Prompt #40 by saoirsa4: "Donna and Harvey are flying back to NY for the holidays (with or w/out kids). Guess who else happens to be heading back east but their exes (at least 1 for each). Paula? Thomas? Mark? Scottie? Zoe? Will the flight be hours of uncomfortableness? Snarky comments? Or will everyone get closure and be able to leave in a better state (connection btw exes?)"
Annoyance is an understatement of how Harvey is feeling. Not only had he exceeded the weight limit of his luggage and had to fly without it, besides his spilled coffee and the beginning of a migraine,their flight was also delayed by three hours.
He was looking forward to spending his first Christmas as a married man in his apartment with the woman he loves in front of the fireplace, preferably without clothes. However, Louis played the Lucy card. That, and that Donna was really looking forward to seeing their friends in New York and their goddaughter. If there's someone he cannot say no to is his favorite redhead. Flipping through a magazine by his side, marriage still felt overwhelming, for he was hers and she was his.
"Why were you so annoyed by the fact they had to dispatch your luggage?" Donna asks, taking him out of his thoughts.
"Well… if you must know… I don't like to travel without my stuff because I'm almost sure they'll lose it," he explains sheepishly, scratching the back of his head and averting his gaze to the boarding sign.
"And what's the problem with that? It's not like you have anything that valuable stored in there," she reasons, closing her magazine and looking at him for the first time in thirty minutes or so. It still amazed her that they kept learning new things about each other, even after 15 years being as close as two can get without having that.
"Yeah, well...but then I'd have to go shopping and I only like to do that with you when we're buying you stuff. But you're right, it shouldn't bother me. I mean, the only valuable thing I have is traveling first class with you by my side." A Cheshire cat smile reaches his eyes with mischief, and he leans over to give his wife a peck on the lips. Count on her to lift his mood.
"Oh, no! Don't you look at me like that, mister! The last time you did that, we embarrassed more than the plane crew. I still can't face Jered in meetings without blushing!" She slaps his left arm in good humor as she snorts, remembering their little adventure 6 miles up in the air in Jared's private plane. Jared had, kindly, offered his lawyer the plane for the couple's honeymoon, only to be surprised by the stories his crew told him.
"It's not my fault he found out, and I have no regrets. Besides, we had to make the best of a client's private jet, our honeymoon and for lost time. I'd say it was a win-win-win situation," Harvey says, as cocky as ever, with a glint in his eyes, still remembering how he made her squirm under his ministrations. One of their best adventurous times if you asked him.
"It was a win-win-win all right," she adds under her breath teasingly, not referring to the same topic anymore and getting up when the call to board their flight is announced.
"Three?" He asks surprised. "I only counted two!" Harvey goes after her, not really noticing a wheeled duffle bag in his way and knocking it to the ground.
The sound of the bag hitting the airport floor and her husband's apologies make Donna turn around and then her heart skips a beat. The man for whom she almost gave up Harvey is standing right in front of her husband, also apologising. Both men never had the chance to meet each other in person, but that was about to change as she saw Mark's bewildered glare land on her.
Mark excuses himself from Harvey and goes to Donna, assuming she's traveling alone.
"Donna, it is nice to see you," he says, to be polite. It is understandable he isn't over the moon to see her as the last time they met each other she was wearing nothing under a pink Prada coat and stood in front of his hotel room about to start something, but then she left him high and dry, and didn't message again.
"Likewise, Mark," she replies, lowering her gaze to avoid Harvey's questioning look as he approaches the unknown man.
After an awkward silence, Donna introduces her husband, as not doing so would raise unwanted questions.
"This is my husband, Harvey." She motions to Harvey, who had come to stand close to her.
"That he's your husband, everybody can see." Mark tells bitterly, motioning to Harvey's hand that came to rest protectively on Donna's waist.
Before Harvey or Donna can question his hostility, Mark excuses himself as his flight is announced, leaving a bewildered Harvey and Donna behind, hoping to never meet them again.
"What the hell was that?" Harvey asks Donna, his voice low and trying to keep the subject as private as possible as they walk towards the line to board.
"I'll tell you on the plane," Donna says, buying more time to slow her heart rate.
Obviously, she doesn't have any feelings for Mark anymore. He was a man whom she sought out at a moment of weakness and almost slept with, even knowing he was a married man. Something she never thought of telling Harvey until now. Although, omitting is a sign of betrayal in Harvey's book.
The path to board and take their seats is filled with silence as Harvey tries to think of why a man would be so passive aggressive towards Donna. His name, Matt—or was it Mark?—is not strange, but he can't seem to remember his face.
"So…?" Harvey begins, as the plane is still being filled up with people.
