#nuru was just joking around

[that-one-raccoon]

vat7k shenanigans

[pansy-picnics]

A vat7k related question.

What do you think is Hugo's gender identity? Cus I want to hear what you think Hugo's gender is and the story behind it.

EHEHEHE personally i think she’s genderfluid and uses he/she/they pronouns…….I think he was kind of an uncracked egg up until the trials though. like, he’s been in survival mode for so long that he’s never had the time or luxury to really think about himself or his identity….i think he’s had a lot of different disguises over his career though, and those personas are either male or female depending on what the situation calls for so he’s not a stranger to dressing femininely either.

but yeah…i think for a long time hugo just identified as male by default cuz like…what else would he be LOL. if he had any doubts at all they weren’t significantly hindering him or anything so he just buried them with all the other of the emotions he doesn’t want to feel. but like the closet is made of GLASS and this becomes especially obvious when she teams up with 3 other teenagers who are also transgender so sometimes she’ll just Say Shit and they all turn around and look at her like “…….🤨”

i have this very vivid scene in my head where varian comes out to the gang as trans and hes clearly really uneasy abt it. and hugo doesn’t know what to say so he just tries to relate by saying the first thing that comes to mind and goes “oh yeah i get it i mean. sometimes i wish i was a girl but like not all the time yk” and nuru and varian both just stop and stare at him

hugo, getting nervous: …Sorry that’s probably not the same thing forget i said anything

nuru: No i think we should talk about this?

anyways yeah….other than her traveling party giving her some weird looks nothing actually really came of these conversations bc hugo would refuse to think about herself even if you put a gun to her head

fast forward to post-trials though, and hugo’s been living in the castle with varian for about six months…it was REALLY messy for both of them while she was adjusting, but at this point shes finally started to let her guard down a little, and all of a sudden she has SO much free time and she has no idea what to do with any of it. she’s stealing collecting things, tinkering with all kinds of useless little gadgets, rapunzel is teaching her tons of little arts and crafts projects. overall shes pretty content despite everything. So anyways then the gender crisis hits them like a fucking freight train

honestly i’m like half joking when i say i think it started bc they just kept forgetting to cut their hair. like one day they looked in the mirror and they’re like “wow my hairs getting so long i kinda look like a girl lol. Wait”

AND AS FUNNY AS IT IS ITS SO. WILDLY UNFAMILIAR TO THEM. like all of a sudden theyre SO insecure for as far as they can tell, NO reason and it drives them CRAZY. i dont even think that hugo dislikes their masculine features after coming out, i think they embrace them if anything but its just like…going from 0 to 100 so fast and suddenly being so hyper aware of themselves in a way that they NEVER were before…having to realize that they’re definitely Not cis. it’s fucking TERRIFYING!!!

not to mention it hits him all at once during a time when he’s still frankly really paranoid about him and varian’s relationship, and he’s kinda walking on eggshells bc deep down he’s convinced that var’s just gonna get tired of him eventually and kick him out. its like he’s just waiting for the final nail in the coffin despite the fact that there is literally no coffin.

All that being said i think it takes him a while to work up the courage to talk to varian about it. and he knows he won’t like. hate him for being trans or anything (I sure hope he wouldn’t, at least, seeing as he is literally also trans) but varian’s already done SO much for him and helped him through literally everything already….he doesn’t want to burden him any more than he already has. he also cant comprehend that someone can just Like him, like, as a person, so he’s convinced himself that varian must see something specific in him right now and he’s afraid that if he changes himself drastically in any way then whatever varian saw in him just. won’t be there anymore. If that makes sense

as for who he actually goes to first- honestly i think it’d have to be lance. at least in my head lance was the first person hugo really started to bond with aside from varian….he didn’t start letting his guard down with rapunzel until quite a while after that. also i think he’s worried that if he tells rapunzel she’d end up accidentally spilling something to varian (which is like. Valid bc she’s a horrible liar) he’d definitely write a letter to nuru, too, but nuru is also in another kingdom, and that message takes a while to get to her, so it’s more something they talk about after the fact

when he finally does get a letter back after dumping this revelation on her it’s just like

“dearest hugo. upon reading your letter i desperately wanted to tell you that i told you so, but i realize that would be in poor taste, seeing as you are clearly struggling right now. Moreover,-“ /j

regardless of who she tells first, they obviously all support her and encourage her to talk to varian as well…And ofc varian hypes her up to no end when she finally does. i wanna say it’s a sweet emotional scene but i feel like varian was also under the assumption that she figured out the gender thing like a year ago /j

hugo: ,,,,so like. i don’t think i’m a guy

varian: . yeah?

hugo:

hugo: TFYM “YEAH”?????!!!!???

varian: D. DID WE NOT ALREADY KNOW THIS?

hugo: ,???? NO???!!???!

jokes aside though as soon as hugo does decide he wants to explore his presentation more varian immediately consults rapunzel who gets WAY too excited about it and it kind of scares hugo a little bit. /j like Do you want to cut your hair? Dye it? Do you want new piercings? TATTOOS????

they eventually just settle on getting her a few new pieces to add to her wardrobe and that works out fine. varian sees his girlfriend in a dress and loses his mind etc etc. All is right in the world

[tigger8900]

Who Fears Death, by Nnedi Okorafor

⭐⭐⭐⭐

In a distant-future Africa, after an unspecified apocalypse, Onyesonwu is the daughter of an Okeke woman, conceived through rape by a man of the Nuru, the tribe that enslaved the Okeke. This made her Ewu, a mixed-race child marked by a distinctive appearance and rejected by both sides of her heritage. While her mother had fled the genocidal violence that consumed her homeland, Onyesonwu finds herself still under threat from her father, a powerful sorcerer. Armed with magic of her own, a band of allies, and an old prophecy, she sets out west to confront him.

I don't want to say that I enjoyed this book, because I didn't. The content warnings aren't a joke, and I encourage you to check a list. But I am glad I read the book, especially after also reading the afterword which pointed me to the real-world atrocity that inspired the Ewu. If it had come entirely from the author's mind it would have been too much, but of course it was based in reality, because humans never stop finding new ways to be monstrously cruel to each other.

The thing I liked the most about it was diving into the magic systems(yes, plural - there's the more commonplace juju, and also the sorcery that the main character learns to wield), particularly that they were explained enough to give me the flavor without being explained to death. I also loved the almost-meta themes surrounding destiny and agency, and the ending of the book was perfect(fight me). Something else I appreciated was that the characters were allowed to be human, with all the flaws, tempers and mistakes that come along with that.

The main thing I didn't like was how much sex and relationship drama was in the story. Once they were adults, it seemed like every chapter someone was having intercourse with someone else and a third person was being salty about it. Realistic? Yes, but not my cup of tea. Also, the way the novel revolved around pregnancy was a bit squick for me, though I'm aware this one is a me problem. Nothing in this point seemed out of character, it just very much wasn't for me. The other criticism I have is that the book was extremely gender binary, which isn't too surprising for a book published in 2010.

As a side note, I spent the last several years convinced that I'd once picked up this book, began to read it, then DNFed it with the intent to pick it up again at a later date. However, upon starting to read, I discovered that the book I was remembering was not this book. I believe it may have been the prequel published in 2015, The Book of Phoenix, but without having it in front of me I'm not sure. I'm not okay with this evidence of how fallible memory is!

[thecurseoflife]

When Varian, Hugo, Yong and Nuru first arrived in the Light kingdom, to finally finish the trials and open the Eternal Library, they briefly saw the princess and her friends. Even if it lasted no longer than a couple of minutes, Hugo had that weird feeling like he knew the man beside the princess of Corona. And judging by that guy’s face, so did he.

But the feeling was too quick to think about it, and what happened next immediately put Hugo’s mind elsewhere (like, for a very random example, the near death experience of his new boyfriend).

Once everything settled down, and Yong and Nuru went back to their kingdoms and life (with the promise to come by often), Hugo finally had time to think about what happened.

He saw the man again, quite often actually. He never seemed to be very far from the princess. To be fair, Hugo was never very far from Varian either.

They didn’t talk, just glancing at each other every time they passed a corridor or Varian had to talk to the princess. He could see in the man’s – he learned his name was Eugene, which surprisingly didn’t help – eyes that he was also searching where he knew him from.

It was very annoying, and that little game persisted for a while, neither of the party wanting to start a conversation before knowing if the other was a threat.

It was the middle of the night when it clicked.

Until Hugo and Varian got their own home, they were both living with Quirin, who made clear at the very beginning that the two won’t sleep together under his roof. So they waited until he fell asleep and sneaked into the other’s bedroom.

That night Hugo was in Varian’s room, and the smaller boy was peacefully sleeping by his side, comfortably snuggled against him.

But he couldn’t sleep. Once again the thought of Eugene and that oh so familiar face and mannerisms… it reminded him of someone. Someone he had worked with. Someone really annoying, and selfish and arrogant… It reminded him of…

Hugo jolted in the bed, struck by a revelation. The alchemist beside him nearly fell out the bed, brutally awakened.

-W-What’s going on ? Hugo, are you okay ? Was it a nightmare ?

Still processing the thought, Hugo turned slowly towards him, staring into the void. Which only freaked out Varian more.

-Hey, Goggles… Is Eugene Flynn Rider ?

Varian looked at his boyfriend in disbelief. Did this guy really just woke him up, in the middle of the night AND from a very nice dream -for once- to ask him that ? Varian scoffed in indignation and layed back down, rolling over, making sure to take the whole blanket.

A moment passed and the small scientist assumed the idiot had come to his senses and decided to sleep. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

-Sooo… is he ?

-HUGO !

-C’mon Hairstripe, it’s important…

Varian stayed silent for a little while to let him think about how he woke him up then mumbled a yes when he heard Hugo get up to leave.

The taller boy smiled fondly at the angry gremlin and went back up in bed with him, happily snuggling with him and kissing his neck, which seemed to calm the other boy down a bit.

-Can I have some of the blanket now ? Hugo joked.

All he had for an answer was a pillow in the face.

The next morning, despite his teasing and humorous reaction, the fact that Eugene, the princess’ boyfriend and apparently his own boyfriend’s close friend was the traitorous, awful, thief Flynn Rider wasn’t really easy to wrap his mind around.

To be honest, it was mostly stuck in his throat. And it did not leave a very good after taste.

As soon as he got a moment alone with the vile serpent, Hugo confronted him about it.

Eugene was about to ask a question about the boy’s weird behavior in the last few days, thinking that the other finally knew why their presences  felt so familiar, when Hugo cut him off.

-You are Flynn Rider, aren’t you ?

The captain froze. The snarky tone of the kid pronouncing his name… Everything snapped into place.

He slowly pointed at Hugo, a small smile of victory for finally figuring it out creeping on his face.

-Waiiit… I remember you now. You were that kid with the weird name from when we did that heist back in Ingvarr ! What was that stupid nickname again… Ch… Cherry… No, no, more like…

Hugo’s cheeks flushed slightly and he cut the man again.

-You’re one to talk with « stupid nicknames », Flynn Rider.

Eugene scoffed, looking offended, and rose his voice a little, more hurt in his pride than anything else.

-Well at least I didn’t run away with the treasure !

-Oh, sorry, I didn’t know we were pointing fingers ! Did I steal the map and leave like an idiot to face traps all alone, and eventually got stuck, because the whole purpose of being group was to get past those traps ?! At least I was smart enough to let you guys to do the dirty work for me to get the jewels at the end !

-Excuse me ? If I recall well Crook got you and stole the jewels back ! And don’t you dare calling me stupid to my face.

-Or what ? You’re going to steal the crown ?

Hugo struck a nerve this time and Eugene tensed, making the other smirk.

-What are you going to do, arrest me ? Because I hurt your delicate heart ?

-Well I would be doing my job, putting another thief and traitor behind the bars.

-Funny, that’s precisely what people called you not so long ago.

The captain of the guards was about to give that kid some time in a cell to think about that he had done when the door suddenly opened, revealing Varian and Rapunzel, alerted by the fight.

When they saw the two guys glaring angrily at one another, fists closed and teeth clenched, they immediately understood what was going on and they went from “oh-my-god-are-they-okay” to “you-need-scolding-right-now”.

They both took their respective boyfriend by the ears and dragged them away from the other. Varian let go of Hugo’s ear, that was seriously hurting, and crossed his arms.

-Hugo, what in the name of… of anything was that ? You’ve been ignoring Eugene since you got here, and suddenly we leave you ten seconds alone and you’re already at each others throats !

-Look, Goggles, I don’t expect you to get it but… This guy is Flynn Rider ! I know him, he is not… he’s not trustworthy. Believe me.

Varian stared at his boyfriend in disbelief, eyebrows frowned. He looked hurt, and upset. Like he was about to cry and spat anger at him at the same time.

-Eugene is not Flynn Rider. Not anymore. I don’t know where you guys met but it was a long time ago. He has changed. You can’t… you can’t judge him for what he did in the past. Y-You can’t.

Hugo was about to argument further but stopped. The young alchemist was avoiding his gaze, clenching at his arms, like he always did when he felt upset. Hugo’s heart sunk a little bit and all trace of anger left his mind. He gently cupped his lover chin and made him look into his eyes.

He had never really been great with words, especially in emotional moment like this one.

He didn’t know what to say to make his boyfriend feel better. But all that Varian needed was one look into his heart, through the windows of his eyes to hear the thousands of words he was struggling to say.

Varian went in for a hug and Hugo hugged back tightly, passing his emotions through his gestures and action rather than his words.

The tall scientist felt stupid. Of course it would make him think about that. He didn’t mean it that way. He didn’t mean to say that Varian, his sweet, strong, smart, adorable Varian was not trustworthy, was not perfect. He didn’t mean to say that he didn’t deserve love nor friendship. And he knew he didn’t say it. He knew he was talking about that filthy traitor and pathetic excuse for a thief, but… if it made his alchemist feel better to… tolerate Flynn, then he would. For his Varian.

-Okay, I… I will try not to argue with him and I’ll try to… Well the point is I’ll try. Okay Goggles ?

It wasn’t enough. It really wasn’t but… Varian couldn’t force them to be friends or to like each other. If Hugo said he was going to try… then he trusted him. With all his heart. But knowing him, and knowing Eugene, the peace probably won’t last long. Maybe if he could just nudge them in the right direction…

Varian pulled away from the hug and was about to say something when the door slammed open, showing a very happy Cassandra, overwhelmed by an insane amount of things. Rapunzel immediately stopped talking to Eugene and jumped into her best friend’s arm, effectively making them both fall on the ground. All of Cass’… stuff scattered on the ground, but neither of them cared. Eugene helped them both up and smiled at his friend.

-Welcome back, Cass.

The woman smiled back and went forward to Varian who hugged her tightly with a big smile. Which  made a spear of jealousy and spite enter Hugo’s heart, like every time he saw the woman who caused so much pain to his love.

-Cassandra.

-Hugo.

Fortunately, the feeling was mutual.

Cassandra came back from time to time to Corona, giving away things she gained during her, no one doubted, numerous adventures. During each one of her visits, everyone was overjoyed to see her whereas Hugo felt the complete opposite. Thankfully she never stayed long, going back onto the road, which made each of her visits really valuable to Rapunzel. She always spent as much time with her as possible, doing all sorts of activities and forgetting for a while that she was the princess, just enjoying her friend’s company.

And oh, was it a great moment for Cass to be in town. Now Hugo had two people he wasn’t allowed to be upset against. Great.

Saying the boy wasn’t fond of the former lady-in-waiting was an understatement. But to be honest, he definitely liked Flynn way more than Cassandra.

At least one of them didn’t commit an attempted murder on his alchemist.

Since Cass was into town, it seemed the conversation was over, and after a quick chat with her to catch up, she went with the princess and the thief and left. Varian and Hugo went on with the tasks of the day, taking care of the Eternal Library, fixing some stuff and checking if everything worked fine…

That night, Varian sneaked inside his lovely boyfriend’s room. Hugo was already in bed, reading a book about the history of Corona with the dim light of a candle, surprisingly not using one of the lamp they made together.

When he heard Varian enter the room, he slightly tensed up, knowing what was coming.

The boy sat beside him in the bed, gently taking the book from his hands.

-Look, Hugo… I… I know that Eugene used to be… different to say the least, but I promise you, he is not the man you met long ago. He’s… he’s a good guy, he saved me and cared for me numerous times, and he’s my friend. I don’t expect you two to suddenly be all rainbows and teddy-bears but just… give him a chance. Give Eugene a chance, not Flynn. Can you do that for me ?

Hugo hesitated, his protective side acting up. He looked away, and Varian interpreted that as a “no”. The smaller boy gently took his boyfriend’s hand into his and stroke it slowly. Hugo sighed and turned to face Varian, looking conflicted. He met his lover’s puppy eyes and tiny smile, and he was defeated.

-Okay, okay, fine ! I’ll do it, I promi- I swear I’ll give him a shot. But Goggles, if he picks on me then I won’t hold back.

The royal alchemist chuckled softly and Hugo’s heart did a flip. He always loved his laugh. Not the big, loud ones. The little, precious giggles or snorts that always made him feel overwhelmed with love.

Hugo brushed Varian’s cheeks and leaned in, kissing his wonderful boyfriend with all the love he could put in it, he kissed him back, smiling and holding him close.

Three days later, you would be surprised to learn that Hugo’s and Eugene’s bickering was endless. They couldn’t even just look at each other without getting annoyed and complaining about the other to their partner.

Partners that had just enough of it.

Like they agreed on, Varian sneaked into Rapunzel’s room, without either of their boyfriends noticing. It was night, and the stars were shining and giving a dim light to the princess’ dark room.

-Rapunzel ? Whispered the alchemist.

The door shut behind him in a small clap, and a voice behind startled him.

-You weren’t followed ?

-What ? No no no, relax Rapunzel, we’re just going to talk, not go on a secret mission or something !

Rapunzel scrunched up her nose and lowered the pan. Her serious expression was replaced by her cheerful smile and she grabbed her friend’s hand to lead him to her bed, where they sat and lit up a lamp. Pascal, who was peacefully sleeping until then, groaned a bit and turned away from the sudden light.

-Sorry Pascal ! Winced the princess. So, Varian, do you have a plan ?

The alchemist fell back on the bed and sighed.

-No, not at all. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I know you’ve had enough as much as me, and honestly I think we have to do something about this ! It’s unbearable !

Rapunzel flopped by his side and they both looked up at the ceiling in silence for a while.

-Maybe we could… I don’t know… Make a gift and give it to Eugene and pretend it’s from Hugo or something ?

Varian threw the idea into the air, not really convinced, more to stimulate ideas than an actual solution.

-What about a road trip ? Suddenly said the brown haired girl.

-A road trip ?

-Yeah ! We did one when we were looking for the moonstone, and I think it really helped us to bond together ! I learned a lot of things about Eugene and Cassandra ! Maybe it’ll be good for you guys to go too !

-”You guys” ? You wouldn’t be coming ?

Rapunzel sat up, looking a bit embarrassed, tangling her short hair between her fingers.

-Well, I was thinking that I could be spending some time with Cass before she leaves again…

Varian nodded. It was fair, but… the perspective of sharing a trip with two quarreling old ladies wasn’t appealing to say the least. To be fair, if he could just throw them on a bonding trip and rest in Corona during a month or two, he would.

But he still wanted to see his friend and lover in one piece when they returned…

-Hey, Rapunzel… Hugo has been complaining about Eugene and he told me where they met. Maybe if we could get them back there it would help to solve things ?

-You mean in Ingvarr ?

The alchemist snorted.

-I see Hugo wasn’t the only one whining around.

Rapunzel groaned and pouted, crossing her arms. They looked at each other and laughed, trying to stifle the sound in their hands.

Sadly it didn’t seem to work that well since a guard knocked on the princess’ door soon after, forcing Varian to hide on the balcony.

Once the guard was gone, the boy sneaked out through the door to his home.

Right before he disappeared in the hallway, Rapunzel whispered.

-So that’s the plan ? A bonding trip to Ingvarr ? Are you sure it’s going to work ?

Varian looked around, making sure he wasn’t going to be spotted and then bowed to the princess, winking at her as he ran away.

Guess that meant he got it.

It took some convincing -from both sides- but here they were, on the caravan that Rapunzel insisted of giving them, Varian holding the reins of the horses, squished between two mean looking friends.

Great. This was going to be a great trip.

Ingvarr, the Iron kingdom, also known as the “Bad kingdom”, was notoriously known to be poor. The city was mostly houses built over other houses, which made gigantic towers of houses one on the others, and a very very tight main street. There were strings of laundry hanging from a house to another and ladders going in between the streets.

