Forever and Counting

Pairing: Darvey fluff

Summary: From one Christmas to the next. A lot can change in a year.

AN: There have been so many amazing Christmas fics already this month, thank you to everyone posting! *does heart eyes* I was feeling inspired so this is just a quick little fluffy one-shot.

Christmas 2018

A soft knock draws Harvey's attention up to the glass surrounding his office, Donna's gaze catching his over the mounds of paperwork spread across his desk. Technically the firm has already closed down for the holidays. He's catching the last flight out of NYC tonight and Donna will be on a train to Connecticut in the morning but they'd both ended up here to finish off a few things, surprising each other in the process.

He beckons her in with a nod and his eyes drift down from the smile she's wearing to the bag clutched in her hand, subtly appreciating the view in between. It's not often he sees her outside of smart, work-appropriate dresses but the form-hugging red sweater and faded jeans tease a fantasy of domesticated bliss he can't ignore. An image of her joining him for Christmas flashes in his mind, her seated snuggly between himself and a roaring fire while his niece and nephew excitedly open their gifts. Marcus teasing him mercilessly while his mother jokes about them still being children and Donna naturally takea her side.

He's been toying with a lot of scenarios like that recently, specifically involving Donna. The walls he's been hiding behind since forever are starting to crumble with exhaustion and age, giving him access to a dull ache of longing and glimpses of firey desire. If someone else were privy to the thoughts they may even accuse him of wanting more and when Donna stops at his desk, with warm and curious eyes- silently asking where his mind just went, he clears a rush of embarrassment from his throat. "You finishing up?"

He dips his head to peer inside the bag and her lips curve wider, more sure of herself because he's distracted. For a moment there she hadn't been able to read him, something that's a rarity but is becoming more frequent of late, rising up with a flutter and leaving her off-kilter. She doesn't like being on the outside of his thoughts but whatever they are, they seem mostly harmless and not to his detriment so she's been letting them slide, in the same way she'd does now. "Yeah. I should really go home, start packing but I wanted to give you these."

She extents the gifts, the assortment of wrapping neat but not unified by any sort of color or pattern. Christmas should be fun, not spent waiting in line for hours to get presents looking meticulous only to be ripped open. It's never made sense to her and she deposits the bag on the floor by his feet. "Just a couple of things for the kids and Lily."

He's touched by the gesture, a first he wasn't expecting. For years she's been the one buying his niece and nephew gifts, remembering their birthdays and getting him to write cards but he'd taken over the duty when she'd gone to work for Louis. These presents have her own name signed across little Santa and Penguin stickers, igniting something primal within his chest.

"Don't worry scrouge, there's a little something in there for you as well."

She winks, her cheeks rosy with amusement and he stumbles over himself. "You didn't have to-"

"I know." She answers with a shrug. It's not a big deal. She's been friends with him long enough to know he's a terrible gift-giver and she didn't do it expecting anything in return. She did it so Hayley and William don't wind up with shares or investments in their stockings. "I was going to drop them round later but you're here, so..."

"I am." He says matter-of-factly. "Here, I mean."

Shit.

If she weren't standing right there he'd have slapped himself for sounding like and idiot.

The idea of her turning up at his door, the warmth of his apartment drawing her in and the two of them sharing a whiskey is what he wants. Instead, missing out fills him with a sense of loss and he tries not to appear disappointed, formulating a plan to puncture the regret. "Do you have time for a drink?"

She glances at the papers piled in front of him. He has a flight to catch later and if he has to take the red-eye tomorrow he'll be like a bear with a sore head stomping around. No one should be subjected to that, least of all during the holidays. "I don't want to hold you up."

"Donna, it's Christmas."

He pushes his chair back, a determined smirk lifting him out of it and she agrees, moving to his collection of records in search of something themed. She finds what she's looking for, a sleeve of carols by Frank Sinatra and she sets it playing, the tunes floating softly across the office as she kicks off her shoes, curling her legs up on the three-seater.

It's then she notices a small box sat between the glasses of amber and she tilts her head quizzically at him. "I thought you didn't do gifts?"

"I do, usually you just pick them out is all." His smugness is typical but nerves gather beneath it as she picks up the gold wrapping. Not about the present itself. He knows she's going to love it because she told him about the earrings months ago. Well technically she'd been telling Gretchen, gushing over the Duchess of Sussex in a magazine and how she'd kill to have access to the woman's jeweler.

She'd quipped about almost marrying into royalty once only to turn down the proposal and he's still not sure if that was a joke but after calling in every favor he could think of, he'd held a second pair of the same diamonds in his hand- questing whether it was too much for a simple exchange of gifts between friends.

He'd decided to wait, see if the right moment presented itself and if not keep them stashed away in a drawer or something...

But not seeing her wear them would be a greater crime and he swipes his sweaty palm, reaching for his glass while she tears open the paper.

She's even more intrigued by the smooth velvet, secretly wondering if she's going to need to lean on some acting skills but when she pops opens the lid all thoughts of feigning a reaction fly from her head.

She's speechless, almost unable to believe what she's holding and runs the pad of her thumb over the simple yet elegant design. "Are these-"

"They are."

"How did you...?"

