The way she looks at tonight is unfair. As a matter of fact, it should be illegal.
Harvey Specter is currently standing at the base of a staircase, staring at his secret girlfriend who has just made her way to the top.
The party had officially swung into full mood 20 minutes ago, but she had only begun to make her entrance. I'm never late, she had chastised him earlier, while they were at his apartment getting ready, everyone's just early.
He had scoffed at her remark in mock annoyance and continued to fix his bowtie, but he finally understood the underlying meaning of what she was trying to say. When you looked this breathtaking, it really didn't matter when you arrived. As Donna came to view for the whole party in her blush-pink gown, adorned in tasteful sequins and showing just enough with her thigh slit and plunging neckline, Harvey and the rest of the population couldn't for the life of them, remember what their 20 previous minutes had been about. She was an absolute vision, and it was like nothing else mattered.
She's mine, he screamed out loud in his mind. But they had agreed to keep things under wraps for the time being, so all he could do was smirk at her when they made eye contact and smile into his champagne flute even though it did nothing to hide his fat grin.
"Wow, Donna looks-"
The pure awe in the voice behind those words snaps Harvey out of his reverie. He had forgotten for a moment that Mike had come back to help them with a case. And while he appreciated the camaraderie and had genuinely missed his friend, being around him was extremely stressful this time around- the puppy picked up on everything. And with his strong desire to see him and Donna together, they both had to walk on eggshells to keep him from picking up their scent.
Harvey coughed twice, before pulling his composure.
"She's the COO, of course she's going to look nice. It's Donna. Plus, if this gala is to save our face in the first place, did you really expect her to do anything else but pull out the big guns?" Harvey tries his best to look annoyed instead of flustered, but Mike's bug-eyed expression in response tells him he probably failed at both.
"Jeez, alright, I get it. I wasn't trying to offend her in any way. Keep that up and I'm going to move from prostate jokes to menopause ones."
"Do that and you're dead to me." Harvey says, pairing it with his classic single nod to emphasize his point. He glares at Mike.
Mike slowly grins. "Alright old man. Now I know we're supposed to look all firm and proper, but what say you and me get secretly wasted on some weak champagne? First to hit it has to buy dinner tomorrow."
He smirks then, saved for the time being. "Deal."
"Let's say hi to Donna first?"
"Sounds like a plan." He's secretly relieved. He desperately wants to tell Donna just how good she looks, but didn't know how to do it without seeming desperate. They head in the direction of the newest COO, both with shit-eating grins on their faces.
For the first time in a long time, he's happy. And with all things considered, it really is good to have the puppy back.
She's not talking to anyone in particular, but waits until they're closer before she turns to acknowledge their presence.
"Hey! You look gorgeous! How'd you see us coming?" Mike asks while simultaneously leaning in for a kiss on the cheek.
"Oh, Mikey boy. And here I was, hoping the rain in Seattle would help your brain grow a bit more," she retorts almost instantaneously, putting a hand on his cheek.
"And I see that being COO hasn't made you any kinder,"
"Shut up, I know you missed me."
"That I did."
"You're so grown!"
"Ugh, everyone keeps saying that! You guys are all acting like you're parents who just sent me off to college."
She shoots a glance at Harvey, who has, up until now, kept himself preoccupied with his champagne. "Am I mommy in this scenario?"
He almost does a spit take. He can't believe he's trying so hard to keep everything under wraps, yet she's out here threatening to blow all of his hard work out of the water.
Before Mike can comment, Harvey finishes downs his champagne glass and turns to Mike. "Get me another one? I have some shop to discuss really quick with Donna and then we can get that drinking bet going."
Mike looks hesitant and narrows his eyes, but decides against saying anything. "Sure...I'll meet you next to the food."
The minute he turns around, Harvey takes the chance to lead Donna behind the stairwell and out of sight.
"Harvey! Where are you-"
He turns around and she collides into him right before she feels him kissing her like it was the only thing keeping him from losing his mind.
