In the morning Harv had a massive headache that clawed at his eyes and down his neck. The gossamer curtains did little to shelter his eyes from the blinding daylight, so he did the next best thing. He buried his face into a swath patch of soft, warm skin. The contact helped ease the tension in his face a little and he let out a contented sigh.

"Get up!" The urgency in Finn's voice startled him as Finn clawed his way out of the covers. In his haste to crawl over Harv to get to the door, he kneed the poor man in the stomach and took a spill on the floor.

"Finn?" Harv was hurt, both physically and in other ways. He'd made a bit of a clingy nuisance of himself that night. The light was definitely not helping either. Harv stumbled around the room half blind until he found the ropes that held back the curtains and drew them closed. That's when he heard the other clamber for something in the lavatory, before the wretched sound of something painful and wet. The blond had maybe four glasses, but apparently that was enough to render him on all fours first thing in the morning.

The upstairs bathroom was darker and cooler than the bedroom had been. Harv had a robe draped over his arm for Finn to change into. From the light in the hall, he could see a pale outline of where Finn was, miserable with the shakes. Harv set aside the robe and kneeled next to him, every muscle screaming at him to go back to bed as he tried to comfort the blond through his dry heaves. Finn weakly laid the back of his hand against Harv's shoulder only to retract it in a panic.

"I didn't-" Finn wasn't able to quite finish the sentence in time before another wave of nausea hit. "I'm a mess right now, you shouldn't see me like this."

"I won't look." Harv said as he gently stroked Finn's back. "'sides it's my fault kinda." He was used to partying with warriors a head taller than him at the smallest. It'd deeply skewed his idea of tolerance and how often to fill an impressionable person's glass. A choked sob came out of Finn, followed by another shiver. "I'll get you something to wash your mouth with, hold on." He braved the light of the hallway and immediately felt like someone had punched him in the face. There had to be somewhere in this castle that wasn't filled with natural light for them to hide in.

"Harvey~" Finn weakly moaned for him to come back. "It's fine, I'll just use the sink." Finn moved at a glacial speed to the sink and freshened himself up as best he could. He slipped on the robe Harv had brought him, both the ugliest and softest from Finn's collection. Harv was blinding himself with his own hand as he waited for Finn to slink back out of the bathroom.

"I know something that'll help, but I'll need your eyes in the kitchen." He tried to remove his hand, but grimaced and put it back. "And, to uh, find the kitchen." Finn sighed, looping his hand around Harv's elbow and slowly guiding him there, every so often having to pause when his stomach threatened to lurch again.

When they made it to the kitchen, Finn drew every curtain as closed as it could go. Harv was on a stool and half slumped on the island counter, his eyes still closed. Finn put the kettle on the stove and waited for further instruction.

"We need tea that brews green." Harv said just loud enough for Finn to hear, his voice hoarse as if he had swallowed hot coals. "One cup for each of us. Then one of the powder jars says it makes beef broth, the salty kind, yeah?"

"Yes." Finn said, Harv flinched a little at the sudden noise.

"Then a cup of each, and one cup of boiled water. Don't mix them together." Harv waited quietly and blocked out his ears when the kettle started to scream. "You take a sip of the tea, then the broth, then the water until all of its gone." Finn scowled, but prepared it all anyway. "You should be able to keep the broth down at least, if not a roll afterward." He felt the warmth from the cups set in front of him before he heard them hit the table. "Thank you. I would have done it, but, the light."

"Oh, I'm aware, I believe that was your intention." Finn hated the taste of plain tea, but Harv had been rather insistent it remain clear and sugarless if he wanted to keep it down. It was almost as bad as mother's potions. "Where did you learn about this stuff?"

"Old family recipe." Harv shrugged, slowly feeling relief as he rehydrated himself. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's just... most people here don't think green tea's drinkable unless they've spoken with someone near the orient. It's not the easiest to come by." Finn regarded him with scarcely disguised amusement. "Especially for peasants."

"You just pick the leaves earlier is all." Harv shrugged. "What?" He had thought the days of Finn coyly setting up private jokes for himself were over, but clearly the bard had other plans.

"I suppose your family has other 'recipes' for things that ail you."

"Well, yeah, doesn't everyone?"

"I don't know about other people's homes, but mine certainly does." Finn grinned a little more at the clueless man who totally did not understand what Finn was implying. Everyone may have old wife's tales passed down from generation to generation, but very few of them did anything. "When exactly will it finish working?"

"An hour." Harv downed the last of his broth, ready to raid the fridge for food. "Are you able to stomach strong smells yet?" Finn shrugged, so Harv reached for a loaf of bread instead.

