Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The car ride had been long. From Old Corona to Corona, the ride usually lasted 5 hours—with the detours for food, bathroom breaks, and tourist attractions they had been to countless times, it had taken 7 hours to reach their destination.

“Who would’ve thought we would’ve made two extra hours on the road?” Eugene—Varian’s cousin, more like his older brother though—laughed as he took his luggage inside.

“Well, we did stop quite a bit,” Rapunzel laughed as well, helping carry the last of Varian’s things. “It’s already too late to cook anything, sorry Varian, your first meal will have to be takeout.” She smiled softly, a little disappointed.

“Don’t worry, Rapunzel, I'm used to takeout.” Varian looked around the living room; it wasn’t his first time there—but the place had noticeably changed in the 4 years he hadn’t visited.

“Exactly, Varian! I wanted your first meal in Corona to be homemade.” She added, a little mournfully, her interlocked hands pressed against her cheek.

”Don’t worry, sunshine, there’s always tomorrow.” Eugene exclaimed as he kissed the top of his wife's head. She smiled at the gesture.

It felt different being there. Sure, he enjoyed spending time with Eugene and Rapunzel—don’t get him wrong—but usually, he was there for a single weekend, or when his dad snagged one of his sparse vacations from the Old Corona mines. He was sure that all of his first week was going to be weird as fuck.

“So, is Bayangorian alright with you, Varian?” Eugene asked, looking his way as he took out his phone.

“Sure, I’ll get the same as always.” He replied, taking his own phone to text his father; he had to let him know they had made it to his brother’s home.

Their food didn’t take long to arrive, thankfully. They ate in a comfortable silence; small talk—mostly between Rapunzel and Eugene—filled in the gaps. 

“Are you excited for your new school, Varian? I heard from Cassandra that they have a lot of activities and extracurriculars, as well as a solid academic program,” Rapunzel said excitedly—and proudly of her wording—as both of them looked at him expectantly for his answer.

“Yeah, I guess,” He started playing with his noodles as he spoke. “From what I read, I’m sure it’ll be an exponentially better school than the one I went to in Old Corona.” He smiled lightly as he imagined how his new school might be. He was transferring in the middle of the school year—possibly the worst time to do it—but honestly? He didn’t really care. Even if he didn’t make any friends, at least his mental capacity would be finally put to the test.

Luckily for him, his words and his carefully neutral tone were convincing enough to make them both smile hopefully at him.

Not long after, it was time for Varian to unpack, pulling some clothes as he waited for his housemates to finish their respective baths. Eugene, of course, had a nightly skin care routine, taking so long Varian had plenty of time to decorate his nightstand, desk and put away his clothes.

Note to self, always shower before Eugene.

As he lay in his bed, sleep creeping in, Varian wondered what tomorrow would be like.

It was 6 AM when Varian and Eugene left their home—he had insisted on taking Varian on his way to work. Varian listened to the radio as he watched the city through the window. He could see some shops were starting to open; some he knew, and some were new.

He worried a little about Eugene arriving late to work, even if he reassured him it was well on his route. “Really, don’t worry, V. When Quirin told me you wanted to come, Rapunzel and I wanted to prepare—so I planned a route to work so I could take you whenever you wanted.”

That made Varian smile—of course they’d do something like that.

Not long after that, the school building appeared in front of them. “Well, here we are,” Eugene smiled softly. “Have a good day, buddy.” His voice was warm and comforting.

“I will, Eugene.” He smiled back reassuringly as he got out of the car.

The school was big, really big. By the time he arrived at the administration office, he was sure he would make it a bit late to his first class.

“Here are all your classes, honey, from 7 AM to 2 PM, no less and no more.” The secretary gave him a piece of paper as she smiled from behind her desk. “Since you're new, we’ll appoint one of the administrators to show you around the school in the span of this week.” She rummaged through some papers on her desk, clearly looking for something. She resumed as her hands found what she had been looking for, “Looks like Cassandra is the one who will show you around by request; I imagine she’s already outside.” She smiled finally. 

“Thanks.” He smiled back a little awkwardly, slipping out of the office.

“Hey kid,” The sudden voice made him jump—just as he closed the door—which was followed by some light laughter. “Sorry, Varian.”

“Cassandra! You scared the shit out of me!” Varian was grabbing his chest, glaring at the woman.

”Sorry, but if I were you, I would watch my tongue.” She placed a finger in front of her mouth as she spoke. “Don’t forget I’m still a part of the administration; I can’t let those pass only because I’m friends with you.” She smirked as he finished.

“Sorry,” he murmured, looking down at the paper in his hand, “it says my first class It’s calculus, so lead the way, I guess.” He gestured to the empty hall with a tight-lipped smile.

And so she did; they passed through classrooms, and Cassandra checked if any of his classes matched with them. “They are also these things we call departments; they’re basically like clubs,” she said as they got to his first class—5 minutes late, but who's counting? – “You should join one.” She looked at him with a soft gaze.

”I don’t know, Cass,” he looked down, avoiding it. “I don’t think clubs are my thing.” He grimaced.

She sighed. “Think about it, ok? You can come by my office when you have time…If you want to check it out.” She finished gently, opening the door for him.

Varian always hated first days, mostly because teachers felt the need for introductions. But even that couldn’t take his mind off what Cassandra said. Clubs hadn’t really worked out for him in the past, but he had promised his dad he’d try…start anew, you know. So when he ended up in front of Cassandra’s office, even he was surprised.

Of course, he hadn’t forgotten how last time went. But… new place, new rules, right?

He opened the door, and the moment Cassandra’s eyes laid on him, she smirked. “I guess joining a club… department, or whatever you guys call them!…doesn’t sound that bad.” He wasn’t looking directly at her, murmuring the last few words.

“We have a lot of options you can choose from.” Even with those words, she took a single sheet of paper from her desk drawer, placing it in front of Varian. “But I’m sure this one will be more to your liking.” He looked at Cassandra and then down at the paper.

Science—of course. He didn’t blame her; he had been interested in it since he was little, and he had leaned more into it some years ago.

“One word and your name will be right here with the rest of the members.” She was pointing at a blank spot near the bottom of the list, a smirk on her face.

How could he say no to that?

“Miss Cassandra just let me know someone signed up for our department, so you better not say anything stupid today, Hugo.” A girl with chocolate hair and amber eyes talked playfully; she was carrying some books to a table as she talked.

“As if I’ve ever said anything stupid in my life, Starlight.” The tall blonde guy with green, bespectacled eyes spoke with a smirk on his face and a sarcastic tone in his voice.

“Everyone in this room would differ with that,” she chuckled as she saw the other roll his eyes.

“I thought everyone was already signed up to other departments.” A younger teen with ebony hair and ruby eyes popped from behind the books Nuru had placed, startling them both.

“Yeah, yeah, everyone but—” she looked at both with a small smile, “the new transferred boy from Old Corona!” Her voice was excited, and how could she not be? Almost no one joined the science department—something about it being too challenging and stuff like that—so anyone was more than welcome.

“From Old Corona?” Hugo curled up an eyebrow as he asked flatly. “I hope he isn’t one of the assholes from their Olympiad team; I’ve never met anyone as pretentious as them.” He huffed as he recalled past memories.

Nuru was about to comment as well when— 

“I would say they’re more elitist than anything.” A foreign voice made them look at the door. A black-haired, blue-eyed guy with a freckled face stood by the doorframe awkwardly.

Oh, that must be him. “Don’t listen to him; he doesn’t think before talking,” she rushed and stood in front of Hugo as he made an offended gesture. “I’m Nuru Celestis, the vice president of the science department; it’s a pleasure to have you here.” She stepped forward, offering her hand to the boy.

”I’m Varian Vitriol,” he smiled as he took her hand, his voice sounding nervous, “and really the pleasure is mine.”

The blonde stepped forward again, standing beside Nuru. “Hugo Verdwire, president of the science department.” He smiled cheekily at Varian. “Nice color, by the way, Hair Stripe.” He winked. Varian furrowed his brow at the nickname, swiping the teal streak of his hair off his face.

”Don’t worry, he does that with everyone.” A younger teen stepped from behind the duo. “I’m Yong Huo, the youngest member of the science department.” He smiled brightly at Varian as he shook his hand excitedly.

“It’s weird for people to join this late in the year,” Nuru started to talk, her eyes filled with curiosity, “You must’ve been a very special case.” She smiled at him.

He smiled awkwardly, eyes flicking to the floor. “That’s one way to put it,” he said, hoping they wouldn’t ask for more.

“Well, welcome either way.” Hugo was now beside him, hand in his back, as he started to guide him through the big lab. “Our department encompasses a lot of scientific areas; everyone usually chooses an area of specialty—although it isn’t required,” they stopped in front of a cork-board with a lot of names written on colorful sheets of paper. “And since the year’s halfway to its end, a lot of people have signed up for competitions. This isn’t required either, but most people want those wins for college time, y’know?” He lightly pushed his arm with his elbow, accompanied by a wink.

Hugo's voice projected confidence; it was a little comforting to Varian—he couldn’t help but smile.

He turned and looked at the sheets displayed; one pulled his attention, but he quickly ignored it. “Yeah, I don’t think these are my style. I’m sure my intellect will be enough to win some colleges over.” He crossed his arms as a smirk formed on his face.

Hugo smirked, clearly amused. “Suit yourself, genius.” He shrugged and started to explain in more detail what people really did and how the departments worked.

When Varian was finally on his way home, it was almost 4:20 PM.

As he opened the front door quietly, he could hear Eugene and Rapunzel talking. “Cassandra said he would most likely be late, Eugene,” Rapunzel's voice resounded clearly from the kitchen to the entrance. “Science stuff neither you nor I understand; it will be good for him to talk with people who really understand his passions.” Her voice was soothing; it was clear she was trying to calm Eugene’s growing nervousness.

“I’m not saying the club is a bad thing, Sunshine, but he can’t be going MIA without at least telling us he’ll be late.” Eugene sounded worried, of course he was; it wasn’t Varian’s intention to do that, he was just used to doing things alone and at his own pace.

”Sorry…” He stepped into the living room, head down and voice low. Eugene was sitting at the table, and Rapunzel was checking on her stew in the kitchen; both looked surprised. “I may have gotten a little caught up in the conversations, but that’s not an excuse.”

”Yeah, it isn’t.” Eugene stood up, walking towards him. “But I will let it go; at least send a text next time, bud.” He ruffled his hair, clearly more relaxed than before, and led the way back to the table.

It had been a while since Varian had had a home-cooked meal; he would worship Rapunzel for the rest of his days if it meant getting to eat her food till his last day on earth.

”We’re glad you’ve joined the club, Varian,” Rapunzel smiled softly at him. “Cassandra told us it might be good for you to be with kids your age.” Her voice was cheerful.

”Yeah, glad you could find friends that are huge nerds just like you.” Eugene smirked playfully, but his eyes showed the sincerity behind his words.

”Yeah, it was fun, really fun.” He was looking at his now empty bowl; his voice was cheerful even if it was low. A little smile started forming on his face. “I did promise Dad and you guys, I would…try to get a fresh start and all that, you know.” 

They all smiled and, in comfortable silence, started to clean up. Everything felt so cozy, the small chats and jokes thrown here and there; they made Varian relax internally. And before he knew it, darkness had come over Corona. He could see from his window all the city—their house had a good placement and view; they weren’t rich, but Rapunzel’s dad was the mayor, so he had helped them out with it—the lights made the city seem so full of light; he guessed that was where the name city of lights came from.

A bath and some homework later, Varian was drifting asleep, excited for what tomorrow had in store for him.

Chapter Text

Nearly a week in, Varian had settled into a routine—wake up, go to school, go to the department before it became too late, arrive home to eat with at least Rapunzel, do some homework, take a bath, and go to sleep.

Some would call it boring, but for him the routine felt good.

He was now watching a couple of beakers, waiting for reactions and taking notes. He was looking closely, waiting for the solution to foam, when a face appeared suddenly in front of his beaker, making him jump. “Hugo! What the hell!” He shrieked, glaring at the blonde from behind his safety goggles, turning off the heat of the beaker so it wouldn’t spill.

“Yeesh, calm down, Goggles,” he said with a playful tone, covering one of his ears, “you got some powerful pipes right there.” Hugo snickered lightly at his own words.

“Shut up, Hugo. What do you want? I thought you were working on your own projects.” Varian looked around them with curiosity, an eyebrow crooked and a small smirk. “Gave up already, prez?”

Hugo gasped dramatically, hand in his chest. “As if, Freckles.” His face changed to one full of ambition. “Actually, I came with an offer, an offer to become a part of the best team of all of our department,” Varian’s eyes furrowed as he took the goggles off his face. “The Science Olympiad team is the only one in the team competition category that’s missing a member—that being our team.” He gestured to Yong and Nuru with his head. “And we were all wondering if you would be interested in joining?” He looked at Varian, grin in place and brows drawn in determination.

Taken aback, he tried to find the right words as past memories passed rapidly through his mind. “Oh, um, I-I…” Varian stood there, stiff and unsure, eyes darting from Hugo's face to his hands. “No, thanks.” He placed a hand behind his head as he gave him an awkward smile.

Hugo stood there stiffly, arms crossed and a blank smile on his face, processing his words slowly.

“Wait, what?!” He leaned on the table, his face closing up on Varian's; he leaned a little backwards at the proximity.

“Sorry, sorry! I already told you all that teams aren’t my thing.” His hands were by his chest, palms facing towards Hugo.

Hugo clearly deflated, his head now looking down, sighing before speaking again. “Yeah, I remember, it’s just…” He backed off, putting a hand in his jeans pocket and scratching his head with the other. “No one wants to join, and the deadline for registrations is getting close, so we thought we could convince you… Guess I’ll have to break the news to them, right?” He sighed, tilting his head to the side and his gaze to the floor.

Varian's brows knitted together, a corner of his mouth pressing inwards. “Are you trying to pity-convince me?” He said flatly, his face unamused.

Hugo's gaze flicked towards him. “If I said yes, would you tell me it’s working?” His face turned to look at him again, a nervous but hopeful smile placed on his face.

“I would say it was a nice try,” he smiled playfully but with a soft gaze.

Hugo chuckled, “Yeah, never really works.” He shrugged his shoulders.

There was a brief silence. Varian's head was going at a hundred miles per hour, trying to find the right words. He sighed as his mind came to a decision.

“Well—”

“I—”

They were both stunned as their voices resounded at the same time, blinking until Hugo gestured to him to talk first. He cleared his throat—I’m really going to regret this—“I’ll think about it, okay?” He muttered, looking away.

Hugo appeared brighter all of a sudden, smirking at Varian. “We’ll wait patiently for your answer, but it’d be better if you don’t take too long.” He said the last part with a cheeky smile.

Varian couldn't help but smirk back.

“I’m home!” Varian called out from the entrance; Eugene had begged him to, something about him appearing out of nowhere and scaring the shit out of him. 

“Welcome, Varian, you arrive just in time,” Rapunzel smiled brightly at him, two plates of food in her hands.

“I’m guessing Eugene is still at work.” Varian sat at the table, muttering a small thank you when Rapunzel placed the plate in front of him.

“Yeah, he got some new cases,” she said as well, ending in front of him.

They started eating, chatting through spoonfuls of food. When they were done, Varian stayed to help with the dishes. “Sooo,” Rapunzel sang, a smile creeping across her face, “has anything exciting happened in your club?” Varian looked at her curiously.

“Not really, why’d you ask?” She rolled her eyes as she thought, poorly disguising her excitement.

“Well, Cassandra told me about this competition; she didn’t really explain what it was about, but she told me you would know what I was talking about.” Dammit, Cassandra, how is she always just a step ahead? “I think getting yourself out there could be very good for you, but don’t feel pressured to do it if you aren’t sure about it.” She gave him one of her signature smiles.

He really wondered how Rapunzel could make him feel better by just smiling. He nodded, and from there their conversation shifted away from the topic, but still her and Hugo’s words lingered at the back of his mind.

It was now Tuesday; a whole weekend had passed since his talk with Hugo, and he hadn’t had the chance to discuss the topic further than what was said that day. He had planned to do it the day before, but when he had arrived at the lab, Cassandra was talking with him, Nuru, and Yong—clearly less than happy—as it turns out the administration had come to the ‘unanimous’ decision to make a department demonstration in the gym for the next day.

So, needless to say, the chances to talk were thrown out of the metaphorical window.

Nuru had told him they had stayed until the janitor had to throw them out, and right now, with just a few hours until the presentation, they were still working on it.

Varian had seen it was a machine, and from what he could see when he passed by it on his way to class, it was designed to propel a little spaceship model; how did it work? Varian hadn’t asked, as he was trying not to be in their way.

Cassandra had managed to get them passes to leave their last classes early, with department duty as the motive.

When the school day finished, everyone was gathered in the gym in front of the big stage, chatting as they waited for the presentations to start. Varian had managed to sneak backstage thanks to the low illumination, wanting to wish them luck before the show.

“Hey, guys—” He stopped his sentence as his eyes laid on the trio; they didn’t look good. Hugo was falling asleep against the wall, Nuru was muttering under her breath—what was most probably their project speech—as she walked in circles, and Yong was lying on the floor with a sports drink in one of his hands.

“Is it better if I don’t ask how y’all are?” He offered them a sympathetic smile, but it twisted into a grimace when he saw how tired they all looked.

“Yeah, it’s not going so great,” Nuru smiled softly; it faltered slightly because of how tired she was.

The sound of applause woke all of them up. Suddenly they all were standing in a line, tiredness hidden behind their confident grins—some were better hidden than others—it really surprised Varian, leaving him stunned as they started walking to the stage.

“Good evening, everyone, we’re the elective team from the science department,” as Nuru started to speak, Hugo and Yong entered with their covered project. “We’ll be presenting our handmade solar propulsion model!” The blanket was pulled off, revealing the model and a lamp.

It wasn’t anything huge, but the exterior looked so polished that everyone looked very impressed—that made Hugo smirk. As he looked closely, he could look clearly at their setup.

They had a substance in a chamber that was placed on top of a heating plate; inside, Varian noticed a little capsule. He assumed the capsule would release a catalyst of some sort to create the force necessary to propel the miniature sitting on top.

As the speech went on, Varian noticed Hugo’s furrowed brows; something wasn’t going as planned, and it looked like no one noticed him and Yong getting closer to the machine as Nuru’s presentation was entertaining enough to keep the eyes on her.

The capsule was now gone, no reaction was starting, and from what he could see, time was running out, and he thought he knew why everything wasn't going according to plan. Varian looked at the crowd and gulped. Putting on some gloves, he tried to walk to the pair as unnoticed as possible.

“Freckles, what are you doing here?” Hugo whispered as he got close to him, his voice full of concealed nervousness.

“What is inside the chamber?” Varian whispered back, looking straight into Hugo’s eyes.

”Hydrogen peroxide, why?” Varian started to look around, brows furrowed as he looked for something; the pair looked directly at him, clearly confused.

“We need an acid of some kind…” Varian’s eyes landed on Yong’s sports drink. “Yong, give me your drink; this should work.” He extended his hand as he started muttering to himself.

Yong didn't hesitate and placed the bottle in Varian's hand. He looked at the table, luckily finding a dropper. His hands were trembling slightly—he wasn’t used to being in the action field—Nuru’s speech seemed to be about to end as he placed a few drops inside the chamber, quickly placing the bottle and dropper on the table to seal it again with his hand.

”Hey, what the hell?! Take your hand off of it; you’re going to burn yourself!” Hugo whisper-shouted as he tried to take his hand off the machine; Varian managed to stop him with his free hand, looking at him with conviction, leaving Hugo stunned.

He could feel the heat even through the glove—even if just a little —as the machine started to rattle under his hand.

”So let’s just fly!” As Nuru’s words left her mouth, the lamp turned on, and Varian took his hands off of the point he was putting pressure on as it propelled itself to the gym's roof.

Everyone gasped in excitement as the reflectors followed the little spaceship; when it got high enough, the lid popped off to reveal a parachute and some confetti that rained down on everyone as they clapped.

Varian's whole body was now trembling from the adrenaline that had just passed through him.

Hugo smiled, only one corner of his mouth coming upwards. ”You’ve just hijacked our presentation, Freckles,” he chuckled as he looked directly at Varian.

“Well, it was kind of falling apart.” Varian finally spoke, turning to look at them, chuckling as well.

They all walked backstage. ”What happened? I saw Varian get on stage in the middle of the presentation.” Nuru looked significantly more relaxed as she questioned them.

”Yong and I noticed halfway that the hydrogen wasn’t reacting to the catalyst, but we hadn’t prepared another capsule,” Hugo started explaining, arms crossed across his chest, a smirk planted on his face, “then out of nowhere, Freckles right here came in to save the day.”

“Varian, what you did out there was so cool!” Yong stood in front of him, beaming brightly.

He laughed softly, his smile tinted with drops of nervousness as he scratched the side of his neck. “Well, we’re lucky the hydrogen didn’t degrade and it was just the catalyst.”

“Hey, whatever it was, that stunt you just pulled saved our asses out there.” They were all smiling at him, and he could feel himself starting to form one on his face.

Everything that had just happened made Varian realize something: he liked this feeling, the feeling that came after such an adrenaline rush. He had made the decision.

”I’m in.” His voice and eyes were filled with conviction as he spoke. The trio looked at him surprised, definitely caught off guard by his words—that made him look away.

He started to regret his words after the silence that followed, but when he finally dared to look back, he could see the big smiles on their faces. Suddenly Yong launched towards him and gave him a big hug as they laughed. Nuru followed shortly, and Hugo just put an arm around his shoulders.

”I knew you’d come around, Freckles.” And with that, they all laughed.

Guess this is where our adventure begins…

Chapter Text

Well, it was official: Varian was now a part of the Science Olympiad team. It had been just a day since he agreed, but it all had been like a blur. He had begged Cassandra to not tell Rapunzel and Eugene just yet; give him a little time to process everything, y’know? And surprisingly, she had agreed.

Right now they were all heading to—in Yong’s words— the best coffee shop and bakery in all of Corona, Attila the Bun.

“They’re so sweet, without needing to be cloying.” Nuru's hands were clasped as she talked dreamily about the desserts.

“How have you not been there, Freckles? I mean, everyone knows this place, and you’ve come countless of times to Corona.” Hugo looked curiously at him as they arrived at their destination.

”I think I came once, a lot of years ago, but in my defense it had been a while since I’d come to visit,” Varian tried to recall that instance from all those years ago as he looked over the menu.

An order, some waiting, and they were enjoying their drinks and pastries. He had to give credit where it was due; those had been the best cream puffs he had ever tasted.

“Okay, people, let’s not forget what we came here to do.” Nuru talked, her coffee in one hand while her other one was turned into a fist.

“Yes, The Demantitus Trials,” Hugo placed his own drink on the table, “the toughest science competition there is; we four will have to participate in individual events based on our capabilities and a conjoined final challenge to come out victorious.” His face was serious as he looked at them—that may have sent a shiver down Varian’s spine. But that didn’t last long as his face transformed back into a grin. “So for starters, areas of expertise, quick. Engineering,” he pointed at himself, then to Nuru. She rolled her eyes playfully, “Astronomy,” then he passed to Yong, who smiled proudly as he spoke, ”Thermodynamics,” and finally to Varian, “Chemistry.” He finished, smirking as well.

“Great. We still have to wait for this year’s manual, but,” Hugo took a couple of papers from his bag and placed them on the table. “I have some notes from past years; this should give us a bit of a lead in what to expect.” He smiled proudly, sipping on his frappe.

“These are really detailed.” Varian looked at some of the notes, scanning the contents.

”They’re directly from the school's past team—but some are a tad bit older.” Hugo shrugged nonchalantly as he took one of the sheets.

One in particular pulled Varian’s attention as he saw Hugo’s name at the top. “You’ve already been to the Olympiad, Hugo?” He asked curiously.

He could hear Nuru groan; he turned to look at her. She had a hand in her face, and Yong was chuckling at her reaction; Hugo, on the other hand, had a cheeky smile.

”So glad you asked, Freckles.” He looked at Nuru with cockiness written all over his face.

“Here we go.” Yong jokingly complained as he placed his crossed arms on the table.

“I’ve gone every single year since I became a freshman,” he said proudly as he placed a hand on his chest. “I’ve never actually won, per se, but I have experience in the field.” Varian’s face faltered slightly—almost unnoticeably—at Hugo’s words.

”Yeah, yeah, we get it, Hugo, you’re a genius.” Nuru exclaimed sarcastically as she stood to refill her drink.

“Thanks, vice-cap.” He saluted towards her playfully as Nuru rolled her eyes.

It was starting to get late, so late Eugene had called him to get his ass back home. He had let him know about the hangout beforehand, but even he hadn’t expected four hours to pass so fast. So after a few goodbyes and some teasing for having a curfew, he made his way back home. 

He was really dreading the stern lecture he was for sure going to get when he entered through that door. 

So when he arrived, he opened the door as quietly as he could, but of course it was to no avail. Eugene was sitting there, one leg over the other and a cup of coffee in his hand. Rapunzel sat beside him with her own cup. “Varian Vitr-” Eugene started talking but was interrupted by Varian's voice.

“I entered the Science Olympiad team!” He hadn’t meant to use that as leverage to get out of the scolding, but it turned out his mouth had worked faster than his brain for a second.

“Really?!” Rapunzel was now in front of him, taking his hands as she did small jumps. “Oh, Varian, we’re so proud of you!” She hugged him tightly.

”I haven’t even participated, Rapunzel!” He laughed a little as he recovered his breath when she finally let him go.

Eugene now stood beside them, a small smirk on his face. “You're a really lucky young man, always pulling stunts like that to get out of trouble.” Eugene smiled fondly at Varian as he ruffled his hair.

He smiled back as he fixed his hair.

Varian sat on his bed, his eyes fixed on the phone in his hands, like he was waiting for it to do something on its own.

After some talking and Rapunzel promising a celebration cake for the next day, the words that he never thought would bring him fear came out of Eugene's mouth.

“You should call Quirin to let him know.”

He looked at the dial button; he sucked in a breath as his fingers pressed the screen.

The ringing began; his dad should be home by now—in reality, he kind of wished he didn’t pick up, but then a deep voice came from the speaker. “Varian! I’m happy you called, but you caught me off guard.” His father’s voice sounded tired but happy at the same time. Varian grimaced a little.

“Sorry, I just wanted to talk with you a little,” he breathed in, trying to calm his voice. “Yesterday I saved my friend's presentation. It was a little nerve-wracking, but I’m happy I could help them.” He smiled as the words left his mouth.

His father hummed, “I’m glad you’re having a good time in Corona, son; it’s been a little hard arriving at an empty house…” He forced a laugh, clearly trying to hide the sadness in his voice.

Varian imitated him, and the conversation continued for a while.

“It’s getting late, Dad. I’m going to go take a bath before Eugene comes to berate me,” they laughed softly.

”Ok, Varian, I’m glad we could catch up, son,” his dad paused and started to speak more gently, “I’m glad that sending you to Corona has helped you so much already.” His voice sounded a bit strained, like he was holding in tears.

”I’m glad as well, Dad.” Even with those words, his face was full of guilt. “We’ll talk later, love you.” Varian hung up after that; he placed both of his hands on his face.

He didn’t tell him… He couldn’t tell him, after everything that happened—ARGH!! It wasn’t even that big of a deal.

Varian speed-walked toward the bathroom. He let the hot water run as he tried to relax his body and his mind; he repeated, It’s not that big of a deal, over and over again, as if trying to convince himself.

When he got out, Eugene was walking towards his own room.

”How did it go, bud?” He was looking at him with a soft gaze.

Luckily he was very good at lying, even to himself. ”Great, he told me he was happy that everything was going well, even if he did sound a little tired,” his body transmitted calm, even if that was the furthest from the truth. “He’s excited to hear all about the competition, and I’m glad we’ll have something new to talk about.” He smiled brightly, as he hoped his plan worked.

“Well, if you want, I won’t spoil the fun and let you tell him all about it.” Eugene grinned fondly at him.

“That would be appreciated.” He returned the grin. Looks like the plan had worked out.

He stared at the bright city from where he sat on his window, just thinking.

He stood up to walk to his bed, letting himself fall onto it, and as he closed his eyes, a final thought crept in. 

At least this wasn’t the worst secret he had kept from him.

Chapter Text

“Ok, people!” Nuru placed the thick manual on the table as Varian and Yong walked to look at it; Hugo stood beside her with a coin in his hand and a fake annoyed look on his face. “The Olympiad manual arrived today, so today will be a full-on planning day.”

Varian was really surprised how fast it took to arrive, they had signed up just two days ago.

The Demantitus Trials were divided into a series; each team had to be constituted of four persons. Depending on the events each of the teammates chose, they were divided for the final conjoined event—to match the overall strong points and make it a fair competition.

That took a lot of planning, so after the signing period, the next three months were solely to train as the schedules of all the events for the four-day competition were planned.

So yeah, they had three months to build their skills, and prepare for anything that could happen—failures included, as they had learned from the presentation.

They read through the rules as Yong wasn’t familiar with them, and through each of their event rule sheets, they had examples related to the actual challenges that were going to be in the Olympiad.

“Even if we have three months, we shouldn’t get overconfident,” Nuru started writing on a piece of paper, “each of us is going to make a list of things to practice over the span of these months.” She handed each of them their own piece of paper.

“How do I know what I have to practice?” Yong asked as he looked at the three of them.

“Just think of what you struggle with normally,” Varian spoke, pausing his writing.

“Also what you’re not used to doing,” Hugo spoke as well, his gaze not leaving the paper. “Like quick reactions or adjustments under pressure, that’s what I started to practice when I first joined.” His gaze was now on Yong, smiling reassuringly.

After that, they had taken two hours to completely cover all the areas they wanted; they had planned little challenges of their own as well as discussed a continuous study session schedule. 

That had left them tired, so they decided to take a well-deserved rest for the rest of the day.

They took Varian to the town center. It was one of the few parts in Corona that looked like they had been stuck in time; the pebble floor showed its age, and although the stores had been turned into a bit more modern-looking, it didn’t really destroy the illusion.

“Hey Freckles, you want some free candy?” Hugo looked back at him, a grin on his face.

“If you think about it, it really isn’t free at the end of the day.” Yong said with a cheeky smile, walking past them to what Varian guessed was the location of the free candy, he just shrugged and followed along.

They arrived at a bustling place called Monty’s Sweet Shoppe; Varian raised a brow, wondering how they would be able to enter, let alone get free candy by the look of it.

But none of them was heading for the entrance, going around the building to the back. Yong knocked on the door, and a man who didn’t look friendly at all appeared.

”Hey, Uncle Mont, how’s it going?” Hugo leaned on the doorframe, arms crossed and a grin plastered on his face.

“For the millionth time, young man, that’s not my name, and I’m not your uncle.” He frowned at him and looked at the three of them before his eyes landed on Varian. “Who 's this? Didn’t know y’all could mitose?” He grinned under his mustache.

“He’s the new member of the gang; he moved just a week ago.” Yong exclaimed, Monty's face turned to one of understatement.

”We’ll have the usual Monty-man. Put a couple extra ones for our new friend, please.” Monty made an unimpressed look at Hugo as he spoke.

”Ok, but who's going to cover the extra ones?” He curiously raised an eyebrow.

”Just put it on the tab,” Hugo shrugged nonchalantly.

Monty grumbled something under his breath as he entered the store, a couple of minutes later he was back with a candy bag in his hand.

They thanked him and walked to find a place to eat comfortably.

It was starting to get late, and in another part of the city, a very worried Eugene waited for a message from Varian.

“He’s really going to be the death of me,” Eugene sighed as he dropped his hand to the side of the chair where he was sitting on.

Rapunzel sat in a stool near him, as she was painting. ”Love, we’ve been over this; Varian isn’t going to suddenly change his six-year habits just like that.” She wasn’t looking at him, but her voice was comforting to Eugene. “It’s not his intention to make us worry and you know it.”

“Yeah, I know sunshine, but it's hard not to worry,” he started to look at the orange-tinted sky as he spoke, “this isn’t Old Corona; he doesn’t know his way around alone, and he still hasn’t talked to us about what happened,” he groaned. Rapunzel was now looking at him, “I don’t want to force him if he’s not ready… but I also can’t force myself to not worry.” He turned to look back at Rapunzel.

“Then talk to him,” she stood to walk towards him, taking both his hands on hers when she got close enough, “You can’t expect him to understand all of this if he doesn’t even know what you’re feeling to begin with.” She placed a kiss on one of his hands.

His cheeks tinted pink at the gesture. “Yeah, you’re right, we should really have a long talk.” He leaned against her as he finished his sentence.

