Disclaimer: I do not own Darren Shan. I do not own Harkat Mulds. I do not Vampire Mountain. You get the idea. (A.N By the way, this is suppose to take place a few months after Darren was made a prince.)

Thanks for Keeping me Sane

"Aaaaaaahhhhh…..aahahhaA….AAAHAHhaaah!"

As much as I hated hearing Harkat suffer through his dreams, I couldn't help but think it was awfully pathetic that he had to take a breath in the middle of his screaming.

"Harkat! Wake up!"

Hurriedly I shook him awake, and Harkat's large, green eyes gradually cleared as he came back to the real world. Even though he'd just woken from one of the worst dreams of his life, he managed to crack a grin.

"My hero," He said in a mock-feminine voice.

"What are friends for?" I grinned back, and stood up straight as Harkat sat up in his hammock. "So how've you been lately?"

"I've been better," He replied. "But you like…you've seen better days."

"That's true," I answered, sitting down on the hammock beside him. I thought back to all the work I'd been helping out with, the beginning of the war of the scars and everything and realized I hadn't had a real break in months.

We were silent for a long time, thinking over all the things that had happened to us. And then, suddenly, Harkat bursts our randomly with, "Thanks for keeping…me sane,"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Harkat gave me a look like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You've always been there to…wake me up from my…dreams," He explained. "You always managed to…bring me back to the real world…in the end."

"Oh," I hadn't really been expecting something like this from him; it usually wasn't like him get all emotional, so I didn't exactly know what to say. All I could do was mumble, "Thanks."

Another long silence passed, only this time it was more uncomfortable than the last. Lately, over the passed couple of weeks, I'd noticed some sort of change had come over Harkat and it hadn't been because of his nightmares. Sometimes, at the most random moments, I'd catch him staring at me, almost lovingly, and then he'd look away quickly and ask me how things were going or something. He'd also been short with me sometimes, if you'll pardon the pun, and other times he'd seem to want to tell me something but he'd never manage to get up the courage.

And at that moment, an idea struck me. Well, it wasn't an idea, really, so much as a question. But was I stupid enough to ask Harkat? Of course I was!

"Harkat?"

"Yes?"

"Do Little People get sexual arouses?"

Harkat stared at me, his eyes seeming even rounder than normal. "Why do you…ask?"

I shrugged. "Just curious,"

"Oh." The little person seemed to relax. "Well…I don't…know exactly,"

"Do you have them?"

I think if Harkat could have blushed he would have. "Haven't you ever…head the saying…curiosity killed the…cat?"

"But satisfaction brought it back," I retorted. "So are you saying you do have them then?"

Harkat was silent for a while, staring down at the floor before answering softly, "Yes."

Then before I could ask, "For who?" Harkat had his mouth pressed against mine in a passionate kiss. I hadn't been expecting it at all, but figured if he could think that way about me then…why not? He might have been a woman after all.

When we broke apart, Harkat looked horrified at himself. "I am…sorry," He mumbled, starting to get up. "I will…leave you…"

"Wait!" I grabbed he sleeve of his robe before he could get far. "I didn't mind. You've thought of me this way for a while now?"

At first he seemed to think I was playing a joke on him, but then he managed a shaky grin. "Yes, I…have."

I let go of him. "Yeah. Me too." I knew I was pink in face, but I didn't care. "See you later?"

"Of course…Darren."

And with a big smile plastered on his scarred, gray face, Harkat Mulds left the room to go about his duties.