Work Text:
Varian wakes up to a beam of sunlight in his eyes and the annoying sound of an alarm. His alarm, telling him to wake the fuck up.
He grumbles as he reaches over to turn it off; he already hit snooze twice, one more time and he’s never getting out of bed. One glance to the other side of the bed confirms that Hugo is still asleep, though Varian isn’t sure how much longer it’ll be until he’s awake. He gently removes the arm around his waist and holds back a guilty smile when Hugo’s face twists into a frown.
Varian slowly sits up and stretches, wincing when he feels his back pop. He rubs his eyes, still a bit groggy, but there’s nothing a quick shower can’t fix. He slides out of the blankets and goes to stand-
When an arm snakes around his waist.
“ Hugo, ” Varian whines when the blond in question tries (and fails) to pull him back into bed. “Come on, I have to get up.”
Hugo scowls, eyes still bleary with the remnants of sleep. Varian hopes he didn’t wake him up (he knows he did). “No you fucking don’t.”
Varian snorts and leans over to kiss Hugo’s forehead. “Sorry, love. You know I don’t want to.”
Hugo groans dramatically. “ Ughhhh . My fiancé is cruel and terrible to me.” He pouts when his whining doesn’t have the intended effect. “And neglectful. I’m pretty sure that’s domestic abuse, Sweetcheeks.”
Varian’s face grows warm, the engagement ring on his finger a reminder of what they are now. The emerald in the center gleams back at him, and not for the first time he’s reminded of Hugo’s eyes.
Is that sappy? Yes. Varian doesn’t care.
“I know, I’m awful. But it’s-“ he checks his phone, “-eight o’clock. The rest of the world is awake and functioning.”
Hugo takes Varian’s hand. “The world has no place in our bed.”
Varian laughs. “Are you seriously quoting Hamilton to get me to stay in bed with you?”
“Mm, maybe.” Hugo kisses Varian’s hand, lips brushing the finger bearing his engagement ring. His stomach flutters at the action. “Is it working?”
“No,” Varian lies. “I promised Eugene I’d meet him for breakfast.”
“You still have like, an hour.”
“Half an hour,” Varian corrects, ignoring the way Hugo sticks out his tongue. “You know how he is about time management.”
“On time is ten minutes early,” he’d scolded Varian and Hugo after they’d shown up five minutes late for game night.
Hugo rolls his eyes. “Fitzherbert and his five gray hairs will survive.” When Varian doesn’t budge, he sighs. “Sweetheart, please. The bed is so empty without you.”
“So get up,” Varian says, despite the way he’s slowly leaning toward his fiancé. Another few minutes in bed couldn’t hurt.
Ugh, Hugo is such a bad influence on him.
Hugo seems to know this because he tugs on Varian’s hand a little more insistently. “Please?” He tries again. And then, because he knows Varian’s weakness, “Stay with me?”
Now Varian certainly can’t say no.
He laughs as he lets himself be pulled back into the warmth of Hugo’s embrace, pressing his back against Hugo’s chest. “I hate you so much.”
Soft lips press against the nape of Varian’s neck and he represses a shiver. “That’s not what you were saying last night,” Hugo murmurs teasingly.
“Actually, that’s exactly what I was saying last night.”
“Hm, yeah. But that was right before I- mmph!”
Varian rolls over and shuts Hugo up with a kiss. The blond immediately melts into him, weaving gentle fingers into dark curls. It’s warm and soft and Hugo’s lips feel like home, and everything about it is so, so perfect.
Hugo pulls back after a moment, looking dazed. “Oh.” He blinks, and his surprised expression melts into a smile. “Hi.”
Varian returns his smile, brushing golden tendrils away from green eyes. “Hi.”
Hugo exhales softly, that love struck grin growing with every second, and Varian wants to laugh at the sudden shift in mood. He’s like a goddamn puppy right now.
“You’re my best friend,” he murmurs, every word thick with honesty.
When Hugo had first said that, years ago, Varian had been puzzled. He thought Hugo was deflecting, saying it just so he wouldn’t have to go silent when Varian asked what are we?
But he knows better now. He knows what it was, what it still is when Hugo wakes up in the middle of the night with that strange look on his face. What it means when he pauses before saying you’re my best friend.
Varian knows that Hugo is in love. Every time he hears those four words, his heart swells with an impossible amount of devotion.
Because Hugo loves him. Varian knows it like he knows his favorite color is blue, or that Hugo’s is green. One plus two is three and you’re my best friend means I’m in love with you.
Varian ends up spending another hour in Hugo’s arms. They don’t fall asleep, but they don’t talk either. They just bask in the comfort of each other’s presence, the quiet saying what words never could.
Naturally this means Varian is late to breakfast with Eugene, resulting in a thirty minute lecture about time management and priorities and how could he choose Hugo over his own cousin?
But it was worth it, Varian thinks as he fidgets with his engagement ring. Because it’s Hugo. It’s always been Hugo.
And it always will be.