Archive of Our Own

“Ulla please!” 

The air seemed to bend around Varian, causing Hugo’s vision to warp. Varian stared back at him, but his eyes were unfamiliar and cold. The blue light that emitted from them cast shadows on his cheeks. Hugo choked back a sob as Ulla took a step towards him, smiling. 

“This is family business,” she smiled.

“Like hell it is, let him go!” 

Ulla let out a humorless laugh.

“Let him go? So you can hurt my son even more? So you can trick him into trusting you again and you can break him even more than he’s already been broken?” she snarled. 

“It isn’t like that-” 

“I know you, Hugo. People like you, they don’t know how to trust or how to love. They just know how to destroy.” 

“So what does that make you Ulla? He trusted you!”

“Shut up!” she howled. She slammed her hand down, causing the air to ripple, sending Hugo hurtling into a tree. His head cracked as it whipped backwards, causing him to see white. 

“Mom-” Hugo recognized Varian’s voice. He gasped in relief at those familiar blue eyes staring back at him. He shifted to his knees, prepared to run over to him, but before he could, the glow faded back, as Ulla screamed. She was shaking her head back and forth, grabbing at Varian’s hair. She was fighting for control, and by the way she shook and hollered, she was losing. 

“If I can’t leave this library, neither will you!” she growled. Suddenly, the blue light in Varian’s eyes became blinding, causing Hugo to flinch and squeeze them shut. He grasped his head as it began to pound. 

Suddenly the light faded. Hugo looked up and locked eyes with Varian before he began to sway.

“Varian-” Hugo called out, rushing to catch him. Varian collapsed into his chest, looking up at him as the life faded from his eyes. 

Hugo gasped awake, struggling to catch his breath as he gripped at his chest. The room spun as he rode through the panic. He looked around the room, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

He was in his room. In Corona. He was safe. He breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing into the bed as he tried to steady his breathing. 

This was the third nightmare he’d had this week. He was actually going to lose his mind. 

He threw the covers off, rolling out of bed and stumbling to the floor. He looked up at the clock on the wall. 3:13 am. He’d managed to get 3 hours of sleep tonight which was a step up from last night. 

Those 3 hours did nothing to subside the pounding in his head. 

He groaned, crossing the room clumsily, pulling on a shirt and pants. He pulled a hair tie off his wrist, tugging his hair into a ponytail. He grabbed his boots, hopping up and down on one foot as he tried to yank them on. He stumbled, catching himself on the wall as he nearly fell. He let out a frustrated sigh, forcing his foot down into the boot. 

He stepped out into the hallway, rubbing at his face, trying to wake himself up. The dark hallway wasn’t helping- he rested a hand against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. He was still disoriented from the nightmare, piecing together what was real and what was in his head. 

“Hugo!”  

Varian’s voice echoed in his head, raw and desperate. He whipped around, trying to find the source. He frowned when he didn’t see anything. 

“I’m going crazy,” he mumbled, looking down at Olivia who had found a home on his shoulder. Her small metal hand touched his cheek. He sighed, beginning to make long strides down the hallway on his way to the lab. 

Trying to sleep again was pointless- the last time he’d tried to sleep after a nightmare, he slipped right back into it, waking up even more frantic and panicked. It was easier to just get ready for the day. 

Hugo settled at the desk, lighting a candle and pulling out his notebook. He frowned down at the chicken scratch, trying his best to decipher whatever gibberish he had scribbled down. 

The room lurched, and he grabbed the table to try and keep himself stable as it spun. Varian’s screams began to echo in his head, but with the light, Hugo was more awake and knew he could ignore it. 

Knowing it was in his head didn’t stop his chest from squeezing. His heart was pounding up into his throat making him feel nauseous. He wanted to find Varian, shake him awake and push his hand against his neck to feel his heartbeat. He needed that confirmation that he was OK- that he’d forgiven Hugo, that they’d won. 

He couldn’t do that. He’d rather die than make Varian feel like he had to comfort Hugo for the ramifications of a betrayal that should have been left in the past. He’d made this bed and he was going to lie in it. 