Everything was dirty. The houses, the street, the people. Everyone was just trying to survive, and travelers were very rare. So whenever someone came, ten minutes was usually all it took to be stripped down of everything you ever owned.

The children were mostly living on their own, being smart or being dead. They built, made groups, gangs if I may, stealing to be able to eat and caring about one another, as long as it was in the gang.

The nickname “Bad kingdom” came from the fact that only criminals lived there, as it was the only way to survive. It was also just a poorly ruled kingdom. Because, you see, people in the street were starving, and if you continued up that street, the mountain of houses were less and less high, until you got to the industrial part of the kingdom, that provided polluted air and horrible diseases to the inhabitants. Do I really need to describe that horror vision that you all have ?

I do not. Moving on.

After you passed by the factories, you had to go up a hill. The hill was surrounded by thick smoke and toxic gas that the industry was releasing all day long, and it was impossible to know what was at the end of the hill until you passed the pollution barrier.

Then, the bright daylight that you haven’t seen since you entered the town might blind you. The fresh air and wonderful scent of flowers could make your head spin. But mostly the sight of the gigantic, rich, wealthy and healthy castle could make your heart swell and your anger boil.

At that point, guards would have caught you and thrown you back into the smoke, away from the castle and away from life.

Ingvarr wasn’t a happy kingdom. It wasn’t the kingdom you talked about with a smile on your face, and if you did mention it, bad memories would be resurfacing in your mind.

That explained the frown on both Hugo’s and Eugene’s faces as they were all happily heading to disaster.

Of course, it might be related to the fact that they both assumed the other was a horrible traitorous thief about to hurt Varian.

Ingvarr was two weeks away from Corona, and as Hugo let out a snarky comment that started a fight, the royal alchemist was wondering how long he was going to be able to put up with this.

A week. Varian had been able to put up with this for a week. The constant fighting and bickering, the childish behavior of his two “companions”, the oh so annoying “Varian, you can tell him that...”.

He had regrets. Maybe just throwing them in a close space and let them fight until exhaustion would have been better.

Instead he was getting late on his royal scientist duties and babysitting two morons who were getting on his nerves.

Right now, he wished he was at home, drinking some delicious hot cocoa Ruddiger just made…

He missed Ruddiger too.

Varian didn’t want to bring him into this so he left him with Rapunzel, convinced that she would take good care of him. He wish he didn’t have to bring himself into this.

-Crook would have you kicked out if it weren’t for me !

-Oh well I’m sorry then your honor. And don’t bring Crook into this, who knows what he would do to you if he found you again !

-Ah, well joke’s on you, Glasses, I just stole the map. You stole the entire treasure !

-HE TOOK IT BACK !

Ah yes. Another subject of argument. That guy named “Crook”. From what Varian understood, he was the one who put the entire operation up. He asked help from Donella who suggested Hugo could help. He understood that Crook wanted to steal the jewels from the castle, but surprisingly, he didn’t understand why. From what he heard, that guy didn’t want the jewels for himself. Neither Hugo nor Eugene actually knew why. It was kind of off-putting, but the alchemist had other worries than why the guy who hired his boyfriend and half of Team awesome was stealing some stupid jewels 10 years ago.

When he heard something crash in the caravan where the children were fighting, Varian abruptly decided he needed to go for a walk. He pulled on the reins and the caravan came to a sudden halt that threw the two arguing men on the ground. They opened the door to see Varian angrily walking away in the forest.

Hugo and Eugene looked at each other, feeling bad about putting the boy in a bad state.

-Okay, look Glasses. We both want what’s best for Varian. I think we can both agree that our… differences clearly upset him. So I’ll tell you what. We’ll keep the arguments to a minimum and just… actually try to get along ?

Eugene held out his hand with an encouraging smile. He seemed sincere. Hugo looked suspiciously at the hand, expecting some kind of trick. He looked back at the forest where Varian had disappeared. The tall alchemist hesitated. On one hand, he absolutely did not want to “befriend” that traitorous thief, but on the other hand, he would do anything to make Varian happy. And if being less… annoying around Fly- Eugene would make that happen, then…

Hugo reached out and shook the man’s hand. The grip was a little too firm, but it was undoubtedly a step forward. They let go and faced the forest. Hugo took a glance at Eugene that just shrugged and leaned on the caravan. The alchemist narrowed his eyes and with that, left on the trail of his boyfriend.

Varian was sitting at the bottom of a tree, facing a river, and throwing rocks in the raging waters. He looked lost in his thoughts, not immediately hearing Hugo’s footsteps behind him. He was startled by his lover’s hand gently landing on his shoulder.

He turned and relaxed a little when he saw who it was.

Then got back to angrily throwing rocks.

Hugo sat beside him, silently observing as the rocks hit the water and broke it’s flow into a splash. It was relaxing, in a way. A way to feel like you’re in control. You are the one who makes the stone interact with the water. 

Suddenly, a stone hit the water with much more strength than the other ones and the blondie rose an eyebrow, looking over to a fuming boyfriend.

-Why are you here if it’s just to sit by and-and do nothing, SAY nothing ?! Don’t you have Eugene to argue with or something ?

There was a small silence. Hugo sighed and scooted over to his boyfriend before swinging his arm over his shoulders and hug him close. Much to Varian’s discontent.

-W-what ? Hey, no ! Let me go, I’m mad at you !

Despite the tiny gremlin struggles, Hugo didn’t let go. Varian finally gave in, not really wanting to push his boyfriend away. Maybe, if he was being honest with himself, had he been a little -very very little- bit jealous of the attention Eugene was getting instead of him. Night like days, all that Hugo was talking about was “the awful smug Flynn Rider”, all his concerns, all his thoughts were about Eugene. And it was very unnerving and hurt Varian quite a lot. 

So having that sudden affection after weeks of being touch-starved was… very welcomed. Even if he was incredibly upset. With those thoughts in mind, Varian stopped fighting and melted into his boyfriend’s embrace, enjoying the care while it lasted. Without really thinking he tangled his fingers with Hugo’s, and they stayed like this a while, looking at the river, enjoying each other presence and love, in silence.

The wind was brushing in the trees, taking some leaves as it went, sometimes landing it on the water or the head of a squirrel that wasn’t looking. Sometimes a bird would catch it, hoping to find a quick snack, singing along the other of his kind. In the flow of a river, a fish would jump now and then, following the current or going against it, the most unlucky being caught by a bear or other predators.

It was calm, and yet active, like the nature always have been. And in the middle of that, Hugo and Varian were snuggling against a tree, listening and observing, butterflies in their stomach while real ones were passing by.

The sun slowly setting was giving it’s last warmth, and as Varian was savoring his boyfriend’s scent, he felt his eyes grow tired of being open. When the sun disappeared behind the trees, Varian was already asleep.

At that point, he leaned more over Hugo than on the tree. The blondie looked over, with a fond smile. He grabbed his boyfriend and put him on his lap, his head resting on his chest. He looked so peaceful, the complete opposite of his tantrum a few minutes earlier. And he was beautiful.

His chest was rising in rhythm with his steady breath, his slow heartbeat soothing Hugo to sleep.

The tall boy had to focus on not dozing off as well, leaving them at the mercy of any bears or wolves passing by. He brushed one black strand of hair out of his alchemist’s face, gazing lovingly at him, letting his hand go over his face, caress his lips and hold him close.

-God, I love you Freckles.

When Hugo returned to the caravan, Varian still napping in his arms, the door flew open and a very anxious Eugene jumped out.

He opted for a quiet voice at the sight of the alchemist asleep, but scolded the blondie anyway.

-Where have you been ?! I was about to go in the forest to find you, you’ve been gone for hours, I thought you’d gotten kidnapped or worse !

Hugo rolled his eyes and smirked.

-Sorry old man, not everyone is as vulnerable as you.

The captain of the guard turned red, about to kick that impudent brat’s butt, holding off at the last second, remembering his… their decision. He took two big breaths, trying to calm himself down, with little success. So he turned his attention to the person they both cared about.

-Did you tell him about our agreement ?

-No. I don’t think words would work better than actions.

Eugene hummed. Even if actions were better, he learned with Rapunzel that words and communication were as important. But maybe this time it wouldn’t be necessary.

A few days later, Varian had indeed noticed an abrupt change in his friends’ behaviors. Whenever they were starting a fight, one of them -usually Eugene- would cool things down and it never got as heated as before.

Since they could come to neutral ground more quickly, they were less and less bickering, but not getting along either. They weren’t there yet but… it was a start. Yet another one.

However when it was HUGO who conceded something, it was always an event in itself. The boy had pride. A lot. And it was very unusual for him to admit he was wrong or to let someone have something especially if it meant he would have less. Varian liked to think that he was actually really trying to get closer to Eugene and even that maybe, if it wasn’t too far of a stretch, he already liked the guy.

It was great. And they weren’t even in Ingvarr yet ! Maybe, hopefully, they wouldn’t have to actually get in the kingdom.

Varian had read about it before deciding to put two people of his inner circle there, and he had to admit… it wasn’t exciting. But it was the place where it all started. Yet again it’s what convinced Varian. If there was one place where things could be solved… that was it.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the two giants walls made of houses appeared in the horizon. It was in a valley, surrounded by huge hills, not high enough to be mountains. It was always disturbing to see the Bad Kingdom for the first time. The almost unreal green field surrounding it and then it’s thick smoke and grey theme. Varian felt a knot form in his throat. 

Not for the first time in the trip, he thought that this was a bad idea.

Ingvarr is the Bad Kingdom, the kingdom of thieves and criminals. A kingdom badly run and with a sickening poverty rate. It would be stupid and inconsiderate to bring the royal caravan of Corona in the city.

What first assaulted Varian when he walked in wasn’t a child or some poor soul trying to survive. It was the smell. It was atrocious. It even made his gag reflex act out, and he had to rest a moment to catch his breath and stop coughing and choking.

And let’s remind everyone that this boy right there went to PRISON. It doesn’t smell nice there either.

The streets were disgusting, trash scattered all around, the ground so soaked with the toxic smoke you sunk in it, people doing their duties then and there, some rats rotting in a corner.

As Eugene and Hugo expected, everyone was staring at them. Without him realizing it, they were in tight formation around Varian, sending death glare to keep people away. It seemed to work for a while, but they knew it was only a matter of time. Thankfully, they knew the good addresses…

When they pushed the door of the only decent inn in all of Ingvarr, and slammed it shut behind them, Hugo and Eugene felt like they were about to pass out. But it was fine now, everything was alright, they were okay, Varian was safe.

They stood by the door for a couple of minutes, trying to relax and calm their furiously beating heart. The tension was strong out there.

Varian didn’t have this problem. On the contrary, as soon as he stepped in the inn, his nausea disappeared, the gruesome scent replaced by a wonderful mix of orange and butterscotch. He had been completely oblivious to the danger they were in, overwhelmed by the strong smell.

He walked around a bit, surprised to see such a fine building in the middle of the city of horror. Indeed, the hotel was as clean as can be. It was lit by warm torches on the wall, not leaving one place to the hazards of shadows. The tables were elegant and hygienic, carved and polished from some beautiful trees. Surprisingly, there were no windows, and Varian assumed it was to help the calming atmosphere of the room.

Which was true, but it was mostly to prevent anyone to burst through them and steal everything and everyone. In fact, the inn was on the ground floor, and even if it wasn’t obvious for any coronan passing by, that was extremely dangerous, especially for an establishment so well maintained.

A round man, all smiles and joyful vibe came out of the back door and greeted his guests with a firm shake.

-Why hello there dear customers ! Greetings young man, and it certainly is a pleasure to see you again, Flynn Rider and Cheesy Cherry !

Eugene was about to correct the innkeeper, but stopped himself. Team awesome slowly turned to Hugo, hilarious. Varian was only able to wheeze out his thief name before bursting into laughters.

Standing there, his cheeks burning and his pride destroyed, Hugo was trying to dissolve in his clothes, refusing to look at anyone.

Immediately realizing the uncomfortable situation he had put one of his client in, the host changed the subject, averting the boy’s friend’s attention away from him.

-My apologies if I mispronounced your names, messire. It’s very unusual to see people again around here.

Eugene winced, not really liking what he was implying. He shook it off and smiled.

-It’s alright, don’t sweat it. But I go by Eugene now and this fella goes by Hugo. The boy is Varian.

The innkeeper took note of it and bowed before them.

-Well then, it’s a pleasure to meet you again, Eugene, Hugo, and Varian. My name is Gast, Gast Wirt. I run this tavern all by myself, and I serve some of the finest food and wine you can find in miles around. My services may seem cheap to you but I assure you it’s a treasure in those parts.

-We know Gast, don’t worry. Anyway, we’ll take the usual, although maybe a separate room for the kids. Uh, breakfast and dinner, I don’t think we’ll be around during lunch, and uhh, yeah, that’s it.

The usual being the royal suite. It was the most expensive room and yet would stand for a cabin in the woods if it was in Corona. The first time they came here as a group about to steal some jewels, they were already baffled by the low prices and took the suite. The establishment was shining but Gast never took any pleasure to rip off his customers. He always offered fair prices and nice shelter.

Breakfast and dinner wasn’t much more expensive, but they were succulent and delectable. Eugene could almost… no he could say it was even better than the finest dishes on the royal table in Corona.

The inn was empty at that time, the occupants usually busy wandering in the city and trying to not get assaulted.

Once they got their bags down in the suite, they decided to visit the city for a while, this time not to steal or judge but to actually see Ingvarr from another angle.

Well, Hugo and Eugene had made the decision. Varian wasn’t really keen on getting his nostrils destroyed by the horrendous smell.

The two men hesitated to leave him alone. Even if that inn was probably the safest place around, it wasn’t exactly foolproof either and they were, after all, in the Bad kingdom.

It took some convincing, but Varian was finally able to kick them out and have some alone time at last.

He heard a tap on the counter and turned around to see Gast with two drinks and some soft alcohol. He had a warm smile which Varian returned.

They talked for a while, about Hugo, Eugene, Corona, himself, Gast, Ingvarr, and even at some point the commercial value of making spices travel by sea instead of land.

Varian was still on his still first drink, and Gast on his twentieth. And yet they were still completely sober, joking around and chatting.

It was nice, and Varian was glad to be there.

Suddenly the door swung open, making Varian turn around and Gast to have a big smile.

-Oh, what a nice surprise ! Hello Crook !

Eugene and Hugo had been quite surprised to say the least. The city seemed to have… grown. Not in size, thank god, but it looked better, cleaner in a way. Even if the first impression didn’t give it off, the people seemed happier and way more proper and healthy. It was weird, they didn’t hear that the king had died, but maybe he had learned to actually take care of his people now. They quickly realized that their death glares might have not been the only reason they didn’t get attacked. It was possible that the people simply didn’t need it anymore.

The houses were nicer, painted and clean, the ladders safer, the roads leading to the castle had been covered with stone to avoid any more dirt and filth or disease to enter. To be honest, the closest they came to the castle, the better everything was. The smell, the people, the buildings, the entire atmosphere…

When they got back to the inn, a couple hours later, they had a much better view of Ingvarr.

They were greeted by Gast and went to the suite, only to find -to their relief- Varian reading on the bed.

Hugo jumped by his side and kissed his hair. Eugene simply put down their latest purchases in the chest at the bottom of the bed.

-Whatcha reading Goggles ?

-It's a book about Ingvarr's history. It's really interesting ! Did you know that it used to be a very prosperous kingdom, with a lot of influence? It's actually under the reign of Elendig Iort 1er that the kingdom collapsed. While the king was diving in his wealth, he let the people die of hunger and stopped caring. Which is kind of funny since his father, King Dobro was the best king of Ingvarr.

-Who's in power now ?

-Elendig Iort's son, King Stor Iort. Apparently he's doing even worse than his dad.

Eugene and Hugo both gave him a surprised look.

-Really ? That's not what we saw. Ingvarr seems to be getting back up.

Varian shrugged it off. Books don't have all the answers. Eugene plopped beside them.

-Honestly, it's heartwarming to see smiles on children faces and friendly conversation in the city. Compared to what we experienced ten years ago… Brrr, yeah that's a change.

-Yeah it's not like you really helped anyway, Flynn.

They hadn't fought during their walk, too busy admiring the city, and two hours were as much non-fighting as they could take.

But Eugene didn't seem offended. He even seemed delighted that Hugo attacked first. Which scared the boy to the bone. What was the captain planning ?

He slowly turned his head to the blondie with a grin.

-But you didn't either, CHEESY CHERRY.

Hugo felt his cheeks heat up and he hid in a pillow while his boyfriend was cackling and Eugene smirking.

Soon Gast called everyone down to dinner, a funny move that associated the inn more to a household. Varian chuckled to himself and went downstairs with his friends and the rest of the clients.

They sat down and waited merely minutes before succulent plates were being put in front of them. They didn't have a menu to choose from, another unusual aspect of the inn, but no one could think of complaining upon seeing the meal. Everyone was already happily eating, "mmmh" and "hum" fusing behind Varian.

But he couldn't bring himself to try it and break the presentation.

-You want me to feed you, Freckles ?

Even if the tone was sarcastic, Varian knew that if he said yes his boyfriend wouldn't hesitate. He felt flustered and took a bite of the meat.

It was absolutely delectable.

He felt his eyes lit up at the taste of the food. He was vaguely seeing Eugene and Hugo staring at him with big smiles, taking in his reaction. But the taste, oh wow. It was… it was the best thing Varian had ever tasted. Better than hot cocoa. Better even, than ham sandwiches. And everyone knew ham sandwiches were the best thing on Earth !

It took minutes for the small alchemist to finish his plate.

Once he was done he noticed that everyone in the inn was as delighted as he was. Of course. He had a refined palate after all.

The dessert was just as good, but after the discovery of the wonderful taste and the surprise had passed, he was able to hold a conversation with his companions while eating the cake and not just… swallow it up in one bite.

One by one, each client or group of clients were leaving to go to sleep. Soon there only was the coronans and some guy at the bottom of the inn, covered by a cloak.

They talked for a bit before the yawning was more present than actual words. Hugo and Eugene went upstairs to sleep, while Varian promised to be there soon, wanting to enjoy the last bit of his cake.

Soon even Gast went to sleep, blowing out most of the torches, leaving Varian and the guy in the cloak only enlightened by one torch, darkness taking over.

Minutes went by, and Varian was almost done. At that point, he thought he was all alone. He hadn't noticed the man.

The guy in the cloak got up, silently, and walked like a ghost over to the kid, until he was right behind him.

There only was one crumb left.

Varian took it and savored it as much as the others.

He got up, ready to head to sleep in his boyfriend's arms.

That trip to Ingvarr had been a good idea after all.

Nothing bad happened.

Varian never made it to the top of the stairs.

The door of the suite almost got out of his hinges and slammed violently against the wall, waking Eugene up in a fright.

-EUGENE !

It was Hugo's voice. He seemed terrified. He propulsed himself to the edge of the bed and shook the man vigorously.

-EUGENE WAKE UP !

The captain was about to say he was awake when Hugo properly slapped him and Eugene simply pushed him off.

-HEY ! Hugo, what is wrong with you ?!

But the alchemist didn't even seem to mind and got back up, looking straight at him with wide eyes full of distress and panic. Nothing would scare him that much except… Eugene felt his shoulders stiffen and all blood left his face.

-Hugo… Where’s Varian ?

At that moment, the captain was certain that the boy was about to cry. But he didn’t. He shook it off and explained that as soon as he went to bed he passed out and when he woke up, Varian wasn’t there. And Varian was ALWAYS there when he woke up. He said he loved to see his sleepy face in the morning. So he immediately knew something was wrong, but he tried to not freak out right away. He searched the entire inn and couldn’t find him. He knew he wouldn’t go outside without a very good reason.

So he went to interrogate Gast.

And he said that right before he went to sleep, he was finishing his cake.

And another man was in the room.

And they knew that man.

It was Crook.

Hugo’s eyes watered, and his hands started shaking as much as his voice.

He was convinced that Crook saw them together and kidnapped Varian as soon as he was alone, to get back on them.

Eugene moved closer to the distressed kid, massaging his back with a soothing hand, even if he was as worried as him. He tried to keep his head cool, it wouldn’t help Varian if they both broke down. He felt sick. He was part of Team Awesome, and the captain of the guards, for crying out loud ! And he couldn’t keep Varian safe. It was his fault, and he was sure Hugo was thinking the same.

