I can't believe it's been over a year and a half since I last posted anything to this fic. It's definitely been on the back burner for a while, but I only have a few other draft chapters left so I'm really going to try and get them out. Plus I know I still owe you some new chapters for my other fics – I'm working on those too!
Anyway, I've had this chapter almost finished for months. It just came to me one day after a conversation with a friend about all the different color roses and their meanings. It was originally going to be a chapter of Can Opener Chronicles, and then I considered including it in With a Twist, but I think it makes the most sense here – although, feel free to imagine it being in that world as well.
So, long story short, I've been waiting to post it until today. Hope you enjoy – and please don't forget to review. They are truly what keeps me motivated to write,
««« ×ǁ WITH A TWIST ǁ× »»»
Ever since the shelves of her local pharmacy became full of those stupid candy hearts, she's been telling herself not to expect anything. She knows him well enough to know that he thinks the holiday is silly and that it's not something he's accustomed to celebrating.
If she had to guess, she's pretty sure he's never celebrated the day with a woman – not one he was serious about, anyway.
So, she fully expects the day to pass just like any other; she figures he won't even acknowledge or remember the date to begin with, let alone have something planned.
It's fine. It's not as if she needs flowers or chocolate or a romantic dinner.
Things are still new, they're still finding their footing; and as much as Harvey has been showing her his more romantic side as of late, she knows better than to expect something to happen today.
It's why she doesn't say anything when they wake up – his sleepy smile greeting her when she turns in his arms, planting a kiss on her lips before she can whisper a response.
They begin the day as they often do – lazy kisses in bed turning into morning sex. Per usual, it starts off slow but becomes hurried when Donna glances over his shoulder, chancing a look at the clock sitting atop his nightstand and realizing they need to get up soon.
As soon as they've caught their breath and their heartrates have normalized, he slips out of bed, takes her hand, and coaxes her into joining him for a shower.
Since it takes far less time for him to get ready, he'll usually start the coffee maker and then return to find her in the bathroom, watching as she fixes her hair and applies her makeup while he shaves his face. They'll flirt and smile at each other in the mirror and sometimes, he'll distract her with kisses on her collarbone and far from innocent touches.
The domesticity of it all is not something she expected with Harvey – even with all his fears of commitment, he's taken to it so easily.
It still causes her heart to flutter every time she lets herself think about it.
When he finally finishes with his morning routine, he doesn't leave to go get dressed. Instead, he stays and watches her put the finishing touches on her makeup and hair.
It's nice.
Eventually, they head back into the bedroom and each pick out their outfits for the day. Stepping into her dress, she can feel his eyes lingering on her body and she tries to catch him staring, but he doesn't even try to hide it. He just responds with a big smile and offers to help with her zipper. She returns the favor by tying his tie, getting up in his personal space while his hands land on her waist.
Soon, she is lured into the kitchen by the scent of the freshly brewed coffee, as Harvey follows closely behind. Except, the moment she slips out of his bedroom, she stalls in the threshold, completely taken aback by the gorgeous bouquet of lavender roses sitting on his countertop and already placed in a vase – one she has never seen before and can't believe he even owns.
She can feel his eyes on her, no doubt enjoying her stunned reaction, before he nudges her forward and follows her into the kitchen, stepping around the island to pour them each a cup of coffee.
"What are these?" She asks, her face lighting up with a grin as she steps closer to inspect the flowers. She's never even seen roses this color before, but they are breathtakingly beautiful. For one brief moment, she lets herself wonder what it means that he chose this color rose – although, she quickly dismisses the thought, absolutely sure that he has no idea each color has its own unique meaning. Still, she can't help but be curious given his unexpected choice.
"They're for you," he says, moving towards her. Resting a hand on her waist, his other palm cups her jaw, briefly directing her attention back to him. "Happy Valentine's Day," he smiles before leaning in, his lips catching hers.
When they part, the look on her face is some mixture of disbelief, confusion, and joy. She really was not anticipating this.
Stealing another look at the bouquet, she turns to meet his gaze again. "You hate Valentine's Day," she reminds him, acting as if this simple fact could have slipped his mind.
"Yeah," he says with a shrug. "But you don't," he points out.
"No, I don't," she admits.
"Hence the flowers," he relays, gesturing towards the object of conversation. "And I made reservations," he adds, looking awfully proud of himself.
"Wow," she comments, in utter disbelief. Not in a million years was she expecting this – she figured a simple acknowledgment of the day would be a win, but he's made actual plans. It's… a lot to take in. "When did you have time to do all this?" She asks, vaguely gesturing at the bouquet.
"Well, I made the reservations a couple weeks ago on my way home from the Anderson motion hearing… and the flowers… I got those yesterday," he explains.
"When?" She questions with a frown, trying to think back, wondering how she hadn't noticed. They were together the entire day, so she's not sure how he pulled this off.
