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Description
Harv could hear the irritated tap of a webbed foot. But he was strong, he wouldn't turn, no madder how the mallard tried. However, Duck Dickenson was angry for another reason.

'I tire of this Harv.' He quacked. 'I have other things to protect you from you know. Past traumas, child hood memories; I can't hold onto everything. You are just making this more difficult for the both of us then it has to be and little stunt of yours today isn't helping in the least.'

'What stunt?' Harv frowned. 'What are you talking about?'

'Don't play dumb with me.' The duck sighed. 'You're little indulgence yesterday with your friend.'

'What indulgence?' Harv felt the color drain from his face. 'I didn't do anything!'

'You held him.' The duck reminded.

'I had to.'

'You didn't even ask if he could walk on his own.' The duck fluffed its feathers.

'It was obvious something was wrong.' Harv defended. 'So you took advantage of him?'

'I did not!' Harv raged. 'Any other person with half a conscious would have helped him get home.'

'But you enjoyed it.' The duck insisted. 'Just admit it Harv; you wanted to hold him and acted on that want.' The warrior went white with rage.

'I did no such thing! I'm not like that!' Harv bellowed. 'I just keep having ill thoughts, but I'd never act on them! They're just thoughts! They don't mean anything!' He crumpled to the floor. 'They don't mean anything.' The duck sighed. He wasn't making any progress with the boy and feared that the worst may come.

'You need to accept this in your own time.' The duck lamented. 'I want that for you, it would be the best for you. But, as I said, it's getting harder for me to hold this back for you. If you were to be bombarded with everything at once-'

'What are you saying.' Harv resisted the urge to turn.

'I'm saying, if you want to keep things the way they were; you need to be careful. One more slip and everything will come rushing to the surface.' Duck watched Harv's form sag only slightly. He had to make sure the boy understood. 'Neither of us will be able to control your actions.'

+ o +

"Finn honey, I'm going to go to out now." Leenan called up the stairs of their ill gotten mansion. "Will you be O.K. here by yourself?"

"I won't be by myself, mother, Harv and I are going to town today."

"OK, just don't stay out too late." His mother blew him a kiss. "Buh-bye."

"Bye, stay safe." Finn hummed as he tuned his harp. Due to Finn's sudden collapse yesterday, Harv hadn't been able to attend the year end party with their other classmates. So Finn, now adjusted to his bubbly state, promised to make sure Harv had a good time today in town. Of course, Harv had to pick him up first. He casually glanced outside to see the sun high in the midday sky. Harv was going to be here soon...

Harv was going to be here soon!? He set aside his harp and ran to his closet. What was he going to wear? Finn threw outfit upon outfit onto the floor. He couldn't wear something Harv had seen him in, and it was too late to have Emet make something in new for him. There had to be something in there that Harv hadn't seen.

"This hat," Finn muttered, "and those boots- wait I don't have a coat to go with it." And so the discard pile grew. He couldn't explain it, but finding something to wear that would impress Harv had become extremely important. "There has to be something!"

+ o +

Harv was tired of waiting on Finn's porch. He knocked on the door for the second time since he arrived.

"Finn, are you in there?" If Finn wasn't home, he'd be seriously pissed. Finn had hounded him over the phone to be here on time. Frankly, he hadn't wanted to come in the first place. The whole purpose of winter break was to be a break, but with Finn around, he couldn't relax. "FI-" The door swung open quickly and Finn darted outside, shutting the door with a slam.

"Hi." Finn panted. He relaxed slightly and adjusted his jacket.

"...hi." Harv gave a puzzled frown. "What took so long?"

"I was getting dressed." Finn had finally found a long mink coat with matching boots and hat. The pants that went with them didn't fit, so he had to improvise. Eventually he uprooted a pair of gold tights that went with the ornate gold buttons on his coat.

"Oh... O.K. Well, let's go then." Harv didn't distinguish this from any other purple, fussy thing Finn had worn in the past month. And while disheartened, Finn still was happy that Harv wanted to spend time with him. "So, what are we going to do?"

"Well first I figured we could do some window shopping."

"Window shopping?" Why would Finn need a window?

"Normally I could get whatever I want, but mother's been saving up for this special silk that's made of gold. She met this guy at the witches' gathering that can do it, but his practice is a bit of a journey. Anyway, the winter ball is coming up, so mother's getting this stuff to make out outfits out of. Can't you just picture it? We'll be the only people dressed in pure gold!"

