AN:

I've kind of slowed down on writing chapters for the longer fics. So, this has been waiting in the wings in case I fell behind on Longest Sleepover. Piper still incomplete as well, at 8 chapters atm. Trying to avoid having two stories on hiatus at the same time.

It was Saturday morning after graduation, and for once Finn didn't wake up with a pit of anxiety in his stomach about the future. He stretched like a satisfied cat in a puddle of sunlight, his back popping back into place before he rolled back against a swath of soft skin. As his cheek rested comfortably against someone's neck and when he pulled the warm body flush with his own something clicked.

This was his room.

Someone was in his room.

He stumbled backwards out of the bed. Goosebumps darted his skin at the sudden loss of warmth, but the other figure didn't stir. The glimpse of a warm skin tone was enough to banish the thought of a certain unicorn crawling into his room at night. No, it was probably someone he knew, and that made it all the worse.

Thankfully, he had his own private powder room attached to his chambers, and thus somewhere to hide while he wracked his brain for answers. He had promised himself he'd never hook up with Shad again, not after the last experience had left him so hollow and sore. Though, that was another clue. As stressed as his throat felt none of him felt sore, just uncomfortably unclothed and a little tired. He grabbed a robe that had been discarded on the floor and covered himself. There was no throbbing headache or lurch in his stomach, but he knew he'd been drinking with the band.

They had just finished the last of their exams, and Shad had proposed a night on the town. Which meant going to their usual bar in the hopes someone new might show up. Despite being fairly large, the kingdom of Cailburry was notoriously behind other kingdoms their size when it came to companionship. The few places that opened its doors to perpetual bachelors and the like, often sported low attendance as well. With the night life in such a state, it was easy to memorize the faces and names of the few people brave enough to slip out of the shadows for a chance encounter and Finn often mourned the fact that he was stuck here of all places.

It wasn't as if the local crowd wasn't completely unwilling to take a chance with the witch's son, though that also hurt Finn's chances. Rather, Finn had an unfortunately long list of qualifications of which only he and Shad remotely met. It was a dark day when he gave into desperation and swallowed his pride for less than adequate. Especially when his appearance drove potential partners to assume he preferred to be thrust into certain roles without bothering to ask him first. It was easier to call it a night at that point instead of arguing his case for being in control of the evening and it left Finn with a rather unfortunate reputation.

No one wanted to risk getting flaked out on by a 'tease'.

That night however, the bar was unusually packed with multiple groups of muscle-bound behemoths. Almost immediately he and Beatus had turned to leave, assuming they were in the wrong bar. Finn had caught a glimpse of the familiar blue sign and paused. It wasn't their mistake, the place really was that crowded.

"Beatus, where are you going?" Shad had called out after following them outside.

"I only agreed to go because no one goes in there." Beatus sighed. "I'll wait by the cart." Shad and Finn shrugged at each other and went back inside. The brief swell of hope at a wider dating pool was quickly crushed when Finn recognized a few voices in the crowd. These weren't just any guys, they were the barbarians from the warrior track. Finn had walked up with Shad in tow and tapped the shoulder of someone ordering from the bar.

"Cliff, what are you guys doing here?" Finn asked. He had guessed correct and Cliff had turned from the bartender just as Trevor slung an arm around his neck.

"Isn't it great?" Trevor cheered. "Everywhere else is packed. We thought we were going to have to give up on sitting, let alone hang out indoors." He added three more drinks to the order, much to the bartender's chagrin. "The drinks are kind of watery though." Finn paled as he saw the heavy-handed tilt of liquor go into all the mugs. If that's what was considered light, he'd get drunk under the table within a few orders. It was probably better to play it safe tonight. "So, you decided to come out and celebrate after all?"

"In a way..." Finn said. He could hear Shad laughing under his breath.

"Hey, yeah," Cliff softly accused, "I thought you were too busy to go drinking tonight. If you changed your mind, you could have met up with us." Shad started laughing harder, at this point, they had nothing to loose.

"We're not hear for the drinks." Finn said, trying his best not to fall victim to Shad's contagious laughter.

"You have no idea where you are, do you?" Shad asked as he wiped away a few tears. The two warriors looked at each other confused. In the corner of the bar, one poor man had gotten turned down for a third time in a row. "Oh there's going to be so many broken hearts tonight."

"You know how the bath houses have been policed lately for... illicit behavior." Finn slowly gestured to the sparkly dive bar. "This is where everyone went." Cliff choked on his mead, and Shad doubled over in stiches.

