Chapter Text
This was gonna be a long week.
Fresh flakes of snow fell from the sky as Varian trudged down the street, only just out of his classes for the day. A frown covered his features as he finally took notice of the weather he was walking in. His bag weighted heavier on his back the more steps he took, containing various notebooks, textbooks and equipment he needed to use. For now, the snow only seemed to be a minor inconvenience. “I can make it back..” he muttered in reassurance.
Oh, how wrong he was.
Time passed and the snow got progressively more and more heavy. The wind started to howl and pick up in speed, howling and blowing ice cold air. He had to find shelter. Fast. That was when a quaint coffee shop caught his eye. With no other choice, the raven haired boy sprinted towards the store, threw the door open and slid inside.
The first thing he noticed about the shop was just how warm it was. It instantly erased the numb feeling in his limbs, replacing it with a relaxing heat. The scent of coffee engulfed his senses too - in fact it was all he could smell (not that it was a problem, it was mouthwateringly good. The smell alone made him want more). Tables were filled left and right, however he waded through the mass of people and sat down at the only available space - a booth by a window. Varian silently gazed out of the window.
He hated the snow.
it was snowing on THAT night. The night he put his dad in a coma. He didn’t even mean to - but he just wanted to make his dad proud of him for doing something good, but it didn’t work. He tried to get help for them from Eugene’s girlfriend. He begged. Hell, he even ran through a snowstorm to find them. He couldn’t even feel his hands or feet by the time he got there. But no one helped. That night made him do some awful things..how could they ever forgive him? Did they even forgive him? What if they hated him? What if- What if- What if-
“Hey, can I sit here?”
Varian’s thoughts were halted in an instant as he looked at the source of the voice. The man was tall - most likely around his age - and looked down at him with his mouth tilted in a smile, an eyebrow raised. Blonde locks were styled into an undercut with the top part tied back into a ponytail, and emerald eyes that studied him were framed by a pair of obnoxiously big glasses.
“I’m sorry, what?” Varian asked, a look of confusion on his face.
“Can I sit here? The shop’s full and I noticed only you were sitting here so...” the blonde’s words died out, smiling as Varian gave him a nod of confirmation. “Great.” he said with a wide smile, sitting down in the booth opposite him. “I noticed we go to the same university. I’m Hugo Atkinson.”
“Varian. Varian Ruddiger.” He replied with a small nod, glancing out of the window again. Snow still fell outside, showing no signs of relenting or stopping at all. A sigh left his lips as he turned his head back to look at his newfound companion, only to find him staring. “Are you okay?”
“Chemistry in senior year. You sit at the back. Professor Xavier. Am I right?” Hugo smirked, not waiting for a reply. “I knew I recognised you! Hey, let me get you a drink. What do you want?”
“Uh...vanilla latte. One sugar, please.”
“On it, short stuff!” The blonde replied, hastily moving out of his seat and hurrying to the counter before Varian could retaliate. Did he just..call him short? Really? Varian groaned and rested his head on the table. NOW he remembered who he was. The memories flooded back to him of the relentless teasing he’d endured throughout the last year along with the annoying comments. Why did he have to reunite with him of all people? Did the universe just hate him that much?
“He’s certainly changed...” Varian mumbled under his breath. And he had. He wasn’t at ALL unattractive, his face perfectly fit with defined cheekbones, a lanky structure and vibrant, green eyes he could just get lost in...NO! None of that! He knew what Hugo was like. How he dated around and broke hearts of anyone relentlessly in senior year. Nope. Varian was not having any of that, thank you very much.
A few moments later, Hugo came back with two drinks in hand before settling down opposite Varian again with a smile on his face.
“Hope you didn’t miss me too much, hairstripe.” he chuckled, laughing when Varian lunged to punch his arm. “Ow! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’ll stop.” Hugo settled down, taking a sip of his coffee. “So...what brings you here?”
“Just the snow. It’s way too strong to walk in so I decided not to push my luck.” He replied, taking a sip of his latte. It was perfect, the warmth spreading throughout his body. Coffee was simply the best in weather like this - the taste of vanilla reminding him of how Rapunzel makes them.
