#toying with the idea of Scarvey and Gilda bonding idk

[caffeinatedattorney]

Gilda doesn't get the chance to go out often and have fun at the same time.

Her costume sucks, no doubt about it. It's the sort of thing you put together on a rush so you don't just go on your everyday clothes to your friend's costume party, though, she kind of wishes she had something less shitty that made her unrecognizable, rather than an unfun version of herself. She dressed like Dorothy... or at least she's meant to be. Her dress isn't frilly enough to resemble it and her hair is doesnt look right for pigtails. She probably ressembles an used old barbie doll instead.

She nurses her drink. A mojito because she couldn't think of anything better and motivate herself to pay for it. It eases the headache of the festivities.

This is their day, isn't it?

She manages to find fresh air, walking out of the building where people who want to talk stay. Gilda isn't sure what she wants right now, to be fair.

All she feels is... grief.

This is her fifth halloween without Harvey Dent. Her friends knew she would need emotional support and in fact, attending the party had been Gilda's idea, just to shake things up in terms of distractions.

As she takes another sip of her drink, she hears someone behind her say 'Nice Two Face costume bro!' She rolls her eyes. Sadly, this isn't the first time someone has tried to make a joke about--

"Ma'am"

It's Harvey's voice, rough but his. Gilda turns around and she knows him enough to know he's not trying to be dressed as anything. He is just Two Face. Then again, maybe he believes he is already in costume and his life is a joke. Hilarious.

That said, Gilda finds herself tearing up.

"How are you, Harvey?" Gilda asks quietly, not fully facing him. It seemed like yesterday when she and Harvey attended a party as humpty and dumpty. Harvey always had a fascination with the atmosphere of the holiday, even when he didn't have a chance to celebrate and all days blurred into endless stressful work.

Harvey keeps his distance, she isn't sure if it's for her sake or his. "You look beautiful."

Gilda laughs, she wonders what motivated him to come, or how he found her. "I look terrible."

Harvey offers his hand quietly. He seems at a loss for words, mouth opening and closing without an utterance. The song changes to something slow and something in him shifts.

After a while, he says, "...May I have this dance?"

She wonders if it was part of his plan. She can't keep herself from uttering what she always wanted to express now that she has the chance, right before taking it. "You know i'll always love you, right?"

Harvey gives her a look, apologetic. He squeezes her hand. "Not the entirety of us."

Gilda raises an eyebrow as she guides Harvey inside to the dance floor. "Do I?"

It makes them visibly back off. Ah, so it's Harv. Harv squeezes her hand apologetically. "He said he's sorry."

Before they know it, they're on the dance floor, blending in with the guests. "He's tired," Harv whispers as they start to sway to the music.

After a while, long enough for Gilda to lose herself in the motions despite the grief, he says: "He taught me how you two dance," then he gives her a tight smile, crooked and different. "I'll be tonight's consolation prize."

Gilda feels relieved. On one hand this isn't some self loathing-fueled crusade to show Harvey hasn't forgotten about her. That said, she knows how... Harv and Harvey work and how there's no exact time frame Harvey will resurface. Harv should give himself a little credit. In a way, she's being comforted by Harv's hands. He's a familiar stranger.

She grins. "You are doing great. It took Harvey years to learn not to step on my feet."

Harv laughs, like a warm smoky cackle. "He's a dumbass."

Gilda twirls in Harv's hands. "... And you are not a consolation prize."

He hums, piercing gaze warm and voice crackly like wood, as they go back to their dancing. "You don't mind me?"

"I don't think we ever talked, and if you need a place to stay--"

Harv stops, he stares at Gilda for a few seconds. He doesn't try to convince her to drop the idea or starts arguing why he doesn't deserve it. In a way, she expects Harv to have his guns on him, ready to shoot anyone who tries Two Face. Ready to protect her.

Instead, Harv smirks. "Lead the way."

One message and two black and white monster movies later, Harv and Gilda have fallen asleep on the couch together. Gilda has changed into her pajamas and Harv into Harvey's old pajamas with the ugliest sweater he could find in Harvey's wardrobe. He loves it, by the way, because it is now his.