An the moment Varian arrived they did just that.

The talk had gone well; each of them talked as they tried to understand the other’s point of view. By the end, Varian had decided to rely on them more, little by little, and Eugene was going to try not to get as worried about him—even if it had taken Varian to have a GPS on his phone from now on.

The next day, Eugene arrived from work; Rapunzel had some errands to run that day, and Varian didn’t seem to be home. He sighed as he walked to the fridge to get some cold water, but before he opened it, he noticed a piece of paper; it was held by one of the magnets they had, and on it something was written. It was clearly rushed, but unmistakably Varian’s handwriting.

He could read, ‘went to the library shouldn’t be long.’

That made Eugene smile; it was a small gesture, but it showed him that he had hoped to achieve since he arrived. It was a start, maybe it wasn’t complete trust yet, but it meant he was really trying.

He smiled as he realized…this was progress.

Chapter Text

“Ok, now we just wait, and everything should be ready.” Yong stood close to his homemade experiment; he smiled, calculating how long the steam pressure would take to propel the toy car down the tracks. A few moments passed, and he stood closer to the metal can, ready to watch his experiment shine like Hugo’s did. “It should be perfect, right? About. Now!” 

But the pressure that accumulated had been too much, and Yong couldn’t react as the car flew through his backyard into one of his mom’s pots.

He winced as the resounding crash came through his ears, and even more when his mom appeared from the house's back door, a stern look on her face.

”Yong Hao! How many times have I told you to be careful with your science experiments!” He looked away because the answer was a lot. “Look at my pot; that’s why I always store my good decoration,” she was talking to herself as she rescued the now homeless plant.

”Jian, I told you we shouldn’t have bought him that heating thing,” she looked at his father sternly as he also came out the door.

”Nuan, you’re being too hard on the kid,” his dad came closer to him, placing a hand on his back reassuringly, “don’t forget he got into that fancy competition.” His father smiled, trying to calm his wife.

”You’re right.” She sighed and turned to look at Yong. “Honey, if you want to do your experiments, at least aim for the neighbors house. Lidia insulted my cooking. She deserves it.” A mischievous grin appeared on her face as she spoke. “Now let’s go inside; it’s time to eat.”

They all walked inside. Yong could see his older brother, Rui, sitting at the table as he scrolled through his phone. Sighing, he walked to the table as his parents went towards the kitchen.

As he sat down, Rui’s voice was heard: ”Did your little project fail again, lil bro?” Rui snickered, his eyes not leaving the screen.

“You could say that, I guess…” He looked away, annoyed at his brother’s words.

“Can’t believe how they let you be a part of that team,” He could see the smug smile on Rui, “Must be really desperate.” He snickered.

He frowned his brows. Before he could say something, his mom's voice sounded, “Rui! Leave your brother alone,” she scolded him as she placed plates of food on the table. “You don’t want me to get started on all the things you burnt all those years ago, do you?” She smirked as his older brother's cheeks tinted red from embarrassment.

“Whatever,” Rui muttered as he stuffed his mouth with food.

She chuckled at her son's reaction. Yong smiled at her mom when she ran a hand through his hair affectionately.

The rest of that day had gone without further accidents—to his mom’s relief. But even after a day had passed by, he couldn’t take his failed experiment from his mind.

Maybe throwing himself into some real work would help.

Now, with their tasks ready, the only thing left was putting them to practice. Yong had had help from the others since he was still pretty amateur at all this.

Right now he was working on measuring the expansion length of a wire caused by heat—thermal expansion, or-well…he was trying to. For some reason the wire kept on curving, “Why do you keep doing that?!” He whisper-shouted as he redid the setup for the third time. 

He was trying to keep his frustration as quiet as possible; everyone else was also working, and he didn’t want to burden them.

Yong wondered, ‘How do they make everything look so easy?’

Nuru wrote some equations as she looked at a solar system model; she had three sheets of paper full of scribbles and drawings on her table. Varian was testing some compounds and their reactions; he smiled as he had correctly deciphered his sixth one in a row. Hugo was doing some sketches for a building as he worked on a different one at the same time, ‘time management,’ as he had said when questioned.

He had gotten distracted, his hand had lowered, and the wire had gotten really close to the flame. In a fraction of a second he felt a sharp sting on his hand, dropping the wire and backing away into a nearby table, hitting his lower back and adding to his pain.

That made everyone turn. “Sorry!” Yong apologized loudly, putting his hands up; his eyes were tearing up a little, and red lines traced across his fingers.

“Yong, are you sure? Your han-” Varian was cut off by Yong before he could finish his sentence.

”A miscalculation!” He hid his hands behind him, “Nothing that some water and bandages can’t help with!” He started to sidestep to the first aid kit.

”Are you sure, Firecracker?” Hugo asked as well, but his question fell on deaf ears as he continued to walk awkwardly.

Their gaze never left him, but Yong ignored them, getting closer to the white case.

But before he could take it, a hand appeared in front of his face, beating him to it. He turned to see Nuru standing right beside him, a questioning look on her face.

“I’ll help you, Yong.” She turned to the other two. “Don’t worry, guys, I’ve got it covered.” She smiled, and with a nod, they continued—a little reluctantly—with their work.

“You don’t have to—” He stopped talking the moment his eyes laid on Nuru’s stern face.

She worked silently on the little marks; Yong tried not to wince too much when the cold water ran through his fingers. The moment they sat so she could apply some ointment, her voice surprised Yong: “Are you okay?” It was low but still loud enough so he could hear clearly.

”Yeah, it’s not the first time I’ve burnt myself sadly,” he talked as normally as he could, but even he could guess that wasn’t what she was talking about.

”You know that’s not what I’m talking about,” dammit, she was looking at him unimpressed. “You’ve got something on your mind.” She finished wrapping his fingers. “So, what is it?” Her face was stern; it made him look away.

”It’s stupid, really; you shouldn’t worry about me.” He tried to play it off, but he really hated lying.

”If it’s made you upset, then it can’t be stupid, Yong.” She smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He sighed; she was really like a wise elder. “It’s something my brother said,” he grimaced as Rui’s words resounded in his mind. “He said that you guys must be really desperate to pick me to be a part of the team,” he muttered as he avoided Nuru’s gaze. “And… I get that that’s not true, but when I look at you all… I can’t help but compare myself…” He looked back at Nuru. “You guys are so talented and—and—I mean, you’re a genius.” She raised an eyebrow at that. “Varian can act in high-pressure situations, and Hugo has a lot of experience, but me? I just burned myself with a wire and broke my mom’s flower pot!” His head lowered.

“But that’s only because we’ve learned from our own mistakes.” She shook him a little so he would look at her. “Something you’re doing right now and every time something doesn’t go according to plan.” He didn’t seem so convinced by her words.

She thought for a moment before she spoke again, “When I was really young, my dad would take us camping. We would look at the stars. I loved it but hated when we had to go to bed.” He chuckled lightly, imagining a pouty little Nuru. “So one time I snuck out and decided that I would assemble the telescope myself, and you can probably guess how that went,” he nodded with a small smile. “It fell, almost breaking entirely. After that my dad started to teach me how to do it; I failed and then got a valuable lesson: no one achieves something on the first try; everything takes time.”

That made him smile, but it faltered again as the thoughts came. He tended to compare himself to others, mostly Rui; he made everything look so easy, like no matter what, he was built to do anything perfectly, unlike Yong, who constantly failed.

“I compare myself to my sisters from time to time as well,” Nuru spoke as if she was reading his mind, “but at the end of the day we’re different. I can’t tell the difference between colors, and they can’t name even one of Saturn's satellites.” She finished with a proud huff.

That made the smile return. “And if anything, Varian would be our desperate attempt at a teammate.” They laughed quietly.

She was right; he wasn’t there just to fill the team; he had proved to them he was capable when he first joined; after all, they were the ones that asked him in the first place; how could he have forgotten?

He stood, curious eyes now placed on him as he walked back to the table. Taking the wire carefully as he clamped it, watching it intently as he marked where it should end up after expansion. He made sure everything was good to go and turned on the flame; he glanced at the thermometer as it rose, smiling when it didn’t curve.

The temperature kept going up, and his eyes were fixed on the ruler. 

And then it happened. It wasn’t as exact as he’d liked, but it was close enough.

”I did it,” he whispered, “I did it!” He repeated loudly.

It wasn’t long before the cheers and congratulations came, which made him smile brightly.

After some celebratory ice cream, Yong arrived home.

His mom was cleaning the living room. “Yong, what happened to your hand?” Her voice was full of concealed worry as she got close to look at his bandaged hand.

“A little burn, Ma, it’s fine,” he smiled reassuringly. “Actually, I was wondering if you and Dad would want to do some safe experiments with me, some family bonding time?” He looked at her surprised expression, a hint of nervousness on his brows as he waited for her answer.

She smiled, “Sure honey, I’m sure Pa and I won't be as good as you, but if you want, we can try.”

Now they were in their backyard, watching as Yong explained how everything worked. There were glasses with water, salt, and thin foil from the other experiments he had shown them.

Now they stood beside the formerly failed car experiment—which was now facing Lidia's house just in case. He had fixed the pressure, and his parents looked amused when the car started to drive across the tracks.

“What’s going on here?” Rui stood by the door frame, a curiously annoyed expression.

“Your brother is giving us a science tour.” Their mother spoke with a grin on her face.

Rui huffed, “It can’t be that impressive if Yong made them,” he muttered, crossing his arms.

His dad was about to say something, but Yong stopped him.

”You can join if you want, Rui.” Yong walked towards a table, a balloon, a glass bottle, and some warm water; he smiled confidently at his older brother.

”Sure,” he smirked, clearly convinced it would fail, walking to the table like the rest of them.

Yong took the balloon and handed it to his brother, who only looked confused as he took it. “Put it on the mouth of the bottle,” Yong explained simply.

So he did, Yong took the bottle back, putting it on the water. Everyone looked attentively and then surprised as the balloon inflated on its own.

His parents clapped, and Rui looked annoyed. “Wait—how did you do that? You didn’t blow it up.” His voice was tight with irritation, a corner of his mouth twitching up in an attempt at a smile.

”Nope,” he grinned at his brother, “science did.”

”Show-off,” he muttered, making his dad laugh at his pouting.

”I’m sure you and your smart friends will win that competition,” his mother got closer to him, “they have you after all.” She pinched lightly at his cheek, making Yong giggle.

They walked inside after tidying everything, and Yong couldn’t help but think happily.

And I have them.

Chapter Text

Hugo knew the lab by memory; of the four of them, he had been a part of the department the longest. And of course he was the president of the department.

Preparing for the Olympiad was something he had mastered, and his execution in the activities he practiced was almost muscle memory—with a few exceptions here and there.

So here he was, building a cantilevered arm, a structure that extended horizontally, supporting weight at one end. It was elegant; the triangle-base braced system distributed the weight efficiently. Everyone had been watching as he worked; even with such simple materials like tape, skewers, and string, Hugo made everything look so impressive.

His calculations were made so the contraption could hold a small beaker filled with water, weighing approximately 100 grams.

It was an easily done structure, but everyone admired it—even those who weren’t a part of the team. 

Of course everyone recognizes a genius’s work when they see it, Hugo thought smugly.

“You really made this in just 30 minutes?” Yong looked amazed at the structure.

”Well, it’s the least we could expect from such an experienced lad, right?” Nuru’s voice had a joking tone as she elbowed Hugo lightly on the arm and winked.

“It really is impressive.” Varian looked closely, but his face changed slightly as he noticed something. “Hey, isn’t that string a little off-angle?” He points at one of the lower string ties, whispering so only Hugo could hear.

He frowned, looking closely. It was barely noticeable, but Varian was right; the string was off, but it held tightly enough to still hold the arm. Even if it didn’t affect the current demonstration, he knew that in a longer or heavier test, that little mistake could be a deal-breaker.

How could he miss such a small and stupid detail!

Varian looked at Hugo’s frowned face for a couple of seconds before feeling like he had to talk again. “I mean everyone makes mistakes, don’t we?” He had an awkward smile, trying to comfort Hugo.

Hugo sighed—just for a second—and smirked again, regaining his usual tone. “Sure, Goggles,” he said, pushing the thought aside like it didn’t matter. “Ok, we should start working on our coordination for the team event before the janitor kicks us out.”

Everyone laughed lightly at his words, walking to the designated table.

I’m not supposed to make those goggles.

Hugo never had a hard time accepting compliments; he always ate it up when people called him a prodigy before. The same couldn’t be said about self-made flaws; it was like his brain couldn’t process them and opted to refuse their existence, focusing on something else.

So instead of revisiting his steps and realizing when he had failed to angle the string correctly, he sat at his dining table designing a brand new experiment for tomorrow.

His headphones were blasting some music; he had stopped listening a long time ago, concentrating only on his calculations.

A finger grazed the back of his head, precisely where his undercut was.

He jumped and turned to look at the culprit, a hand on his neck; it was Donella, his adoptive mother.

She smiled calmly as she watched his pouting face, placing a plate of food in front of him and signaling so he would take off his headphones.

”I didn’t hear you come in,” Hugo said before taking a scoop of his mashed potatoes.

She hummed, cutting her steak into pieces. ”I can see that.” Her voice was careful but also held softness as she spoke. “Cyrus told me that you were having a bitch fit.” That made Hugo choke on his drink.

“I wasn’t having such a thing,” he scoffed, looking away to avoid her curious gaze.

”Well, he also mentioned you're going to the Olympiad again.” He just nodded as he got back to his food. “Is it safe to assume that your team will win this year?” Her gaze was questioning, and her tone was smooth; a hint of expectation flickered behind it.

”Yeah, why wouldn’t you?” He placed his confident smile on once again. “Our team is going to sweep the others right off the floor!”

She looked directly at him, analyzing his movements as if he were prey. “Did something happen at school, Hugo?” Her voice was stern.

Their eyes looked, “No, it’s just… It’ll be my first Olympiad as the captain, just nerves.” He shrugged, because, like everyone says, the best lies are the ones that sprinkle truth in them.

A nod and an understanding sigh came from Donella in understanding. ”It can be hard to take the role of a leader, but you were chosen because they know you’re capable,” she smiled reassuringly, giving him a sense of comfort.

She stood and walked to Hugo, leaning to see the drawings in his notebook. “But you’re still young,” she traced a finger through the numbers scribbled on, “and this count is off by a millimeter.” Hugo’s eyes widened as he snatched the notebook, as he realized she was right.

And then he left without saying anything else. For the relatively short time they had known each other, she could tell he needed some alone time.

A few erased and rewritten equations later, Hugo lay on his bed, just…thinking.

Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

For as long as he can remember, Hugo always had to be perfect.

Growing up at Ingvarr meant being trained to be exceptional—or invisible. Praise was currency, and mistakes? They didn’t exist. So Hugo made sure he didn’t make any.

Working twice as hard to enter the Olympiad team, plus his smugness and confidence, had attracted the then captain.

”You really are something, aren’t you?” She always talked like he was a one-in-a-million find.

They never won despite their best efforts, and slowly the team dissolved, leaving just him; most graduated, and those who came after just lost interest with each loss.

This was his first year as captain; the old one had trusted him to lead the team to victory, and he hated to admit it, but that pressure was unbearable—even for him—and those small mistakes were intensifying that idea.

He needed to reset. Start with something simple. 

A chain reaction machine—a marble rolls, hits a lever, pulls a string, and raises a flag. Nothing complicated. A chain reaction simple enough it was impossible to mess up…But even that wasn’t going right.

Everyone had left early, so it was just him and the machines.

He dropped the marble, it slid through the ramp, and he watched as it hit the lever and the string pulled—it was pulling, but too slowly; something must’ve been wrong with the string again.

If he loosened the tension, that must fix everything.

But in the end, it just made everything worse. The moment he reactivated it, the string was misaligned, and before he could stop the marble, the string slipped, and instead of rising, it fell backwards.

His fist slammed on the table, frustration bubbling up inside of him.

“Shit!” His voice escaped through gritted teeth. 

A knock brought him back with a slight jump; as he turned, he could see Varian standing there, his brows furrowed.

He quickly recomposed, smiling awkwardly. “Hey, Goggles, what are you doing here?” He shuffled his weight as he placed one hand on his hip and the other on the table.

“I forgot to take my book,” Varian pointed at the table next to him. “Are you okay, Hugo?” His eyes had a hint of worry as he looked at him.

”Yeah, of course, it’s just this stupid thing; it’s not a big deal, don’t worry.” He waved nonchalantly, trying to sound confident enough.

“Well, I didn’t mean to spy… But that didn’t sound like something I shouldn’t worry about.” Varian walked closer, inspecting everything as he spoke. 

There was a silence before Varian spoke again. “I’ve noticed you get really stressed about making mistakes,” he started to tighten the string again, calmly. “I get you want things to go perfect all the time, but you shouldn’t beat yourself up when even just small mistakes occur.” Then he handed him the marble.

This time everything went perfectly; that made him smile. “Of course I know that, freckles,” he sighed, looking at his blue eyes for a moment, “but I’m the captain. I have more experience than any of us. I shouldn’t make such stupid mistakes.” He signaled at the previously fallen string.

Varian frowned at his words, “We all make mistakes, Hugo, even geniuses.” His tone and face had become playful, and that made him chuckle. “Perfection’s cool, but overcoming your mistakes? That's magic.” Hugo’s eyes widened slightly.

His mind raced for a moment trying to find the right words: “I guess everyone likes a little magic.” His smile was small but genuine, something that Varian hadn’t seen in the short period of knowing him.

After that, they left. Hugo started to think about everything that had happened the moment Varian left his side; a small huff left him as a little thought filled his mind.

Magic, huh? I guess even I need to believe that… eventually.

Chapter Text

“So…Nuru. Why are we here?” Varian asked as he watched the crowd of people in front of them.

They were standing in the Corona Grand Park; the annual fair had come once again, and for some reason, Nuru had taken them without any explanation.

“So, practicing our fields is good and all, but—” she started walking, the rest following behind her, “if we want to be better coordinated for the competition, getting out of our comfort zone will be our best bet,” she gestured excitedly to a booth that said ‘Teams race.’

Their brows went up, and Yong was the first to speak up. “I’ve never done one of these before!” He smiled brightly, making his way around the people to stand in line.

Everyone smiled at his excitement, following after him. 

“Why do a ‘teams race’ of all things?” Varian questioned as they waited for their turn.

”I figured it’s a good way to see how well we work under pressure; mock trials aren’t happening yet, and this is a light and fun way to put us to the test,” Nuru explained, one of her fingers pointed at the air as she explained—like she was going over points of a list.

After the small line, they were signed in—it was still a while before the actual competition started, so they had some time to kill. There were a lot of games and food stands, kids running around, and people talking to themselves. It was all a bit loud, but weirdly comforting.

“What should we do first, gang?” Hugo was looking at the games; a smug smirk tugged at his mouth.

“Ring toss!” Yong exclaimed as he speed-walked towards said game.

They all stood in line. “Are you sure you want to play this, Firecracker?” Hugo asked, that familiar smug grin spreading across his face. “This can be pretty difficult for beginners.” Nuru and Varian rolled their eyes, and Yong raised an eyebrow.

“He should be saying that to you,” Varian said as he gave the worker some cash. “You seem to have a lot of experience in this,” mimicking Hugo’s smirk, which had faltered into a scowl.

Four rings were then placed in front of them. Nuru had gone first; the ring had hit the bottle and bounced back, making it fall. 

Then Varian tried throwing it as steadily as he could; unfortunately, it also bounced back, which Hugo promptly laughed at, earning a glare. 

Hugo was next; he took more time. “I have to make some calculations so it’s perfect; chill.” Then he threw. It also bounced back; everyone laughed as he stood there watching the plastic ring with a hint of betrayal. “You all distracted me,” He said as he stood beside the other two.

Yong was the last; if he wanted to win at least something, his only shot would be the back bottles, which were nearly impossible; there were only three, and they were very spaced out from each other. 

He got into position and threw. 

The ring went in; everyone looked in shock as he celebrated taking his stuffed animal.

When he walked back to them, Nuru was the first to speak: ”Well done, Yong!” She fist-bumped him. “How did you do that?” He giggled at the question.

”My dad taught me! He knows all the tricks of this fair game, but this was the only one he shared.” He let out a dramatic sigh that made everyone else giggle.

“You could teach Hugo that trick,” Varian turned his head to look at Hugo’s face with a smug expression, “so his calculations can be right next time around.”

Hugo’s brow twitched. “Like you were any better, Freckles.” He crossed his arms tightly.

“I never said I was, unlike someone.” He also crossed his arms, turning his whole body.

“Well, maybe I’m rusty,” Hugo shrugged as he rolled his eyes, “but I still can beat you in any other game.” A playfully arrogant smile crept over his face.

“You really think so?” one of Varian’s brows quirked up incredulously.

“Oh, I know, so freckles,” he said as a smirk placed itself on his face, “how about this, hey, Starbright?” Nuru rolled his eyes at the nickname but hummed nonetheless, “How much time do we have until the race?” His gaze never left Varian's.

“An hour and a half,” she said flatly, looking at both of them with an unimpressed expression.

“How about we see who can win the most games before the race?” He gestured to the stands nearby and extended his hand towards Varian.

Varian thought for a moment, even if it was a little childish, but he really wanted to see Hugo's face when he crushed him. “Sure,” he took his hand with a defiant smirk.

And with that, the two of them bolted to different stands.

“Do you want a taffy apple?” Yong asked, watching the pair as they played.

“Sure, Yong,” Nuru sighed as they started to walk in the opposite way as them.

Some time had passed. Only 20 minutes left until the race started.

But Hugo and Varian were still playing; piles of stuffed animals and little trinkets were placed at their feet in bags that Nuru had bought. 

They were tied, neither wanting to lose. Their brows furrowed as they concentrated on throwing balls into some holes to make their little horses move; small drops of sweat ran down their faces as they waited for the winning bells to ring.

And when they were beaten by a five-year-old, Nuru promptly took both of their wrists and dragged them away despite their protests.

The spot was a little far, and when they finally arrived at the starting point of the race, only 5 minutes remained.

“Okay, princesses,” her gaze was stern, hands on her hips, “playtime is over; we have less than 4 minutes to make a game plan.” 

They looked at the course for the first time. It was a four-challenge course. 

First, they all had to balance across a wooden plank to avoid falling in a mud pit. After, a climb up a wooden wall. Then, balancing an egg on a spoon—dropping it, meaning starting over—finishing with a centipede-style race, where their legs would be tied until they reached the final line. Everyone had to finish each challenge to continue.

Most teams were formed of children, with less strength but more agility.

“We should go one by one at the start to avoid shaking the plank.” Hugo stared intently at the piece of wood. “I’m sure it would support us, but it would be really hard to keep balance.” He looked at the rest as he finished.

“For the climbing,” Nuru placed a hand on her chin, “push your weight on your legs and keep your hips close to the wall to avoid wasting energy.” She pointed to the wooden wall. “Also try to go to the highest hole you can reach.”

The referee called all the teams over, explaining a few ground rules. The standard: no pushing, no tinkering with the other teams, no name-calling, and all that stuff.

All the teams lined up at the starting line. Varian looked over at the team beside them and got really surprised when the kid that didn't look over 7 years old passed a thumb over his throat as he mouthed ‘you’re cooked’ with a confident grin.

Then the horn blew, and everyone sprinted.

Each made their way through the plank slowly but surely. Yong was the first, then Nuru, followed by Varian and finally Hugo. They could hear the splashes of people falling and angry screams of kids telling others to hurry up.

When Hugo made it through, Nuru was the first to start climbing the wall. It looked like she had some experience, as she reached the top quickly—they were steadily behind—and helped them when they were close enough with her extraordinary strength. They jumped at the same time onto the padded floor at the other side.

When they landed, a couple of teams were already making their way with the eggs, but the battlefield of egg corpses and angry shouts was a sign that they weren’t far behind.

Each took a spoon and egg and started walking, avoiding any egg yolk that had flown from the other teams.

There were some obstacles; they passed through slowly to keep their balance. Yong was having trouble, and before anyone could react, he stepped wrong—losing his balance. Luckily, Varian reacted quickly, his body moving before he even thought—managing to grab his wrist, saving him and the egg from ending up on the floor.

Everyone let out relieved sighs when Yong came back to his feet. He looked at Varian, giving him a thanks in the form of a hum, to which he responded with a nod.

After that, they all started moving again—now more carefully—reaching the end of that course and placing their eggs in a basket. They lined up for the centipede race as the staff started to tie their legs together. They had decided to place themselves based on their height—Hugo, Varian, Nuru, and Yong.

”Ok, we’ll go one and then two like we planned. Are you all ready?” Hugo asked with a determined smile plastered on his face; they all nodded, matching his smile.

Their legs moved in accordance with the pattern they had made. Two other teams had managed to end the past challenge and were starting to slowly catch up with them.

”They're getting closer, guys!” Yong whisper-yelled at his teammates.

”Just keep the pace; if we try to go faster, we’ll most likely fall and lose.” Nuru reassured Yong with her confident tone.

”Yeah, I’ll never let us be beaten by children.” Hugo said, not looking at them, his gaze was fixated on the finish line—that was getting closer and closer.

Shouts started to be heard, closer and closer. The pressure was getting high; everyone's eyes were focused on what was in front of them.

But, as Varian stole a quick glance at the ground, he noticed a small ditch—the placement was clearly intentional, and it seemed all lanes had one—it looked like no one had noticed thus far.

“Hey, guys! Stop!” He tried to shout only loud enough for only his teammates to hear, “There’s a ditch! We’ll fall if we don’t stop!” Everyone looked at him and then at the ground, noticing the hole.

They managed to stop a few steps from it; some cheering could be heard, most likely the parents of the other team—but those quickly stopped with a loud splash. 

With that opportunity, they started walking again, avoiding the obstacle and managing to pass the finish line in first place. They cheered as they started to untie themselves from one another. 

“Wow, Freckles, you really saved our skin back there.” Hugo placed an arm around his shoulder as he shook him slightly with a chuckle.

”Did I just get complimented by Hugo himself?” Varian let out an exaggerated gasp that made Nuru and Yong giggle, “How lucky I am!” Hugo just rolled his eyes at his reaction.

”Congratulations, guys!” A man with a microphone stepped closer to them, beaming with energy as he spoke once again, “For ending in first place, you four get a ticket for a free item of food of your choice and these unlimited bands for free rides for the rest of the day!” The man placed the wristbands on each of them and handed them the tickets, sending them on their way to make good use of their prizes.

They spent another three hours at the fair, getting on the pricier and faster rides and getting their food.

”Today was so much fun!” Yong exclaimed excitedly as he lay on the ground. They were sitting on a patch of grass a little far from the fair, as they wanted to relax. “We should take a picture.” He smiled brightly, taking out his phone.

The others moved closer to him, positioning themselves so that everyone would be visible in the picture.

A single click, and there it was—the four of them smiling at the camera, their wrists up so the bands were visible.

They giggled as Yong flipped through the rest of the pictures he had taken. Until he started running away when Hugo tried to delete a really embarrassing picture of himself, being chased by Varian and Nuru as they laughed.

Because nothing says "team bonding" more than chasing each other around a park, right?

Chapter Text

“Miss Celestis, over here!” A tall woman with black curls and bronze skin pointed at the reporter with a small smile and curiosity in her gaze. “What would you say is the key to success in your experience?” The man asked as he prepared his pen to take notes.

She pondered for a couple of seconds before speaking again. “Ambition is a must if someone wants to achieve greatness—having the capacity to overcome the obstacles and take on bigger challenges is vital, and we also can’t forget resilience, fighting for what we want—not letting people tell us what to do.”

There was a pause as she turned to look at the girls beside her. “That is the mentality that I’ve passed down to my beautiful daughters, and as most will know, every day I see the fruits of their labor in their achievements.” The older girls smiled proudly at their mother's words.

Nuru stood beside her sisters; she looked at her mother as she spoke effortlessly in front of so many people.

Press conferences were somewhat normal for her mother as a respected businesswoman; they got to see them sometimes—today being one of those days and one where the five of them got to be present. 

Nuru was the middle child, with two older sisters and two younger sisters. Her older sisters, Zuri and Asha, were in college studying finance and marketing, respectively, so their appearances had become scarce over time, and their younger sisters didn’t care that much for two or so hours of adult talk.

After an hour or so, they were finally headed to their house. Her mother and sisters chatted, and the little ones played together, while she studied for the Olympiad.

”Nuru, What is it that you’re doing, dear?” Her mother looked curiously at the annotations she was holding, her head tilted a little.

“Just some prep for the Science Olympiad,” she held up the little notebook as she explained the contents of the pages. “Today it’s supposed to be a break day, but you can never be too prepared, right?” She smiled a little awkwardly, cringing at her own try at a joke.

Her mother hummed as she thought, “Right, I do remember you mentioning some time ago you’ll be at the astrology event, correct?” Nuru cringed lightly at those last words.

Her sisters snickered lightly beside her, ”It’s actually astronomy, Mom.” She awkwardly laughed as she corrected her mother’s mistake.

“Yeah, yeah, they sound just so similar, dear,” she giggled softly, placing a hand on her mouth.

”Yesh, Nuru, for someone as bright as you, we would’ve expected you to go with a more challenging event for that Olympiad thing you're going to,” Zuri joined the conversation. It was a recurrence that she gave unsolicited advice to Nuru when she did something she deemed wrong.

“Zuri, let your sister have fun with her little project.” Her mother placed a hand on Zuri’s shoulder as she calmly looked between them. “No one ever died from having a hobby.”

Nuru deflated a little; even though she was passionate and determined about astronomy, following the path to become an astronomer wasn’t one her mother would deem successful—unfortunately. Unlike Zuri and Asha, who had won countless awards at her age, Nuru had only ever been interested in the stars.

Papers were splattered across a wooden table; Nuru stared at a diagram, writing and circling numbers to calculate the radius of the orbit.

“Radius cubed, then square root of that divided by the gravitational constant,” she mumbled to herself as she scribbled on the piece of paper.

She blinked, looking at the number on her calculator: 9.8 hours.

”That’s way too fast,” she muttered under her breath, double-checking the radius. “Unless this planet’s denser than we thought…” She placed her pencil near her mouth as she got lost in her thoughts.

Varian looked at her as she worked, with an apologetic look. “Does Nuru always work that hard?” He asked, eyeing her posture as she bent over to get closer to the table.

”Mmhmm,” Yong replied, as he scribbled some numbers on a sheet of paper, barely glancing up. “She’s always like that, especially when it has to do with astronomy.”

“It must be hard for her; she just does theoretical work unlike us.” Varian looked at the vials he had been analyzing.

“Well, I guess so…” Yong placed his pencil down so Varian could check his formulas, “but she enjoys it and puts in 110%, just like her mom says.” His face had become thoughtful.

“Her mom?” Varian questioned, looking up from the paper.

“Yeah,” he nodded, “she’s kind of a big deal. Nuru looks up to her, but she also feels a little pressured by her expectations.” Their gazes were on Nuru; her head was resting on one of her hands as she continued to scribble.

“What are you two doing?” Hugo suddenly took them out of their trance; he had one eyebrow raised as he looked at the both of them.

“Nothing really,” Varian answered quickly. “Yong was just telling me about how passionate Nuru is in astronomy.” Yong nodded beside him.

Hugo hummed, crossing his arms as he glanced at Nuru, still entranced by her work. “She’s been working on that for hours. Maybe we should try to get her to take a break,” he sighed, tilting his head a little to the side.

“I don’t think we would ever convince her to stop,” Yong chuckled lightly.

Varian placed one hand over his mouth as he thought. “If she keeps this pace, she’ll most likely get burnout,” he started talking. “Maybe we could give her something she’d actually enjoy for a change.”

They both looked at him. Hugo raised a brow. “Like what? Do we give her a whole telescope?” He asked with a sly smile.

Varian rolled his eyes. “No, I mean—” An idea suddenly popped into his head: “What if we take her stargazing?”

Yong blinked. “Like, outside of school?”

“Yeah, we could organize a night out,” Varian said, his eyes lit up as he spoke. “She’s always working and helping us; we should return her sentiment, y’know? Just do something she loves.” 

Hugo tapped his chin, looking at Nuru with curiosity. “Huh. You might be onto something, Freckles. I’m sure we could get Miss Cassandra to help us organize something for our little star nerd.” 

“So we do it?” Yong asked, smiling as well.

“Yeah,” they nodded in agreement, “we’ll tell her when we have everything ready.”

And with that, the idea started to take shape.

Nuru looked through the window; they were going to what Miss Cassandra called a change of scenery in their preparation for the Olympiad.