"Not really." Harv frowned even more. What did this have to do with windows? "Oh well, I guess you'll just have to wait until the ball."

"What?" Harv exclaimed. The mere idea that he would be there was laughable.

"You will be at the ball, won't you?"

"No," Harv shook his head, "I'm not allowed to go, let afford a ticket. Besides, they don't interest me that much."

"Oh, that's too bad." Wait, was Finn actually disappointed? "I'll probably leave half way through anyway. Mother doesn't exactly do well with other people." He couldn't be, Harv was just... imagining things. This was Finn; he just wanted Harv to be his body guard. "Oh well, it was just a thought." Finn nibbled at his lip, this conversation had taken a turn for the depressing. He wanted to have a good time with Harv today, he had to. "Come on, there's something I want to show you."

"Oh, O.K." Harv later found out that 'window shopping' meant looking at things you couldn't buy. Harv couldn't understand why Finn found this enjoyable. In fact, he didn't really pay attention to the shops, all too often his gaze would drift to the blond at his side. Their hands had somehow become entwined and all too frequently would Finn brush up against him trying to draw his attention to another product.

Then he felt it ripple through him again, like fire coursing through his veins. Regardless of the people walking around him, he wanted to pull that thin frame against him and kiss his friend deeply. Immediately Harv looked away. This couldn't be happening, not here.

"Hey Harv?" Finn asked. Oh no, that tone was not helping. "I've saved the best for last." Why was Finn looking at him like that? "It's a little out of the way from everything else-" Nonono! He couldn't be alone with Finn, not now!

Harv tried to let go of Finn and walk away, he needed to get out of this situation fast.

"Harv!" Finn exclaimed. "I haven't finished yet, you don't even know where we're going!" He wrapped his arms around Harv's left arm to keep him from leaving. One of the people infatuated with his mother owned a vast collection of artistic pieces. He was sure if he asked, the man would let them look at his collection, there was a small cafe nearby and everything. But the more Harv wanted to leave, the more Finn didn't want to let go. Finn rested his head on Harv's shoulder, the lightheaded high he was getting from holding onto Harv was too much to handle. "I promise it will be really fun." Harv shivered at the touch, it felt so ri- wrong. He meant wrong. Finn had no idea he was doing this to him. He just needed an excuse to leave.

"Harv, Finn; is that you?" He heard a familiar voice call.

"It is! Hey Harv!" Thank the lord for small blessings.

"Cliff, Trevor!" With the sudden interruption, Harv was able you guys since you left so suddenly yesterday."

"You feeling better Finn?" Trevor asked.

"I'm doing just fine." He huffed. "In fact Ha-"

"So what are you guys doing out here?" Harv cut in and completely ignored Finn's indignant yelp.

"We're heading to Jame's Tavern. Want to crane you neck to see it. "That is, if you're not busy."

"What, us?" Harv said hurriedly. "No, we aren't doing anything important. We'd love to go."

+ o +

Finn didn't want to even try to squeeze into the same table as Cliff, Trevor and Harv. So he opted for a table near them in the tavern, where he heatedly stirred the disgusting ale the others had ordered for him. How dare Harv cut him off like that. They had plans, BFF plans; not 'hey everybody want to come' plans. The nerve! And did Harv offer to pull two tables together so everybody could fit? No. He hadn't said one word to him since they arrived in this dingy place. Finn glared at Harv's back as the warriors laughed it up.

"It took a week to get the smell of coco powder out of my clothes." Cliff sighed.

"Speaking of clothes, my mom's demanding I get a suit for the ball." Trevor groaned. "She wants me to go to the winter ball. Apparently ticket prices are dirt cheap this year."

"Hey, good dirt costs a fortune." The two snickered.

"Guys I'm serious." Trevor groaned. "She's worried about my social life. That I'm not rubbing elbows with the 'right' people to get ahead. I don't want to end up standing there all awkward around socialites. Are either of you going?"

"How much are tickets?" Cliff asked after a gulp of ale.

"Five dollars."

"Ouch! I could get a lot of dirt for that price." Harv shook his head sagely.

"Yeah, and I have work that day. Sorry Trevor."

"No!" He turned to his other friend. "Harv, you gotta' do me a solid here, please!"

