A/N: Happy birthday, Nathalie! Every day I count myself lucky to have you in my life and I hope you enjoy this story and have a wonderful day and year filled with love and joy! XO


Lucky Day

.•°❤°•.

Today seems not to be Donna's day.

It had started with a throbbing headache that had woken her up way too early in the morning. Harvey had eagerly tried to kiss it away but, much to their chagrin, that hadn't worked. Upon their arrival at the office, Donna had still been waiting for the painkillers to take effect when she had gotten a text from her assistant Jill, informing her that she had taken ill and wouldn't get in for the remainder of the week. It's not that Donna wasn't still capable of doing secretarial work, but her schedule this week had already been filled to the brim with meetings and other tasks.

So, after a long and demanding day of work, where the only highlight had been lunch with Harvey, she was now on her way home, at last. And she couldn't wait to end this shitty day with some shitty Thai or whatever Harvey was in the mood for.

Crossing the last big street before she arrives in their new neighborhood, Donna's phone starts vibrating in her pocket, announcing an incoming call from her husband. Speak of the devil! Donna gives a quiet smile and answers it.

"Harvey."

"Hey, where are you? Is everything alright?"

His soft and familiar voice, although sounding a bit worried, instantly relieves her of some of the stress she's carried around with her for the last few hours.

"I'm on my way," Donna says over the noise of the passing cars and fellow pedestrians, "I was just dropping off Ray's birthday present at the post office because Jill didn't get around to it yet. Why? Do we have plans that I forgot about?"

"You didn't forget anything." Harvey reassures her and his voice turns even softer than before. "I just thought you'd be home by now and I miss you."

The warmth and comfort of his words wrap themselves around her and relax her even more. It still amazes her every other day how Harvey can make everything seem alright by just saying a few words.

"Sap. I miss you, too." Donna smiles and she can practically hear him smiling, too. "I'm almost there. See you very soon!"

The occasional "when will you be home?" or "I miss you" isn't unusual by any means, but Donna can't shake the feeling that this is different. She'd been surprised when Harvey had told her earlier that day that he wouldn't get back into the office after his meeting with a client in the afternoon and head straight back home instead. Even though they weren't working as long into the night anymore as they regularly did back in New York, it was still an unusually early time for him. Besides, he rarely missed an opportunity to go home together, now that they finally could.

Turning around the next corner, Donna gets hit by a fresh February breeze that disrupts her thoughts. She clutches the sides of her coat closer to her body and hurries down the street, her anticipation to get home to Harvey now fueled by his call.

.~*~.

Everything is perfect. Harvey rechecks the table for the second time and everything is still perfectly laid. The candles, the flowers, the napkins, the place mats, all the crockery and cutlery they could possibly need—they are all there, each in their proper place and set up with a precision that rivals the table settings for a formal dinner at Buckingham Palace. Still, he checks it once again in a vain attempt to calm his nerves.

Today was a special day for him, or rather, a special day for them both. One that he speculates Donna isn't aware of, which is something that he plans on changing tonight, and surprise her with a home cooked candlelight dinner in the process.

Once everything had been ready and prepared for Donna's arrival, Harvey had swiftly changed into a fresh shirt and had thrown a glance at the time. On a usual day, they would have both been home by then, leaving the office together at a decent time compared to their working days turned nights in New York. When he'd heard this morning that Jill was on sick leave, though, he'd suspected that Donna wouldn't get out of work as early.

When she'd still not been home half an hour after she'd texted him that she was on her way, he'd picked up his phone and called her. Knowing his wife, Harvey had wanted to make sure she was okay and not held up at the office after all.

Expecting to hear her at the door any minute now, he absentmindedly tugs at his sleeves, and runs his hand through his hair. He doesn't even know why he's nervous; the moments he is becoming less common the longer they're together, while he grows more confident and secure in their relationship. He knows that there's nothing to worry about. It's just that the day means something to him—means everything to him—and he hopes she understands.

A sip of cold water soothes the buzz a little and when a jingle of keys announces that his wife is finally home, he heads out of the kitchen to meet her.

"Hey," Donna says as she spots him.

"Hi. There you are."

With her nose a tad red from the chilly wind outside, he wants nothing more than to press a kiss on it but keeps himself in check to help her take her coat off first.

