I Do [Warlock X Peasant]

Chapter 4

 Finn was sitting in his lounge chair on the back patio of his gothic home, drinking from blue bottles like it was nobody's business. Because it was nobody's business that he may have drank a love potion by accident and it was nobody's business that the first antidote hadn't worked. It was definitely nobody's business that he was mixing elixirs and still feeling sorry for himself despite using multiple types of anti-love potions, amnesia spells, and alcohol. So he shouldn't feel the need to be outside hiding from his own nosey mother who'd want to know why he came up empty handed again. Not that she would punish him for failing or anything; she'd just want to find out what's wrong and fix it.

That was worse for some reason.

He had set a few plans in motion to fix this whole wedding situation. Not because he was desperate or anything, that would be ridiculous, laughable even. The quicker he took care of the situation, the happier everyone would be. It really was in everyone's best interest that Harv be single for the foreseeable future. Finn took another swing of the vile combination of potions.

Still nothing.

At least the garden looked nice this time of year.

"Why are you doing this?" That sounded like Harv's voice! Finn sat up and stared at the bottle in shock, maybe he shouldn't be experimenting when he was upset. "Over here?" Finn looked up and there was the warrior standing in his yard. Any joy Finn could have gained was swallowed by embarrassment when he remembered he was in his 'pity me' robe. How could he ever hope Harv to take him seriously when he saw him wearing this tatty old thing that was shapeless and swallowed him like a blanket? He looked up; mother would be able to see him from her window.

"Come closer."

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that again." Harv shook his head.

"Just like- two, maybe three steps; just get into the shadow of the building before somebody sees you!" Finn let out a sigh of relief after Harv begrudgingly took a few steps closer. "Now then," Finn relaxed a little, trying to maintain some scrap of decorum, "what was it you wanted to ask me about?"

"I have tried to be kind about this, but I've been clear. I'm going to marry Audrey." Finn flinched. "What you did went against my wishes and put yourself in danger. So, before things escalate any further, just tell me what you did exactly."

"...exactly?" Finn played with the cap on his bottle. "You wouldn't believe me, even if I told you."

"Try me."

"I'm a witch, sort of." Finn declared with as much pride as he could muster, considering he spent most of his life trying to be a bard.

"I know." Harv looked up at the pink plaster bricks, a monument to the obvious. "That's how I was able to find you. My whole family knows where you live. Including, oh I don't know, my ex-witch hunter dad." Was that what started this all? His whole life his mother had been desperate to make the little goat farm crumble under her feet, Finn hadn't given much thought to what the initial cause was. After all, this was the woman that cursed someone to have bad hair for putting pickles in her salad. He could tell Harv was frustrated. Quite frankly, he was a little frustrated with their circumstances too.

"You knew who I was?" At any point, Harv could have accused him of casting some kind of spell or exposed him to the town, but he didn't. He treated Finn like anyone else. "When did you figure it out?"

"I've known the whole time." Harv said. "You didn't even try to hide who you were." Finn set down his bottle and crossed his arms in defiance.

"I did too! I spent a lot of time crafting a disguise spell that would make me look like your ideal paramour, but it didn't- Oh." Harv already knew of him before they met. Maybe it had been in passing or through hearsay, but Harv was fully aware of Finn's existence. "It didn't need to change anything to suit your tastes." That's why the spell barely changed anything; Harv's type happened to include deviant witches if the flush to his cheeks was any confirmation. "You really don't mind?" He twirled the tie to his robe around his fingers in aimless patterns. "I've been trying to avoid using magic, but if it's something you'd prefer..." Harv turned an even deeper shade of red.