They called it The Great Compromise; for every one of his movies she sat through, he'd watch two hours worth of Friends episodes. Despite his best efforts, he was enjoying the show and Donna knew that every cough he faked was a suppressed laugh, his stubborn nature still unwilling to give her the satisfaction of being right. And that's where they found themselves one Friday night, curled up on his couch several episodes deep into season three - the one where Ross contemplates his list of five freebies.
"Who's on your list?" she asked nonchalantly as she turned to face him.
"My what?" he asked, running his fingers down her arm absentmindedly.
"Your list," she said again, gesturing to the scene unfolding on the TV, "of freebies?"
"You're asking me for my list of people I'm allowed to sleep with without consequence should the opportunity present itself?" he said, looking at her to make sure he understood the question.
"Yup," she said with a smirk, drawing out the word and popping the p at the end.
"I don't have one," he said dismissively, "you're the fantasy."
"That would be very sweet," she said as she laughed and shook her head, giving his chest a playful swat, "if you actually meant it."
He didn't reply immediately, but took a couple seconds to study her. He loved her like this; laidback and completely carefree, laughing with him about everything and nothing and dressed in casual clothes, sprawled on his couch - usually in his Harvard sweatshirt with her hair pulled on top of her head in a haphazard bun. It was the Donna that no one got to see but him, and that's what made it so special.
Looking back at her, he shook his head slightly in disbelief, "you have a list," he said.
"I do," she said with a smirk, "I mean, it could use some refining, but yeah, I've thought about it."
"Spill," he said, pulling her closer to him and squeezing her side, catching her by surprise and causing her to laugh out loud.
"Nuh uh, mister," she sassed, untangling herself from his grasp and wandering into the kitchen to grab a notepad out of her purse. "Make yours first," she demanded as she passed him the paper and a pen.
"Bossy," he murmured under his breath as she plopped back down on the couch beside him. Armed with her own paper and pen, she got to work refining her list as she cuddled into him, her back against his side.
They sat in comfortable silence as they worked, Harvey attempting the occasional glance at her list - an advance she was able to swat away each time. After about ten minutes, he let out a sigh and dropped the notepad on the coffee table. "Done," he declared.
A wide smile on her face, she reached forward and grabbed his list with both hands, still keeping hers tucked away until his choices were fully dissected. Before she could start reading though, she felt him shift by her side and stand up. "If we're doing this," he said as he moved across the room to his scotch decanter, "we're not doing it sober," he finished, returning to her side and handing her a glass.
She laughed and shook her head as she brought the glass to her lips before setting it down and reaching for his list again. "Okay mister, let's see who I'm up against."
She fell silent for a couple seconds, scanning the list before she spoke again. "Sofia Vergara," she said with a smile, "god, you're so predictable."
"What? She's hot," he argued, "and you said no consequences so," he finished dismissively, leaning into her game and finally having some fun with it.
"I didn't say anything," she said with a smirk "and it's your list, you can have whoever you want," she finished, intentionally pushing her body closer into his.
"Victoria Beckham," she read, "I knew you like the Spice Girls!" she exclaimed as she turned to face him, playfully patting his cheek.
He didn't respond, just stared at her and smiled, amused both by the situation and by how much she was enjoying it.
"Madonna," she continued, "really?"
"1980's Madonna was hot. I'm not apologizing for that," he deadpanned, which made her laugh. "I just didn't realize you were turned on by rocket boobs, that's all," she added with a shrug.
"Julia Roberts," she said as she nodded her head and smiled, "I assume this one comes with the piano?"
"You're right," he said, smirking and moving closer to her to whisper in her ear, "we should get a piano."
"You're ridiculous," she said dismissively, but not completely killing the idea, which made Harvey smile.
"And lastly," she said, pausing to take a sip of scotch and reposition herself against his side, "Gal Gadot," she finished as a huge grin spread across her face, unable to suppress the laugh that was bubbling up to the surface.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"Oh nothing," she said with a smirk, "she's a great choice, exceptional really. But you can't have her."
"Excuse me," he said, shifting his position on the couch so he was facing her, his chest puffed slightly, prepared for negotiation, "not five minutes ago you said it was my list and I could have whoever I wanted,"
"And while that's generally true," she explained, using her hands to emphasize her point, "you can't have her because she's on mine, and we can't have any overlaps," she finished with a shrug.