Somehow the wounds still felt fresh- it had been a year and even though sometimes he felt secure, sometimes he couldn’t seem to get out of his head. He was stuck in a loop, reliving his guilt over and over again until it swallowed him whole.

Without even realizing it, he would be walking on eggshells, making sure he didn’t misstep and destroy the trust they had worked so hard to rebuild. Varian deserved better than that. 

Varian deserved better than Hugo , but if there was one thing he knew about him, it was that he was stubborn. 

He shook his head, refocusing on the notebook. His head felt like it was stuffed full of cotton and trying to think was going to send him down a spiral. He began to work on transcribing his chicken scratch into something more legible. Numbers rattled around his skull, replacing the screams. It didn’t make his head hurt any less, but the aching in his chest subsided.

He lost track of time as he focused on his work. Light started to creep into the lab, and people started to walk past the door as they got ready for the day, but he didn’t stir. He was determined to keep himself wrapped up in his work for as long as possible.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, and the castle came to life, Hugo grabbed an energy potion, downing it quickly, and headed out into the hallway to get breakfast.

He was in a haze. Thinking about anything felt like he was pushing through a thick wall of fog. His eyelids would grow heavy anytime he sat down for too long, so of course, that meant he couldn’t sit down. His feet ached, his legs felt like jelly, and his head was pounding. By the sun what he wouldn’t give for a nap right now- 

“-Right Hugo?” 

Shit. 

Hugo blinked, trying to come back into reality. He flexed his fingers as he felt himself settle back into his body. They were in the lab- the angle of the light coming through the window told him it was around noon. Varian was standing in front of him, holding his open notebook in one hand, pencil in the other. His brows were furrowed as he stared at Hugo. He cleared his throat expectantly. 

“Right, yeah of course,” he said, nodding his head frantically. He had absolutely no clue what he had just agreed to, and by the way Varian’s brows seemed to furrow even more, it wasn’t the right answer. 

“Are you OK, Hugh?” 

“I’m peachy, Goggles. Besides, are you OK? I know work has been piling up for you the last few days and you have that habit of projecting your problems onto me,” Hugo said, crossing his arms. 

Varian sputtered. 

“Are you serious? Don’t turn this back on me, Hugo. You just spaced out for like 3 minutes.” 

“Uh uh, I already accused you of projecting onto me, Goggles. You don’t get to turn it back around,” he tutted. 

“You’re infuriating,” Varian exclaimed, throwing his arms up.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Hugo shrugged. 

Varian glared at him, setting down his journal and pressing his hands together on a mock prayer, resting them against his forehead as he took a deep breath. 

“Hugo.” Varian said, more forcefully than before. 

“Goggles,” Hugo retorted, grinning. 

“Hugo. You agreed with me saying that Nuru’s better at math than you. I’ve never heard you agree with that.”

“I can change my mind,” Hugo shrugged, wrapping his arms around himself and fidgeting uncomfortably. Varian frowned, placing a hand on his arm. 

“Look, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but you know you can come to me if you need anything, right?”

Hugo let his smirk fade, and a genuine smile ghosted along his upper lip. He unwrapped his arms, taking Varian’s free hand and interlocking their fingers. 

“I know, Var. I will.” 

Varian smiled, cupping Hugo’s cheek. Hugo leaned forward, closing his eyes and smiling as Varian leaned closer to meet him. His breath ghosted along his face. A little bit closer and- 

“So if you’re OK, we can get back to work, right?” Varian smirked, pulling away and grabbing his notebook again. 

Hugo hadn’t moved from his spot. He snorted, opening his eyes. 

“Tease.” 

“We’re at work,” Varian shrugged.

Hugo raised his eyebrows knowingly as Varian couldn’t quite hold back a grin. He sighed, looking back over the blueprints Varian had drawn out. He massaged his temples as Varian turned around, letting himself be absorbed back into work for a few more hours. 

“Varian!” 