Being the good boyfriend he is, however, he stops himself from taking it too far, knowing how she doesn't like her lipstick ruined. He pulls back after a few seconds, slowly resting his forehead against hers as she tries to catch her breath.
"What was that for," she hears herself whispering.
"Couldn't hold back" he mutters, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
They're still relatively new to this, but Donna's still surprised at Harvey's emotional availability. Ever since they had started dating, she's had a hard time keeping up with the amount of validation he's offering her and the fact he's doing it like it's the easiest thing in the world.
"Harvey-"
"You do look beautiful," he moves forward to plant a chaste kiss on her lips,
"-categorically stunning," he kisses her again,
"-ab-so-lute-ly devastating." She shivers when she feels his teeth scrape by her ear.
She's opened up a floodgate of vulnerability, and is currently drowning in the aftermath.
Donna is about to beg him to stop when he point-blank asks, "You don't apply foundation to your ears, right?"
She can't help but laugh at his concern. "Way to ruin a moment."
He shows her his mega-watt smile in return and she tries her best not to swoon. "I'm gearing you up, Paulsen. You're the one who doesn't want to let anyone know, yet you're here making these mommy-daddy comments?"
Donna bites her lip, contemplating whether her response in mind is appropriate or not. She decides, fuck it, before batting her eyelashes and tiptoeing to his ear, "Maybe I just wanna call you Da-"
He reels back almost instantly. "Woman, if you don't want to get caught for public indecency, you better not say what I think you're going to say," His eyes have darkened and she's suddenly aware of how tight he's gripping her arms.
They both take a moment just staring at each other, knowing it was time to recompose themselves. They detach, albeit reluctantly.
He speaks first. "I'm gonna-
"Yeah, you should-"
"Okay." He walks away, trying his best not to turn around too many times.
We're so screwed, is all she can find herself to think while subconsciously ghosting her fingers over her lips.
Harvey has kept himself away from Donna for the past half hour, but it's slowly driving him crazy. First, he's starting to realize he can't go too long without her now that he has her, in every way. And second, he's been noticing that the dress is drawing a lot more unwanted attention than he likes. He can tell she's uncomfortable too by the way she's crossing her arms to make herself more unavailable under the guise she's propping up her champagne glass.
So when it's Mike's turn to go to the bathroom between their fourth and fifth round of drinks, Harvey makes just the right amount of retaliation prostate jokes before he books it to where Donna is. He almost rolls his eyes at the sight, Emmanuel Booker from a prestigious New York tech company is sauntering up for Donna's attention yet again. Yes, he's been keeping track, and maybe he feels a little silly and over-protective, but this is Booker's fifth time bothering his girlfriend in a span of forty-two minutes. Harvey wouldn't care so much if the man wasn't so obvious with his leering. And from what he remembers, Booker's not likely to actually know that Donna is the new COO of their firm; they don't deal much with his companyto start off with, and he's old-fashioned in the way that he believes no female could ever operate at such a high executive level. If she's allowed one pass for the evening to be risque about the status of their relationship, Harvey's going to cash his in right now.
Harvey slows down casually, waiting for Emmanuel to take the bait. He watches as the man brings Donna a drink, even though she isn't even done with the one currently in her hand. He smirks as Booker plucks it out of her hand anyway, without even asking if he could. Harvey knows she hates that.
He gives the poor man ten more seconds.
And, showtime.
"Hey babe, there you are! I've been looking for you!"
Donna looks up, and her change in expression from disgruntled to relieved doesn't escape him, despite her ability to control her emotions in a millisecond. He can't help but feel pride swell at his chest that she's so happy to see him.
He quickly pulls her to the side and wraps an arm comfortably around her shoulder to pull her in for a quick forehead kiss. She beams up at him in return, and moves swiftly with him as he guides her to stand in front of him to the side with his arm around her waist. Throughout the exchange, he can't help but notice Emmanuel's flabbergasted gawking at everything that's just happened.
"H-h-harvey Specter!"
