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Three days. Varian had been awake for three days.
A consecutive eighty one hours, in fact, if anyone were to have been counting. It wasn't all that uncommon for Varian to stay up for days on end, tinkering on a new project or diddling around with concepts he found interesting. He was quite accustomed to it, actually, and seemed to fare well enough with a less than sub par sleep schedule.
Unfortunately for Varian,"well enough" was, in reality, not that well in the slightest. if you were to ask him, he would say he was completely fine and not exhausted at all, but Hugo knew better. If Varian's shaky hands paired with his eyes inability to focus for more than a minute was any indicator, the fellow alchemist was absolutely spent.
Hugo was pulled out of his thoughts by Varian dropping his screwdriver against a rock with a loud clang, a string of hushed curses escaping his lips as he reached for it. It was a good thing Nuru wasn’t in the room, or the swear jar would be close to bursting with how many copper pieces Varian owed. The thought isn’t enough to make Hugo forget about the situation at hand though. He watched the screwdriver slip between Varian's fingers once, then twice, then almost a third time before he finally managed to pick it up and get back to working on his gadget.
An audio transmitter and receiver device, he called it. The device was intended to be a way for the group to be able to communicate were they to be split up. Hugo had initially thought of this to be a good idea; finally a way to end the annoyingly rowdy panic of someone getting separated, but as the long nights of sleepless invention droned on like a hollow test tube, he was now becoming apprehensive of Varian's bright idea and his less than healthy methods of pursuing it. No matter how good of an idea, it's not worth him overworking himself for days on end to achieve. Definitely not worth the tired look in his eyes that brings Hugo’s heart to a near bursting of gentle sadness.
Varian drops his screwdriver again and Hugo makes the executive decision that enough is enough before sighing.
"Varian."
His voice is stern in a way it hardly ever is, the voice not of a goofy cocky teen with an ego, but of a fellow scientist who knows what he’s doing. The younger alchemist flinches, almost as if he had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he’d forgotten the other was there, and Hugo thinks for a moment that maybe he had. Sleep deprivation really does a number on the memory, something Hugo guiltily knows from first hand experience, and he was working up a pretty large sleep debt. When Varian met Hugo's eyes the exhaustion was so evident-red rims and heavy bags and a glassy look that caused Hugo to have to hold back a whining gasp of worry-it was a mystery how he hadn't collapsed yet.
"Yeah?" Varian hums in response, managing to retrieve his tool within the first two attempts this time around by some kind of miracle.
Hugo doesn’t respond at first but rather chooses to watch for a moment, must to gauge exactly how terrible things are, all while Varian clumsily fumbling with the device in hand. Varian's determination was something Hugo always liked about him, his eagerness to succeed, his unbreakable drive. His compassion paired with perseverance was, to be frank, something worth his admiration and his admiration was something particularly hard to come by. However there were times it did have its downsides, sadly.
"Go to sleep." Hugo finally spoke, startling the alchemist a second time even though he was the one to respond. It just went to show how tired he truly was.
After the initial yelp that escaped his lips, Varian began to glare at his fellow alchemist, giving Hugo an even better look at his red rimmed eyes and the dark circles that made their home beneath. It was so sad to see Varian’s precious baby blues, which usually sparkled brighter than any sapphire or precious metal ever could, clouded with an exhaustion that would surely take a few days to sleep off.
He was a certified disaster and while on anyone else Hugo might've found the disheveled look to be humorous, on Varian it made his heart ache in a way that he wasn't accustomed to yet. Being a Concerned and Considerate person really wasn't living up to the hype, Hugo thought, especially if it meant hurting like this every time Varian was in even the smallest amounts of discomfort. The other alchemist was such a pain in the side, honestly. But he was a pain in the side that caused his heart to melt and his face to heat up and everything to become rose tinted.
"Oh, my bad, did someone die and make you the in charge...the one in...whatever, you know the saying!" Varian said.
His stumbling through even the simplest of comebacks was enough to prove he needed a good twelve hours at least. Preferably a lot more.
Hugo hummed before strolling over and plucking the device and screwdriver out of Varian's hands, gently setting them out of his reach.
"Hey!" Even when he was upset, Varian’s voice was like music to Hugo’s ears. Like a siren song, he would do anything that voice asked of him. Anything, except letting him tire himself out.
"You're either going to go to bed, or I'll drag you there myself."
Varian only crossed his arms with a face full of defiance, and Hugo stared.
Oh, so he was going to play like that.
"Then drag me-hEY! hey! put me DOWN! Hugo!"
Hugo, having had enough of Varian's stubborn attitude, wrapped his arms around the other's torso and, using all of his strength, lifted him from the ground. It should have been easy, in theory, to pick him up and deposit him in his sleeping bag a mere few feet away, but Hugo was quickly learning that nothing was easy with Varian, proving that once again the boy was a double edged sword.
For such a tiny person, Varian had a bite to him. Like a cat who refused to give up the fight even with all the odds stacked against him. His violent thrashing paired with Hugo's admittingly embarrassing average arm strength was a basic recipe for disaster. And as if the universe had decided that those two ingredients weren't enough, Hugo found himself tripping over the arrangement of tools scattered across the ground beneath him.
It was only a matter of seconds before Hugo made a fatal misstep and-thanks to Varian's surprisingly strong and annoying squirming-sent them both crashing downwards onto the blue eyed alchemist's sleeping bag, a far cry from the tender tuck in Hugo was hoping for.
A few moments of silence passed between the two as they struggled to steadily get their breathing in check, Varian's body sprawled across Hugo's, head resting below his chin.
"Uh," said Hugo after several beats, shifting slightly against the other, "You okay?"
Varian only hummed in response, slumping against the blonds chest with a soft exhale and a tired mumble that was completely incomprehensible.
It was such a startling shift. Just a second ago the boy in his arms had been flustered and thrashing and tiredly fighting against him. Not to mention winning which was another extremely embarrassing fact. Even in his near sleep he could still hold his own against a fully rested and capable man of his own size. The thought was equal parts frightening, impressive, and slightly attractive. Mostly frightening.
Now, however, the alchemist was peacefully asleep, eyes shut and a slight amount of drool already piling up in his open mouth.
Well, Hugo thought fondly as he began to stroke his hands through the other’s soft tangled hair, at least he’s done flailing around.
And with Varian curled up warmly on his chest, Hugo suspected that he was about to get the best sleep of his life too.