“I don’t want to hear it, Hugo. Just- stay away from me!” 

“Varian please!” Hugo choked out as Varian’s eyes faded back into that bright blue light. Ulla cackled, sending shivers down his spine. 

“Ulla! Ulla please, you’re killing him!!” Hugo cried out. A strangled noise made its way out of his chest and up through his throat as Ulla laughed, twisting Varian’s neck unnaturally far, causing it to snap- 

Hugo sighed, staring at the ceiling. He had just barely closed his eyes this time. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for vertigo to subside before he crawled out of bed. 

He pushed himself up, smiling as he felt a familiar metal mouse run up his arm and stroke his cheek as he took calming breaths. Yesterday, he could ignore his headache, but it seemed like today it had come back with a vengeance. It was like someone took a small knife and was trying to stab their way out from the inside of his head. 

He looked over at the clock. 12:34am. 

He couldn’t risk going down to the lab- he had no idea if Varian was still awake and he was still determined to keep Varian out of this mess. If he stumbled in there at 12:30 in the morning fully dressed, there was no way he was walking out of there without giving some kind of explanation that he wasn’t ready to give. 

He groaned, pulling on his clothes. There was a kitchen not far from his room- he could get a snack or something, at least. 

Yeah. A snack sounded great right about now. 

He crept into the kitchen, making sure to open the door slowly to keep it from squeaking. He lit a few candles, staring hungrily at a plate of cookies that sat innocently on one of the counters. 

Olivia squeaked disapprovingly in his ear. 

“What, Liv? They left them out. They’re basically giving them to me.” 

She huffed, tugging on his ear. Hugo rolled his eyes. 

“Oh come on, Liv. One can’t hurt.” 

If Olivia could roll her little robot eyes, Hugo was certain she would. She crawled down his arm, scampering off to do whatever it was robot mice did at night. Maybe if he was less tired he’d follow her. 

He poured a cup of coffee, pulling the plate of cookies in front of him as he sat down on a stool by the island. He opened his notebook, beginning to scribble down calculations with one hand while he scarfed down his cookie with the other. Then he had a second. Then a third. Then a fourth. 

He had a rough night. Sue him. 

He wiped crumbs off his mouth, grabbing down for another one and frowned as his fingers touched the empty plate. He looked sadly at it, chugging the last of his coffee. He choked as the door began to creak, opening painfully slowly. 

He sat like a deer in headlights as he locked eyes with Rapunzel. She stood, equally as surprised, staring at him. Hugo’s gaze trailed down to the empty plate and he panicked, clumsily shoving it under the table. They both blinked at each other, still completely caught off guard. 

Hugo cleared his throat, which seemed to successfully snap Rapunzel out of her trance. She smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry, do you mind if I-” she gestured over to the pantry. Hugo shrugged, shrinking in on himself as he stared back down at his notebook. He wasn’t going to move. He was here first, dammit.

Rapunzel awkwardly slunk into the kitchen, her heels padding on the tiled floor as she tiptoed over to the counter. She opened one of the cupboards, pulling out a large bowl before moving over to another one, pulling out flour, sugar-

Sun above, she was baking . 

Hugo glowered, pressing his pen harder into his notebook, gritting his teeth. Despite her attempts at staying quiet, every once in a while she would set something down a little bit too loudly or hit something against the side of the bowl just that little bit too harshly. Hugo bit his tongue, smacking his lips as it started to bleed.

Rapunzel began portioning out her mixture, humming as she set small circles of dough down on her baking sheet. Hugo was going to explode.

Rapunzel kept humming whatever annoying tune was in her head as she set her cookies in the oven, leaping up onto the counter and swinging her feet as she grabbed her sketchbook. He stared back down at the table, willing it to swallow him whole. He wanted to storm out of the kitchen and find another corner to hide in, but doing that would mean admitting defeat- it would mean confronting the fact he really didn’t like Rapunzel all that much and that was a catastrophe waiting to happen. 