"Mark's my ex, the one who asked me to choose between you and him." If they weren't together, she probably would've said 'the firm' instead of 'you', but they both know that would've been a lie.
"It's been a long time for him to still be upset about it, don't you think?" Harvey questions, although, if he were in the man's shoes, he would definitely sulk for the rest of his life for losing someone like Donna.
"We kind of reconnected two years ago or so," she explains, trying to delay the inevitable.
"Did you two reconcile?" Confusion is written all over Harvey's face as he's piecing everything together.
"Not really." She takes a deep breath and decides to just rip the band-aid off. "We went on a date to see if there was something there, but then he confessed he was still married."
Harvey's eyes widen at the thought of Donna, his Donna, being the culprit of someone's infidelity. Despite the sudden bile rising to his throat, he lets her finish.
"He invited me to go to his hotel room, you know?"
The rhetorical question makes him shake his head. He knows exactly what an invitation like that was for.
"But the problem is that I considered going through with it," she says above a whisper, lowering her gaze in shame.
He reaches for her hand then, so he can gather strength as well as share his.
"Why?" he chokes out.
"It's no excuse, I know. But I was feeling so lonely and I just needed to feel wanted, desired." She looks at him then, seeking understanding, but only finding empathy and concern. "I didn't do anything, though. I stopped myself from going in."
Donna sighs, feeling a weight lift off of her shoulders, even though she is still trying to gauge Harvey's reaction.
"You might have felt lonely and I know that's probably my fault, but you were never not wanted or not desired," Harvey says with tenderness and honesty as he reaches to give his wife a kiss on the forehead. "I'm so sorry if I'm to blame for the way you felt and I hope those feelings aren't part of you anymore."
Donna sniffles and tries to dry a shed tear before it ruins her mascara, shaking her head in disbelief at how much the man in front of her has grown.
"I was so scared you would've looked at me differently after, that I just put it out of my mind and never thought of telling you," Donna says, lifting her hand to caress the soft stubble on his jaw.
"Donna, even if you had gone through ...you know," Harvey says, not really able to finish the sentence. "I still would look at you the same way I do now. There's nothing you could do to make me love you any less." He shakes his head and reaches over to give her a peck on the lips.
They stay close for a minute or two, foreheads touching, barely noticing their surroundings. Just as they're about to kiss again, the last passenger to board the plane almost trips over the flight attendant, and both Harvey and Donna turn their gaze to see the commotion. Long blond hair flowing everywhere and covering the woman's face as she tries to recompose herself.
"I'm so sorry, I was scared of missing the plane," she apologizes with a very thick British accent.
Donna realizes who the woman is before Harvey does.
"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!" Donna murmurs, as annoyance runs through her veins.
"What?" Harvey asks just as the woman puts her long blond hair over the other shoulder. "Fuck!" He says as he recognizes his ex-therapist/girlfriend before Donna has the chance to answer him.
The woman has changed in the past year, now adorning longer hair and a better sense of fashion, Donna thinks. What hasn't altered, though, is the somber expression that crossed the British woman's face when she saw her former boyfriend with her, the woman he had chosen over Paula.
"Should we be the bigger ones here and say hello?" Donna asks Harvey, which throws him off a little. His wife never suggests things. She just knows what's best, but all he can assume is that she is just as perplexed as he is.
"I dunno," he answers, but has the choice made for them when the blonde passes by their seats, heading to coach, without so much as a glance in their direction, completely ignoring their existence.
"Did she see us?" Harvey questions more to himself.
"Oh, she saw us. She just chose the less awkward route." With a chuckle, Donna relaxes into her seat and grabs his hand, wanting a bit of contact.
Donna can't stop but wonder what her life would be if she hadn't kissed Harvey that night at the office while he was dating Paula. He'd chosen her back then, ending his relationship with his therapist, but it still felt as if he almost didn't choose her. Releasing a sigh of relief, she squeezes his hand in reassurance, feeling right by her choices.
After some time, the plane starts moving, and Harvey chuckles, thinking about an improbable situation.
"Imagine if the plane crashes and we get stuck on an island with her!" His joke seemed funny in his head, but there's worry in his eyes.
She plays along and lightens the mood. "Please don't jinx even more on our trip! And also, no more Survivor before bed."
Donna seems so motherly, that he gets a little at a loss for words. Maybe one day, he hopes in silence, squeezing her hand, chuckling and shaking his head.
It feels good to be in a place where they can share what happened to them and joke about the misfortune of events. Donna never thought she would have this, not because she didn't have faith in Harvey. It was just because she never thought of being so lucky. Being by his side is definitely better than anything she could've imagined, even in her wildest dreams.
