Prompt #25 by CarolPrince82: "X Times Harvey Found A Redhead Snooping Through His Stuff. Preferably spanning both precanon and canon. Three examples/possibilities: First time - Precanon - Donna rummaging through his records and notices he has no holiday music in his records. Second time - canon and snooping through his drawers on Christmas morning looking for something warm to wear. Third time - their kiddo on Christmas morning again trying to snoop into the presents before it's time to open them."
1. First day at the D.A.'s office
Harvey nods left and right, wordlessly greeting his fellow ADA's as he walks back to his office. He brings the cardboard cup back to his lips, taking a sip of the coffee he picked up on his way back from court. He licks his lips and frowns as he stares down at his regular order.
It's strange because he's only been introduced to vanilla being included in the beverage this morning, but his go-to already tastes strange. It tastes different.
He chuckles to himself at the thought. He'd been amazed by Donna's presence since she introduced herself. She surprised him again this morning; deep down, he feels he'll be in for a lot more surprises with her by his side.
Good or bad, he isn't sure of yet.
He then rounds the corner, walking straight up to the cubicle where she's supposed to sit – except she isn't. He stalls, turns to look over his shoulder and back at the desk as if she were to reappear magically.
He knows she mentioned slipping out for auditions here or there, but surely she wouldn't do so on their first day together.
Apprehensively, he approaches her desk and then spots her auburn hair from the corner of his eye. An involuntary smile tugs on his lips as he deposits the cup in the bin and lingers in the doorframe. It takes a second for her to notice him, and when she does, she straightens up as if she has been caught red-handed. He doesn't know her well enough or at all truly, but he finds this odd reaction for her.
"What are you doing?"
Donna shifts on her spot, locking her hands behind her back as she flashes him a quick smile.
"Nothing."
"Nothing," he parrots. Gaze trained on the redhead, he steps into his office. He closes the distance between them in three strides, but she turns on her spot and moves to the door-opening, trading places.
She catches how his brow twitches, how he looks around the small office and then back to her. He doesn't speak, but the question is apparent nonetheless.
"Fine," she sighs, briefly lifting her hands to signal her innocence. "I saw a bug."
He huffs and shakes his head. "A bug, really? That's what you're going with," he answers, his tone more playful than accusatory as they have yet to figure one another out. However, he moves the pencil box on his desk just so, eyeing her when he pretends to fix its placement.
"Uhum," she nods, her gaze moving to his hand and then back to his face. She knows she got caught but is too proud to admit it. In fact, she'd only been in here to learn more about him; Donna knew enough to make her decide she wanted to work for him a week ago, but now that she does, she wants to know more – especially after Tina's reaction upon her arrival. "I heard how you are when it comes – "
"Okay," he cuts her off right there. "This has been fun and all, but I have actual work to do."
She presses her lips into a thin line, nods once and then retreats to her desk in front of his office. It's not even half an hour later when the intercom light switches on, and her name blares through it. It's the first of habits they'll build over the years.
A knowing grin spreads across her face, and she looks over her shoulder once in his direction. Knowing now that the little titbit of knowledge Tina left behind is confirmed, a soft laugh escapes the redhead's lips before she gets up to save him.
.
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2. First day at Pearson Hardman
He's known this day would come the day Jessica offered to pay him to go to Harvard, and he had dreamt about it for years. More often than not about it coming sooner than agreed upon, but now that it's here, it's a little strange. It's a little different.
Leaving the D.A.'s office was abrupt and not how he ever imagined it going – this includes the betrayal from his mentor and everything involving Donna. Don't get him wrong, he's pictured nights with her practically every day since they met, yet nothing could have prepared him for it. The laughter shared, the desire explored, the fee –
He shakes his head to discard the thought, gets out of the elevator and stares down at the best distraction for unwanted thoughts – Louis Litt, except the man has to bring her up anyway. Nagging questions of how Jessica could allow him to have a secretary drift to the back of his mind as he thinks of her; in a way, one should not think about one's secretary.
It's only been four days.
"Okay, this has been…Whatever," Harvey says, with a shake of his head. "I have a secretary to put to work."
It's a lie cause in the couple of months they've worked together, he's never had to tell her a thing, but Louis doesn't know this yet. However, He is kind of giddy to see her, as if he needs to make sure she really did agree to follow him- that she's there.
Except when he spots the cubicle in front of his tiny office, she isn't.