He placed his head in his hand, blinking back the dizziness that had come out of nowhere. Her humming was hypnotic, drawing his eyes shut and making his body feel heavy. The kitchen was growing foggy, fading from his view as his eyes blinked open and closed. Just 5 minutes couldn’t hurt. 

Hugo snorted awake as a plate was set in front of him- the loud noise causing him to jolt backwards. He caught himself as he almost fell off the stool. He blinked dumbly as he stared down at the plate of freshly baked cookies in front of him. He looked over at Rapunzel, completely puzzled but she had turned away from him, moving to mix even more ingredients into another clean bowl. 

Tentatively, he reached down, picked one up and took a curious bite. For all of his complicated feelings about the princess, this woman could bake. Hugo moaned happily, shoving 2 more cookies into his mouth. Rapunzel turned around and huffed a small laugh as he struggled to chew his way through 3 cookies at once. He swallowed, cringing as the massive lump of cookies travelled down his throat. This time, he stuck to chewing one cookie.

He gave Rapunzel a calculating look. She was humming again, mixing together dry ingredients for some other baking project.

He looked over at the clock. 1:46 am. He chewed his lip. 

Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him.

“What are you doing, Rapunzel?” he asked quietly. 

“Hm?” she asked, her head snapping up to meet Hugo’s eyes. 

“What are you doing?” he repeated. 

“Baking,” she smiled, showing him her bowl filled with finely mixed cookie dough. 

“I see that, but why at 1 in the morning?” he asked. 

She shrugged. 

“Why are you doing work at 1 in the morning?” she quipped, sitting up on the counter. 

“Fair enough,” Hugo shrugged. 

Rapunzel looked down at her bowl, but her mixing slowed. She seemed to be staring into space, deep in thought. 

“I know you don’t like me,” she said suddenly, catching Hugo by surprise. He blanched, head shooting up from his journal to meet her eyes. She looked back at him confidently, making him shrink. 

“What makes you think that?” he asked, sounding as nonchalant as he could. 

“I have good intuition,” she shrugged. 

Hugo huffed a laugh, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. 

“It’s not that I don’t like you, Princess. I just don’t-” Hugo frowned, not sure how to finish his sentence. Rapunzel kept her eyes on him, refusing to give him the space to wiggle out of this nightmare of a conversation. 

“I don’t trust you,” he said finally. “Which yeah. It’s silly. Whatever.” 

“Is it because of Varian?” she asked. Hugo’s jaw dropped slightly. Rapunzel dared to let out a small smile as she read him to filth. 

“You’re a lot like Cass,” she explained. “Cass always thought I was too naive so she held grudges for me. It was- it was where a lot of our problems came from, I think. You remind me of her.” 

Hugo clenched his jaw, rolling his tongue under his teeth. 

“Why are you here, Rapunzel?” 

Rapunzel raised her hands up innocently. 

“I didn’t come looking for you, honest! I just like to bake. It distracts me from-” she cut herself off. “Well, it just distracts me.” 

She took a deep breath before starting again.

“Since you were here I figured we were overdue for a talk.”

Hugo clicked his teeth, looking back down at his notebook.  

If he’d gotten more sleep, maybe Hugo would do the smart thing and called it a night. End this weird standoff-not standoff he’d gotten himself involved in with the Princess. Unfortunately, Hugo was running off of fumes, caffeine, and a whole lot of sugar, so he didn’t have the brainpower to stop his question from tumbling out of his mouth. 

“Distract you from what?” 

Rapunzel gave him a soft look, setting her bowl to the side and pulling her legs up to her chest. For a second she looked like she was going to prepare a deflection. Maybe she’d turn it back on him the way Varian always managed to do (he had to have learnt it somewhere, after all.) She puzzled for a moment, tapping her thigh lightly. 

Eventually, she took a calming breath and leaned against the cabinets. 

“From nightmares,” she mumbled. “I get them sometimes and baking takes my mind off it.” 

“So you just stay up all night?” 

