A/N - These two are so close to being endgame and I can't stop thinking about all the fluffy moments to come! Enjoy this quick little one-shot - it's pure fluff and romantic cuteness between our favorite couple.
It was less than two weeks before their wedding and Donna's slightly pushy but very detail-oriented Maid of Honor Rachel had been on her case for the last several days to select a first dance song for the reception. It was by Rachel's insistence that Harvey and Donna found themselves sprawled across the living room floor of their new townhouse late one Friday night, with his record collection scattered around them and her music library open on her computer.
Donna was flipping through the track lists on his records while he scrolled through her library. They sat in silence as they attempted to find a song that would capture the ins and outs of their fifteen year relationship. In talking with Rachel, she'd said that Donna would "just know" when she'd heard the right song, that'd she hear some set of lyrics and it would perfectly mirror all that she felt for Harvey. She'd said this would be easy, fun even. Well, Donna thought to herself as she flipped over what had to be the hundredth record of the night, this was not easy, and it was becoming less and less fun as the minutes ticked by.
Just as she was about to admit defeat and call it a night, she felt Harvey shift by her side, bringing her laptop closer to her. "What about this one?" he asked, pointing to a title and pulling up the lyrics on the screen before pressing play.
Donna leaned back against the front of the couch as the opening notes of Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur filled the room. They sat quietly for a bit as she contemplated the lyrics. Donna smiled as she heard the first couple of lines, but then turned to him in mock disgust when she heard the next line.
"I held your hair back when you were throwing up."
She laughed and gave him a playful shove, "Harvey, this makes it sound like we met at a kegger."
"Well," he replied coyly, "you did proposition me in a bar. What's the big difference?" he shrugged.
"I didn't go home with you," she said shortly, but with a smile on her face.
"You wanted to though," he deadpanned before placing a kiss on her cheek, just below her earlobe.
"You're an idiot," she replied as she shook her head slowly, a smile spreading across her face.
"I'm so in love with youuu," he replied, singing along to the lyrics as the song continued.
"That's great," she said, laughing, "but no."
Not yet ready to admit defeat, Harvey pulled her computer back onto his lap and kept scrolling while Donna went into the kitchen to refill their wine glasses. As she re-entered the room, he got his next selection ready to play.
"What about this?" he asked as she handed him his glass of wine and sat down next to him, cuddling into his side so she could see what he was looking at on the screen. Donna smiled and recognized the song immediately as soon as he pressed play. She'd always been a sucker for Ed Sheeran - maybe it was a ginger thing - and this song, Hearts Don't Break Around Here, was no exception. She leaned into Harvey and sighed as a smile spread across her face while she focused on the lyrics.
"I like this one a lot, Harvey, but I don't know. It feels a little too 'high school sweetheart' for us, she said, looking up at him, "I think we need something bigger."
"Donna, size is not the issue here."
"That is not what I meant and you know that," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "I just think we need something more complex, something that does justice to our whole relationship."
"Are you looking for a first dance song or a dissertation on why it took us so long to get to the altar?" he asked sarcastically while also placing a kiss on her hair.
She laughed before she replied, grabbing the computer off his lap and placed it on her own. "Now that's one way to turn this wedding into a funeral," she said as she started to scroll through her library of songs.
After a couple seconds, she decided on a song. Before pressing play, she looked up at him and Harvey couldn't help but smile at the small smirk spread across her face. "Ok," she said as she pressed play, "this is the one."
The song began, and Harvey was taken aback by the tempo - more single girls' night out than first dance as dance as a married couple. It took him a couple more seconds, but he finally recognized the song.
"Is this -" he started, shaking his head in disbelief.
"The Spice Girls?" Donna finished for him. "That'd be correct," she added with a smirk. "Say You'll Be There to be exact."
"No, Donna," he started, unable to suppress the laugh that bubbled up over his mock disgust, "there's a lot I'd do for you, but I draw the line at the Spice Girls."
"You know," Donna started as a smirk spread across her face, leaning closer to him to whisper in his ear, "I lost my virginity to this song."
Choking on the sip of wine he'd just taken, Harvey looked at her wide eyed. "This just went from a no to a hell no," he said as the song continued to play. "I'm giving you everything - isn't that a little cliche for a first time?"
"What can I say," she shrugged, "high school Donna told it like it was," she said, taking a sip of wine.
Harvey turned toward her slightly and pulled her closer to him, bringing his hand to her cheek to turn her face so his eyes met hers. His previous expression of amusement mixed with horror now replaced with soft love and affection; he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"I wish I'd known you in high school," he said, never breaking eye contact.