“A field trip is what you little nerd bodies need; getting out there will help you prepare for uncommon situations.” She had explained when she proposed the idea.

As head of the department organization, it wasn’t strange for her to do this kind of spontaneous activity so they wouldn’t get stuck on routines and avoid stress as much as possible.

Of course parental authorization was needed, but she always knew what to say to convince the school and parents.

They chatted, and Nuru tried to do some work as much as the other three let her. She wondered where they were headed; they had been traveling for quite a while now.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait as the van stopped.

She looked, and a wooden sign caught her attention: ‘Moonstone Preserve.’ She blinked. This was a very popular forest for a grand variety of reasons, but there was a specific one that pricked her mind.

Everyone got out of the van. “How do you all like it?” Cassandra looked at them through her sunglasses.

“This place is really pretty,” The four of them looked around, taking out some tents and food that was already prepared.

”What do you think, Nuru?” Varian looked at her with a little bit of nervousness.

She looked at him a little suspiciously. “It’s an interesting choice.” She looked at the trees a little longingly. “I mean, it isn’t the first time I’ve come here…” She had a small smile as she talked.

“Well, it is a really good place to stargaze, isn’t it?” He smiled brightly at her.

Her brows went up in surprise at that.

The others giggled at her reaction, “Surprise!” Yong jumped excitedly and hugged her.

“What?…” She said, confused, looking at everyone as she returned the hug.

“You’ve been working so hard, on your own work and helping us as well—“ Hugo walked closer, placing an arm around her shoulder, “and Freckles suggested a little activity so you can relax.” She turned to look at Varian, who was now close to them.

“Wow, thanks, guys.” She looked at all of them, fighting the tears that were forming in her eyes.

The Moonstone Preserve was their family's vacation spot before her dad passed away; since then, her mom had become a kind of workaholic, and those outings had ceased entirely.

Everyone settled down in their tents, and as the sun settled down, Cassandra started a fire to keep them cozy.

Not long after the stars started to come out, they shone brightly in the sky, away from all the light contamination. Since the trip had been approved as a school outing, they had been lent a telescope from the school's storage.

Nuru set up the telescope expertly, just like her dad taught her. Everyone looked amazed as she explained each one of the constellations they found and pointed to some stars and named them from memory.

She told them the stories her dad made up all those years ago, stories about the stars that amazed the others almost as much as they used to amaze her.

They laughed, chatted about anything that came to mind, shared marshmallows, and lay under the stars despite the functional tents.

As she gazed up into the sky, she swore the stars didn’t feel so far tonight—not with friends like these around her.

Chapter Text

The sun shone brightly upon the Coronian sky, its rays peeking through the windows of the Fitzherbert-Sonne home, casting warm streaks of light across the kitchen table.

“A family day?” Varian said, halfway done with his eggs, surprised at the ‘sudden’ plan Rapunzel had come up with.

“Yeah, it’s been ages since we spent a day, just the three of us!” Rapunzel looked at him with a determined look and a small smile. “I finished that big sunflower order, Eugene got a day off the case, and you finally have a weekend to just relax—not think of school, you know?” The hint of hopefulness was evident in her voice.

Varian was hoping to get a little ahead on his practices. His progress had been a little slow compared to his teammates, so obviously practice was needed, but on the other hand, he couldn’t let Rapunzel down. 

Maybe a little rest would be good for him.

“I’ll go get ready.” He sighed, giving in to the request; a day with his favorite power couple did sound fun after all.

Rapunzel clapped quietly as Varian finished his breakfast.

“Look, Varian! You would look wonderful with this vest, a little gentleman,” Rapunzel squealed, holding the turquoise vest in front of Varian and squinting her eyes to kind of see how it would look on him.

“It’s cute, but you don’t have to talk as if I were a baby, Raps.” He took the vest, examining it and placing it on the pile of clothes that they had picked so he could try them on.

“I have to admit, Sunshine, you’ve got a great sense of style.” Eugene came out of the changing room with the outfit Rapunzel had picked for him.

He made some poses with the sleeveless black shirt and the pair of khaki cargo pants as Rapunzel took a few pictures of him.

“Ok, it’s your turn, V,” Varian was gently pushed towards the changing room, the pile of clothes on his arms.

“Don’t you think those were a little too many clothes, Sunshine?” Eugene said as he looked himself over in a nearby mirror.

“I couldn’t help it! It’s just—I’m sure anything would look so cute on him!” She looked through the racks of clothes, resisting the urge to pass a few more clothes to Varian. “It feels like he is our son, and it makes me want to spoil him so much,” she squealed with happiness.

Eugene smiled with fondness at her words.

Time flew as outfits were tried, and after some back and forth, Rapunzel managed to buy new clothes for Varian.

As they walked around trying to find something to eat, Varian glanced at the vest Rapunzel had refused to give up, even if it was a little bright—a bit much in general, but he couldn’t help the small smile that crept at his lips.

In the end they decided to go to Sunny Burger, a popular fast food chain in Corona, a family favorite, per se. Eugene and Rapunzel used to take him a lot when he came to visit a couple of years back.

“I don’t think any can ever top these burgers,” Eugene said, mouth half stuffed with food.

“Well, the prices keep topping themselves.” Varian looked at the receipt as he recalled the simpler times when a burger wasn’t ten dollars.

“Price of admission to flavor town,” Eugene said plainly as he took another bite of his burger.

They laughed and talked as they finished their food. A buzz took them out of it when Rapunzel paused to answer her phone.

She picked up the call. “Hi, Dad, what’s up?” A muffled voice could be heard as she nodded her head, “Yeah, we’re close, don’t worry, just let me ask, yeah.” A couple of seconds later, she said her goodbyes.

“What did your dad want?” Eugene asked, sipping the last of his drink.

“He wanted to know if we could go to an event the city organized for today. I had completely forgotten about it.” She looked at Varian. “Do you want to go, Varian?” He blinked at her question, his face turned with confusion.

“Yeah, I mean, why not? Sounds fun, I guess.” His words came out a little jumbled with each other as he tried to answer her question.

The pair chuckled, “Ok, then it’s settled. Guess it’s going to be at the town center.” Eugene took the tray of food and dumped the trash in its place so that they could get on their way.

Varian looked around at the decorations that were placed around; it gave everything more of a medieval look than the first time he came with his friends. The trees were covered with firefly lights, the buildings had banners on the sides, and on the far end there was a stage with some chairs placed in front of it.

They walked around, and his eyes wandered through the decorations. He was chatting with the pair when his eyes landed on somebody as they stopped at a stand.

‘Hugo?’ He looked at his teammate, taken aback. Varian hadn’t expected to run into anyone. Silly of him, really.

Suddenly their gazes met, and quickly he turned his face that had become flushed for being caught staring. He glanced back, and through his limited eyesight he distinguished Hugo talking to an older woman and then starting to make his way to him.

“Hey, V,” he jumped at the sudden voice that called him, “Can you wait here a second? Rapunzel’s dad wants to talk to us; it won’t be long, buddy.” Eugene placed a hand on his shoulder, waiting for his response.

He nodded with a reassuring smile, watching as they walked away.

“Fancy meeting you here, Freckles,” Varian jumped once again as the blonde suddenly appeared beside him, a cheeky smile on his face.

“Hugo—yeah! I mean—hey!” Varian smacked himself mentally as the words came out of his mouth, “Hi.” He says finally, “Didn’t expect to bump into you.”

Hugo had an amused look on his face as he looked at Varian’s reaction. “Yeah, me neither,” he chuckled. “You came here with your family?” Hugo looked around as the question came out of his mouth.

“Yeah, just a little detour from our family day,” Varian scratched the back of his neck as he spoke, “And you? I’m assuming that’s your mom.” He gestured to the braided-hair woman.

“Yup, Donella, she’s my adoptive mother. She is part of the organization committee and came to check everything’s in order.” Hugo jokingly bragged and shrugged his arms as he spoke. “And where is your company, if I may ask?” He asked curiously.

“They’re right there,” Varian pointed to where Eugene and Rapunzel were talking. “That's my brother and his wife.” Hugo looked intently; only their backs were visible, but he noticed something, or rather someone, and his eyes widened just a moment later.

“They’re…talking with the mayor?” Hugo questioned as he turned back to Varian.

“Ah—yes, he’s my brother’s…father-in-law.” Those words came awkwardly. Varian could see how Hugo became more and more shocked.

But unbeknownst to him, his face gave away more than he wished. Hugo read the situation quickly and stopped his fast-paced brain to change the subject.

“You want to hang out with us?” Varian quirked up an eyebrow at the use of plural in the question, “Starlight is here too; her mom always sponsors this kind of event; we usually hang out to avoid getting bored to death.” They chuckled at Hugo’s words.

Varian looked to where the couple was, unsure. “Just let me ask; my brother can be a little paranoid.” Hugo nodded, and he walked towards Eugene.

Varian tapped his brother's shoulder when he got closer. Eugene turned to look at him. “Hey V, something happened?” 

“Not really, I just bumped into my friend from school, and I wanted to know if I could hang with them.” Eugene looked over quickly at the blonde that stood behind Varian, his face seeming oddly familiar to Eugene, even if he couldn’t pinpoint from where.

A nod and a small reassurance were all Varian needed to hear. “Looks like he is settling in nicely,” Frederick said as Eugene joined back in on the conversation.

That prompted a smile on his face. “Luckily he is.” The couple exchanged glances with each other. “For once Cassandra’s recommendation was pretty good.” Eugene laughed as Rapunzel gently elbowed him.

Music started to resound from the stage speakers, followed by a voice that urged everyone to get close, “Looks like the show is about to begin!” Rapunzel exclaimed, taking her husband’s hand to take them directly to the source of the sound.

Eugene just chuckled as he let himself be dragged by his wife.

The event was just planned to be a showcase of the Coronian culture, history, and traditions, paired with performances to keep the people interested. But even so, a lot of people had shown up; guess that's the Coronian spirit for y’all.

Through the people that had gathered around the stage, Eugene managed to spot Varian.

The blonde by his side and two other people, a shorter boy and a girl—both younger-looking than the pair. As Eugene stared a bit more intently, something seemed to click on the familiar—now older—face of the blonde.

Memories from Ingvarr and the bespectacled boy from what felt like a lifetime ago.

“Fitzherbert?” The stern voice of a woman took him out of his thoughts.

A gray-braided woman stood beside him. “Donella?!” He questioned in surprise, “What an unexpected way to meet again, I must say,” he joked as they shook hands.

“I was thinking the same.” Her eyes flickered away from him. “Sir, what a coincidence.” Donella directed her attention to the mayor with a respectful nod. As she analyzed the scene she had come upon, the hand-holding of the pair made her smile. With a huff she placed a hand on Eugene’s shoulder, “Who would’ve thought little old Flynn would snatch the princess of Corona?”

“Haha, well, see how the tides change,” that earned a chuckle from her.

“Eugene, you know Donella?” Rapunzel asked curiously.

“She’s an old family friend.” Those words, simple but channeling more underneath, were all that was needed to explain the unlikely friendship.

Far from them, at the opposite side of the stage, the squad watched the show that unfolded on the stage.

“So, do they do this every year?” Varian asked as he watched the skilled dancers perform.

“Yes, it’s more or less around this time when they organize these events,” Nuru explained, taking a bite of her corn dog.

“Just wait for the summer solstice; every year they go all in!” Yong exclaimed, extending his arms to show his excitement.

They chatted and watched as the show continued.

“Hey, Hugo, who is your mom talking to?” Nuru questioned as she glanced away from the performers.

That made them all turn, and in the blink of an eye, Varian’s face turned into pure shock as Eugene chatted with Donella like they were the bestest of friends. Hugo had a more concealed but shocked nonetheless expression as he watched the uncommon way his mother acted.

“That’s your brother, right?” Hugo questioned Varian, not taking his eyes away from the scene.

Varian just hummed in agreement.

“They look like they already know each other. Are you sure you guys hadn’t met up before?” Yong questioned as he looked between the scene and the pair, questions forming in his mind.

Varian thought for a moment, looking at Hugo as he tried to recall anything, but ultimately nothing came.

“Not really,” He murmured with a hand on his chin.

“I mean, it hasn’t been that long since she adopted me,” Hugo pocketed his hands. “If I had met Freckles before, we would’ve remembered by now,” he shrugged nonchalantly as he finished talking.

The show continued in the background as they started to create theories about the unlikely pair. Nuru proposed that they meet when he was in college. “He studied law, so probably not,” Varian countered.

Yong's theories were more complex: “What if she saved his life while escaping from a mafia that wanted to steal his knowledge of the Marmile treasure?” 

“Did you take that from a Flynn Rider book?” Hugo questioned, impressed at his convoluted guess.

“Well, he used to like people calling him Flynn Rider,” Varian chuckled as he remembered how angry he would get when they used his real name, “huge fan of the books.” He shrugged as they all chuckled.

Hugo listened as he chimed in with a sly comment here and there, but the memory of a brown-haired teen from so long ago came to his mind with what he thought was a stupid name. He just shrugged it off; surely it was just a coincidence, right?

“Varian!” The shout of a woman made them all turn. 

The brown-haired woman, who the three of them recognized as the mayor’s daughter, Varian’s brother, and Hugo’s mom, walked towards them.

“Oh! Hi everyone, you guys must be Varian’s friends from school,” she said excitedly, “he talks so much about all of you!”

Varian’s cheeks tinted a light pink of embarrassment. “Yeah, Raps, these are Yong, Nuru, and Hugo.” She shook all of their hands as each was presented.

“It’s a pleasure, Miss Sonne,” Nuru said politely, bowing his head a little.

“Oh no, the pleasure is mine, really,” she said, placing a hand on her chest.

“Hugo,” Donella had also arrived beside her son, her eyes looking a bit shocked as she glanced towards Varian.

“Told you he got big,” Eugene said as he stood beside Varian.

“Of course I knew that, Flynn; it’s common sense.” She looked at Eugene and then back to Varian, who had a rather confused expression.

“Can you stop calling me that?” Eugene said, annoyed, ultimately sighing as he turned to his brother, “Varian, she is Donella.” Varian looked between them as he spoke. Eugene hesitated slightly before speaking again, “She was Ulla’s best friend.” Shock came to Varian as the dots started to make sense.

“Oh,” was all he could muster in his state.

“A pleasure to meet again.” She extended her hand towards him, her smile small and tinted with sadness.

Varian had millions of questions swirling through his mind, but he managed to quiet his head and accepted her hand. He held a bit more than what people considered usual, but it was obvious Donella didn’t mind at all.

The rest of the night felt like a blur for Varian, with laughter and chatting. Getting to know his mom a bit more from Donella and hanging with his friends and family, he had ended up really tired, feeling himself falling asleep on the way home.

Eugene watched from his rearview mirror as Varian drifted into his slumber, Rapunzel in a similar state beside him.

“I had a fun day” were Varian’s last words before completely falling asleep.

And they made Eugene happier than his pride would make him accept.

Chapter Text

Spending hours on end had become the norm for the squad. Each worked on their task, took breaks for snacks, and regrouped for team activities; mock trials were getting closer—mere days remained before their first one.

Everyone was taking their break—well, everyone except Varian. 

Yong munched on his sandwich and watched as he placed vials on top of the little flames. Varian had mentioned something about cramming as much as he could and that he didn’t need a break.

“Should we really let him continue without a break?” Nuru questioned as she took a bite of her pre-packed lunch. She was the only one who actually brought lunch-worthy food.

Hugo took a sip of his frappe before answering, “Sometimes you just need to keep working, or else you lose your flow, you know?” When Nuru gave him a glare, he looked away, mildly intimidated. “Yeah, last time we let him do that.” He mumbled before taking another sip.

“Hey, have you guys noticed that Varian’s been…” Yong started to speak, but the sound of something spilling made everyone turn to look at the aforementioned as he scrambled to clean the mess, “weirdly distracted?”

Everyone looked at Varian for a couple of seconds; he had managed to clean everything, looking really relieved.

They compared it to how he reacted on the presentation day. It could just be attributed to nerves, a rapid, on-the-moment response versus the prolonged pressure of the mock trial.

“Maybe ’s just nerves, Firecracker; it happens even to the best,” Hugo joked as he tossed his empty cup towards the trash bin.

But in the back of all of their minds, they could notice that something else was going on in Varian’s mind.

Varian’s brain had been filled with nothing but anxiety for the last couple of days.

He knew why; deep down something crept and made him realize how real everything was. Each passing day, every task marked and experiment made, this was real, and some part of him was terrified of it.

But in good old Varian fashion, instead of addressing it, he busied his mind on something else.

Something easy, just some labeling; he’s done it countless times.

As he scribbled the names on the stickers, he kind of regretted not using his weekend for practice, but what could he do now? His eyes glanced to the side, spotting two labels that had the same name.

He stopped. Everything seemed to quiet as something started to creep behind. You aren’t supposed to be here, and you know it, the distorted voice whispered; its dark presence seemed to want to engulf Varian inside of it.

“Freckles!” Everything became normal again as Hugo shook him out of his mind. “Are you…okay?” Varian could feel sweat dripping on his face.

Hugo looked at him with worry. Varian's eyes were glossy, and his breathing had become a little labored.

“Yeah, I-I…” The words came with difficulty: “I’m fine; I just got a bit overwhelmed.” He tried to play it off, but even he could admit he didn’t sound convincing enough.

Hugo furrowed his eyebrows. “Team!” He turned his head to look at Nuru and Yong, who were working on something. “We’re going on a mandatory team break,” he said sternly, looking at Varian with his arms crossed.

Varian could feel a shiver run up his back.

“Aren’t you feeling relaxed, Varian?” Nuru looked at him as they sat on the grass of the nearby park.

Varian leaned his head on the tree that protected them from the sun and took a deep breath. “Yeah, it’s nice.” He said softly as the breeze brushed against his skin.

They just stayed in silence, enjoying the calm that nature brought.

But for Varian, the voice just wouldn’t stop; it made nasty remarks about not being good enough and how he would ruin everything.

“I’m sorry, guys…” The words that broke the silence came from himself: “I’ve just been so stressed lately…” He looked at the sky as the words kept coming, “I-I feel like I’m not doing enough to deserve being part of this team…” He fidgeted with his fingers as he waited for anything to happen.

“You’re wrong, Varian,” Yong’s voice resounded in the silence, and all the eyes were placed on him. “You’ve done more than you realize for all of us.” His eyes were full of conviction as he looked directly at Varian.

“Yong’s right, you’ve helped us even before you became a part of the team,” Nuru agreed, sitting on her knees before continuing, “and even more since the moment you joined, you’re thoughtful and always look out for us, even Hugo.”

His eyes had started to get glossy, and the nagging voice started to become quieter with each word.

“But the mock trials are getting close, and I just can’t seem to get anything right lately.” His thoughts started to get louder the more he spoke.

“Even geniuses make mistakes…” Hugo finally spoke; he had a cocky smile as he looked at Varian, repeating the words he had said, “Don't we, Freckles?”

His nerves fell completely quiet, replaced with a stunned sort of calm.

And then with laughter, relief came over him with such simple words, and he felt small tears spill from his eyes; soon enough everyone followed him.

Nuru came closer and hugged him, followed by Yong and finally by Hugo; it was warm.

After that they took some time to calm down and just talk about anything, when they realized it was already time to head home.

Everyone walked towards the exit. Yong and Nuru had ended up in front of Varian and Hugo.

“Hey, Freckles,” Hugo’s voice was only a whisper, “if there’s anything you feel like you can’t tell all of us…” He paused for a second, and a smile crept on his face. “You can always talk to me.”

Even when there are things you can’t tell anyone? His mind hissed but he just said… “Thanks, Hugo, I’ll keep it in mind.” And he smiled as he felt his cheeks getting a bit hotter.

Varian waved everyone goodbye when they arrived at the exit.

As he walked away, that presence came back; it felt as if it was walking beside him, looking down on him with a sinister smirk. The moment it talked again, what had been a distorted voice became clear when it said…

Cute how you try to fit in even when you know you’re the piece that never does.

He knew it was right. It cackled but Varian just ignored it and continued to walk beside it. 

Chapter Text

A month had passed since Varian arrived in Corona, and so much had changed in that time—more than he ever let himself believe possible.

Today was the mock trial, and tension buzzed quietly among the team. They had grown stronger together, sharpened their skills, but the doubt lingered, clinging stubbornly to each of them.

The trial was set to take place at the Corona Community Center, with teams from different schools from all around Corona competing.

As they stepped inside, everything came into view: A big hall filled with rows of tables, each labeled with each of the participants' names.

“Welcome, teams!!” A man with a microphone called out as everyone entered, “Search for your tables and get yourselves ready!”

“Ok, team!” Cassandra called out, catching their attention. “Here’s a map so each of you can find your spot.” She handed each of them a sheet with a grid of squares and their names marked clearly.

The mock trial was way different than the actual Olympiad—instead of taking days for selected events, this one packed everything into a single day. Everyone worked at the same time on simpler tasks with the same scoring criteria. There wasn’t a prize per se; it was more a chance to test themselves under real conditions.

Each event was separated by a row of tables. As they walked around, the tension started to grow heavy with each step. 

Yong glanced around as he fidgeted with his hands. Varian traced a finger on the frame of his safety goggles, sweat prickling on his face. Nuru recited formulas in her head, her eye twitching from time to time. Hugo just stayed silent—no playful banter, no sarcastic remarks.

It didn’t take long until they had to split; each stood facing the other in silent understanding of the other’s nervousness.

Hugo extended his hand to the middle of their circle; everyone looked a little surprised at his sudden action. Seconds passed, and they followed one by one, first Nuru, then Yong, and finally Varian.

“Let’s crush this,” were Hugo's only words. With a newfound confidence, everyone lifted them up; a silent cheer surrounded them.

As each walked farther and farther, their spots weren’t hard to find.

Moments after the lights dimmed, a voice resounded. “Welcome, teams, to the start of the finish line!” The man from the entrance talked excitedly as he looked around, “As I’m sure all of you are aware, this mock trial is a multi-event. But we wanted to spice things up a bit…” He paused for a dramatic effect. “Our last event, the team challenge, will consist of a union of all of the answers of each individual challenge. Whoever completes it first will get an additional 3 points on their scoring,” murmurs started to erupt among the participants, “with that said, everyone, get ready…set… Go!” A loud horn resounded, and spotlights shone down on everyone.

As the horn signaled them to begin, Yong scrambled to take a look at the sheet placed on the table.

He read carefully. Determine the heat energy transferred to the water and calculate the power output in watts using what is provided. Heat the water for 100 seconds exactly, easy enough.

Yong looked around the table: the water, a scale, a thermometer, a stopwatch, and a heating plate. He knew the formulas, so all that was left was to solve everything.

Measuring the water revealed it was 100 g with a starting temperature of 20ºC; Yong turned the heater and looked intently at the watch, glancing at the water from time to time until the 100 seconds had passed.

Even if just a couple of seconds had passed, the pressure made him feel like everyone's time but his was moving quicker. Blinking felt like a death sentence; a second could mess up the answer.

So when it finally reached 100, his eyes quickly moved to the thermometer as it showed 30ºC.

With pencil in hand, he started to scribble the formula and the values he had gotten. He started to solve the problem, converting the mass and subtracting the temperatures, but his flow came to a halt as he tried to remember the heat capacity of the water.

He couldn’t grasp the last number, 4! Or was it 8…?

Yong started to feel anxious as he mentally read all of his notes, searching for the number 418…418…4186!

His hand moved fast as he wrote the number and continued to solve the challenge. “So, 4,200 divided by 100…42! 42 watts!” He answered quietly so as to not disturb the others.

Circling the answer, he took his paper and rushed to the front, where the team challenge was set.

Hugo’s task was easy for him: make a beam balanced on a pivot that holds 200 g at 20 cm from the pivot for 10 seconds. He had done countless of those.

On the table sat some dowels and a pivot block, accompanied by some tape, a ruler, and a scale. He had made a basic sketch of the structure, measured and put together the dowels to reach the needed length, and placed the pivot block near the center.

Measuring one more time to mark the 20 cm—where the weight would go.

He felt confident as he placed the object; he hadn’t taken long, and with some luck he would be the first of his team to finish. As he placed it, the structure immediately tipped, quickly taking the weight. He smacked himself; he forgot to measure how much counterweight he needed.

“So, for the torque, 0.2 kg times 9.8…1.96 times 0.2 is…0.392…” Hugo murmured, eyes closed, as he made the calculations mentally, “3.92 divided by 9.8 is 0.4 in kilograms, so 400 g.” Looking around, he managed to find some washers he could use, quickly writing his answer with the other values he had.

Placing the weight and the counterweight, he watched as he bit his tongue lightly—watch in hand as the time started running.

1, 2, 3 seconds and it stood still; his eyes were stuck on it, searching for some kind of movement. 4, 5, 6, 7… He could hear the people around him; some murmured, others groaned, and a curse here and there as well. Every second felt eternal. 8, 9… “C’mon,” he murmured as he watched the number change to…10!

As quickly as he could, he took the weights off, grabbed his sheet, and weaved through the rows to the front, where their table for the final challenge was.

Orbital parameters were tricky, and Nuru knew it well. Her task was to determine the orbital period of a moon around a planet.

The task gave her the orbital radius, gravitational constant, and planet mass to work with. Because of the quantity of numbers and how long the formulas can get, Nuru had to be careful when solving everything.

She scribbled the formulas on the paper and made the calculations with the help of her calculator.

There were so many things to keep track of: exponents, units, even the formula she had to use.

By the end her answer had been 58. “If an object were orbiting the planet, it would take 58 hours to make a complete orbit.” She whispered as she wrote the answer down.

She had finished, but for some reason the feeling that something was wrong in the process just wouldn’t leave her. 

Was it supposed to be meters instead of kilometers? Did she use the right exponents when writing it down? Maybe she had placed a number incorrectly…

For her doubt, she considered redoing the whole process; it would take more time, and the answer could be the same—meaning a time loss—but if the answer was incorrect and she didn’t double-check, the last challenge would be lost…

With a deep breath, she took the paper and speed-walked to where their table was set, hoping she didn’t make the wrong choice.

Identifying substances was Varian’s task. A beaker stood in front of him as he read through the reference sheet and inspected the indicator droppers.

He took one of the pH strips and dipped it in the sample, watching carefully as it turned to a greenish yellow color—its pH was somewhere between 7 and 8, so weakly basic. According to the chart, that meant it could be chlorine or nitrate, unlikely to be iron.

‘Just give up, Varian,’ He swallowed as the voice echoed once again. ‘You’re doomed to fail…to be a nobody.’ Ignoring it grew harder with every word; it spat things Varian knew deep down he believed.

“Concentrate, Varian.” Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he took a deep breath. “Chlorine forms hypochlorite, so it's slightly basic…” He reminded himself as he took the dropper needed.

A single drop fell, turning the substance a faint gray. A relieved sigh slipped out. He counted the drops until the color changed totally.

He leaned in after the 7th drop, squinting at the solution. The substance had changed to a uniformly changed one, but doubt crept in—if he over-added, the readings would be pushed too high, a false higher result. The original tint wasn’t visible. He forced himself to trust his sight and convert it to ppm.

Using the given value for conversion, he managed to scribble down his answer: 7 drops, each worth 7 ppm, gave a total of 49 ppm. Matching it with the chart, it gave NaCl as the substance.

He took the sheet and made his way to their team table. ‘Just hope you don’t bring them down,’ the voice snickered when Varian was still close enough to hear it, but he continued without looking back at it.

The final challenge lay in front of them; surprisingly, everyone had arrived almost at the same time.

“Okay, let’s see what the last challenge is,” Hugo unfolded the piece of paper that rested on top of the table and read aloud…

“The weight that stands still and the moon that circles, 

Add their burdens to find what’s held aloft. 

The flame that warms and the salt that hides, 

Join them in bond to find what sinks below. 

Take the heights, release the depths—

What remains is the key to the lock.”

“A riddle? That’s different from our challenges,” Yong said as he got close to Hugo to look at the paper.

“They must have taken inspiration from the actual Demantitus trials,” Nuru pondered, reciting the lines mentally.

“Clever.” Hugo muttered as he placed it down so everyone could see.

“So, the weight must be Hugo’s answer,” Yong pointed at the line.

Varian got close as well: “The moon is Nuru’s, and the salt…my solution.” He said.

“Then the heat is Yong’s.” Hugo concluded, “We have to add mine and Nuru’s answer, then Yong’s and Varian’s.” He started to scribble the numbers.

“What does ‘take the height, release the depth’ mean?” Yong questioned.

“Well, release is to let go, so maybe…can I?” Varian looked at Hugo as he placed the pencil in his hand. “If we subtract 458 and 91, it equals 367. Try that.” He looked at Yong, who scrambled to put each number in place.

A click made everyone lunge toward the box as they opened it and took its contents.

It was a golden cylinder with some symbols engraved. One of the coordinators nodded as they showed the object, writing something on their notes.

They cheered as silently as their excitement let them, still mindful of the other teams.

“Great thinking, Freckles,” Hugo nudged Varian playfully, making his face inexplicably hot.

“And fast too,” Nuru agreed, placing an arm on his shoulder. Varian smiled; it felt like a weight was lifting from his shoulder, and for a moment the idea of being a part of the team didn’t feel daunting.

Now they just had to wait for the final scores.

“Congratulations on getting in the top three, team!” Cassandra high-fived all of them. “I’m sure you’ll crush everyone at the Olympiad with more training.”

They giggled; Cassandra always took competitions a bit too seriously.

“And as a celebration, let's go eat something,” they cheered as they walked towards the school van.

“I still feel the adrenaline pumping!” Yong exclaimed excitedly as he sat.

“That first buzz is special; I still remember mine,” Hugo reminisced, sitting beside him with both his arms behind his back.

“Are you paying for the food, Cas—Miss Cassandra?” Varian corrected himself mid-sentence.

“Feeding students is a school priority, isn’t it?” She said, putting her sunglasses on.

With that, they went on their way to find a cheap but good enough place; there was a limit to spend, after all.

As they chatted, their win—although not final—gave them a silent hope that maybe, just maybe, they could actually win the real deal.

But only time could tell. And for once, Varian almost believed he deserved to find out.

Chapter Text

Hugo hated department meetings. As the president of the science department, he was required to assist, no excuses, along with Nuru since she was the vice president.

“And with that we conclude today’s meeting,” Angela, president of the ‘student leadership department’—such a pompous name—announced. “You all are free to take a refreshment from our pastry table.”

“Is it me, or are these meetings getting longer and longer?” Hugo whined as they walked back to the lab; Nuru just rolled her eyes as she took a bite out of her muffin.

“Verdwire! What a surprise to see you outside your nerd cave!” Daniel, the captain of the ‘sporting and athletics’ department, snickered behind them.

“Johnson! We see each other at every meeting.” Hugo's tone was one of disinterest  for the conversation. “The last one was just two weeks ago if you don’t remember.” With those last words a grin was plastered across his face.

Daniel just scoffed and brushed off the blatant attack on his intelligence. “I heard the transferred guy joined your nerd club. Say, how much did you have to beg for him to say yes?” His face only showed malice, but at the end of the day, he was only a high school bully, so neither of them dared to entertain the conversation further.

As they turned and continued their way, a scoff could be heard: “Told you, they’re just a bunch of cowards.” A series of snickers followed the comment, “Bet the best thing they’ve done is watch a tube boil for hours!” Hugo’s fists clenched, and he turned around, walking back to the group of jocks.

“Well, Johnson, why don’t you say it to my face? Or are all of your brain cells dead from all the times you’ve been hit on the head?” His face darkened with each word.

“At least my department has something to actually show for itself; how about yours, Verdwire?” He spat back, annoyance palpable after hearing Hugo's words.

“How about we just show you—and the whole school—exactly what we’re capable of? Science style” His brow arched as his usual cocky grin slowly crept back in.

“Sure, we’ll give you and your nerd squad till the end of the week.” Daniel extended his hand, and Hugo took it without hesitation.

“You’ve got yourself a deal.” Hugo smirked, turning and walking back to Nuru.

The moment they got out of their sight, Nuru hit him with her elbow, right on his ribs. “Ouch! What the hell, Starlight!” He wrapped his arms around his stomach, wincing in pain.

“What were you thinking, Hugo? We don’t have time to lose on petty challenges!” She scolded him, pointing accusingly at him with her finger.

“This is more than a petty challenge, and you know it. Besides, we’ve gotten to a comfortable position thus far; pausing a few days to clear our heads won’t affect us!” He exclaimed, crossing his arms.

She thought for a second before sighing, “Fine, I’ll help you, but just because I want to shut their mouths once and for all and I don’t want you doing something against the school's policy.” She placed her hands on her hips as she spoke.