As soon as her scarf, beanie and gloves have joined the coat on the coat rack, Donna thanks him with a kiss and slumps into his arms. Her hands leisurely caress his lower back and he brushes his nose along her temple, breathing in the smell of fresh air and vanilla.

"You have no idea how happy I am to be home." She sighs and the words come out slightly muffled by his chest.

But, yes, Harvey does have an idea when he suddenly feels her stiffen against him. He pulls back as much as their position allows and meets her quizzical gaze with one of his own.

"What is this?" she asks and brings one hand to his chest, poking it weakly.

"A shirt," he deadpans, enjoying it way too much to tease her.

"No shit, Sherlock." Donna rolls her eyes but a twitch of her lips tells him that she knows what he's doing.

"I thought we were staying in tonight," she adds, brows furrowed, and her eyes not leaving his.

Her puzzled look is outright adorable and he seizes the moment to finally press a kiss on her rosy nose before nudging it with his own.

"We are," he confirms, and takes her hand from his chest to lead her to the living room, deciding to show her rather than tell her.

She follows him closely, an intrigued look on her face that turns into an encouraging smile when he darts another glance at her over his shoulder, his heartbeat quickening in response.

Harvey comes to a halt at the open doorway of the room and feels Donna's hand tightening its hold the moment her gaze falls onto the bountiful dinner table.

"Harvey," she says his name in wonder, eyes wide, and she takes another step closer to the table.

Harvey uses the opportunity of her hand slipping out of his grasp to leave her side and put on a vinyl. Having forgotten to change the record after it ended during his dinner preparations, his fingers find the one he's looking for in no time, and as soon as the first note permeates throughout the room, he gets back to her side.

"What is this?" Donna points one finger at the table.

Hearing that question for a second time in about five minutes, a grin tugs at Harvey's mouth. Their eyes lock and before he can give her an answer, she turns her raised finger towards him and the look on her face, brows raised as well, tells him to not even dare say 'A table',or he might have to move out that very night.

Harvey decides he would rather stay. "Do you know what day it is?"

"Wednesday," Donna says, dragging the word out as it is obvious her mind is working in overdrive, trying to remember how this day, one and a half week into the month of February and four days before Valentine's Day, would be a reason for Harvey to surprise her with a romantic candlelight dinner.

"Well, yeah. That's true." Harvey smirks, and knowing this is not the moment to continue this guessing game endlessly, he adds, "It's also the anniversary of the day that changed my life."

Both of them know the anniversary of their first and second time isn't for another few months, just like their wedding day, and Harvey is able to discern on Donna's face the exact moment when the penny drops.

"Your lucky day," she says with a shake of her head that's barely visible and swallows.

"My lucky day."

Harvey steps closer and takes her hand in his, craving the connection to ground himself and sensing it's what she needs as well. It's the earliest memory they share and, as much as they're already in a really good place where their loaded past is concerned, thinking about the past often still brings a myriad of other memories and emotions in its wake.

"I can't believe you remember what month that was, let alone the exact date."

She shakes her head more noticeably now and turns to stand in front of him.

"Shouldn't you be pretty familiar with my sentimentality by now?" he quips which elicits a smile from her.

After they'd gotten together for good that one night where he'd gone from feeling empty to feeling more than he ever thought someone could feel, Harvey had started to celebrate every first and every milestone they reached, secretly enjoying it mostly because of the fact that Donna was always teasing him about it.

"I should," Donna says, and reaches for his other hand to pull him into her arms as if she masters the balance of gravity, knocking him off his feet with a searing kiss.

The smooth jazz music playing in the background is temporarily drowned out by the ringing in his ears and the thumping of his heart as her mouth is closely followed by her body, now flush against his, the smell of her hypnotic beyond reason, and if they don't stop this very soon—

Without giving Harvey the chance to finish his thought or even act on it, her lips wander down, peppering kisses along his jaw, and when her mouth arrives there, sucking a little, his eyes close and he surrenders. She's everywhere and suddenly his lower legs are hitting the couch and with one little push, he's flopping down. Before he can catch some much-needed breath, Donna is straddling him and reconnects their lips hungrily.

"Donna," he pants and tries to stop the hand that is slowly trailing down his abdomen, with his other simultaneously shoving the blanket aside he'd landed half on top of. "This wasn't my plan."

At last, she pulls back and meets his eyes with a raised eyebrow.