She curled in closer to herself, resting her hands on her knees. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to go back to sleep. It’s just- It’s not always this bad but sometimes I can’t sleep without having them. It’s like everytime I close my eyes-“ she winced, squeezing her eyes shut. Hugo swore he saw a couple tears roll down her cheeks. “So I bake instead because at least it’s relaxing.” 

Hugo nodded. He understood better than she probably knew. 

“What are they about?” he asked. He cringed, correcting himself quickly. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to- sorry that was really. Sorry ,” he mumbled frantically. 

“It’s alright,” she smiled. “Talking about it helps me, anyway.” 

She pulled a batch of cookies out of the oven, pressing on them lightly to check if they were done. She smiled satisfactorily, scooping them up and setting them down on another plate. 

She set the plate down on the island, pulling up another stool to sit near Hugo. Not next to him, but close enough that the plate sat between them. She picked up a cookie, holding it by her face. She took a careful nibble- it was less like she was eating it, and more like she was using it as a shield, hiding the spectrum of emotions Hugo could barely read through her eyebrows. 

She set the cookie down, fiddling with her thumbs. 

“You know where I came from, right?” 

“The lost princess who got found locked away in a tower? You’re practically a legend.”  

Rapunzel let out a hollow laugh. 

“My mother- well. She wasn’t that great of a person to put it lightly. She- she kept me isolated for pretty much my entire life. She always told me about how scary and evil the world was and that was why she kept me there.” 

Hugo settled into his chair, shutting his slowly as she talked. As he began to relax, the air around him seemed to relax too, making Rapunzel speak more confidently. 

“I know I’m safe and I know she was wrong but I keep having these dreams that I’m back there. In one of them that I keep having, Eugene turns into a vampire and tries to eat me and mother saves me just in the nick of time which- is really silly now that I say it out loud,” she giggled. Hugo chuckled along with her. 

Rapunzel’s face fell.

“Sometimes I dream about Cassandra. Every dream I have about her, she’s betrayed me again and she’s just- so scary. She’ll end up burning Corona to the ground or killing all my other friends and family while I watch and I-” she cut herself off as her voice began to break. She broke a cookie in half, shoving one piece of it into her mouth, determinedly trying to keep the tears at bay. Hugo felt his heart break just a little bit. 

“I know we won and she’s back and there’s nothing to be scared of anymore but sometimes I get stuck replaying all the what ifs so it’s easier to just bake instead,” she whispered. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, taking the other half of her cookie and nibbling it. 

“Is that what your nightmare was about tonight?” he asked tentatively. Rapunzel froze for a moment, hesitation flashing through her eyes before she settled back in her chair again. 

“No. It was- it was different. Kind of,” she said. Her voice was trembling, and she rocked back and forth slightly in her chair, trying to keep herself steady. 

She took another shaky breath. Before he even knew what he was doing, Hugo’s hand had settled over hers. He looked down shocked at it, but she smiled gratefully at him, sealing his fate. 

“I was stuck in my tower again. It was the middle of the blizzard and Varian was calling for help and I couldn’t do anything . Cassandra was watching and laughing before she killed him in front of me. I had to watch her destroy Corona from my window.” 

She swallowed a lump in her throat, pausing to let her voice settle again as it broke.

“I-I haven’t felt that powerless in a long time. I just couldn’t stop thinking about how it was my fault. Varian sounded so scared and Cassandra was so angry and I was just stuck, ” she sobbed. “Cassandra is my best friend. I shouldn't be this afraid of her.” 

Hugo sat still, tapping the table with his free hand. If he was Nuru, he’d probably have something meaningful and comforting to say. She always seemed to know exactly what to say to make people feel better- he would never in his life say it out loud, but he sort of admired her for it. Hugo on the other hand was sort of a fish out of water when it came to emotions. 

“Sorry, I’m rambling again, aren’t I?” she sniffled, pulling her hand away to wipe her eyes. Hugo quickly pulled his hand to sit on his lap as he bit the inside of her cheek. 