-Okay, okay, relax kid. Breath in, breath out. We have to think. If Crook took Varian to get his revenge on us, then where would he take him ?

They thought in silence for a short moment, the tension only cut by Hugo’s small hiccups.

Then it hit them.

The place where they were both betrayed.

The traps.

The secret passage blew open, revealing two very angry and determined men ready to throw hands. But neither Crook nor Varian where anywhere to be found.

Suddenly the entire corridor -full of traps- lit up. Crooks’s voice started resonating against the wall, but it didn’t have the time to reach their ears that the horror of the situation came down on them.

-Hello there, Flynn and Cheesy ! Or should I say Eugene and Hugo as the nice boy told me…

The voice was coming from everywhere and nowhere. No matter where they looked they couldn’t see the criminal. Left, right, ahead or behind, he was nowhere to be found. So they talked to the emptiness, hoping to get an answer.

-WHERE’S VARIAN, CROOK ?!

-The boy ? Oh he’s quite fine, enjoying a cup of tea while I talk to you.

Eugene gritted his teeth, hating to be lied to and played around like some stupid toy.

-Don’t lie to us ! He screamed back. Where is he ?!

You could hear Crook’s sigh as clear as if he was right beside them. Instead of answering them, he decided to expose their challenge to get to their prize.

-I believe you are familiar with this room.

-A little too much.

-Hmm. Well then, you know how to cross it safely. Team work. And also, I suppose, good memory.

And on that note, the voice went silent in a click, leaving the two men all alone to face their fates.

They looked at each other, checking if one of them actually remembered what happened there but… nothing. Head empty. But Varian was on the other side, with the terrifying Crook, doing who knows what to him.

They swallowed their fears and stepped forward.

In terms of survival, they were horrible. They had to save each other numerous times, and everytime they were on the verge of death. Once it was Eugene who grabbed Hugo by the collar before he would dive to his death into the hole full of spikes, or Hugo pushing the captain out of the way of poisoned arrows. They kept on jumping, dodging, running, and almost-dying. It took them an entire hour to get to the other side, and they were completely washed up. If Crook suddenly decided to battle them once in the room, they were doomed. But for the sake of Varian, they would fight to the death.

They pushed the gigantic door, exhausted, trembling, arm in arm, holding the other up. When they looked up, ready to wrestle for the small alchemist, what they saw struck them with an horror they thought they would never experience.

How could this be happening before their eyes ?

Around the table where there used to be the jewels, sitting peacefully enjoying a nice cup of tea were Varian and Crook, happily chatting together, sharing some cookies.

Hugo and Eugene stood there, mouth agape. Then the enormity of the situation exploded to their faces just as Varian turned and greeted them with a big smile.

-Hey ! You made it ! And it looks like it worked.

-Wo wo wo, hold it right there, kid. You’re telling me that you’ve been completely safe this WHOLE time while we were almost dying trying to save you ?!

-No no, not “almost dying”. Bonding !

-Excuse me ?

This time it was Hugo’s time to be bewildered and definitely lost. The look on their faces was certainly entertaining and Crook couldn’t help but let a snicker out. He glanced over to Varian who nodded.

-Well, you see, it all started when you were out visiting the city. Varian was chatting with Gast and I got back early from a job I had to do. I had been sleeping in the inn for a couple of days. You know Gast, he greeted me like he always does and I saw the frightened look on the lad’s face, which meant he knew me. Well, the old me, I mean, heh, no one had given me that look in years.

The small alchemist cleared his throat and drank a bit of tea, warning Crook that he was going off topic.

-Mmh, well anyway. I walked over to him and I thought for a moment he was going to run away. But he didn’t. So we talked for a bit, and once I realized he knew me from you guys, I was so excited ! It has been years since I last saw you and I wanted to pull some kind of prank on you. And the kid wanted you to bond together. Those two things seems to be very far apart but see, they ain’t so much ! We finally figured out what to do, and here we are !

-Wait what do you mean here we are ? You mean us half dead and you out here just… drinking and eating ? And what even is that plan ?! Are you serious Goggles ?

-Yeah, I agree with Glasses on this one. That does not sound like you Varian. Putting us in danger that you have no control over ONLY for us to bond ?... Actually now that I say it out loud it kind of gives off a “you” vibe.

-But how did you pull this off ? I don’t understand how you could reset the puzzles and… I just don’t get it.

Varian took another sip of his tea, which only brought Hugo closer to the edge of a breakdown. He thought for a moment, until some kind of decision was made and he jumped on his feet.

-Of course, you couldn’t know. This is King Crook of Ingvarr.

-WHAT ?

The screams resonated in the giant room, as if to empathize the shock the two men were in. The shocks, even. Crook cleared his throat, looking at the alchemist beside him, rather irritated that he revealed his big surprise so easily. But maybe it was for the best. They really looked like they couldn’t take much more revelations.

-Back in the days when you helped me steal the jewels from King Douchebag -as I like to call him-, I sold them to Neserdenia, and made ton of money out of it. But instead of keeping it to myself I shared everything with the rest of the people of Ingvarr, and I am helping rebuild the city to be a better place. It ended up with the entire kingdom turning to ME instead of the king. And without people, the king can have all the land or money he wants, he isn’t a king. As you know, neither Elendig Iort nor Stor Iort for that matter ever cared of the health of its people. I don’t think they even realized I took over. Yet it has been ten years. Anyway, the thing is, now the ambassadors or other newcomers to the city go to me instead of being endlessly rejected by the Douches. So yeah. I’m the king now. I guess.

That was too much. Both Eugene and Hugo’s brains decided to shut down, and they could only stare back and forth to Crook and Varian looking completely overwhelmed and making incoherent sentences.

Varian hopped down the platform where the table stood and walked over to them. He may have tricked them like a master and absolutely be gloating about it, but he still cared about them.

-Anyway, I guess Team Invincible struck again ! And won with quite success I might add.

That reached Eugene’s brain. He straightened up, looking insulted.

-Excuse me, Team Invincible ?

Crook let out a heavy laugh and stood as well.

-Yeah, Goggles there thought of the name. ‘is pretty good, right ?

-Goggles ???

Varian grinned from ear to ear and faced his very offended lover and friend, hands on his hips, looking very smug.

-I know, maybe he should call me Freckles and we’d be Team Awesome but I mean, that’s kind of our thing you know ?

After the different kind of awe and scare and whatnot, the situation finally cooled down and the two very newfound friends felt the joy -and a lot of anger- to know that their alchemist was alive and well to come crashing like a wave. Their next move might have been contradictory, but it was the best they could do at the moment.

They launched themselves to Varian and tackled them into the ground in a bear hug while screaming at him about how much of an idiot he was.

Here's the zine piece we were allowed to post although the zine isn't out yet (??)

This artwork is linked with a fic I also wrote ! Hopefully you'll be able to check it out once the zine gets out

[ashdoesfandomarchieved]

Varigo ask thing:

Adoration

ao3

He finds Varian after.

Nuru is taking care of the royal family-turns out her own royal linage is good for something-with Yong, smoothing things over and promising to pay for reparations. Hugo thinks they should just take off and call it a day, but Yong gives him a disappointed look that has him sighing and saying, “Alright, I’ll let Varian know we’re staying the night.”

Except then Varian is nowhere to be found.

Whatever, Hugo wasn’t a master criminal for nothing. He looks around the plaza for a while, not allowing himself to feel guilty for the still-smoldering buildings, before he spots a familiar figure atop the still intact mill. With a sigh, Hugo looks around to make sure no one’s watching before hefting himself up the side the building. Varian startles when he settles beside him.

“Nice job with the fire chipmunks,” Hugo says, shifting about to get comfortable on the hardwood roof.

Varian rolls his eyes. Hard. “They were harpies,” he corrects, dropping his chin back onto his knees. “Where’s Nuru?”

“Your girlfriend is making nice with the local royalty.” Hugo smirks at Varian’s glare. “Oh, sorry, forgot you were the girlfr-”

“Are you here for a reason or just to antagonize me?” Varian groans, dropping his forehead onto his knees.

“Pretty much just to antagonize you,” Hugo confirms. “And, I guess…” he trails off.

Varian tilts his head up. Hugo can practically all but see his ears swiveling like a fox’s in curiosity.

��...to thank you,” Hugo finally finishes, realizing- to his surprise- that it’s true. “You had my back out there today. Even if it was against fire chipmunks.” He grins.

Varian rolls his eyes again, but this time it looks more fond than anything. “Recycling jokes? Get something original.”

“Whatever.” Hugo finally finds a comfortable position on the roof. He settles back, arms folded underneath his head. The sky is dimming, but the lights from the city square make it almost impossible to see the stars above. What a ripoff, Hugo thinks. Literally, what is the point of sitting dangerously high on an unstable roof with a pretty boy if you can’t even see the stars.

...Wait what-

“What a view,” Varian says, apparently on a similar train of thought. He squints at the dark blue sky. “I think there’s like. Four stars.”

“Four stars,” Hugo repeats. “Make a wish.”

“That’s for the first star.”

“Okay, so don’t make a wish.”

“Fuck you, I’m making the wish.” Varian lets his legs drop off the edge of the roof. Hugo holds his hand out, just in case the clumsy alchemist unbalances himself from the sudden action. He doesn’t, opting to glare at Hugo’s interference.

“What’d ya wish for,” Hugo asks, drawing back.

“None of your business.”

“Was it to become smarter than me? You can admit it.”

“Hugo-” Varian begins with a sigh.

“No, no not smarter, hotter, that’s your play.” Hugo shoots him some finger guns. “I like your style, Stripes.”

“Yes, clearly I wished to become hotter than you, that’s all I crave in life.” Varian blows a lock of hair out of his face. He doesn’t look very annoyed though. Mostly amused, which is new. And tired. Varian has looked very tired all day, but there’s a heaviness right now hiding beneath the banter that hadn’t been there before. Hugo doesn’t know what to make of it.

“So what did you wish for?” Varian asks, breaking Hugo out of his thoughts.

Hugo doesn’t even blink. “Your undying adoration.”

“Shit, I guess these wishes don’t work then.” Varian nudges Hugo with his shoulder hard enough to push the taller boy off the roof. Hugo gives him a glare after righting himself that spurs a smug smile out of Varian.

“Yeah, well, you already adored me before I made the wish,” Hugo says. “Everyone does.”

“Including Nuru?”

“Especially Nuru, she just doesn’t know it yet.”

Varian snorts, shaking his head. “Let me know when she figures that one out.”

“Will do, goggles.” Hugo gives him a two-fingered salute. “Well, now that we’ve officially become besties and shared our innermost wishes, I’m gonna go grab some dinner. You should come,” he adds, shifting into a crouch so that he can swing off the edge of the roof.

“Yeah, maybe,” Varian says noncommittally. “I might stay here for a while longer.”

Hugo shrugs. “Suit yourself.” He drops off the edge of the roof, landing on the ground with a grunt. “Watch out for fire chipmunks, Goggles.”

“Watch out for Nuru, Blondie,” Varian calls back, laugh in his voice.

Grinning, Hugo sets out for the plaza, following the sound of Yong’s laughter. For the first time in a long while, his heart doesn’t feel so heavy.

[fletchphoenix]

Slipping Through My Fingers

Short one shot but just announcing I’m gonna be back as soon as i can to keep on writing. Enjoy this while I’m working :)) <3

--------------------

Scarlet seeped through his sleeve, a pale hand shifting to what was left of his arm as it bloomed like a flower and spread its little branches over the remnants of his sleeve. Pulling his remaining hand away from the stump, he took a glance at his palm and felt himself about to throw up at the sight of it. Heh, it was funny, really. Varian would’ve fainted by now if he even saw a tiniest bit of blood. 

How he wished to see the other again.

Hugo backed away, his back pressing against the rough bark of an oak tree as he heard the distant cries of Varian, Nuru and Yong. He’d run away from them - it would cause them less pain for him to die as he lived. Alone. A prolonged burst of pain caused his knees to buckle from under him as he slid to the floor, landing in some moss as the mud stained his trousers. His mind began to wonder as he felt his eyes begin to lose focus on the forest in front of him.

Would they miss him? He knew his boyfriend would at least, the younger always fussing over him and making him feel absolutely loved. Scratch that - they would all probably miss him. He hoped they’d be able to make it through the trials without him. That his inevitable demise wouldn’t hold them back too much from completing their goals. He guessed they’d probably do it sooner without him. All he really did was hold them back. That was what he was here for, after all. To stop them from entering the eternal library. He can’t really remember when he gave up on that endgame - probably when he fell in love with Varian. “I guess I don’t need to betray them anymore.” he thought as crimson stained the grass below him, the stump dripping down onto it.

“-go! Hug-OH MY GOD!” A teal streak appeared from behind a bush and before he knew it, a very upset and concerned Varian crouched beside him, Nuru and Yong in tow. A sharp intake of breath gave away his pain as he leaned his head back against the bark and shut his eyes. Why now? He’d only just accepted his eventual death and now Varian had to come and make him feel guilty. “Hugh-oh god, okay. We’ll get you out of this, okay? Can you speak to me?” “Hey goggles.” he muttered, a groan of pain escaping as Nuru pushed him to lay down, his hair sprawling out into the grass and the stump that was once his left arm being elevated. Her hands moved expertly as she gathered up some material from her bag and pressed it against the end of his...stump. “You alright there? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Hugo weakly chuckled as Varian’s notably ungloved hands pushed his hair out of his face gently and cupped his cheeks.

“You’re literally bleeding out, can we please leave the jokes?” Varian chuckled, though Hugo could see the tears welling in his eyes. He desperately wanted to brush those tears away and kiss them better, however his arm - or lack there of - was being tended to by Nuru, with the other being held by Yong who squeezed as though his life depended on it. 

“You love it really.” he muttered as he winced as Nuru wrapped bandages around his arm and began to apply a splint to his arm. “Y’know you have beautiful eyes, right? I love them so much. They look like the ocean. I should take you to the beach someday. I bet Yong would love it too.” His voice trailed off, his eyes beginning to slip shut as Varian desperately tried to keep him awake. The aforementioned boy placed a gentle kiss to his lips, Hugo barely conscious enough to register the action. 

-----------------------------------

Pain jolted through his arm as the world slowly began to come back into view. Wait, he wasn’t dead? A groan of protest left his lips as he pushed himself to sit up, disturbing his boyfriend sleeping in the chair beside him. Varian’s lips curled up into a smile as he leant across and gently pushed his boyfriend back to lie in bed, him taking a seat on his lap. “Hey-no. You need to stay laid back, darling. You can’t get up just yet.” he hushed him softly, placing a kiss to his lips once again as he trailed a hand down his chest. “You had me so worried, sweetheart.” He whispered against his lips, “why didn’t you stay with us?”

“This I can get used to..” Hugo chuckled, a smirk playing on his lips as he moved his hand to his boyfriend’s waist as he decided to neglect his boyfriend’s question. “You really are a sight for sore eyes, huh..? And you were so worried you slept beside me the whole time I’m guessing.” 

“We took it in shifts, but yes. Mostly me.” Varian responded as he continued to place fleeting kisses over his face, his hands cupping his cheeks as he held his boyfriend in place. Hugo let himself slide back into the bed further, letting his boyfriend continue with his onslaught of kisses. “We should tell Yong and Nuru you’re awake-”

“Nah. I want a cuddle, my darling.” Hugo responded, Varian obliging and laying beside him in bed as they cuddled up and shut his eyes, the other boy curled up against his chest as they both drifted into a deep deep sleep.

[humangeode]

I’ve developed a full headcannon for Hugo’s backstory from a hodgepodge of things we’ve come up with on the Varian and the Seven Kingdoms Discord server. (Buckle up, cause it’s a long one):

Hugo was an only child.

Child labor was definitely a thing in the Iron Kingdom. When Hugo was little, up until the time he was abandoned, he was sent to work to make money for the family.

The place he worked had a sort of assembly-line manufacturing system. Hugo’s first experiences with invention were collecting parts and tools he’d snatch from the factory and tinkering with them at home. It is out of this collection of parts that he would later build Olivia/Cheese.

His parents realized he needed glasses when his eyesight became such a problem that he got hurt at work. (Probably broke a bone). Once Hugo started needing glasses, they decided that the cost of keeping him was not worth the little money he brought home, so they got rid of him.

Hugo is sold by his parents to a snobby rich couple couldn’t conceive and want to keep up a false appearance of charitability. Of course, it’s all for image and, in reality, they treat him like crap, constantly putting him down because of his poor background.

Eventually he runs away, and he tries to go home, only to find that his parents have left. They had set their minds on moving up in society and Hugo was “bogging them down.”

After that, Hugo is on the streets for a few years, fending for himself. He builds Olivia so that he’ll have a friend that won’t leave him. During this time, he learns to steel and gets into plenty of trouble.

Now we tie into Miles’s art. At some point, he nearly dies after getting beat up by some other gang. This is when Donella finds him and takes him in, becoming his mentor.

Now we get into how this all comes up again with the 7k gang:

When they stop in the Iron Kingdom, they get this warm welcome by the high class because they’re traveling with Princess Nuru, and these people are always looking for a wealthy person to make connections with. They end up having to attend some event in order to ask around for info on the location of the next trial.

At this banquet, high class people of the Iron kingdom are so greedy, they try to offer Varian their investment in his quest. When Varian explains he’s not making any money at the end, they’re like, “what? You unlock infinite knowledge and you’re not gonna capitalize on that?” Varian’s like, “we don’t own the library. It’s Dimanitus’s.” And they would say, “yeah but, LOOPHOLE, you build and therefore own the only ENTRANCE to the library and can charge people to go through it.” And Varian would have to bring the hammer down like, “No. we’re not making knowledge exclusive, a-holes.”

All of them loathe the stuffy, stuck-up atmosphere, but Hugo is taking is the worst. He’s all jumpy and looking over his shoulder constantly. He spots his old foster parents and is like,” we gotta leave right now!” The rest of the gang is confused like “ what’s up with Hugo?”

Inevitably, they run into the parents and they start talking all snarky and condescendingly to Hugo about how they “gave him everything” and he ran away. Hugo is just dead silent but growling under his breath. He’s clenching his campaign glass so hard it nearly shatters. Varian, Nuru, and Yong are also getting more and more pissed. Even angrier than Hugo.

They’ve finally had enough and start standing up for Hugo, telling them how Hugo deserves better than them anyways and “good for him for running away from you idiots!” A fight gets started. The 7k gang trash the place and ditch the rich snobs. Hugo is pretty amazed that they stood up for him like that. Anyways, they end up getting their info on the next trial from some of the poorer people, who are way more helpful. The wealthy ones were dumb as stumps.

At some point along their journey, they purely by chance run into his birth parents too. When Hugo sees them, he becomes furious and confronts them alone, but they seem to feel no remorse.

They still believe they made the right choice and rub it in Hugo’s face (very casually) that they really were better off without him. Years after abandoning Hugo, when they were finally higher up in society (a large part thanks to the money they made from selling Hugo) they started having kids again (ones that they didn’t sell, and kept, unlike Hugo). This obviously adds salt to the wound.

Hugo can’t believe they don’t even feel bad in the slightest, so he runs off extremely upset, tearing up a bit, but trying to hide it. He confronted them in his own, so Varian and the gang don’t know what’s wrong with him when he suddenly starts acting differently. Varian is sure something is wrong when he gives Hugo the perfect opportunity to crack a joke at his expense and Hugo doesn’t take it.

So the gang finally sends Varian to try to figure out what’s up (because Hugo is more likely to open up to him.) When Varian asks, it’s not long before Hugo breaks down and tells him everything.

As soon as he hears it, Varian is absolutely livid. He marches back to Hugo’s parents to go absolutely ape-shit on them.

He marches back out and Hugo is shocked but doesn’t say anything. Varian finally calms down and realizes that in his rage, he forgot to comfort Hugo and make sure he was ok. He worries that going after his parents was the wrong move, so he goes to Hugo and apologizes, explaining that he did it because he was just so mad for what they did to Hugo. Hugo says that he’s not upset at Varian at all and is just shocked that Varian cares so much.

That night, Hugo finally tells the whole group what had been going on with him. Nuru insists that he absolutely deserved better that what he got out of childhood and is genuinely very upset that Hugo’s parents seemed to suffer no consequences for their actions. She absolutely hates injustice. Yong is constantly telling Hugo how awesome he his and how his parents are so dumb for thinking they’re better off without him. They spend the rest of the night trying to comfort him and let him know that he’s a valued member of their group.

Throughout all this (including the part where they meet his foster parents) Hugo is constantly shocked that the 7k group appear to be more angry for him than he is angry for himself. They accept him in a way Donella told him no one ever would.