"Not yet anyway." He concedes with a chuckle and squeezes her waist. "I didn't set the table just to impress you with my footman skills. I prepared dinner."

Donna laughs. "And I'm really looking forward to it. But don't you think I should take care of this first?" she asks, rolling her hips further into his lap and he hisses in response, more blood rushing south. "Because today is your lucky day, right?"

A groan escapes his lips, his whole body tingling with anticipation.

"And why is that?" he asks, playing along. That moment forever ingrained in his mind and heart.

She leans toward him, her mouth brushing his cheek and her breath is hot against his ear, causing goosebumps to spread all over him.

"Because it's the day you met me," she breathes and then very gently tugs with her teeth on his earlobe.

"Gosh, Donna," he manages to croak out and springs into action, moving his hands from her waist over her bottom and down her thigh to shove the material of her dress aside. One hand is holding her waist while the other is making its way to her center, stroking his thumb over it and she bucks her hips and lets out a whimper of pleasure.

"Harvey," she gasps as he dips his fingers into her panties, and another wave of heat washes over him as he realizes how ready she already is.

After getting rid of the small piece of fabric and pulling down his own pants, Donna is back on top of him in a flash, keeping him from shuffling them off completely.

He doesn't have time to mind, though; the cool sensation of her wedding band against his neck sending a shiver down his spine with such an intensity that when she's freeing him from his boxers, stroking him once, twice, he has to stop her or this would be over faster than they'd thought.

For a moment, he is not sure if he dreamed this moment to life, the raw emotion in his wife's eyes looking back at him, however, too captivating to be a product of his imagination. Their mouths clash in desire a couple of heartbeats later, tongues dancing passionately, when she finally sinks down on him, trying to get closer still.

It's like time stopped altogether in a collision of senses as they start to move. His body reacts to hers instinctively. Just like it had done from the very first moment over a decade ago, only now he gets to experience it in the most intimate way possible. The feeling is intoxicating and he teases her with a slight change in angle while his mouth dives into her neck.

Soon, Harvey notices how her movements lose rhythm, her hands gripping his shoulder a little tighter and one determined push of his thumb against her bundle of nerves sends her over the edge. The currents of pleasure running through her have her clench around him and he follows her close behind.

With their foreheads and souls touching, their breaths mingle in the space between them while they bathe in the afterglow of their love. The jazz music coming from the record player only now starts to find its way back into their perception.

"Donna, you don't know how much it means to me that we're finally doing this." Harvey is the first to break the spell, threading his fingers tenderly through her silky hair.

"Having sex?" Donna asks and she leans back a little to look him in the eye with a teasing smile.

"That, too." Harvey chuckles and his heart swells with love and happiness, a feeling that overwhelms him every now and then in moments like these when there's only Donna and he feels like nothing else will ever matter again. "Celebrating this day together," he clarifies after another moment.

He can see his words sinking in slowly and her eyes widen at the realization. "'Finally'? Do you mean… this isn't the first time you're celebrating this day?"

Harvey shakes his head and glances down at his hands on her thighs before looking back up where he finds her eyes looking curiously back at him. "Every year, on this day, I..." His gaze drifts into the distance over her shoulder, all of a sudden finding it difficult to put it into words. "I sort of celebrated..."

"Sort of?" Donna asks, placing her hands on top of his in reassurance.

"You know, we always had Del Posto. That was our day, our work anniversary, so it was appropriate—even though it always felt as if it was more than that but that's not the point—"

When Harvey straightens himself on the couch, shifting into a more comfortable position, both are reminded of the state they're still in.

"Wait a minute, I'll be right back." He motions for her to climb off him, so that he could quickly fetch some tissues from the sideboard; and before he knows what's happening, Donna shrieks and his arms flail in the air, searching for something to hold on to as his upper body is trying to move forward but his feet are locked in place. Unable to keep his balance, he lands on his knees and hands in front of the couch, grateful for the thick rug softening his fall.

As soon as Donna can sense that he's not hurt, the momentary silence is replaced with her hearty and infectious laugh.

"Sorry, Harvey." She bends forward to reach out to him, still chuckling. "But this looked hilarious. Are you okay?"

"My pride took a bit of a hit," he says and can't stop the grin from taking over his face, being fully aware of the unintentional hilarity of the situation. Slowly, he moves to sit down and inspects his wrists for any harm. "But otherwise, I'm fine."