"That, is a secret I'm taking to my grave." He defends with a chuckle, watching her eyes flash up and he knows exactly what she's going to say. That they're too much and she can't accept them before the possibility that maybe she can filters through her mind. He could tease her, string it out for a bit longer but he just wants to see her happy and makes it easy for her. "If you don't like them there's a chance I'll get my kneecaps busted taking them back... so keep that in mind before you bruise my ego."

She smiles around her shock, aware of what he's doing and playing along. "Please, your ego has its own impenetrable forcefield."

He scoffs and her heart swells as she closes the box placing it on the table. She's still having trouble processing the gift but her gratitude is completely genuine as she finds his gaze. "Thank you, Harvey. They're beautiful."

He almost sends the compliment straight back, her flushed cheeks and bright eyes more captivating than any diamond, but he swallows it down with a swig of whiskey- the urge to invite her to Boston rearing up in its place.

He doesn't, not wanting to force anything but maybe next year he'll work up the courage to ask.

367 days, and counting.

Christmas 2019

A soft knock leads Harvey into his bedroom, not wanting to startle his wife. She's been skittish with excitement ever since they moved into their new Seattle apartment and he's been teasing her about wearing a bell- but all thoughts of making jokes subside when his eyes land on the red silk gathered dangerously low at the small of her back. It's being held up by two thin straps, not enough according to what he learned about gravity in school and a groan swells in his throat.

He catches her smirk in the mirror and forces himself to breathe, taking a step so he can get a closer look at the front but she's fiddling with her earrings so he can't really see. They're the same ones he bought her for Christmas a year ago and he waits until she has them in place before gently taking her wrists and guiding them down allowing him access to her full reflection.

"You look beautiful..." he drops his mouth to her shoulder, paying each compliment with a kiss, "categorically stunning... gorgeous and sexy as hell." He stops, inhaling her perfume as he finds her gaze again, "but you can't wear this out."

"No?" She queries, picking up on the note of humor beneath his tone.

"No." He shakes his head against the crook of her neck. "You'd get sued for damages."

She leans into him, shivering as his palms slide across her midriff delicately bunching the fabric. "Oh?" She exhales a breathy sound, raising an eyebrow in the mirror. "Who would the plaintiff be?"

He chuckles, the hum hitting just below her ear. "Evey man with a pulse."

"You're an idiot." She grins in spite of the ridiculous line, her pulse beating in time with his slow strokes against her hip. She's been in this position enough times to know if she doesn't intervene now they'll both get carried away and she prods him with a gentle warning. "Did you hear from Mike and Rach?"

He sighs against her skin, not sure how to disentangle himself let alone make it through a whole night without her wrapped in his arms. "Kid just texted, said they're leaving now."

"Which means we should too or we'll be late." She smiles at him in the mirror, expecting him to release her but he doesn't. His eyes are looking through her at something unseen and she drops her fingers to his wrist with a squeeze. "You okay?"

"Yeah." His mouth curves as he nuzzles his nose against one of the glittery studs. "I remember right after I gave you these I almost asked you to come to Boston with me. I just... wish I had, that's all."

His voice is softer, the way it always falls when he's talking about his mother and she turns in his arms, feeling his palms sink into the small of her back. "It would have been lovely to meet Lily in person." She admits, sliding her hands up to his shoulders, "but remember how happy you were after spending some quality time together. That was important too, Harvey."

She isn't wrong. It had been one of the best times they'd spent together and he watches Donna's lips quirk, amusement slipping onto his own. "What?"

She dips her gaze recalling how her Christmas had been spent ducking her mother's probing; why was she still single, when was she going to settle down, and why was she wearing custom made royal diamonds? In her flurry to explain she'd admitted they were a gift which had only ramped up the questions and then led to three days of trying to convince her mother that Harvey didn't have those kinds of feelings for her.

One failed relationship later and she's never been happier admit she was wrong, as her mother will no doubt point out again and again. "I wore these while I was visiting my parents..." she fingers her ear with a light tug, "be prepared to hear 'I told you so' a lot and to be scolded for marrying me in a shot-gun wedding."

He grins broadly. Not because he isn't scared. Clara terrifies him more than James but he doesn't regret their impromptu nuptials. In the past words were often his downfall but he'd known exactly what to say to Donna that night and with a little help from Mike, his vowels had been written in ten minutes. He'd do it all over again in a heartbeat and they will- which is exactly what he plans on telling her parents. "I didn't put in all that effort with your father for nothing, I've got this."

She tugs his lapels, her mouth twitching with a smirk. "We're going to need tequila."

"There's a bottle packed in the suitcase."

"No there isn't."

He smiles down at her. "No, there's not... but there will be before we leave tomorrow."

"Have I mentioned how much I love you." She beams up kissing him softly, winding her fingers through his short hair with a content sigh. It's their first Christmas as a married couple and she's loved every minute of it. Decorating the tree, choosing gifts together, forcing him to try eggnog despite his protest that 'it's just raw egg'. But if they don't start moving they're going to miss their first party and her eyes glimmer with amusement as she breaks the kiss, reaching for his hand.

He takes it, slightly disappointed when she leads him by the bed- distracted by the sway of her hips and inwardly groaning. It's going to be a long night but last year these were the snippets he'd been desperately seeking and they're not moments built up in his imagination anymore, they're real, and he plans on treasuring every single one.

Forever, and counting.