"Let me get the next round." Shad said. "Just, don't be surprised if you get propositioned and everything will be fine." As disappointed as Finn was that their spot had been taken over by a crowd of naive warriors, it did take some of the pressure off. These were his old school chums, at the very least they'd all get to hang out and have a good time.

Or at least, that's what he thought.

Somehow, even though these were his old friends, Shad was at the center of attention getting free drinks. Where before, Finn could sulk quietly in the corner with his favorite wine while people flirted with Shad, now he had to push through five different people and wait to make eye contact with the bartender. Even his stupid warrior chums were politely accepting attention with a wink and a smile. It was all in good fun and Finn was the one with his elbow in a mystery puddle for half an hour just to place an order. He doubled his mixed drink, just in case this was the last time he could stomach the wait and downed it aggressively. He hated being jealous, hated not being able to hear other people above the crowd and it wasn't fair he was the only one not having fun.

He had finished his drink; he always did before setting it down. Especially in a crowd like this, it didn't hurt to be careful. He was also starting to think that maybe he'd over done it a bit, as standing was a little trickier than usual. Though, that also might have had something to do with the person clinging to his waist, easily lifting him off the table he'd been trying to dance on.

"I'm a performer!" Finn felt his feet touch the ground again. His head lurched back against a strong shoulder. "I was born to entertain!" Everyone was laughing, everyone was having a good time, and now someone was pressed up against his back muttering something in his ear. Finn laughed at how the soft breath and hair tickled against his neck. They said something else, and Finn felt something wet against the shallow of his neck. "Wait, wait, wait." He got shushed as Finn wriggled out of the man's hold and giggled. "We gotta go this way." He tugged them toward the hall behind the bar. There were booths with curtains back here, ugly curtains, but they provided privacy.

His companion had taken a seat, and in the dim lamp light, Finn finally got an okay look at him. Tall, long hair, strong enough to carry him around with one arm; those were at the top of his wish list. Plus, it was someone new, someone that had chosen to cling onto him first instead of Shad.

"It must be my lucky day." He crawled into their lap; comfortable, inviting, it rarely was this easy.

"Don't say things like that." They said, just as Finn clumsily pushed his lips into theirs. Their cheeks were wet, but they were kissing back and a hand was going up the back of his tunic. Finn hummed in approval as he groped the chest in front of him, soft yet toned, everything was perfect. The kisses on his neck, the low groan when he grinded against him, the absences of a nagging voice wondering what he was supposed to do next.

"I don't..." Finn struggled to catch his breath. "I'm not the type to just hook-up, but maybe... just once..." He had just gotten shoved on his back when someone knocked on the frame of the booth.

"Finn, it's time to go." Shad said through the curtain. The person above him froze, clearly ready to run the second the curtain pulled back. Finn cursed under his breath.

"I'm kind of busy at the moment." He fisted the collar of the other man's tunic, pulling it open just a little more. If he could just place a few marks on that collar bone in front of him he'd be satisfied.

"Well, we're heading out. If you need a ride, now's your chance." Shad said.

"Give me a moment!" Finn waited until he heard Shad walk away, his forehead resting against the other man's shoulder. Of course, the one time he gets lucky, Shad says they have to go. He pulled at the laces of the other's tunic, feeling a thundering pulse under his fingertips. "Well, do I need a ride?" He nipped at the other's jawline in a vain attempt to rekindle the mood.

"I..." They swallowed as Finn bit and sucked a few weak marks across their chest. "I could give you a ride." Finn pulled away and placed a chaste kiss on their lips.

"One second. Let me go tell Shad to buzz off." He crawled out from under them and stumbled through the curtain. He had enough sense to straighten his tunic before approaching his irritated friend. "Thank you for waiting, but I'm good." Shad bit his lip, looking behind Finn at the covered booth and back at him.

"Finn... I think you should come with us."

"Of course you do," Finn rolled his eyes, "sorry someone actually likes me. You'll have a hundred other chances to- no." He stopped himself. "I swear that was a sure-fire thing back there and if you ruined this for me." He pointed Shad towards the door. "This one's mine. Shoo."

"...Give me a ring when you get home, okay?" Shad sighed and left. Finn went back to the booth, his new friend looking a little green around the gills. He had closed up his tunic and adjusted himself to be more presentable.

"Come on, let's go." He said. Finn followed him out the door, well aware of the distance that was now between them. As he crawled into the passenger's side, he remembered the imposing nature of his house and that his mother was home. That certainly wouldn't do him any favors in the romance department.

"Can we go to your place instead?" Finn asked.