"Hey, Booker! Long time no see. Still working hard to hack into the FBI?" He can't help but jab. It doesn't matter, because none of what he's just said makes it to Booker's ears as his eyes widen while he asks, "Stephanie's your girlfriend?"
He resists the temptation to bury his face into her hair and laugh. Of course she would give him a fake name. Still, it doesn't mean he can't up the ante.
"Er, yes, actually. We're married."
He feels Donna stiffen and he would laugh at how much fun they're having if she didn't immediately retaliate by shifting slightly to discreetly put her ass right next to his crotch.
There really was one thing Harvey hated and loved about Donna, and it was that she never backed down from a challenge or conceded when they were playing games. It made him want to simultaneously scream bloody murder because he was always used to winning, and also shove her up the wall because he was so damn aroused by it.
"Wow. If I'm being honest, I'm a bit surprised. Sounds to me you don't know how to treat a lady right if you leave her to fend for herself the whole night," is that Emmanuel says next. The snarkiness in his tone doesn't escape either of them.
"I appreciate your concern, Mr. Booker, but I can handle myself without Harvey just fine. It's not his fault men keep coming up to me unsolicited trying to hand me drinks when I never asked in the first place."
Hook, Line, Sinker.
Emmanuel's jaw drops to the floor, cueing Harvey and Donna's swift exit from the conversation. They walk a little farther until he spins her so that they're facing each other. Harvey realizes for the first time during the night that there's soft music playing in the background and people are casually dancing. He sways her gently, content to just be able to hold her in his arms again.
"Are you okay?" he asks after a minute of silence.
Without looking at him, she takes a beat before responding quietly, "I am now."
He knows he looks like an idiot, but he can't stop his smile.
She stops suddenly to look at him. "Where's Mike?" she asks.
"Oh, shit," Harvey panics then, unsure where Mike is or if he saw anything. He scans the room frantically and finds his ex-protege drunkenly scouring an entire shrimp cocktail at a table in the back.
He turns back to Donna, ready to tell her that their cover isn't blown, but she's already trying hard not to stifle a giggle.
"You knew where Mike was," he deadpans.
"Of course, I was keeping an eye on him the whole time after he came out of the bathroom. You think I'd let you whisk me away as your pretend wife without knowing what the stakes were?"
"It never ceases to amaze me just how Donna you are,"
"I'm one in a million,"
"You're my one in a million,"
"Harvey Specter, are you flirting with me?"
"I have been for the last 13 years, thank you for just noticing."
It stuns her for only a second until she shakes her head. "You're an idiot."
"Correction: I'm your idiot."
She pushes him lightly then. "Go make sure my other idiot doesn't choke on his shrimp, please. Or get any sauce on his shirt. Rachel told me it's a shirt she gave him and if it gets stained, I won't hear the end of it."
"Alright, so bossy. Am I gonna see some of that later?"
"I should've known you had a COO fanta-"
"Harvey! Where are you! You have to try this shrimp! " They both turn around to the sound of Mike, as does the rest of the reception attending the gala. Mike seems to notice the attention he's drawn, but his attempt to correct his behavior remains fruitless as he first waves enthusiastically to the pair before cupping his hands over his mouth to whisper-scream, "They're sooooooo good!"
"Remind me to remind Mike that he has the alcohol tolerance of a pre-pubescent teenager. And that he owes me dinner."
"The puppy calls," Donna says, patting him on the chest before walking to mingle some more. "I'll see you at home."
What is this? I wish I could tell you. With the existence of 8x16, I really wanted to get back into writing Darvey, but I seem to have reached some kind of existential crisis with writer's block as a side effect. I wanted to have a plot but then it became a lot of dialogue that I imagined would be exchanged between donna and harvey before evolving into a puddle of meaningless fluff. I apologize if it's not as well-structured or thought out... I just wanted to put it out here to get myself going. I guess we could call it a work in progress? And I guess you're all coming along for the ride.
I have 5 parts planned, so hopefully i snap out of my funk. in the meantime, let's celebrate the fact darvey is finally canon, because i really did not think i would see this day :) leave a review if you feel up to it!