"Hey, give that back! It's mine!"

Davey turned towards the source of the familiar voice sounding distressed. His feet were moving forward as soon as he realized who it was, football game forgotten.

Two third-grade boys were tossing a glittering tiara back and forth, while Kurt tried desperately to get it back.

"Give it back, you Neanderthals!" Kurt shouted angrily, but he was too short and not quick enough for the bigger, older boys. Davey didn't know what that big word meant, but it must be something really bad.

"Shut up, Fairy Boy!" one of the boys laughed, tossing the crown to his friend.

"HEY!" Davey shouted as he ran over. "Give him back his crown!"

Kurt looked up at the familiar voice. Davey had come to a couple more pageants he'd competed in over the summer, always cheering for both Kurt and Ariel.

"Eeeew" one of the boys sneered at Davey. "Is Davey your boyfriend, fairy?"

"I said, give him back his crown!" Dave roared, grabbing the tiara, and then Kurt's hand, and running away. When they were behind the playground, he placed the crown back on Kurt's head.

"Thank you, Davey!" Kurt enthused, hugging his friend tightly. "You're like a brave knight!"

Davey felt his cheeks turn warm. "They're stupid" he muttered. "They're just jealous they don't have a crown. But why'd you bring it to school, Kurt? Won't it get wrecked?"

Kurt sighed. "I hoped it wouldn't. It's just, I wanted to show Mercy and Tina..."

"Maybe you should leave your crowns at home" Davey suggested. "Just so nothing happens to them."

"That's probably a good idea" Kurt agreed. "But thanks for protecting me." He smiled at Dave, his pretty eyes blinking softly. Davey had come to realize that Kurt was just as pretty without the makeup he wore for pageants. "Do you wanna come over and see all my crowns, Davey?" Kurt asked.

Dave couldn't help but smile back. "Sure."

"And I won this at Universal Royalty" Kurt said, trying on a masculine, king-style crown. "I'm only allowed to win boy crowns at some of them."

"You look good in all your crowns" Davey blurted out, a little dazed by the way Kurt's eyes sparkled brighter than any of the rhinestones.

Kurt grinned at Davey. "Thank you" he said softly. "You're so much nicer than those Neanderthals at school."

"What does that word mean?" Davey asked.

"Neanderthal?" Kurt repeated. "My mommy taught me that word. It means a big, dumb, mean boy. Or girl, I suppose."

"But I'm not a...nee-ander-thal, right?" Davey questioned.

Kurt giggled and shook his head quickly. "Oh, no! You're a brave knight, remember?" He picked up the "boy crown" and held it out to Davey. "In fact, I think you should be king."

Davey let Kurt place the crown on his head. "Do you want to be...queen? Can boys be queens?" he asked.

"We can be anything we want!" Kurt replied excitedly. "You may choose a crown for me, King."

Davey picked up the tallest tiara and placed it on Kurt's head. "Queen Kurt of Lima!" he proclaimed, and both boys giggled.

"Here" Kurt said, grabbing two scepters from where they lay next to his tiara collection. He handed one to Davey, grabbed his hand and pulled him towards his full-length mirror.

They made an impressive pair, King and Queen, arms linked and smiles bright.