That made Hugo smile. “Knew I could count on you, Starlight.” He exclaimed, placing his arm around her shoulder as he started to brainstorm ideas.

Since Hugo and Nuru had to attend the meeting, the team activities had been pushed back a bit.

Voices resounded through the hall, catching Varian’s attention. “Really, Yong, why’d you choose such a lame department?” It sounded like the voice of teenagers.

“I’d rather not choose any department at all!” Laughter came in company with those words. Varian peeked through the corner; there was Yong and a group of teens—most likely around his age.

“Yeah—yeah, funny guys.” Yong's voice resounded, clearly uncomfortable, “Can I have my book back now?” Varian could only see the backs of the teens, but Yong’s face showed that they weren’t too pleased to be interrupted in their fun.

Without a warning, one of the boys pushed Yong by the shoulder to the wall behind him. “Listen, Hao, if I were you, I’d just shut my mouth and leave. We need the answer, and if anyone asks, you just kindly tutored us, ok?” Yong just nodded, his face showing a hint of fear.

The boy let go of him as they walked away, laughing amongst themselves.

Varian rushed to him, “Yong! What just happened? Who are those guys?” He asked, helping the younger boy steady himself.

“No—uhm—well, I mean, they’re my friends…?” Yong stuttered, but even he knew Varian hadn’t missed what really happened.

Varian’s face turned stern. “Yong.” He said flatly, brows furrowed.

“They’re just some guys who…ask for my homework from time to time…” As he murmured, Yong's eyes were glued to the ground.

“By pushing you to a wall and making fun of you?” Varian questioned, baffled.

“Well, there’s not much I can do…” He shrugged his shoulders.

“You could tell Cassandra, or Nuru, or me, or even Hugo.” Varian offered, placing a hand on his not bruised shoulder. 

“They’re from the sports team; if the school finds out, they’ll be put on standby, and then the whole school will hate our department!” Yong explained, hugging himself.

Varian had a notion of the stigma against their department, the lack of members compared with the others, and Hugo’s pre-meeting whining about always being made fun of after them.

“Then why don’t you try to defend yourself?” Varian offered again.

That never passed through his mind, but “I’m just one, and they’re five; I don’t think I’d have much of a shot…” Yong let out a humorless laugh, self-deprecating a bit.

“You don’t need to know how to defeat them, just how to avoid his punches.” Varian’s tone was confident. “You don’t need extraordinary strength as long as you know where to strike.” Yong’s eyes lit up with his encouragement.

“But…how am I going to learn?” Yong deflated a bit as he considered all that they needed to achieve.

A grin appeared on Varian’s face. “I’ll teach you.” Yong looked confused at his words, “My dad taught me in a week—so as long as you take this seriously, I’m sure you’ll learn in even less time.” He extended his fist, waiting for Yong’s answer.

Yong thought for a second, “Ok, let’s do it!” His voice was full of excitement as he fist-bumped back.

“You want to do a show to refute the sports department?” Varian questioned; they had explained their plan and briefly what had happened after the meeting.

“Yes! We have to prove to that prick that we can be better than his monkeys.” Hugo’s brow twitched as he remembered Johnson’s words and belittling.

“We can also use it as a way to unite the department; we are few, so it will be way easier to coordinate us all!” Nuru explained, Obviously, she had found a different point of view, so it wouldn’t be all about a dispute.

“Starlight and I were talking.” Hugo took a big paper that said ‘Operation: Shut them up.’ “I asked around while waiting for you two and gathered information on mostly everyone’s prep to do a big show uniting all of our brains while helping our peers.” He smiled smugly, proud of his planning.

“Does that mean we’ll have more free time?” Yong questioned as he looked at the list of tasks and projects, “There are a lot of projects, so they would have to be smaller to cram them in, and with so many more people, the work will be less, right?” Hugo thought for a second at hearing Yong’s analysis of the situation.

“Huh, I guess you’re right, Firecracker,” he answered, grinning. “Well, only you two; we’ll have to organize everything with Miss Cassandra and check on everyone while they’re working.” Hugo just shrugged nonchalantly.

“Well, you lie on the grave you dig, Hugo. Sorry you have to be dragged along.” Varian said sarcastically to Hugo before turning to Nuru with a genuine apologetic expression.

Everyone chuckled as the doors of the lab creaked as they were opened. “Hugo, Nuru, I heard you two requested a permit to do a department exhibition; is that right?” Cassandra entered, a paper in her hand, “Why the spontaneity?” She questioned as she looked at them.

Hugo looked at her, a single word coming out of his mouth, “Johnson.” She gave him a knowing look, matching his annoyance.

“I’ll have the administration approve it by the end of the day. When do you want to proceed?” She placed her sunglasses on her face—she had once said they made her look cool, disregarding practicality.

“Friday, after school.” She nodded and left with a small wave.

“Good thing we got the scary coordinator,” Yong joked..

Since both Yong and Varian would have much more free time this week, they decided to work on their special side project.

As soon as they prepped the tasks they were assigned, Varian led them to a nearby park. They stood at the basketball court, one in front of the other.

“Okay, Yong, we’ll start with something simple.” Varian shifted in his place, his eyes never leaving Yong, “awareness of what’s around you, and how to stand.”

Yong nodded, waiting for his first instruction. “Push me.” Varian smiled at him, no worry on his face.

“What…?” Yong looked at him confused; he expected to pick up a jacket or clean a car—like in that movie—not to be asked to punch him.

“Yeah, push me like you want to take my lunch money,” Varian joked, never moving from his spot.

And so he did; he shoved Varian a little harder than he intended, but instead of hearing a thud, Varian shifted his foot back slightly and absorbed the punch completely unbothered.

“What do you think self-defense entails, Yong?” Varian looked at him intently; there was a subtle feeling of authority—like Cassandra’s but softer.

“Being able to throw back a punch?” He answered, the slight tilting of Varian’s head implicitly telling him he was wrong.

“We’re not looking to fight anyone, Yong. I’ll teach you how to make sure they don’t pick on you again.” Varian closed the gap between them and placed a hand on his shoulder, a reassuring smile on him.

“So first things first,” Varian continued, standing straight, “you’ve got to be aware of your surroundings; if someone gets closer than you want them to be, you get ready.”

They stood there as still as they could, feet shoulder-width apart to minimize the ease with which they could shove him. Then changing to a basic stance: placing his right foot a bit behind the left, bending his knees slightly, shoulders relaxed, arms up, hands near the chest, and chin slightly down to protect his face.

“Don’t stand stiff, Yong; you’re not a statue—you need to be ready to move.” Varian patted his shoulders, and Yong relaxed them, although it was hard to keep the concentration.

“Umm, how did you learn self-defense, Varian?” Yong questioned trying to relax via some chatting.

“You should try to concentrate by yourself.” He chuckled, “Take five.” As soon as he finished the sentence, Yong’s hands went to his knees, a sigh of relief escaping him. “And to your question, my dad taught me years ago.”

They sat on the concrete floor as Varian continued. “I was being bullied by some older kids, and my dad was a cop, so one summer he woke me up at 5am, and from there we kept at it for a week straight—from sunrise to sundown…”

“That sounds awful,” Yong said, his face twisted like he was the one that had gone through it.

“It was… but my brother also got dragged along, so it was more bearable, and although I hated it…now I’m glad to have the knowledge to help you.” He smiled fondly at Yong.

There was a silence before Varian ruffled his head as he stood up again. “Now let’s practice your balance,” he grinned, with a hand extended towards Yong.

Organizing 50 people to do a grand show in less than a week had been tougher than what Hugo had expected; nonetheless, his sheer willpower and drive to laugh in Daniel’s face were bigger.

Choosing what to do and what was too dangerous was easy enough, a bit tedious as the suggestions had been plenty. Hugo had to organize the timeline gram for the show and have that approved for safety measures; Nuru had been more in charge of coordinating what everyone did.

Throughout the week they did countless tests of everything, promoted the show, and practiced their speech and everyone’s cues.

Without noticing it, it was already Thursday. “Okay, everyone, good job on the rehearsal! Get some sleep and get ready for tomorrow!” Nuru talked through a megaphone, excitement showing on her face.

“I’m beat,” Hugo groaned beside her as he lay at the edge of the gym’s bleachers.

She just rolled her eyes playfully. “Hey, do you know where Varian and Yong went?” She asked as her eyes scanned the booth-filled gym.

“Dunno, they asked me if they could go a couple of minutes ago,” he recalled, lifting his head to look at her.

“Huh, I wonder what they’re doing…”

Well, they were training. Yong had gotten so much better in the short time that had passed; he could maintain his stance, do basic blocks, dodge, and even strike back for emergencies.

“Are you ready, Yong?” Varian stood in front of him, his arms crossed and a grin on his face.

“Yes,” Yong looked at him with determination, always maintaining his posture, “but are you really going to be the bully?” His confidence flickered for a second.

“You don’t have to worry, Yong; I’ll be fine,” Varian reassured him. “Besides, you’ve already punched me, remember?” That made Yong wince a bit.

“Well, yeah, but it’ll be hard to see you as a bully,” Varian nodded in understanding.

“The thing about bullies is…” Varian lowered his head as he talked. “It’s easy to become one.” He looked back at Yong; his face changed.

A shiver ran down his spine as he stared closely at Varian, who was now circling around him like a predator; his face still held that grin, but it looked different, a different bad.

Suddenly he got closer, trying to grab his shoulder. Yong swiftly evaded his hand. “I don’t want trouble.” Varian suppressed a proud smile.

He grabbed Yong’s wrist, but he quickly twisted out and stepped back, running to the safe zone.

It was a bit far, and he could feel Varian close behind him, but he never stopped. And then there he was.

His breathing was a bit labored, and a tiny dose of adrenaline flowed through him. “Good job, Yong!” Varian high-fived him when he got close enough. “You managed to escape without needing to fight back!”

“Yeah, I did it!” Yong jumped out of excitement, “Thanks, Varian!” He gave him a tight hug as they continued celebrating.

Yong reminded Varian of himself when he first managed to do the same; he wondered if this feeling was what his dad felt at that moment.

The day had finally come; Hugo and Nuru stood on the stage as they stared proudly at the booths filled with excited teens.

When the clock hit 2:30, the doors opened and people started to walk in. Hugo was quick to spot Daniel and his swarm of jocks, who looked around with mockery tinted in curiosity.

“Welcome everyone, the main show will start at 3 sharp,” Nuru said into the microphone, her voice resounding through the gym.

“So, in the meantime, take some time to see our department members' incredible projects.” Hugo continued the speech.

Everyone scattered to different sections; some went to the microscopy station, looking at different things that the students selected; others looked at the ‘detective’ booth, where people could place and get a copy of their fingertips and solve some activities that had been planned.

The place was bustling with people’s voices and laughter. Suddenly the lights turned off; the clock marked 3 on the dot.

A spotlight shone down to the center of the stage. “I hope everyone had fun, but it’s time to get some adrenaline pumping!” Hugo stepped into the light, a grin on his face—he was wearing his lab coat for immersion.

Sparks appeared from behind him, lighting the gym, two Tesla coils being responsible for it.

More spotlights turned on to shine on 6 students all close to the edge of the stage, each holding a flower in their hands, and with a swift move, they shattered them, surprising the crowd.

“Crazy how powerful liquid nitrogen is, right?” Nuru joked as she sat on a bridge made of nothing more than wood and rope.

Gasps and wonder filled the spectators. “Cool, right?” Hugo’s face was filled with pride as he walked to a similar bridge, “but there’s so much to account for: weight, material, position, a wrong calculation, and…” Hugo jumped on the structure; it rattled under him as he ran through.

He reached where Nuru sat, jumping on it in time to avoid falling with the bridge. “Well, that.” He joked, his voice not giving any sign of tiredness.

“Cannonball!” The voice of someone caught everyone by surprise; a couple of teens stood at the far back of the gym with a catapult. Their yells came accompanied by a rock aimed at where the pair stood. Everyone gasped, but they reacted fast, jumping off and landing safely as the roof filled with a projection of the sky the moment the bridge fell.

Cheers erupted from the crowd, and Nuru and Hugo grinned at each other.

“Hey, Nuru, do you have the mirrors I gave you?” Hugo looked at her, a questioning look on his face.

“I gave them away,” she acted ashamed of the rehearsed action. “They could be anywhere now!” When she finished, arms were raised, little mirror pieces in hand.

“Well then, everyone, I need you all to point those lasers towards one of these bigger mirrors.” White lasers shone above everyone, and 7 more mirrors were placed on the stage.

People started to work together to reach the beams, passing the mirrors through the crowd, helping people get up; one by one the light was redirected, and on the roof dots started to appear until they formed the Ursa Major.

The projection traced lines over each one, shining when it was completely traced over.

“We’re a very quiet department, that’s true…” Hugo accepted the rumors, arms crossed but a smile plastered on his face.

Behind him, four students with different colored solutions stood.

“But we can get loud when we need to!” Nuru exclaimed as homemade confetti cannons shot the crowd from the side and elephant foam erupted on the stage from each container.

Everyone shouted in excitement as all the departments stood on the stage, some bowing while the others just waved.

The booth continued until 4 o’clock, the excitement clear in everyone's faces as they left.

“Verdwire!” Daniel shouted at Hugo, who looked embarrassed and annoyed at the same time, “Guess you really proved me wrong,” he muttered between his teeth.

Hugo grinned contentedly. “Of course I did, Johnson,” he said smugly, “good luck topping that!” 

Daniel smirked at the challenge. “Oh, I will! Can let the nerds top the best department!” They laughed at their playful banter.

The rest of the watchers looked shocked at the unexpected truce.

They had to stay longer to clean everything; sadly, all the flashiness didn’t clean itself.

“Varian!” Yong sprinted towards the ladder excitedly, “I just talked to the guys from the other day!”

Varian's eyes opened a little in surprise. “Just talk?” He questioned, still in disbelief.

“Yeah! Guess the show made all of us look so cool they don’t want to mess with me anymore,” he exclaimed proudly.

A smile crept on Varian’s face. “Well, I’m glad everything was resolved peacefully, but I’m also glad you have the knowledge to defend yourself in situations like that.” They high-fived as a silent victory.

“You two have fun this week?” Hugo popped beside Varian, startling him.

“Yeesh, Hugo, are you a ghost? How are you so quiet?!” Varian stared at him, annoyed at this growing habit, his cheeks tinting pink from…embarrassment.

“You’re just too deep in your own thoughts, Freckles, not my fault,” Hugo defended himself, his head leaned to the side and a grin on his face.

Varian just huffed at that. “Yes, we hung out a bit; it was fun to get a break from you if I’m being honest.” He swept the floor as he talked.

Hugo placed a hand on his chest dramatically, “Oh! Freckles, you wound me with your words!” Varian laughed at his reaction.

“That was a good show,” Varian said, smiling softly at Hugo.

Hugo stayed silent for a second, stunned. “Thanks. Freckles, I’m glad everyone enjoyed it.” He helped Varian, sweeping as well.

At the end of the day, maybe it wasn’t about winning or proving who was better. 

Maybe it was about standing together, loud enough that no one could laugh them off again.

Chapter Text

The sun shone bright in the sky as Rapunzel sat on her stool painting, the morning breeze brushing her chestnut hair as it danced with it. Being alone and with no work to do, she had declared it a day for her secret special project.

A smile crept on her face as she admired the piece; plastered on the canvas was a painting of her and Eugene, a gift for their 5-year anniversary—the story of them, of the hardships and how they overcame them.

Her phone rang, and she quickly wiped her hand to avoid staining it. “Hello?” Rapunzel talked on the phone, curious as she hadn't checked who it was.

A deep voice came from the speaker. “Rapunzel, honey, how are you?” her dad asked from the other side of the call.

“Hi, Dad, I'm good! Why the call? Aren't you at work?” she questioned, continuing her work as she put the phone on speaker.

“Yes, I am, but I wanted to discuss our annual barbecue.” Placing her brush down, she listened intently. “Are you busy, dear?”

The Sonne barbecue was an ancient family tradition; it has always been celebrated as a way to unite the family.

“No, Dad, what did you want to talk about?” She reassured him.

He sighed and continued talking, “The thing is your mother and I have been very busy these past few days.” His voice sounded indeed tired. “There is so much to take care of, and we don't know if we'll be able to host it this year.” He sounded mournful; Rapunzel knew how much he enjoyed organizing it.

“Then Eugene and I can do it,” she proposed hopefully. “I have plenty of time; Eugene is almost finished with his latest case, and if I need help, there's Varian,” she presented her idea excitedly.

There was a moment of silence as he thought, “I don't see why not; you two would eventually take over, so it's better to get the hang of it before we go!” They chuckled at his joke attempt.

After that they said their goodbyes; Rapunzel was full of resolve—this was going to be the best barbecue everyone had been to.

She took the canvas to its hiding spot. Eugene was a bit of a clean freak, but one thing he didn't touch was her art stuff, so when thinking of a hiding spot, she had an easy answer.

The barbecue could be just what they all needed. Lately things had felt a little hectic, even if just internally. Just a month ago, Quiring had called, saying Varian needed to leave Old Corona—something had happened, but even he wasn't sure what.

She could still hear his voice: “He can't live like this anymore…he's hurt and—I can't… I don't know what to do.” Her heart broke at the memory of hearing his voice and how worried he’d been for his son.

Since then, they've done everything to make Varian feel safe. Setting up a bedroom, searching for a school, arranging the transfer, trying to make him feel safe with them.

And she could see how much Varian had changed in such a short time, but the walls he had carefully constructed were still very present. Even if it affected both of them, she could feel how much more it was dragging Eugene down.

His job was demanding; defending troubled teens in court wasn't easy—the paperwork was endless. And the time he did spend home was dependent on it, and that weighed on him.

She shook her head, focusing on something else—that sounded like a better idea, so she stood, hid the canvas, and started to get on with organizing the perfect barbecue.

The first thing Varian felt when arriving home was the sweet smell of steak; the second was the rattling of something as it slammed on the floor.

He sprinted to see what had happened. “Rapunzel?!” When his voice came out, her head popped from behind the kitchen bar.

“Varian! You’re already home? Wow, time does pass when you're having fun, am I right?” She chuckled, standing and picking up what had fallen.

“Yes…are you okay?” He looked at her a bit concerned as he walked to the kitchen. “And what’s all this? Is someone coming over?” The question came as his eyes landed on all the steaks that lay on the counter.

“Oh! No, no, I just wanted to experiment with different condiments to get the perfect steak,” she explained happily, but Varian’s expression still remained confused, “because we are going to host the family’s annual barbecue!” She announced proudly.

He thought for a moment before replying, “But doesn’t your dad always organize it?” And he did; it was one of the things he was most proud of.

“He does, but this year he’s too busy to, so I told him we could do it.” She answered truthfully. “Eugene’s case is almost done, and it looks like you are getting a lot of free time lately.” She smiled playfully at him, happy that his team wasn’t overworking themselves. 

Varian took one of the steaks and chewed on it. “I mean, that was only because of the show, and today the lab is getting a safety inspection, sooo…” He trailed off, taking another bite.

“Either way, I don’t have work to do this week, so I’ll just take most of it, and you two can help when you have time,” she said, taking a steak for herself.

Shrugging his shoulders, Varian finished his steak. “Whatever you say, Raps, so you need help taste-testing all of this?” He asked hopefully.

Rapunzel chuckled at that. “Of course I do.” She handed him another piece, and Varian happily accepted.

They spent most of the afternoon eating that, so when Eugene arrived, they lay on the couch, beaten by meat. He had taken Varian to his room and was now doing the same with his wife.

“I must say I feel a little jealous, Sunshine,” Eugene chuckled as he carried Rapunzel to their bed. “You both had so much fun without me.” He faked sadness while she just smiled.

“Don’t worry, we saved some for you,” she assured him as he laid her on the comfy mattress.

“And to what do we owe that royalty banquet?” He asked playfully, sitting beside her.

She suddenly regained all her energy and spoke excitedly, “My dad asked me to organize the annual barbecue—well, I suggested it, but he said we should be the ones who do it!” He gave her a small smile as she spoke.

Turning a little concerned before speaking again, “Are you sure about it, Rapunzel?” He asked, a little doubtful of the idea, “I mean, both Varian and I are busy most days, so you would have to do almost all of the work.” He took her hand; his voice sounded unconvinced of the idea.

“I know! But when you two aren’t, it can become a great way to spend time together!” She placed a finger to stop him from saying anything yet, “Love, you don’t have to worry about me; I can do it!” He pursed his eyebrows at her words.

She sighed, “C’mon, Flynn, relax a little!” She laughed, shaking his shoulder as he cringed at the name.

“Fine! Fine, I trust you, and I’ll do my best to help in anything I can.” He said finally, standing to take a bath.

Rapunzel just smiled, ignoring the little pressure she felt growing on the back of her mind.

“Argh!” Varian groaned as he struggled to glue the little paper flowers—Rapunzel had insisted on making—into the banner. “Are you sure we have to do this?” He asked mournfully; arts and crafts weren’t his thing at all.

Three days had passed since the call, and they had done really great so far. Eugene had helped with some of the crafts, and she was getting some of the food prep ready. Varian also helped with what he could—mostly cleaning and arranging flowers.

Better to do as much prep as they could, right?

Rapunzel was making some cupcakes, a part of her dessert menu. “Mhm, making things ourselves shows how much we care for the things we do,” she said, putting the third batch in the oven.

“So, that’s why you’re making that big painting for Eugene?” He asked, managing to stick the last flower…of the first banner piece.

A bit taken aback by his words, she composed herself quickly. “Exactly, something special you can’t get elsewhere, and how do you know about that, mister?” She asked, an eyebrow raised.

He looked away, a little embarrassed. “I was just checking if you had any turpentine and stumbled with it. Very pretty, Raps,” he smiled at her. “Also… I couldn’t help but notice you had blonde hair in one of the drawings.” He wondered aloud.

“That’s because I used to have blonde hair.” She leaned back, her hands on the counter. “It was around the time I met Eugene—or well, Flynn Rider.” They chuckled at the name.

“Can’t imagine you with it,” he said truthfully. “You’ve been brunette since the day I met you.” He continued placing the flowers.

She remembered the day. They had gone to Old Corona so Eugene could apologize for running away and almost not graduating high school; he had also given Quirin the news he was going to study law, and Rapunzel had spent the day with Varian as they talked, not wanting to intrude.

They continued like that until it came time to have dinner, setting the banner on the floor so it would dry—replacing it with their plates. Eugene had to do a double shift, so he couldn’t join them.

“Does he really like the job that much?” Varian wondered when she told him the reason for his tardiness.

“Yes, he feels…” She searched for the right word, waving her fork, “fulfilled, you could say. Helping helps him.”

He just nodded; he’d never thought about it that way.

Rapunzel hesitated before talking. “He sees himself in them to a point; he understands some of the things they went through.” Eugene and Varian had done most of the talking, and maybe bringing up the topic again wasn’t the best idea, but… “and he feels the same with you.” Sometimes you just need someone else to say it out loud.

“What?” Varian looked stunned, completely taken aback.

She placed her fork down, looking at Varian directly. “He’s scared you’ll end up like he did, with all those feelings he had and how bad it affected him…” Her gaze flickered away slightly. “I mean, you know that he ran away, but all the things that happened before he came back…” Her voice gave out a little by the end; I'm not sure if continuing would be alright.

Varian nodded, his eyes down as he processed all the things she said. He swallowed his food before talking, “I can’t say I understand… because I don’t…” He didn’t look directly at her while he talked, “but I guess… I don’t want him to think I’m lost like that.” Despite the weight of his words, he smiled at her, hopeful.

She returned it and stood, walking closer to him to give him a big hug that was happily returned.

“I know you aren’t.” Just a whisper as her head managed to rest on top of his head, and she felt tears prickle out of her eyes.

Sunday came way too fast for Eugene, when you’ve had your head buried in so many documents all day.

“Where does this one go again?” The barbecue was set to happen in just a few hours; they were in the final stretch.

Rapunzel looked at him. “That goes behind the table, near the bench,” she pointed, arranging the pastries on a table. He admired her; she looked stunning in her flower-stitched white dress—that had been the designed color, all of them matching it.

Varian had been tasked with arranging the tables and hanging the decorations. He handled the heavier stuff, and Rapunzel just took care of the pastry table—per their request.

“Hey, hey!” A deep but cheery voice came from the patio door, and when he turned, Lance and his two twin daughters came into view.

“Man!” He walked and gave him a ‘bro hug.’ “You’re early!” He said teasingly.

“These two take so long I thought we would arrive late—Hey!” He laughed at the punch Kiera—the youngest of the two—gave him on his ribs.

The pair walked away to talk to Varian. “Look how much they’ve grown; you’re getting old, Lance.” He laughed as he got a punch on the arm.

“You’re one to talk, asshole; we’re the same age.” Lance said, a grin placed on his face.

“You want a dessert? I haven’t grilled the meat yet.” He said as they turned to the table.

Standing there beside Rapunzel stood Cassandra, her iconic sunglasses placed on top of her head. “When did you get here?” He questioned, perplexed by her lack of noise.

“Not long, Fitzherbert,” she grinned, taking a sip of her glass. “Everything looks incredible, Raps,” were her next words as she turned to look at Rapunzel.

“Thanks, Cass, but I couldn’t have done it without the help of those two.” She giggled, hands on her hips.

Everyone turned as yelling started to be heard as Varian was being chased by the twins. “Don’t let him get dirty, girls; we still have pictures to take!” Eugene yelled at them.

The girls nodded with mischievous grins, and Varian looked at him with annoyance and betrayal.

Just then Rapunzel’s parents arrived. They greeted them; even after all the years they’ve known each other, Eugene still felt a little nervous around them.

After that Eugene was in charge of grilling the food; Frederick stood close, watching him over.

Everyone else sat at the table, chatting. Cassandra teased Varian here and there, but the conversation flowed easily, except for Kiera and Catalina, who were too busy devouring all of Rapunzel’s sweets.

“How’s school going, Varian?” Arianna—Rapunzel’s mom—asked.

He looked surprised by the question. “It’s going well; I’m in the science department, so I’ve been busy.” He chuckled awkwardly; the times he spent with her parents had been few, so he still felt nervous around them.

Eugene arrived with the food, just in time to hear something really curious from Cassandra: “Yeah, he’s got some really close frienddds.” She said teasingly, dragging the d.

The tone she had used didn’t sit right with Eugene, and Varian's tinted cheeks only made his dread bigger. “Of course they’re close; the three of them are on his Olympiad team!” Rapunzel boasted of his achievement.

“If only Eugene had been that gifted in school,” Lance’s tone was mockingly mournful.

He just rolled his eyes.

The dinner went without anything major, and by 11 the girls had fallen asleep on the couch, Varian had been sent to sleep, and the adults were playing poker.

Eugene entered the kitchen to get the wine, surprised when he found Varian leaning on the counter as he texted someone. “Thought you’d be sleeping.” Varian jumped, not expecting to be caught.

He turned his phone off and slipped it into his pocket, flustered at being caught. “I’d just come to get a glass of water.” He quickly grabbed the half-empty glass and gave him a nervous smile.

Eugene quirked up his eyebrows as he grabbed the wine. “Hey, I’ve been wondering what Cass meant earlier, y’know, with the close friend thing.” Varian's eyes opened a little.

“Well, first, she said friends,” his cheeks were ever so slightly pink as he talked, “and second, she was just being a tease.” He said finally, walking back to his room.

When Eugene sat back at the table, he turned to Cassandra. “Tell me it’s not that blonde.” He muttered, dread spilling into his voice.

She just smiled smugly, handing him a glass of wine. 

He stared at it, a flicker of dread twisting his gut—of everyone, why his little brother?

Chapter Text

“It’s been so long since I last went to the beach.” Varian stared out the window in awe at how the ocean shimmered under the soft sundown light, whispering his words.

Every year, the school organized a fun weekend outing to help the competition goers unwind. Since most of those encounters landed within the same time period, each department was sent to a different location—to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

So the science department? Two days of beach activities. They’d left in the evening; the trip had been so long the sun was already coming down. By leaving on Friday, they had Saturday and Sunday to spend.

Varian, unlike the rest of his peers, was wide awake—buzzing with excitement. He’d always loved the beach.

The bus finally stopped, drawing groans from the passengers at the sudden lack of movement.

“Okay everyone—no pushing. We'll get off in order.” Cassandra stood at the front with her usual no-nonsense tone, eyes scanning the group.

Varian sat in the last row—thanks to the alphabetical seating. Next to him, Hugo sat still, sound asleep. Varian nudged him lightly. “Mmm, what, Freckles?” Hugo mumbled half asleep.

“We’re here.” Varian said simply, holding back a laugh at finding his state amusing.

As they got out of the bus—Hugo still tailing half asleep—an earthy building greeted them, turning out to be the reception lodge.

“Guys!” Cassandra called out to get everyone’s attention, “Choose someone to be your pair so we can assign the cabins.”

Varian looked around. Yong and Nuru waved at them from a short distance. He turned to Hugo; his eyes were half-lidded, but he looked like he was slowly coming back.

He opened his mouth to ask Hugo if they should share but stopped dead in his tracks, remembering what Cassandra had said—his face started to get warm, and like saviors, the pair arrived.

“Nuru, want to share the cabin?” He blurted, catching them off guard and seemingly fully taking Hugo out of his sleep daze.

The two shared a questioning look before Nuru nodded, “Sure.” 

“So it’s me and Firecracker, right?” Hugo's voice still sounded groggy, but he smiled as he ruffled Yong's hair. His tone was light, but something sounded off—almost disappointed?

Cassandra handed them their keys. “There are some activities planned for the weekend—you can check them out, or if you prefer, relaxing on the beach all day is still an option,” she said, all of them being led to where they would be staying.

The group shuffled to their assigned cabins; it was late, and tomorrow they had to wake up for breakfast at 8, so after a quick bath, most of them were out like a light.

Looks like tomorrow is when the real fun will begin.

Like clockwork, all of them were sitting in the dining hall by 8; all knew how strict Cassandra was.

The buffet was really packed; after all, they weren’t the only guests. Varian just ate some eggs and toast—he wasn’t really hungry, and it seemed most shared the same opinion.

When it became 8:30, everyone was done. There was a quick roll call. “You’ll be by yourselves most days; I’ll be doing some activities as well.” Some people silently celebrated at the thought of her not watching them like an owl, “but the staff is notified, and if they see any of you stepping out of line, they’ll tell me.” Of course, Cassandra couldn’t let that thought wander in their heads.

And with that, the groups separated; some were going to the workshops organized by staff or the guided tours to the nearby ruins and natural sites, while others just like them headed to the beach.

It was hot; since it was still early, the sun shone bright in the sky—good thing Rapunzel had packed some sunscreen.

The four of them were sitting under a resort umbrella, their towels placed on the sand so they could sit on them. Varian was looking at the ocean excitedly, putting a little too much cream on his hand.

Thankfully none of them had seen… Except for Hugo, who turned his head trying to hold his laughter, Varian just rolled his eyes and put it on—a handful still remaining when he finished.

So he just wiped it on Hugo’s leg—no biggie. “Really, Freckles?” Hugo said, unamused, rubbing it evenly.

Varian just shrugged a grin in place, “If you didn’t have that shirt, I would’ve put it on your back.” His tone was chirpy, but internally Varian was cursing himself.

Hugo looked taken aback, the faintest shade of pink appearing on his cheeks. Suddenly the weight of stares came upon them, making them turn to see Yong and Nuru smiling cheekily.

“So, let’s go take a swim.” Varian stood quickly, his voice coming in a bit of a higher pitch.

Yong and Nuru followed him, but Hugo stayed put under the shade. “You’re not coming?” Varian asked, confused at his stillness.

“Sorry to disappoint, but the ocean isn’t my thing.” Hugo just shrugged nonchalantly.

It looked like Varian was going to say something, but Nuru interrupted him. “He’s always like that, Varian; he hates getting his precious locks wet.” She said, poking fun, as if she had heard that excuse a million times.

Varian sighed, “Well, your loss.” His smile was soft but teasing at the same time.

As they started to make their way, a shadow appeared at the corner of his eyes; by reflex, he turned—barely catching a beach ball before it hit his face.

“Shot, sorry!” A tall brunette guy called out, getting close to him, “I told them I don’t play.” He placed a hand on his neck, embarrassed.

“Don’t worry, it happens.” Varian chuckled, handing him the ball. Some sand stuck on his hand, but he ignored it.

Hugo looked at the conversation unfolding in front of him, inexplicably frustrated—the guy's face made him annoyed for some reason, and his naked torso didn’t make it any better.