All of this together is largely what gets Hugo to finally decide to stay with them and betray Donella when they run into her later in the Iron Kingdom.

———

Edit:

By the way y’all, I forgot to mention the idea of the rich couple foster parents originated from @asingleaceinthedeck

[hebescus]

some things stay forever somehow

eyyy it’s the 4th day!

this was actually a scrap, i sent the rough version of it in the 7K discord server and they liked it??? so i just decided to fuck it, i’m taking this seriously so here we are. Enjoy this unecessarily oddly detailed lil piece.

@alistairwrites here’s my lil piece i hope you enjoy it!

—

The wind blew through his hair, the warm ambience and the crackling fire sound relaxing him as he absentmindedly leaned to his cousin’s side. Varian always loved campfires, there’s something oddly familiar about their warmth, it felt like he just belonged there, in front of the crackling fire. Campfires always gave him this odd feeling of longing, yearning, but fulfilled at the same time. And he always craves that feeling.

That’s why he was really excited when Eugene–his cousin–asked him to join a small camping event together. He knew nobody but Eugene and Rapunzel–his girlfriend. It was a college event after all, and he was still in senior high school. Plus, socializing wasn’t the reason why he came, so he didn’t bring himself to care.

So far, the first night was nice. Eugene and Rapunzel introduced him to a few of their friends and he actually really liked them. He cried laughing by Lance’s story, he had a great time discussing things with Cassandra’s critical and smart opinions, and more. Well, they were obviously different from Nuru or Yong who were his age but he had a great time with them.

“You seemed really intrigued with campfires, kid. Care to share something?” He snapped out of his daydream to find Lance sat on the ground next to him, he didn’t even realize Eugene left a minute ago. He smiled, warmth crept on his body thinking about all the feelings he felt.

“I don’t know…it just felt like I belonged here. I always want to come back, I feel satisfied to be here. But at the same time I…I long for something, there’s like something’s missing but I don’t- ah, I don’t know Lance,” he rambled. Lance gave him a nod as if a sign that he wanted Varian to continue. “I love the warmth, the noises, the ambience…I never felt better when I’m here, It’s confusing, really, I don’t even know why,”

“Hmmm, I see,” Lance answered. His eyes fixated on the burning woods a thinking expression. “I know this might be craaazy for you, but someone from my orphanage once said that if you feel some kind of familiar, longing, addicted feelings about certain something or situations, that means you have a special experience with them in your past life,”

“That sounds like a kids bedtime story if you ask me,” Varian shrugged but he immediately felt bad for being a little bit ignorant, so he corrected his words, “I mean, that’s real sweet, but-”

“Well, I’m not finished yet! They even said that you met someone that makes you feel more connected to the situation, and the longing feeling just gone, that means they were connected to that situation in the past and was important to you,” he continued. “They even called it soulmate, if you even believe in one,” Lance raised his eyebrow, a confusing look between agree or disagree with that statement. And Varian…well, he just cringed. Hard.

“Yep, I don’t like how that sounds,” Varian laughed. “But that’s just my personal opinion, I don’t really believe in that kinda stuff,” Lance hadn’t given him any clue whether he actually agreed with that statement or not, after all.

“Ah, it’s fine, really. A science based guy like you must like something logical, right?” Varian nodded and gave him a small smile before he continued. “I mean, that’s just a little thing you gotta plant in your head because who knows? Maybe it’s real, we just haven’t found out just yet,” he said with an unreadable soft expression. Eugene was not wrong when he said Lance was their dad friend. After that, someone called Lance for help and then he was alone again with his thoughts and the campfire.

“Shit- hey!” Varian’s silence was distubed by a squeal from behind him. He looked back and saw a man being strangled by a wild raccoon who looked like he was trying to steal a fish kabob from the man’s hand. He couldn’t see them clearly–thanks to the night lighting–but he could make out what’s going on. “Ey! Get off me!”

“Uh hey! You…alright?” Varian wasn’t really into the idea of talking to people that’s not introduced by Eugene or Rapunzel, but the man seemed like he needed a little help.

“Can’t you see?! This little- ugh, creature trying to steal my last kabob!” He answered while trying to balance his food and fight the raccoon off. Varian chuckled at that sight, reconsidered his childhood dream of wanting a pet raccoon.

“I think you should just give it to him,” Varian laughed.

“Are you crazy?! This is my las-” Varian cut him off by holding up a plate full of kabobs that Rapunzel gave him earlier.

“Not a big fan of fishies so…you want some?” The man grinned, quickly dropped his kabob to the ground and let the raccoon eat it as he practically ran towards the other boy.

“Oh God, yes, this is like- very good, thank you-” the man said as he snatched the plate out of Varian’s hand, immediately chewing the vegetables and sat next to the blue eyed boy.

Varian took a proper look at him as he ate. He didn’t look much older than him, he had a strong jawline and sharp looks on his face, circular glasses hung on his nose, blond hair neatly tied above his undercut, and…he looked kinda attractive for some reason? Or maybe he just liked the way that faded green sports jacket clung on his white printed tee and ripped blue jeans that complimented his long legs- and why the hell you care so much about that, Varian?

“Listen, I know I’m hot, but staring at people who’re eating is rude,” the man said with furrowed eyebrows, still chewing his food. Varian would think it’s kinda cute if he didn’t just call him rude.

“Is it though? I’m sorry then, I never saw anyone being attacked by a raccoon for a freaking kabob before,” he shrugged playfully. The older just laughed, Varian nearly thought he got a special connection with kabobs because God damn, he inhaled it.

“Well, I’ve never seen you before, hairstripe. Are you new or something?” The man asked, already on his last skewer. Varian was confused by the nickname for a bit before he realized that it’s probably from the blue streak. He dyed it two years ago and still refused to change it.

“No serious business, I just love camping- Well, actually, I’m just joining my cousin, Eugene. You know him?” he shrugged, but then he realized he haven’t introduce hims-

“Yes, of course. That means you’re…uh, what is it- ah! yes, Varitas?”

“Actually, it’s Varian,” Varian tried to not roll his eyes and let out a chuckle instead. 

“Ohh, yeah, Varian- I’m sorry. Flynn talked about you a bunch of times,”

“Flynn?”

“Yeah, that’s…kind of an inside joke nickname we gave him,” he answered, placing the empty plate on the ground. “Well, nice to meet you, freckles. I’m Hugo, your cousin’s partner in crime," 

—

The first night went very well. They kept talking to each other until it was late. Late enough that everyone who’s playing games with them at some point went back to their tents, someone even gave the leftover kabobs–luckily for Varian, it was chicken–before she headed off to her tent. The raccoon came back, Hugo reluctantly shared some vegetables with them while Varian laughed and randomly decided to name them Ruddiger, which ironically is Varian’s middle name. 

That night, Varian learned that Hugo was only a year older than him. He was a freshman, the youngest person in Eugene’s circle–they knew each other from being in the same basketball club. He also learned that Hugo majored in science, just like he wanted to be. He loved camping for the campfires just like Varian. Although, he learned much more about the older from his observation. He loves calling people with nicknames, he had this unique trait such as naming most of his stuff, he would snuggle on his jacket when the wind got chilly, he would scrunch his nose when he disagreed about something, and he was really smart. He didn’t know why he paid that much attention to the little details, but for now, all he can say is that he was indeed interested in this guy.

—

The second night rushed in. They were exhausted from all of the fun activities they did in the day with some friends. They went swimming, played a bunch of sports, they even had a little acoustic session at sunset. But at the end of the day, they would sit there in front of the campfire, Varian with his comfortable beanie and Hugo with his warm jacket.

"Today was really fun, don’t you think?” Varian asked softly. His thought ran around the events that happened that day. It gave his stomach some funny feelings. It started when Hugo gave him his shirt after swimming–no one told Varian to bring any backup clothes. He swore he saw a pink tint on his cheeks and a really soft little smile on his lips before a friend turned his attention away from the younger. Then their hand would brush against each other while trekking, occasionally interlocked them together on a steep path. He also still remembers when Hugo hugged his head and yelled at his friend for accidentally hitting Varian’s head with a volleyball. He somehow couldn’t get enough of the feeling of his fingers on his hair.

And then the little acoustic session. Oh God, he didn’t know what to feel about that. He was challenged by Cass to sing because she knew he didn’t like to sing in public. He didn’t care that much at first, but once the first line came out of his lips, Varian just lost his ability to speak. Who knew that the kabob guy he met last night had an extremely angelic voice. It was a really romantic song and the fact that Hugo kept staring at him the whole time just made his heart stop. He is in fact no head over heels for the guy he just met last night, right? 

“Yeah it is. I don’t feel like going home tomorrow,” he frowned. “I just want to be here…in the middle of whatever forest is this, by this campfire and the warmth- just doing nothing and…talking to-you. It’s nice to have a campfire company like you, hairstripe,”

Varian’s stomach went weird again and his freckled cheeks went slightly pink. But immediately fought it off with a little ‘thank you’ and changed the topic and had a whole new, endless conversation again.

One thing that he realized is that the more they talked, the warmer he got. He could feel this odd yet familiar kind of comfort and connection that somehow he only got when Hugo was around and he only knew him for one day. 

It was nearly three in the morning when one of Hugo’s friend came out of his tent, scolding them for being out so late and just initiated to extinguish the fire- for some unknown grumpy reason. 

But that didn’t stop them from talking about a random meme on Varian’s phone that got them laughing a little too loudly. Varian then started to ramble about this funny childhood story that was connected to the meme, when a rush of cold wind made his body shivers. He tried to fight it off by keeping on talking, but Hugo noticed that.

“You cold, hummingbird?” Hugo asked, starting to take off his jacket.

“A little, but it’s fine,” however, his body couldn’t lie as he tugges his short sleeves begging for some warmth.

“And you think I would believe that?” The older chuckled, shoved  his jacket to the other’s chest.

“How about you-” he was cut by Hugo’s facepalm as he T posed and showed every side of his hoodie. 

“I have layers, bean,” the blond said smugly while his hand slightly fixed the younger’s beanie. Varian smiled and put the jacket on. It was the second clothing that Hugo borrowed him but this one is definitely better than the shirt. It smelled like…Hugo. He didn’t know how to describe it, but he enjoyed it,

Maybe a little too much.

—

He decided that he didn’t want to be away from that blond boy. It was only two days but he swore he really really liked him. Yes, he finally admitted it. The second that jacket was clung on his body, he knew all the feelings just crashed together. And he was scared, because right now everything was packed and they were all ready to go home. He stared at the older’s back who’s laughing with his friends and carrying supplies to a car. He really didn’t want him to go.

Varian tugged the green jacket closer to his body, trying to memorize every warmth before he gave it back. He took a deep breath and walked towards Hugo.

“Uh, Hugh,” he called nervously.

“Oh, hey there, hairstripe. Need help with something?”

“Umm, no, I just want to say thank you…for these past two days, I really, really enjoyed it. It’s been nice to know you,” he smiled softly as his fingers started to unzip the jacket and take off the jacket. “And I guess you left your-”

“No, please keep it,” Hugo cut him off, his hand gripped the left pocket of the jacket and halted the younger’s move. “Olivia looks good on you,” Oh, did he mention that his favorite jacket was named 'Olivia’? Because Varian thought it was adorable. 

He was about to thank him when the older stepped closer and pecked his lips softly, leaving him absolutely breathless and flustered.

“See you later, goggles,” Hugo smiled, walking away from Varian and approached his friends. He had so many thoughts but the last nickname was kind of confusing. He called him sweet cheeks, blue, hairstripe, freckles, shortstack, bean, hummingbird, but where did goggles come from? It was weirdly…familiar. It was the same weird feelings with the sudden connection he got with that boy. 

He stayed silent on the road. Thinking about that handsome prick who stole his heart just like that, thinking about his lips on his own and how it should be longer than just a single peck, thinking about their connections, his weird last nickname…his head just screamed 'Hugo, Hugo, Hugo’ and he loved it. He loved every single thought about him.

Once he got home, he quickly greeted his dad and changed his clothes. He was about to hang the jacket to the back of his door when a piece of paper fell from the left pocket.

'xxx-xxx-xxxx,

Would you mind for another talk, sweet cheeks?

Love, Hugh’

He smiled at the paper like he never smiled before then he jumped around his room and quickly grabbed his phone. One thing he realized when he was typing the number; the second he laid his eyes on Hugo, the longing feeling of the campfire just gone, replaced by a satisfied, fulfilled warmth and connection that made the campfire felt better and better when he was around.

Guess Lance’s little story wasn’t a bedtime fairytale anymore.

—

The air was cold, but the fire warmed their body as they leaned on each other’s side. Nuru and Yong were fast asleep in their tents, tired from the long day of journey plus the challenging trial.

“Hugh,” the younger called, intertwining his hand with Hugo’s, today’s event brought their feelings together and they could never be more grateful. “If you can keep a moment forever with you. What would it be?”

“Forever?”

“Yeah, forever,”

“It’s pretty simple actually,” the older answered with such sweetness in his voice. “It would be now,”

“Uh…what do you mean by 'now’?” Hugo laughed at his lover’s obliviousness.

“To be here with you…in the middle of whatever forest is this, by this campfire and its warmth- just doing nothing and…talking to-you. It’s really lucky of me to have a company like you, hairstripe,” he answered softly.

“That’s…what I want to be kept forever too, even if we have another life I want this kind of moment to stay,” he slightly cringed at his sudden sappiness but he was too in love to care. “I love you,” he whispered as he leaned in to kiss the older.

“I love you too, goggles”

[varibean]

Amalgam

this is a secret prompt exchange for the varigo discord server! i got the prompt Amalgam for the wonderful and talented @dr-chalk!!!! i hope yall enjoy (and here’s the fic on ao3 too *wink*)

Summary: After relying on Ulla’s notebook to help them through their journey, the gang find that the next kingdom has little to no notes on where the next trial takes place. Their only clue is a location that might have a lead on where to go next. However, after a royal mess up on Hugo’s part, they’re left up the creek without a paddle. Not only are tensions high, but emotions as well. One thing was certain though: Hugo and Varian did not mix well.

Varian and Hugo didn’t mix, that much was clear to see at first glance. Hugo was rough, so many edges and layers of grime applied through falsities and smarmy charm. Meanwhile Varian was more true, more honest with himself and with others, but that often led to him being volatile at the wrong times and too quick to action based on emotion. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best combination. 

_____

Hugo watched as Varian stormed into the campsite where the caravan and Prometheus were kept, the latter grazing at a few nearby apples and scraps that his owner had left behind. Needless to say, the young alchemist was furious. 

Behind him Yong trotted along with Nuru, both with dejected looks plastered over their faces. Even from a distance Hugo could hear Nuru trying to mumble comforting words to the small boy, a smile on her face despite the recent hardships. And lastly, heading up the rear, was Hugo himself. His face was blank, almost unreadable save for the smallest of frown lines forming beneath his softly twitching lips. 

No one was in a good mood and no one wanted to talk about it.

Yong went over to the fire pit and mumbled about getting the food ready for the night with Nuru which only resulted in a jerky nod from Varian before he headed into the makeshift lab tent. As each member went about their separate tasks, Hugo was left standing at the edge of the camp, arms crossed and the facade of normalcy fading. 

He knew he had to do something, had to make this all right. They had been so close to discovering the path to the next trial, but he’d been reckless and wanted to show off. Now they were down a crucial key to getting to the next trial and morale and it was all his fault. 

A sigh escaped him before he decided to move his feet. Yong and Nuru would probably be the easiest to apologize too; Nuru already didn’t like him before this but she was also smart enough to set bitter feelings aside and Yong was so happy-go-lucky that all it would take to earn back his favor was a brightly colored sparkler. They would be easy to win over. 

That’s exactly why Hugo walked past them and instead headed into the lab tent. The area was small and cramped with everything from books to test tubes to chemicals that had to be carefully repacked every time they wanted to move. Even though they’d set it up together, Hugo could feel the shift in the area after his most recent blunder. 

This was Varian’s space and he was intruding on the alchemist’s domain. 

The man in question was muttering to himself, flipping through books and slamming his fists down as he closed volumes that didn’t have the answers he wanted. Honestly he was quite terrifying like this. Hugo, despite his outward teasing, had a healthy mix of both fear and respect for Varian, seeing how the other was never one to back down. 

In the moment, the fear was predominant. 

As much as he would’ve loved to have stood there forever, watching the other work so nimbly even in the mists of anger instead of confronting him on the issue, he knew that he couldn’t do that. 

“Hey, uh, Varian. So about back there-” Hugo’s words were cut off before he could finish them. Suddenly Varian was striding over to him, face contorted in a particular anger that was more hurt and disappointment than malice. 

“Yes Hugo, let’s talk about ‘back there’. I would love nothing more to talk about ‘back there’ so lets do that shall we? What part of ‘back there’ do you want to talk about? Maybe the part where you fought me for ten minutes on which direction we should go in. Or maybe the part where you insisted on using your own chemicals to open a doorway and instead got everyone a nose full of stink bomb. Or maybe! Maybe it’s the part where you almost got all of us fucking killed by setting off a trap!” Varian was huffing by the last line, his breath leaving his body in shaking bursts that made Hugo’s own chest constrict. 

“Varian, listen-”

“No! I had my time to listen, now you’re going to listen to me. My mother’s journal can only lead us so far; whatever was in that cavern was going to take us to the next trial location inside the kingdom. Now we have no cavern, no lead, and almost lost our lives. Instead of finding the exact location we’re going to have to spend...I don’t even know! Days? Weeks! Searching this kingdom to find the trial chamber. All because you don’t trust anyone but yourself!” 

The words stung Hugo more than any reprimand Donella had ever given him; more than any punishment he’d ever gotten from the other goons in the gang. It was blistering, scalding. He’d never felt so bad about messing up because, until Varian, he’d never messed up. 

He never messed up because he’d never truly tried to help others. 

But with Varian that’s all he wanted to do. And he fucked that chance right up. 

“Can I please just-” Hugo started, but Varian was clearly determined to not let him say anything. 

“No, you can’t. You want to know what we got for all of this? For almost losing our lives?” Varian turned around and pulled out his satchel, removing a fist sized filthy crystal that was no prettier than a dirty rock. “We got this. And only because it fell on me!” 

Hugo stood there, trying not to let his shame show through. Yet again, he was downfalled by his hubris. It was just different, working together as a team. He’d never had to trust or rely on anyone else besides himself. Apparently, he wasn’t very good at trusting others. 

In front of him Varian slammed the crystal rock down in a compound that Hugo recognized as hydrofluoric acid. Hugo thought that the other would break the beaker or hurt himself with the force that he threw the crystal rock down and suddenly worry overtook his shame. 

“Hey, careful!” He reached out to check Varian’s hand, but the other batted him away. 

“That’s enough, Hugo.” Varian said. The sound of his voice, the disappointment and rage, sent a shiver down Hugo’s spine. But he wasn’t just going to stand there and take it. If the other wanted to ignore his attempts at an apology, that was fine by him. 

Without another word, Hugo turned on his heels and headed out the tent. 

“You know,” He started, turning his attention to Nuru and Yong, who were currently on the ground after trying to scamper back to their places, “You two do a piss poor job of eavesdropping.”  

_____

Five days went by without them speaking to each other. Five days of curt nods and stiffly eaten meals and as little contact as they could manage while still trying to figure out how to make it to the next trial. Hugo and Varian’s foul mood affected everyone; even Ruddiger was beginning to eat his apples with less enthusiasm. 

The group’s searches in the city for how to begin their trial proved to be utterly fruitless. Varian’s journal was no use, and they’d expended the only other key that they had. 

Overall, not the most fun few days. However, Yong and Nuru were becoming less concerned with the trial and more concerned for their two alchemists. 

“He’s not been sleeping a lot.” Yong said. 

“Varian never sleeps.” Came Nuru’s halfhearted reply, even though there was worry in the pit of her stomach as well. 

“But this is different. Usually he just stays up because he’s in his tent...or putting out a fire I started. Right now he’s just doing nothing.”

“Yeah.” Nuru sighed. She knew she couldn’t deny it. Things were getting bad and no one knew how to make them better again. “Hugo’s been pretty quite too. Which I thought was going to be a good thing but now believe it or not I’d give anything to hear him say one of his stupid jokes again. At least then that would mean things were normal.”

Both of them knew that it wouldn’t be that simple. At first they’d tried plots and schemes; fake notes left by the other, arranging meet ups between the two that never came to fruition. After several attempts over the last five days, both Yong and Nuru agreed that whatever needed to be fixed, Hugo and Varian would have to do it in their own time. 