"Ehh..." Harv groaned. "Fine, but don't expect me to be there with you all night." Finn froze with shock, he hadn't paid the strictest attention to what they had been saying; but he had heard that last bit. Well if that was the case, fine. Harv could just gallivant around the hall with his 'cool' friends, he didn't care. Even though it hurt. But the least Harv could have done was tell him to go away to his face instead of ignoring him. Finn solemnly and with dignity rose to his feet.

"I'm leaving." He said with controlled venom. The warrior boys were puzzled, but waved him goodbye.

"What was that about?" Trevor asked.

"Nothing, just leave him." Harv mumbled, staring at his half drunken ale.

"Is everything alright?" Trevor frowned. "Were you two fighting when we showed up?"

"Yes," Harv sagged. "I mean no. I don't know."

"How did you not know?" Cliff asked with disbelief.

"Was Finn doing that talking your head off things?" Trevor said, hopeful that he had figured it out.

"Not anymore than usual." Harv frowned, suddenly realizing something. "Why, does it look like something's wrong?"

"You have been a little quiet today." Trevor admitted.

"Mostly it was Finn. He looked pretty upset when he left." Cliff observed. "Did you say anything that might have upset him?"

"No, I didn't say anything." Harv sighed. "I've been trying to not say anything!"

"Why would you do that?" Trevor frowned. The shorter warrior froze.

"N-no reason." Harv muttered.

"Well that's pretty rude of you." Cliff stated bluntly.

"Cliff!" Trevor exclaimed in Harv's defense. Said teen looked up in shock.

"Well it's true." Cliff took a gulp of ale. "He's ignoring his friend for no reason. That's something a bad friend would do. I mean, how would you feel if I just randomly stopped talking to you?" Trevor looked down at Harv who seemed to be confused and hurt by what his friend had said.

"I'm sure Harv has his reasons." Trevor said.

"Either way, it doesn't matter. The result's the same." Cliff shrugged. "Harv obviously did something to hurt Finn."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Harv fumed. "I'm not doing this to be 'mean'. I don't want to ignore Finn, but I have to." Harv's rant powered down to a dull moan. "I have to protect him."

"We're not the ones you need to tell." Cliff gestured to the door. "We'll be fine here."

"Yeah; besides, don't you have to walk him home or something." Harv's eyes widened and he dashed out the door. "What do you think is wrong?" Trevor asked his remaining friend.

"I don't know, but whatever it is; it's none of our business."

+ o +

It didn't take long for Harv to track down Finn. The blond had only stormed off about a yard before slowing to a dreary shuffle.

"Finn!" Harv called out. "Finn wait up." His friend startled and quickly whipped his face.

"What, what do you want?" There was something off about his voice. "D-don't you have other friends to b-bother?" He wasn't looking at him either. This bothered Harv; here he had come over to explain himself, and Finn was ignoring him.

"Finn," Harv grabbed the blond's shoulder and whipped him around to face him. To his surprise, Finn's eyes were red rimmed. Harv's irritation left him in one breath, he spoke soft, in disbelief. "Have you been crying?"

"No." Finn lied, his breathing still uneven. Harv had made Finn cry. He nearly choked on the cold panic that raced around in his stomach. Sure he had seen Finn cry before, but never because of something he'd done. "No, it's just the dry air, it bothers my eyes." He wanted to fix this, but what would do it?

"Finn, I'm sorry-"

"Why should you be?" Finn sniffled. "You made it pretty clear back there that you're sick of me."

"That wasn't it." Harv tried.

"Oh, so you weren't ignoring me?" Finn seethed. "You didn't just blow me off for your old clique, again!?"

"I needed their help." Great, now Finn was going to ask why. Come on Harv, think! What would make Finn feel better?

"Oh really, with what?" Finn was on the verge of tears again, angry tears, but tears none the less. He had tried to leave the tavern with his dignity intact, but Harv was making it difficult. He didn't want to lose Harv or how he felt when he was with him.

"The ball." Harv blurted. "I-Err... I've never been to one so... so I asked them, cause Trevor's had to help out with one- before that is. Then you had said earlier you never got to stay until the end of one. and I wanted it to be a surprise, but I was wondering if you..." What was he saying?! "If you wanted to attend the ball. With me?" Finn stared at Harv in shock.