"It didn't snow last night." Finn said quietly. Harv tensed up as he cut himself a slice, thankfully facing away from the bard. He'd be okay to travel in a few hours if he was being entirely honest, but Finn would be stuck nursing a hangover alone. He couldn't possibly leave when Finn was unable to finish a single meal. "You might want to stay one more night, just to be sure..." He could feel Finn watching him, there was a specific thing he was supposed to say here, he could feel it.

"Yeah." Harv spoke with fondness, but he could see Finn's shoulders sag out of the corner of his eye. He offered Finn a small plate of bread and jam, Finn took it wordless and nibbled at the plain parts. This sort of silence unnerved Harv. "Is there a problem with me staying? If you want me out I could-"

"No!" Finn immediately reached for Harv's temple, having accidentally spoken too loud for the warrior's sensitive ears. "Sorry, I was just thinking more seriously about what that would mean is all... You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like." He withdrew his hand again. "Though, I'm sure your family misses you. I know I will... which..." Finn rotated the half-eaten bread in semi-circles on his plate. "When you think about it, you'd have to leave either way, won't you? They deserve to know you're okay. After everything that happened, a bunch of people deserve to know you're okay. The real question is whether you'd come back and well... I think it'd be easier for both of us if I didn't know yet."

"Finn, what do you mean?" Harv ditched his place setting to slide up next to Finn.

"If I know you're going to stay, I'll just keep clinging to you and trying to convince you not to set foot outside." Finn gripped Harv's shoulder. "And if I know you'll just leave in the end, I'll be even more of a mess while you're here. I don't want to say goodbye while in the throes of resentment or desperation and I don't want a repeat of last night either. I want today to be a good day. Then, if you come back, I'll have my answer." Finn sighed. "Three days isn't nearly enough to ask you to decide to make a huge change and I don't want you staying just because you feel bad or I need you for something. I want you to stay with me because it's something you want." He leaned against Harv's chest. "Can you do that for me?"

"Finn, I know I said a lot of stuff last night, I didn't mean to put that on you."

"Yeah, well, I meant every word. You're not taking me out in the snow."

"Sorry, a lot of stupid stuff seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Yeah," Finn was tense, but trying to laugh to keep the mood light, "like calling me treasure and all that."

"Is it really that stupid?" Harv bit his lip. "I thought it was kind of cute, but..."

"I'm not cute." Finn pouted, in complete denial of any compliment that didn't fit his idea of an ideal bard. "Usually, people use pet names thoughtlessly, it can leave one feeling... replaceable. But it wasn't the worst thing to be called, if you genuinely meant it... Did you?"

"I- uh-" Harv definitely could tell Finn was feeling better, but couldn't he just leave things be? Wasn't the whole part of muttering sweet nothings to one another was to not think about it too hard? "Of course." Finn didn't seem too satisfied with that answer. He pulled back, looking up at the warrior with a slight frown.

"Prove it."

"How am I supposed to-" Finn interrupted him with a brief kiss on the lips.

"I need a good soak and a nap, but afterward..." He brushed the braids out of Harv's face. "You'll show me what exactly you meant by that." He walked off, leaving Harv in the kitchen alone.

What had he gotten himself into? If this was the bard's idea of a respectable distance, he kind of feared what his definition of clingy was. There was a real chance that he was only seeing the side of Finn that Finn wanted him to see. The stack of cauldrons under the island was more than enough evidence that there were things Harv had been trying to ignore. He hadn't dared venture into the rooms flagged with red ribbons, that held who knows what; but Harv knew from stories no good came from breaking rules out of curiosity.

And yet, last night, he had gushed confessions he was now expected to keep, to trace back his drunken thought process on how he'd come to such conclusions so fast. Treasure meant different things to different people. To him, they were pretty things, often hidden away in hard-to-find places. Finn was both of those things, and yet was expecting there to be some deeper meaning behind Harv's words, something special. One thing Harv knew for certain.

Peasants didn't get to keep the treasures they found.

That evening the first thing Finn noticed coming downstairs was the jar of roses on the table in the sitting room. It was a sweet gesture, but he usually used that jar to store candies in. It would take a bit of washing to get the plant essence out of the jar again. The second was that Harv was nervously plucking at his harp in a way that would make any instructor's skin crawl.

"Is everything alright?" Finn asked. He grinned when Harv couldn't tear his eyes away from the finery Finn had picked out for the night. It was quite easily one of the most uncomfortable sets Finn owned, but leaving the man slack jawed was worth it. Everything had to be perfect tonight. "If it doesn't unnerve you, it can play a few things by itself." When Harv didn't have an immediate rebuttal, Finn walked up and clicked a bejeweled wheel to an emerald. "Well, technically, it's me playing; it just remembers what I played." Soft, lazy notes filled the room. "Kind of neat, isn't it?"