"No." The answer was curt, his voice stilted. Quietly the cart pulled off into the night. Finn chewed on his lip, the inn above the bar was a no-go, too many loose lipped strangers were still heavily drinking on the first floor. He didn't want his date bailing as soon as he realized they could get caught by the town witch. That didn't leave too many options, and his sluggish mind was struggling to come up with any other options. The only place they could be alone was, well, also unideal. However, Finn was still riled up enough to throw caution to the wind, and laid a warm hand on the other's knee.

"Pull over." The other looked around at the forest on either side of them. Far enough away from the city and encroaching farms, if they could just get off the main road.

"Here?" He asked. Finn nodded in response and the drove off to the side of the road.

"Still too close," Finn squinted in the darkness, "a little ahead you should be able to pull behind the trees safely."

"...You've done this before?" There was a strange hitch to their voice.

"Kind of." Finn sighed. "I don't like cart stuff, but we don't have any other options." Finn knew he sounded desperate at this point, but it was hard to feel too embarrassed when the new moon hid the other's expression in the night. As soon as the cart pulled to a stop, Finn had eagerly crawled back in their lap and threw his last bit of dignity out the window. The alcohol numbed the discomfort of his knees on hard wood, he let a string of unchecked fantasies spill from his lips and reveled in the fact that he wasn't getting forced on his knees in the grass for once. "Where the hell have you been?" Finn mumbled against their lips, and soothed them through a sudden burst of pleasure and the inevitable clarity that came after. These things were always over too soon. Their hands shook as they pulled him close. They rested their forehead on his shoulder and heaving out a string of apologies afterward.

"Not yet, I don't want to let you go yet..." Finn tried to run his fingers through their hair, but instead had to settle for massaging his scalp in between thick dreadlocks.

"We could..." Finn swallowed thickly, this was usually the part where he'd get rejected. "We could go back to my place. If we're quiet, we can go through the back."

"...okay..." Finn had kissed every inch of their jaw after that. Hadn't questioned how they knew where the back of the house was, or how familiar they were with the layout of his room. It had just seemed like a miracle that, for once, Finn had fallen into bed with someone that made it all feel easy. Someone that wanted to call him by his name instead of dumb little pet names. Which he would have done in turn, but he had loved the way the warrior moaned anytime he whispered those sweet nothings in his ear. He'd blacked out by the time they got upstairs.

Finn was back in the present, the pieces slowly falling into place. A warrior, someone who knew where he lived, the only member of the graduating class with dreadlocks. No wonder Shad had suggested he go home alone, Harv was his only real friend outside of the other bards. At least with Shad, a little drunken mistake amongst friends was something to laugh about in a month, maybe less. With Harv, it was much harder to predict how he'd react. Finn tiptoed out of the powder room, a little more apprehensive than before. He'd been so excited to hook up with someone who actually liked him, he thought that maybe it could work out.

He crawled into bed behind the warrior, still sleeping off the night before. Finn considered letting him sleep for a little while longer, but it hardly seemed the polite thing to do. After all, his family was probably already wondering where he was. Finn pulled the hair away from Harv's face and permitted himself one last kiss against the man's temple before gently rubbing his shoulder to rouse him.

"Harvey..." Finn held his breath once the warrior's eyes opened. He could almost pinpoint the exact moment Harv realized why he was nude in Finn's bed. The pure panic on his face when he looked at Finn was heartbreaking. "Do you... what do you remember from last night?"

"Finn, I'm so sorry." Harv scrambled to collect his clothes from the floor.

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Finn bit his lip. "I..." The panic and guilt in Harv's eyes was making him nauseous. "I kinda blacked out last night..." He waited as Harv's rushed dressing slowed, to see what answer he got in response.

"I was just going to take you home." Harv laced up his boots slowly. "I didn't mean to stay the night. I'm sorry." So that was his answer, or worse, he remembered even less than Finn did. "Your friend, he wouldn't..."

"Shad's a lot of things, but he doesn't spread rumors." Finn said.

"Good, good... I... I have to go." Harv said. Finn winced as his bedroom door slammed shut. Too painfully aware that Harv was running out of the house like a bat out of hell.

As Finn riffled through his drawers for something to wear, one thing about last night stood out more than anything. Once they'd gotten to his room, Harv had kept saying "it's not fair" over and over again. Finn hadn't understood why, or if he'd said something to bring such a mournful declaration from Harv, and at this point he was too afraid to ask. He slammed the drawers shut, and shuffled to the gold can phone. He waited until a familiar voice answered at the other end.

"Shad... I made it home."

AN: I may end up writing Harv's side. Idk yet, I'm still embarrassed by how M rated this one ended up being...