It was, unfortunately, really hard to hate the princess when she was sitting in front of him, this openly broken at 2:30 in the morning. He was starting to see why Varian liked her so much- even when she was falling apart, she had this energy that made Hugo feel safe. 

“I get them too,” he blurted without thinking. He slammed his mouth shut so hard his teeth clicked as he realized what he had just said. He tried to pull away, readjusted his body so he could push himself out of this stool and far far away from this goddamn kitchen. Maybe he could convince Varian to move to another kingdom. Nuru’s family would certainly appreciate their skills-

“Do you want to tell me about them?” Rapunzel asked carefully. “You- you don’t have to if you don’t want to. It helps me but that doesn’t mean you have to tell me,” she choked out, speaking faster and faster as panic sat in. Hugo’s resolve cracked. 

“You can’t tell anyone,” he said sternly. “Not Fitzherbert, not Strongbow, no one.”

Rapunzel nodded. 

“You- you cannot tell Varian, alright? I can’t- he can’t-” Hugo stammered.

“I won’t say anything. Whatever you want to tell me, it stays in here.”

Hugo nodded, swallowing before he slumped down, leaning forward on the table. 

“Sun above, what do you know about the library? Like what happened when we opened it?” Hugo asked, still in disbelief at what he was about to say. 

“Varian told me he locked himself in there and got possessed by his mother, and you ended up saving him.”

“Do you know why Varian locked himself in there?” Hugo asked, testing the waters before he took the dive. 

Rapunzel nodded. 

“I know- well. Varian told me everything about Donella and what you- well you were going to- ,” 

“What I did.” 

“Yeah. He told me.” Rapunzel almost sounded sympathetic. There was a lilt to her voice that made Hugo’s chest feel warm. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Varian that angry. He was so- upset and it was my fault and I couldn’t do anything. And then Ulla possessed him and I thought I was never going to see him again. It- I mean obviously it ended well, Ulla let him go and Varian forgave me and it’s all sunshine and rainbows but I can’t-” Hugo tensed as he felt pressure start to grow behind his eyes. He squeezed them shut, trying to push back tears that threatened to fall.

“The what ifs?” Rapunzel asked knowingly. 

Hugo nodded his head silently. 

“In all of them Varian is just so mad at me and it always ends with Ulla hurting or killing him and it’s all my fault and I don’t- I don’t know what to do because I know it’s the guilt and I know I deserve to feel guilty but I can’t keep doing this, Rapunzel!”

Hugo’s voice grew louder as he spoke, as the carefully constructed dam he had made sealing off his emotions broke. 

“Hugo,” Rapunzel said carefully. “You don’t deserve this .” 

“Yes I do,” he said exasperatedly. “I hurt him, Rapunzel. I hurt him badly.” 

“You and I have that in common,” she said, smiling halfheartedly. “Trust me I get it. But feeling guilty isn’t the same thing as torturing yourself.” 

Hugo let out a choked noise, lowering his arms onto the table and letting his head rest on them. He pressed his face into his arm hard enough he could feel his glasses press into his face. Suddenly, a hand found his shoulder. Despite its warmth, he still flinched back. 

“Sorry- sorry, I should have asked,” Rapunzel cringed, pulling her hand back quickly. Hugo lifted his head to look at her.

“No it’s- you’re fine,” Hugo said weakly. Rapunzel’s hand lingered awkwardly in the space between them. As tears Hugo failed to keep at bay slipped down his cheeks, she let her hand hover over his shoulder. 

“Are you alright if I-” she asked. Hugo nodded, pressing his face into his arms again. Her hand found his shoulder again, and now that he knew it was coming, it was comforting. 

“I don’t know what to do,” Hugo hissed into the empty air. Rapunzel frowned. 

“I think deep down you do,” she said softly. “I know it feels like you’re burdening him, but Varian forgave you because he loves you. You don’t have to tell him everything, but you should at least give him the chance to be there for you.” 

Hugo raised his head, discarding his glasses to wipe his eyes.

“You’re right,” he sighed. Rapunzel smirked just a tiny bit. 

“I know.” 