Harv took Finn's hand into his own and kissed his knuckle. He pulled the bard close, with a hand around his waist and started to sway. With each feather touch, Harv felt more grounded in the moment, but anytime the notes left room for silence, he felt his heart sink. He had to return to the real world tomorrow. A place where there were no magic harps, or endless hours to laze about, or purple-eyed bards vying for his attention. He'd be going to bed warmed by a different fire and the thought ached a bit more than he wanted to acknowledge.

"I would have danced with you sooner if I knew." Harv said. He rested his chin on the blond's head, not wanting the other to see the look on his face and get the wrong idea. Finn was more than happy to melt into him, resting his cheek against the other's breast bone. Neither dared to travel too far from the warmth of the hearth. A hand came up Harv's back to rest between his shoulder blades and Finn chuckled a little. "Now what?" Harv asked softly.

"Never thought I'd be able to feel a heartbeat from both sides before." Finn held him tight. "Are you nervous?"

"In a way..." Harv tried to get a look at Finn's face. "You have a way of making me feel ridiculous for saying things."

"Me?" Finn looked up at him with glassy eyes. "What did I do?"

"I don't know, breathe?"

"Well," Finn pouted and pinched Harv's cheek, "I'm not going to stop doing that anytime soon. I can't help it." He returned his hand to Harv's waiting one.

"I know... I just- Don't you ever say something and regret it?"

"...no..." Finn sounded quiet, fragile. "I try to be genuine. If that upsets some people, that's their problem."

"Not like that, like... like there are better words out there to say what you wanted." Harv sighed. "But you just can't find them in time or can't find them at all." He squeezed Finn's hand.

"That's why I like music." Finn relaxed a little. "Things that are hard to put into words can be put into other sounds."

"I... I can't do that either..." Harv looked down at the bard. He was, in many ways, all of the things he'd been warned against as a kid wrapped up in one person. He wasn't someone Harv should want anywhere near him, let alone romantically. Yet, now that he'd had a glimpse behind the veil of rumors, he wanted to know so much more. He hoped Finn's cologne would linger on his clothes so that when he got home he'd know this had all been real. So many promises he wished he could make that would never make it to his lips, because they were promises knew he couldn't keep. Knew better than to throw himself into certain exile in the hope it would keep the fluttering in his heart alive until they were both old. All things that would sound so silly out loud and some that were simply not feasible. "I wish I knew how to make you happy without losing myself. It's selfish, I know..."

"Harvey, I think that's a pretty ordinary thing to want." Finn kissed him sweetly on the lips. "At least we want the same thing." Finn wrapped his arms around Harv's neck to pull himself up a bit. "But I can lose myself tonight. It'll be okay." Harv lifted Finn up into his arms by his hips as Finn kissed him again. He set the man down onto the sofa a little rougher than he intended. "We can do anything you want tonight." Finn placed a single finger against Harv's lips. "If you do one thing for me... leave before I wake up?" He could feel those damn tears start to form again.

"Finn."

"I'm not going to say goodbye. I can't do it." He cupped Harv's cheek and pecked the other side. "So please, for me? Let me believe you'll stay a little longer."

"...Of course." Harv kissed every place on Finn's cheeks where tears had threatened to spill. Thankful that, for once, it seemed that was the right thing to say.

"Your things will be by the backdoor, just make sure to lock the gate behind you." Finn was cut off by a soft grumble as Harv cut him off with a kiss.

"Quit talking about things like that."

"Yes, of course." Harv watched Finn slip into a bittersweet delusion and the happy mask nearly broke his heart. "I'm yours tonight, I shouldn't talk about sad things."

"Only tonight?" Harv let his hands wander as he spoke. "That hardly seems fair. If only there was something I could do to get you to change your mind." Finn immediately covered his mouth with the back of his hand, just barely in time to cover up a few suppressed giggles. "Oh?" Finn kept trying to hide his face. "What's that? I didn't seem to catch that the first time." Finn rolled on his side to escape, and squealed when Harv pulled him back into his arms. "So, this is just a thing you do?"

"You insufferable ass." Finn laughed. "You know I find it embarrassing!" He lightly hit the arm Harv was using to keep him in his lap.

"I think it's kind of cute." Harv went to kiss Finn's neck when the bard stilled. "Finn?" The next thing he knew, he had been shoved so Harv was lying on the couch. There were few places for him to put his arms and legs, especially once the blonde crawled on top of him. Finn took a deep breath to recover before looking at Harv with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"I am not cute." He crawled forward until their noses met, talking the whole while. "You may call me beautiful, seductive, or any other terms of adoration you feel fit; but not cute. Understood?" He smiled when Harv had to swallow before speaking. "Good." Finn tugged him by the hair to pull him into a deep kiss. "Is it just me... Or are you-" Harv pulled Finn closer by the hips and back of the neck for another chance to explore Finn's mouth. "I'll take that as a yes." Harv regretted a lot of the things he had to do while away from home as a soldier. The time he spent with Finn was not one of those things.