AN: Well, hello there, lovely darvey clan. It's been a long ass couple of months without writing any fics, but life has been hectic. I think it's only appropriate that darvey getting together (!) was what brought me back to this lovely world of writing. This story ended up taking a slightly different turn than I originally planned, but that's writing for ya. I hope you all enjoy, and that my writing isn't too rusty. Here's to Donna and Harvey and all the wonderful sex they get to have now x
…
I'd like to say, that you're my only fear.
And when I dream, it slowly disappears.
And when I wake. I'm right here by your side
To feel your heart, beat in and out of time.
…
It doesn't deter him at first- the way he stirs around cold sheets, letting the white cotton bundle at his feet to find a better position. He's long since accepted this murky reality, waking up to nothing but his own body heat to keep him warm well into dawn. So, it's not until his core senses kick in that his conscious is reeled back into his newfound reality.
His forehead knits at the same time his right arm stretches out, blindly feeling atop his mattress to find what he's looking for. But to no avail, he's alone in bed. Confusion and a touch of fear makes him hesitate for a moment before he opens his eyes, basks in the smell of her body wash and shampoo- a mix of coconut and lavender- reaffirming that she was here at some point, and he didn't just conjure up his fantasies.
Harvey blinks once, squinting in case he's met with the blinding rays of a morning sun, but he sighs when his irises adjust, noting that his curtains were pulled closed. He smiles for a moment- the memory of her teasing him the night before making him chuckle. He doesn't remember much about what she'd said, something about having "man-sized" curtains in his so-called man cave that prompted his own joke about the importance of size. He doesn't feel too guilty, though, not with the way her hips had sauntered his way once she'd shut the curtains closed, crawled over him like a leopard catching its pray, eyes alight with the knowledge of her own power over him….
He shakes his head, wills himself back into the present as he reaches over to find his boxers somewhere near the foot of the bed. He searches the bathroom first, tries to let logic and reason mask any worry that looms over him. But when he comes up empty of any redheads, he frowns, hoping to hear a sign that she's somewhere else in the apartment.
He lets his feet take the lead, pads his way into his living room whilst trying to calm his rapidly beating heart, and he knows that if Donna could see him right now, she'd cock her head at him, twisting her mouth in an attempt to dilute any mockery she's throwing his way. They both knew he was whipped, but he didn't need the constant reminder.
"Donna?" His voice echoes through the spacious condo, taking his steps closer until he's looming over the couch. And that's when he sees her.
He lets out a calming sigh that sounds more like a chuckle, shaking his head at his own absurdity. It's been just shy of thirty-six hours since they became a them, since he showed up at her apartment, eyes speaking everything their mouths weren't before they clashed together at once. It hasn't even been a full two days and he curses the aching in his heart for already spiraling him into some separation anxiety.
They'd moved from her apartment to his sometime after round six and just before dinner. He'd protested at first, not wanting to leave the comfort of her arms or bed, but she'd tutted at him with a raised eyebrow, informed him that as much as she wouldn't mind having him parade around in his birthday suit, he needed a change of clothes.
So, he'd pouted his way into resigning to her pleas, put on his now wrinkly suit as they'd left her place with her own to-go bag, hands clasped together.
It didn't take long when they'd gotten to his penthouse for them to resume where they'd left off, shedding their clothes near the door, dinner and any other sense of reality soon forgotten.
They didn't talk much at first, back when he showed up at her apartment. It wasn't until somewhere between their second and third round that they'd talked. Limbs tangled under the sheets, whispering words of regret for mistakes and too many years gone past, followed by exchanges of love and promises for the future. They didn't resort to too many heartfelt conversations for the rest of the day, wordlessly agreeing to spend the weekend focused on themselves, making up for lost time, and shamelessly ignoring any calls from Louis.
Now, watching as she sleeps on his black leather couch, curled up with nothing but an old Harvard sweatshirt, he only lets himself take a few more seconds basking in the surreal reality of his current life. Harvey moves around the couch, kneels down to face his… girlfriend… and tucks a loose strand of auburn hair that's covering her face.
"Hey," he speaks in too low a voice, and he selfishly ponders if he's disturbing her sleep just so he could have her in his arms again. He clears his throat, noting that his attempt was met with no response. "Donna, you okay?"