"With you?" Finn processed. Harv nodded in response, his face felt like it was on fire. "And we'd stay the whole time?" Again Harv nodded, still surprised by his own words. "I- Sure. Sure I'll go." Finn smiled ever so slightly. "Are you going to need help getting an outfit?" Hope was laced into his words, quiet as they were.

"Oh...yeah, I guess." Harv looked Finn over cautiously. "You... You want to help?"

"Of course!" Finn grinned. "What are friends for? We can start looking for stuff next week when you have some free time." Now Finn wasn't stupid, he knew that Harv was hiding something. But the sudden invitation to the ball had totally thrown him for a loop. For the time being, the ball was more important.

"It's starting to get dark." Harv commented. "I should already be home. I can walk you home, but-"

"It's O.K." Finn blushed. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble." Harv walked with Finn all the way to where the road forked between his house and the woods. "You sure you'll be alright?" Harv asked.

"Yeah." Finn giggled.

"I'll... uh, call you later." Harv stuttered. Finn nodded and waved goodbye. Something grew within Finn; elation? No, that didn't quite fit, though he was considerably happier now then he had been earlier today. He felt intoxicated, though he hadn't drank any of the ale. Just the thought alone of him and Harv at the ball was euphoric. So much so, that the idea took root and germinated new ideas. Things he had never thought about his friend before. In his daze, Finn didn't notice the rustling in the bushes. A certain pink unicorn was hiding, poised to strike. With Harv gone, he'd finally get a chance to kill Finn! Oh, but first he'd make Finn scream in terror. It was the least he could do after the Bard had lit him on fire. After all, he wouldn't be one to stoop to Finn's level of rudeness.

Hevvin leapt out of the bushes and whinnied menacingly. Finn barely took notice of him. He continued to walk home as if in a daze, pausing only briefly to pat the unicorn on the head as form of acknowledgement. He was on cloud nine, all because of Harv. This feeling was wonderful, almost magical.

+ o +

Hevvin watched Finn skip off happily down the road. It was nice to run into his good friend again. Always petting him and feeding him sugar cubes. Hevvin began to walk home when he stopped. Finn never did any of those things for him. He was never nice, period. But the stallion was almost certain Finn had just been nice. If Finn was being nice, did that mean Harv would start yelling at him? He cantered nervously in place before bolting toward the goat farm.

Description
Harv could hear the irritated tap of a webbed foot. But he was strong, he wouldn't turn, no madder how the mallard tried. However, Duck Dickenson was angry for another reason.

'I tire of this Harv.' He quacked. 'I have other things to protect you from you know. Past traumas, child hood memories; I can't hold onto everything. You are just making this more difficult for the both of us then it has to be and little stunt of yours today isn't helping in the least.'

'What stunt?' Harv frowned. 'What are you talking about?'

'Don't play dumb with me.' The duck sighed. 'You're little indulgence yesterday with your friend.'

'What indulgence?' Harv felt the color drain from his face. 'I didn't do anything!'

'You held him.' The duck reminded.

'I had to.'

'You didn't even ask if he could walk on his own.' The duck fluffed its feathers.

'It was obvious something was wrong.' Harv defended. 'So you took advantage of him?'

'I did not!' Harv raged. 'Any other person with half a conscious would have helped him get home.'

'But you enjoyed it.' The duck insisted. 'Just admit it Harv; you wanted to hold him and acted on that want.' The warrior went white with rage.

'I did no such thing! I'm not like that!' Harv bellowed. 'I just keep having ill thoughts, but I'd never act on them! They're just thoughts! They don't mean anything!' He crumpled to the floor. 'They don't mean anything.' The duck sighed. He wasn't making any progress with the boy and feared that the worst may come.

'You need to accept this in your own time.' The duck lamented. 'I want that for you, it would be the best for you. But, as I said, it's getting harder for me to hold this back for you. If you were to be bombarded with everything at once-'

'What are you saying.' Harv resisted the urge to turn.

'I'm saying, if you want to keep things the way they were; you need to be careful. One more slip and everything will come rushing to the surface.' Duck watched Harv's form sag only slightly. He had to make sure the boy understood. 'Neither of us will be able to control your actions.'

+ o +

"Finn honey, I'm going to go to out now." Leenan called up the stairs of their ill gotten mansion. "Will you be O.K. here by yourself?"

"I won't be by myself, mother, Harv and I are going to town today."

"OK, just don't stay out too late." His mother blew him a kiss. "Buh-bye."

