Soo, the focus of this one isn't really the morning after (even though I've included it) but rather the firms reaction to what we've all been waiting for, A REAL DARVEY RELATIONSHIP. I've decided to make this one multi-chapter so I hope you enjoy!
Off Limits - Ch 1
"File room?"
"Off limits" she calls from the bathroom
"My office?"
"Really?" she smirks, appearing in the bathroom door, still wearing his shirt, hair swept up into a messy ponytail. His eyes trail from her neck to her thighs, the sight of her in his shirt almost enough to drive him wild.
"What, you know you've thought about it" he winks, making his way over to her, letting his hand trail down her arm, settling in the small of her back and pulling her towards him.
"Thinking about it and doing it are two different things" she flirts
"So, you admit you've thought about it?" he says, grin plastered across his face as he leans in for a kiss
"You're an idiot" she laughs, stepping away and turning back into the bathroom
"What about the elevator?" he calls, following her all the way into the shower
"Harvey!" she exclaims before he stops her giggling with a kiss almost as earth shattering as the one the shared in her hallway the night before.
Waking up next to Harvey she can't help but smile to herself at the sight of his arm wrapped around her waist. She can't believe she's waking up in the arms of the man she's loved for over a decade. Last night she was ready to drown her sorrows in a bottle of wine and head to bed, half-heartedly hoping he would show up after seeing his missed calls and hearing about what happened at the hearing from Alex. She wanted to be there for him, but she just couldn't watch him lose everything on account of her, the mere thought broke her heart. Next thing she knew he was at her door, and one look at him told her everything she needed to know, he was finally ready; and he wanted everything. She was hesitant at first, but when he followed her into the apartment she knew, this was finally it for them, they were finally in the same place at the same time.
"Good morning beautiful" he mumbles, pulling her in and placing a kiss in her hair
"Hey" she smiles up at him, enjoying the sleepiness lingering in his voice, "Last night was"
"Long overdue" he finishes, eyes fixated on her stare in an effort to convey that he truly is ready for this, for them.
"I was going to say incredible but that works too" she smirks, allowing her fingers to trace small circles across his back
"Donna" he says with a sincerity that causes her fingers to stop moving and her breathe to hitch in her throat. He slides his hand along her cheek and gazes into her eyes
"I love you"
"I love you too Harvey"
He lets out a breath he didn't even know he was holding as those three words leave her lips, a small wave of relief flooding his body. It shouldn't be a surprise to him after last night. He knew the moment she opened the door that she wanted this just a badly as he did. But hearing those words leave her lips, he's never felt such a high, not even in the courtroom.
"Show me, how you love me" she raises her eyebrow at him, images of the night before playing across her mind. His hands. On her back, in her hair. He way he effortlessly lifted her into that table. His breath hot against her ear.
"I'd be happy to show you" He grins, placing a kiss along her collar bone
"Again and again and again" he mumbles, peppering her neck with kisses as he pulls her beneath him.
Their morning is a blur of skin and hands, neither of them able to keep to themselves. It was as if the previous night had opened the flood gates to all the pent-up emotions of the past 13 years. When Donna's alarm goes off, indicating they need to get ready for work, both are exhausted after a night of minimal sleep, though neither are complaining.
"We should really get going" Donna pouts, finally giving in to the voice of reason inside her head
"Or, we could just spend the day here" he counters
"As much as I would love that, the firm needs us today more than ever"
He rolls his eyes, knowing she's right; she's always right. The firm was facing it's second name partner to be disbarred within a few years and getting it back on it's feet was not going to be easy.
"Alright. But, I get to take you to dinner tonight"
"It's a date" she smiles, sliding his shirt back on and reluctantly getting out of bed to make them some coffee. He follows her to the kitchen in his boxers and takes a seat at the counter, eyes trained on her long legs peering out beneath his shirt.
"So, are we going to… tell people?" he asks, hoping he doesn't sound moronic in questioning how they wanted to handle their new relationship status. They hadn't quite discussed it themselves, but he wanted to know where they stood before heading into the firm.