Taking care of the culprit at his feet, Harvey stands up and this time pulls his pants up with him.

"You could work on your execution score," Donna quips and they're both still laughing when he joins her again and they clean up for their celebratory dinner.

.~*~.

"So, Del Posto was our day." Donna revisits their earlier conversation before they'd paused it longer than expected.

The candles on the table bathe everything in a warm and golden light that causes Donna's hair to glow even more fiery red. Harvey had just poured them both a Sangiovese that perfectly pairs with the—he would say quite delicious-smelling—lasagna and salad on their plates. At this point in the evening, they were both starving and after clinking glasses, very eager to get to the culinary part of the celebration.

"Yes, Del Posto was work," Harvey states and takes a sip of his wine. "This anniversary, however, felt more personal. Because to me it wasn't about work, it was just about you."

It was the day he had looked into her eyes for the first time. Harvey knew that people meet for the first time all the time, so it was kind of ridiculous to feel this way about it; that's what he'd used to tell himself. It shouldn't have been such a big deal and still, that moment, that day, meant the world to him. Because it was the day he got to meet Donna. It was the day he first laid eyes on his future.

When he meets Donna's gaze over their dinner, he sees understanding, affection and love. So much love.

Balancing the professional and personal life had always been a walk on the tightrope for them and they didn't always manage it very elegantly to put it nicely. Celebrating this day together would definitely have meant a rather dangerous jump.

"How did you 'sort of' celebrate it then?" Donna asks before she maneuvers another bite of the lasagna onto her fork. "This is delicious by the way," she adds before he can answer her question, pointing with her knife at her plate. "Didn't expect anything less, though."

Her eyes sparkle in the candlelight when she looks at him and he doesn't hide the smugness as he briefly smiles back at her.

"Oh, actually, we celebrated together. Most of the time." He carries on.

"Oh?"

Harvey swallows and then elaborates, "Not celebrating with you officially didn't mean I couldn't celebrate with you at all."

Donna's eyes widen at the realization of what he's implying whereas plenty of new question marks appear above her head at the same time.

"One year, I could convince you to stay late at the office and I opened a very expensive bottle of scotch for the occasion." The scotch had been awful and he recalls how they'd joked about suing the distillery for taking people's money for that shit.

"Oh, was that—?" Judging by Donna's pulled down eyebrows and wrinkled nose, she remembers it all as clearly as him.

"Yep." He chuckles. "Another year, we dined at that new fancy place, La Liberté. I told you it was to check it out for a potential new client "

"Zach Almondy."

"Yeah." Harvey nods. He shouldn't be surprised that she remembers, even though it has been six or seven years ago.

"The food was spectacular and you still didn't go there with him."

Although it wasn't a question, it sounds like one and he finds her watching him with an inquiring gaze when he lifts his head.

"No, I didn't," he says, and after another second he adds, "I just wanted to spend that evening with you doing something we wouldn't normally do."

Harvey watches as her expression changes from curious to emotional in a heartbeat at his confession. Her eyes well up and she slowly shakes her head, reaching her left hand out to cover his.

He knows that it's a lot to take in for her. Finding out there's been so much love this whole time would never not touch their souls deeply and heal their heart and minds some more, a bit at a time. They'd realized very soon that whilst they'd shared the better part of the last fifteen years of their daily lives with each other, there'd been even more that they hadn't shared. Thoughts, feelings, emotions. It had eaten away at them, day by day, and sharing it now and talking about it works like an efficient remedy.

Harvey continues to tell her about more special lunches, shopping sprees, late nights and seemingly random gifts she'd received every other year. All in celebration of their lucky day, all without Donna being aware of the real reason behind Harvey's initiative and generosity. All because Harvey had been afraid of what it would or could mean that commemorating that day with her was of more importance to him than his birthday or any other day of the year.

"All those years," Donna says in a quiet voice as it all sinks in. "And I didn't know."

She stares into the distance for a moment, until her misty gaze shifts back to his.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Harvey asks when he recognizes sadness in her eyes.

"It's just… the thought of you celebrating us but keeping it to yourself, celebrating it in secret. To know it meant so much to you. All this time…" she trails off and a tear finds its way down her cheek. Harvey wordlessly wraps his hand around hers on the table, his thumb caressing her knuckles. "It makes me sad and fills me with so much warmth all at once. What happened to 'Harvey Specter doesn't do anniversaries'?"