They just wished the two worked faster.

_____

Hugo couldn’t sleep and that really sucked for him because all he wanted to do was sleep and pretend like his current life was nothing more than a bad dream. 

Varian’s words still echoed around his mind, stinging him when he thought too hard on it. He knew he’d been in the wrong but for once in his life he had been trying to apologize and this? This is what he got out of it? 

Not worth it.

That’s what he told himself, it wasn’t worth it, it wasn’t worth it, it just wasn’t worth it. Of course, that just wasn’t true. 

He hated to admit it but Varian’s forgiveness was worth it. It was worth its weight in gold because it would be from Varian. In the days that he’d spent avoiding Varian physically, he couldn’t escape the other alchemist in his thoughts. He was longing to make up with him, something he never cared about from anyone else. 

There was something about Varian that made him want to be better, to earn his favor. The idea that they could make up, that they could get along, that maybe one day they would do more than just get along…

Hugo smacked his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts before they could manifest. He did not like Varian. Not in that way. No, he couldn’t allow himself to like Varian any more than the regular amount. 

He was a spy after all. A double agent. It was basically traitors 101: Don’t fall for the guy you have to two-face. 

He always sucked at following rules. 

Knowing that he wasn’t about to get a lick of sleep any time soon, Hugo got up from his sleeping bag and exited his tent, hoping that maybe a walk would clear his mind from his unpleasant (or, perhaps, too pleasant) thoughts. 

As he got out he saw that he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep. The lab tent had a dim light shining through the flaps and through the still wind Hugo could barely make out the sound of someone muttering. 

‘Varian’s up too huh?’ He thought to himself. 

His goal was to stay away from Varian, but the light in the tent called to him like a moth to a flame. There could be no harm in just walking by it, right? 

He slinked over to the entrance, pepping inside to see that Varian’s back was turned away from the entrance, head in his hands as he sat in front of several test tubes and scattered papers. 

“What am I supposed to do, Ruddiger?” Varian softly asked the raccoon who was clearly asleep on the ground. 

“Just one big screw up after another,” He continued, “It’s all turned into a mess in just a couple of days. How can I possibly-”

This was a mistake. Hugo shouldn’t have been here, spying on Varian. And of course the other was still mad at him, for good reason. He’d screwed everything up after all, made things one big mess. 

Hugo sighed, wishing he’d just stayed in bed. But before he could leave he heard Varian continue.

“How am I ever going to tell him how sorry I am?”

Hugo paused at those words, taking a moment to linger outside of the tent before quietly slinking in to hear what else Varian had to say. 

“I was just...so upset. He could’ve died and it would’ve been my fault for arguing with him so much about the direction and the traps and everything else. And now he probably hates me right? I just wish I could tell him I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blamed everything on him. But he’d never accept that.”

“Well maybe if you asked him.” Hugo said, a smile suddenly playing on the edge of his lips. 

Varian jumped, nearly sending all of his chemicals flying and hastily tried to correct himself. 

“Hugo what-what are you doing here? You should be asleep an-and you know it’s rude to spy on people, I was having a personal moment here with Ruddiger and you can’t just walk in here and ruin our heart to heart-”

“I’m sorry.” Hugo’s words stopped Varian dead in his tracks as the other balked at him. 

“What did you say?”

“I’m not used to working with other people, so I didn’t want to listen to you. I wanted to do things my way and maybe even show off a little. But it just cost us a piece to the puzzle and...almost hurt you. I mean, almost hurt Nuru and Yong too but,” Hugo reached out and took Varian’s hand into his own, “I was worried about you the most.” 

He might’ve added the last line to sweeten Varian up just a little bit, but deep down he knew it was true. He’d been more worried about Varian than he’d been about his own hide, which was really saying something. 

He smirked seeing the other’s face turn red in the dim lantern light. God he was cute. And Funny. And charming in his own nerdy way.

“Well I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have-”

“Oh, shut up, I already heard your apology.” With Varian’s hand still in his own, he leaned forward, his face even closer to the other man’s. 

There was a beat of silence between them, stirring in both of their breaths as they studied the other’s face. They were so close, so tantalizingly close to the other. It would be so easy just to lean down a half inch more, taste Varian's delicious looking lips on his own. Up so close, Hugo could see the plumpness of the other’s bottom lip, the slight shine it had in the warm light from him licking his lips in worry. Just one more half inch. One more. 

Hugo stepped forward. Varian stepped back. 

And the sound of a beaker tipping over and smashing could be heard throughout the night. 

“Fuck!” Varian helped as he turned over and tried to find the broken glass in the soft light. “Shit, shit, I think that one was the hydrofluoric acid. I hadn’t changed it out since I put the crystal...in...it…” 

Hugo peered at him curiously as Varian’s voice died down, a look of puzzlement on his face as he leaned down to examine the pile. The blue eyed alchemist tightened his glove on his hand before gently reaching down into the rubble pile. 

The acid, over the course of a few days, had melted the crystal down. Revealing, in its place, a golden coin that had been left inside. 

Varian stood back up, coin in hand, and held it to the light. 

“That’s the emblem for the city we’re in right?” Hugo asked, looking at the coin curiously.

“Yeah. The emblem and the fountain in the square. Only...hand me a coin. One that we got from the market the other day.”

Hugo did what Varian asked with no hesitation, and the two examined the coins side by side. 

“The lady in the regular emblem on the coin is pointing down. But this one-”

“Is pointing left.” Hugo interrupted.

“Right. I mean, left. I mean-yes. You’re right that she’s pointing left. That’s where the Kingdom’s sewer main entrance is. To the left of the fountain. And the covers! They all have the emblems on them too.” Varian said. 

“I think I remember a few of them pointing in different directions but I thought that was just a pipe thing but what if-”

“They’re directions! It would take us forever to explore the entire sewer system but if they are all pointing in different directions, we start by the one at the fountain-”

“Follow them throughout the city-”

“Until we finish at the right one!”

The last line they both said together excitedly after finishing each other’s sentences.

Varian smacked his hand excitedly against Hugo’s chest several times with a wide grin. 

“And that’s the entrance to the next trial!!! This is amazing! The answer was right here in front of us all along!”

“So Varian, what you’re saying is, that I actually did the right thing and I can retract my apology now.”

“Don’t push it.” Varian tried to act stern but the grin on his face gave him away much too easily. “It’s almost morning, I’m going to go wake the others. And Hugo?”

Before Hugo knew it was coming he felt Varian’s lips press against his cheek for just a fleeting second. His eyes grew wide and he found himself at a loss for words to come back at him with. No that he really minded. 

“We, uh, have a few things to talk about after this.” 

_____

Varian and Hugo didn’t mix, at least not at first. Hugo was rough, so many edges and layers of grime applied through falsities and smarmy charm. But there was something good underneath. Something worth finding. Meanwhile Varian was more true, more honest with himself and with others, but that often led to him being volatile at the wrong times and too quick to action based on emotion. But sometimes a bit of emotion was needed to clear the air, sometimes being volatile could lead to being vulnerable. They were a curious amalgam of two things, both brought together to make something brilliant.

[alkae]

Green Isn’t Your Color

“A ball?”

The boys all gaped at Nuru as she announced that the next kingdom they were going to was hosting a ball and, as a princess, she was invited to join in on the pleasantries.

And since she really, obviously, didn’t like her friends, she invited them too. Yong, however, seemed excited. “Will there be food?” he asked.

Nuru nodded enthusiastically. “Oh the best food.”

He grabbed Varian’s sleeve. “Varian, we have to go!”

Hugo snorted to himself as Varian looked down uncomfortably. “I, uh, I don’t really like parties that much. Especially the ones that require socialization.”

“Varian, all parties require socialization.”

“Exactly.” He looked up at Nuru. “I didn’t even really attend my friends’ wedding. I asked specifically to be in charge of fireworks because I didn’t want to sit in a crowded church.”

Hugo remembered Varian mentioning that before. He had laughed at him then and now, he felt a little guilty laughing.

Just a little.

“Goggles,” he drawled, “are you that terrified of meeting new people?”

Varian locked eyes with him and Hugo took the time to admire how blue they were. “Yes.”

Nuru sighed. “Varian, please. I really don’t want to go alone. And plus, if you say yes, then Hugo will say yes.”

“He will?”

“I will?” This was news to Hugo.

“He agrees to everything that you agree to,” Nuru explained. “If you do it, he’ll do it.”

Varian bit his lip. “I don’t know…”

Yong pulled at Varian’s sleeve. “You don’t have to talk to anyone. You can hang out with me and Hugo by the snack table.”

Hugo saw Nuru’s lips purse but she said nothing. Varian smiled slightly. “Okay. But we don’t have any nice clothes.”

“Clearly,” Hugo said. Varian glared at him.

Nuru stood and Yong followed. “Well, we’ll visit a shop and have outfits made for you. I’ll need new clothes too. I don’t think this will cut it.” She gestured to her dress.

“I think it’s pretty,” Yong said. Nuru smiled at him.

Varian stood too. Hugo remained sitting, watching Varian closely. He still seemed uncomfortable. “Alright,” he agreed. “I could use some more clothes.”

The three of them look over at Hugo expectantly. He shrugged. “As long as you’re paying, princess.”

She threw a stick at him and Hugo laughed.

The group arrived in town and went into a nearby dress shop.

Hugo crinkled his nose. “Why are we at a dress shop, princess?”

“I need a dress. Plus, they don’t just sell dresses here. They have suits.” She makes a wide motion with her arm. “Go on, Hugo. Take Varian and look around.” She accompanied this last statement with a smirk. He glared.

Nuru knew that he liked Varian. Yong probably did too but Nuru most likely swore him to silence. Or she bribed him. Probably that.

Varian and Hugo initially only looked at dresses as a joke. Varian pulled a long, poofy, lacy hot pink dress off the rack and held it up to him. Even if Varian was to wear it, it would’ve been too long for him. It dragged on the floor. “How do I look?” he asked.

Hugo gave him a once over. “Beautiful. You’ll be the belle of the ball.”

Varian snorted and put the dress back. He pulled another one out, this one a bright yellow. “How about this?”

“It’s perfect. If you want to look like the sun.”

Varian laughed. “Maybe that’s the point.”

“You’re already hard enough to look at, hairstripe, don’t make it harder,” Hugo retorted. Varian shot him a warning look before he put the dress back on the rack. He looked at one that was actually very beautiful. It was a nice shade of turquoise with fine gold trim. “Wow. Do you think Nuru would like this?”

Hugo examined it. “No. She’s a purple kind of girl. Plus, I doubt she’d wear anything that doesn’t have stars on it.”

To his surprise, Varian didn’t argue. He continued to stare at the dress. “I like the colors,” he said. “I wonder if there’s something like this in a suit instead.”

“We do,” a voice said behind them. They turned to see a girl with long dirty blonde hair worn in a low ponytail and deep brown eyes with a tape measure draped on her shoulders like a scarf smiling at them. Well, not them. Just Varian.

Hugo felt something hot boiling in his stomach as he noticed the way she looked at him.

Varian smiled back. “Oh cool! I, uh, take it you work here?”

The girl nodded. “Yes. I’m Eleanor. You can call me Lenor. I’m the dress maker’s assistant. She’s currently helping out your friend. The princess, right?”

Was she eavesdropping on their conversation? Hugo scowled at her as Varian seemed to just blow past this. “Yeah, Princess Nuru. She’s actually why we’re here today. See, she was invited to a ball and she wants us to be her guests.”

Lenor’s eyes brightened. “You guys are going to the ball?”

“He just said that,” Hugo grumbled. Varian elbowed him. Lenor’s face soured slightly but she said nothing. “Anyway, we’re just here to get some nice clothes and then bounce. So if you don’t mind showing my friend here the suit so we can pay for it and leave, that would be great.”

“Hugo,” Varian hissed. “I’m sorry about him. Oh and uh, yeah, that’s Hugo. I’m Varian.”

“Nice to meet you Varian.” Lenor paused. “And uh, you too, Hugo.”

Hugo rolled his eyes. “Uh huh.”

Lenor pushed on, focusing only on Varian. “Anyway, I’d be happy showing you the suit. We have some in the back, I think. I just need your size.” She grinned deviously as she grabbed Varian’s arm and led him off. Hugo followed reluctantly. She better not try anything.

Varian stood on a stool as Lenor “measured” him. Hugo slouched in the background, arms crossed and pouting. Lenor certainly was making the most of this. She was currently scraping her arms over his chest under the guise of “measuring”, leaning in close so their cheeks practically collided. Hugo watched as she “tripped” and nearly knocked Varian off the stool. “Oops,” she giggled. “Sorry.”

Lucky for her, Varian was very nice. He just smiled and said, “Oh, no problem!”

Hugo made a noise. “Are we finished here?” he asked. He didn’t bother to keep the snark out of his voice. Lenor shot him a nasty look before pasting on her happy face again.

“Oh yes! But unfortunately, we are out of suits in your size.” She batted her eyelashes at Varian innocently. Hugo repressed the urge to gag. “However, if you come back here later, we can make one for you.”

“I wouldn’t want to be trouble…” Varian started but Lenor cut him off.

“No trouble at all.” She batted her eyes at him again. Hugo scowled. “How about you come by at around 5ish? I should be here.”

“Sure, sounds like a plan.”

Hugo decided to butt in. “Okay, Hairstripe, I think it’s time we headed out. Nuru’s giving us a dirty look from the other side of the store.” She wasn’t but he needed some excuse to pull Varian away. Varian smiled at Lenor apologetically and something inside Hugo simmered.

“I’ll see you at 5?” he asked her.

She grinned. “It’s a date.”

Varian waved and turned. “Nuru’s calling us over. Come on.” Huh. So she was eyeing them angrily. Convenient.

Instead of going with Varian, he and Lenor stared at each other, locked in a silent battle. “Look,” Lenor said. “I’m sure you’re his close friend and all. But it’s completely wrong to keep us apart when it’s so clear that we’re destined to be together.”

Hugo wrinkled his nose. “You just met.”

“Haven’t you heard of love at first sight, Herbert?”

Herbert? Oh she did not. “I have indeed, Luna, but I’ve been told that only fools rush in.”

Lenor rolled her eyes. This certainly wasn’t the nice, helpful girl she was just seconds ago. “Whatever. Just stay out of our way. Nothing will stop us from getting together and if you try, I will destroy you.”

Hugo eyed her. She hardly went up to his chest. “I’m terrified, Lexi. Now, I must go. My friend, Varian, is waiting for me.” He turned to leave but stopped and turned back around. With one hand, he did a cocky little wave at her. “See you at 5, babe?”

She gave him a rude gesture and he laughed and stalked off. Oh he was so accompanying Varian when he came back here. If only to annoy Lenor some more.

At 5, Varian and Hugo went back to the shop where Lenor was waiting eagerly at the door like a puppy waiting for their master.

“Hello, Varian!” she said. She gave Hugo a once over. “You.”

He looked at her coolly. “You.”

Varian, socially oblivious boy that he was, just started walking to the back of the store. Lenor mouthed, “I will destroy you.”

Hugo mouthed back, “I’d love to see you try.”

She made an “ugh” gesture and whipped around. “Are you ready for your fitting, Varian?” Her voice was annoyingly sweet.

Varian smiled at her. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” he said, albeit a little nervously. He sat on the stool. “So, uh, how, uh, how long will this take, Lenor?”

Varian wasn’t close to her but Hugo was and he heard her whisper, “As long as it takes to make you mine.” She pointedly glared at Hugo who scoffed.

“You don’t own him,” he whispered back.

“Neither do you,” she hissed.

“Uh, Lenor? Hugo?”

Varian was perched on the stool, adorably awkward. Lenor straightened and smoothed her skirt. “Right! Sorry, Vari.”

She was already giving him pet names? Not for the first time that day, Hugo’s nose wrinkled. That, her whispering, and the fact that she touched him excessively while “measuring” him set off warning lights in Hugo’s head.

Speaking of which, she was already touching him. Her measuring tape wasn’t even out. “Alright! I’ll get the fabric and be right back.” She flounced off to the backroom as Hugo made his way to the back and stood in front of Varian.

He gave a small smile to Hugo. “She seems nice.” He seemed uncertain.

Hugo shrugged. “She’s got energy,” he said.

Varian laughed. “Well, I mean, you aren’t wrong.”

Hugo felt himself smile. Just a little. “When have I ever been wrong, Goggles?”

Varian tapped his chin in false thought. “Hmmm, I wonder?”

Hugo lightly pushed Varian. “That was a rhetorical question.” Varian laughed again and it sounded like music.

“I’m back!” Hugo startled when he saw Lenor standing behind Varian, a bundle of fabric clutched in her hands. Her smile was wide and forced and when Varian turned back around, her stare was withering as she looked at Hugo. He raised his hands innocently. He did nothing. Was it a crime to talk to his friend/longtime crush?

Lenor set the cloth down. “Alright, Varian. I’m going to need you to change your clothes into this-” She held up a skin tight, plain white outfit that Hugo had seen people wear while they were getting fitted, so he gave her that. “-and then we’ll get started.”

Varian took it from her hestitantly. He looked at Hugo, a silent question passing between them. Hugo nodded in affirmation and Varian stood to go to the changing room.

“Where are you going?” Lenor asked.

Varian hesitated. “Uh, to change?”

Hugo butted in. “What, you want him to just strip here in the store?” He liked Varian too, but he accepted that a man must have his dignity. Lenor appropriately flushed and shook her head. Varian smiled appreciatively at Hugo and then rushed off to change. This left Hugo and Lenor alone, which wasn’t a very good idea.

“So,” he said.

“So,” she said.

“Is there a reason you’re obsessively touching him?” he asked.

Lenor blushed again. “It’s my job, Henry!”

Hugo scoffed again. “Your job should not require that much physical contact without a needle, cloth and/or measuring tape, Leandra.”

Her blush deepened. “Shut up.”

He crossed his arms. “I’m fine if you flirt with him.” That was a bit of a lie. “But refrain from being a creep, please and thank you.”

“I am not being a creep,” she snapped.

“Then stop touching him obsessively.”

Lenor huffed and then crossed her arms. “Fine. To prove that I’m not a creep, I won’t touch him for anything except my job. Happy?”

He smiled cheekily. “Thrilled.”

They were at a standstill again when Varian came back, face red at the tightness of the undergarments he was required to wear for his fitting. Hugo whistled. “Looking good, Hairstripe. Very ball ready.”

Varian glared at him and shoved his clothes at Hugo. Even though he wasn’t wearing his clothes, he looked extremely naked without his gloves and goggles. Hugo found himself looking for them subconsciously. “Can I not call you Goggles now?”

Varian shoved him, lightly. “Be quiet, Hugo.” But there was a slight lift to his lips. He went to stand on the stool, visibly uncomfortable. Lenor picked up the fabric and grinned.

“Alright! Let’s get started shall we?”

The fitting was rather uneventful. Hugo was mostly staring at the wall but was occasionally drawn to Varian and his nervous face. To calm him, Hugo gave a not helpful thumbs up which distracted Varian from the fitting by annoying him.

Finally, Lenor put down the needle and stepped back. “Okay. I think we’re about done here, Vari.”

Hugo looked up to see Varian, standing there in a turquoise suit with golden trim and a white dress shirt. It was just a suit but something about the color matching with the stripe of blue in Varian’s hair and the way it brought out the blue in Varian’s eyes made his jaw drop slightly. He picked it up before Varian noticed.

“Looking good,” he said again, this time serious.

Varian picked at his sleeve. Lenor batted his hand away. “Don’t do that,” she scolded but she sounded as in awe as Hugo was.

They were just clothes but somehow, Varian seemed… older. Handsomer. More confident, even as his expression was worried and anxious. He mustered up a somewhat happy expression that he aimed only at Hugo. “Really?”

Hugo nodded. “Now all you need is goggles and gloves and boom, you’re all set!”

Varian narrowed his eyes. “I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

Lenor clasped her hands. “Well, you’re all set. Just one thing.”

Hugo was immediately suspicious. “And what’s that?”

She gave him a nasty look before saying, “There’s a loose strand on the back of the suit. Now I would just do it now but it’s in a place that may hurt if I poke you. So I’ll take the suit, fix it and you can pick it up tomorrow?” Her face was innocent but her eyes were scheming.

And Varian just nodded in agreement. “Sounds good. Thank you, Lenor.”

She gushed at the compliment. “It’s my pleasure, Varian. Anything you need, just ask.”

