone. Gretchen was right: a case as serious as this would be bound to break the tension between his employees.

X

Harvey approached the COO's office to find it empty. He entered the room, headed over to the desk and sunk into her chair. The room smelt of her: bergamot, coconut and vanilla. He looked at the work laid out in front of him, almost jealous of her mundane spreadsheets because at least she wasn't working with Samantha.

With a buzz, her phone lit up in front of his eyes.

From Mom: you said you would phone Ella x

He furrowed his brow slightly, confused as to what that meant.

"Move out of my seat, asshole," she said with a grin as she entered her office, steaming coffee in her hand. He brushed off his questions and feigned upset at her words, placing one hand on his chest and using the other to wipe away invisible tears.

"Fancy a swap? You can work with Samantha." He stood up out of the seat and walked round the desk to greet her.

"Oh, stop it. You're working well together," she sipped her drink with her typical 'I'm Donna' look in her eyes. "And you should get back to her." She was right, he should. They were about to meet their client, a twenty-something year old Monique Daye.

"And you need to phone Ella," he said in a stern tone but a playful look. Donna's face fell to confusion and what he thought looked like panic. "Your mom texted, apparently you said you would." He explained and Donna swallowed, looking away from him briefly. "Who even is Ella?"

"No one," she quickly asserted. "Just a relative, that's all," she smiled and drank some more coffee. An awkward air filled the room. Harvey had no reason not to believe her apart from the fact she didn't sound very convincing. She knew it, too. He'd taken her aback with his words and she blurted out the first bullshit response that came to mind.

"Now go, get out of my office, Specter." She resumed a playful tone and she watched as her boyfriend left the room. She exhaled a long, drawn out breath. She stood where she was, contemplating her next move. How long would it be until he next asked about Ella? If she was lucky, he'd become so absorbed in his case that he'd forget about the message altogether. Or, if she was unlucky, he would ask her about it tonight over dinner. He'd suggest they order from that shitty Thai place, eat it sat on her settee instead of the table, and out of the bright blue sky he'd start asking her who Ella is and how they're related. Then what would she do? She couldn't lie, it would make it even worse when he did eventually find out, because there's no doubt that Harvey was going to find out at some point.

"If you don't want that coffee, Red, I'll drink it," the voice broke her chain of thoughts. She looked to see Gretchen holding a stack of papers, presumably a gift from Louis. "From his royal highness," she was right, of course.

X

"Are you done for the day?" Donna asked, leaning against the glass door frame of his office, coat hung over her arm while she held her bag in front of her.

"Just about," he looked up as he spoke. "Can we order a takeout tonight?" Her stomach sunk, 'please, not shitty Thai'. She nodded. "I was thinking we could get pizza?"

Relief washed over her. He wasn't going to ask about Ella, he'd been so bogged down by work he'd forgotten.

"Pizza sounds good," she replied as he walked over to her. "Ready?"

The short drive home was comfortably silent. She knew what he was thinking: how the hell would he win his case? She didn't know anything about it but it clearly wasn't clear cut, whatever it was.

He placed his hand on her knee at one point, in a protective and reassuring way. He felt guilty being so consumed by his job. He'd been trying to dedicate time and energy to her. Sure, he's a workaholic, but that didn't mean he couldn't be a good boyfriend at the same time.

She unlocked the door of apartment 206 and headed straight to the bathroom to jump into the shower. He'd been assigned the job of ordering the food: she wanted chicken, onion, pepper and feta as well as, in her own words, "some of that to die for garlic bread". For him, pepperoni, sausage, blue cheese and mushroom.

The estimated delivery time was 20 minutes, so he decided to change into something more comfortable. They'd both taken over some of each other's storage space and he grabbed a pair of light grey joggers out of a drawer before throwing on an old Harvard tee.

"Babe!" He heard her call out from the next room. "Can you grab me some underwear?" She yelled and he let out a chuckle. 'Which drawer would she keep her underwear in?' He pondered between the first and second but settled on pulling out the first; bingo.

He rummaged in the drawer, looking for a very specific black, lacy, barely-there pair. "A-hah!" He yanked them out with a grin. He looked back to the drawer: what was previously neatly folded and laid out now looked like it had been hit by a bomb. Then, something caught his eye.

An envelope.

"Harvey!" He was brought back to earth and closed the drawer, taking the garment to her.

"I don't know why you couldn't get some yourself, it's not like I've not seen it all before," he said as he walked into the room to see her stood in a towel.

"Yes, but I don't want you getting the wrong ideas, let me get dressed". She hinted with her eyes for him to leave the room but he wasn't having any of it. He wrapped his arms around her waist, his hands placed in the small of her back, and pulled her against his body. She placed her hands on his chest and looked up. He dropped his bottom lip and pulled out the puppy dog eyes. Her response was simply to kiss him before pulling away.

"Dessert comes after dinner, remember?" She smirked before shooing him out.

He returned to her bedroom, still curious as to why she kept an envelope hidden with her underwear. Pulling it out, he could see it was filled with photographs. He sat on the edge of the bed as he took the contents out.

A photo of a young girl was at the top of the stack. She was sat on grass blowing bubbles. Loose auburn girls fell over her shoulders and freckles were scattered over her nose and cheeks.

"Where are you? The pizza's arrived!" She called and he shoved the stack back into the envelope, throwing it into its hiding place. He kept the top photo, though, shoving it into the pocket of his pants before exiting the room.

He spent the remainder of the evening consumed by questions. Who was she? His instincts suggested one thing and his common sense suggested another. Donna was chatting away but it was wasted on him, he didn't listen to a word she said. He ate his pizza in silence, small acknowledgements to what she was talking about but he didn't involve himself in conversation.

"Harvey, are you ok?" She sounded concerned, which was understandable given his complete detachment from the conversation. He looked from his wine glass to her and nodded, before gulping down what was left in the vessel.

"Tired." He declared, not caring for coherent sentences. He felt betrayed, confused, shocked, frustrated, and every other emotion under the sun. He didn't know what he felt or how he was supposed to feel. He didn't even know what it was he was reacting to.

"Going to bed." He stood up and padded out of the room, leaving Donna sat alone and completely stunned. She had no idea what had happened between their moment in the bathroom and the arrival of their dinner. If it was anybody else, she would put it down to work, but this was Harvey Specter, he wouldn't get that affected by a case. She wasn't going to press him for details tonight, it wasn't the right time. She knew him and she knew she was not going to get any details when he's acting like that.