The way his stomach drops and then makes a summersault when he catches a glimpse of her in his office is something he tries to ignore. He takes a moment to simply watch her from afar, to remind himself that he got what he wanted. Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his dress pants, he slowly walks past her cubicle and leans against the open door frame.
"Careful."
"Ooh my god," she yelps, the record she was holding sliding from her grasp and even though she manages to catch it, they both hear the scratching sound of her nail going over the vinyl.
She can barely look at him, and he doesn't have to ask, but she holds up the cover anyway to show him which one it is. He doesn't speak, a stark difference from what his reaction would have been a week ago, but they're still trying to find themselves.
She bites down on her lip, slides the record back into its cover and places it back where it came from. "I'm so sorry, Harvey," she says at last. "I can get you a new one."
"It's fine," he says, dismissing it as he rounds his desk and drops into his chair. "What were you even doing anyway?"
She shrugs once, carefully letting her fingertips trail over the stack of records. "Just looking," she admits. "Since this is the famous collection you've been talking about non-stop."
It's an exaggeration; he's mentioned it a handful of times, but he gets the gist of what she's doing. Finding a subject to distract him, to make sure they're okay. That whatever it is they are now and agreed upon isn't ruined after barely a day of working together again. He decides to play along. "Found anything you like?"
She hums, scans the cabinet again and pulls out a single from his collection. He laughs at the cover. He should have known she'd pick that one.
"You are missing some classics, though."
"Am not."
"You are."
He huffs, crosses his arms and shakes his head. "Enlighten me then."
"You do not have one Christmas record."
The smile she flashes him before her statement should have given it away; he instantly shifts in his chair, head shaking. "No."
She answers with a sly smile, and that's the end of their conversation. Apart from the scratched record, he forgot all about it. That's until Christmas comes around, and he finds a box on his desk that's suspiciously the exact same size as a record, and the memory of her grin reappears.
His stomach drops a little, and his, albeit masked, child-like excitement at finding a present dampers as he hesitatingly unboxes it.
It contains a record indeed, but not the one he was fearing.
A bright smile spreads across his face as he now holds a first-edition Miles Davis in pristine condition - it's far more exclusive than his ever was, and he has no clue how she got her hands on it. But it cements the thought he's had every single day since they came to Pearson Hardman - he's glad he didn't have to find out what his life would be like without her.
.
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3. First morning at Harvey's apartment
He wakes slowly, stretching one limb after the other, reaching out for her, and he only opens his eyes when he comes up empty.
The spot next to him is still warm and reassures him enough, but it's only when he hears a drawer being opened and then closed again that his heart rate settles into its regular rhythm.
He lifts his head to peer in her direction. She doesn't seem to notice he's awake, and he takes the opportunity to watch her for a moment. Slowly and as quietly as possible, he pushes himself to sit against his headboard, his eyes still trained on the back of her auburn hair.
When she repeats her motions with another drawer, he chuckles and catches her flinch. Hand over her heart, she turns around to face him, his name leaving her lips in a soft scold as if he's to blame, and he didn't just catch her red-handed going through his stuff.
He's used to it now after all these years.
"Did you find what you're looking for?"
Donna opens her mouth to speak and closes it again right after, pursing her lips once before she flashes him a bright smile.
He watches her walk towards him then, crawling over the bed until she's straddling him.
"Yeah," she whispers, bringing her hand to his cheek. "You."
"Smooth," he answers with a laugh. His hands automatically coming to rest on the redhead's thighs. He gives her a gentle squeeze, looks at her inquisitively, then asks again. "What were you doing?"
"Ooh, you know. Just a little snooping," Donna admits. They both know it's one of her habits. It's the first time she admits to doing it, though.
"You're telling me," he starts, dragging his hands up to her waist. "In all these years you've had to drop something off here, you've never once looked around."
She starts her protest but quickly closes her mouth again, making him grin in victory. She lets her fingers trail down his neck to his collarbone, tracing a pattern between a few moles before her hand rests over his heart. "Never your bedroom, though."
"Why not?" He questions, "You'd think that if one were to look, another's bedroom would be on the top of the list."
Donna shrugs and sighs softly. "Felt too much," she answers at last. "Like this was always that one room I'd never belong in."
"You do belong." He says, pulling her in for a quick kiss, but she pulls back before he can touch his lips to hers.