"Bye, stay safe." Finn hummed as he tuned his harp. Due to Finn's sudden collapse yesterday, Harv hadn't been able to attend the year end party with their other classmates. So Finn, now adjusted to his bubbly state, promised to make sure Harv had a good time today in town. Of course, Harv had to pick him up first. He casually glanced outside to see the sun high in the midday sky. Harv was going to be here soon...

Harv was going to be here soon!? He set aside his harp and ran to his closet. What was he going to wear? Finn threw outfit upon outfit onto the floor. He couldn't wear something Harv had seen him in, and it was too late to have Emet make something in new for him. There had to be something in there that Harv hadn't seen.

"This hat," Finn muttered, "and those boots- wait I don't have a coat to go with it." And so the discard pile grew. He couldn't explain it, but finding something to wear that would impress Harv had become extremely important. "There has to be something!"

+ o +

Harv was tired of waiting on Finn's porch. He knocked on the door for the second time since he arrived.

"Finn, are you in there?" If Finn wasn't home, he'd be seriously pissed. Finn had hounded him over the phone to be here on time. Frankly, he hadn't wanted to come in the first place. The whole purpose of winter break was to be a break, but with Finn around, he couldn't relax. "FI-" The door swung open quickly and Finn darted outside, shutting the door with a slam.

"Hi." Finn panted. He relaxed slightly and adjusted his jacket.

"...hi." Harv gave a puzzled frown. "What took so long?"

"I was getting dressed." Finn had finally found a long mink coat with matching boots and hat. The pants that went with them didn't fit, so he had to improvise. Eventually he uprooted a pair of gold tights that went with the ornate gold buttons on his coat.

"Oh... O.K. Well, let's go then." Harv didn't distinguish this from any other purple, fussy thing Finn had worn in the past month. And while disheartened, Finn still was happy that Harv wanted to spend time with him. "So, what are we going to do?"

"Well first I figured we could do some window shopping."

"Window shopping?" Why would Finn need a window?

"Normally I could get whatever I want, but mother's been saving up for this special silk that's made of gold. She met this guy at the witches' gathering that can do it, but his practice is a bit of a journey. Anyway, the winter ball is coming up, so mother's getting this stuff to make out outfits out of. Can't you just picture it? We'll be the only people dressed in pure gold!"

"Not really." Harv frowned even more. What did this have to do with windows? "Oh well, I guess you'll just have to wait until the ball."

"What?" Harv exclaimed. The mere idea that he would be there was laughable.

"You will be at the ball, won't you?"

"No," Harv shook his head, "I'm not allowed to go, let afford a ticket. Besides, they don't interest me that much."

"Oh, that's too bad." Wait, was Finn actually disappointed? "I'll probably leave half way through anyway. Mother doesn't exactly do well with other people." He couldn't be, Harv was just... imagining things. This was Finn; he just wanted Harv to be his body guard. "Oh well, it was just a thought." Finn nibbled at his lip, this conversation had taken a turn for the depressing. He wanted to have a good time with Harv today, he had to. "Come on, there's something I want to show you."

"Oh, O.K." Harv later found out that 'window shopping' meant looking at things you couldn't buy. Harv couldn't understand why Finn found this enjoyable. In fact, he didn't really pay attention to the shops, all too often his gaze would drift to the blond at his side. Their hands had somehow become entwined and all too frequently would Finn brush up against him trying to draw his attention to another product.

Then he felt it ripple through him again, like fire coursing through his veins. Regardless of the people walking around him, he wanted to pull that thin frame against him and kiss his friend deeply. Immediately Harv looked away. This couldn't be happening, not here.

"Hey Harv?" Finn asked. Oh no, that tone was not helping. "I've saved the best for last." Why was Finn looking at him like that? "It's a little out of the way from everything else-" Nonono! He couldn't be alone with Finn, not now!

Harv tried to let go of Finn and walk away, he needed to get out of this situation fast.

"Harv!" Finn exclaimed. "I haven't finished yet, you don't even know where we're going!" He wrapped his arms around Harv's left arm to keep him from leaving. One of the people infatuated with his mother owned a vast collection of artistic pieces. He was sure if he asked, the man would let them look at his collection, there was a small cafe nearby and everything. But the more Harv wanted to leave, the more Finn didn't want to let go. Finn rested his head on Harv's shoulder, the lightheaded high he was getting from holding onto Harv was too much to handle. "I promise it will be really fun." Harv shivered at the touch, it felt so ri- wrong. He meant wrong. Finn had no idea he was doing this to him. He just needed an excuse to leave.