And just like that, bright smiles light up both of their faces again.

They'd always had their yearly "date" at Del Posto, the day she started to work for him. Additionally, they—more or less knowingly—had celebrated this day, the day they met. After tonight, Donna probably wonders how many more anniversaries she's going to discover in the future.

"We could've taken the day off. Maybe even planned a short vacation," she says after a short moment of silence.

"I'd love that. We can do that next year."

"That's settled, then." Donna raises her glass to that and from one moment to the next a mischievous twinkle appears in her eyes. "I just remember something I never told you."

"I'm all ears. But first," he says and moves to get up. "Let me get us the dessert."

Harvey wastes no time in dishing up the dessert—a scoop of vanilla ice cream, strawberries and a blob of whipped cream to top it all of—which Donna regards with a very suggestive look as soon as she lays eyes on it.

"There's more in the fridge for later," he responds to her unvoiced thoughts and moves to refill their glasses.

"Good." She smirks and the first spoonful of ice cream disappears in her mouth.

Trying to shake off the distracting thoughts and images that are now flowing through his mind, Harvey lowers his gaze to his own bowl, and clears his throat.

"Right," Donna says, picking up on what's going on, and changing the topic. "So, that evening at the bar, I was there with Joyce having drinks. She was relatively new at the DA's office—newer than me anyway—and I kind of took her under my wing. You probably never talked to her or even met her," she adds with a chuckle, clearly being certain of it and probably also right. "When I spotted you and told her about my plan, she told me I was completely mad. Not because she thought you would never take me on, but because you were a 'real douchebag'—her words, not mine—and I should rather quit right away than end up as one of your 'conquests' and soil my reputation."

Harvey can't help but grin as he pictures the conversation in his mind. The image of Donna with bangs, and determination and mischief in her eye, still as fresh in his mind as if it happened yesterday.

"Yeah." She rolls her eyes at the memory and slightly shakes her head. "She was ready to drag me out of the bar to prevent me from talking to you. Needless to say, I put her in her place."

"Well, I could be quite douchey back then." He tilts his head and a cautious smile tugs at his lips.

"You could. But she obviously neither knew me very well, nor you." Donna points with her spoon at them respectively before it seeks out the last of her strawberries.

"I'm glad you didn't listen to Joyce."

Their gazes lock over the table once more, filled with emotions, and in that very second the whole weight of that moment so many years ago hits them again with full force.

While Harvey doesn't want to think about the possibility of Donna not having come up to him that day, it's also quite futile to ponder over the what-ifs. For Donna had set her mind on working for him and he knows better than anyone that, if that had been the case, she wasn't going to be stopped.

As he feels himself getting lost in her hazel eyes, she breaks the eye contact to reach for her napkin and swiftly dabs her mouth. Without another word, she stands up and rounds the table—the way she carries herself and the intensity in her gaze causing his body to react before his mind is able to catch up.

When she pulls him up from his chair, his heart is already racing, and when her lips capture his her tongue immediately seeking entrance he believes it skipped a beat.

Spurred on, he wants to bring her closer, but Donna doesn't let him, step by step luring him away from the table and to the direction of their bedroom. Despite the rather unpleasant distance, he feels the heat increase steadily between them, and she tastes of strawberries and cream and vanilla.

"I haven't finished my dessert yet," Harvey teases as they break apart for air, the double meaning not lost on him.

"We can finish it together."

Her words send another wave of heat through his body and then she kisses him again, this time stepping closer, and guiding them back towards the table.

"I like the sound of that," he gasps out and grabs his bowl with one hand, the other still holding tightly onto his wife's, as they stumble their way into their bedroom.

.~*~.

Pure bliss envelops them both when they lie entangled in each other's arms, heartbeats and stars aligned, much like on that fateful evening over a decade ago. That day, just as tonight, had taught them that you never truly know what comes next. You never know what each new day has in store for you. What Donna and Harvey know very well, though, is that every new day—no matter how bad or hopeless it might have begun—can turn out to be one of the most special and lucky days of your life.

.•°❤°•.


A/N: Thank you for reading! As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

And, Caro, thank you so much once again for your amazing help and friendship! XO