It takes a moment, but she scrunches her face, rubs a hand over her tired eyes as she stretches out her legs. His eyes peel away from hers, catching bare limbs elongating against dark leather, and he feels a tightness growing in his chest. There's something uniquely beautiful and poetic at the way her pale skin stands out against his black couch, top half encapsulated by his old maroon college shirt as she blinks sleepily at him.
"Hey," she smiles, voice raspy and quiet, "'time is it?"
Harvey mirrors her light mirth, reaching out again to pull back her hair, and he briefly wonders if he's grown a fetish for the golden locks. He shrugs, "I'm guessing somewhere between six and seven." He realizes now he really has no idea, is only going by the soft glow that's peaking under the blinds.
Her response comes in the form of a yawn, nodding until she's called back into reality and she heckles out a short laugh, "I can't believe I fell asleep."
"What were you doing out here?"
She's sitting up slowly, wordlessly patting the space she's making for him as she nods toward the coffee table. That's when he sees it: a bowl of what he guesses was some cereal and a glass of water.
"Midnight snack?"
She chuckles at his raised eyebrows, automatically curls into his side as soon as he's situated to her left. "More like sometime-after-three-in-the-morning snack. We didn't get to eat dinner, hot shot."
Harvey half jumps at the poke she gives him, a smirk quickly masking the surprise on his face.
"Oh… right."
"You may have knocked out cold, but I had to make up for some lost calories, mister." Her eyes glance up at him, catching the shit-eating grin on his face and she resists the temptation to roll her eyes. "You're such a Y chromosome cliché," she scoffs at last.
Harvey heckles out a laugh too loud for the morning as he turns back to her, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left my girl grow hungry."
Donna raises an eyebrow, "Your girl, huh?"
He cringes by way of response, gathering her closer to him in what little space they shared, "That probably didn't sound as romantic as it did in my head."
"It's the thought that counts, I guess," she chuckles. They let the moment fade slowly, Harvey placing a soft kiss atop her head, taking in the comfort of a quiet morning together.
"Did you think I left?" Donna speaks after a few minutes.
"Hmm?"
"Earlier… when you came looking for me, did you think I left?" She lifts her head to his line of vision, not wanting to miss any tell signs that he's fibbing for her own comfort or his. To her surprise, he doesn't.
"No exactly," he states earnestly. When she quirks an eyebrow, he continues, "it wasn't so much that I thought you left, but…" he sends her a reassuring smile, hoping his next words would come out as he intended them to, "for a moment, I wondered if I dreamt it all again."
He fears that he may have come off too strong there, in spite of it all. But they were still new at this- at them, and while they've naturally progressed into this comfortable new norm, that old time paranoia was hard to shake off.
"You've dreamed about… me?" Her voice is too small when she asks him, eyes wide with questions instead of teases he half expected to hear.
"Yeah," he sighs, "you… us."
She bites her lip, dark hazel eyes studying him for a few moments.
"Does that… freak you out or something?"
Donna almost laughs at the concern written all over his face, but when her hand reaches out to his bare chest, feeling his heart beating as rapidly as it did that night he showed up at her place, she forfeits. "No," she simply says.
"I mean… was I doing anything weird in these dreams?" She continues after a moment.
"Define weird,"Harvey plays along, hiding the ghost of a smile as she questions him.
"I mean…" she starts a trail up and down his chest, purposely missing his lower abs, "was I doing something normal or was I performing in a circus, juggling watermelons?"
Harvey tilts his head in mock thought, "Well… is all fruit considered weird or just watermelons?"
He should've expected the playful slap that meets his chest, but it still catches him by surprise, causing a sound that mixes with a squeal and chuckle to leave his lips.
"You're an ass."
"I thought you said you liked my ass," he smirks, catching her hand in his as he brings it up to his lips, kissing the soft skin.
She rolls her eyes, flashing back to the day before, the two of them sharing a shower that soon lasted close to two hours thanks to wandering hands and a few lewd comments.
"You're an idiot," she tries again, but her annoyance is soon drowned by the laugh he evokes from her. He's all cheeky grin and eyes bright with mischief and love, and damn him for affecting her this much, this soon.
