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Hugo looked back at Varian and grinned. “C’mon, Hairstripe! What are you waiting for?” Varian jogged to catch up to Hugo. He had been lagging behind, enjoying the scenery. It was a beautiful morning. Varian had gotten the last watch for the night, so he had seen the sunrise. There were birds flitting around, singing in that spellbinding way of theirs. Varian turned his focus back to Hugo and smiled.
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Varian stares at Hugo, his eyes wide. Tears stream down his face. He tries to talk. His voice cracks. He tries again. “You…you were working for her?”
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The caravan jolted as they went over yet another rock. Varian gripped the seat tighter.
Hugo sat next to him nonchalantly. “What’s wrong, Hairstripe? Not a fan of bumpy rides?”
Varian glared. “No, I’m not. Makes me think of the chemicals that could blow if they get mixed too much.” He smirked. “Like…that one! Hugo, watch out!” Hugo flew off of his seat with a yelp. Varian snickered. It was Hugo’s turn to glare.
“Low blow, Goggles. Not cool.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, though, as he noticed that Varian had relaxed.
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Varian tries to stem the flow of tears and put on a brave face. It’s not working. He gives up and lets the tears fall freely. His lip trembles. “Hugo…you…”
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Varian tossed around in his bed. He kicked the wall in his sleep, waking Hugo up. Hugo looked around in confusion before seeing Varian sleeping fitfully. Varian whimpered. “Dad-dad, no,” he muttered.
Hugo got up and grabbed Varian’s shoulder. “Varian! Wake up!” He hissed. Varian woke with a start. “Hugo…? Hugo!” He grabbed Hugo’s arm and pulled him into a hug with a sob. Hugo hugged him back after a moment’s hesitation. Varian clutched his shirt tightly. The two men sat in silence, with only the sound of Varian’s muffled sobbing.
As Varian relaxed, Hugo started to get up. Varian held onto his shirt sleeve and looked up at him. “Stay…? Please?” He whispered.
Hugo smiled. “Sure.” As the time went slowly by, Varian started to fall back asleep. As he drifted off completely, he heard Hugo whisper “it’s okay, Varian. I’ll always be here for you. I promise.”
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Hugo reaches a hand out, trying to make Varian understand. His eyes are wide. Varian jolts back. He looks at Hugo in horror. “You PROMISED!” Hugo recoiles in shock.
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Varian watched as the snowflakes softly drifted to the ground. He clutched his coat tighter and shivered, but not from the cold. Flashes of memory flew through his mind. His dad, with the amber climbing up his legs. The blizzard, blinding white and nearly impenetrable. Rapunzel, watching and doing nothing as he was dragged away by guards. Echoes of his own voice.
“Rapunzel! You promised!” He flinched as a hand gently touched his shoulder, snapping him out of it. He looked back and saw Hugo watching him with furrowed brows. Varian smiled reassuringly.
“I’m fine.”
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Varian sends a deathly glare at Hugo. “Why didn’t you just tell me?!” He shouts. Hugo waves a hand at Varian frantically. “This is why! I was worried you would be angry! And I was right, wasn’t I?!”
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Varian woke up and stretched. Walking out of the tent, he looked around and smiled. It was a beautiful day. He saw Hugo by a small fire. Sitting next to him, he asked, “what are you doing?”
Hugo looked up in frustration. There were some eggs on a rock. It was a mess. The eggs were running down the rock, and there were shells everywhere.
Varian smiled. “Here, let me help…” he said as he picked up the last few eggs. “Go get a new rock…or, never mind. I’ll flip this one.” Varian carefully broke the eggs and placed them by the fire. “There we go! They should be done soon!” He looked up and smiled.
“Th…thanks, Hairstripe,” Hugo said sheepishly.
“It’s my pleasure! Thanks for trying, at least. It means a lot. And, hey…if you ever need help, no matter how big or how small, you can talk to me, alright?”
Hugo looked away, poking at the eggshells with a stick. “Yeah. Maybe.”
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“If you had told me, we could have fixed it. We could have worked something out,” he says lowly, his voice dropping into a hiss. Varian’s hand clenches into a fist. “But THIS?” Varian scoffs. “This makes me wonder what I ever saw in you.”
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Hugo and Varian sat side by side. Nuru and Yong had gone to sleep. The fire was crackling. There were a few crickets chirping, but the night was otherwise silent. Varian leaned into Hugo, completely at peace. Neither boy spoke. There was no need to. The night went on.
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Hugo flinches. “Varian, I…I did what I had to! You have to understand, there was no choice—“
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Hugo frowned, looking between Nuru and Varian. “You want me to…what?”
Varian grinned. “You HAVE to.” They had stumbled upon another small festival. Hugo thought they were done with those. He groaned.
“So my choices are to dance with you, or take Nuru and Yong shopping?”
Nuru nodded. “That’s right. I can take Yong myself, if I have to. It’d be nice to have help, though.” She waved her hand. “But Varian needs dancing lessons BADLY. You can’t even pretend you don’t know how.”
Hugo turned red. “Fine,” he grumbled. “But JUST this ONCE.” He grabbed Varian’s hand and dragged him towards the village dance. He would never admit it, but Hugo had a lot of fun. Nuru teased him about the blush on his face for weeks to come, afterwards. But it was a small price to pay, seeing the look on Varian’s face.
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Varian shudders at the earnest tone in Hugo’s voice. Does he really believe he’s doing the right thing? His temper rose. “There's always a choice, Hugo! And I thought—“ Varian’s voice broke. “I thought you chose me.”
Hugo looks down. “I…I thought so too…” he whispers. “Varian…I’m sorry.”
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Hugo and Varian sat on a log by the fire, watching the dance. Varian grinned. He wasn’t much of a dancer, but he loved how much fun everyone seemed to be having. Hugo was leaning back on his hands. Varian waved at Nuru as she spun by. As he put his hand down, Hugo shifted. Varian stiffened as their fingers brushed together. But he didn’t pull away. Hugo’s hand crept over subtly, trying to avoid the keen eyes of the townsfolk. Varian could feel his face heating up. He glanced at Hugo, but the other man had an unreadable expression on his face. If it weren’t for their intertwined hands, Varian would have assumed that Hugo had forgotten he was there. Varian relaxed, and the two men spent the rest of the evening in peace.
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Varian shakes his head, suddenly calm. “It’s too late for that. You’ve chosen your path.” He stares Hugo directly in the eyes. “I thought you were better than this. I was wrong.”
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Hugo sat watching as the sky turned blood orange. He lay back, observing the evening shift into night, the first few stars appearing in the sky. He was taking the first watch, and had assumed everyone was sleeping. He was soon corrected when Varian lay down next to him. Hugo looked at him in surprise. “Hey, Hairstripe. I thought you had gone to bed.”
Varian chuckled. “I was going to, but I saw you laying here alone. The night seemed so peaceful, so I figured I might as well join you.”
Hugo smiled. “I’m glad you did.” For a while, the only sounds were crickets and rustling tree branches. Varian pointed out a constellation. Hugo pointed to the area Varian described. Varian reached up to correct his aim. Their fingers interlocked as their hands drifted back to earth. Varian curled up into Hugo’s side and looked up at him, smiling. Feeling bold, Hugo pressed a chaste kiss to Varian’s lips. The other man looked at him in shock. Their faces were red. Varian looked back at Hugo’s lips before moving into another kiss. The moon rose higher in the sky as the hours went by.
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Hugo stares blankly as Varian turns and starts to walk away. His shoulders slump, but he does nothing. Might as well let Varian go. After all, now he has nothing left to lose.