A quick ‘This is ridiculous’ crossed his mind. Before he could think twice, he yanked his shirt and started towards them. “Are you going, Freckles?” He smiled at Varian as he passed them; his jaw tightened as his eyes landed on the guy.

The way Varian’s face reddened made him a bit satisfied.

“Yeah, sure! I’m coming!” Varian waved goodbye and sprinted to where his friends had gone. When he finally got in the water, Nuru was messing with Hugo while Yong floated beside them—his ankle being held by Hugo so the currents wouldn’t take him away.

And of course he had to join, “Thought you hated getting wet.” Varian snickered playfully, flicking his fingers so drops would land on him.

“Had a change of heart,” he smiled, unbothered by the teasing, “and if I recall, you said something about me taking off my shirt.” He shot back.

Varian’s mouth opened, and his face flushed. “I didn’t say that!” Splashing him.

That made Hugo let go of Yong; he drifted to the deeper part, and Nuru swam to get him. Varian started to follow her until he noticed Hugo hesitating; his smile faltered just slightly.

“Are you good?” he asked, confused. Hugo looked suddenly flustered at the question.

“Wha—Of course I’m good, Freckles.” His voice was quick and a touch defensive, but his eyes flickered at where the others were—a bit fearful.

He tried to think of some logical answer, his mind only wandering to an answer, ‘Is he… It can’t be…’ Varian doubted a bit, but in the end he spoke up. “Do you not know how to swim?” He asked incredulously.

“You offend me, Freckles.” A soft, incredulous scoff escaped him, his eyes averted. Varian looked at him unconvinced, and the weight of his stare made Hugo falter quickly. “Fine, you win!” He ran his hand across his now wet hair, crouching so more water would cover him—an attempt at hiding. “I don’t know how to swim…” he mumbled just loud enough for Varian to hear.

Varian crouched as well to match his current height. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of, Hugo.” He smiled at Hugo reassuringly, looking directly at his eyes—he noticed some drops prickled on the surface of his glasses. “Lots of people don’t know how to swim.” The current had pushed them closer, their shoulders inches away from touching.

“Guys!” The voice of Yong quickly took them out of the trance they had found themselves in, turning to look at the others, “We’re going to go gather seashells!” Besides Nuru and Yong, a girl with blonde hair and a snorkel waved at them.

Both just nodded, and with that, they went on their way.

“You noticed that Varian and Hugo keep staring at each other?” Yong sipped his strawberry smoothie as he watched the older pair play volleyball with some other guys from the department.

After they had gotten some lunch, the others approached the pair since they were two short.

Nuru stared at them as well as she took a bite of her ice pop. “They’re quite obvious.” She said as the aforementioned laughed, their cheeks flushed. “To everyone but themselves.” She huffed softly.

“I’m sure they’ll realize eventually.” With a hand to his head and a crooked smile, Yong shrugged as he spoke.

But as they exchanged glances, the question became more pressing: would they really?

“We really shouldn’t, Yong…” Nuru’s brows furrowed as a thought crossed their minds: “It’s wrong to meddle in people's lives!” She exclaimed as a grin started to appear on Yong’s face; his mind started to fill with ideas.

He thought for a second, “But what kind of friends would we be if we didn’t help them?” Nuru looked at him, unimpressed by his answer. “Do you really want to see them flirt until they realize it on their own?” He questioned before finishing his smoothie.

After a moment of silence she spoke, “Fine. What do you have in mind?” She looked at him with a serious expression; he just smiled confidently.

“Well first…” He started to explain the plan he had made and some others. 

They didn’t have long until dinner time, and the activities that remained were few, so it didn’t take them long to put the plan in motion. To start, they recruited other members of the department so they could invite Hugo and Varian to an adventure trail; it said the duration could go to an hour, being enough time for them to spend the rest of the day together.

Yong and Nuru followed closely as the four of them headed to the starting point.

“Are you sure it’s going to work?” Yong asked from behind his fake mustache.

Nuru shoved the oversized hat out of her eyes. “As long as they don’t see us.” The hat promptly flopped back down.

They got closer to be able to hear what was said, “Welcome everyone!” A cheerful woman greeted them with excitement, “So I see four people. I’ll ask you all to divide into pairs, please.” She smiled, hands on her hips.

They did as told and separated. “Ok, so pair one to this side and pair two over here!” Hugo and Varian looked a little confused as she guided them away from the others but remained quiet, choosing to just flow with the current.

As the pair walked further down the jungly path, Nuru and Yong tried to follow behind—a voice being what made them stop dead in their tracks. “You can’t go through there!” The woman spoke calmly, “A couple just entered, so you’ll have to choose another.” She smiled awkwardly at the teens.

They stood, their backs straight, and Nuru became the one to talk. “The thing is, Miss, those are our friends—and we fear they’re in denial about their feelings,” she explained calmly, pushing the hat once again off her face.

“We just want to help them realize it!” Yong exclaimed as he fiddled with his fake mustache.

She looked at both of them with a surprised expression; it was obvious her attempts at holding some chuckles were in vain. “You two are so cute.” She wiped a nonexistent tear before continuing a little more seriously, “But I’m sorry. It goes against the protocol, and I could get in serious trouble…” 

The pair visibly deflated at that, but she was quick to speak again: “Don’t worry, these trails do wonders for people in those situations.” She smiled brightly, and it became contagious as they smiled as well.

Guess they’d have to plan ahead of time in the meantime. Better to do it when they couldn’t suspect them.

“This place is really pretty.” Varian looked around them as he fidgeted with the hem of his shirt—tall trees surrounded them as they walked. He could hear Hugo humming in agreement.

They reached a balance beam a couple of steps later; a small pond lay beneath it. A small table with a key and note splayed over it stood before it.

Hugo took the note and read it out loud, “Take the key and keep it safe, for this is the key to get out of here.” They exchanged glances and shrugged, both holding back a chuckle at the text.

“You should take it…” Varian handed Hugo the key. “I’m sure you’d do a better job than me.” He laughed a little awkwardly.

Hugo hesitated before taking it. “If you say so, Freckles…” He smiled back as he placed the key in his pocket, but his words clung to him.

They walked closer to the beam; the trail continued after it. “After you.” Hugo stepped aside, giving Varian a sly smile.

He just rolled his eyes and got on the beam. His steps were a little awkward at first; Varian could feel Hugo’s gaze on him—but they quickly turned into a rhythmic pattern until he reached the end. Varian turned with a grin, and Hugo followed him as he also got on the beam.

Even with the others' gaze on him, Hugo walked calmly; his movements were steady and confident—it impressed Varian how effortless he made it look, even if he’d never admit it out loud.

Hugo did a small jump as he got off the beam before Varian could compliment him. Hugo spoke. “You’ve got some good balance.” He smiled endearingly, which made his cheeks blush slightly.

“Let’s go.” Varian’s voice was a bit higher-pitched than usual; Hugo just smiled at his reaction. They continued to walk until a wooden sign appeared. He grinned and walked in front of Hugo to read it. “The way ahead is long; your eyes peel and find the pieces to continue your path.”

“Easy enough,” Hugo huffed as he stood beside Varian.

“But I’ll still make double the effort, since y’know…” Varian grinned, walking backwards into the trail as he pointed to his eyes. He kept a playful face but winced internally as he wondered if it had been a bit far.

But Hugo just rolled his eyes. “I bet I’ll be the one to find them.” He caught up to Varian and looked at him confidently, adjusting his glasses; he lowered himself to match his height with a grin on his face.

They shared a defiant look and bolted to look for the pieces; even if they weren't sure how many were needed, that wouldn't stop their unofficial competition. One by one the pieces appeared, and before long they arrived at the end of the section.

A wooden door stood in front of them; it was tall and wide enough that they couldn’t just go past it—the trees were also so close together that it was impossible to walk past them—with a square lock in the center; it was divided to accommodate nine squares inside itself.

They shared a nervous look as they stared at the door. “How many did you get, Freckles?” Hugo shuffled forward as he looked questioningly at Varian, his hands hidden behind him.

Varian squinted his eyes as he mimicked him, “How many did you get?” He wondered, trying to peek behind his back to see his hand, and maybe to deflect a bit of the attention from him.

“I asked you first,” Hugo grinned as the corners of his eyes crinkled, the pieces neatly hidden behind him as he moved to prevent the other from seeing. “Though I bet you got more than me.” He said in a fake mournful tone that made Varian chuckle.

“I wouldn't be so sure…” A corner of his mouth quirked up as he spoke. “How about we show them at the same time?” Varian proposed.

Hugo nodded, and slowly both moved their hands so they were between them. Both stared surprised as in each hand four pieces lay, meaning they had eight in total.

“Looks like we’re one short,” Hugo chuckled. “Well, we better get on searching if we want to get out of here before dinner.” Varian nodded in agreement, and he started to look around, getting away from the door.

Varian glanced at the lock and began to place his pieces on it. Hugo looked at him as he did so. “So we don’t have to carry them around.” He shrugged as the last of his pieces was placed. Hugo followed along and placed his own. 

As the last was placed, a click sound made them look towards the direction; there, a small box camouflaged beside the trees now hung open.

Varian took the piece that lay inside and placed it, making the door open. “Does this mean I win?” He said cheekily as they stepped through the door, and Hugo just looked at him dumbfounded, “I mean, it was my idea after all.” A grin was plastered on his face as he spoke.

“You really are something else, aren’t you, Freckles?” Hugo huffed, surprised at how he was acting; it was truly astonishing to him. “Fine, I’ll lend you this victory.” He crossed his arms, smirking.

His words made Varian chuckle as they continued walking. “What do you think Nuru and Yong are doing now?” Varian wondered; it had been a while since they had last seen them.

“Probably relaxing on the beach or something like that.” Hugo guessed as he shrugged his shoulders. He realized how he hadn’t really thought about them; guess he had been…distracted.

“I’m sure they aren’t having as much fun as us.” Varian beamed proudly. Hugo couldn’t help but feel in awe of him.

“You guys are lucky, arriving just in time.” Nuru chuckled while the newly arrived pair sat down at the table, trying to catch their breath.

She and Yong exchanged prideful glances, careful to not let them notice them.

Varian took in a breath before speaking, “That trail took us longer than expected.” He chuckled, half out of breath.

“We got you guys food and let Miss Cassandra know you two could be a bit late.” Yong spoke confidently, and the relieved sighs from the pair were enough as a thanks.

Once Hugo and Varian calmed down, they started to eat; chatter filled the outdoor patio, both among students and from regular guests.

“This is really good.” Yong said dreamily after a bite of his plate; everyone agreed at that.

Varian looked down as he hid a small smile, one that Hugo noticed. “Remember something funny, Freckles?” He asked with intrigue, surprising the other.

“Well… I’d say I’ve had better food than this.” Hugo stared, his brows up as he waited for his mysterious explanation. “My sister-in-law’s steak swipes this one off the floor.” Varian said confidently.

“Really? Guess I’ll have to try it to fully believe you.” His mouth curved into a sly smile. “Though I'd like it better if you were inviting me over.” He muttered a bit too loud, Varian looked at him with slightly wide eyes, and after a moment, he processed what he had said.

They could hear chuckles beside them, and their faces turned to the other occupants of the table, their faces flushed.

“No, no, continue please~” Nuru teased them as she looked them over with amazement.

They just looked away, prompting more chuckles from them. The rest of dinner went normally, following the rest of his classmates to the cabins when they finished.

Day one was over, but the plan wasn’t. Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day.

And it was. Yong and Nuru had taken care of everything to make their final day as subtly romantic as they could; they would be leaving around 7 o’clock, so time was precious.

Everything started after breakfast; they managed to drag Hugo and Varian to the beach without them suspecting their already in-motion plan. It wasn’t that hard—it seems like that kind of stuff really flew over their heads. 

A sandcastle competition was their first stop; it was the best opportunity to prod Hugo to do what he liked most: show off. With some help they managed to separate them, Varian going with other people of the department to find their target.

“Look, isn't that Varian’s friend?” Yong said innocently, loud enough for Hugo to hear.

Surely enough, Varian was talking with the guy from the day before, light chattering—their accomplices were there so he wouldn’t take Varian—after all, he was only an incentive, and a successful one at that, making Hugo go all in with his castle.

Not only getting him the first place but also making Varian blush at Hugo’s cheeky attitude and sweaty figure.

Nuru made a small sign to the others signaling for the next part to start. They distracted Hugo long enough for the others to drag Varian to a pair of tables; a chant could be heard as a flustered Varian was sat on one of the chairs.

They walked towards them; Hugo looked curiously at the scene that was unfolding before him. Varian placed his arm on the table to take the other person's hand. “Is he going to arm wrestle?” Hugo asked in disbelief.

“I heard he’s quite good at it.” Yong said mischievously. They had gotten close enough to see clearly, and at the perfect moment, one of their classmates let their hands go, starting the match.

Hugo didn’t want to judge, but Varian’s opponent was indeed a bit more jacked than him, but his expression slowly changed as one hand inched closer and closer to one side. He could see how their hands shook because of the force both were putting in, but Varian looked concentrated—almost unbothered, unlike his opponent.

His mouth opened in shock as Varian started to overpower the other, staring a bit too intently at the grin that crept on his face the closer their hands got to one side, winning with a last push.

Everyone cheered for him, but he tried to somewhat deflect the compliments. “It wasn’t that cool, guys,” he said, a little embarrassed.

“Don’t be modest, Varian; that was impressive!” Yong beamed; Varian looked at him suspiciously.

Nuru noticed that and quickly redirected his attention. “What do you think, Hugo? I’m sure you can’t do something like that.” She looked at him in a way that Varian couldn’t fully see her face, making signals Nuru hoped Hugo would pick up on.

“No… I can’t.” He seemed to pick up on them even if he was reluctant, as if his eyes deceived him, choosing to stand on the stage that was laid for him. “But I can do something better than that.” He grinned alongside Nuru as she was thankful he picked on her opening.

Varian and all the bystanders stared curiously as Hugo took off his glasses, handing them to Yong, making sure there were no people too close to them.

It looked like he was getting in position to do something, and the curiosity only grew when he crouched slightly, quickly pushing himself off the ground as he jumped backwards, forming a perfect arc, palms slapping the sand briefly before his legs whipped overhead. Quick and fluid, full of confidence as he landed effortlessly, upright once again.

Varian blinked, trying to catch up to his brain, the heat creeping into his face once more.

“What? Just a simple backhand spring.” He smirked proudly.

The rest of the day continued with situations like that, but despite their best efforts, Hugo and Varian just wouldn’t budge; it looked like both of them were far too deep in their denial. 

|

Time had run out; they had to pack their stuff, as the bus left in just 30 minutes. So they had to go to plan S, literally spelling it out for them.

Nuru and Varian were finishing packing their stuff; they had been chatting but had fallen into a comfortable silence. So she took the opportunity to speak, sure that Yong would do the same on his end as they agreed.

“Hey, why have you been getting flustered around Hugo lately?” She asked in an innocent tone; Varian turned his head so quickly it hurt him a bit—his face flushed.

|

“What do you mean, Firecracker?” Hugo looked suspiciously at Yong as he closed his bag. “I’ve not been weird around Freckles.” He huffed as he put on his jacket.

“C’mon, Hugo, don’t try to deny it; you’ve been acting funny around Varian!” Yong exclaimed dumbfounded as he lay on the bed, looking at Hugo a little lopsided as his head hung from the edge of the bed.

|

“I assure you, Nuru, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Varian looked at his bag as he tried to look like he was rearranging its contents, pushing his teal lock of hair off his face.

Nuru frowned; she needed a new approach. “Guess I got confused by how he reacted then…” She muttered loud enough for Varian to hear.

|

“What do you mean by that, Firecracker?” Hugo asked, sitting next to Yong, trying to hide his intrigue.

|

“Is—Have you noticed Hugo acting…well, you know—” Varian scrambled to find the right words; he was starting to feel nervously excited for some reason.

Both Yong and Nuru grinned and wished they could high-five the other; it looked like their minds were really in sync.

“Well, he always gets flustered when you compliment him… and I’ve noticed he looks at you differently.” Yong said, voice low as if other people could hear them. Hugo started to smile unconsciously.

|

“Trust me, I’ve known Hugo the longest and can assure you he’s never acted the way he does with you,” she smiled mischievously, making Varian blush at the implication of her words.

In different places, at the same time, a realization came over the dense teens.

“I have a crush on Hugo…?”

“I like Freckles.”

Varian had more of a dreadful realization; his chest tightened, but excitement clawed at the pit of his stomach. On the other hand, Hugo’s reaction was more blissful; his words floated almost lazily, amusement coming over him.

Neither had time to process their newfound feelings, as they were a few minutes from leaving. 

Varian felt like he was out of his body, walking and following along with the rest as, one by one, they entered the bus. He sat, resting his head on the window.

“Tired?” The playful voice made his heart skip a beat for more than one reason as he turned to look at Hugo, who was now sitting beside him.

An awful truth dawned on him as he answered, “Beaten.” He smiled tiredly as a single thought came through his mind.

“Fuck surnames.” Looks like it’s going to be a long way home.

Chapter Text

As the Tuesday sun came up, it was their first school day since the trip began.

Varian had less time than he had wanted to process his…feelings. 

He had thought about talking to someone about it, but everyone that came to mind was quickly discarded. He went through his choices mentally as he lay in bed.

Rapunzel had been his first choice; she would have given him the best advice, but he knew she wouldn’t be able to keep a secret like that. Then he thought about Eugene, but he would for sure flip out the moment he said anything about love. Cassandra had been out of the question; she would probably just tease him and tell Rapunzel. Maybe Nuru would’ve been a good option, but after all the realizations he had, he had completely denied everything, so thinking about asking her just made him embarrassed. His dad? Absolutely not.

Apart from them, Varian didn’t have anyone else he could talk to, which he found quite sad. But for now he just had to deal with his spiraling mind until he had to face head-on the source of it. 

On the other hand, Hugo had felt like he was on cloud nine.

He had just quietly brushed Yong off after he came to his conclusions, accepting them strangely easily, and shared a seat with Varian just after he had noticed him really anxious and tired as he fell asleep just minutes after leaving.

Hugo had spent most of his awake time thinking and analyzing their interactions, the clearly planned moments between them by Nuru and Yong, some from way before then, and comparing how much their dynamic had changed.

Saying he looked forward to a school day sounded weird to him, but if he had to get through tedious lectures to get to see a certain someone, then maybe it was worth it. Even if he couldn’t help but wonder if the feelings were indeed reciprocated.

The day went on without much trouble, and before they noticed it, the school day had ended.

Varian reassured himself mentally as he walked towards the lab, ‘Everything will be alright…’ He inhaled and exhaled to slow his racing heart. ‘It’s just a small crush; you can handle it!’. His palms were sweating as he got closer and closer.

Hugo had started to practice lines to sound as normal as he could. Taking advantage of the empty halls, he muttered to himself, “Hey, Freckles! Looking sharp today.” He tried out a fake suave accent before groaning a second after ‘Really, Hugo? That’s the best you can do?’ He sighed as he got closer to the lab.

The door got closer, and in their daze, both forgot to look forward, clashing with the other.

“Sorry!” Varian quickly scrambled to apologize, his cheeks reddening as he realized who he had stumbled upon.

Hugo blinked at him and nervously replied, “No, don’t apologize.” He brushed the accident off, placing a hand on the back of his head. “After you, Freckles.” He tried to sound casual as he stepped aside to let Varian go first.

Varian swallowed his nerves as he passed behind Hugo. Inside the lab, both Yong and Nuru were already sitting; a couple of other people were there as well, but most had chosen to have a day off.

They placed the backpacks on a nearby table and made their way to the others. For them, time was really precious, and the competition just felt nearer than ever.

It was decided that today was going to be a team training day; their coordination would benefit from it. As they worked, the way Varian would look away when he was close to Hugo and how Hugo’s cheeks blushed when Varian did really anything were more present.

Both Nuru and Yong almost regretted making them realize how they felt. Now they were on their break. “What do we do? It’s worse than before!” Yong whisper-yelled as he searched for his packed sandwich.

Nuru tried thinking of what to do. “Maybe we could…” Her words trailed as an idea came to her, “Lock them here.” She looked at Yong with a small grin.

“Are you sure?” Yong looked unconvinced at the idea. “I feel like that’s a bit too far…” He balanced his weight on the soles of his feet.

“It wouldn’t be long; there’s only an hour left before the janitor arrives,” she defended her plan, and Yong started to slowly consider it. “They need to be alone and talk—then maybe one of them finally makes a move.”

After some consideration, Yong nodded.

“Hey guys, I forgot my lunch at home, so my mom sent someone to bring it over.” Nuru walked to the door, Yong following behind her. “We’ll be back quickly, don’t worry!” She smiled at the pair.

“Yong’s going as well?” Varian questioned, confused as he fidgeted with a pencil he had found.

“Yeah, I mean, you guys can handle being alone for five minutes, right?” She said in a joking tone, looking at them both.

Varian forced a smile, getting what she wanted to do. “No! Of course not.” A small chuckle came out of him; he felt sweat starting to form on his palms again.

“Just don’t take long, Starlight; we don’t have much time left.” Hugo looked at the wall clock and back at the pair, surprisingly neutral.

They nodded, but as they walked out, Nuru pushed the door slightly, causing it to slowly close, almost unnoticeably. They smiled and shared a high five; now they just needed to wait to see the results of their hard work.

Hugo looked at Varian attentively, searching for something to say. “How was your Monday, Freckles?” Varian turned his head, a bit of an awkward expression in place.

“Are you trying to do small talk?” Varian chuckled at the thought of it. Hugo’s eyes averted from him, a bit embarrassed.

“Well, we’re the only ones here,” he pointed out, and it was true; the lab was completely desolate. “We have to find a way to pass time until those two come back.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

“Guess you’re right…” Varian started to move his leg as a way to somewhat distract his brain, swinging it back and forth. “I just lay in bed,” he answered truthfully, “and spent most of the day home alone.” He rested his elbow on the table as he spoke.

Hugo just smiled. “Same here,” he sighed happily. “We did have a weekend full of occurrences.” Varian seemed to stiffen a little at that, and Hugo wondered what kept bugging his mind.

Bang!

The loud sound of something hitting itself hardly surprised the pair. “What was that?” Varian laughed nervously, clearly taken aback by the sound.

“I don’t—” Hugo cut himself off as he realized what it had been: ‘Shit!’. He turned to the now closed door and stiffened.

Varian followed his gaze and chuckled, “Oh, it was just the door!” He sighed relieved, even if it changed when he realized how Hugo had reacted. “Are you okay?” He asked, a little worried.

“Yeah! Yeah…” Hugo turned quickly to look at Varian, passing a hand through his hair. “It’s just that… I think we’re…locked in here…” He muttered the last words, but Varian still managed to hear them.

Varian’s eyes opened slightly; he stood and walked to check—jiggling the knob amounted to nothing; it didn’t budge even a little. They were really trapped.

“It’s been like that for a while now,” Hugo explained, a little exasperated at the countless times he had asked for it to be fixed.

Giggles started to fill the lab as Varian thought of how clever Nuru was; she must’ve known about it—he had to give props to her wit. Hugo stared at him dumbfounded; from how he had been acting, he expected his reaction to be the complete opposite of what it had been.

When Varian calmed down, he walked back to where he and Hugo had been sitting. “How long do you think they’re going to take?” Varian asked, but he had an idea of what the answer was.

“Not soon, that’s for sure.” Hugo huffed, catching up to what the others' plan was, not sure if he should’ve been grateful or angry with them. “And there's still like an hour till someone comes to kick us out.”

After a moment of silence, Varian took an apple and a cereal bar. “Choose wisely.” He looked cockily at Hugo, causing the other to roll his eyes playfully.

Taking the bar, Hugo chuckled. “Doesn’t it feel like we’re in a cheesy rom-com?” He pointed out, making Varian blush a little as he really thought about their situation.

“So who would you be? The sexy bad boy or the “not like the other girls”? Varian tilted his head as he leaned on the idea more.

Hugo chuckled, “I’d rather be the bad boy if it meant you’ll think I’m sexy.” He said in a teasing tone, and Varian just rolled his eyes, keeping his flustering inside.

“Don’t know…” he trailed off and looked closely at Hugo. “You don’t have the bad boy vibe.” He grinned playfully as Hugo scoffed incredulously.

“Do I have to lose the glasses to make it believable? Pretty stereotypical if you ask me.” He crossed his arms as he spoke.

“It’s a stereotypical setup, Hugo.” Varian chuckled at Hugo’s reaction.

“Then we should talk about ourselves; that’s always the next step in this kind of situation.” He retorted as he leaned on the table. His reasoning did come from the countless movies he had seen, but he also wanted to see if he could learn a bit more about Varian.

His suggestion seemed to take Varian a bit aback. “You really want to lean that hard on the cliche?” He asked, trying to hide his nervousness.

Hugo shrugged, his eyes never leaving Varian. “Sure. There’s also not much more to do here,” he tilted his head as he talked.

Varian tried to think of a refusal to the idea; he never enjoyed opening up sessions, but no other idea came to mind. “Well, since you suggested it, then I’m sure you’ll have no problem starting.” He tried to see if he could make Hugo back out on his own.

“If you want me to do it so badly, then who am I to deny it?” But to no avail, Hugo just answered in a playful tone. “What do you want to know, Freckles?” He looked at Varian expectantly.

He thought for a moment, unsure what to ask. “What do you do when you’re not building crazy stuff, like what do you even do for fun?” He wondered, not sure if Hugo ever talked about anything that wasn’t competition related.

“Well, for your information I have friends outside school,” he said jokingly, offended. “We sometimes hang out…” He tried to recall any other thing he did that had relaxation purposes but ultimately couldn’t. “And that’s about it.” He admitted reluctantly.

Varian chuckled, surprised the carefree Hugo was a stranger to relaxing. “And you? What do you do in your spare time, Freckles?” His chuckles ceased as he started to be questioned as well.

“I hang out with my brother and his wife…” he answered plainly, looking away slightly.

“So you just hang out with your family? No friends?” Hugo questioned curiously and surprised.

“We see each other at school every day.” Varian answered innocently, fidgeting the still-whole apple in his hand.

Hugo understood what he meant. “What’s with the freckles? Family trait, or are you just showing off?” He joked as he changed the topic, not wanting to push the topic he was clearly evading.

Varian chuckled at his corny question, glad he had asked something different. “I inherited them from my mom.” His answer was soft and careful; he turned to look back at Hugo. “I inherited more from her than from my dad.” He joked as he let out a small sigh.

There was a silence as Hugo waited for Varian to do the next question, “If you’ve never won the Olympiad, why didn’t you just quit and try something else?” A question Varian had had for some time now.

“I thought about it, not gonna lie…” he trailed off as he carefully thought about his next words. “What’s the fun if you don’t fight for it?” He looked at Varian with a grin and sincerity in his eyes.

Hugo hesitated before asking his next question, scared it would be too forward. “Why did you move here?” Varian had never explained it, not like he had to—but Hugo was always curious about it; maybe with this heart-to-heart they were having, he would at least get an answer.

“Why did you?” It was clear Varian was trying to evade the question, but maybe answering would’ve given him the courage to do the same.

“Donella adopted me after I tried to rob her at 12 years old; a society that pushes orphans to do stuff like that is not one you want to stay in.” Varian looked surprised at all the stuff Hugo had said, never expecting him to share all of that.

He swallowed hard as he opened his mouth to talk. “I needed a change of air…” he sighed, his head lowering. Hugo could feel how difficult it seemed for Varian to open up about that topic. “After my mom died, and my brother ran away… Old Corona never felt the same, and I realized that I just couldn’t stay there anymore.” His throat felt drier, and he felt something sting inside him.

But Varian didn’t let the silence stay long, swallowing as he looked up to Hugo, his brows furrowed playfully and a grin on his face, “Do you flirt with everyone, or is it just with me?” His cheeks were tinted pink, and his face was full of playfulness.

That shift of tone took Hugo aback, his face flushed at Varian's question—his mind going blank for a second before laughter came over him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He answered back cockily, matching Varian's tone.

Both laughed, opting to leave the questions behind and enjoy their forgotten snacks; neither was sure how much time had passed since they last checked.

“Wait.” Varian came to a realization as he threw the core of the apple in the bin. “Couldn’t we just have used our phones to call someone?” Both looked at each other, feeling a little stupid for not considering it.

They walked towards their bags to take their phones out. “Looks like we really fell for the trope.” Hugo chuckled as he started to message Nuru and Yong to get them out of there.

Varian felt a sudden burst of confidence, opening his mouth to speak. “Hey, Hugo, I—” was all he managed to get out before a click dragged their attention.

“They really ought to fix this damn door.” The grumbles of the janitor came from the now open door. “You two are finally free, so…” He stepped aside, signaling for them to leave.

Both scrambled and took their stuff, making their way out of the school. It was late; Varian quickly texted Eugene, praying he wouldn’t get mad.

A sudden wrist grab took him out of his mind. “Hey…what were you saying back there?” Hugo looked at Varian curiously, a bit hopeful even.

He blinked a bit as Hugo let his wrist go, swallowing as he answered, “I had a great time with you.” His eyes were soft as his gaze flickered; he felt a little embarrassed by his words.

It took Hugo a moment to process his words, stuttering as his own words came out, “Oh-me… I mean, I also had a great time.” Varian chuckled at his fumbling of words, walking away, a small wave being enough farewell.

“I don’t think it really worked, Nuru.” Yong looked at his friends as they went their separate ways, taking a bite out of his banana split.

Nuru stared closely, analyzing their interaction. “I differ, Yong.” She licked her ice cream, satisfied with her assessment. “It looks like the plan worked out perfectly.” She grinned triumphantly.

Yong looked at her confused. “They managed to put their awkwardness aside.” She explained confidently. “In no time those two will be hiding to have make-out sessions and do all the things that couples do.”

They shared a smile and another high five as they continued to enjoy their desserts.

Now it was just a waiting game.

Chapter Text

‘I had a great time with you.’ Hugo had spent most of the week replaying Varian’s words—they stuck with him when going to classes, as they practiced in the lab, and even at home, gnawing at his thoughts.

Every day he found himself looking around the halls for a chance to spot him; he never wished they had been in the same class more. When he did see him, the nervousness and even tiredness were really present even if Varian tried to hide them.

As Friday rolled around, he felt like he needed something—anything—as an excuse to spend some more time with Varian.

Practice had gone by normally, with accidental glances here and there, just the usual, and as the competition loomed closer than ever, Hugo couldn’t help but be more preoccupied with Varian.

“Firecracker, I’m telling you, math doesn’t lie. Unless, of course, you did the math, in which case—” As buzzing cut him off his teasing, Hugo groaned, digging his phone out of his pocket.

He looked at the screen quizzically, answering before the other hung up. “Thought phones weren’t allowed during practice, Cap!” The teasing voice of Varian entered his ears, and Hugo couldn’t help but melt internally, rolling his eyes as he focused on the call.

“Hugs! Didn’t think you’d pick up,” the voice of a guy came through the speaker. “Aren’t you in training hours?” The question came with a snicker.

“Yes, I am, so what do you want?” He answered plainly, faking annoyance in his tone. As his friend talked, Hugo grew excited; it looks like the universe worked in magical ways.

“So, what do you say?” Hugo grinned at the question, not doubting his answer for a second.

“Count me in.” Cheers could be heard on the other side of the line, and they were warranted—it was unlike him to accept those types of offers while he was in a competition.

Hanging up, Hugo felt a little static as he walked back with the others. They had started to work on things by themselves, waiting for him to finish his call.

There were less than 30 minutes left before they had to leave, so he sat neatly beside Varian, looking over some sheets that were on the table as he plucked up the courage to talk.

But Varian was quicker, speaking up before he could, “So, who were you talking to?” His voice was low so just they could hear, gaze glued to his formulas.

“One of those friends I told you about.” His voice was cheeky, bragging a bit after Varian had doubted the fact he hung out with people outside school after the lab situation. “He invited me to a party.”

Varian perked up a little at that. “Oh, really? Wow, are you—ah…I mean…” He stumbled on his words, pausing a moment to catch his train of thought. “Are you going?” The question floated between them for a second.

“Yeah…” He tried to see if Varian had any reaction to his words before continuing, “This friend always organizes parties around this time to remind everyone that there’s just a month left before the Olympiad.” Varian’s head had slowly turned to look at him as he spoke, curiosity filling his eyes.

“I would’ve never thought of you as a partygoer.” Varian chuckled, amused at the idea of Hugo in a party environment.

He made an offended gesture. “I don’t usually go, but I thought…” He trailed off, looking intently at how Varian’s eyes looked at him with wonder. “They always give me a plus one, not that I ever used it… but for the first time I actually have someone I want to invite…” His voice dipped, and for once Hugo looked like he was stalling.

