A/N: hello everyone! It's just a tiny little thing that wouldn't get out of my head / my attempt at writing myself out of the black hole that is writer's block.
As always, love to Sarah and Marie, I couldn't do life without y'all.
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what's in a name?
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The first time it happens, it's completely by accident, standing in the kitchen of his condo.
They had come home from the firm the night before and decided to spend the evening in, with him cooking and her watching (as per usual for their nights in). They'd transitioned the evening from dinner at the table to soft conversations on the couch, her head on his chest and glasses of wine on the coffee table (which had naturally progressed to whispered declarations of want in their bed).
Night faded into light and the dawn had come and they found themselves in the midst of their morning preparations. Their routine always varied. Sometimes it included early daylight sex in the bed or shower, sometimes it was a simple breakfast at the kitchen counter and other times it was just silent scrolling on phones while sipping coffee and just existing in the same ether.
The first morning it happened, it was a daybreak filled with murmured conversations and discussions of what the day had in store for them. As she was standing preparing coffee for them both, out it came. A simple and polite "Honey, can you hand me the vanilla?"
At first it didn't register, he simply followed her plea and grabbed the bottle. Then, as if jolted by a shock, his head snapped up in the direction of her face, only to take note of the slight blush gracing her cheeks and the way she could only manage to look anywhere but in his general direction.
Slower than molasses, his signature smirk took up residence on his lips, unable to fight it even if his life depended on it.
Grasping the bottle in his hand, he placed his phone down on the counter and gravitated to stand in front of her. Clearly sensing her embarrassment at the slip of the tongue she just let fly, he simply put the bottle of their sacred vanilla down in front of her, wrapped his arms around her waist and laid a gentle kiss to the side of her head.
After a mere moment, he released her from his grasp and made his way back over to his perch on the bar stool and aside from the roll of her eyes and the soft smile she lodged in response, it was as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. But they both knew it wasn't.
Following that lovely morning, the concept of endearing pet names between them became second nature. It was never something that occurred with any thought behind it. It was just a simple "Babe, are you ready to go?" or an easy "Honey, can you grab my phone?"
It was a way to search each other out when they arrived separately to his condo (or her apartment) after work or a simple encouragement at dinner with close friends to tell a certain story from the past or pass the bottle of wine at the corner of the table.
It was never something that was addressed or called out. It just became ingrained in their existence.
It became such a part of them that oftentimes it slipped out without their knowledge.
One particular time, they found themselves in a heated disagreement in the middle of a partners meeting at the office with Mike and Rachel watching them go back and forth like they were front row at Wimbledon. Then, right there in the midst of the meeting they heard "Honey, shut up and listen to me!" with the token Harvey response of "But, Donna!" Mike and Rachel just turned toward each other and smirked.
All in all, she was still Donna and he was still Harvey, but now and then they had this new terminology to define the monumental shift that had occurred between them. They had shiny new definitions to show to themselves and the world that not only were they Donna and Harvey like they had always been but now they were more.
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Thank you guys for reading! Comments / reviews / criticism are always welcome!