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Varian groaned and rolled his eyes as he heard a familiar chitter sound from behind him before a grey and black tail poked out from under the table in the far corner of his lab. He really didn’t need this - after the disaster that was the science expo (which TOTALLY wasn’t his fault, by the way, as Doctor St. Croix had messed with his experiment and increased the pressure, even though he explicitly stated not to) and the extensive clean up process he had to endure as a consequence, he really didn’t have the will to deal with the frequent visitor.
“Look, buddy...you can’t keep coming back here! My dad won’t let me take care of you.” he muttered, crouching to the raccoon’s level and gathering it in his arms before walking towards the door and dropping it outside. After closing the door behind him, he slumped back into the chair by his desk, intending to continue with planning out his next idea for an invention, however the chittering sounded again and the raccoon sat at his feet once again. Its paws nudged against his feet to get his attention before crawling onto the desk in front of the boy and sitting on his papers.
“Hey-get off them! Why are you-why do you keep coming back?” he asked, and at this point he was sick to death of the intruder. He’d kept coming back every night this week, much to Varian’s annoyance, and no matter how many times Varian threw it back out, he’d still keep coming back. He supposed it did make him feel less lonely whenever he’d visit, the raccoon giving them a quaint routine he could always rely on to keep him sane. Varian, nonetheless, rolled his eyes and reached into a drawer, bringing an apple out on display and holding it out to the racoon which took it gratefully and ate it so fast, Varian swore it had just inhaled the thing. “Wow, hungry, aren’t you?”
The raccoon chittered once again and scurried up Varian’s arms, taking a seat on his shoulders to seemingly watch him as he planned out the schematics of a new invention - a reimagined design for the boiler system he’d planned on in the tunnels under Old Corona after their..less than desirable test run. His hand reached up absentmindedly as he worked, petting the creature that sat so docile on his shoulders. Maybe the raccoon wasn’t so bad after all...I mean, he was almost certain he could convince his dad to let him keep the animal, and he was old enough now to look after it on his own. Besides, he was long overdue a lab assistant and the raccoon could prove useful in his alchemical endeavours…
“Okay buddy, I’m gonna propose a deal to you.” he began, and he could swear the raccoon looked at him with its interest peaked, moving to sit on the desk and stare at the boy intensely. “You can stay here with me as my pet, BUT you have to earn it! You have to be my lab assistant and you can’t steal things, okay?” He clearly stated. What was he even thinking? It’s not as if the raccoon could understand him-
To his amazement, the raccoon nodded, moving in circles on the dark oak table before running up his arm and nuzzling its head against his cheek with an elated noise escaping its mouth. Varian couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face as he examined the raccoon’s behaviour. “Alright bud, now that you’re part of the family, you’re gonna need a name.” he bit the inside of his cheek in thought, a hand running through his hair as he debated a few names in his head. “How about Ruddiger? Ruddiger the Raccoon?” He knew full well it wasn’t an amazing idea, giving his pet raccoon his last name, but it was the best thing he could think of at that moment.
The raccoon, newly named Ruddiger, was very pleased with the name his newly declared owner had given him as evident by him rubbing himself against the boy’s legs before taking its previously established seat on Varian’s shoulders once again. “Alright Ruddiger, I’ll obviously have to show you round the lab and teach you everything...oh! And show you how to make hot cocoa! That drink is honestly the best if you have marshmallows with it! Oh my god you’ll love it!” he paused sheepishly, “Sorry, I’m rambling. Uh...anyway. Obviously that’ll have to be something I show you, and talking to my dad about keeping you, but other than that..welcome to the lab!” he declared, smiling at Ruddiger who simply nuzzled his cheek even more.
Varian let out a happy sigh. After all the chaos of today, it felt nice to finally have something good happen. Even though Cassie had given him the first prize ribbon, he knew people would blame the destruction on him..he sighed as soon as the thought appeared in his head. Of course it would be his fault, it always was if one of his inventions went haywire even though this one definitely wasn’t. Still, he brought himself back to the moment and let himself be comforted by his companion. He’d still have to convince his dad who, speak of the devil, had just opened the door to his lab. Almost immediately, his eyes met his son. “No.” he stated, Varian only having time to open his mouth before his dad’s reply came.
“But dad, please! I promise I’ll take care of it, and-and it can be my lab assistant! Please dad, just give me a chance to show I can be responsible!” Varian pleaded, Ruddiger’s weight on his shoulders somehow giving him more confidence to stick up to his dad and stand his ground. He wasn’t gonna give up his new best friend without a fight, no matter what Quirin said.
Quirin, on the other hand, looked down at his son and the pet on his shoulders, letting out a sigh. He knew his son was lonely, but a raccoon for a pet? Why couldn’t it be conventional like a cat or a dog, something that Quirin knew how to handle. Nevertheless, the look in his son’s eyes was adamant, telling him that he wasn’t going to accept no for an answer. The man let out a tired sigh, ruffling his son’s hair and heading towards the stone stairs to the main section of the house. “You can keep it as long as you promise to take care of him…” he stated as he ascended the stairs, the cheers from his son bringing a wide smile to his face.
Varian, in the meantime, spun Ruddiger around in his arms, laughing with a wide smile on his face. “YES! Ruddiger, you can stay!” he cheered, bringing the raccoon into an embrace which it promptly scurried out of, only to land on the cobbled floor of the lab. “Follow me!” he declared as he began running upstairs towards his room, stopping on the way to thank his dad and give him a massive hug, before sprinting the rest of the way and shoving open the door to his room.
It was, admittedly, a huge mess. Research papers littered the floor, the desk and his bed, along with unfinished machinery and a guitar scattered amongst and leaning against the main furniture of the room. Varian didn’t care though, his excitement still building as he created a small bed in the corner of his room for the racoon excitedly. He honestly couldn’t remember being this elated about something in a long time, well, except for meeting Flynn Rider himself, but that was a given anyway, considering how the man was his childhood hero. After finishing the bed, he took a step back and looked at the bundle of blankets and pillows proudly. “Okay buddy, here’s your bed-”
As Varian turned, his eye caught the sleeping figure of Ruddiger curled up on his bed. Of course the little rascal thought he could sleep there, Varian assumed, but he couldn’t bring himself to move the animal. It just looked so peaceful lying there without a care in the world..so Varian silently changed from his day-to-day clothes to his pyjamas and settled himself in a way that wouldn’t disturb his sleeping lab assistant. “Goodnight, buddy.” he muttered as he slowly drifted off to sleep, happy to finally have a lab assistant and a friend.