"Wait," she mumbles, creating a little bit more distance between them. "What do you mean, bedroom would be - did you?"
She doesn't even have to look at his face to get the answer to her question, and she isn't sure whether to act surprised or impressed. "When?"
"That time you had your parents stay at my condo."
"But you stayed in a hotel."
He nods but shrugs at the same time.
"What were you even looking for?
He thinks about it for a moment. It hadn't been his intention to do so. Hell, it hadn't even been his intention to show up at Donna's place, but with the sudden appearance of her parents in the city, she'd forgotten to hand him her notes, and when he called, she'd informed him they must still be in her bag on her couch.
She was the one to remind him that he also had a key to her place.
Except her bag had not been on the couch, nor anywhere else in the living room for that matter. Thus, Harvey had to look around, which is actually quite different from snooping.
"Nothing in particular," he answers, pulling on the fabric of his dress shirt that's loosely buttoned up around her frame. He lets his thumb run over one of the buttons, then undoes it. "Though," he muses now, continuing his mission of undressing her. "Seeing some pieces in your closet you hadn't worn since the D.A.'s office made me wonder if you still had that lilac slip dress."
She inhales deeply when his index finger touches her bare skin, eyes closing for a moment as she revels in his caress. She comes to with a soft smile on her face. "I do."
"Do?" he repeats, ears perking up at the present tense she used just now. "As in, you still have it?"
Donna grins and hums when his palm slides over her side, thumb slowly running over her breast. "Yeah, it's in a box under my nightstand."
"The dark blue one with the –" He doesn't come around to pronouncing the rest of his question or even processing the meaning behind storing that particular piece of clothing alongside her toys when she leans in and kisses him.
"Good thing you became a lawyer."
He's the one to pull away now, ever so slightly. "What's that supposed to mean."
She trails a finger over his brow, nose, and lips. "You'd make a terrible detective."
"Ooh," he huffs, bobbing his head toward the cabinet. "And you did find what you're looking for, huh?"
"Yeah," she whispers, cupping his jaw and pulling him closer again. "I did."
.
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4. First night at Harvey's apartment after getting engaged, sort of, but not officially
When he comes home, the lights are on, a record is softly playing in the background, and her book is placed open, page down on the couch. Except his favourite redhead is nowhere to be seen.
Harvey tosses his keys in the bowl on the kitchen counter, placing the shitty Thai he picked up on his way home next to it, and he's this close to calling out, "Honey, I'm home," when he hears her footsteps in their bedroom.
Smiling to himself, he walks over as quietly as possible, coming to a halt at the threshold. He leans against the wall and watches his girlfriend rummage through the cabinets. In particular, the drawers he didn't clear for her. When he hears her sigh, a thought about last night crosses his mind, and he smiles to himself.
"Just so you know, the ring isn't hidden there."
"Ooh my god," Donna mutters, nearly falling over in surprise. She covers one hand over her heart, her other arm clinging to the drawer.
Harvey's smile falters at her reaction, quickly striding towards her and helping her upright. When she's safely in his arms and manages to crack a smile, he laughs too and pulls her in for a quick kiss. "Hey."
"Hey," she sighs, linking her hands behind his head, losing herself in his eyes for a moment before his words finally sink in. "Wait," she mumbles then, her hands sliding to his shoulders as she leans back and searches for his gaze. "This isn-t"
He shakes his head and lets his hands slowly trail from her back to her butt, pulling her flush against him. "Still not how I'm going to ask you, no."
She stares at him in surprise, opens and closes her mouth, and quickly peeks toward the drawer.
"Nuh-uh."
"But you –"
Harvey shrugs this time, bobbing his head to the side while flashing Donna his signature smirk.
She feels as lost for words as last night and just as happy at the same time. "I hate you."
"Nah," he laughs, giving her a quick kiss. "You love me, and you want to marry me."
His words come out a little teasingly, but she smiles up at him, her fiancé-to-be, all the same.
Deep down, she knows they'll get there, and even if they never tie the knot, they'll be together forever, which is what matters most. She also knows that even though Harvey's made up with his mother, a part of him still considers marriage as something to avoid, something that can only go wrong.
She knows they could and will make it work. Therefore, it doesn't matter when or if he ever gets down on one knee or if they ever make it down the aisle to utter those two words, but Donna needs him to know she's all in too, so she says them now: "I do."