Varian blinked, his curiosity slightly turning into concern as Hugo spoke. He opened his mouth to speak, having been beaten by Hugo just for mere seconds. “Do you want to come with me, Freckles?” His gaze was hopeful, and his expression was a little awkward; Varian was now completely taken aback.

It took him a second to recompose himself, answering without thinking, “Yes!” The answer came so easily, even if his brain was a convoluted mess at the moment.

Hugo was at a loss for words, surprised at how easy it had been. “R-Really?” Varian nodded, not trusting his capability to talk. “I just imagined it would be harder, y’know, with your overprotective brother.” The words dawned on Varian as Hugo spoke, “Don’t you have to ask him first?”

“Yeah…but don’t worry. He always tells me that I should try new things.” Hugo looked at him a little funny, amazed at how Varian was trying to reassure him.

But still looking a bit unconvinced, “Really! The moment I tell him, I’m sure he’ll say—”

“No.” Eugene’s voice was firm as he stared at Varian from across the table.

“Thanks, I assure you that I’ll be—wait, what?!” Varian felt a sudden pressure on him as his whole demeanor changed from hopeful to hopeless.

“You heard me, I’m not letting you go to a teenager party.” He looked at Varian with his brows furrowed.

Varian could feel a lot of things right now—anger, exasperation, even fear—as he tried to think of what to say. “Why?” He asked, trying to not sound too angry.

Eugene sighed as he straightened his back. “C’mon, Varian, a town boy who doesn’t know his way around in a place full of strangers—it’s an easy no from me.” As Eugene explained his reasoning, Varian tried to think of something—anything—to say.

“It’s not going to be like that…” Varian wasn’t really sure himself if it would or wouldn’t, but he needed something to work with.

He could feel Eugene’s piercing stare as he tried to see through his lies. “Who even invited you?” Varian’s eyes flickered around the room as he mustered the courage to speak.

“Is that even important? Why does that have to be a deciding factor?” He started to ramble in an attempt to redirect the conversation elsewhere.

“No, don’t get confused, V; that’s not going to change my answer. I just want to understand why you’re so set on going.” Eugene looked intrigued at his reaction, leaning closer to the table.

Varian hesitated, looking over to Rapunzel for help to no avail, as she looked at him curiously as well. “Hugo…” he muttered. Eugene’s eyes opened as he heard the name, a bit of color draining from his face.

“Well, my answer is final; I have some leftover work to do.” Eugene stood up with his plate, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation.

Varian followed him in an attempt to salvage anything and make him change his mind. “But you both are always telling me to do new things, explore, and open my horizons!” Eugene looked at him firmly; he wouldn’t change his mind.

“Rapunzel, please.” He turned to her, almost pleading; she looked at him with concern and hesitation.

She stood and walked to the pair, standing beside Varian. “Maybe we could let him go, just this once.” Eugene looked between them, his firm gaze faltering.

“I’m sorry, but it’s too short notice. If you had given me a week, I would’ve considered it, but the party is tonight!” He sighed a bit reluctantly, “So it’s a no from me.” He walked past them to his study.

Rapunzel’s hand reached his shoulder as she looked at him sympathetically. “He’s just worried about you; I know it feels unfair, just… Don’t act without thinking, okay?” She looked at him with her soft eyes, following Eugene as he gave her a small nod.

Varian walked to his room, closing the door behind him. A sigh escaped him as he made his way to the closet; he did have six hours to get ready and make a plan to get out unnoticed, so he’d better take advantage of it.

Hugo had sent him the information not long after he’d arrived home; the place was a bit far in a part of the city he really hadn’t been to, but he couldn’t throw away his shot.

Getting there wasn’t his biggest concern, but getting out without anyone noticing was.

After he took a bath, Rapunzel tried to talk with him; he had reassured her that he only needed some alone time and that everything was alright. So anyone popping in his room was taken care of.

Both went to bed really late; sometimes he heard them talk until midnight as they kept each other company if the other had work left. And they usually went to the bathroom or to get a snack at unpredictable times, so getting out through the front door was out of the picture.

So his plan was to get out through his window and walk till he reached the main streets to get a lift. Shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes.

He had to admit choosing an outfit had been harder than planning his escape. Landing on a pair of dark skinny jeans and a soft hoodie layered over one of his simple tees. For a moment he wished he had taken all the clothes Rapunzel had wanted to buy him.

As he put his nice sneakers on, a knock took him aback. 

“Varian?” He could hear Eugene’s voice at the other side of the door, “Can we talk?” Varian scrambled to get under his covers, trying to hide as much of himself as he could, just in time for Eugene to open the door.

There was silence for a moment; a sigh and a faint good night could be heard as the door closed, darkness engulfing the room once more.

It felt like a rush of adrenaline passed through Varian as he quickly put his shoes on and tried to fix his hair as much as he could. When he opened the window, a wave of guilt came over him, swallowing hard as he landed on the cut grass, closing the window behind him.

Varian spent most of the way thinking about everything. A lot of teens sneak out these days, and this was important even if Eugene didn’t see it like that.

Before noticing he had arrived at the party, he paid the fee and looked around to spot Hugo as he got out.

His cheeks tinted as the blond tufts of hair came into view. Hugo looked better than usual with his ripped jeans and bomber jacket, but Varian tried to not stare much as he made his way towards him. Was looking that good even legal?

“Freckles!” Hugo called out when he got close enough, his face, almost indistinguishable, blushed, “Looking good.” Varian smiled at the compliment.

“You too; it seems like you’re really selling the bad boy vibes.” He joked as Hugo rolled his eyes.

“We should head inside.” Hugo gestured to the door. Varian started to doubt how much of a party it was with the lack of noticeable music or loudness.

Varian hesitated as he looked at the door, Eugene’s words lingering in his mind, but ultimately nodded. Following closely after Hugo, his mind went a little blank as Hugo took his hand and held it in his own, making him melt at the touch.

The inside was so much different than the outside; music bustled loud enough to only be heard from the inside, and the windows had covers so the colorful lights wouldn’t bother the neighbors. It was packed with people, and Varian quickly noticed he was out of his element.

He screamed internally, “What am I doing here?” “I’m going to get in so much trouble!” But the noise that surrounded them made his inner voice a bit harder to hear.

“It was nice of your brother to let you come!” Hugo’s voice came a little louder than usual, trying to make it sound over the chatter and music.

Varian nodded as they walked deeper into the crowd. “Yeah! He’s the best!” Obviously he wasn’t going to disclose the fact that he had not been—in fact—authorized to come to the party.

They continued to walk a bit, making fun of themselves for actually coming; the cliches just kept coming and coming.

“Hugs!” The voice of a guy came from one of the less crowded spots; a group of five teens stood on a corner all around a table, one standing out as he waved enthusiastically at Hugo.

“Alex!” Hugo waved back as they made their way to them, passing through people, becoming easier as they walked.

Varian felt the moment his hand was let go as Hugo started to greet his friend. “Who is this?” The attention shifted to him, awkwardly waving as he felt the eyes on him.

“Aww, Hugs, why didn’t you tell us you got a boy—” One of the guys stared between them, looking at Hugo teasingly before he cut him off mid-sentence.

“This is Varian!” His voice was a tad sharp as he interjected, “He’s one of my teammates for the Olympiad.” He stood beside him; everyone looked at them curiously, but Hugo seemed to pay them no mind as he turned to look at him. “Varian, these are my idiot friends.” Some offended “hey’s” could be heard from the group.

“Alex,” a black-haired guy who seemed to be the most extroverted from the group, smiled cheekily; “Bianca,” the brunette girl, looked at him from behind her bangs, grinning at Varian; “Danie,” she stared at him with a soft smile, looking really cool with her short hair; “Thomas,” he waved at him, his bright blue hair contrasting with his dark skin; and “Aaron—the host,” a tall tanned brunette, stood in the middle of the group.

“It’s a pleasure.” Varian greeted them a little awkwardly, feeling a bit intimidated by their presence.

They all smiled, amused at how he acted. “Want a drink?” Danie offered him one of the cups they had on the table; he tried to grab it reluctantly, but Hugo took it quickly—making him a bit relieved and annoyed at the same time.

“I think this might be a bit strong,” he explained as the others looked at him a bit confused. “Not that you can’t handle it, just y’know…” He turned to Varian nervously, which made him chuckle.

Aaron walked beside them, placing himself in between them with arms on their shoulders. “Then could we interest you in a fancy drink?” Varian looked at him confused, never hearing about something like that.

“It’s just spiked soda; the alcohol is nearly imperceptible.” Thomas explained noticing his expression. 

Varian felt a bit hesitant as he agreed; everyone cheered, and Aaron made his way to get the drink. He kept repeating "new experiences" mentally to sort of ease himself. 

Hugo could notice something was up with him, nerves probably—a bit of regret came over him; maybe Varian had felt somehow pressured to accept his invitation. “Are you okay, Freckles?” He looked at Varian, a bit concerned.

“Yeah—yep, I’m fine!” Varian reassured him, taking a breath to relax himself and smile at Hugo.

“You up for some beer pong, blondie?” Bianca called out, her eyes full of competitiveness as she tossed the plastic ball towards them. Varian caught it before it fell.

Hugo grinned tauntingly at her, “Are you sure you want to lose tremendously?” They stared at each other, the tension of a challenge present.

She just moved to stand at one of the table ends, Hugo following after downing the whole cup in one go—really impressive.

It was the first time Varian had actually seen people play that in real life. The balls bounced as they either missed or got on the cups, and to Varian it looked actually pretty fun.

Aaron arrived mid-game, handing Varian his drink. He looked at it for a second but mustered the courage to take a sip of it… And it tasted good; he really wondered if the thing really had any alcohol in it. Another cup got close to him, and Aaron smiled at him as he waited for them to clink their cups, so he did—chuckling at the gesture as they took another sip.

“You’re a cheater, Hugo!” All of them smiled as Bianca claimed for her loss.

“How could I even be cheating?” Hugo had a mischievous grin as he enjoyed his victory. The bickering continued for a while; everyone was clearly used to it.

Varian started to feel weirdly comfortable in the messy ambiance. “Want to give it a shot?” Thomas appeared beside him, the little plastic ball in hand.

He nodded a bit too quickly for his brain to process, like his body acted on its own.

They took their positions, leaving his current drink to the side as he picked one of the balls that was on the floor. Hugo stared at him surprised, unsure if he should say anything until the determination became present on Varian’s face.

Thomas started; he tossed the ball, barely missing the cup as it passed beside it. Then it became Varian’s turn; he focused on the cups and where they were positioned, imagining the trajectory it would take, and with a deep breath, he tossed it. Everyone looked surprised as it landed directly inside the cup but brushed it off as beginner's luck.

With each turn Varian just kept on getting cups; of course, Thomas got some shots in, but Varian had a massive 8 to 5 lead. The tension grew when Varian got another one, leaving just one. 

The ball flew in the air as Thomas had a chance to get another shot but ultimately missed. Confidence flowed inside Varian as he made his shot, landing gracefully in the cup. Cheers erupted around him.

“Beginner’s luck, my ass. You’re a natural at this!” Alex exclaimed, raising his cup excitedly for everyone else to follow; one by one, each of them joined.

It felt freeing, the unconscious flow he was now a part of; his past guilt and doubts about coming disappeared as he saw how happy everyone—but especially Hugo—looked; he felt like he belonged.

“Man, I think I’ll revoke your plus-one privilege, Hug.” Aaron and Hugo had been sent to get more booze. After Varian defeated Thomas, everyone wanted to see if they could dethrone the newcomer; unfortunately, none of them could.

Hugo laughed as he remembered how Aaron had missed his only chance at winning against Varian. “We were in need of a new champion anyway.” He snickered as he felt a light shove.

“Is it safe to assume you agreed to come because of Varian?” Aaron examined the bottles they had left as he continued speaking, “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Had to show him I do have friends outside of school,” Hugo grinned as he talked, remembering their interactions from just a couple of days ago. “I also missed you guys.” His tone changed to a fake babying one.

Aaron just laughed at that, letting there be a moment of silence. “So, what’s your guys’ deal?” He questioned, reading the labels and choosing which to take. “Mean, like you use that cute nickname, but the vibes are just…I dunno.” He moved his hand to signal him, like if there was something around him.

Obviously he would’ve noticed; he was pretty perceptive, and Hugo wasn’t really making an effort in hiding it. “I just like ‘im, nothing else.” He tried to seem interested in the bottles as well to avoid his friend's gaze.

“Right…” Aaron rolled his eyes playfully; he wasn’t the type to get involved in those situations. So they just started to go back to where the rest were. “Oh, before I forget,” Aaron turned around to look at Hugo, “it turns out a guy invited those guys from Old Corona that you hate, sorry.” He had a real apologetic look as he stared at Hugo.

A groan escaped him. At the thought of crossing them came to his mind, “It’s okay, I’m sure they had to slither their way in.” His words carried annoyance; just when he thought nothing could ruin his night, they had to come.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure they won’t stay long.” Hugo nodded, and they continued to make their way back. “And just so you know, I’m sure Varian is just a step away from aggressively making out with you…” Hugo’s face went from flustered by Aaron’s words to confused as the table was now alone.

A single thing came to his mind: “Where’s Varian?” He asked, trying to hide his growing fear.

Well, for Varian the party had moved to the living room, the busiest spot in all the house. His fame for being naturally good at a frat game spread fast, and he was challenged to do other things, like getting on the karaoke machine, trying to chug a beer bottle in one go, and doing a push-up competition—all sorts of things.

He had never felt this happy and mentally relaxed in years; maybe all the alcohol he had going through his system, tied to the impressive tolerance he seemingly had, contributed to it.

The attention had drifted away from him, realizing he wasn’t really sure how to get back to where they were—this house had turned out to be surprisingly big—and that he had lost Hugo wasn’t as bad as what his eyes landed on.

Music started to be replaced by static as the figure came closer; what had been nothing more than a noisy shadow became clearer and clearer with each step taken. Varian backed down as much as he could, but his inability to navigate around and the people made it harder to get away.

The figure towered over him, and the face and features became so visible it made his blood freeze. “Varian, what a coincidence!” A voice that could only be the one from his nightmares resounded louder than he liked.

He could feel the way his body trembled, taking deep breaths to calm himself. “Andrew…” The moment the name left his mouth, everything came back to normal, the fear disappearing as it became replaced by a feeling of caution.

Andrew looked at him carefully, assessing him carefully. “Never expected you’d survive one of these parties.” He snickered, placing his hand on his pockets nonchalantly.

“I’m just full of surprises, then.” Varian looked away, not really wanting to humor him. It seemed like people weren’t really paying attention to their conversation, so that made him relax slightly.

Getting ignored started to piss Andrew off. “Heard you already replaced us.” That made Varian’s face turn back to him; his expression was one of incredulity. “You really changed sides the moment something didn’t go your way?” He scoffed and smiled maliciously; he knew exactly what he was doing.

Varian let out an offended huff. “If you think I replaced your lot, then you’re more delusional than I expected.” His brows furrowed in annoyance as he spoke.

Then the distance between them started to get shorter. Andrew grinned as he leaned closer to Varian. “C’mon kid, you don’t have to keep acting so tough and hateful.” His condescending tone only irritated Varian further.

“This is no act; I thought I made myself very clear the last time we spoke.” Varian’s gaze was cold, looking directly into Andrew’s eyes; the older man could feel his facade falter slightly.

His eyes turned annoyed, and his face unimpressed as he looked Varian up and down. Making a tsk sound before talking again, “All this,” he gestured between them, “is turning really annoying, Varian.” The kind tone of his voice was clearly fake, and Varian knew it.

Staying silent only angered Andrew further as he closed more of their distance. “Don’t get too comfortable.” The kind demeanor changed drastically to a cold one. “Acting all graceful—we both know this is out of your league.” A chuckle escaped him as he looked down on Varian. “Sooner or later you’ll realize you were never cut out for this.” Andrew’s smile turned malicious.

Those words stung, but his eyes never left Andrew’s; he wouldn’t back out. “And who cares if I’m not?” His words were sincere and carefree, something Andrew never expected. “I would’ve at least tried.” A corner of his mouth tugged, forming a half smile. “And we both know you’ve never been cut out for this either.”

A sting came over his arms as Andrew suddenly grabbed him; his face was full of hatred and incredulity. “You think you’re so much better than me?” A hiss came out of Varian as he squeezed harder; his eyes flickered as he tried to find a way to get out. “Don’t forget what you—”

“Is there a problem?” Hugo’s voice came by, making Andrew quickly let him go. His gaze flickered between the two suspiciously.

Andrew backed away instinctively. “No.” His charismatic persona was put on once again as he answered. “Just catching up with my old colleague.” 

Hugo could feel the tension but chose to ignore it, not wanting to spend more time than he needed around Andrew. “Hey, Freckles, let’s go.” His tone softened as he called out to Varian, whose demeanor changed the moment his eyes landed on him.

As they got away, Hugo took Varian’s hand, the uneasy feeling in his gut screaming at him to do so; even in his current state, the warm feeling made Varian smile.

The moment he felt they had gotten away, Hugo turned to Varian—a dumbfounded look came over him as he noticed Varian had snatched a drink from somewhere.

“Hey, are you okay?” Hugo took the cup away, earning an annoyed reclaim from the other. “Was he bothering you?” His face was serious as he spoke.

A giggle came over Varian as he seemed to remember something funny. “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter now.” His demeanor was strange to Hugo; Varian was giddier.

So it looked like the booze was finally catching up to him. “Freckles, what were you and Andrew talking about?” Varian looked at him like he had said the funniest thing in the world before answering.

“He was just talking smack.” Varian rolled his eyes as the interaction came to mind. “But I turned into a badass and gave him a piece of my mind.” Snickers escaped Varian as he recalled how he had stood up for himself.

“I’m glad,” Hugo smiled reassuringly at him, finding his state a bit amusing and concerning, “but could you be a bit—” Varian’s voice cut him off as he tried to pry a bit about what had really happened back there.

“Did they turn up the music?” He groaned as the lights and sound started to become a bit annoying, hurting his eyes. “Is there somewhere…quieter?” His words sounded a bit slurred towards the end.

Taken aback Hugo tried to recall through his worry a place like that. Taking Varian’s hand as he guided them upstairs. It should be quieter there…

Chapter Text

“Eugene…” A groggy voice that belonged to none other than Rapunzel called out to him, “Whas up?” Her voice sounded tired as she looked at him with half-lidded eyes.

He turned his head to look at her. Even in the dark, she could clearly make out her features—as if she were glowing. “’s nothing, Sunshine…” Eugene sighed as he felt her hand brush his cheek.

She made an unconvinced hum before continuing, now more awake. “You keep turning around,” Eugene winced as he realized she was right. “Can’t sleep?” Rapunzel’s voice was soft.

A sigh escaped him as he turned to look at the ceiling, losing the hand that rested on his face. “How could I?” His voice sounded tired. “Varian’s pissed at me because I’m an overprotective asshole.” He passed his hands through his face.

“Don’t you dare talk about my husband like that, mister.” That got a breathless chuckle out of him. Rapunzel took a moment to think about what to say—she hated seeing Eugene beat himself up like that.

Eugene had the need to sit up; lying was just making him more anxious. “I don’t blame him for not wanting to talk to me.” The memory of a sleeping Varian came to mind; it was clear he was faking being asleep—the shuffling he had heard and how the sheets covered more than usual. “He was so excited, and I just disregarded that for my own stupid fears.”

Rapunzel followed him, sitting up as well. “You didn’t have any bad intent.” She rested her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “Varian is a teenager; of course he reacted strongly…but I’m sure tomorrow you two can talk it out.” She placed her head on where her hand had once rested.

Glancing at their wall clock, Eugene realized just how late it was and how little he had slept so far. “I think a hot chocolate could help me relax.” He placed his head on top of his wife’s as she chuckled at the request.

Both stood and made their way to the kitchen; Eugene couldn’t help but glance at Varian’s room as they passed by it. 

Turning on the lights hurt their eyes a bit; thankfully they had those yellow light bulbs. As Eugene sat on the kitchen bar, he noticed his phone lying there; he must’ve left it there after he tried to talk to Varian. He turned the screen on; it was better to check if any work messages had arrived.

One notification stood out; it had just been sent out a couple of minutes ago. There were others just the same coming since 10pm—so two hours from now.

There was a beat of hesitation, like he didn’t trust his own eyes. But reality shone as clear as day.

Eugene stood up as quickly as he could, almost knocking the stool where he sat over. Rapunzel stared confused, turning the stove off as she took the phone as well.

“Oh no.” Was all she could muster before following along with her husband.

“Varian?!” He stood in front of the door calling out his brother's name, hopeful that maybe there had just been a misunderstanding or a glitch with those alerts.

But nothing came.

As he opened the door, it felt like his heart had stopped; Rapunzel now stood beside him—same reaction on her face. Clothes and shoes are missing, the bed is messily done but no one is in it, and a window is half closed.

That little text flashed in his mind: Alert, detected movement of device. Localize.

Through gritted teeth Eugene mustered a low, “Dammit, Varian…”

Muffled music and dim lights surrounded them now that they had gotten upstairs. To Varian it was quite comical the situation they were in. With no one around them, his mind drifted to places that, if he were sober, would’ve given him a heart attack.

They just stood in the middle of a hallway; closed doors surrounded them. Hugo stood a bit awkwardly—a million thoughts circling his mind. Meanwhile, Varian felt like he was lying on a cloud.

“Hey, Freckles…” His voice hesitated as Hugo doubted how aware Varian was really. “What happened back there?” He tried to sound more serious without it seeming like he was demanding information.

Varian stared at him with a small smile, “Jus Andrew bein Drew,” his words slurred, head tilting as he leaned against the wall of the hallway.

Frustration was starting to build inside Hugo; the way Andrew looked when he found them wasn’t normal. Questions kept coming, but he doubted Varian would be able to answer any of them.

“Do you know where you are?” For now Hugo just wanted to make sure how gone Varian really was. His brother was for sure going to kill Hugo now.

A hum came from Varian as he closed his eyes nodding, “Course I know Hugs, ‘s a party.” Chuckles came with his words.

Going to look for Andrew passed through Hugo’s mind as an option, but leaving Varian in this state didn’t sit well with him. “Didn’t know you were a part of the Old Corona team.” Hugo said lightheartedly, attempting to make himself relax by focusing on Varian.

Silence filled Varian as he stared at Hugo, eyes wide as if he had seen something horrible. “I…not me…n-never,” Varian stuttered nervously, looking away. “Let’s talk about something else…” His face was full of hurt, and Hugo felt a sting at seeing Varian like that.

“Sure,” Hugo got closer to Varian to help him stand up as he was sliding slightly. “What do you want to talk about?” He looked at Varian reassuringly.

|

“I can’t believe he snuck out!” Eugene exclaimed indignantly as they drove to the address the GPS app signaled, “He really thought we wouldn’t figure it out!” He looked at Rapunzel, offended.

Rapunzel looked at the road as she drove, not trusting Eugene to be able to take them in his current state. “Honey, maybe you should calm down?” She suggested softly, but the request fell on deaf ears as he continued to ramble.

“How did he even manage to get there that quickly?!” He looked at the map, the distance between their house and the location being considerable. “Don’t tell me blondie’s got a motorcycle! I’m going to kill them!” His hand clenched on itself.

As images of what could’ve happened came over him. Varian was feeling so smug for going behind their backs to meet up with his biker boyfriend to go make out at a party while he slept, unaware of everything.

Rapunzel's voice took him out of his head; her tone was serious and loud. “Eugene! You need to calm down!” She continued to look forward but glanced from time to time towards him.

He nodded, looking at the map; they just had a couple of minutes till they arrived. And he hoped to find Varian standing in a corner awkwardly, or someone to help him; he would flip out right there.

|

“Dunno…” Varian mumbled, his voice caught somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. “I’m glad I came…” His words came slowly, trying to make them sound as normal as possible, a smile placing itself on his face.

A chuckle came over Hugo. “Me too, Freckles.” Hugo’s voice came soft as he stared at Varian. The moment felt so intimate, like everyone else had disappeared except them, a stare linking them away from the world.

Varian felt a pull inside of him, like it was telling him something was about to happen, but he shook it away, focusing harder on Hugo. How he held him softly so we wouldn’t fall, the way his eyes sparkled behind his glasses, and how his lips looked so suddenly inviting.

|

Eugene stood in what was his worst fear; all the things he had thought this place was going to be were true. Both looked so out of place as a couple of stares were thrown their way.

They needed to get this over with. “Hey man!” Eugene talked with a carefree tone as he got close to question the first person he saw, “You wouldn’t happen to know where Varian is?” He cringed a little at his own tone; it had been a long time since he had acted like that.

Everyone around them seemed to perk up as they heard the name, “Wonder-V?” The teen said as excitedly as someone three bottles deep could. “Janine! You know where V-buck is?” The girl turned as her name was called, thinking for a moment.

Rapunzel and Eugene shared confused looks at the situation. “Oh yeah!” She pricked up as something popped in her head. “He and Hugs went upstairs!” That word echoed like a gunshot, repeating itself over and over again as it reached his ears.

The loud party was turning into nothing more than a whisper as he walked towards the stairs. 

|

Varian started to inch closer, drawn to close the distance between them. His arms drifted up, latching around Hugo’s neck lazily.

Hugo stared nervously as everything happened. Swallowing at the way Varian looked at him, he wanted it more than anything, but Varian wasn’t being fully himself. 

Every part of him screamed to close the gap, but the part that cared more about Varian than himself forced the word out: “Va—”

“Varian.” Eugene’s voice sliced through their silence, his glare sharp like he wanted it to cut through them.

They stood there for a moment. “Shit…” was all that Varian managed to mutter, looking at the floor annoyed as his arms left Hugo.

“Leaving already, Hugs?” Alex looked at them teasingly, his grin wide, as he had no idea of the storm brewing.

Hugo just rolled his eyes. “…Yeah. Gotta get him home before he passes out.” He placed his arm around Varian’s shoulder, both waving goodbye.

Both Rapunzel and Eugene waited by their car. The moment they stepped out, Hugo took his arm off Varian the moment his brother's glare tightened.

Varian stomped towards the car, jaw tight, as he made no effort in hiding how pissed he was.

Hugo was really confused at the whole situation as he followed beside Varian. He got in the car as Varian refused to go if he didn’t; that had somehow made Eugene look more pissed.

The ride was silent, but the tension was really palpable. “I’m not really sure what’s going on…” Hugo’s voice was a bit shaky as he spoke, “But I’m sorry.” Eugene exhaled.

“At least someone is apologizing.” His voice was sharp, making sure to say the last word louder. Varian just rolled his eyes at that.

Rapunzel sighed tiredly, looking in the rearview mirror at the pair. “Hugo, what do you mean you’re not sure what’s happening?” She asked, confused.

Varian looked away embarrassed as he heard the question; Hugo looked at him and back at her. “Well…” He hesitated a bit at seeing Varian’s reaction. “I was kinda…under the impression that Varian—well, had permission to come?” Eugene turned his head slowly, confused at hearing Hugo’s words.

“You didn’t know he snuck out?” He asked incredulously, taken aback as Varian became the evil mastermind of his imaginary recount of the events.

Hugo just shook his head, not really wanting to say another word. “I really can’t believe you, Varian!” Eugene placed a hand on his brow, a headache coming over him. “You’re for sure grounded, young man.” 

“Like I car’ brub.” Varian’s words slurred, and Hugo winced slightly. “Jus’ because ya hate fun, sudden we haveta too!” It became a bit harder to understand his words as Varian started to speak faster.

“And you’re drunk!” Eugene exclaimed in disbelief, “You are lucky it’s just me and not Quirin! He would’ve gone back to online classes so you learned your lesson.” He sighed, muttering the last words loud enough for them to hear.

“Ey! Fuc—” Varian started to get a bit exalted, matching Eugene’s tone.

“Can you both just shut up and calm down!” Rapunzel slammed on the brakes, surprising everyone with how stern her voice sounded. “Let’s just get home.” Everyone nodded. 

After a moment of silence she spoke again, “Sorry about them, Hugo.” He pushed his glasses up awkwardly, shaking his head to signal he didn’t mind.

Varian shuffled closer to Hugo and whispered. “Sorry…” Varian mumbled, dropping his head on Hugo’s shoulder to calm the sudden headache that had come over him.

Hugo froze for a second but let him rest there, even if Eugene’s glare burned from the front seat.

They all sat in the living room. Eugene looked pissed, Rapunzel was tired of all the arguing, Hugo felt a bit uncomfortable, and Varian looked like he wanted to barf.

And he almost did; thankfully, Rapunzel had taken him to the bathroom on time.

It was obvious Varian was in no state to have a serious conversation right now. So Eugene resigned from his frustration and got ready to take Hugo home. “It’s the least I can do for dragging you into this mess.” His voice was stern but tired nonetheless.

Rapunzel walked out of Varian’s room; she had to carry him to bed. Catching up to them as Eugene opened the door, “Hugo, Varian wants to talk to you before you leave.” She looked at him with a reassuring smile.

He nodded, quickly making his way to the room. Hugo had wanted to say goodbye to Varian but wasn’t sure how much his brother would like it. As he stepped inside, Varian looked like he was asleep. “Freckles?” Hugo got closer to the bed.

“I’m sorry…” Varian seemed to be a bit more sober, his words slurring less.

“I’m sure you already apologized.” Hugo let out a short, soft laugh as he kneeled beside Varian.

Varian furrowed his brows. “Yeah…but still…” Hugo shook his head, smiling at him.

Hugo got closer to Varian’s face, leaving a small kiss on his forehead. The feeling lingered even after Hugo stood up, looking at Varian fondly as he drifted asleep.

The ride was silent; Hugo watched the sleeping city through the window. Scenes of what had happened with Varian resurfacing: “I don’t…want to pry into things that don’t concern me, but…” He turned to look at Eugene, hopeful that he could give him some answers. “There was this guy at the party…”

Eugene glanced at him confused. “I assume there were a lot of guys.” He answered, turning to follow the map.

“I mean, this guy was talking to Varian, and it looked like they were arguing.” Hugo clarified, Andrew’s eyes full of hatred flashing in his mind.

They stopped at the traffic light, and Eugene turned to look at him, a bit concerned. “Arguing? Do you know who the guy was?” Concern started to slip through his words.

“His name is Andrew; he’s a part of the…” Hesitation came to Hugo as the words started to form, “Old Corona Olympiad team.” A flash of surprise came to Eugene’s eyes as he quickly turned to continue with their route.

“I tried to ask Varian, but he was evading the topic…” He took a deep breath before continuing, “So maybe you could help me understand what’s happening?” He hoped Eugene gave him something to make sense of all that had happened back there.

Eugene stopped in front of his house, gazing at him with a bit of sadness. “I’m sorry.” Hugo deflated as he heard those words. “I know as much as you do, so there’s not much I can help with.” His eyes were sincere as he spoke.

With that there was nothing more to talk about, so Hugo just walked inside his house, mind numb as he reached his bed. He’d never felt tiredness like he did in that moment.

Confusion stuck in his brain even as he drifted asleep, wondering just how much he really knew about Varian.

Chapter Text

With Monday rolling around, Varian could feel each passing second like a weight on his body. He had been promptly grounded, Eugene promising to watch his every move from the GPS to make sure he didn’t sneak out anywhere else—thankfully he hadn’t told his dad what had happened.

But his words resounded in his head. “Varian. Your friend mentioned something about a guy named Andrew…” Eugene’s mention of that name had made his blood run cold in an instant. “I don’t know what's up with him, but he looked really worried about him.” 

It had been clear to Varian that Eugene had wanted to ask more but had held himself back.

He knew he had to tell Hugo about it, but he knew it couldn’t stop there—the truth had to come out to all of them. He’d been hiding his fears far too long, and now they threatened the Olympiad itself.

Andrew’s words were just as present as Eugene’s. He hated just how much he got under his skin. 

The hours felt eternal, and he could feel how Hugo glanced at him anytime he spotted him. Even if he tried his hardest to hide for as long as he could, it seemed like the universe didn’t want that.

As the bell rang to signal the end of classes, he gulped all of those doubts—maybe that way they would dissipate even if for a second.

Walking to the lab, Varian knew he couldn’t hide anymore. He had to face what he feared the most.

The truth.

“Sooo, how was the party, Romeo?” Nuru looked at Hugo with a cheeky smile, wanting to hear all the details.

“Did you two kiss?” Yong was more forward with his questions.

Hugo rolled his eyes playfully at the pair. “It was fine; we talked and…drank.” He winced almost unnoticeably as he remembered the state Varian had ended up in. The memory of Varian leaning closer almost made him grimace. “We did almost kiss.” He mumbled the words.

