AN: This is it, this is the saucey chap that made me have to change the rating.

Harv was left sitting on the floor of the sitting room with his face feeling like it was on fire. He couldn't hear anything over the sound of his own heart pounding in his ear. Finn had just given him a very clear invitation to enter his room, at night. Which could mean other things, but the way Finn had whispered in his ear, that had to be with very specific intentions.

He could decline the invitation.

He could be a good man, stick to the principles he'd been raised on and go to his own room. They had found a way to pretend like nothing happened this morning, they could do it again. He could act as if he misunderstood the question and politely ignore the fact that Finn might be waiting for him. Even if a warm bed sounded really good right now. The right thing to do was clear.

Harv got up off the floor and looked at the little ravens sitting on the mantel above the blazing yule log. Finn had treasured each identical bird and talked about painting them later once the shops had opened up. Loneliness drove people to do silly things like that. He had spent more than enough time on his own on the road to know the foolish things that'd take root in the mind. The scarcity of company, it made what little you could get all the more important to hold on to.

He slowly climbed the stairs, now knowing the route to his room by heart. He looked down the hall. Finn's door was open and light dancing on the opposite wall. Harv hoped whatever angel or devil that was watching over him had mercy in their heart. He walked down the hall and peered into Finn's room. He was sitting on the bed reading something with a disappointed look on his face. Tentatively, Harv knocked on the open door. Finn practically threw the book onto the nightstand and let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank goodness, I was starting to feel ridiculous waiting." Finn sat up on his knees and turned to face the door. It took four long paces for Harv to cross the threshold and cup Finn's face between his hands. Harv got one knee on the bed next to Finn's hip. He captured Finn's lips on his own. Cold and tentative hands slipped up his front searching for a satisfying place to hold onto. Finn's nails bit into Harv's shoulder when he pulled away to breathe. The blond dipped his head down, his shoulders shaking a little as a stream of uncontrollable laughter slipped from the bard's lips.

"...what the?" Harv caught Finn when he leaned forward, resting the top of his head into Harv's chest. "Wait, but, down there..." Harv felt anxiety bubble up in his throat. "I thought, that you- I could have sworn you were asking me to-" Harv hid his face in his hands.

"...no..." Finn was gasping for air, trying to find enough breath to form words.

"I'm so sorry." Harv pulled his knee off the bed and tried to back step toward the door. Finn twisted his hands up in Harv's collar and tried to hold him close. His body, weak with laughter, was pulled a little forward so that he was half leaning off the bed.

"...don't..." Finn pulled himself up enough to place a chaste kiss on Harv's cheek. "I'm... I'm messing this all up." Finn kissed Harv's cheek again, the tension melting from the warrior once more. "I- I can't stop. I don't know... I don't know what's wrong with me." Harv grabbed hold of Finn's hips to keep him from falling over. He placed a tentative kiss on Finn's neck which earned him a renewed peel of laughter from Finn. Finn wound his arms around Harv's neck pulling Harv closer to the bed.

"You know..." Harv placed another kiss a little lower on Finn's neck. "I haven't seen you laugh this much since breakfast yesterday." Tears pricked at the corner of Finn's eyes, flushed down to his chest.

"Sh-shut up." Finn scooted backwards into the bed. He gently tugged on Harv's shoulders, and urged him to crawl up over him onto the bed.

"That didn't have anything to do with me being shirtless, did it?" Finn immediately turned his head to look away.

"I'm just not used to it." Finn finally sucked in a deep breath as Harv nibbled on the part of his neck he had just exposed.

"Used to what?" Harv's hands started to wander, more confident now that he could feel this wasn't all just some practical joke on Finn's part.

"Wanting someone who wants me back." Finn mumbled. Harv pulled back a bit, a bright red bruise starting to form against Finn's heat-soaked skin. "I'm happy, really. Way happier than I've been in a long time." Finn didn't fully turn his head back to face Harv, choosing to glance at him through his lashes. "But it's also kind of scary." Finn let his hands travel across Harv's shoulders. "I've spent all this time planning for what I'd do when you turned me away... I don't know what to do. It's a lot all at once." Harv sat up on his knees, Finn's hands slipping down his chest. "I want this, I do."

It was easier for Finn to breathe again. The euphoria of having some form of reciprocation coupled with the fireworks that short through his nervous system every time Harv touched him. He had so much joy and pent up energy, he didn't know what else to do with it, the laughter, it was reflexive. Thank goodness Harv hadn't taken offense and left. He felt so silly getting overstimulated by a few kisses, fully clothed. Harv looked concerned too.

"What did you expect was going to happen when I came in here?" Harv gently brushed the messy locks of hair out of Finn's face.

"I don't know!" Finn hated how squeaky his voice sounded. "I just wanted you in bed with me so I could snuggle up to you." Finn propped himself up on one elbow, his other hand traveling to the hem of Harv's shirt. "And, maybe you'd have your shirt off and I could draw silly little patterns on your chest." He grew more wistful once he caught a feel of the skin hiding under Harv's shirt only to have his hand taken away. Harv kissed his finger tips.

"We don't have to do more than that if it's too much." Harv said. Finn gave him an incredulous look, somehow able to make Harv feel uneducated despite Finn looking like a lush in the moment. Finn raised one of his legs, pushing his thigh up between Harv's legs firmly and raised an eyebrow. Harv choked back a low groan. "That... is not an issue you need to worry about."

"I want you to feel good too." Finn took back his leg so he could fully sit up. He touched his forehead against Harv's. "Please, don't make this only about me." Finn was shaking from the adrenaline. He wanted so badly to seem confident, not like some trembling flower that needed protection. "Let me do something." He started pulling up the hem of Harv's shirt. He placed a few clumsy kisses on the corner of Harv's mouth, struggling to aim while fighting with his hands for control. "Even if I can't do everything, let me do something." A few lewd things he'd read in books came to mind, but he had very little experience to draw upon.