"Harv, Finn; is that you?" He heard a familiar voice call.

"It is! Hey Harv!" Thank the lord for small blessings.

"Cliff, Trevor!" With the sudden interruption, Harv was able you guys since you left so suddenly yesterday."

"You feeling better Finn?" Trevor asked.

"I'm doing just fine." He huffed. "In fact Ha-"

"So what are you guys doing out here?" Harv cut in and completely ignored Finn's indignant yelp.

"We're heading to Jame's Tavern. Want to crane you neck to see it. "That is, if you're not busy."

"What, us?" Harv said hurriedly. "No, we aren't doing anything important. We'd love to go."

+ o +

Finn didn't want to even try to squeeze into the same table as Cliff, Trevor and Harv. So he opted for a table near them in the tavern, where he heatedly stirred the disgusting ale the others had ordered for him. How dare Harv cut him off like that. They had plans, BFF plans; not 'hey everybody want to come' plans. The nerve! And did Harv offer to pull two tables together so everybody could fit? No. He hadn't said one word to him since they arrived in this dingy place. Finn glared at Harv's back as the warriors laughed it up.

"It took a week to get the smell of coco powder out of my clothes." Cliff sighed.

"Speaking of clothes, my mom's demanding I get a suit for the ball." Trevor groaned. "She wants me to go to the winter ball. Apparently ticket prices are dirt cheap this year."

"Hey, good dirt costs a fortune." The two snickered.

"Guys I'm serious." Trevor groaned. "She's worried about my social life. That I'm not rubbing elbows with the 'right' people to get ahead. I don't want to end up standing there all awkward around socialites. Are either of you going?"

"How much are tickets?" Cliff asked after a gulp of ale.

"Five dollars."

"Ouch! I could get a lot of dirt for that price." Harv shook his head sagely.

"Yeah, and I have work that day. Sorry Trevor."

"No!" He turned to his other friend. "Harv, you gotta' do me a solid here, please!"

"Ehh..." Harv groaned. "Fine, but don't expect me to be there with you all night." Finn froze with shock, he hadn't paid the strictest attention to what they had been saying; but he had heard that last bit. Well if that was the case, fine. Harv could just gallivant around the hall with his 'cool' friends, he didn't care. Even though it hurt. But the least Harv could have done was tell him to go away to his face instead of ignoring him. Finn solemnly and with dignity rose to his feet.

"I'm leaving." He said with controlled venom. The warrior boys were puzzled, but waved him goodbye.

"What was that about?" Trevor asked.

"Nothing, just leave him." Harv mumbled, staring at his half drunken ale.

"Is everything alright?" Trevor frowned. "Were you two fighting when we showed up?"

"Yes," Harv sagged. "I mean no. I don't know."

"How did you not know?" Cliff asked with disbelief.

"Was Finn doing that talking your head off things?" Trevor said, hopeful that he had figured it out.

"Not anymore than usual." Harv frowned, suddenly realizing something. "Why, does it look like something's wrong?"

"You have been a little quiet today." Trevor admitted.

"Mostly it was Finn. He looked pretty upset when he left." Cliff observed. "Did you say anything that might have upset him?"

"No, I didn't say anything." Harv sighed. "I've been trying to not say anything!"

"Why would you do that?" Trevor frowned. The shorter warrior froze.

"N-no reason." Harv muttered.

"Well that's pretty rude of you." Cliff stated bluntly.

"Cliff!" Trevor exclaimed in Harv's defense. Said teen looked up in shock.

"Well it's true." Cliff took a gulp of ale. "He's ignoring his friend for no reason. That's something a bad friend would do. I mean, how would you feel if I just randomly stopped talking to you?" Trevor looked down at Harv who seemed to be confused and hurt by what his friend had said.

"I'm sure Harv has his reasons." Trevor said.

"Either way, it doesn't matter. The result's the same." Cliff shrugged. "Harv obviously did something to hurt Finn."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Harv fumed. "I'm not doing this to be 'mean'. I don't want to ignore Finn, but I have to." Harv's rant powered down to a dull moan. "I have to protect him."

"We're not the ones you need to tell." Cliff gestured to the door. "We'll be fine here."