“Really?!” Both exclaimed at the same time, leaning forward, Yong excitedly and Nuru angrily at the fact they didn’t.

“Andrew was also there…” His eyes turned a bit colder as the name left his mouth.

The lab was quiet; classes had just ended, and they were the only ones present in the big room. Nuru looked at him with understanding; even if she had never met him, the stories of his entitlement had reached her. Yong didn’t quite get why he was such a big deal; Hugo had mentioned him, but he hadn’t been a member for that long.

“Did he do anything to you guys?” Nuru asked, a bit concerned, her fist turning into knuckles at the thought of something happening to her friends.

Hugo shook his head hesitantly, “Not quite.” He bit his lip, wondering if he should’ve even brought it up. “He was talking with Varian… I didn’t get to hear what he said, and he dodged my questions after. Like he didn’t want to even think about it.” Hugo scratched the back of his head as he recalled the events of that night.

They looked surprised at that; Varian had never mentioned being in cahoots with the Old Corona team—or even just Andrew. Now that they thought about it further, he had never told them anything about his life before moving; whatever he did tell was after something happened—just to give them context.

Footsteps could be heard coming from the empty hallway; they were approaching slowly but steadily. The three of them held their breath as they waited to see who the mysterious person was.

Varian lingered at the edge of the doorway, looking at his friends with a knot in his throat. He looked exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept all weekend—Hugo grimaced at the thought of that. 

Nuru cleared her throat. “Don’t just stand there.” She smiled softly, teasing gently as she tried to ease the tension.

He just looked down. “I-I…” Varian's mouth stayed a bit open as he tried to get his words out. “I shouldn’t even be here. I’ll get in trouble if I stay.” He didn’t dare meet their eyes—he knew if he did, his resolve would crack. 

His steps echoed as pulled back into the hallway, too fast to be casual, too slow to call it running. Voices could be heard behind him, “Varian, wait!” Nuru's voice cracked. “Freckles!” Hugo called, steadier but just as desperate, “Varian!” Yong added, startled at how quickly he was leaving.

They were following him; their footsteps thundered in his ears. His breath felt labored as he picked up his pace; tears prickled his eyes as he reprimanded himself for being a coward.

“You can’t keep running away…” The voice he had heard just two days ago resounded in his mind. “Not so brave now, are you?” It snickered venom in his ears; Varian could just tighten his grip on his bag straps.

A firm hand managed to stop him with a rather harsh pull, but even so it still trembled. Labored breathing and a warm and gentle grip filled his senses.

Turning, Varian could see Hugo looking at him worriedly; it felt like he had come back to earth—voice stopping as he stared at his eyes. He became aware of his own breathing and his wet cheeks. Looking behind Hugo were Nuru and Yong following behind them.

He tried to find the right words to say, his mouth opening as they caught up to them. “It’s okay,” Hugo's voice was soft and a bit strained as he recovered his composure. “Don’t run from us. Can we just…talk?” His question sounded almost pleading as he stared directly at Varian’s eyes.

As hard as it was, he forced himself to nod despite the way his heart ached.

They all sat in the nearest park they could find; they were usually quiet and deserted, making them the best place to have a tranquil conversation.

“So…how’d it go with your brother?” Hugo asked carefully, trying to ease into the conversation.

“Fine, I am grounded though,” he tried to chuckle, but the sound died quickly. He couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed by everything he wanted to say. 

After that there was silence. “You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to, Varian—” She placed a hand on his shoulder in a reassuring gesture.

Varian cut her off. “It’s fine, guys, really…” He looked at them; the way they looked at him made him inexplicably calm. “Everything is just…so complicated.”

The words hung heavy in the air, and before he could stop himself, memories came rushing back—the beginning of everything.

Varian closed the door of the lonely house he had grown accustomed to. It was his first day of school, and even if he lived in the country of the sun, the days felt gloomy and empty—they had been like that for a while.

The walk to his new school was short. Old Corona was small after all.

He didn’t want to be there; everyone looked at him—some with pity, others like he was a freak. Three years since his mom's death, and still no one had moved on. Or maybe everyone thought he hadn’t done that because he had spent those years locked away at home, lost in online classes.

Spending the day there had been weird; the stares from everyone pierced through his back. He needed a quiet place, so he headed behind the school.

As he sat on the grassy ground, he realized how easy it would be to get over the small fence that surrounded the school.

“Varian Vitriol?” A voice called from behind him. Confused, he turned to see a guy leaning against a window. Varian just nodded; the stranger just smiled at him cheekily as he oozed confidence. “I heard—”

With a groan, Varian cut the stranger off. “Let me guess—” He stood up, looking at him annoyed. “You came here to pity the poor motherless nerd kid, right?” Varian glared at him, talking with a babying tone.

A laugh came from the stranger, taking Varian off guard and made him stare at the other puzzled. “No, actually. I heard you're sharp. Smarter than half the teachers here.” He managed to slither his way out the window to sit next to him.

Varian was starting to feel weirded out by how he acted but continued to hear what he had to say. “I was wondering if you’d be interested in joining the science club.” That took Varian by surprise; by the way the guy looked, he never expected him to be a part of the science club. “We’re short on members, and we could use someone who really knows what he’s doing.”

The last thing Varian wanted right now was to spend more time at school, but at the same time he didn’t particularly like being at home either. Before he could answer, the bell rang.

“Think about it, ‘Kay?” He helped Varian up, his confident but reassuring smile bright. “I’m Andrew, by the way, sophomore.” Andrew walked away after that. Something about him, how he carried himself, made Varian’s chest tighten.

For reasons he couldn’t even understand, he found himself at the small lab by the end of the day. Andrew had been right; there were a maximum of seven other people apart from him, and none looked particularly interested in science.

It looked like he had come a bit early since Andrew wasn’t there.

“Varian, you came!” The voice of Andrew made him perk up slightly. Varian turned to see him with four other people who, just like Andrew, didn’t look like they were a part of the club.

An arm slid over his shoulders; Andrew had come closer, introducing him to the others. “This is Varian, hopefully our newest member.” As he said that, Varian could feel a light squeeze on his shoulder. “Varian, this is Kai, Clementine, Juniper, and Maisie. We are the delegated team for most of the competitions.” Everyone smiled at him.

Kai was a burly guy; he looked like he would be really good at sports. Clementine had a hipster look, with a beanie and a bag full of pins, and her clothes were full of embroidered flowers. Juniper looked rude, but not in an attitude sense; she also looked like her strength could lay in something more sport-driven. Maisie was the most different of them all; he wore clothes that looked like he came out of a play.

“This is the kid you were talking about?” Kai looked at Andrew, curious and a bit doubtful.

Varian tried to shrink, but the arm didn’t let him, holding him in place. “Trust me, he’s special.” Andrew glanced at him with a supportive smile.

After that they had explained to Varian the current situation of the club. The numbers were low, and the school didn’t see the point in keeping funding it in place of other things. They looked really passionate about keeping the club running even if they weren’t the best in science. The principal had given them an ultimatum: 

“If we don’t win the Olympiad the principal shuts us down. No second chances. No science club for anyone else who comes after us. That’s why we need you.” They looked at him with hope.

But to even qualify to get signed up, they had to prove to the committee that they had the level to participate by winning other competitions, that’s what made Varian doubt his usefulness. He had never been in a competition of any kind before…

“You don’t have to join us… But think of what we could do if you did.” Andrew’s words resounded in his head as he ate his eggs in silence. His dad was still at work; it would be a couple of hours until he came back. Maybe this was my chance to belong somewhere.

By the end of the day, his mind was made up.

Helping around the club felt right to him. Tutoring members and planning which competitions they had to win to be accepted for the Olympiad became part of his day-to-day.

And it surprised him how much he was truly enjoying it all. 

Everyone was warm and welcoming, and even with Varian’s doubts of their passion for science, everyone had shown real interest in their areas. 

Kai was really into robotics, Clementine was really into biology, Juniper liked geology, and Andrew did chemistry just like him. Maisie wasn’t a part of the team, but he was drawn to cell biology. All of them were so different, and Varian had spent a lot of time researching to help them study for the competitions they had signed each of them up for.

Since they didn’t have a big budget, they started small. Competitions in neighboring cities that they could take a bus to, where the level wasn’t as high as they needed, but it was a start.

Each started to win little by little with the help of Varian. Tips before the start, more than anything.

Getting more trust from the principal and a budget for one-day stays, they managed to get into a bit of a higher level. 

Varian seemed to be the only one who wasn’t worried about that. “Andrew, there's no way I’ll win that.” Kai sounded frustrated as he talked to them. “Even with Varian’s tips.” He signaled to him with gratitude.

“I have a plan; don’t worry, everything is going to be under control.” Andrew was confident as he spoke; that reassured Kai as he left them alone.

Varian was a bit confused; Andrew hadn’t mentioned any plan to him. They had worked together in getting them close to the Olympiad, but it seemed he had his side projects.

“What’s the plan?” He asked, confused. Andrew grinned at him, clearly proud of his planning.

“We’re nowhere near the level needed for the Olympiad,” Andrew said casually, like he was talking about the weather.

“That’s not true—” Varian tried to object, being cut off by Andrew with that same confident grin.

“You’ve helped so much. We wouldn’t have made it this far without you. You’re the reason we even have a chance.” Varian looked at him confused, not knowing where he wanted to get to. “But officially? You’re not a part of the team.” He leaned in, lowering his voice. “That’s why you could be our secret weapon. Help us from the outside. Think of it as…strategy.” Andrew took Varian’s hands in his as he looked at him with hopefulness.

Varian froze at his words. He meant cheating. 

“Maybe we don’t have to—our level isn’t even that low. I’m sure we can—" he stopped when Andrew’s eyes darkened. The squeeze of his hand turned a bit tight.

“There’s no time, Var,” Andrew said firmly, staring at him demandingly, like he expected me to just say yes and get that over with. “You’re our secret weapon. Our pièce de résistance.” His smile never faltering now.

Varian’s doubts twisted in his chest; the image of Kai’s frustration and everyone who depended on him flashed before his eyes. Andrew was right. Of course he was—he always thought everything through. Slowly, Varian nodded.

Andrew’s grin widened, though it never quite reached his eyes. “That’s my genius.” He said warmly, finally letting go of Varian's hand.

As the months went by and competitions were won, it became easier for Varian. He was helping the team and the club! It wasn’t cheating, not really—that’s what I told myself every time.

Everyone was happy; they made him a part of their little family. Andrew saw the potential in him when no one else would even look his way. They included him even outside of club matters, spending the time after competitions just talking and filling his empty home with laughter and company.

The Olympiad was closer than ever; they had managed to qualify after all. Praises were being thrown their way, as they managed to be the first to do so… While the team was being celebrated, no one knew about Varian’s contribution.

With each passing day it became harder to deny what he was doing. Andrew reassured him that it was the best for them, but…he thought about his mom. She had gone to the Olympiad when she was younger.

She had been a part of the Nesdernia team and won. Fairly… He pushed the thought away before it could dig in. There was no time to think about that.

Even if he was not a part of the team, they had managed to get him an entrance with the excuse of going to support his friends. Of course the school wasn’t going to pay for his expenses; the most they were willing to do was give him a pass for the missing days.

Finding a place hadn’t been hard; he would spend some time with his brother in Corona. His sister-in-law, Rapunzel, had agreed to drive him there and pick him up all four days. So that was taken care of.

Staring at the people who had come to support their friends and family made his stomach drop. “Ready to swipe them off, Var?” Andrew suddenly appeared behind him. Varian recomposed himself before Andrew could notice.

“Of course!” He managed to fake excitement. That reaction pleased Andrew, smiling as he handed him an earbud and a screen, squeezing his shoulder before leaving.

Varian swallowed as he looked at them. He would have the screen to look at what they were doing and the earbud to hear them if they had any questions, as well as a microphone to give them instructions.

As much as he wanted to stay there to see the Olympiad, Varian had to find a place where no one would notice him doing all the work but where the connection could still be maintained.

Every event, each day, blurred together. Pressure gnawed at him—he couldn’t let them down; they had to win. Sleep came in scraps, and when it did, it was filled with numbers and diagrams. He studied until his eyes burned.

The final day was brutal. Two events back-to-back felt like torture, but they were close. He was close. I was close.

And then…they won.

He could hear the room erupting with cheers, not daring to leave his spot. His chest caved in, tears stinging his eyes as the announcement rang out. All that endless studying, the sleepless nights—everything had finally paid off. That was why his throat was tight, why his knees felt weak.

Andrew’s voice crackled through the earbud, calm as ever. “If you keep our streak, you might become their next captain for sure.” Varian’s tears spilled out as the words settled in; he felt relief and pride.

Of course he could… Why did it feel like the weight pressing on him had only gotten heavier?

He thought everything would end there; they didn’t need to participate in the Olympiad again, and the club was safe—maybe they would continue to go to a competition here and there, but nothing that Varian couldn’t handle.

Walking alongside Andrew started to make his face feel hot; maybe it was the inhibited attention that found its way to him just by standing beside him.

Everyone seemed to be happy, and more people had started to join the club because of them. That made Varian happy; all he had done felt worth it.

As they arrived at the lab, it seemed everyone was waiting for them. Varian sat with the rest as he looked confused at Andrew.

“Ok team, let’s get planning for next year!” His voice was confident as he spoke, but everyone looked at him shocked.

Their reaction made Andrew’s expression turn annoyed. “I thought the plan was to win an Olympiad; why do another?” Kai sighed as he questioned Andrew, clearly unimpressed by the turn of events.

Andrew looked at them carefully as he spoke, “Respect is earned over and over again. If we stop now, we’ll fade back into obscurity.” Everyone started to get convinced by his words little by little; Varian felt dread as he felt Andrew’s gaze on him.

“Then what's the plan, captain?” Juniper asked cockily, clearly excited about the plan.

Voices turned into noise for the rest of the meeting, nodding and joking when he needed to but not retaining anything that was being said.

He walked back home with Andrew, something they had picked up a couple of weeks ago. “What’s on your mind, Var?” Andrew didn’t turn to look at him, his eyes just looking forward.

A little knot was starting to form on his stomach. “I’m not sure if we should participate in the Olympiad again…” His words were mere mumbles, but Andrew had heard him completely fine.

Andrew's laugh sounded a bit forced, and the hand he placed on Varian’s shoulder felt heavier than usual. “Don’t start doubting me now, Var. You know they’ll forget us in a heartbeat if we stop now. I know you don’t want that, do you?” 

Varian looked away to avoid his gaze, even if he knew that would piss Andrew off. “And here I thought you trusted me…after everything we’ve been through.” The hand left him, and steps started to be heard.

He knew this was wrong, everything they had done. But watching Andrew walk away somehow felt a thousand times worse; his eyes started to unfocus, and he couldn’t help but shoot his hand forward, clutching Andrew’s wrist to keep him from leaving.

“I trust you…” My voice was trembling, but the way Andrew smiled felt comforting even if his eyes glimmered in a way Varian couldn’t place.

The laughter, victories, late-night talks—on the surface, everything was perfect. And yet, for Varian, something always curled beneath the warmth.

He couldn’t understand why. Everyone seemed happy with the plan, but for him it never felt quite right. It started small with a thought here and there, a small voice whispering sweet but evil things at the same time.

It was hard to ignore, but he tried his best to.

Sometimes when Andrew lowered his voice, speaking in that soft tone meant only for him, Varian couldn’t help but feel the resemblance in them.

They went to more competitions; Andrew had said they needed to keep their eyes on them even before the Olympiad and build the trust so they would start to get confident about them winning.

After each win there were participants that went to congratulate them. Varian never met their eyes; he preferred to stand by the side.

He was their secret weapon after all; no need to be seen.

A year went by, and they secured another Olympiad win. Andrew organized a meeting for when they got back home, saying he wanted to discuss something serious.

Probably wanting to plan his last Olympiad finale months in advance.

“As y’all know, next year I’ll graduate.” He looked over them, his confident aura never leaving him. “I want to delegate my replacement before the next Olympiad.”

Varian’s palms started sweating, and his heart thundered in his chest. Andrew’s word for all that time ago resounded like echoes inside his head. 

Excitement started to build up. “I’ve been thinking and decided that the next captain has to be someone who’s been there for all of us since the beginning. My right-hand man…” Andrew stopped to create suspense.

Countless memories of them working to take the team to the top came flooding him; he couldn’t help the smile that had started forming on his face even before he said the name.

“Kai!” The room erupted in cheers as the mentioned stood up to stand beside Andrew; Varian clapped his hands instinctively. Each smack of his palms against each other felt like glass shattering inside his chest.

His throat burned with words he couldn’t say. All he did was smile, clap, and shrink behind the noise. He had to talk with Andrew; he needed to understand what was happening.

. . .

It hurt. Every second I stayed quiet and congratulated the one who had taken what I had desired for so long. I just wanted everyone gone.

He was going to walk me home that day, but I couldn’t wait and started to question him behind the school. There were still enough people if I needed to leave, but it was secluded enough no one would hear us talking.

Andrew just stared at me with his unconcerned eyes. “What’s up, Var?” His voice sounded annoyed to the core, even if he tried to hide it.

“Why did you choose Kai?” I just blurted that; I wasn’t even looking at him when I did.

He just made a sound; he was clearly irritated that I was wasting his precious time with my dumb questions. “C’mon, Var, we both know Kai was the right fit. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” He tried to downplay his decision.

My mind was blank as I stared at him dumbfounded. “But I thought you said I would be the next—!” His finger pressed against my lips.

I froze. My words were silenced like I was a child being shushed. “You might be the next captain.” He chuckled as his finger left my face. “Better pay more attention, Varian.”

The way his voice curled with mockery made something inside me twitch. Small, almost nothing.

And Andrew noticed, “Varian. There are just so many things I took into account before making a choice,” he was trying to comfort me in his own way, “but I don’t think you're ready to be a leader…yet.” His words weren’t sincere; he was thinking too much, finding what I wanted to hear.

“I’ve been the one helping you with everything! What more do I have to do to prove myself?” Even if I hated it, tears started to sting at the corners of my eyes.

But Andrew just didn’t care; it was like my actions just annoyed him further. “That’s different; you’ve never been in a competition.” His words had turned dark, stinging deep inside me as he walked closer. “You’ve always worked alone; you wouldn’t be able to get through a single event, so why change what already works so well?”

By that point I was pressed against the wall. A part of me agreed with him; why was I even complaining? 

“Or were you just helping us to become captain?” That made me whip my head to look at him; his accusations left me trembling. His gaze was dark but sad.

My mind raced as to what to say, “N-No! I just wanted to help you and the club! You’re right, I don’t know what came over me!” The words spilled out, desperate, pathetic. I hated the way he looked at me.

His face softened almost too quickly, almost like flipping a mask. He placed his hand on my cheek and cleaned the tears that had started to spill out of my eyes.

I was hopeless; his smile was the only thing that had been able to bring me comfort in a long time.

“You’re special, Var.” When he talked, his words felt like intoxicating honey, and I just couldn’t get enough of it. “You don’t need a title to prove that.”

Our faces drew closer, and between my half-lidded eyes, I caught the curve of his smile twisting into a grin. “You’ve always been mine.” 

Those words struck me harder than any shove. They sank deep as their meaning became too clear. Mine. I finally understood.

“I can’t…” My words were barely above whispers as I tried to push him away, but he held me tightly. “This is wrong; I never should’ve agreed to this.” Even with the growing pressure, I managed to blurt out the words.

Even with all the force I was putting in, he stood there unmoved. His hand slowly dropped from my cheek and rested at the side of my neck.

I was terrified; his lack of reaction made me shiver.

“Say that again. I dare you.” His voice was dark; it made me feel like prey the way his eyes stared down at me.

All words felt stuck on my throat; the lack of response made him furrow his brows, his hand starting to wrap around my neck. “C’mon! You had such a sharp tongue; where did it go?” He laughed bitterly as he started to apply pressure.

Tears started to spill; the air felt more difficult to get by the second. I tried to grab his wrist to make him stop, but he was stronger; my attempts must’ve looked pitiful to him by the way he looked at me.

“You know you wouldn’t leave me. Not after everything I’ve done for you.” He leaned closer as he whispered in my ear, his unoccupied hand starting to make its way to my lower back.

I closed my eyes, sucking in a breath to just think. My sudden halt of action made him huff; he thought I had given up. But as slowly as it could, my hand moved itself to be on top of his, and I managed to quickly hit his stomach with my knee and push against his thumb to break free.

He held his stomach as I scrambled away from him. Even if his expression was tinted with pain, the grin never left. The gaze that never left made me back away from him.

My breathing was fast, and the only thought that crossed my mind was ‘Run!’

The only thing I managed to hear before leaving was “You’ll come back. You always do!” Andrew’s screams just made me run faster.

I just needed to get away.

Everyone looked at him as he recounted the events; a shiver ran down his spine as the memory flashed before his eyes. Varian’s eyes didn’t meet theirs as he continued. “I don’t really remember who it was–but a teacher managed to stop me, they questioned me about what had happened, but I never said anything…”

He remembered catching a glimpse of Andrew before being brought to the infirmary; his eyes were dark as he stared directly at him. “The school was worried since I had a nasty bruise on my neck,” Varian chuckled, even if that wasn’t funny. “They also called my dad.”

When his dad arrived, Varian noticed the fear in his face; the first thing he had done was hug him, like he was scared he’d break if he let go. He had also tried to get anything out of Varian to no avail.

“I didn’t go to school that week; I knew Andrew was waiting for me to go back…” Varian couldn’t help but hug himself. “So I just asked my dad if I could move with my brother…and he agreed.”

Even if he didn’t want him to notice, Varian knew that he had broken his dad.

With all the courage he could muster, he looked up, expecting disappointment, anger, or even disgust—but contrary to that, they all looked on the brink of tears.

Yong launched at Varian to give him a tight hug, his voice trembling. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” He could hear Yong sniffling, and his own tears followed along.

Varian didn’t know what to say. “I’m glad you could trust us.” Nuru placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder; her voice was soft, and her gaze was comforting.

Hugo looked angry, his fists clenched as he was lost in thought. “I can’t believe the bastard did that.” His words came through gritted teeth, and Varian couldn’t help but chuckle at his reaction.

That made Hugo look at him, his eyes full of adoration. He stood up, getting everyone’s attention. “Fuck Andrew! We’re going to destroy him, because all of us are part of the best team to ever exist.” Hugo extended his hand so Varian could take it.

And he did; their words and lack of judgment made Varian a bit overwhelmed but…in a good sense.

After that, Varian had come to the decision of telling Eugene and Rapunzel. It was going to be harder to open up to them, but he would manage. He was scared of their reaction, mostly Eugene’s.

But if his friends had shown him anything, it was that he should start paying less attention to his inner voice.

The talk had been long and ended with the three of them bawling their eyes out in the living room as they shared a hug. They agreed to have a movie night after Varian made Eugene promise to not do anything against Andrew to calm themselves.

In the end they had spent the night curled under blankets and laughing at cheesy movie lines. For once, the house felt fuller than ever. 

And as he lay on his bed, he knew what he needed to do.

Two rings passed before the voice of his dad came from the speaker. “Varian! I didn’t expect you to call today.” His voice sounded tired but happy at the same time.

Varian could feel his throat tightening as he heard his warm—almost casual—voice, “Son? Are you there?” His dad questioned the lack of a response.

“Dad…” Varian’s voice was weak, words refusing to come out without a fight. 

With a deep breath, Varian managed to say, “I have to tell you something.”

Chapter Text

As hard as opening up had been, Varian could see how much it had benefited everyone around him. Eugene and Rapunzel seemed more careful in their words but lighter somehow—as if a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

His dad had even suggested he return to Old Corona after the school year was over—no Andrew to haunt him, since there weren’t any universities around. But as hard as it was to turn him down, he just couldn’t accept it anymore. He couldn’t imagine leaving behind the rhythm he’d found here or the friends who had become more family than he ever expected. This was his place now. His choice.

He’d even started to open up more with his team, inviting them to his house since, out of all of them, his family seemed to be the most lenient about scientific experiments. 

Rapunzel had been thrilled to get to know his friends better—grateful to them for helping Varian find the courage to talk about what had happened. Eugene, on the other hand, had easily slipped into his protective big brother role, which mostly meant glaring daggers at the boy who was clearly making eyes at his little brother.

Varian picked up on that, trying to choose days when Eugene would be home late, though sometimes he managed to sneak into their practices anyway. The others didn’t seem to mind that much… Well, everyone but Hugo, who could never quite ignore Eugene’s piercing stare.

Even so, Rapunzel managed to steal those little pockets of time together. They usually just stayed on the patio to rehearse scenarios that could come up on the Olympiad and practice experiments; other times they sat around, enjoying the high-end view. Hugo would sit close beside Varian, their pinkies brushing now and then. He’d grown bolder with his subtle passes, while Varian—overthinking every interaction as just casualties—pretended not to notice. Nuru and Yong tried to ignore them as best they could, resigned to letting them figure it out on their own.

With the little time till the competition, Cassandra had suggested they pick a name for the team. Despite the big array of names that had been thrown around, Yong’s had won marginally.

“You really voted for that, Freckles?” Hugo looked at Varian, betrayed and baffled.

Varian just chuckled at his reaction, “You’re taking this too seriously, Hugo.” He teased, elbowing him slightly. “I think it’s funny.”

“Hugo’s just pissy since he didn’t win, he’ll get over it.” Nuru said dismissively, clearly used to his tantrums.

The thing is, with all the ideas there were, one stood out from the rest. One that had come to them after a practice at Varian’s house—thanks, ironically, to Eugene. 

Team Awesome had been the name the brothers had taken as they ventured through all kinds of adventures. When the older had mentioned it, it had been a teasing remark to poke at Varian about his embarrassing child naming, but it had stuck with Yong as he had proudly announced his idea. And both Nuru and Varian seemed to agree with him, voting in favor of it.

“I know you also find it funny, Hugo,” Yong beamed proudly as he looked at the blonde. “Varian does for sure.” The last part was a whisper just between them; Hugo looked at him, surprised at the remark. But with that, he had begrudgingly agreed to the name.

Now just a few days stood between them and the competition.

The trip hadn’t been long; they had been in luck, as the Demantitus University of Sciences was on the outskirts of Corona, just a couple of hours away from the city. Still, they had to stay at a hotel, as doing daily drives would take too long.

They stepped in the lobby—it was fancy; all of the teams were gathered there, waiting to go to their rooms. Lucky for them, Cassandra was the one who had to deal with that as she went to get them checked in.

“This sure is high-class,” Hugo said with a whistle as he looked at the chandeliers that hung off the ceiling.

“You’re acting as if you hadn’t been here before.” Nuru looked at him as she crooked an eyebrow. “This is literally the hotel that’s always booked for the competition.”

Hugo just shrugged as he started to walk, his hands behind his neck.

“I feel so nervous. I think I’m going to barf!” Yong placed a hand in his mouth as he spoke, his eyes closed with nervousness. The rest just giggle softly at his reaction.

“Don’t worry, we all feel the same, Yong,” Varian observed the scenery around him as he spoke. “This is actually my first time here… Only participants get accommodations.” His smile was small, and it didn’t quite reach as high as he’d hoped.

That made everyone pick up on his mood and exchange glances amongst themselves. “Well, good thing you’re part of the team, Freckles!” Hugo placed an arm around his shoulder, smiling at him comfortingly.

Varian smiled back, light pink tinted his cheeks.

“I got the rooms!” Cassandra exclaimed as she walked towards the team, two key cards in hand, “There is your key, Captain.” She handed the key to Hugo with a light smile.

Hugo took it, arm no longer around, Varian. He looked at the three of them with a cheeky grin, making the rest just rolled their eyes.

“Don’t pull an all-nighter; you need to be well rested for tomorrow.” Cassandra's voice was stern and her gaze serious, making everyone nod with innocent smiles. She sent them their way, not fully believing they would follow through, but also not being able to accompany them, as she had to sort out some last-minute things.

They found the room easily. As the door opened, the spacious room entered their sight. Two king-size beds, a TV, a mini fridge, some welcome gifts sent by the organizers, and a balcony—all for the four of them.

Yong ran towards the right bed, jumping to land right on his face, making everyone laugh. Nuru followed Yong, letting herself fall next to him, a smile on her face as she looked at her other teammates.

Hugo and Varian glanced at each other as they realized they had to share the bed, their faces flushing as they looked away. Slowly both made their way to sit on opposite sides of the bed. Nuru just giggled as she watched them.

After that there was just comfortable silence.

“I hope we win.” Yong’s voice broke it; he had turned to look at the ceiling, his hands fidgeting with themselves.

Nuru sat against the headboard, looking at him. “I’m sure we will, Yong… And even if we don’t, I’m sure we’ll have fun.” She said excitedly.

“Of course we’ll win, Firecracker! We are the best team in the world.” Hugo joined in—his voice brighter than ever, “We will crush Andrew and his stupid team.” They all cheered and laughed at that. 

And it lasted quite a while, as at 11 an angry Cassandra stopped the celebration to make them take showers and start getting ready for bed, taking the chance to continue to do some pre-competition planning along the way.

By midnight, all of them had fallen asleep… Well, everyone except Varian. His eyes were locked on the wall clock; as the minutes ticked, he groaned to himself—it seemed like sleep just refused to come to him.

Some shuffling could be heard beside him. “Hey, Freckles…” Hugo spoke with a hoarse voice from having been asleep. “You do know we have to be up by 7, right?” Varian turned to look at him, green eyes half-lidded but the grin just in place.

Seeing Hugo without glasses made him somewhat nervous, and Varian hoped Hugo couldn’t notice without them how red his own face looked. “Yeah, can’t sleep…” His words were nothing more than a whisper; he didn’t want to wake up their teammates.

“I can see that.” Even with the tiredness plastered on his face, Hugo managed to muster a grin. “Are you worried about tomorrow?” His gaze softened as his hand inched closer to the others.

Varian nodded. “Yeah…” he paused, his head turning to look up. “It's weird—going back…it—it just feels…wrong, I guess.” The words stung as they came out, but Varian couldn’t hide what he felt…not anymore.

Then warmth came over him. As he turned to look back at Hugo, he noticed their hands clasped together. “If anyone deserves to be here, it's you.” They stared at each other's eyes, and that made Varian’s inner turmoil calm—even if just slightly.

Everything felt comforting in the little world they had created, and tiredness started to come over Varian once and for all. “Thanks.” Was all that he could muster before drifting asleep, with Hugo as the last thing on his mind.

As the clock hit 6 AM, Cassandra walked into their room only to snatch the curtains, letting all the morning light shine through the room. Hugo and Varian groaned, but Nuru and Yong just sat—sleep masks in place foreshadowing something like that happening.

“Weren’t we supposed to be up till 7?” Hugo groaned, glaring at the woman as everyone started to get up from the comfy beds.

She smirked confidently. “We’ll leave at 7; the schedule clearly states that.” Hugo looked at her, confused at her statement. She was about to talk, but another voice cut her off.

“Waking and leaving hours are different; everyone should prioritize punctuality.” Varian’s voice came from the bathroom as he splashed some water on his face to wake up, clearly having heard that phrase before.

Cassandra looked at him proudly, and with that, it didn’t take them long until they were fully ready. By 6:27, they were in the deserted lobby making their way to the equally empty restaurant area.

“Everyone make sure you get something to eat; you should have enough time to finish, but be sure to grab a snack if anyone doesn’t feel full, okay?” Everyone nodded and made their way towards the buffet to pick their food.

At 7 o'clock, they were already leaving while other teams scrambled to get a bite of anything. 

There was still a half-hour trip between them and the university, so each one decided to spend it differently. Hugo was catching up on his needed eight hours of sleep; Nuru was studying to have everything fresh for the competition; Yong was talking with Cassandra, the excitement bursting out of him as he spoke; and Varian absorbed everything around him, still unsure if everything was real.

Reality struck him down with each minute passed, and the anxiety started to race inside of Varian as they arrived at the Center of Science. Managing to find the perfect spot thanks to Cassandra’s planning, everyone made their way out of the van. Seeing how few people had arrived made Cassandra huff proudly behind her sunglasses.

Yong was marveled by the gigantic building that was the university’s Center of Science. “I can’t believe we’re actually here!” He exclaimed, staring at the way the white marble walls glowed under the sun. His enthusiasm was surely contagious, as everyone smiled with him.

A whistle came from behind them; Cassandra stood there with a camera in hand. “C’mon, team awesome! Better get pictures of the future champions.” She grinned proudly at the four of them.

They got in place—an eye roll here and there at the name—and after the click nothing less stood between them and the path forward.