"Hmm. I want to but I'm thinking maybe we should wait a while, let the dust settle first" she says, bringing him his mug and sitting next to him. His face falls at her statement and she's quick to add,
"With everything going on at the firm right now I just don't want to add to the chaos. And besides, I think it could be fun to keep this a secret for now" she places a soft kiss on his lips. "Stay in our own little bubble" she adds before gently biting down on his bottom lip
He closes his eyes as she pulls on his bottom lip, rolling his head back before getting up and scooping her up in one swift motion, carrying her right back towards the bedroom.
"Were going to be late" she protests
"It's worth it" he adds
~
Once they make their way out of bed, for the second time that morning, and finish their now cold coffee, Harvey calls Ray to pick up one of his suits and drop it off while Donna begins to get ready. He sits on the end of her bed as she flits from the bathroom to the closet and back to the bathroom.
"We're going to need some office ground rules" she says
"We need rules?" he mocks
"You know what I mean! If we're going to keep this low key for a while we need to establish some rules. Like no fooling around at the office"
"Ever?" he exaggerates
"No sex at the office" she restates on her way into the bathroom
"File room?"
"Off limits" she calls from the bathroom
"My office?"
"Really?" she smirks, appearing in the bathroom door, still wearing his shirt, hair swept up into a messy ponytail. His eyes trail from her neck to her thighs, the sight of her in his shirt almost enough to drive him wild.
"What, you know you've thought about it" he winks, making his way over to her, letting his hand trail down her arm, settling in the small of her back and pulling her towards him.
"Thinking about it and doing it are two different things" she flirts
"So, you admit you've thought about it?" he says, grin plastered across his face as he leans in for a kiss
"You're an idiot" she laughs, stepping away and turning back into the bathroom
"What about the elevator?" he calls, following her all the way into the shower
"Harvey!" she exclaims before he stops her giggling with a kiss almost as earth shattering as the one the shared in her hallway the night before.
Once they're both dressed and ready to face the day they make their way down to where Ray has been patiently waiting since dropping off Harvey's suit.
"Good morning Ms. Paulsen" Ray greets as Harvey opens Donna's door
Donna climbs into the car and Harvey makes his way around to his side, "What?" he laughs, catching Ray staring at him
"Nothing it's just, it was about time" Ray smirks, shutting the door behind Harvey who tries to laugh it off. Mike would have been thrilled to see that even Ray was rooting for him and Donna, go figure.
"We never finished our rules" Donna says
"Oh, we finished" Harvey smirks
"Harvey!" she playfully smacks him on the arm before he slides his fingers between hers and begins to trace circles on the back of her hand as they make their way through the city.
"Okay, what else" he gives in
"I say we just lay low on the PDA. We don't exactly need to hide anything, but we don't need to broadcast it either" She's already starting to change her mind about wanting to keep the relationship to themselves because the thought of letting go of his hand once they arrive is eating away at her.
"Okay. But if you change your mind about the file room, I'm all ears" he flirts as they pull up outside the firm
He follows her into the building, bracing himself for the day to come. It's going to be grueling and long but at least he has their dinner to look forward to. He makes a note to call Del Posto and reserve their table as the elevator door clicks shut behind them.
By some miracle they're alone in the elevator so Harvey takes advantage of the situation and turns to face her, tucking a strand of stray hair behind her ear and pulling her closer by the waist.
A warning Harvey leaves her lips, but she doesn't stop him, only leans further into him as he kisses her. She sighs into the kiss, suddenly wishing they had never left her bed as she knows she'll be craving the feeling of his lips on hers for the rest of the day. How she managed to keep these feelings bottled up for so long she'll never know. The elevator dings on the 47th floor. The 48th floor and he breaks the kiss, stepping back but keeps his hands wrapped around her waist. 49th and he lets go of her reluctantly.
"You ready?" he asks
She nods in responses and follows him off the elevator into the lobby of the firm where Gretchen is waiting for them.
"There you two are! Louis has been looking for you all morning. The man is in crisis mood and wants everyone in the conference room, now" she lectures as they begin to move down the hall.