Harv captured his lips again and Finn relished having some direction to cling to. He chased Harv's kisses as the man pulled off his shirt. Finn, easily distracted, lost his train of thought again admiring the path Harv's muscles formed with his hands and eyes. He didn't expect someone so strong to feel soft, but it was very pleasant.

"We'll go slow." Harv said. He kissed Finn's temple pulling him closer. "You have to tell me if it's too much."

"I'm not going to break." Finn lightly nipped at Harv's jaw.

"I'm serious." Harv said as he undid the lacing on Finn's fancy robe. "If it's too much, tell me and we'll stop."

"We'll take a break." Finn closed his eyes, feeling the robe slip off his shoulders. His heart thundered so fast it hurt. The feeling of Harv's hands moving across his skin helped calm him down a little, helped him remember to breathe. Fingers brushed against his scar and when Harv kept holding him after Finn felt tears threaten to well up again. Finn kissed Harv's shoulder and neck, anything he could get close to without moving too much.

"Alright, we'll take a break instead."

"Not yet." Finn rolled up against Harv, wanting to taste his lips, to feel his tongue on his. "I want to keep going." Harv eased Finn onto the mattress, his back melting into the fuchsia sheets.

"When I said slow..." Harv murmured against Finn's chest, relishing in the feeling of Finn's nails carving a path down his shoulders. "...I meant slow." It had been way too long since he'd last shared a bed with someone and Finn was so sensitive to every word and touch. If they moved too fast, it'd only take a few touches and the night would be over. He was going to do everything in his power to draw this out as long as possible.

Finn woke up in the middle of the night when an arm wrapped around his chest and pulled him close. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, a sliver of moonlight peaking through the curtains. The candles he lit last night had split and dribbled wax all over the counter and down onto the floor. It was completely avoidable if he remembered to blow them out within an hour or two of lighting them, but he must have dozed off. He felt a chaste kiss at the back of his neck and flushed. No, he remembered hearing the sound of the wax spilling onto the floor, he had just been too busy at the time to care.

"Harv?" Finn whispered when he felt another kiss on the back of his neck. Harv sighed in response, still mostly asleep. Finn risked waking him to roll to face him. There was still one thing he wanted to do that he didn't get a chance to earlier. He nestled into Harv's chest, letting his finger trace wandering patterns against the soft skin and connecting the little scars in his mind. He tried to guess what had caused each one, his content smile falling at the thought of each arrow or battle ax.

It still wasn't enough.

He had gotten to do everything he asked for, but the thought of Harv having to leave eventually felt like a lead pit growing in his stomach. A few days wasn't enough time to memorize his scars. Wasn't enough time to tease Harv with every outfit in his wardrobe. He had made a promise to himself not to get attached. That he was allowed to pursue Harv so long as he could let him go again without making the man feel guilty for leaving. This was supposed to be fun.

"What are you..." Harv rubbed a bit of sleep from his eyes. He wasn't at home or in some guest room, he'd crawled into Finn's bed. "Last night. That... actually happened." Harv let his head rest back against the pillow when Finn nodded. Then he felt something wet drip against his chest.

"I didn't mean it like a bad thing!" Harv propped himself up and Finn sniffled.

"No, it's just..." Finn tried to keep his lip from quivering. "I don't even know where you'll go after this."

"About that..." Harv sighed. "I'm not sure if- I mean, it's the dead of winter and Caliburry could be miles away. It'd be silly to run out as soon as the snow eases up. Especially since..." Finn looked up at him bug eyed. "What's wrong?"

"Harv, Caliburry is a forty-minute carriage ride from here." Finn said through his hands, clasped across his mouth. "...Where exactly do you live?" Harv sat up fully in bed.

"The goat farm. Well, I say the goat farm, it's a farm with a lot of goats."

"Harv that's even closer." Finn wrapped his arms around Harv's waist. "It's literally the closest house to mine. Out of everything..." He leaned his face into Harv's stomach. "I can't believe you grew up down the road from here. I could have met you so much sooner." He looked up at Harv, still bewildered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah; some shoeless gap-toothed kid drops off milk from there sometimes."

"Does he try to double charge you?"

"...Is one pence double charging?"

"That's my brother!" Harv would have reeled back into the bed, but he had a really clingy blond man around his waist. "I can't believe it. I'm less than a day away, everyone will be so happy. I might even make it back before the new year." Finn tightened his grip around Harv's waist.

"And then what?" Finn asked. Harv looked down at the blond who had started to crawl into his lap. "After you go home, then what?" He was certain Harv was going to ask to stay earlier, but now, knowing his real family was so close. He could tell Harv wasn't going to stay once it was safe to leave the castle.

"I don't suppose I can take you with me..." Harv said and Finn shook his head.

"There's a reason I don't leave often." Finn was glad Harv still wanted him, but there was no way some farmers would be happy about their son returning early from service with a man on his arm. The son of a witch for that matter. "The old man there threw garlic at me once. He was one of the nicer people I've run into too."

"That... makes sense, unfortunately." Harv was having trouble thinking straight with someone nibbling at his ear.

"I don't need an answer right away." Finn still wanted to cling to that hope that had wormed its way into his heart. "But, if for whatever reason, you chose to come back. To stay here." Finn started to leave a trail of little kisses down the path of Harv's jaw. "I could wear that blue thing you like so much more often; make tea for you every morning, and at night..." He trailed off, letting Harv's imagination take over as he stole a kiss from his lips. "Just, promise me you'll think about it."

"I will." Harv laid back down, pulling Finn into his chest and running his fingers through his hair. "For now, it's the middle of the night, we should get some rest."