"Yeah; besides, don't you have to walk him home or something." Harv's eyes widened and he dashed out the door. "What do you think is wrong?" Trevor asked his remaining friend.

"I don't know, but whatever it is; it's none of our business."

+ o +

It didn't take long for Harv to track down Finn. The blond had only stormed off about a yard before slowing to a dreary shuffle.

"Finn!" Harv called out. "Finn wait up." His friend startled and quickly whipped his face.

"What, what do you want?" There was something off about his voice. "D-don't you have other friends to b-bother?" He wasn't looking at him either. This bothered Harv; here he had come over to explain himself, and Finn was ignoring him.

"Finn," Harv grabbed the blond's shoulder and whipped him around to face him. To his surprise, Finn's eyes were red rimmed. Harv's irritation left him in one breath, he spoke soft, in disbelief. "Have you been crying?"

"No." Finn lied, his breathing still uneven. Harv had made Finn cry. He nearly choked on the cold panic that raced around in his stomach. Sure he had seen Finn cry before, but never because of something he'd done. "No, it's just the dry air, it bothers my eyes." He wanted to fix this, but what would do it?

"Finn, I'm sorry-"

"Why should you be?" Finn sniffled. "You made it pretty clear back there that you're sick of me."

"That wasn't it." Harv tried.

"Oh, so you weren't ignoring me?" Finn seethed. "You didn't just blow me off for your old clique, again!?"

"I needed their help." Great, now Finn was going to ask why. Come on Harv, think! What would make Finn feel better?

"Oh really, with what?" Finn was on the verge of tears again, angry tears, but tears none the less. He had tried to leave the tavern with his dignity intact, but Harv was making it difficult. He didn't want to lose Harv or how he felt when he was with him.

"The ball." Harv blurted. "I-Err... I've never been to one so... so I asked them, cause Trevor's had to help out with one- before that is. Then you had said earlier you never got to stay until the end of one. and I wanted it to be a surprise, but I was wondering if you..." What was he saying?! "If you wanted to attend the ball. With me?" Finn stared at Harv in shock.

"With you?" Finn processed. Harv nodded in response, his face felt like it was on fire. "And we'd stay the whole time?" Again Harv nodded, still surprised by his own words. "I- Sure. Sure I'll go." Finn smiled ever so slightly. "Are you going to need help getting an outfit?" Hope was laced into his words, quiet as they were.

"Oh...yeah, I guess." Harv looked Finn over cautiously. "You... You want to help?"

"Of course!" Finn grinned. "What are friends for? We can start looking for stuff next week when you have some free time." Now Finn wasn't stupid, he knew that Harv was hiding something. But the sudden invitation to the ball had totally thrown him for a loop. For the time being, the ball was more important.

"It's starting to get dark." Harv commented. "I should already be home. I can walk you home, but-"

"It's O.K." Finn blushed. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble." Harv walked with Finn all the way to where the road forked between his house and the woods. "You sure you'll be alright?" Harv asked.

"Yeah." Finn giggled.

"I'll... uh, call you later." Harv stuttered. Finn nodded and waved goodbye. Something grew within Finn; elation? No, that didn't quite fit, though he was considerably happier now then he had been earlier today. He felt intoxicated, though he hadn't drank any of the ale. Just the thought alone of him and Harv at the ball was euphoric. So much so, that the idea took root and germinated new ideas. Things he had never thought about his friend before. In his daze, Finn didn't notice the rustling in the bushes. A certain pink unicorn was hiding, poised to strike. With Harv gone, he'd finally get a chance to kill Finn! Oh, but first he'd make Finn scream in terror. It was the least he could do after the Bard had lit him on fire. After all, he wouldn't be one to stoop to Finn's level of rudeness.

Hevvin leapt out of the bushes and whinnied menacingly. Finn barely took notice of him. He continued to walk home as if in a daze, pausing only briefly to pat the unicorn on the head as form of acknowledgement. He was on cloud nine, all because of Harv. This feeling was wonderful, almost magical.

+ o +

Hevvin watched Finn skip off happily down the road. It was nice to run into his good friend again. Always petting him and feeding him sugar cubes. Hevvin began to walk home when he stopped. Finn never did any of those things for him. He was never nice, period. But the stallion was almost certain Finn had just been nice. If Finn was being nice, did that mean Harv would start yelling at him? He cantered nervously in place before bolting toward the goat farm.