Hugo exhaled loudly through his nose in frustration. “Right. Now, why don’t you change, Hairstripe, and we can head back to Nuru and Yong before they send out a search party.”

Varian changed and Lenor and Hugo got in a few extra glares before Varian and Hugo left. On their way out, Lenor called after them, “Noon, okay?”

Varian waved. “Noon it is!”

Hugo could see her smug look from 5 feet away. The door closed behind them and they were out in the town. Just the two of them. Hugo cleared his throat. “So, Hairstripe. What do you say we get dinner?”

This statement made Varian give Hugo a questioning look. “You want to buy something? Well that’s new.”

“Don’t insult me, I’m trying to be nice.”

Varian’s look was skeptical but he didn’t protest. He looked more like himself now, with the goggles pushed into his hair and his gloves that were stained with who knows what. Even though he looked amazing in the suit, he looked even better as himself.

The two went to a nearby shop where Varian ordered and Hugo paid. They made sure to get some food for Nuru and Yong so the two weren’t completely left out. However, they still sat at a table together and ate their food. It was pretty empty so there were a lot of tables around.

Through a mouth full of sandwich, Varian said, “You still need to get a suit, Hugo.”

Hugo picked out some tomato from his sandwich. “What, you’re saying this isn’t ball worthy, Hairstripe?” He gestured to his clothes, which were also slightly stained from an experiment. “I am insulted. Insulted, I say!”

Varian snort laughed and then choked a little on his sandwich. Swallowing, he said, “Come on. You know you like buying nice things. When we pick up my suit tomorrow, we’ll find one for you.”

Hugo disliked the idea of giving Lenor any more business, especially after Varian, Yong and Nuru (as Hugo predicted, she did buy a purple dress with stars on it) already bought from her. But then he reasoned that she didn’t own the store and she was an assistant. So he might as well.

Then he wondered why an assistant was doing a fitting instead of the owner of the store. He chewed his sandwich in thought.

Varian continued. “You’re the only one without a nice outfit. There must be something for you.”

Hugo raised a brow. “Nothing will make me look nicer than I already look.” He took another bite and winced as he tasted tomato. “Just get me something green and call it a day.”

Green was what Hugo wore everyday. Similar to how Varian wore blue, Nuru wore purple and Yong wore red. But Varian still looked him up and down and then leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know, Hugo. Green just isn’t your color.”

Hugo gasped. “Hairstripe! I am appalled!”

But Varian was laughing and his laughter was contagious and soon they found themselves laughing together in a sandwich shop.

Soon, they finished and headed back to where they were staying, Yong and Nuru’s sandwiches in tow. “In all seriousness,” Varian said suddenly, “I think you look pretty good in green.”

Surprised, Hugo turned and tried to read Varian’s expression. He was looking straight ahead, face purposefully blank.

Hugo couldn’t help the goofy grin that creeped its way onto his face. “And you,” he said, praying he had the boldness, “look decent in turquoise.”

Now Varian let that smile loose, the one that showed off his buckteeth that he admitted to be a little embarrassed about. “I’m an adult,” he had said to Hugo one day. “I shouldn’t have these. They’re not cute in adulthood.”

Hugo had paused and then replied, “I don’t know, Hairstripe. Adults beavers look pretty cute with them.”

Varian had thrown a stick or something at him that day but he could tell that Varian was feeling better about himself.

The two walked back together, both grinning to themselves. And Hugo didn't even mind getting yelled at about being late that much.

The next day, Varian and Hugo found themselves back at the dress shop.

Instead of going straight to Lenor, Varian dragged Hugo through the racks, searching for a suit for him. “This would go faster if you would help,” Varian said, annoyed, as Hugo stood, arms crossed, behind him.

“I’d love to, Hairstripe, but this really isn’t my thing.”

“Hugo!”

“Alright!” Just to make Varian happy, Hugo fake looked through the racks, barely skimming through the suits. He didn’t really want to go to the ball. He didn’t think he could stand seeing Varian looking like that for an entire night. But to make Varian and Nuru and possibly Yong happy, he decided to go along with them.

“Hey, what about this?” Varian asked. Hugo looked up, ready with a quip, when he stopped short. Because, dammit, the suit actually looked good. It was green with silver trim and a matching green tie with a crisp white shirt to go along with it. And the suit looked relatively shiny and nice, something that won Hugo over immediately.

He gingerly took it from Varian and, subtly, checked the price and the size. It was perfect. What diety came down and blessed him with this suit? How was the day going so right so far? This never happened.

“Vari!”

Oh wait. Nevermind.

Hugo’s face soured as he spotted Lenor bounding over to them like an overexcited horse seeing their rider. He noticed Varian’s face falter slightly too. “Hey, Lenor.”

She stopped right in front of him, nearly colliding with him. “I’m so glad to see you! You’re suit’s all done and in the back. Come on, I’ll show it to you!” Lenor led Varian and Hugo to the backroom where, low and behold, there sat the suit. “Tada! Do you like it?”

Varian nodded. “It’s amazing, Lenor. I’m impressed.”

Hugo folded the green suit over his arm, faking boredness. “Yes, well done, Luan. Now how’s about we pay for this and head out?”

Lenor made a face but Varian agreed and the three headed up to the register to pay. But before they could finish and leave, Lenor stopped them. “Hey, Vari, I saw you at the sandwich shop last night.”

Varian and Hugo both paused. “What? Really?” Varian asked.

She nodded. “Yes! I didn’t know you liked Kylian’s Sandwich Shop. Maybe we could go there sometime.”

“Oh, uh.” Varian fiddled with his gloves. “I’m sorry but I’m not sure I have the time, Lenor. I mean the ball is tonight and right after, we have to leave.”

Lenor sighed. “Oh the ball.” She sighed again, dramatically. Hugo eyed her skeptically. “I always wanted to go but, alas, a dress maker’s assistant would never get an invitation.”

Hugo saw where this was going but couldn’t get a word in before Varian said, “Well why don’t you come with us?”

Hugo was shaking his head no as Lenor lit up. “Oh really? You’d take me? Oh, Vari, that is so sweet!”

This time, Hugo did interrupt. “We’re going as a group, Lori. That means we’ll have to check to see if it’s okay with Nuru and Yong before you can actually go.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine with it,” Varian said. Hugo shot him an annoyed look. Was he really doing this? Did he really want Lenor to come with them to the ball?

Lenor clasped her hands. “I would love to go, Vari. Why don’t you and, uh, your group come down and pick me up around a quarter to 7? That would give us enough time to get there.”

Varian nodded as Hugo put his face in his hands. “Sounds good. We’ll meet you there.”

On their way out, Hugo resisted the urge to scream at Varian. Did he seriously want a total stranger to come with them to the ball?

“Hairstripe,” he said through gritted teeth. “What the fuck?”

Varian stared straight forward. “I was being nice, Hugo. It’s not hard.”

“She’s a stranger! Who may have stalked yo-us. And you’re inviting her to the ball? Are you kidding?”

Varian stopped and sighed. “Look, Hugo, I know you two don’t like each other. But please, give her a bit of a chance.”

“What? Why?”

“I gave you a chance, didn’t I?” Varian reminded him. Hugo fell silent. Varian pressed on. “You stole the totem when we first met and you were a total stranger who ‘schmoozed’ his way into our group. But I still trusted you.”

“And you trust her?” Hugo asked.

Varian shrugged helplessly. “I… she reminds me a bit of me. She’s clearly not used to other people and I was just like her. I want to give her the chance to be our friend, Hugo. I want to give her the kindness I never received.” He looked up at Hugo, eyes big and blue and lovely. “Please let me give her that chance.”

Hugo bit his lip. As much as he didn’t like Lenor, as much as he didn’t trust her, he knew that Varian had a big heart and didn’t trust easy. So if he thought she could change and be better… “Okay, Hairstripe. But if she turns out to be a murderer…”

“I’ll know how to deal with it,” Varian finished. He smiled at Hugo and it was so kind that it melted his heart. “Thank you.”

Hugo shrugged and continued forward. “You did the same for me.”

“Are you boys ready?”

Yong stumbled out of the bathroom, tie undone and hair messy. Nuru sighed. “Honestly, Yong,” she said as she tied his tie for him.

Hugo was already dressed, tie done, hair slicked back, and jacket buttoned. Nuru looked at him with begrudging approval. “You look nice, Hugo.”

Nuru was wearing a long, elegant purple dress with star patterns on the bottom. She wore her signature clip in her hair, which she pulled back. “You look nice too, princess.”

She smoothed her dress. “Thank you. Now, we just need Varian.”

And speak of the devil, there he was, coming out of the bathroom with a hand shoved in his pocket awkwardly. He looked as he did in the store but nicer, what with his hair done and maybe something was done to his face too, because he looked radiant.

Hugo was staring. He knew it. And Varian was staring too.

“Uh,” Varian said. He cleared his throat. “I picked the right suit, huh?”

Hugo breathed a laugh. “Don’t give yourself too much credit, Hairstripe.” Then, kinder, he said, “You clean up good.”

There was a slight reddening to Varian’s cheeks. “You look good too, Hugo.”

They stood there, staring at each other for seemingly forever until Nuru clapped her hands. “Okay boys! We need to pick up Lenor and then to the ball.”

Varian was nervous about wrecking his suit but Nuru assured him that he couldn’t possibly ruin it in the 5 minutes it took to walk to the dress shop. When the entered, they saw Lenor with her hair braided wearing a seafoam dress with a bow around the waist. “You look nice, Lenor,” Varian said. Hugo pointedly adjusted his tie.

Lenor sighed breathily. “And you look amazing, Vari.”

Hugo caught Yong mouthing to Nuru, “Vari?” Nuru shrugged. Hugo coughed. “Shall we?” He locked eyes with Lenor, who provided him with an icy stare.

The walk to the castle surprisingly wasn’t very long either. Lenor talked to Varian the entire way, leaving Hugo with Nuru and Yong, both of whom were confused. Yong whispered to Hugo, “Is she Varian’s girlfriend?”

Hugo glanced over his shoulder to see Varian uncomfortably walking at Lenor’s side, eyes wide. “I’m guessing not.”

“Then why is she acting like it?”

Hugo shrugged and that was that.

The ball was bustling by the time they arrived and Nuru was immediately called on by the king and queen. She dragged Yong with her, claiming that he could distract them with his explosions when the conversation got boring.

That left Hugo, Varian and Lenor.

Immediately, Lenor was bugging Varian to dance, pulling at his arm and bouncing on her heels. “It’s tradition, Vari!”

“What a concept,” Hugo muttered. “Dancing at a ball.”

Lenor glowered at him. “Whatever.” She grabbed Varian’s arm firmly and dragged him off. “Come on! I’ll show you.” She ignored his protests and vanished into the crowd. Hugo watched as they went and then sighed.

Soon Yong was coming up to him, cheeks red with excitement. “What happened, kid?” Hugo asked.

Yong shrugged. “They sent me away. They said I was ‘too much’ for them.”

This cheered Hugo up and he suggested they hide at the snackbar while Nuru and Varian “socialized.”

An hour or so passed before Varian hobbled over to Hugo (Yong was taken away again by a desperately bored Nuru). “How’s your new girlfriend treating you?” Hugo drawled.

Varian rubbed his feet and groaned. “If I have to do another dance, I might actually keel over.” He looked up frantically as Lenor called his name from the crowd. “Hugo, quick.”

“What?” He didn’t have time to think before Varian was pulling him away, away from Lenor and Nuru and Yong and out of the ballroom. They had no idea where they were going and that was fine. They ran down corridors and hallways and soon they found themselves out on a balcony, staring out at a garden.

Hugo snorted at the sight. “Of course they have a garden.”

Varian leaned on the railing and closed his eyes. Hugo watched him. “You good, Hairstripe?”

“No,” Varian said immediately. “I’m tired and exhausted.”

“Pretty sure those are synonyms.”

“You know what I mean.” Varian rubbed his eyes. “Lenor has been dragging me around all night, dancing. I just want a break. I didn’t even want to come tonight. I just wanted to hang out with you.”

Hugo was surprised. “Me? Like just me or like with Yong?”

Varian shrugged. “You’re a pretty fun guy to be around Hugo. You know, when you’re not being pretentious.” Hugo laughed. “I’m serious. It’s nice to hang out with you. You’re funny and smart and you always seem to know what to say to make me feel better.”

Hugo leaned on the railing too. “I could say the same about you, Hairstripe. I mean, you did trust me enough to let me join your merry band of misfits.”

Varian cocked a brow. “Is that seriously what you call us?”

“What else would fit?”

Varian laughed and Hugo joined in. A comfortable silence fell on them. Varian broke it. “You know, the best part about these two days in this town was getting to hang out with you. I’m glad I chose to trust you, Hugo.” He looked up at him with those eyes. Hugo swallowed.

“And I’m glad you trusted me, Varian.”

Varian bit his lip. “I like you a lot, Hugo,” he continued. He brushed a stray hair from his face. “Like, a lot. I hope you know that.”

Hugo narrowed his eyes at Varian. “As a friend?” He needed clarification.

The look in Varian’s eyes was enough. “What do you think?”

Hugo swallowed again. “I think I like you a lot too, Varian.”

And the smile on his face was so bright it could’ve lit an entire town. Varian leaned in and Hugo was determined to meet him. They kissed, nice and sweet, with Varian’s hand resting on Hugo’s neck and Hugo’s arms around his waist. They broke apart for a second so Hugo could say, “You look beautiful tonight.”

“I do?” Varian sounded breathless.

“Yes. The belle of the ball.”

Varian giggled and closed the space between them again. They stayed like that until a voice said, “What?”

They broke apart and saw Lenor standing in the doorway, jaw practically to the floor. She was looking at Varian, then at Hugo, then at Varian again. Hugo was cool while Varian looked embarrassed.

An awkward silence passed between them before Varian cleared his throat. “Are you, uh, enjoying the ball?”

Hugo burst out laughing.

[nyotasaimiri]

[Floran time! Ouch]

((What?? Two days in a row? I haven’t done that in... uh, four years. Sorry about that ^.^;; But this one takes place in the Hunting Grounds, after Nyota and Nuru part ways)) 

Her shoulder ached, and blood matted her fur as she caught her breath by Nuru’s small fire. In the end, Nyota had won that scuffle, but she wouldn’t be forgetting her wounds any time soon, even with the healing water’s help. The little pots of salve she had made on Mimosa Strand could only do so much for what was left.

‘At least they dull the pain,’ she muttered, cleaning the blood away as best she could. Four on one had almost proved too rough. She was lucky she had managed to catch them in a narrow passage, force them to come at her slow.

‘Are you alright, Nyota?’ Esther asked. The worry was clear in her voice. ‘SAIL’s readings say you are injured.’

‘I’ll be alright, Esther. I just got a little careless,’ Nyota replied. It was a lie—she had been anything but. But it would reassure Esther, perhaps. She hissed as the ointment stung a gash on her right arm. ‘The Floran know these tunnels far better than I do. I should have paid more attention.’

‘Whatever these Floran are pursuing is obviously of grave importance to them,’ the old woman remarked. ‘They’re worse than me on a bug hunt! Be careful, dear.’

Nyota laughed softly at the metaphor and stood up again. Esther was keeping their spirits up with the jokes. The least Nyota could do was return the favour, and press on. Time to keep moving.

Green fibres clung to the walls all around her as Nyota headed deeper into the caverns; it reminded her of the odd webbing she’d found in the Floran village, but on a much grander scale. Esther said this stuff came from some manner of insect, she remembered, poking it with her spear. It didn’t even scratch. Whatever made this much must be huge.

The webbing moved. Nyota scrambled back as a pink thing tumbled out of it. It was about the size of a large dog, but almost roly-poly round. Its legs and body were protected by some sort of white, bone-like shell. It chirped up at her, almost cute. Then it jumped at her face. With a startled yell, Nyota swung her spear and caught it mid-leap. It dissolved as the tip cleaved right through it. Breathing hard, she slowly lowered her weapon. ‘SAIL,’ she said, ‘what in all the worlds is that?’

‘The creature did not survive long enough for a thorough scan,’ SAIL reported, ‘but there seem to be others nearby. Evidence indicates these entities are not yet fully mature; there is a high likelihood they are only freshly hatched. You appear to have stumbled into a nest.’

Nyota bared her teeth in displeasure. Of course, with her luck, their mother was still nearby. It was just like the poptops down in the old mine. But she needed core fragments then, and she needed the artefact now. This was the only way forward.

Five minutes and half a dozen more jumping squishy beasts later, the ground shook under her feet. It wasn’t an earthquake, not like any she’d felt before. It had definitely come from just up ahead. Did something heavy fall down over there? she wondered.

She could just make out a sign etched into the wall ahead. Someone had lit a torch beside it. Nyota headed over to get a closer look. ‘This is an odd one,’ she muttered, studying the carving. ‘Could be a three-toed footprint, or a falling boulder.’ It was an old carving, but it had been refreshed many times over the years. So the warning was important. Nyota looked around in faint hope, but she saw no branching paths. No choices.

As it turned out, her second guess was right. A boulder crashed down right in front of her as Nyota reached a long corridor. She froze, profanity dead on her lips in sheer horror. I’m supposed to go through here?

‘Nyota?’ Esther’s voice was faint, the signal weakened by the depth underground. ‘SAIL is showing some terribly dangerous readings ahead—my goodness, what was that?’

‘Danger,’ Nyota replied grimly as the next boulder crashed down again. ‘Esther, I am going to turn off my comms for a little while. I will switch them back on when I am done, but I need to focus, and you don’t need to hear me swearing.’

‘Nyota, it isn’t too late to go back—’  

Nyota’s fingers found the off switch. She leaned against the wall, focusing on her slowed, steadied breathing and on the falling rocks. There was a rhythm to them. A pattern. She could do this. It was just like the obstacle courses she had been forced to run so long ago. The Hunt was a test, too. She could do this.

Don’t think. Do. The rocks pounded hard behind, in front, too close, too fast—Nyota leapt aside and let it roll past, then took off again as fast as she could before the next could come along. Her leg, her ears throbbed—and then she was through, feet clearing the last jump over a pit that swallowed the rock behind her.

She leaned against the wall, panting for breath, watching the boulders crash down just out of reach. I really hope I don’t have to do that again.

[honeyxmonkey]

Varigo one-shot suggested by @midnights-calm

Varian and Hugo ran as fast as they could out of the cave and into the forest. Neither knew where they were going, they just needed to run.

They stumbled blindly through the darkened forest, hoping to get as far away from Donella's goons as possible.

"Wait, wait, wait." Hugo rasped out, slowing down. His breathing was heavy and ragged. "Hang on... I gotta-gotta catch my breath."

They stopped and Hugo slumped against a tree. That's when Varian noticed dark red staining his boyfriend's green vest.

"Hugo..."

The blond suddenly stumbled forward and Varian barely managed to catch him.

"Hugo!"

He laid him on the ground and knelt next to him. "W-what happened?"

Hugo grimaced in pain as Varian placed a hand on his wound.

"One of them got me." His breathing was getting more heavy and uneven. "I'll probably be fine."

Varian was trying very hard not to panic. He had no idea what to do. He did the only thing he could, he put pressure on the wound, doing his best to staunch the blood flow.

"I-I don't know what to do." Varian stammered, trying to keep the tears at bay.

Hugo coughed. He was obviously fighting to stay awake.

"Hey... it's okay. I'll be fine..." he trailed off, slowly drifting into unconsciousness.

"Hey!" Varian shook his shoulder a little. "You gotta... you gotta stay awake baby. I can't-I can't do this without you. You need to tell me what to do."

Hugo shook himself awake. "You're doing great. Just keep pressure on it." He fell silent for a moment and Varian was scared he'd passed out. "There's gauze and the disinfector Nuru makes me carry around in my bag..."

Varian reached for it and got the supplies. He turned back to his boyfriend who's eyes were drifting closed.

"Stop doing that. I don't know what I'm doing." Varian choked out. He was doing a very bad job at not crying.

"You need'ta clean the wound and then use the spray... and then..." he made a vague circular motion with his hand. He mumbled something incoherent.

Varian pursed his lips but got to work. He cleaned, disinfected, and wrapped the wound within thirty minutes and by the time he was done Hugo had long been unconscious.

Varian sat down hard, pulling off his bloody gloves and setting them aside. He gently pulled Hugo's head into his lap. The only thing he could do now, was wait.

Hopefully he'd taken care of it soon enough that Hugo wouldn't die. Varian didn't know what he would do if Hugo died.

