~~ She told me that she loved me by the water fountain ~~
He'd only heard her say the words once. Three words, eight letters. But it was enough to make him realize he wanted to hear her say those words to him endlessly.
"I love you, Harvey."
She made it seem so simple. She told him she loved him while he sat in his desk chair and stared back at her, unable to tell her not to leave.
Because he loved her too.
He'd told her twice. Those three little words. Recently, in her apartment before he panicked and ran. And once years ago. It was accidental that time, the words having tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them, but then they were out there and luckily she hadn't heard them. At least, he didn't think she had; she never said anything about it.
He should have said it louder back then, told her he meant it when he said he loved her, that it wasn't a result of the circumstance; the evenin hi g they'd just spent together.
~~ She told me that she loved me and she didn't love him~~
She chose him.
She chose him over Stephen, and Mark. Time and time again she told him it was him without ever having said the words.
For Donna, it would always be Harvey.
Even when she tried to fool herself into believing it wasn't.
~~And that was really lovely 'cause it was innocent
But now she's got a cup with something else in it~~
It was simple, despite the complexity back then.
They loved each other. They chose each other. They lived in tandem without ever having to worry about the other fleeting because they abidded by an unwritten rule. They belonged to each other as much as they belonged to themselves.
Now, here he was, watching her from across the room as she sips on her scotch. Her tight black dress left nothing to his imagination except for the question that had been on a loop in his mind the entire evening; how great would it look on his bedroom floor?
He should tell her.
Cross the room and take her into his arms and claim her as the one he loved.
But he wasn't the one fetching her drinks this evening. Thomas Kessler was.
Drinking with her alone in his office long after everyone has gone home felt wrong now.
She was drinking with Thomas Kessler.
She was moving on.
~~It's getting kind of blurry at a quarter-past-ten
And he was in a hurry to be touching her skin~~
He needed to get out of this place. He'd had two drinks too many and with each passing second he loathed Thomas Kessler more.
Did he need to touch her like that?
The sight of his palms lingering over Donna's exposed back made him cringe.
With each passing moment the room got hazier, his head felt lighter and his heart shattered a little more.
It shouldn't be like this. It wasn't normal to feel ill at the sight of a client touching their COO. But he did. And he loathed the way he felt at the sight.
He loathed the jealousy that coiled in the pit of his stomach as he watched the two of them together, muttering to himself over and over that that should be him.
He would give anything not to be looking at her the way he was. But he can't help himself. Her smile drew him in and in those brief moments where her eyes locked on his, he fell at the mercy of the hazel spell she cast upon him.
~~She's feeling kind of dirty when she's dancing with him~~
It feels wrong. To be in Thomas' arms while her eyes lock on his from across the room.
He pulls her in closer and she rests her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and finding herself back in Harvey's arms at her best friend's wedding.
It happened a lot. More than she cared to admit. The visions of Harvey in place of Thomas. It made her feel dirty but she didn't know how to prevent it from happening.
Thomas joined her in the shower, Harvey's hands washed the soap of her body. Thomas whispered in her ear, she heard Harvey's faint I love you from that long forgotten about night.
She felt dirty despite having done nothing wrong.
As he watches them dance, she desires to be in his arms, tasting his kiss.
~~Forgetting what she told me by the water fountain~~
He leaves shortly afterwards, unable to take it anymore.
He knows he should have acted when he had the chance, hell he's had years, but he can't bear the sight of her in another man's arms any longer.
It was different in the past, she never seemed to get serious about anyone. This guy, he was different. The way she looked at him, smiled when she was with them.
He'd lost her, though she was never his to lose.
She'd forgotten about their unwritten rule. About that one time she told him she loved him, and those times he told her he loved her back.
~~Now he's grabbing her hips, and pulling her in
Kissing her lips, and whispering in her ear~~
Thomas pulls her in and places a firm but gentle kiss to her lips and all she can taste is regret. All she craves is the taste of scotch and strawberries and Harvey.
He whispers that she looks beautiful.
She thanks him, and frowns.
~~And she knows that she shouldn't listen~~
He should have told her she looked beautiful tonight.
That she always looked beautiful.
Maybe if he had she wouldn't be going home on Thomas' arm. Perhaps she would choose him. Love him.
~~And that she should be with me by the water fountain~~
In the end, she goes home alone with an excuse about a headache, though it's her heart that aches.
She didn't see him leave tonight, but a part of her wishes she'd left with him. Part of her wants to reinstate their unwritten rule and let herself fall in love with him. Because if she lets herself, she knows she would fall so deeply and passionately.
She could hear those words again. Three words, eight letters. She could hear them more than twice, tell him more than once, and they could have everything.