Harvey the Easter Bunny	Harvey the Easter Bunny 

The first signs of spring were peeking nervously out from under a thinning
blanket of snow. Well, it was Chicago... even the seasons had to be
careful in this neighbourhood. Ray parked the Riv and headed into his
friend's apartment building. Ben had spent the morning handing out Easter
eggs to kids at the local hospital and he'd come to pick him up and take
him home for a big Vecchio Easter lunch. He didn't bother knocking, just
breezed into the apartment.  

Dief was lying under the table, studiously ignoring the fluffy pink bunny
lying on the bed. It was very fluffy and very pink. And very, very large. 


"Fraser?"  

The bunny moved slightly.  

"Benny?"  

The bunny rolled over and pushed itself up on one elbow. A pair of long
floppy ears fell forward over its face, and the bunny muttered something
under its breath and pushed them aside with pink mittened hands... er,
paws... Finally the bunny got itself together and sat upright on the bed.
A rather pink face stared blearily out from under the ears.  

"Lo Ray." Ben beamed at him and Ray stared sternly back, his lips a tight
line, the effect only slightly marred by a twitch in one corner.  

Ray went over and sat on the edge of the bed. "What've you been drinking,
Benny?"  

"Eggnog."  

"Eggnog? At Easter?"  

Ben stared at him solemnly then frowned. "Easter... eggs... isn' that
right Ray?"  

"I guess." He couldn't help smiling and Ben's smile reappeared, even more
brilliant than before.	

He hiccuped. "Oops... I don't feel so good, Ray..."  

"I'm not surprised. Feeling sick, Benny?"  

Ben shook his head, the ears flopping about his face, and swayed
alarmingly. "I'm hot, Ray" Was that the hint of a whine in his voice?  

Ray steadied him with a careful hand. "Yeah, well it might help if you
took off that outfit Benny."  

"Can't." Ben pouted adorably. He lifted his mittened hands to the zipper
and demonstrated. "Oh, my paws and whis-kerzzzz..." He started to giggle
helplessly.  

"Want some help?" Ray couldn't keep the grin off his face. Who would have
thought Benny could be such an entertaining drunk?  

"Pleeeze..."  

Ray caught one of the wavering paws, ripped open the Velcro tab and pulled
the mitten off. Then the other one. He pushed back the hood off Ben's head
revealing charmingly rumpled hair.  

"Is that better, Benny?"  

"Thanks, Ray... you're my bes' frien'..."  

"Yeah, sure. I bet you tell everyone that." He reached for the zipper and
started to pull it down. There was bare skin underneath. Must have
stripped to his shorts, Ray thought, an unexpectedly sensible move from
the Canadian.  

"Nooo, Ray... only yoouuu" Ben broke into an unsteady warble.  

As the zipper descended, Ray suddenly realised that it wasn't only his
undershirt that Ben had discarded. He hastily pulled the zipper back up.
Unfortunately, Ben had other ideas. They struggled over possession of the
zipper which was moving jerkily up and down.  

"Stop it Benny!"  

"Wanna take i' off..."	

"You can't take it off. Geez, Benny, you're naked."  

Unexpectedly Ben started to giggle. "No 'm not. Gotta bunny suit on...
why'm I a bunny, Ray?"	

"God knows, Benny. And you're naked under the bunny suit."  

"Thass juss silly, Ray."  

Ray shrugged, giving up. "Have it your way. Just don't say I didn't warn
you."  

Ben pulled the zipper down and then pulled the suit out from his body and
peered inside. "Ooh! You're righ', Ray. I'm nakid." Undeterred by this he
pulled the bunny suit off and discovered something.  

"I gotta 'recshun, Ray." he said proudly.  

"You sure have Benny." Ray was keeping his eyes well away from the sight.
"Why don't you get into bed and sleep it off."	

"Thass no' mush fun, Ray." Ben reached for Ray's overcoat.  

Ray tried to fend him off. "Cut it out Benny! What do ya think you're
doing?"  

"Wanna fine out, Ray... you nake... nakid too?"  

"No, I'm not naked! And I'm not gonna be naked, OK?"  

Ben dropped his hands and stared at Ray as if he'd been slapped. His lower
lip began to tremble and tears spilled out of angelically blue eyes. "You
don' wanna be nakid wi' me?"  

The erstwhile bunny tumbled into his arms sobbing pathetically. Ray sighed
and patted his shoulder. "Benny, you're drunk, OK?"  

There was a muffled denial from the region of his shoulder. "Yes you are,
just take it from me. And I don't take advantage of someone who's drunk." 


"But I wan' you to...." It was a plaintive wail.  

"Well, I can't. A best friend wouldn't do that, now, would he?"  

Ben sat up again, a smile appearing on his face as if by magic. "You
reely, reely are my bess frien'?"  

Ray fished a handkerchief out of his pocket and used it to wipe his
friend's face. "Really, really."  

"Oh! I luvv you, Ray!" Ben flung his arms around Ray and kissed him warmly
on the mouth.  

Ah, what the Hell... Ray returned the embrace and the kiss. After all, it
wasn't as if he hadn't been longing for this for months. He'd just never
expected it to happen quite like this...  

He managed to get out of his clothes, in spite of Ben's insistence on
helping him, and pulled Ben down to lie beside him on the bed, dragging
the blankets over them both. He ran his hands lightly over Ben's body,
making the warm, solid body squirm rather pleasantly against him. His
mouth sought Ben's again and this time the firm lips parted and he plunged
inside, tasting eggnog that appeared to be three quarters made up of
brandy. No wonder he was in this state. Ray pulled back a little to stare
into Ben's eyes as they suddenly rolled back. A faint gurgle came from
between those beautiful lips.  

Ray sighed and drew Ben's head onto his shoulder and then wrapped his arms
around him. Well, at least this saved him from a moral dilemma. Careful
not to disturb Ben, he managed to snag his overcoat from the floor and
extract his cell phone from the pocket.  

"Ma? We won't be coming over, Ma. Benny's a bit... kinda under the
weather... No, he'll be fine... I'll stay and keep an eye on him, OK?
...Yeah, see ya later. Bye Ma."  

Ray put the cell phone carefully down on the floor and turned his
attention back to his companion. Ben was sleeping peacefully, looking
absolutely adorable, and only the most critical person would call that
faint sound a snore... He considered getting out of the bed and getting
dressed again, but he'd been wanting this for ages. Nope, Benny might be
in for a big surprise when he woke, but he'd just have to deal with it.
Ray smiled happily, he couldn't wait to see what would happen...