She smiled up at him and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped at the thought of the two of them together as teenagers.
"Do you seriously think we'd have been friends in high school?" She quipped, "me, the dramatic theatre geek and you, the no doubt arrogant jock?"
Her comment make him laugh, but his gaze stayed fixed on her, his expression never changing from that tender look of absolute adoration that Donna knew was reserved just for her. He leaned closer to her and planted a kiss on her forehead before he spoke again.
"I'd like to think that no matter the situation, we'd have defied the odds and found our way to one another."
She shook her head and smiled as she meet his gaze. Even though it'd been nearly three years since they'd gotten together, sometimes she was surprised by how far they'd come. How they'd gone from being so afraid to admit their feelings to one another to him dropping romantic one-liners in even the most casual circumstances.
She reached her hand to brush his cheek and lifted her face to press a kiss against her lips. "You're so whipped," she said as she smiled against his skin.
"Whipped doesn't even begin to cover it," he said as he reached across the floor to grab one of his records that Donna had already flipped through. Rising, he crossed the room and placed the vinyl on the record player, setting the needle in the right place.
He was back by her side as the opening notes Fate Don't Know You crackled into the room. He positioned himself behind her and pulled her back to his chest, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as her hands came to rest on his forearms. They were quiet as Donna closed her eyes and listened to the lyrics. The man's voice reminder her of Harvey's - strong and clear - and that made her smile. She felt tears prickling in the corners of her eyes as the words found their way into her heart.
You're my fire
That much is true
You're the one thing I will not lose
"Oh Harvey," she sighed, finally breaking the silence, "I love this." He didn't respond immediately, just tightened his grip on her and pulled her closer to him as the song continued.
I'll turn the tide
Pull down the moon
Run rivers dry
Battle fate for you
Let's burn the pages
We'll start anew
Right through the ages to prove
Fate don't know you like I do
"Marcus gave me this record for Christmas a few years back, before we were together," he explained, "and the first time I heard this song I just knew."
"Knew what?" she asked, turning her head to face him.
"That I've loved you for years," he said simply, before leaning in and kissing her.
"Now how can I compete with that?" she asked, smiling up at him.
"Does that mean I win?" he asked, that cocky grin that always made Donna shake her head and roll her eyes plastered across his face.
"I just have one more," she replied as she wiggled out of his grip and reached for her computer again. "Now, I know my breakfast service stops at coffee, but listen to this one," she said as she pressed play.
When Rachel had first broached the subject of first dance songs with her Make Me Better by James Blunt was the first thought to enter her brain. Initially, she dismissed it, worried that the song's brief mention of a child would intimidate Harvey. The more songs they listened to, though, the more she realized that a first dance song wasn't about finding the perfect musical interpretation of their relationship, it was finding a song that felt like them - and this one did, because he did. He made her better in every way imaginable.
His eyes were on hers as the song began, a smile spreading across his face as he heard the first couple of lines.
You made breakfast every morning
You made me sleep all through the night
You made me worry without any warning
Let me just lie here, drown in your eyes dear
"Donna," he breathed as his hand found hers, pulling her up so she was standing facing him. "Dance with me."
With one hand still clasped in hers, he brought his other around her waist, pulling her closer to him. As her free hand wrapped around his neck, she rested her chin on his shoulder and melted into him.
You are everything
I have never been
I want you to make me better
And I've been wondering
Why you let me in
I want you to make me better
"You know," he started, his voice barely above a whisper, "I don't care what song we dance to - any song that is even remotely romantic makes me think of you. So as long as you'll dance with me, it's your call.
"So it's decided then," she said as she moved her head to face him, the hand that was around his neck moving to trace the hairline on his forehead.
"What is?" he asked
"The Spice Girls," she said defiantly with a quick nod, moving in to kiss him before he could even form his rebuttal.
When the kiss broke, he looked back at her and smiled, a look of bewilderment spread across his face as he shook his head.
"You're impossible."
You are everything
I have never been
I want you to make me better
So please my darling
Take this wedding ring
I want you to make me better
As the final notes of the song echoed around the room, Donna pulled him closer to her. When she broke their hug to meet his gaze, she couldn't help the few tears that spilled out.
"Why are you crying?" he asked, as he brought the pad of his thumb to her cheek to wipe them away.
"I'm just really, really excited to marry you," she said, once again bringing her fingers up to trace the hairline on his forehead.
"Me too, Mrs. Specter, me too."
Thanks for reading, and please, as always, leave a review with your thoughts!