Author's note: So here it is my secret santa, fic. Did you get it right?
Donna rolls her body to Harvey's side of the bed, subconsciously waiting to find him so she could lay her head on his chest. When she finds his place empty, she blinks a few times, adjusting to the light of the morning. The full windows of Harvey's bedroom, even with the curtains shut, always allow rays of the dawn to invade and light up the place. Donna told Harvey more than once he should buy a blackout cover so she could sleep until late on the weekends that she was there, to which Harvey only responded with "we'll deal with it soon" but it's been over three months and they haven't bought the curtain.
When she opens her eyes, Harvey is anywhere in the room. On days he gets up before her — which always happens—, sometimes he goes to the kitchen to make them coffee and waits, sitting by the sofa, for her to wake up. So, when she wakes, he offers her a morning kiss tasting like coffee and vanilla and then hands her a cup of coffee. Donna sits on the bed, stretches herself and with all the strength inside her body, ups by her feet. A look in the place shows a glimpse of the aftermath of last night: their clothes, underwear and pillow on the floor.
Donna walks through the mess, puts some clothes on and barefoot leaves the room. She smells fresh coffee coming from the kitchen, so she takes a deep breath, enjoying the scent in her lungs, instantly excited for the taste she knows she'll savor soon. Harvey is a better chef than her and, in her opinion, one of his specialities is making breakfast, which she will be forever grateful for. Donna cooks only with the purpose of surviving. Sometimes, she likes to cook dessert, but if someone is most inclined to cook, clearing her of the act, she'll gladly accept it and embrace the magic of being served.
Before reaching the kitchen, she stops by the entrance of the living room, from where she can see Harvey's shape in the kitchen and he doesn't notice she's already awake. Donna quickly scans, bewildered by their work from last night. The socks above the fireplace, the huge Christmas tree adorned, its lights still on. It's been a little over six months since she and Harvey started dating and this Holiday is the first one they get to spend together as a couple. For all the years they were together-but-not-together, Donna knew Harvey as a Grinch, utterly against the Christmas' spirit. So, it was a big surprise when he suggested they should decorate their place, and by their place he meant both his bachelorette-ish penthouse and the apartment 206.
Within Harvey's avail and reassuring he would be part of the decoration, Donna freed him of the shopping part and spent most of Saturday afternoon going back and forth into the stores, wanting to take the best ornament for their first festivity together. When she came back from the mall, with her hands full of bags of decorations, Harvey laughed and asked, "Are you hiding a second apartment that I don't know of?" because he considered she had shopped too much. Donna said more than once it was just volume and she had bought only essentials.
They invested a lot of time unpacking the items she bought. When they settled on what would be for Harvey's place, he went to the kitchen to make them hot cocoa and Donna packed the half that would be for her apartment. Donna was against having a dark hot cocoa without the decoration done, but Harvey insisted they should drink it in order to put him into the mood. Donna gave up on arguing with him and persuaded him they should play Christmas songs to immerse in the feeling as well.
With each one having what they wanted, the couple started decorating, accompanied by a lot of laughs, kiss interruption, silly dance moves and "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey on repeat and ended up with them having sex twice.
They deserved a moment of smoothness and tenderness considering what was happening in the firm and the whole Faye situation. Also, not even in her biggest dreams of becoming Harvey's partner, she had never expected to experience something as simple as their moment last night. Since she and Harvey got together, he has been so open about his feelings and emotions. He's been a better boyfriend than she has ever imagined he would be, not that she would wish to change him before. But the fact that he can still surprise her even after years of knowing each other is something that she is astonished by and still getting used to.
Harvey finds Donna leaning against the doorway, with a big grin resting on her lips. "Hey," the softness in Harvey's voice brings her to the moment, and she smiles much bigger and brighter when she sees him barefoot walking towards her, wearing his pajamas.
"Good morning, Harvey," she says and takes a few steps to embrace him in a gentle and affectionate hug, followed by a brief peck on his lips.
"After last night, I thought you would spend more time in bed." He smirks with the left side of his mouth, gives her a second kiss and parts the hug. "Well, I thought about staying there a bit longer, but I woke up and I missed you," she replies in a sly way.
"Is this a hint that I should be harder on you?" Harvey replies, not following her tone.
Seeing the innuendo in his response, Donna let a loud laugh fill the space. "You were hard enough, but I'll never be against you being harder." She blinks.
"Come here. Let's have some coffee." Harvey grabs her hand and leads her to the kitchen, but Donna stops him midway.
"I'm proud of the work we made," she says, once again putting her arms around his neck and offering him a kiss. "I know how you never cared about all of this." She lifts her index finger and twirls in the air. "Thank you for doing this with me."
To answer Donna, Harvey pulls her closer to him and they share another quick, soft kiss. As they enter the kitchen area, Donna sees, on the counter, a tray with pancakes and maple syrup lying right beside two mugs. "So, were you planning to bring me coffee in bed?"
"Something like that." He answers, scratching the back of his neck.
"How about we have breakfast under the tree?" She suggests.