.
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5. First Christmas in Seattle
Their house looks like Santa's workshop itself. He's always known that Donna is a huge holiday fanatic, asking for Halloween off every July, but it's Christmas when she goes all out. Except before, he'd only been privy to her decorating skills when it came to the yearly office party, and now, it's their entire home.
And while he doesn't particularly care for garlands or fake snow, seeing the child-like smile on his wife's face whenever she spotted something they needed to have, he could not say no.
He even added an ornament of his own – a mistletoe.
So he lets her go all out with string lights, indulges her with every Christmas movie she wants to watch and drinks more hot chocolate this week than in his entire life before because if it makes her happy – it makes him happy.
And he loves learning new ways to accomplish that. He also loves learning how things he's known about for years unfold now that they're together. So when Christmas rolls around, it is no surprise that he finds her tiptoeing around the tree in the early morning, moving decorative presents around.
He smiles to himself and drops down on the couch. It's enough to alert Donna of his presence, and she flashes him a bright smile before continuing her search. Harvey watches her pick up another box, shaking it a little in the air, before placing it down. "I thought you said we wouldn't do presents."
Harvey catches the way she freezes on her spot, trying her best to keep smiling but falters just a little as the box she was holding slowly slides out of her grasp as she stammers a response.
He chuckles to himself. "I got you," he reasons, knowing damn well that even if she did say that, he has to get his wife something anyway. "But you're not going to find it there."
She pretends to look annoyed now but fails. "I wasn't looking for my present."
"You weren't?"
"Nope," she shakes her head, lifting another box and shaking it before she approaches him. "I was looking for your present."
"My present?" he repeats, eyeing the box suspiciously now. She's covered it in the same wrapping paper as all the other, definitely empty, ones around the tree – clearly in order to hide it for him.
Donna nods and motions for him to unwrap it, and he does. He hesitates, but he does. A frown appears on his face when he pulls out a monstrosity of a red sweater – honestly, the term 'ugly Christmas sweater' had to be invented for this.
"Do you like it?"
It's a trick question, and he knows it, but he cannot give an affirmative answer for the life of him.
"My mom made it."
And then it clicks. Why she hid it. Why she's only showing it to him now, aka leaving no opportunity for him to 'accidentally' lose it – knowing his in-laws will come to dinner later that day and how Clara will expect him to wear it.
"No," he whispers. "Donna, please."
She gives him a soft, apologetic smile. "Think about how happy it will make my mom."
"Uh – "
"Then think about how happy it will make me," she says now, a knowing grin spreading across her face. She uses her hands to walk over to him, leaning in, and she brings her lips to her husband's ear. "And then think about how happy I'll make you tonight."
.
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And 1. First Christmas as a family of four
He wakes to the sound of tiny footsteps rushing across the hardwood floor of his old apartment; a knowing grin tugs on his lips. He watches his wife, still sleeping peacefully in his arms and listens to his daughter's voice coming from the other end of the sliding door – using verbatim the exact words he used to her little brother.
Even though they finalised their move to Boston in the summer and the tooth fairy has managed to find them there, his little girl was concerned about Santa finding them this year, especially because they're staying in the city.
He's told her they're staying in Daddy's old place and that Mommy has written to Mrs. Claus to let them know where they'd be this year- that there would be no reason to worry.
He feels her stir then and smiles down at the redhead, whispering a soft 'morning' in return.
"Do you hear that?" he asks softly, and Donna nods, patting his arm with her hand. She gives her husband a quick kiss before rolling out of bed.
Harvey follows her lead, getting dressed, and he waits for her to be by his side before he pushes the sliding door to the side. His former bachelor pad, now turned winter wonderland, is coming in sight. He wraps his arm around Donna's shoulder and pulls her in.
The two of them watch their four-year-old guide her little brother through the living room until she makes him sit on a pillow. And then she's off to the tree, looking at all, this time authentic, presents scattered underneath.
And when she pulls one out and slowly lifts it next to her ear, it truly hits him. His little girl truly is a mini version of Donna, from her red hair, hazel eyes and freckled skin down to snooping around the Christmas tree.
His thoughts are interrupted when he hears a soft snicker coming from his wife, and when he turns to look at her, he knows she knows what he just realised – he's going to have his hands full with her, just like her mother.
However, Harvey wouldn't have it any other way because he's found everything he was ever looking for and more.