"Fine," he resigns with a sigh, kissing her temple as he grows more serious again. "One of the last times… you showed up in my room, in the morning, wearing my white button down, bringing me a cup of coffee," he pauses to watch her eyes widen oh so slightly in surprise, "you… sat down on the bed, and we… kissed."
"When was this?"
"Uh… right after Jessica left. After we…"
"Held hands in your office?"
He nods at her raised eyebrows, doesn't know why he feels a weird lump in the back of his throat, disabling any verbal communication he has to offer.
"You've really had it bad for me all this time, huh."
He purses his lips at the way she tilts her head, pink tongue peeking out, but he fails at his own attempt to be miffed by her reaction. He's held this little secret inside for a few years, had to convince himself that it was a futile attempt from his subconscious to make him see what he really wanted. Immersed himself in cases and continuously trying to save the firm, anything to erode any remnants of that dream.
"You know, I'd normally argue with you, but seeing as I'm already mostly exposed here…" he motions to his half-naked self, "I'm just going to agree."
Donna chuckles, rides out the moment before growing somber, "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"You really think I had the balls to tell you that I dreamed about us being together when we weren't together?"
She waits a beat, then, "Touché."
He shakes his head, rubbing her shoulder above the sweatshirt she'd stolen from somewhere deep in his drawers, "I spent too many years denying this, Donna. I was too damn scared letting myself think any of this was possible, that I had any feelings, let alone telling you about it."
"Fair enough," she nods, already having heard another version of his excuses just one day before. "Can't say I don't know anything about that."
His forehead rises at her low confession, gently tilts her chin up to catch her eyes, "Did you…?"
Donna nods, "We've been friends for over thirteen years, Harvey. We've slept together before. I kissed you while you were…" she lets the rest of the words hang, not wanting to spoil their moment by mentioning his not-so-pleasant ex, "you can't be too surprised I dreamt about you too."
"I guess I just thought-"
"That I was completely over you? At the risk of further stroking your already inflated ego…" she gently pinches his side, right above the waistband of his boxers, "I could never cut you out my life, or heart."
That familiar tightness in his chest returns, because while he knows and has already accepted the fact that they're together now, officially and for good, it still rattles him from the inside out. The sheer notion that she's his and he's hers, and they're no longer swimming in a deep pool of denial… is something that he feels will forever take his breath away.
"I love you, you know that?"
She gives him that same smile she gave him nearly two nights ago- soft and warm, with a little bit of sass mixed in. All Donna and glorious, a goddamn minx from his dreams come true.
"I do," she purrs, sitting up on her knees now, needing to sit taller to give him a full kiss on the mouth, "and you know I'm not going anywhere, right?"
He's distracted for a moment, by the gentle way she caresses his cheek, caring eyes following his gaze. He nods then, swallowing back, "I do. Except… you weren't there when I woke up this morning."
His pout makes her roll her eyes again, a habit that's quickly forming, because who knew Harvey Specter could be such a damn sap?
"I didn't remember you being so clingy last time," she sasses, disentangling herself from him. She grabs his hand however, standing and leading him back to the bedroom. "Of course, you didn't stick around long enough the next day for me to find out…"
He winces at the words she throws his way, but there's no bite to her voice, and her hand is still clasped in his, so he rationalizes it as a harmless tease.
"I was a ruthless idiot back then, Donna. I've learned from my mistakes."
"So, you're admitting defeat? You're a completely whipped and clingy boyfriend?" They part just long enough to settle back into bed, bringing the covers up to their chests, bodies immediately gravitating to one another.
"I am completely," he reaches out to kiss her, "and utterly," another kiss, "ruined."
Donna grins, reaching back in to give him a longer kiss, making sure she didn't let it get too deep. She was exhausted and she knew they had to catch up on sleep before they headed into their first work week as a new couple the following day.
"Good," she sighs, turning to settle against his back, "Just don't worry that pretty little head anymore. I'll be here when you wake up."
Harvey hums in response, reaching out to tangle their hands together, settling them right in front of her chest. He shifts against her, breathing in her scent and placing a soft kiss in the crook of her neck.
It's only when he feels her breath deepen, heartbeat syncing with his own, does he let himself finally succumb to sleep.
…
AN: As always, I'd love to know what you thought : )