Work Text:
It was unexpected, the sudden change in weather. Just yesterday, the four travellers had been sunbathing and relaxing in a lagoon they had stumbled across, and now they were here, in their shorts and T-shirts, freezing their socks off, slowly making their way through a snowy forest.
When the blizzard had hit their Caravan, it didn't take long for the wheels to be covered, and well... They couldn't stay in a small, compact cararavn which had no heating.. The team had to quickly undo Promethius' ropes and backtrack to a small town they had found earlier. It wasn't much, just a couple of houses, an Inn and some shops, but it would have to suffice, or else they'd risk getting even more sick than they probably were now.
Amongst the bickering of Hugo and Nuru and the whining of Yong, Varian was there alongside his three friends, silent. It was unusual, honestly, Varian was usually the one to calm Yong down or step between Hugo and Nurus small fights, but he hadn't bothered right now. Silence. That's all that came from him, making him almost forgettable in the group. None of the others had noticed his strange behaviour, well... At least he thought so..
The oh so familiar feeling of the snow numbing his skin, the scent of nothing but air, the force of the wind against his face.... It was all reminding him of— "GUYS! IT'S THE TOWN!" Yong had shouted, forcing his voice over Hugo, Nuru and the wind.
"Oh thank god, if I had to spend one more second with this INSATIABLE woman, I was gonna lose it - I swear" Hugo sighed with relief, earning him the world's dirtiest glare from Nuru. He snickered, knowing he was getting a rise out of her, it was practically his main hobby.
Yong's expression turned puzzled, and he raised his voice to ask "What if the Inn is ful—"
"Shut up, Shortstacks, don't jinx it."
"Hugo, don't be so rude, he's right.. If it's full, we're screwed... We'll just have to hope on the stars that there's a room left.." Nuru responded, leveling out the upcoming bicker which was about to rise between Hugo and Yong.
The gang made their way towards the Inn which they had spotted (luckily) on their way through the town earlier. The Inn had a slanted, hanging sign saying" The Agape Inn", it was clearly busted due to the force of the wind. They make their way in, and we're greeted at the desk by an old, sweet woman, warmth radiating from her presence - or maybe that was the fireplace behind her... Either way — the group was happy to be out of the snow.
"Oh- oh my life- are you kids okay? You're practically snowmen!"
"Yes..we're okay.. Barely.. We've come in hope that you would be able to provide any sort of shelter for us throughout the night.. Name the price, we'll pay. We just need shelter until the storm is over.." Nuru spoke delicately towards the lady, respect eminating from her, partially due to her addressing the elderly, and also partially to sway the woman into lowering the prices.. Well that was Hugo's theory anyway...
"My darlings, you're just in luck! We have two more rooms available... A room with two single beds and another with a singular double.. Dont worry about the price, kids... I couldn't possibly turn you all away in this state.. Here, stay there and I'll go and fetch the keys to the rooms!" She relied with haste - a sense of care and compassion spilling out of her mouth when she spoke.
The group expressed their gratitude to her, and she had scurried off quickly to grab the keys. " Now see, it it wasn't for me shutting up firecracker here, he would've jinxed us. Thank me now, for I am your saviour~" Hugo played, and the others had managed to crack smiles at his jokes. Well.. All of them except for Varian, who was knelt down at the fireplace, trying to heat himself up as fast as possible.
"So...we're in agreement that me and Yong are getting the single beds, right?" Nuru stated, more than questioned.
"W-what? When did we agree on that?! Surely me and Yong are the ones who should get the room-"
"no, no, no, listen up you bimbo, I am not sleeping in the same bed as any of you guys, I'm a lady!"
"pfft.. Barely"
"E-excuse me-"
"You heard me, Starfire"
"Oh you little-"
"Guys, shhh.. Youre hurting my brain" Yong moaned, shutting up Hugo and Nuru. "as it seems fate has decided, I have secured a bed, so... I'll make the decision on who should get the other bed... And I think Nuru should get it!"
"Yong you traitor-"
"YES! In your face, Hugo~"
"Tch...whatever" Hugo rolled his eyes at Nuru, sighing.
The group received their keys and headed up to their rooms, Nuru gave Hugo a smug smirk before walking into her room with Yong, leaving Hugo and Varian alone to walk to their own room. Hugo had been thinking about Varian since the storm had started, honestly.. He'd never admit it openly, but there was a tad spark of worry for the smaller male, Hugo wasn't stupid - he knew there was something wrong with Varian since he'd barely heard a word from him since the storm had began; he didn't bother to ask.. It wasn't his business, anyways.