Hugo laughed wetly at her response, reaching for another cookie. He held it for a second, staring at it before he spoke again.

“Princess, for what it’s worth, I was wrong about you. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s alright, Hugo. I’m glad Varian has someone like you looking out for him,” Rapunzel smiled. 

Something warm blossomed out of Hugo’s chest. Despite the dried tear tracks down his face, the burning in his eyes and his throat, and the throbbing behind his head, this was the best he had felt in weeks. 

Rapunzel’s eyes flicked over to the door. She glanced conspiratorially at him. 

“Do you want to hear about my genius prank I’m pulling on Eugene?” 

Hugo lit up. 

“You’re speaking my language, Princess.” 

Varian’s head snapped up to the lab door as he heard it creak open. He had woken up maybe 30 minutes ago and was still trying to remember how to be a human. A half-drunk cup of black tea sat in front of him, filled with as many cream and sugar packets as he could add without being made fun of. 

He locked eyes with Hugo who was slowly pushing the door open. He looked absolutely wrecked. His eyes were puffy, he had bags that were practically to his cheekbones, and he stood like he was going to collapse at any moment. 

“Hugo-” Varian started, prepared to deflect whatever stupid response Hugo had prepared this time. He blinked in surprise as Hugo’s arms wrapped around his torso. 

“Var,” Hugo said, his voice beginning to crack. Varian’s heart broke. He stood from his chair, crossing the room and taking his hand gently. 

“Are you OK?” Varian asked. Hugo laughed wetly. 

“No,” he whimpered. Varian raised his other arm slightly, silently asking Hugo for permission before he pulled him any closer. Hugo took Varian’s offer, wrapping his arms around Varian’s chest and pressing his face into his neck. Varian wrapped his own arms around Hugo’s chest, pressing into him.

“Do you need anything from me?” Varian asked gently. Hugo sniffled. 

“I need you,” he admitted. “I can’t- I don’t- I need you ,” he stammered. 

Varian nodded, pulling away from Hugo slightly to guide him towards a loveseat they had tucked away in the corner of their lab. He sat down, tugging Hugo’s hand gently, leading him to sit down next to him. Varian shifted so that he was facing Hugo, cupping his cheek to guide his face to look at him. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Varian asked. Hugo shook his head. 

“I can’t- I can’t-” Hugo started, taking deep breaths through his nose as his heart rate began to spike.

“Hey,” Varian said comfortingly, placing his other hand on the crook between Hugo’s neck and his shoulder. “Hey, it’s OK. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.” Hugo nodded, pressing his face back into the crook of Varian’s neck. 

“Can we take a break today? The royal busibodies can last one day without someone fixing their shit,” Hugo mumbled. Varian huffed a laugh. 

“Yeah, they can last one day without us.” 

Hugo hummed into Varian’s skin. He pulled his face away from Varian’s neck, leading it closer towards Varian. This time, Varian closed the gap, locking their lips together in a gentle dance. Varian cradled Hugo’s head in his hands, and Hugo kept both his hands placed on Varian’s neck, letting the heel of his hand graze just above his pulse point. 

Varian leaned back, and Hugo followed him until they were both lying down on the loveseat that was too small to accommodate the both of them. Hugo leaned over Varian as he kissed him with fervor, running his hands up and down his neck and chest. Varian’s hands found a home locked behind Hugo’s head, tangled in his hair.

Varian nipped Hugo’s lower lip lightly as he broke the kiss. He tugged Hugo down by the collar of his shirt. He ended up sprawled over Varian’s chest, his head resting right above his heart. Hugo smiled as the rhythmic thumping sound began to lull him to sleep. He nuzzled into Varian’s hand as he played with his hair.

“Is this good?” Varian asked softly, smoothing away hair that had stuck to Hugo’s forehead, and tucking it behind his ear. 

Hugo nodded, half asleep. Varian smiled fondly as Hugo’s eyes drifted closed.

He leaned back, resting his head on the arm of the chair, letting his own eyes slip closed.