Donna's smile only grew bigger as she watched his eyes grow wide, unsure how to react to what he'd just heard.
"Okay, now I need to see that list," he said playfully, holding her down on the couch and moving to retrieve it from its hiding spot on the other side of her body, unable to resist tickling her sides in the process.
"Harvey," she managed in between fits of laughter, "stop!"
Finally successful in prying the paper from her hands, he sat up again and turned so that his back was towards her, shielding himself from any potential rebuttal attack.
"Donna," he exclaimed in disbelief, "Gal Gadot and Amal Clooney?!"
His complete bewilderment made Donna laugh out loud again and she moved behind him, resting on her knees and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
"You're saying you wouldn't if Amal asked you?" she teased.
"What I would or wouldn't do is not the topic of this conversation," he shot back with a smirk.
"Always the lawyer," she sassed as she leaned back into the cushions and he turned to face her, picking her legs up and draping them over his lap.
"Come on Harvey," she started, "you're telling me you've never once looked at a man and thought 'wow, I bet he's great in bed'?"
"Oh of course," he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "every single time I see Louis," he finished, which caused her to choke on the sip of scotch she'd just taken.
"Harvey!" she coughed, "stop that!," she said, setting the glass down and swatting away his advances.
"Have you ever," he paused to study her expression and he could tell she was trying hard not to burst out laughing, "with -" he trailed off, hoping she'd understand what he was implying.
"What," she said with a smirk as he ran his hands over her shins, "would that bother you?"
"I mean," he started, stumbling over his words, not quite sure how to answer her question.
"I went to an all-girls' high school and spent four summers at theatre camp, Harvey, what do you think?" she said with a laugh, "and before you ask, it was nothing serious. We were just figuring out how everything worked really."
"Wow," he said, bewildered expression still spread across his face, "you really are full of surprises," he finished, shaking his head and smiling.
"But," she started, angling her face to give him a quick kiss before continuing, "like you said, 'you're the fantasy'."
"And that would be very sweet," he said, mimicking her voice from earlier, "if you actually meant it."
"Asshole," she deadpanned, swatting him away from her as she reached for her scotch glass on the coffee table, "keep reading, mister," she said as she took a sip and then passed the glass to him.
"Alright," he said with a breathy laugh, "Hugh Jackman," he paused, "We haven't gotten to X-Men yet, how -" he paused again, looking at her for an answer, "Oh wait, he was in that movie about the French people, right?"
"That movie about the French people?!" she said in disbelief, "you really need to let me take you to more shows."
"Yeah, sure," he said, dismissing her comment with his hand as he kept reading.
"Liam Neeson," he continued, "so you do have a thing for Irish guys," he said, recalling a conversation they'd previously had on the topic.
"Okay, to be fair," she said, raising a finger to emphasize her point, "I never said I didn't" She laughed as he rolled his eyes in response.
"And lastly," he said, "Kit Harrington, okay."
"Specifically Kit Harrington as Jon Snow," she clarified, which caused him to raise his eyebrows at her.
"I like it rough sometimes," she said with a shrug.
"Noted," he said, drawing out the word which made her to laugh.
"So," she replied, leaning closer to him, "how do we decide who get Gal?" she asked with a smirk, "rock, paper, scissors?"
"Hmmm," he said, pretending to seriously contemplate the question, "you can take her," he relented.
"Really?" she asked, raising her inflection to stress the question, "who would you replace her with?"
"Oh, I don't know," he said, pulling her closer to him again, "you pick."
"Hmmm,' she said, excited at the thought, "Cameron Diaz?"
"No," he dismissed, after a second of contemplation.
"Emily Blunt? Penelope Cruz? Amy Adams?" she listed.
"Definitely not Amy," he replied, "she's a redhead."
"Harvey," she said, pulling her hair down from its bun and twirling it around her finger, "in case you haven't noticed -"
"What can I say," he said with a shrug, "I'm a one redhead type of guy."
"And I love you for it," she smiled, running her hand down his chest and moving in to kiss him.
"What do you say we table this," he said, taking his list from her hand, "and continue this in the bedroom," breaking the kiss and whispering in her ear.
"I could be convinced," she said, as he pulled her closer and snaked his arms around her waist, "but we will be returning to it."
"I'd expect nothing less," he said with a laugh as he led her to his bedroom.
Hope you enjoyed - this one was a ton of fun to write! Leave a review and let me know your thoughts - thanks for reading!