"ah, how glamorous, look at this goggles~" Hugo teased as they entered their room. It wasn't much, a painting of a treehouse, a small balcony, a mini fridge, microwave, and a bed. A bed. One bed. Oh shi—
Varian wasn't apart of the group discussion on rooms, he was too busy trying to warm up and end the constant stinging from the snow on his body, and he definitely wasn't expecting... This....
Varian awkwardly made his way over to the bed, way more awkwardly than he needed too...and he slowly sat down on the left side, like, on the edge of the bed, prepared to topple over onto the hard, wooden tiles on the floor. "Uh... That ain't seeming like the most.... Comfortable.. Way to sleep... But hey, who am I to judge, G'night hairstipes" Hugo said, slipping into bed himself under the covers. He made thst interaction short, snappy and cool, just like he had planned it in his head hundre— I mean like, once, since he found out he was sleeping with Varian in the same bed... All alone together... Same bed— Hugo DEFINITELY wasn't internally having twenty crisises!
On the other hand, we have Varian.. He was still under shock from the snow, still shaking even though he had heated himself up ages ago, still refusing to speak because if he did... Well that's when the tears would come.. And this, this just added to his state.. Varian was is a very particular guy, he likes to be in-the-know, he enjoys being prepared for any possible scenario... But nothing couldn't prepared him for this.. Being on the verge of a panic attack whilst in bed with Hugo Rottewange out of all people..
It'd been a couple of hours, now... Hugo had managed to succumb to sleep due to his exhaustion from the day.. Varian though, he was still up, he was scared to go to sleep because he knew if he did he'd have to face his father, encased in Amber, due to an accident HE caused.. He wasn't wasn't mentally prepared to do that.... He was prepared to stay awake for more hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, millennias - he couldn't... He couldn't go to sleep.. It was a battle - sure - he was spending all of his energy on keeping his eyes open, as if he were to die if they would close..
Of course, the intrusive thoughts beat their way through eventually, anyways.. It was a lose-lose battle, and he was at rock bottom. He sat up, and he went to hold his eyes open, only to find his eyes were wet - drenched, actually.. He was crying, he hadn't even noticed and he wished he hadn't noticed because now he knew... The flood gates had officially burst...
Hugo's slumber was interrupted by the faint sound of sniffles coming from Varians direction. He was about to groan and tell him to shut up, but before he did, he realised what was happening.. Varian was crying. Hugo.. Well... He wasn't the best comforter in the world.. He preferred to hand that job to Nuru, but it seemed he had no choice now but to try and be the rock that someone could lean on.
"Goggles?.. Uh... You good..?" He whispered, startling Varian in the process. Varian turned to Hugo, his eyes swollen red from crying, and immediately turned away, embarrassed. "Hey...do you... Wanna talk?"
Varian looked back at Hugo and he sighed. He knew that the only way to calm down was to speak about what was wrong, it was a lesson Rapunzel had taught him long ago. He shuffled to the backboard of the bed and took a deep breath. "I-..i don't want to go into full detail...b-but...the snow brings back some bad memories for me... And it's just... - I - I'm just a bit overwhelmed... Today's been a lot... And-" he leaned his head on Hugo's shoulder, his body going limp from all the energy he's put into keeping himself up. The contact should've seemed foreign to Hugo - after all, it wasn't every day Varian cried onto his shoulder, but it just seemed... Natural to him.. And he leaned into it as well, wrapping his arms around the younger man.
"shh.. It's okay, hairstripe, let it out..." Hugo's words naturally rolled off of his tongue like he was programmed to say them, like he had done this before, but he hadn't.. He found an odd comfort in watching Varians tears slowly begin to fall from his eyes at a slower rate than the minute before, and Hugo kept whispering sweet nothingness into his ears, a warmth spread through his chest, this felt natural to him, it felt normal, like he was made for this.
As varian took in Hugo's words, his heart began to skip beats, but not in the way it did earlier when he was in the snow.. It was almost nice... Varian had been sure this would have been one of the worst nights of his life, yet here he was... In the arms of the man who he assumed disliked him at best.. And it didn't feel weird, persay... Nor did it feel shocking or extraordinary... He quite enjoyed it, actually.. Nobody had ever held him like this before and comforted him in the way Hugo was now..
Both of the boys shared a similar connection of peace, which was a concept they both didn't imagine they'd be feeling just 10 minutes ago, yet here they were. Hugo's presence almost silenced the roars coming from outside, and Varians presence almost made Hugo feel like he was worth something to somebody..
As Varians tears officially subsided, they lay there together in the bed they were once so far apart in, tangled in each other's limbs, their breaths both evening out as they allowed sleep to take them. As Varian felt himself fall asleep, he felt safe... And he knew that his dreams would be merciful.
Perhaps the 'Agape Inn' lived up to its name after all....