"Calm down Gretchen, I have a plan" Harvey states, leading Donna and Gretchen towards where everyone is waiting
"I appreciate that, Mr. Specter, but before you go in their you should know, that shade of lipstick is really not your colour" she deadpans, watching the panic flash across his eyes as he uses the back of his hand to wipe Donna's lipstick from his lips
"Now get in there before Louis explodes" she opens the door to the conference room and gestures him inside.
Donna follows behind him, but Gretchen stops her before she enters and whispers, "About damn time, I'm happy for you Red"
"Thank you, Gretchen" she smiles
"Don't worry, I'll keep it quiet" Gretchen adds
"How did you know we wanted to...?"
"You're not the only one that can read people Red" she grins as they make their way into the conference room and take a seat.
"Where the hell have you two been?!" Louis yells towards where Harvey and Donna are seated across from each other.
"Don't you know we're in crisis mood! Harvey I've been calling you all night" he adds
Harvey opens his mouth to say something, but Louis cuts him off, "Never mind your excuses, let's just get to work"
The meeting drags on as Louis goes over what the firms recovery strategy will be. Harvey is hardly listening, instead he is focused on Donna, watching as she runs her fingers through her hair and wishing his hand could do the same. He studies her lips as she answers something Louis asked that he didn't hear, subconsciously licking his own. She catches him staring and blushes, flipping her hair back over her shoulder temporarily revealing subtle bruises along her neck line from the night before. She hadn't noticed the discoloration until she follows Harvey's stare and flusters to flip her hair back over her shoulder to cover it. He has to bite his cheek to keep from laughing at her fluster.
"Harvey, are you even listening to me?" Louis snaps, snapping Harvey back to the conversation
"Sorry Louis I guess I'm just a little, distracted" he mumbles
"I'll bet you are" Gretchen smirks
"What's that Gretchen?" Louis asks
"It's just Harvey was telling me he had a way out of this, maybe we should hear him out" she bluffs
"Alright Harvey let's hear it" Louis motions for him to begin as Donna mouths a thank you to Gretchen for covering for them.
After the meeting Harvey and Louis decide it would be best to spend the afternoon doing damage control with clients. Before heading to Louis' office Harvey knocks on Donna's door. She's so focused on the files in front of her she barely hears him knock. He knows how hard today must be for her. He saw the way people were staring at her, silently blaming her for Robert's disbarment and he wishes he could have done more to protect her from the backlash. When she finally turns her attention away from the papers on her desk she's greeted with a gentle smile.
"How's it going?"
"It's been better, but you know me, I'll get through it" she smiles back
"We'll get through it" he corrects, making her heart flutter
"I have to get going and meet Louis but I wanted to make sure we're still on for tonight?"
"Of course we are"
"Perfect. I'll come by around 8?"
"See you at 8" she responds, and as he walks over and places a post it on her desk before making his way down the hall, eyes fixed on her.
She watches as he walks away and it's only once he's out of sight she reads the note he placed in her desk.
You are beautiful. Can't wait for tonight. – H
She shakes her head, smiling like an idiot as she re -reads the note before tucking it into her desk drawer and going back to work.
Across the hall Samantha and Katrina watch as Harvey pokes his head into Donna's office while they work on the task Louis has given them. Neither think anything of it until Harvey walks away and Donna is left with a smile wider than a mile.
"She seems awfully happy for someone who just royally screwed us over" Samantha observes
"You don't think?" Katrina implies
"With those two, I wouldn't be surprised" Samantha says
"Isn't she still dating that Thomas guy?" Katrina asks
"I thought so…"
"Alright Louis, let's do this" Harvey exclaims as he helps himself to a seat in Louis' office
"You seem rather chipper for someone that almost just lost his job, everything okay?"
"Honestly, I've never been better Louis"
"Then let's get to saving this firm"
Stay tuned for Ch 2 in which: Mike comes back to help out (because I need a Mike reaction) Donna & Harvey get a little bit too friendly in his office and are overheard by very surprised coworkers, Samantha questions where Harvey ran off too that night & Donna gives that file room a second thought ;)