Two hours and 6 miles up in the sky, Harvey wakes up from a well-deserved nap and sees Donna also stirring. After a year of waking up with his redhead by his side—or on top of him, depending on how well the night turned out—he'd thought he'd get used to it, but no. Her drowsy look and the little pout she always adorns when leaving an unconscious state still make him smile and kiss her until fully awake. And he does so, even though they're not fans of PDA, he decides it's okay when no one is paying attention or looking at them.
"Hey, sleepyhead," he greets her with his signature Cheshire cat smile crinkling the corners of his eyes.
"Hey, yourself," she responds, returning the kiss and leaving their noses touching.
"Sleep well? I mean, as well as first class allows you to."
"Yep, but now I gotta go to the restroom." She stands up and pretends to fall on his lap, almost straddling him. "Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I seem to have lost my balance."
With time, he learned to read her fake blushing and fake crying. And right now, she blushes shamelessly as he sees mischief behind her lustful and darkening gaze. It's a tease, one that's leading nowhere for at least four more hours, but it's a tease nonetheless, and he's more than keen to play along.
"That's ok, miss. If you need a hand, you know where to find me," he winks as he sees her add a sway to her hips as she moves in the restroom's direction.
Waiting for the restroom to be vacant, she can't help but listen to some women talking behind the curtain of the flight attendants' lounge.
"... and she had the nerve to kiss him while I was his girlfriend." The accent is not lost on Donna as she keeps eavesdropping.
"I mean, the man was head over heels in love with me, but he had serious commitment issues because of his mother and all."
Donna doesn't need to see the face of the woman behind the curtain to know who she is and about whom she was disclosing confidential information.
"…and for his secretary to do this cruel thing to him, knowing of his issues. I mean, how he could still marry her is beyond me."
"I know, right?" Another voice spoke with an LA accent. "When they came together on the plane, I thought they were the cutest couple, but now? Yew!"
The one who Donna assumes to be a flight attendant and a friend of Paula continues to speak condescendingly.
"Plus, he's waaaay hotter than her. I mean, he's like a ten and she's not even an eight."
They burst out laughing and Donna clears her throat. An older woman steps out of the restroom and excuses herself, and the women stop laughing as Donna says thank you to the older passenger.
The entire conversation actually makes her pity the British woman. What doesn't sit right with her, though, is the fact that the therapist was talking about Harvey's life to someone else. She was admitting details he had told her under privilege and that was not okay. So she makes a decision that she would probably regret later, but goes with her instinct, anyway.
Instead of going into the restroom, she opens the curtain and sees Paula and a flight attendant sitting in a small area reserved for the employees of the airline looking at her like two deer caught in headlights.
"Hey, Paula. I can call you Paula, right? I mean, you mustn't be a doctor anymore, as you were just disclosing private information about a patient. Because, as you must know," Donna says, directing her killing gaze to the flight attendant, "since you seem best buddies, Harvey was Paula's patient before she decided it was ethical to date him," Donna adds confidently, in contrast to her racing heart rate. "Let me make myself clear. If I hear, or as much as suspect you're talking about Harvey's sessions or about him at all, mark my words, I'll be coming after you personally, and if you haven't lost your license, which you should have, I'll be coming after that too."
The now COO takes a breath, which allows Paula a turn to speak.
"Are you threatening me?" Her question, meant as a dare, comes with a freighted tone.
"Oh, no. I don't make threats. This is just a warning. And tell your little friend to forget everything you just said, because if so much as I hear a rumor that Harvey's therapy sessions are the subject of gossip, I'll personally sue you, your friend, this airline and even your Christmas balls. And believe me when I say, you don't want to be at the end of my barrel with the team of lawyers I've got to back me up."
Donna then closes the curtain without leaving them the chance to respond and slips into the restroom. Hands still shaking, but with a proud smile adorning her face, she goes back to Harvey a few minutes later.
"What took you so long?" He asks when he sees her approaching.
"Had to take care of something else." She explains with a shrug.
"Paula?"
"Yep," she sheepishly answers.
"What happened?" he asks, his voice laced with concern and curiosity.
"Let's just say she will think twice before saying anything about you or me again," she tells him smugly, proud of herself.
No more explaining needed for Harvey. Sometimes, they don't need the full story to know that when it comes to protecting one another, they would go to the ends of the earth, so nothing and no one will hurt who they love."Poor thing… wouldn't want to be at the receiving end of Donna's wrath," he says with a chuckle, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek.
"You would know…" she says, laying her head on his shoulder.
Harvey might have bought her gifts for Christmas, but the best present is him by her side, plus the one she got herself for telling Paula off and getting closure from Mark. Their past relationships don't matter anymore and they're at peace with the choices they made along the way as it all led to where they are now.