"Please be okay." Varian's pleading whispers fell on deaf ears. "Please, please be okay."

He brushed his thumb over Hugo's cheek, while softly humming a melody to a lullaby his mother once sang for him. He'd long since forgotten the words, but the tune was unforgettable.

He paused in his singing to reach into his bag and take out the emergency flare. He debated whether or not to take the risk to signal their friends. Eventually he decided against it. They hadn't gotten as far away from the cave as Varian would've liked and Donella may still be looking for them.

He resumed gently caressing Hugo's face while he waited for his other half to wake up.

After almost an hour Hugo began to stir. He groaned, trying to sit up but immediately regretted it when pain shot up his side. He slumped back down against Varian who was very worried.

"Hey there, Sweet Cheeks." Hugo tried for a smile but it looked more like a painful grimace.

"On a scale of one to ten."

"Eight."

"Think you can walk?"

"Only if you're willing to support me. Doubt I'll make it five feet on my own."

Varian nodded.

Still neither of them had moved.

After a minute Varian decided to get up. He stood and helped up Hugo who bit back a cry of pain at the movement.

"Sorry, sorry!" Varian rushed through the apology as Hugo leaned against him. "We just, we need to to get back to camp."

Hugo nodded, blinking black spots out of his eyes. "Let's hurry before I pass out again."

It was meant to be a joke but Varian inwardly panicked at his words.

"O-okay."

----

They made it back to camp twenty minutes later and Hugo looked like absolute hell.

"I think I need to sit down." His eyes looked glassy and sweat was pouring down his face.

Varian simply nodded again. He didn't trust his own voice not to crack.

He led Hugo to the fire and set him down so he was leaning against one of the logs.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to find Nuru."

He didn't wait for an answer before setting off towards the tents.

Varian found the princess walking out of Yong's tent after presumably tucking him in for the night. She startled upon seeing him.

"Where have you been!" She hissed. "We've been worried sick."

"You can yell at me later. Right now, you need to help Hugo."

Nuru let Varian lead her to the fire where Hugo was looking worse than when he'd left him not even five minutes earlier.

"What happened to him?" She asked, kneeling next to him, lifting his shirt and the bandage to get a better look at the wound. What she saw almost made her gag.

Green and yellow bruises were surrounding the stab wound which had black veins spreading from it.

She looked at the blond. "What hit you?"

"Did I forget to mention they sometimes poison their weapons?"

"Yes!"

He laughed weakly, still trying to play it off as a joke. "What's the doctors verdict?"

Nuru glared at him. "Varian, go get my bag. I need to make sure this idiot doesn't die."

After properly treating his wound and making sure he wouldn't die, Nuru cleaned up and instructed Varian to make sure Hugo got rest.

"We'll have to stay here an extra day to make sure he's actually fine."

Now they sat alone in their tent. Hugo watched Varian put away a few things.

"Go to sleep."

Hugo ignored his orders. "Are you okay?"

Varian felt tears stinging in his eyes as he looked at his boyfriend, still sweaty and pale from trying to fight off the poison.

"No." He admitted, letting the tears fall. "You-you almost died tonight! I-I..."

Hugo pulled Varian down into a hug and let the younger cry into his chest.

"I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you tonight." Varian sobbed as Hugo gently rubbed his back. "You're such an idiot!"

"You... you always do this. Whenever you get hurt you act like it's not a big deal." Varian looked up at him, tears staining his face. "I can't... I can't deal with this anymore. I love you too much and I can't lose you!"

Hugo looked shocked. He slowly cupped Varian's face with both hands, wiping away some of the tears. Varian leaned into his touch with a shuddering breath.

"I'm sorry I scared you." The blond whispered. "I love you too, Goggles."

They both leaned forward into a kiss. Varian brought his hands up to the back of Hugo's neck and Hugo curled one of his hands into Varian's hair.

When they broke the kiss, they leaned their foreheads together.

"You better rest now or I'm duct taping you to the ground."

Hugo laughed at the threat. "Okay, but only if you cuddle with me."

That was something Varian was definitely willing to do and they fell asleep in each other's embrace.

[raza2theworld]

Kubeba Nuru

Her hips swayed side to side, causing the beads crafted from river stones to click and clutter into each other. Rich brown toes dug into the wet soil as her arms began to move through the steady flow of rain and wind rising from her hips. Greeting her sincerely, the rain sprinkled itself into her deep umber hair that like her ancestors grew towards the skies. The neat cornrows carried the dewdrops in the same manner as the night sky and the stars. With closed eyes and a soft smile, she who was of the very same soil she danced in began to listen to the voices of her ancestors. Opening an eye just for a small peek, she could see the happiness of her stilled ancestors. Once her arms reached past her head, she looked towards the sky holding open her palms to receiving the gift of their world. Before she knew it, her hands were full of rainwater that ran down her arm steadily. Evidently, she didn’t receive the blessing in the same manner as they did as her form was that of a different life and being.

“Zuri Zuri.” The voice didn’t surprise her nor did the sudden presence of arms that wrapped around her waist and swayed with her, “My beautiful Flower, you have not ascended yet, you shouldn’t be bear in the rain.” His concern always made her smile even if it was over something as small as wearing her beads too tight. It was refreshing to see that the overly worried boy grew into her overly worried partner in life. As his hand landed on the underneath of her belly, supporting it with a light touch, she leaned into his warm skin and swayed with him. Keeping her voice soft for the risk of disturbing the ancestors on the day that they were receiving the blessing that she had prayed for it and begged for.

“If you are worried, then stay with me,” she said softly as the droplets that only grew more fierce with time. “Your child is fine, I promise, so let us enjoy together,” she said before stepping forward and continuing her dance for the skies.

Hearing his deep chuckle, she stopped mid-step before turning to face him, feeling the soil between her toes as her brows furrowed as she gave him a soft hum. Knowing this hum, he reacted to accordingly. Letting his concerns slip to the back of his mind, he began to mirror her previous actions with a delicate step into the soil. Watching his sincere steps, she nodded in approval before taking note of his steady, elegant rhythm. Together they began to celebrate the blessing of their creator who continuously provided nourishment when they sought it out. Watching him close his vibrant obsidian colored eyes, she held down a giggle as his dancing had improved since all that time ago when he first learned of where to find her during the season of rain.

Zuri, who was the daughter of her father, wife to her husband, and mother to her unborn son. All of which she proudly proclaim each time with a smile that rivaled the very stars that she would chart in her hair. Zuri was a young woman who with her father worked to spread the truth of their ancestors to all of those who would open their hearts to allow themselves to learn the truth of what her father described as the misunderstanding that destroyed the beautiful tribe of their ancestors’ children. 

Every morning, she would rise and seek out the lives within the earth, offering her comfort and company with a sincere heart as she was taught to. This was the key to understanding why their relatives would risk their lives to protect the sacred home. The risk-taking and sacrifice was a shared bond between all the beings within the paradise of Shola. Named after the founder of the land and the first to understand that one could bond with all lives, Zuri’s home was one that was consistently flourished with life. Thus Zuri’s morning lasted far into the afternoon. By the time, the afternoon sun would shine, Zuri would be done greeting life and accepting anything it had to offer her. Often carrying several baskets of their produce and product, she would still stop to greet those who spoke her tongue.

 Even more so when it was a child who was interested in Zuri’s opinion on the growth of their vines. Which never stopped at one, however she didn’t mind at all as the state of the children’s vines always allowed her to see the condition of their land’s soil. Her people would always comment on how she should take more time for herself, especially as she was at the peak age of transitioning into motherhood. Truthfully, It was rather hard to find time for herself or for her husband, but Zuri was a skillful woman of the earth, so when their tribe learned of her pregnancy only a few were surprised. While many weren’t surprised of it occurring due to their age, many wondered how it was possible.

Both Jahi and Zuri were very dedicated to their land, while Zuri was offering compassion and comfort. Jahi and his men were providing protection with the aid of their ancestors. Jahi, despite his calm and overly cautious nature, Jahi was a man of action. Which the ancestors were grateful for, especially as those who worked with Jahi knew that he would always come back with his men. His caution aided in him with his strength in the best way, as he was able to lead his men into battle and bring them all home. While both were deemed highly respectable, their union was more of a surprise then the pregnancy.

They weren’t exactly seen with each other often after they grew into their roles, but those who had seen them as children had some idea but never expected it. However, Jahi and Zuri had ways of understanding each other when no one else but the damu flowers could. Jahi always knew where to find Zuri and how to entertain her active mind and spirit. In their eyes, they were more than a perfect match. It was easy for them, as both always stayed true to their pact. Every night during the time where the eye of mwezi would disappear and before the arrival with the eye of Jua, they would meet with one another and rest at the highest point in Shola where the Damu flowers bloomed first and spend the time together privately. It was during those private moments, where Jahi and Zuri would become one with their land and allow their kneph to be open and accepting of one another, accepting each other’s flaws and fears till no end.

After the rain had finally stopped and Jahi was acting as Zuri’s cushion as they watched the ancestor carry the rain down their bodies. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him with a concerned frown which immediately provoked Jahi’s hand to shift up to her forehead searching for heat before moving down the side of her cheek to comfort her, “What is it? Has the child caused pain?” he asked as a nearby vine gently wrapped itself around her ankle concerned for the same reason.

Shaking her head, “No. I just suddenly feel unsure.” Shifting up, Zuri was cautious of the vine as she looked into the deep eyes of Jahi. Resting her elbow on his thigh, she shifted closer, allowing his arm to return to its position of cradling her waist.

For once, she felt almost as worried as him. “Unsure?” he asked as his posture shifted into a proper one to not only cradle her but to be prepared for anything. Zuri’s instinct wasn’t something he took lightly if she felt unsure or danger, usually something was going to go amidst.

“Will tomorrow and the other days truly feel this way forever?” She asked. Taking note of the sky, Jahi attempted to make a joke as perhaps it was just the baby causing the worries of a new mother.

“Well, I think the rain was only for today, so we will have to return to our routine tomorrow and the next, but we will always have the nights, my flower.” Drumming his fingers on her thigh, he watched her face shift into an expression he didn’t often see from her, “Would it help if we scouted?” he asked. Carefully tapping the vine around his neck, it began to wrap itself around his hand that wasn’t soothing her thighs that changed with her pregnancy. “

No. Stay with Jahi. Just stay with me.” She asked before shifting back against his thighs. “We are written together. I will never go anywhere without you, my flower. You are the reason I raise and fall. You and him,” he said carefully before growing quietly as he couldn’t understand where her concerns were coming from.

While he thought his tone was unwavering, she could tell based on his tone and his silence that she had worried him. She was worrying herself more and more lately. Moments of stillness became moments where she found herself counting the seconds, wondering how long it would last. There would be times when Jahi would sleep next to her that she could feel her heart tense and panic in a way that could only be soothed by clinging to him. There was something that the warmth of his deep black skin combined with the steady beat of his heart that always made her calm. Looking at him, her sepia colored eyes watched his face as if looking for the same uneasiness that she was feeling. Zuri concluded that he could not as he pressed his lips against her forehead. However, the earth could feel it too as the vine began to gently wrap itself up and around her leg. Pulling against her leg carefully reached down and caress the vine feeling it throb, she offered her warmth until the vine steadied itself.

“Even when I sleep, Don’t go then,” Zuri spoke before laying herself back down across his lap, resting her head on her hands. A chuckle got caught in his throat, as always she knew him far too well. He had been trying to hide certain details from her, and she could tell. She knew from his reactions in the morning that he had been scouting and fighting as the vine that wrapped itself around his neck would be swollen with his blood, signaling that he had to tap into the ancestors to protect their Shola.

“My flower- I have to protect you.” He answered after some hesitation which was clearly him processing the information he knew and if he wanted to truly inform Zuri of it. At least at the moment, he figured it was better to not bring it up. Closing his eyes, he began to debate within himself and his kneph. He didn’t want Zuri to feel as if she was losing her mind or that she was just irrational. However, the information was hard for anyone to swollen. Especially as the problem was coming from the inside.

“We will see. But I cannot take you everywhere. I mean I could carry you over my shoulders like vine fruit, but our fruit is far too large now for that to be comfortable for either of us.” he carefully squeezed her thigh before chuckling at his own cleverness.

“We should go home soon. Maybe we can return before father notices our absence.” Zuri didn’t acknowledge his fruit comment with her words but rather her actions as she took his hand from her thigh and placed against her belly that carried her strong child. She had already met him in her dreams, she had seen his face and how he would have his father’s deep eyes and her wide nose. She had already her boy who was already so strong and brought her nothing but joy. She never kept these dreams to herself. No matter what was the condition of Jahi’s sleep, she would immediately wake him and begin to explain it all to him which he would listen with an open heart until his eyes began to close which then he would mumble in his deep voice that maybe if Zuri lets him sleep in those moments, he will meet him too. Jahi wasn’t wrong about this as sure enough one night he dreamed of fishing with a boy who had his Zuri’s wide eyes that saw the world so genuinely and a smile that somehow was a perfect mix of theirs.

It was that dream that made Jahi so adamant about protecting Shola with his all even if it means tapping into the ancestors as long as they were willing. The effect it had on his body, however, was becoming noticeable as he found himself becoming more and more exhausted. Nodding with her words, he patted her belly carefully. “Walking is tiring for feet. Reward me with fish as soon as we arrive.” She sat up slowly and steady careful of her recent change in gravity. Jahi stabilized her through her actions. Only after she was settled, he stood up and offered his hands before chuckling at her sour expression, “Two fish just for you.” Saying the magic phrase, she took his hands and braced her into the ground, enjoying the feeling of the wet soil that slipped in between her toes. “All that fish is going to make him superior in strategizing,” she chimed once she was up on her feet. “Perhaps. Or I’ll just be continuously kissing a mouth of fish.” he taunted looking at over his shoulder once before his eyes landed on hers. Her eyes were as soft as honey as their eyes met, how silly was the feeling that consumes her. Taking his hand, their fingers melted against each other as he squeezed her hand before bringing it up to his mouth and planting a single kiss on it before they made their journey back home.

The forgotten vine that had once attached itself to Zuri for her warmth began to tightly swirl as the flowers of it began to close their petals inward as they recognized the path that her fate was leading her down. The tree branches sunk as the information finally reached their center.

[makemoneyonline9211-blog]

[NuruMassage] Gia Derza (Work Wife)

Receptionist Gia Derza sits at her desk at the massage parlor, staring at her phone. She is glassy-eyed and looks bored. Custodian Seth Gamble bounces into the room, leaning on her desk to chat with her. ‘Whatcha doin?’ he asks. Oh, the usual: NOTHING, Gia says. What’s he up to?, she asks Seth. Saaaaame, he groans. He just finished mopping, so now he is OFFICIALLY out of things to do, he adds. ‘You’re my work wife, isn’t it like your job to keep me entertained?!’ he asks playfully. ‘They don’t pay me enough for THAT,’ she jabs back with a grin. He chuckles. Where is everybody anyway?, he asks. The masseuses?, they’re all with clients, Gia says. Lucky them, their jobs are a lot more interesting than ours, Gia says. ‘Yeah…but at least we have each other to keep each other company, right?’ Seth asks. Her bored expression softens into a smile when she looks at him. That’s true…if he wasn’t around, she’d LITERALLY die, she says. ‘You DO know what ‘literally’ means right?’ he teases her. Haha, she says sarcastically, slapping his arm playfully. But seriously, PLEASE save her from this crushing boredom, Gia groans and rolls her eyes theatrically. Ok ok, Seth laughs. He has an idea, why don’t they prank Dawn when she gets out of her massage?, he suggests brightly. Again? No, it’s just TOO easy at this point, Gia says. Yeah, she’s right, Seth agrees. And it would be pretty hard to top the last one anyway, Seth laughs. Seriously, did he see her face?!, Gia laughs. They could raid the work fridge for snacks, Seth suggests. ‘We already stole everything good yesterday,’ laughs Gia. Oh, that’s right, he says. His memory is TERRIBLE, he says. But at least he’s good-looking, he adds with a smirk. Pffffff, she scoffs playfully, rolling her eyes. ‘You’re breaking my HEART here!’ he says with mock-hurt. She raises an eyebrow. As far as she understands it, a person has to HAVE a heart in order for it to be broken, so he should be fine judging how he treated the last two girls he dated, Gia jokes. Oooooh, touché, he admits with an approving nod. He suggests that since all the masseuses are busy, they should go into the NURU room and goof around with the equipment. Gia agrees. In the NURU room, they jokingly throw a dirty towel at each other. After commenting that they need to take a shower, they actually decide to do it. They hop into the shower and begin to wash themselves. They edge closer and closer to one another. Soon, the tension is too hard to resist and Seth reaches a hand over, caressing Gia tentatively. Um…WHAT is he DOING?, she asks with a grin. There was a reason why the other girls he dated never stood a chance, he says seductively. She smiles, kissing him. As things get hot and heavy, Gia suggests that since all the masseuses are still busy, they should indulge in the FULL NURU experience. Seth is up for it and they rinse off, exiting the shower and going into the massage room. In the massage room, she tentatively body slides on him. Ohhhh, he says, already enjoying it. No complaints?, she whispers jokingly. ‘NOPE, you may continue,’ he grins. ‘Oh, well THANK YOU for giving me permission,’ she says sarcastically. She continues body sliding on him, but it doesn’t take long for her to straddle him, slipping his cock into her tight pussy. Looks like these two will never be bored at work again!

The post [NuruMassage] Gia Derza (Work Wife) appeared first on Porndish.com.

[fletchphoenix]

The Calm After The Storm

Hey! so this is for Varigo Week 2020! Wooo! Day 1 - Cozy / Soft

I thought ‘why not start it where it all began for me?’ so boom! A small snippet of life for the boys after the coffee shop au! Hope you all enjoy!

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  Mornings like these made it difficult for Varian to want to get out of bed and leave his boyfriend for his classes. It honestly wasn’t fair how Hugo’s arms wrapped around his waist and held him in a cozy embrace as the seconds kept on ticking by the longer he waited, his breath ghosting against the back of Varian’s neck in his deep sleep. It seemed like years since they’d met in that coffee shop in the winter, christmas relentlessly edging closer each day, but he’d met Hugo and they’d spent it together in perfect bliss.

  Memories of dates and almost kisses flooded his thoughts as he shuffled further back into the warmth of his boyfriend to combat the coldness of the room. They really had been through a lot, huh? His favourite date by far was the ice skating - even though it had been a horrible night, for that one moment where it was just them, it was perfect. They twirled and danced over the rink without a care in the world as Hugo guided them in their own secret routine that outsiders didn’t notice - hands holding hands and fingers intertwined. 

  Also when they snuck out, streetlights and christmas decorations being their only company as they laughed and joked on the way to the park where Hugo presented him with his gift - the glowing necklace. Varian’s hand slid from its place on top of Hugo’s to play with the small vial still around his neck, it illuminating with a small shake. It really was beautiful. And when they got their tattoos, his eyes travelled now from the vial to the beaker on his right wrist that Irene had done for them oh so kindly as a gift for his twentieth birthday and Hugo’s small test tube on his left wrist peeked out slightly from under the covers. Wow. 

  Hugo had always been there to soothe him from his nightmares too, playing with his hair and placing gentle kisses to his forehead as he attempted to calm down. Like the night before trouble came, and they’d cuddled up with hot cocoa and snacks on a makeshift bed on the sofa to watch one of his dramatic teen movies to calm down. They’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms that night, his head on Hugo’s chest and legs tangled in their slightly awkward position, but neither cared. It was them and they were happy. 

  And then there was his mother returning. Of course she hadn’t stayed long, but in the short time she was here, all hell broke loose between them all. Hell, he’d even broken up with Hugo! What was he even thinking? Even he himself wasn’t sure - he was just so angry and confused and betrayed, because his Hugo wouldn’t do that and he just let himself believe Ulla. He remembered the heartache on Hugo’s face as he’d screamed at him - the way he was clearly trying not to cry as he ran out of the apartment. Varian had wanted to go after him and pull him into an embrace, to kiss and wipe each one of those heart wrenching tears away, but he just couldn’t. Not with Ulla there.

 But that was behind them now. All that mattered was them cuddling under the bedsheets in their room - even though Varian knew he’d have to get up soon anyway. 

  Varian wanted to shuffle out of Hugo’s grasp. To head out of bed while the other man was still soundly asleep and get changed and ready for college before Hugo tried to convince him to stay for the day and just call in sick, however something stopped him. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to leave today. He wanted Hugo to keep him in bed all day where they could cuddle with the bitter winds outside that seeped through due to the apartment’s shitty insulation and even worse heating units - it hardly even worked most of the time.