“Me too.” Hugo muttered and raised the cup to his lips again, his free hand moving and tucking a section of his fringe behind his ear. “My mom should be coming to pick me up soon, though.” He added quietly, a dark look appearing on his face before disappearing just as quickly as it came. “Anyway, that isn’t important. How’s everything been?”
“The usual. Boring...only thing that’s keeping me busy is the chem work we’re getting.” He groaned and rubbed at his eyes, yawning before sipping his coffee again. God, this coffee tasted heavenly.
“Me too. My engineering work is stressful as hell.” Hugo complained and slumped back in his seat.
Varian paused and looked Hugo in the eyes. “Let me look. I’ll help you out and you can help me with my chemistry, Deal?”
Hugo paused for a moment, considering his offer before standing and shuffling to sit in the booth right beside Varian. Reaching into a previously unseen bag, he dropped 2 pens, 2 pencils, and a notebook onto the spruce table. “Okay Ruddiger, lets do this.”
For what seemed like hours, him and Hugo talked and talked and talked. It felt reassuring, Varian thought, having someone that understood what he was talking about for the most part and to help him. Their topics varied from chemistry to biology to engineering and so much more. At one point, they even spoke about pets! As it turned out, Hugo had a pet mouse called Cheese (”Creative name.” Varian quipped, earning a roll of the eyes and a gentle punch on the arm from the other) and Varian confided about his pet cat, Ruddiger (to which Hugo mocked his previous comment). It felt natural. Nice.
Of course all good things had to come to an end.
A buzz from Hugo’s phone interrupted their VERY riveting conversation about the logistics of an automaton. “Oh shit, my mom is here.” Hugo said with a frown, his eyes meeting Varian’s. Varian tried, but to no avail, to hide his disappointment.
“Oh. Well, this was fun-” He started to say.
“Hold on.” Hugo stopped him, reaching out to grab a napkin and a pen, Silently, he wrote on it before passing Varian the napkin with a smile. “See you around, hairstripe.” He added before he was gone, navigating through the crowd of people to get towards the door.
Varian took a second to glance down at the napkin. His face flushed as he saw the note contained Hugo’s number along with ‘Call me x’. He bit his lip gently and glanced in the direction Hugo left in, taking out his phone and inputting the number quietly before picking up his bag and heading to the door. Outside the snow had stopped, leaving a small blanket that. crackled with every step he took.
When he got home, Varian lay on his bed and stared at his phone or, more specifically, Hugo’s contact. His hands shook with anticipation and anxiety. Oh god, what should he say? What was a normal thing to say to a cute boy from high school you just reunited with? He let out a frustrated cry and flopped back onto his bed, throwing his phone elsewhere on the covers. Why was he so bad at this?
After at least an hour of stressing, pacing and advice from Rapunzel and Eugene, he officially gave up. He slowly picked up his phone and typed out the message.
Varian : Hi, it’s me from the coffee shop.
“Okay Varian...and...” He closed his eyes, his finger hovering over the send button, before pressing it and shutting the phone off. He lay back again and covered his eyes. “HI?! REALLY? THAT’S THE BEST YOU COULD DO?” He scolded himself and covered his eyes. Hugo was gonna think he’s an idiot! A massive idiot! A chime sounded out through the room and, as fast as he could, Varian lunged and picked up his phone to read Hugo’s reply.
Hugo : Heya hairstripe =)
Hugo : Took you long enough to text me, aha
Varian’s face changed into a smile as him and Hugo continued to talk all throughout the night. Eventually, at 3am, he decided to call it a night and get some rest before his class tomorrow.
Varian : I’m going to sleep - goodnight Hugo
Hugo : Before you dooo....
Hugo : How about another coffee meet? You free Thursday at 1?
Varian let out a loud gasp before sitting up and smiling widely. Hugo wanted to meet up again. Oh my god Hugo wanted to see him again! Giddy with excitement, he picked up his phone and immediately text him back.
Varian : Yep, I am
Hugo : It’s a date <3 see you then Ruddiger. Sweet dreams.
Varian set his phone aside on his bedroom table, a lovesick smile on his face as he lay back and stared at the ceiling. A date. A date with Hugo. He couldn’t help the flush on his cheeks or the butterflies in his stomach as he started to drift off to sleep with Ruddiger jumping and laying beside him in bed. Now he had to wait till Thursday.
This was gonna be a long week.