Varian couldn’t help but reminisce about the past years; looking around the surrounding campus brought so many memories back. Hanging with the team pre-competition, the laughs and encouragement just seemed so bitter now. The thought of being back at the place he had stained so many times felt like a needle piercing his chest.

Unconsciously he had fallen behind; everyone was already entering the hall while he stood at the edge of the stairs. Nuru and Yong were full of excitement as they looked at the fancy decor; Hugo, on the other hand, was full of determination—everything about him oozed with conviction.

Each step forward felt more and more hard to make, and as he stared at the big entrance doors, the feeling of heaviness clung to him as if to drag him out of there—like he wasn’t allowed to enter. The nervousness he felt was greater than any he had ever felt. Guilt bloomed inside him as the hallway extended to infinity before him, like reality was bending so he just couldn’t pass.

He tried to pry the bad thoughts away and focus on the present—this wasn’t like last time; Varian had managed to get away from Andrew’s grip; he was now part of a team even if it was hard for him to believe.

That familiar warmth came over him again; he hadn’t noticed Hugo standing right in front of him. “Are we going inside, Freckles?” He looked softly at Varian, his hand holding his arm lightly.

As everyone’s faces became clear, Varian couldn’t help but nod. The hand had lowered to hold his hand as they walked together, Hugo a step ahead of Varian. His presence was comforting as they moved forward.

Crossing through the doors felt like pushing through a flowing river that engulfed what felt like a painfully long hall. But as the inside of the building came to view, Varian let go of the breath he had unconsciously started to hold. It felt bigger than it looked on the outside; participants and their families filled the space. 

The door Varian used to sneak out was caught in the corner of his eyes; he turned his head only to see Andrew standing beside it. Their eyes locked even with the distance, and while Varian kept a neutral expression, Andrew was the complete opposite—a big, scary smile plastered across his face, hand moving in front of the door, as if he was offering it to him. But against everything in him that screamed at him to get away, Varian just stood there defiantly.

Andrew’s arm fell to his side, and his head turned as if being called. Varian followed his eyes only to see a kid who looked around Yong’s age—Andrew just gave him that pleased look he had clung desperately to; it made his stomach drop seeing the way he reacted…just like he had once done. Varian’s eyes never left them as they walked through that door, a side glance from Andrew being the last thing he could see of them.

“Thanks for joining the team.” Nuru’s voice brought him out of his trance; it looked like she had witnessed the silent interaction. “It must be hard to face him, but being here despite that… We appreciate it, Varian.” She smiled brightly at him.

“I should be the one thanking you all… You guys helped me be here after all.” He spoke with incredulity at being thanked, but gratefulness as well.

Yong flailing his arms around took their attention; he was looking at the crowd of people—having spotted his parents and brother. Rui looked annoyed to be there while his parents smiled at him fondly, trying to match the excitement of his wave.

“Calm down, Firecracker; you’re going to sprain your wrist.” Hugo laughed as he followed Yong’s gaze. Seeing the younger family made his eyes start to dart around as well, smirking as he spotted a gray braid—his and Donella’s eyes looking. She returned the smirk as she watched Hugo doing a salute towards her.

Nuru and Varian followed their friends. Nuru’s eyes darted, and she smiled as she found her mom and sisters sitting at the top of the bleachers, her younger sisters waving at her excitedly while her mother and older sisters giggled at their reactions—opting to do a more calm cheering on.

It wasn’t hard for Varian to find Eugene and Rapunzel, as they stuck out with their colorful Team Awesome shirts. It was clear that Rapunzel was trying really hard to contain her excitement as she smiled brightly at him. Eugene gave him a thumbs up and mouthed, ‘You can do it, nerd,’ which made him chuckle. 

But his eyes darted away from them as someone else caught his attention; the shirt was proudly worn beside the other two, and for the first time in months, Varian locked eyes with his dad.

Tears tried to come, but he managed to fight them back like a champ when they held a sign that said, ‘Good luck, Varian’—obviously Rapunzel’s idea, as she knew this was a quiet type of event. He chuckled, as he never thought to see his dad agreeing to something like this but doing it nonetheless.

“Woah, Freckles! You’ve got a whole cheer squad.” Hugo teased as he slithered his way beside him, nudging him so they would start walking to their assigned seats.

Varian just rolled his eyes playfully. “Can’t believe they convinced my dad to follow through with that whole thing.” He laughed as they sat down.

“Rapunzel can be very persuasive,” Cassandra joined, startling Varian as she appeared out of nowhere; she smiled—glasses now perched over her black hair. “The inauguration will start in five minutes; don’t cause any trouble.” They nodded as Cassandra walked to where all the coaches were assigned to stand.

Five minutes later the dean of the science program stepped onto the big stage. Murmurs stopped as everyone looked at the tall woman in front of them—she cleared her throat before speaking, “I welcome each and every one of you to this year's National Science Olympiad, or as we like to call it—The Demantitus Trials!” Everyone clapped as she paused momentarily, “We’re gathered here to challenge the knowledge within you all and the teamwork and trust that’s been carefully forged.”

Varian’s brows furrowed with conviction as he listened to the speech, “For the next four days you will be tested in a series of events individually, and in the final conjoined challenge, the team that gets the least amount of points will be awarded this year’s trophy.” The four of them shared glances and smiles, more ready than ever to do this. “As always, we must remind everyone that just being in this room proves all the knowledge and potential each possesses.”

“I hope we participate with integrity and kindness.” She smiled brightly, and Varian could feel the squish of a hand on his own. Hugo wasn’t looking at him, but his silent comfort made him smile. “With that all said and on behalf of the university, the judges, and the organization committee…” A wave of applause erupted from the teams and supporters alike as the words that everyone waited for left her mouth.

Let the trials begin!

Chapter Text

With the Olympiad finally begun, the teams waited as everything got ready for the first day. Both Nuru and Yong were participating on the first day, with the astronomy being in the first batch of events of the day and the thermodynamics taking place after a recess.

Still, they had to wait for other events that were scheduled before Nuru’s. They sat at their designated area, watching on the big screens the other contestants and how they worked.

There were people who finished quickly and people that had been beaten by the nerves; teams cheered for their teammates, and others cursed their poor performances. Yong looked shaken by those reactions, each groan making him more shaky—Nuru looked more calm, not really hearing anything in favor of being stuck on her head reciting all the information she had studied. 

Varian and Hugo looked at them with a bit of worry, not sure how to comfort them.

“The astronomy challenge is set; participants, find your assigned table.” A voice came from the surrounding speakers. Nuru stood quickly, surprising the three of them as she started to walk with confident steps.

“Starlight!” Hugo’s voice made her stop without turning her head. “Crush them.” He grinned at her back, arms crossed.

“You don’t have to say it twice.” Her words were soft but confident as she resumed her way.

From the screen they could see Nuru walking and getting settled at her table; even if the image looked far, as it showed all the participants, they could easily spot her.

Nuru looked at the table and everything that was placed in it, not touching anything or daring to move until told to. There were papers with logs and readings and a rolled-up—most likely—map. She looked around her; it looked like everyone was finally settled, and soon enough the horn blared, signaling the start of the challenge.

Taking the rolled-up paper to discover its contents, Nuru found what looked like a partial star field map. It looked chaotic with the missing constellations and distorted coordinates, so she looked around for a clue of what the challenge was about—her eyes quickly landing on a blank paper attached to a smaller piece with a clip.

The paper read, ‘Data reconstruction & celestial prediction.’ Predict when the next meteor shower will occur with the data given.’

Unlike the mock trials, the instructions were shorter and clearly designed to be more challenging. She grabbed the papers and scanned the contents; the observational data was pretty raw, and her mind raced as it tried to figure out how to use that information to reconstruct the map.

Everything was messily organized; Nuru was used to neat information laid out. If they had given her the chance to take the logs herself, she was sure her brain wouldn’t be blank—time was ticking and the pressure had finally caught up to her.

Much like Yong, this was her first real competition—real stakes were on the line, and reality dawned on her. She traced her finger to follow and pinpoint what was missing; maybe that way it would be easier to use the information at her disposal. Formulas came and went as every possibility of resolution started to jumble in her head.

Her eyes darted as her mother’s words resounded in her head, ‘No one ever died from having a hobby.’ She was looking, her sisters were watching, and the team was watching—all cheering her on. This was the moment she proved that she had what it took to become great and that astronomy was just as worthy as anything else to be called great.

With a small exhale, she managed to ground herself, looking at everything, not trying to adapt it to her but to flow and follow the chaos to reach its understanding. Numbers started to align with the scattered coordinates, a faint pattern emerging in the chaos—like constellations taking shape from random stars. Her hand moved quickly, filling equations, sketching arcs, and predicting orbits. This wasn’t “just a hobby.” This was proof.

Time felt slow and quick at the same time; Nuru had managed to avoid looking at the clock, knowing it would put unnecessary pressure on herself. Pieces started to fall into place as she reconstructed the chart and started her predictions swiftly, her justification being neatly written on the blank sheet as she advanced.

With a final stroke of her pen, she logged the date and pressed the glowing button on the table. A sharp beep marked her submission. She exhaled, chest heaving, only then realizing her hands were trembling. On the screen, her name appeared—fifth to finish, with an hour still left.

Turning toward the crowd, she spotted her team trying (and failing) to cheer quietly, and beyond them—her mother’s proud smile. Nuru had done it.

Yong’s event was the first after the break; the nerves started to feel more present with each minute passed. The team was enjoying their pre-prepped meals, talking and complimenting Nuru on her event. Hugo and Varian talked about how they had noticed her going blank for a moment and praised her capacity to come down and keep going.

But she just couldn’t pay attention to what his friends were saying; the thought of his parents, of Rui seeing him fail, terrified him—not because of the teasing, but more so because of letting them down.

“Yong!” Varian’s voice brought him out of his mind; they were all staring at him. It was clear he had missed something important in the conversation. “Are you okay?” Varian looked at him with a bit of concern, but Yong just shook his hand dismissively.

“Yeah, of course. Uh—what was the question again?” Yong scratched the back of his head, forcing a laugh, a bit embarrassed.

They all gave him unconvinced looks. “We were just saying you’re going to rock out there,” Hugo teased, though there was more care than mockery in his voice. “Don’t let them get in your head, okay?”

Yong nodded quickly, just as the speakers cracked to life: “Participants of the thermodynamics event, please get to your assigned tables. The challenge is about to begin.” The room stirred with motion, and Yong’s stomach twisted as he walked along with the older contestants.

Everyone was talking around him, and it wasn’t that Yong wanted to eavesdrop, but it was hard to not hear that people were talking about him. “That kid's not going to make it.” Snickers and laughs started to surround him like wolves as he walked, trying to escape helplessly.

Finding his table wasn’t hard; he got settled, trying to calm his nerves to no avail. In front of him was something covered by a thin cloth and more things he couldn’t quite figure out—they weren’t allowed to touch anything until the time started.

Nuru had told him not to look at the timer; his event was the one with the shortest duration, which meant more pressure for him. He shook his head and tried to relax and concentrate on the challenge ahead.

With the horn blare, Yong started to quickly examine everything he had at his disposition. There was fuel, catalysts, and materials for insulation, and under the cloth was lying an apparatus with chambers connected by pipes. Everything was clearly to create a heat chain reaction, each chamber needing specific heat temperatures and reactions to flow.

But everything he had been given was so little that any miscalculation would mean failure. Many variables and so few resources. So he had to get going before it was too late. The thing was…he didn’t know where to start.

He knew he had to maintain and control certain temperatures for each chamber so things didn’t go haywire. Looking at each chamber carefully, Yong noticed that they were made of different materials—small engravings popped off at the sides of each.

That was weird; it must mean something. Yong looked around the table trying to find if they really had a meaning. Turning and moving vials without luck, he went to his last chance at a maybe pointless search.

As he took the piece of paper destined for their calculations, Yong knew everyone watching him was probably thinking how stupid he was for losing who knows how much time. But as he turned the page, written in pencil were what looked like partial research logs, accompanied by a glossary.

From around him Yong could hear mutters and curses followed by what sounded like small explosions. Against his better judgement, he glanced at the clock: only 15 minutes had gone by; if he deciphered everything, he should end with a bit of time left.

He was sure he didn’t look as flawless as Nuru as he wrote formulas and values on the piece of paper, but he was moving steadily, figuring out the type of reaction he needed and for how much time he had to maintain each one.

Of course it wasn’t without its flaws; a chamber spiking in heat had almost made him lose his control—the voices of his teammates coming through his mind had helped him calm down as he improvised a way to make it cool down to where it needed to be.

When the reaction finally reached the final chamber, the light on his table turned a neon green; he was done. Yong slumped back, his chest heaving as he finally felt relief come over his body.

From the distance the team stopped holding their breaths, thankful and proud that Yong cracked the answer. He had finished with 20 minutes remaining, and a lot of his competition had failed when causing explosions or overheating to damage their chambers.

Looks like day one was officially over for them. With two excellent wins on the board, they could only hope for more to come!

They still stuck around for the closing ceremony, hanging with their families until then. And not long after they finally left the university to head back to the hotel, Yong and Nuru deserved a team celebration for their victories after all.

Ordering some room service as they checked the tentative scoring placement. “Looks like we're likely to be in the top 10 overall!” Hugo announced loudly, holding his cup high excitedly. Everyone cheered, taking their own cups to mimic his pose.

“Gotta keep up the streak, Hugo.” Nuru said teasingly, taking a sip of his cup. “Show them who’s captain, right?” Hugo smirked proudly at her words.

He downed his drink, his eyes full of confidence. “They’re not going to know what hit them.” Cheers and laughter erupted once again, and the celebration continued until Cassandra came to berate them once again.

All the high emotions from the day had been enough to knock them out the moment they touched their beds, sleeping soundly until the morning.

The second day started more calmly; everyone had set alarms, and when Cassandra rolled around their room, everyone was ready to go. Following the schedule, they arrived just on time, like the day before. They heard the congratulatory speech and saw the official scoring table, landing exactly at number 11.

After that they just had to wait for Hugo's event to start—being the second event of the day—even if he found himself pondering. As he hadn’t had time to overthink anything at night, his brain had decided to do just that before his event started.

It was weird being the captain; a different kind of pressure swallowed him compared to his past Olympiads. This time he was what people would focus on—prying eyes on him wondering if he was even fit to be the head of a team.

“Nervous, Cap?” Varian’s sweet voice filled his ears; it still was crazy for him how much his feelings for the raven-haired had changed in such little time.

A cheeky grin placed itself on his face. “The best still doubt themselves.” Hugo shrugged his shoulders, his gaze never leaving Varian. “You’re a great example.” He took a step closer towards him, his eyes studying all of Varian’s factions.

“Participants of the engineering event, please make your way to the table you’ve been assigned to; the event is about to begin.” The speakers crackled, but their gazes never faltered from one another.

Varian seemed to notice as his eyes flickered away. “You have to go.” His words were soft, but they sounded forced—Hugo’s cheeks felt hot thinking Varian didn’t want him to go… But he had to put that thought behind as he started to walk to his table.

Unlike the other challenges he had watched, all he had on the table was a box carefully closed. It would be harder to save time before starting this way—probably what the judges wanted if he was honest.

As the horn blared, Hugo was quick to open the box. Inside were rods, string, joints, glue, and things to reinforce a structure; at the bottom of the box were some blank sheets of paper and a smaller one with his task.

Build the tallest possible tower that can support a set load on top. Easy enough.

He counted all the materials; with the number they had provided, the tallest tower could be around a meter tall—but for this challenge, thinking just about height would for sure make him lose, as he would’ve had to trade that for resistance.

A lot of ideas circled through his head, most of them only focused on the first part of the task—he had to remind himself to prioritize strength as he quickly found weak points in his sketches. Glancing around, Hugo could notice his rivals already starting, their towers starting to reach up as they forgot to fortify the base.

Hugo wondered how he could redirect his brain to think differently. What would their teammates do? Probably find a creative and different way to see the problem…

That sparked an idea: maybe instead of imagining the whole tower, he could slowly build it from the base. That way, he could see the weak points in each part as it grew upwards without rushing. His pencil started to work along his brain, drawing each layer like a cake—both sturdy and beautiful.

Construction was easy, and before long he had finished his tower. It wasn’t as big compared with the others around him, but Hugo could notice on the nearest ones small points where the weight wouldn’t play in favor for them. And even if he felt a bit shitty thinking like that, that gave him a bit of confidence.

Now it was just a waiting game until the time ran out and the destruction test began, but with the small nerves, it passed quickly.

When the clock reached zero, the staff started to walk around, a person standing beside each table with a box in hand. 

A man stood on the stage, microphone in hand. “Now that the construction time is up, our assistants will start putting weights around the towers to time how much and for how long it resists.” Hugo glanced at the man beside him as he started to take the weights from the box and put them on the table.

He now understood why the tables were farther apart than before.

With the push of a button, the smallest weight was placed on top of the tower, and the timer started to go. After a couple of minutes another one was put, another one, and one more after that one—by the second weight crashes started to resound as the tallest buildings started to fall. Hugo's tower was holding really well in comparison; even the assistant looked impressed at how little stress the contraption seemed to be under.

The crashes started to sound more and less far apart, and by the twenty-minute mark, only Hugo’s was still holding up. Everyone stared with impression, even Hugo himself—by that point they had deemed him the winner to not waste more time on the obvious.

He walked back to his team starstruck; that had been the best display of his life. And so thought everyone as they tackled Hugo into a hug, praising his performance. Even when they let him go, the praising continued; Nuru and Yong talked about how cool it had been—the adrenaline they had felt even from the sidelines.

But Hugo could only focus on Varian’s piercing gaze—he was sure it could match his brother’s for how intently he stared him down—he swallowed thickly, trying to say something, anything!

“You were amazing out there.” Varian smiled as his gaze softened; his face looked a bit flushed, and Hugo couldn’t help but notice that everything had started to feel a bit hot.

“Thanks.” Hugo’s voice was nothing more than a mumble as his eyes tried to not look at Varian’s lips—memories of the party flashing through his mind without permission.

“Cap! Your mom wants to talk with you.” Cassandra called from a distance, startling them. 

As he walked to where Donella was, Hugo couldn’t help but dread and rejoice from the night to come. Could he really be normal while sharing a bed with Varian?

Well…at least day two was finished.

Varian walked through the path he regrettably knew oh so well. His event was set to start in a couple of hours, and he wanted to see something for himself.

He passed lonely rooms swiftly; none were what he was searching for. Varian felt uneasy walking on the dark paths, and when he noticed Andrew bragging to other participants, he couldn’t help but feel the need to see something for himself.

So now there he was, standing in front of a half-closed door. He pushed it lightly, and as he picked inside, the kid he had seen sat on the floor. The sound had made him jump, and his head turned to stare at Varian with fear.

“Who are you?” He closed the laptop that rested on his legs, trying to sound threatening—but the tremble in his voice gave him away.

Varian didn’t know what to say, his mouth opening and closing—that made the younger stare at him with confusion. “I’m competing in the Olympiad.” He fully walked inside, feeling a bit awkward talking with him.

He stared down at him curiously as if he was trying to figure out something by just watching him. His eyes brightened as something seemed to click for him. “I remember you! You’re part of that Coronian team, the one in the top 5!” He rambled excitedly.

Unlike Varian, he was taking the time to enjoy the Olympiad. “Yeah.” Varian chuckled; he reminded him a bit about himself around that time. “Umm, if you don’t mind me asking…why are you here?” His happy demeanor changed abruptly.

“My brother is competing and… I just wanted somewhere silent to work.” Varian looked at him with sadness; his words were low and well rehearsed—he had memorized that story too.

With a grimace Varian swallowed his words; there wasn’t much time left before his event, so he just nodded. “I—I have to go.” Varian turned to leave, his steps being halted by the kid's voice. 

“What’s your name?” He looked at him with intrigue, maybe finally wondering how he had managed to reach that spot.

Despite his better judgement, he spoke, “Varian.” Silence followed, and he refused to look back as he walked out and away from the room. If he was guessing correctly, Andrew had obviously talked badly about him—so he preferred to just leave, even as his hand gripped his arm tightly.

Walking into the bustling room once again made him relax as he scanned for where his team was, making his way when he spotted them. Varian apologized for taking long in the bathroom, scratching his neck's sudden itchiness.

Not long after, the speaker crackled once again. “The chemistry event is all set; please, everyone, make your way to your assigned table.” Encouragement and cheers came his way as he turned to walk away.

His eyes locked with Andrew’s; he smiled mockingly as he glanced at the door he had come from not long ago—he had seen him. With furrowed eyes, Varian started walking away. It was a good thing their tables weren’t close; who knows how far Andrew was willing to go to assure victory?

Even as he settled on his table, his mind couldn’t help but wander off. With Hugo’s scores from yesterday, they had climbed from 9th to 4th. Andrew’s team was in 6th currently, as—contrary to them—today was their two-person day event, so it was difficult to compare scores just yet. Tomorrow would be the real decider.

If Varian managed to get in the top three to finish, they would get a massive lead; the top 10 were really close in score, so climbing more could be easier with a good position. And all of that depended on him.

The blaring horn took Varian out of his head as he quickly started to look at everything that was laid on his table. Unlabeled vials, basic tools, and lists full of safe reagents were neatly placed; he had to identify compounds. Blank sheets also lay there; Write your reasoning, was written on top of each one.

He looked at each of the compounds carefully: one powder and two solutions. The first thing he had to do was make small tests to see reactions and characteristics of each one. A pH, solubility, and heat test for each one, seeing how each reacted and changed, narrowed down the options until he landed on the correct one.

Looking at all the results carefully, the options started to become clearer for each of the vials; the solutions were a bit complicated—the results were close between the two, and the options were nearer between them; only the reagent tests were left to tell them apart.

As he waited for the solutions to react, he analyzed his options; with such broad values, landing on a concluding answer would be tough and probably a gamble if he rushed his answers—but taking too long would affect their results on the leaderboards. His thought process was the major part of the scoring process, but getting any wrong could be a serious setback.

In the corner of his eyes an orange tint drew his attention; one of the vials had changed colors. He smiled, checking both the lists and small notes he had made for himself, finally landing on the answers.

With a swift move, his hand rested on the button on his side, the light shining a bright green.

His eyes moved quickly to the big screen to see how fast he had been. He had taken an hour and a half; two people had finished before him, and…Andrew still hadn’t finished.

Varian had beaten him; he was happy—more when he turned to see his team and family celebrating. Rapunzel and Eugene were hugging each other, clearly relieved, and his dad looked like he was holding back tears. But something inside of him felt worried and sad about that kid… He knew Andrew was going to lose it when he realized Varian had finished before him, and if there was something Varian knew better than anyone, it was that Andrew hates losing.

But was there even anything he could do?… For now he just wanted to enjoy his victory for day three.

“After four science filled days, today it's our last,” With a serious voice the dean spoke before everyone; tensions were high as everyone hoped to get the prized top one. “Our leaderboard will be revealed today with the winners after we have our final challenge.” Claps filled the room, excitement rising among everyone.

“I’m so nervous.” Yong felt a shiver run down his spine as the well-known pressure invaded him once again.

Hugo turned to look at him with concealed sympathy. “We’re one of the last groups; there’s plenty of time before we go.” His words were comforting, not only to Yong.

Although Nuru, Varian, and even Hugo looked calm and composed, inside they could feel the same dread Yong was experiencing. They had been assigned to the last teams to go for the day alongside other students from different schools in Corona and Old Corona.

Contestants went and left, some teams full of cheers, others with anger. People gave the best of themselves even if they knew they weren’t going to win.

And before they knew it, their turn had come to prove themselves.

“Good luck, Varian.” Andrew’s voice drew all of them to turn their heads; the mocking tone made Hugo’s blood boil.

Deciding to not humor him, the four of them walked away—their determination to win bigger than ever. 

Their space was bigger than in the individual events, with broader tables to let all of them fit, and a lot of different materials laid before them. The challenge was laid for them at the start of the day; with their joint efforts, they would have to build a Rube Goldberg-style machine.

With the horn, they got to planning. “Everyone has to be in charge of a specific part, so any ideas?” Hugo looked at each carefully, coming up with ideas of his own.

“Maybe we could start with a marble,” Yong suggested. Everyone frowned at the thought; they needed creativity, and marbles were the first thing people thought about around machines like that. “Wait, hear me out! We’ll start with something that people are familiar with, and then as the sequence goes on…”

Catching up with his idea, Varian followed his thought process: “It transforms into our own creation.” The way Hugo and Nuru stared at them cemented their understanding, both looking on board.

“So, we could build a ramp so the marble falls and then pushes, I don’t know…” Hugo started to sketch their plan; the rest looked through the materials to see what they had to work with.

“Dominoes?” Varian held the piece of plastic with a small smirk.

They continued to throw ideas; they had to integrate all of their disciplines in a coherent and creative way. In the end they landed on a solid sequence—after the marble, the dominoes would fall on top of a switch, one that would start a model that Nuru had calculated to rotate into another switch to start a burner placed under a string.

After a couple of seconds it would completely break to drop a small weight; of course the burner couldn’t stay on—so Yong calculated the time it would take for the string to completely break and, with Nuru’s help, made the model go backwards after activating it so the time would be enough for the model to turn it off once again.

Going back to the weight, it was placed under a pulley attached to a wooden door; with the force, the door would lift to let baking soda slide into a small chamber with vinegar. With Varian’s measurements, the reaction was powerful enough to propel a cork but controlled enough so it wouldn’t get out of control.

Finally, with the propulsion and the trajectory set, the cork would hit a lever to raise the final part of the sequence, a flag.

They had taken half an hour planning and another hour and a half in the construction, but compared to the other teams, their work was flawless—almost as if they shared their mind, reading what others wanted. Varian was in charge of the chemical reaction and setting the switches; Nuru and Yong took care of their parts and also of measuring the distances and angles necessary; Hugo had focused on building the structures they needed to support everything.

After a couple of tests and recalibrating, it had finally run without any failure and with 20 minutes to spare.

Being the first team to finish was nerve-wracking; the more time they would have to wait until the final results came. The judges watched the flashy and swift moves with interest as they wrote on their clipboards, so with the evaluation completed, the team had to go back with the rest of the teams and wait.

“We want to congratulate everyone that participated in this year's trials; the competition was fierce—true passion emanates from each of you.” The dean stared around the room proudly, but everyone held their breath expectantly.

“But enough talking, let’s get to our leaderboard.” On the big screens the countless teams appeared, and groans and sighs started to be heard as people found their positions.

The four of them scanned the rows with no avail; their names didn’t appear. “Now it's time to reveal our top three.” They held their breaths as the names were called. “For the first time in second place, the team of the public high school of Old Corona, Apex Innovators!” 

With wide eyes, Varian turned to look at Andrew; he looked shaken by the result. “And finally in first place, from the Corona National Academy, Team Awesome!” Cheers and claps erupted, but they were frozen in place, mouths a bit opened as the words sunk in. Cassandra ushered them to the stage when they had spent a bit of time without moving.

As they walked to the stage, the cheers never ceased; clearly a lot of people were happy Andrew hadn’t won. Once they finally reached the top, Hugo was nudged forward to accept the trophy; for them, he was the one that deserved it most. But with an expression of appreciation, Hugo took the hands of the others so that everyone could hold the trophy.

“We all won it after all.” Everyone smiled as they held the golden trophy high.

With that and some closing words, the Olympiad was finally over. All their families waited for them at the exit; Yong’s parents hugged him tightly while Rui tried to act uninterested in the whole deal. Nuru hugged her mom as her little sisters excitedly jumped, telling her how cool she was—Zuri and Asha beside her expressed how proud they were of her. Hugo bragged about his win to Donella while she stared at him, silently happy about his accomplishment. Rapunzel hugged Varian with teary eyes, and Eugene joined the hug as he congratulated him, and when they decided to let him go, Varian tightly embraced his dad—it was crazy he had just realized how much he’d missed him.

With their win Cassandra had managed to get permission from the hotel to let no guests inside the room, making their last night a win party.

Some room service, games, and banter later, Varian had found himself on the balcony just staring at the starry sky; being away from the city gave them a clear sky to gaze at.

“I thought parties were your forte.” Hugo's joking voice drew Varian's head to turn in his direction.

He just rolled his eyes as Hugo stood beside him, “Don’t remind me.” The memories of the hangover were awful, but Varian looked back at what he remembered of the party with fondness. “Well, not like I remember much.” Varian chuckled.

Hugo looked at him with curiosity. “How much do you remember?” There was something hidden in his question, something Varian couldn’t quite pinpoint, but he tried to look back into his memories.

“After talking with Andrew, everything becomes fuzzy.” Hugo nodded with understanding at his answer.

“Well…before your brother came, you were kind of all over me.” Hugo teased as he leaned on the railing; Varian’s face flushed with embarrassment at the thought of him doing something like that. 

Varian tried to find anything to say, not sure if he should apologize or question, “Not that I minded.” His brain suddenly stopped as Hugo’s emerald eyes stared directly at him.

“Wh-what do you mean…?” His voice trembled as the dawning feeling came over him, even if a part of him tried to unconsciously deny it.

A step closed the space between them, faces only inches apart. “Varian…” Hugo’s voice was shaky as nerves flowed through him; there wasn’t any competition that could compare to how he was feeling right now.

Hearing his name made Varian lose his breath; Hugo never called him by his name… This was serious. “Yes?” Anticipation overcame all his senses as the words he hoped for came out of Hugo’s mouth.

“I like you…a lot.” Warmth came over him as Hugo held his hand expectantly for any reaction.

Varian stared at him with open eyes; a sudden urge to cry tried to swallow him, but he managed to fight it off. After a moment of nothing, Hugo started to get really nervous; he tried to take a step back but was quickly held by Varian.

With a tug on his arm, the distance between them closed as their lips connected a bit clumsily because of the force, a brush that wasn’t quite steady, but the warmth that followed was undeniable. To Varian it was terrifying and comforting all at once, and even if it was his first kiss, he was sure no one could kiss better than Hugo.

The kiss deepened only slightly, not in passion but in certainty, like they were finally learning how they fit together. Hugo felt his stomach flip like he was falling, yet somehow he’d felt so grounded.

As they reluctantly stopped, the warmth they had created was greatly missed. They couldn’t stop smiling like idiots.

“I like you too.” Varian stared at him with adoration, and Hugo looked like he wanted to cry from happiness.

Cheers came from inside the room, as prying eyes were now on them. Everyone—except Eugene—cheered for them, finally realizing how they felt; that made both chuckle as they watched Nuru and Yong high-five each other.

With a small smile, they reached for the other once more, ignoring the spectators to focus on one another.

And that was it. The Olympiad was over. But their story doesn’t stop there.

Arriving at school with the big trophy had made them the coolest department of all; science events started to get more packed than ever—some kids that had been scared of joining changed departments to follow their real passions.

Of course our team didn’t stop there; when you reach the top, the only thing you can do is try to reach higher, but that would have to wait, as this school year was almost over.

Now with their feelings out in the open, Hugo and Varian became an official couple, much to Eugene's dismay.

Varian couldn’t believe how much his life had changed; having friends—heck! even having a boyfriend—were things he never thought he would have. He cherished every meal with his family, all the light hangouts with his friends, and the soft moments spent with Hugo.

They laughed together as Hugo did one of those cheesy promposals, held each other close while they slow danced in their ironed tuxedos, and smiled because they shared soft kisses. 

After that came some well-deserved vacations. When they came back to school, it would be their last year of high school. But he didn’t want to think about school just yet; the gang spent as much time as they could together. Although it wasn’t as much, what’s the time Varian and Hugo shared?

Nerve-wracking meeting the families, dinner dates, living room sleepovers, you name it—there wasn’t a moment they didn’t want to spend together.

Inside all that relaxation came the shocking news that Andrew had been caught in his cheating schemes; it turns out the kid he had met at the Olympiad came forward to the police with a lot of evidence against him. After they had lost, Andrew lost his marbles, blaming everyone but himself, but most importantly, blaming that kid—he had threatened him, and unlike Varian, that kid stood up for himself.

The cheating had gone under the rug–police didn’t think that it was that serious; it was more the threatening that had taken their attention. Luckily for him, they had just given him a warning and restriction order, but schools wouldn’t look so kindly on a guy with criminal records that was also accused of cheating.

In the end, Varian was glad that some justice had been served.

Before they knew it, the next school year had started. Days went by, then it turned into weeks, and finally months all turned into nothing more than happy blurs.

Varian drew in a breath, his friends beside him as they walked through the long hall.

“Are you ready?” Hugo looked at him with confidence. With a smile, Varian nodded, looking at his friends.

He stepped forward, looking at the grand room that held once more the Demantitus Trials, turning to look at them Varian just said.

“Let’s do this.”