"Well… I asked you to make copies of all the Davidson Global discovery responses and then I snuck out of the office to go to the florist. After Ray dropped me back at the firm, I had him swing by here to hide them in that cabinet," he says while pointing to one of the higher cabinets she can only reach when she's wearing her highest heels.
"That's so sweet. You had me spend thirty minutes doing busy work so you could buy me flowers," she teases.
"I had to keep you occupied somehow," he defends, having the decency to look sheepish while a chuckle rolls from her lips. "I wanted it to be a surprise," he adds, reaching out and circling her in his arms, pulling her close.
"Well, I'm definitely surprised," she concedes, making his grin widen.
"It's nice to know that I can get something by you if I really need to," he quips before leaning in again, his mouth searching for hers, wanting a few more kisses out of her.
"Hmm… I don't know how I feel about that," she chuckles as his lips wander down her neck.
"You love it," he murmurs against her skin causing her to laugh.
««« ×ǁ WITH A TWIST ǁ× »»»
Ten minutes later, they're in the back of Ray's car, on their way to work, and she can't resist. No matter how many times she tells herself that he has no idea about the meaning of roses and that whatever the meaning, it wasn't intentional, she just has to know the story behind the lavender roses.
After a quick Google search, she finds the article she's looking for and begins to read:
The lavender hue in roses is extremely rare and are used to express feelings that a person considers rare, exceptional, and/or intense. The lavender rose embodies femininity, elegance, grace, desire, whimsy, and wonder. Give these flowers to someone who has caught your attention, especially when experiencing feelings of enchantment or love at first sight.
Lifting her head, she glances over at Harvey and lets herself wonder if there's any way he chose that color on purpose. Not wanting to wonder for much longer, she decides to ask.
"So… " she begins, waiting for him to look at up at her. "Why lavender?" She questions, curiously. "It's a pretty unusual choice," she adds, explaining her query.
A smile quickly stretches across his lips at the inquiry. "Well, the florist asked me what color roses I wanted to get and when I made the mistake of telling her I wasn't sure, she spent a good fifteen minutes giving me a lecture on all of the different colors and what each one means," he starts to explain. "I honestly had no idea buying roses was so complicated," he scoffs. "But, after she went through every color, I don't know, I just thought that one worked," he conveys, his thumb brushing against the bare skin on her knee.
"How come?" Donna prompts, eager to find out now that she knows it wasn't some fluke and that his decision was actually intentional.
Harvey just smiles again, looking pleased to tell her. "Well… apparently, lavender roses are for someone that you have 'unique and intense' feelings about," he says, using air quotes as he imitates the florist. "She also said that you're supposed to give them to someone you're 'enchanted' by," he explains further with a warm smile.
"Wow," she replies, eyes wide in surprise. She can't believe he put this much thought into it. She almost feels bad that she expected so little from him.
"So, you're enchanted by me?" She grins, adding a slight tease to her tone.
"Among other things," he says, his smile practically causing her heart to stutter in her chest.
All she can do is lean in and kiss that cheeky smirk off his face.
When they part, she looks him over again, still in disbelief. "You are really good at this," she compliments.
"Hm?" He asks, not following.
"This whole Valentine's Day, boyfriend thing," she elaborates.
He responds by furrowing his brow, clearly not sure what she means.
"I guess I kind of figured that you wouldn't be into all of this," she clarifies. "I mean, I've never seen you celebrate Valentine's Day with anyone else you dated," she points out.
"Oh," he says, understanding washing over him. "I guess I never have," he confirms, after thinking back on it. "But, you know you're different, don't you?"
"What do you mean?" She questions.
Her eyebrows crinkle in confusion and he elaborates. "Donna, you and me… it's not like any relationship I've ever been in… with those women, I was just… I don't know…" He says, trying to find the appropriate words. "It was never going to last, it was never supposed to," he explains. "But with you, I want it to last, I want it to work," he tells her. "So yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of Valentine's Day, and I never felt the need to celebrate it before, but with you… I want to," he smiles.
She doesn't know what to say, rendered completely speechless by him. She's still getting used to this Harvey – the one who is open and vulnerable and expresses how he's feeling.
She can't quite believe that this is the man she's known for all these years – the one who rarely went on more than a handful of dates with the same woman, the one whose longest relationships were with fuck buddies, the one she used to think didn't have a romantic bone in his body.
Boy, was she wrong.
And as much as she usually hates to be wrong, she'll gladly take the L on this one.
««« ×ǁ WITH A TWIST ǁ× »»»
Okay well, I hope this wasn't too cheesy. Although, if there was ever a day for it, it'd be this one.
Please don't forget to leave your thoughts – I read every single comment and thoroughly enjoy them all. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to send them along.
Happy Valentine's Day!