In a silent agreement, he takes the tray and wanders to the living room. Donna follows him, two mugs in one hand and the French press on the other. They place the stuff on the coffee table. Harvey seats on the floor as Donna lounges on the couch, one leg tucked under her body.
Another scene that makes Donna in awe: Harvey feeling comfortable enough to sit on the floor in his house, wearing pajamas and having a morning conversation with her, his girlfriend. It is another level of intimacy she's getting used to.
Harvey carefully drags the table closer to them to make it easier to manage the breakfast, thus lessening the risk of tipping over the coffee pot and making a mess. He watches Donna pour them black coffee.
"Oh, I forgot the sugar," Harvey says, when she hands him the mug.
"I'll take it." Donna swiftly moves, puts her mug down and goes to the kitchen.
When she's back, she notices a small red box with a navy bow laying alone under the Christmas tree. She frowns, first because the box wasn't there when she left to get the sugar. Also, because she remembers they talked about not exchanging gifts before Christmas Day.
With her eyes still fixed on the new object in the room, she puts the sugar pot on the desk and lies anew on the couch. "Did we agree on giving early Christmas gifts?"
"What are you talking about?" He shrugs.
Harvey sweets his coffee by his taste, catching the side eye Donna is addressing him, but ignoring it and trying his best to hide a mischievous grin. "Who says it is an early Christmas gift?"
"Harvey!" she scolds him playfully.
"Donna," he says back in the same tone as her.
"Do you know what that little box means to women, right?" She points to the tree before taking a cup and sips the hot black liquid.
"That their partner is giving them a gift?" He laughs. "It's not what you are thinking about," he says, then whispers, "or is it?"
Donna lowers her torso and, with her free hand, gives him a soft punch in his chest. "Stop it!" Donna's mind is running crazy over the possibility of the petite box hiding an engagement ring inside, albeit she is trying to act as nonchalant as he's acting right now. The last time they talked about marriage, it was a joke. Harvey started stammering and thanked his mom for calling right in the moment and getting him out of the situation.
Not that she doesn't think they would eventually get married. Although marrying is something that eventually crosses her mind, it isn't something she dreams of or focuses on. For her, to have a healthy and happy relationship with someone that has the same values as her and shares the same ambition for the future is what matters the most.
It is not the first time she senses that a boyfriend is about to propose to her something big and important. But sure, it is the first time she is willing to say yes to whatever he will ask.
"The coffee in bed was supposed to be delivered with something special this morning, but you ruined my plans," he says, teasing her.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Specter, for not knowing by heart your schedule for this morning," she teases back.
Harvey drags himself a little, stretching his arms to reach for the box. "This," he says, "is exactly what is crossing your mind."
Donna watches Harvey getting down on one knee as she puts down the mug on the table in front of them. Her gaze shifts between Harvey's eyes, his hand and the captivating grin on his lips. She gapes, even though she thought he was going to do it.
"Will you marry me, Donna Roberta Paulsen?" Harvey says as he opens the box, showing a white-gold, diamond mounting engagement ring. Its silhouette bejeweled with tiny colorless diamonds and in the center, four small prongs holding a round jade-colored stone. It is an uncommon color to a diamond engagement ring, but Harvey thinks it suits Donna and matches with the glimpses of green her eyes have when she's under bright lights.
In any other conventional relationship, it would be too soon to get engaged, but considering their story, it is about time. Harvey said prior "seems like we've always been together" and nothing could be more close to their reality.
They have been acting as a couple for a long time. As Jessica stated once to Harvey, "you're as close as two people are without being that" so they only had that left to be. And now they are. They have their more, their everything. So, a marriage would just settle what they already are and mean to each other. It would be a promise of forever in front of their loved ones.
Donna's heart is pounding hard inside her chest and she's lost for words for a heartbeat. Not because she is unsure of her answer. She is not. It's because she wasn't expecting Harvey to propose to her around Christmas, wearing pajamas while they're having breakfast, after being together for six months. She laughs out loud, tilts her body a bit, and covers her mouth with both hands.
Harvey is there, down on one knee, smiling. An open box with a diamond ring in one hand, his other hand in the air, waiting for her to answer. If she could, she would photograph this exact moment as if able to capture all the emotions within: the cheers in her chest, the butterflies running in her stomach; the happiness flooding her and feeling everything with pure bliss and joy.
"Of course I'll marry you, Harvey!" She answers and holds out her hand so he can put on the engagement ring on her finger.
He does so and pulls her into an affectionate kiss, sealing his proposal of being with her for the rest of their lives. "I love you, Donna," he says after the kiss. "I wanna spend the rest of my life with you and, to be honest, I think that isn't enough. Forever is half of the time I wanna spend with you."
Donna's lips are quivering and she's unable to express the love she has for him. Yet, Harvey can see amidst her teary eyes that she feels the same, but is just overwhelmed by the moment.
They sit on the couch, Donna lying her head on his chest, hearing Harvey's heartbeats. He's cuddling her hair, silently feeling the space between them. Both of them are intoxicated in love and happiness for the big step they agreed to do. There's no fear, no hesitations, just sheer glee. They remain there for as long as the hungry let them until they eat breakfast and start the day happier than ever.