  A groan left Varian’s lips as he turned to face his still-sleeping boyfriend, his blonde fringe barely covering the scar running through his right eyebrow and the slight tilt of his lip making it look like he was smiling in his sleep. He reached out - slowly, carefully - to push the fringe aside and tuck in behind the other’s ear. He always looked so at peace sleeping. It was adorable. He’d missed this during their break. Sighing, he pushed himself into sitting up, a slight smile creeping onto his face as his legs swung over the edge of the bed to rest on the blue carpet of his floor, a familiar heat moving behind him and wrapping his arms around his waist again.

  “Yknow you could always just stay at home.” Hugo’s husky voice sounded absolutely heavenly at the moment - that alone making him want to sink back into the covers and fall into a sleep again. But no, he couldn’t just give up that easily. Not when it’s Hugo.

  “Mmm...I could, couldn’t I.” he muttered, leaning back into his boyfriend who placed a kiss to his shoulder that made his stomach melt and heart soar. God, he loved Hugo so much when he was being soft and affectionate. Ruddiger bounded into his lap and curled up, purring and promptly falling asleep. Ah. 

  “Well, the fat bastard has decided you’re staying. So, will you relent to the Lord and Saviour Ruddiger Ruddiger’s laws or will you suffer a whole day of your son ignoring you?” Hugo questioned, and Varian could hear the smirk on his face. Sure, Nuru would probably scold him for not showing up, as would Isla and Eugene, but...with Ruddiger making his rules and Hugo being such a tempting person, how could he leave his two favourite fellas at home? That would be unjust torture!

  “Alright, almighty cat lord. You’ve convinced me.” Varian relented with a grin as he flopped back into bed, Hugo moving to lay down as well and pull his boyfriend into another tight embrace as they did so. “But we’re gonna have to think of another illness to let me off. So what will it be? The flu?”

  “I’m thinking something more along the lines of...I don’t want to leave my extremely attractive and loving boyfriend syndrome. Absolutely killer disease. Took the life of my friend Zander. Very tragic.” Hugo commented sleepily, his lips ghosting on the back of Varian’s neck, sending little tingles down his spine and making him shiver all over. 

  “Sounds like the perfect excuse.” He murmured back. “Hey Hugh..I love you.” Varian whispered as he slowly shut his eyes, Hugo merely making a small groan of agreement to Varian’s confession as they both drifted to sleep once again, deciding to neglect all their responsibility for the day and just...live in the moment.

  Thank god for that coffee shop.

[fletchphoenix]

Families Are Overrated

Chapter 2 of the Varigo Coffee Shop AU! 

Wow, an update today and yesterday! I’m absolutely loving this story and writing it, so I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do. Unfortunately, I start school soon so the schedule will most likely have to change (as much as I don’t want it to.)

Word Count - 3,705 

TW - Panic Attacks, Strong Language

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Although it was only Wednesday, Thursday felt as though it was decades away. Up until now, the days had dragged on and on and on. In all honesty, Varian thought the universe itself was extending the length of each day just to taunt him. They all just seemed to merge together no matter what he did to take up his time, it never seemed to speed up. “Why can’t Thursday just hurry up…?” The raven haired boy thought as he picked up his backpack and headed out of the chemistry labs, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen into his face behind his ear and descending the stairs towards the town library.

  Corona was a rather large town, with most streets littered with stores, houses and parks. Oddly, it was almost always unbelievably sunny, the aforementioned rays of the blinding light burning his eyes as he remained on course to the building, causing him to be suddenly very interested in the floor. The town was rather peaceful and beautiful too in terms of crime and layout - though, he did live in the less beautiful, more run-down faction of the city called Old Corona, and ANY town would be better than Old Corona when it comes to crime rates or general beauty. 

  After around 10 minutes of walking, he found himself outside of the doors he knew so well - the doors to the Coronan Library. His mom used to joke, always calling it the “Eternal Library” because of its tremendous size. Before her and his dad split up. He missed her a lot. He let out a sigh at the unwanted memory and stepped forward. Instantly after he’d pushed open the heavy, oak doors, a tiny boy ran and wrapped his arms around his waist with a wide smile on his face. Varian let out a chuckle and leant down to ruffle his hair, prying the younger boy off him and heading to a 3 seating spruce table in the middle of the room. Various books, pens and stationary were littered about the surface with the wood underneath barely even visible at most points. Yong eagerly ran to take his seat, jittering in excitement. He could swear that kid was just a bundle of energy - somehow always able to run around or be doing something. 

  “Took you long enough. I was starting to think you bailed.” A voice rang out as he took his place at the table. He didn’t even have to look at her to know who it was, a distinct hair clip with a star on it made it very clear to him. Nuru looked at him, a smirk on her face and her eyebrow raised with her NASA shirt being covered by a violet bomber jacket. Her jeans were cuffed and little scribbles that were drawn in pen were dotted here and there. Sneakers that were the same colour as her jacket only just fell short of her ankle, black socks with stars peeking out of them only just visible from the top. He dramatically sighed and feigned annoyance, a mock expression of the emotion on his face while he flopped back into his chair.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry Nuru. I got sidetracked - that’s all. So, how are you today, Yong?” He questioned, finally taking time to look over at the boy sitting beside him. Covering him was a crimson hoodie - judging by the way it dwarfed him in size, it was his older brother’s that was given to him as a hand me down or some sort of gift. It was kind of cute - a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. On his feet were some worn, gold and red converse that were laced ridiculously tight, also a hand-me-down. A childish smile was on his face as he looked up at Varian.

  “I’m fine! We learnt about astronomy today and calculating percentage composition! We got assigned some questions though and I didn’t understand the equation…” He mumbled the last part and leant against the table, before pulling 2 notebooks out of his bag. “Is it okay if you two can help me with my homework though? Just so I can understand it better and stuff. You explain it really well.” 

  “Sure we can, buddy.” Varian replied and shuffled closer to him. “So the equation for percentage mass is the mass of the desired elements divided by the gram formula mass, and then multiply it by 100%, but you know that, right?” He paused, waiting for a nod of confirmation which he promptly got before continuing with his explanation. “So the question is to calculate the percentage composition of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Right? So, the first step is to write out the formula,” he paused once again to allow Yong to follow his instructions, the younger boy giving a thumbs up when he was done. “Great. So then you need to work out the gram formula mass which is…?” 

  Yong stared at the paper quietly, leaning forward and holding his pen before chewing the lid.  “So it’s 14 add 4 add 14 add 48, so that’s gonna be...80?” he questioned, looking over at Varian and his face lighting up when he gave a nod of approval. 

  “So then,” Varian added, “You need to do 14 divided by 2 multiplied by 100 to get the percentage of Nitrogen, then 4 divided by 80 and multiplied by 100 to get the percentage of hydrogen and finally 48 divided by 80 and multiplied by 100 to get the percentage of oxygen!” Varian concluded, smiling as Yong handed over his finished work. The older boy glanced over it, double checking before handing the worksheet back with a satisfied hum. “All correct! Well done, bud.”

  At that news, Yong gave a little cheer, moving over to Nuru and showing off his work, Varian sitting back as he watched the heartwarming scene from afar. He seemed so proud of himself, and he had every right to be. Still, after his little adrenaline rush, Nuru sat him down and listened attentively as Yong talked extensively about his astronomy homework. Satisfied that his job was done, Varian gazed out of the window. Hm. Still abnormally sunny - as per usual.

  A slight breeze made its way through the library as the door creaked open, prompting Varian to divert his attention towards it. He regretted it immediately. Standing in the doorway was none other than Hugo. He was wearing a green hoodie with jeans...god, he looked so good in green. Heat started to build in his face as he moved to look away from the older boy, his hands fidgeting in his lap and the tips of his ears turning red the longer he looked at him. He silently prayed Nuru and Yong hadn’t noticed...but the universe had other plans in its mission to screw him over.

  “Varian, are you okay? Your face is red. Are you too warm? Do you want me to ask the librarian to turn the fan on?” inquired Yong, already standing and beginning to walk away. Varian groaned and sunk back further into his chair, covering his still red face with his hands. Oh my god, why did he have to be here? He grimaced as the sound of Nuru’s laughter gradually got louder. “What.” he questioned, not daring to look up and betray just how flustered he was. This, however, only caused her to laugh even harder. 

    “Nothing! I just can’t believe Varian Ruddiger, my best friend, is simping for Hugo Atkinson aka one of the biggest playboys in human existence! It’s simply unbelievable!” Nuru cackled, Varian swiftly lunging and covering her mouth with his hand. 

  “Shut the fuck up, Nuru! If he even hears you!-” he flushed red as his eyes met Hugo’s from across the room. A smirk tugged at the corners of the blonde’s lips and he shot the younger boy a wink, bursting out into uncontrollable laughter as the other’s face went even redder (as if that was even possible) and he frantically tried to compose himself. Varian hurriedly stood up, shoving books into his bag and pushing the blue streak of hair out of his line of sight.

  “Oh would you look at the time! Eugene will be here to pick me up any minute now!” he declared rather loudly. The librarian looked up from her position behind the counter and shushed him, her eyes rolling as he repeatedly apologised. Cooling air hit his face as he dashed out of the library, passing Hugo at a speed he himself didn’t know he could reach. It was the relief he desperately needed - the flush of his face calming down and slowly retreating. Why was he so awkward? A blaring horn bought him back to reality, courtesy of his unofficial sister’s boyfriend. Involuntarily, he winced and stumbled back, bringing his hands up to cover his ears.

  “Hey Var! C’mon!” Eugene called out, a wide smile on his face as he waved him over. With a groan, Varian headed over and opened the door. He slumped into the passenger’s seat, fingers moving to roll down the window and allow the breeze to hit his face as Eugene drove. Varian silently observed the houses and stores as they sped past, steadily being swapped out with parks and fields leading up to his sister’s house.

  It always went like this ever since his mom left. On Wednesdays, Eugene would pick him up from his tutoring job and he’d go over to the couple’s house for dinner, before Eugene would drive him back home to Old Corona. Routine. A snug routine that no one disagreed with. They sat in a pleasant silence before the brunette decided to speak up.

  “So uh..how was your day, kiddo?” he implored, taking a second to glance over at the smaller boy as he stared out of the car window, charcoal locks blowing wildly in the wind, with the blue streaks still clearly defined. The response was a nod and faint hum as the boy kept his focus on the landscape beside them. The brunette bit his lip and relented on the questions. Clearly he wasn’t fine then.

  The ivory car pulled in outside of the small, ivy-walled cottage, both boys exiting the car after it had been parked. “There we go, Maximus. Good job.” Eugene mumbled under his breath, giving the hood a gentle tap before striding towards the wooden door and opening it. “Blondie! We’re here!” he exclaimed as the blonde-haired woman bounded out into the hallway, sprinting outside to pull the younger boy into a rib-crushing hug as her fiancé watched on in amusement. 

  “Varian! Hey!” she beamed as she took his wrist in a vice-like grip and pulled him along into the cottage. “It’s so good to see you! Cass, Lance and the girls are in the living room if you want to go see them!” Huh. Cass? That was new. Last thing he heard was that she was travelling the world after finishing her course at university. He put on the widest smile he could and slid open the sitting room’s door.

  Cassandra, Lance, Keira and Catalina all looked up from where they were sitting and waved. Varian made his way over to Cass, settling down beside her and allowing her to pull him into a side hug. “Hey co lady-in-waiting.” she chuckled and ruffled his hair. “How are you? How long has it been- what, 4 years?” 

  “Yep. 4 years.” Lance chimed in from his perch on the matching lilac sofa, a wide grin on his face as Cass tossed a pillow at him. Much to her dismay, he caught it and threw it right back at them. It hit Cass square in the face, her letting out a gasp of surprise and falling back against the plush cushions dotted all over the couch. The black haired boy let out a snort of laughter, covering his mouth and trying to suppress the small giggles that kept leaving his mouth. “I’m-oh fuck hold on,” he barely managed to pass the words through his lips, still in a fit of laughter. He took a deep breath. In. Hold. Out. In. Hold. Out. “That’s better. I’m fine. Studying chemistry at Corona University now.” he replied with a grin and leant against her, letting her warmth engulf him once again. 

  “No fuckin’ way. You’re a uni kid now?” she sat bolt upright, turning to look at him with wide eyes before resuming her original position. “Shit..it's been way too long since I’ve been here.” she let out a breathy laugh and looked down.

  “DINNER’S READY!” Rapunzel’s voice cried out from the kitchen, summoning everyone to sit down at the table. The meal of choice was a simple spaghetti, served on a purple porcelain plate. After settling everyone down, Rapunzel distributed the food. It was all going well, in all honesty. Everyone was talking about various topics: Eugene and Lance’s promotions, Kiera and Catalina joining high school soon, where Cass was travelling..that was until that all important question was asked - the one Varian dreaded the most.

  “So Varian,” Catalina asked innocently, looking up at him. “Have you got a girlfriend yet?”

  Varian froze, spoon raised to his mouth before dropping it back onto the plate. “I-I’m sorry, what?” he stuttered out, an awkward, forced smile taking over his face. Oh god, why were they asking this?

  “Yeah V, do you have a girlfriend?” Kiera repeated her sister’s question, her interest seemingly peaked by his response.

  Oh. Oh. Of course this question would come up eventually. Fuck. He’d never had a girlfriend in his life! The only girl who he’d ever had a crush on was Cassandra! What did he even like about girls? He tried to think back on all of his previous crushes..Flynn Rider, Cassandra, Vex (for about 2 minutes), and finally...Hugo.

   His mind drifted to Hugo much to his displeasure. To the wink at the library, the extensive texting sessions, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about something he was passionate about...his sharp and defined features..his lips. He wondered how they’d taste..probably like cherries. Oh, he’d do anything to kiss Hugo-wait what? His face, for the umpteenth time flushed bright red as he narrowed his eyes to stare at the table cloth. “Um-no. No I don’t-” he began to protest before the others interrupted him again.

  “Aw, really? Our lovable Varian Ruddiger hasn’t captured the hearts of all the ladies he’s ever laid eyes on? I don’t believe it!” Cass exclaimed, taking a sip of the lemonade Rapunzel had made earlier. “Beautiful lemonade, by the way Raps. Good stuff.”

  “Yeah, especially when his brother-in-law is the infamous playboy Flynn Rider!” Lance pointed out with a vast smile on his face. “And Cass is right, this lemonade is the best I’ve ever had, Rapunzel.”

  “Look guys, can we just-stop talking about my relationship status?” Varian pleaded, his hands resting on the table and his breathing quickening. Oh god, was the room getting smaller? He felt like it was getting smaller. Tears welled up in his eyes as the others continued their teasing at his expense. 

“Just can’t believe it!-”

“I know a lovely girl! She’s Leona’s daughter!-”

“Varian?”

Too hot. It was too hot. No air. Why couldn’t he breathe? Was he dying? What was going on? Why was he shaking so much? He struggled and his chest heaved as he tried to take in more air. It’s too much. Please stop. 

“What happened to Vex? Don’t you like her anymore?-” 

Please stop.

“Buddy, are you okay?”

Stop.

“Varian?”

“STOP!” he screamed out, standing up fast and knocking his chair to the floor. Wet trails ran down his face as he harshly wiped his eyes and headed to the door. “Thanks for dinner, it was great.” he growled and shoved past the mass of worried people, throwing open the front door and falling to his knees outside. He gasped for breath, the oxygen being his saviour as it finally felt like he was getting enough. He was free. In. Hold. Out. In. Hold. Out. His body jolted as a hand cautiously rested on his shoulder, squeezing it softly before the mystery comforter sat by him.

  “Rapunzel I…”

  “Don’t. I get it. Just get yourself together, okay? In for 7, hold for 7, out for 7. Just like I taught you.” she commented with a reassuring smile, holding out her arms for him to fall into. He closed his eyes in the embrace, his hands holding on tight to the fabric of her dress to ground himself. Her perfume had the scent of lavender, calming his nerves and helping him relax further. It reminded him of the old house before the accident. Before his mom left. The good times.

  “Varian..I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have pushed you so far. It isn’t fair.” she finally admitted as her hand weaved through his hair in a motherly kind of way. “I’m so sorry we didn’t stop sooner. But just know that-well, you can always tell us if you aren’t comfortable. We’ll respect your choices no matter what.” 

  Varian smiled to himself at what his sister said. She always wanted what was best for him - especially after his dad went into a coma. “Thank you so much.” he muttered against her shoulder. “You have..no idea what this means to me.” he sighed, content in the moment before moving back. “I should go home, it’s gonna be really awkward for me to go back.”

  Rapunzel looked as though she’d been slapped in the face. “I-are you sure? I doubt the others mind, and I made cupcakes to celebrate you and Cass coming over.”

  “Thanks Rapunzel but I just want to go home-” he began to say. A silhouette appeared in the doorway, leaning against it on her upper arm. Cass looked down at the scene, a sympathetic smile on her face as the wind blew her hair about and she held out her hand. “Relax Raps. I’ll take him. I was just leaving anyway. The little twerp just needs to let me know the directions. Oh, and he’ll need this.” she remarked, throwing a helmet towards Varian who, with fumbling hands, caught it. But-why would he need a-

  His question was answered as Cass walked away, swinging her leg over the motorbike and sitting down. The bike was..wow. Black was the base coat for the vehicle - red streaks ran across the main body intermingling with blue streaks. He was taken aback, swinging his leg over after placing the helmet on his head. His arms wrapped around Cass’ waist as she started to drive.

  It was exhilarating. Wind whistled past his ears, houses merging together at the speed they were moving and the fields became mere blurs in the background. Eyes widened with wonder as he held on, cheering and filled with adrenaline. Cass’ face lit up at the sound of Varian’s childlike enjoyment and wonder as he marvelled at his surroundings. She brought the bike to a stop, smoothing down her hair and helping Varian off. As he trudged up his driveway, she kept her eyes on him. 

  “Hey V?” she said, him turning around almost immediately to meet her eyes. “Uh..you should come meet my girlfriend sometime. Her name’s Irene. You’d love her.” she commented, pulling her helmet on as Varian frantically nodded. She silently waved and rode off into the night, leaving Varian on the doorstep of his admittedly shabby house.

  Varian stood in silence for a second before a grin split onto his face. A weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Cass..of course. He knew she’d understand. Thank god he wasn’t alone. Cass knew..she knew what he was dealing with. He turned his head to the direction that her bike went. He’d thank her later, somehow. 

  After a few seconds, he strode into the house and made a left to the kitchen, a pearl-white sheet of paper placed onto the counter wedged under the fruit bowl sat in plain sight. Varian read it aloud before throwing it into the trash. “Brilliant. Dad’s working late.” he rolled his eyes, moving towards the cupboard and pouring out some cat food into a bowl. Ruddiger, the fat bastard, came sauntering in, rubbing himself against the boy’s leg before starting to eat. He laughed and started to head upstairs.

  He sat on his bed and gazed at the time on his phone. 7:32pm. Hugo should be online. He couldn’t help the stupid smile that cursed his face at the mere thought of the boy in question, pressing his name under messages.

Varian : Still on for 1 tomorrow?

  He sent the text, still high on the adrenaline rush from the motorbike. Tomorrow was weighing on his mind as he sat up, hurrying to his closet to pick out his clothes for their date. Or at least that’s what Hugo called it and Varian desperately hoped that wasn’t a joke. Extensive searching left him with deciding upon a cyan sweater over a white dress shirt, along with some jeans and his black vans. The infamous chime went off, with Varian essentially jumping over the frame of his bed to read it.

Hugo : Wouldn’t miss it for the world, sweetie pie <3

Hugo : You looked good in the library by the way, short stuff ;)

   Varian rolled his eyes at Hugo’s comment. What else had he expected, honestly. He snuck a glance at his mirror, only to see the same lovestruck grin as every other night before that. God, he loved this boy so much. It wasn’t fair how one person could have this effect on him. How everything felt better when they were talking. Hell, even coffee tasted better when he was drinking it with Hugo. 

Varian : Better than you, beanpole

Hugo : Ouch. Really know how to wound my pride, dontcha?

Hugo: Anyway, I’ve gotta study tonight so I’ll see you tomorrow. Same table.

Varian :  Eye eye, Captain. See you tomorrow.

  Setting his phone aside, Varian watched as Ruddiger crawled to sit on the bed beside him, cuddling under his arm and purring. “Ruddiger, I think i’m in love.” the boy whispered to his companion. 

“I think I’m in love with Hugo Atkinson.”