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The boys sat silently under the Christmas tree as the snow gently caressed the town.
Snow is a very complicated topic, when it comes to these two. Varian didn’t seem to like it too much; due to his past and trauma, of course. Which led to him not enjoying the holidays.
Hugo, on the other hand, loved the cold weather. Or rather, was pretty much used to it after all of those chilly nights on the streets of Ingvarr. It wasn’t really the snow he hated, it was the tradition. He hated to see other people celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah and other holidays around that time. Not necessarily because of the religion; he wasn’t a religious man. What he was jealous of was the family. Every time he walked down the street and saw happy families laughing and celebrating together, he felt this weird mix of anger, and… jealousy?
Yeah. That was a good name for it. Or longing. Longing for the family he never had, as an orphan on the streets. Sure, he had Donella and Cyrus, but more times than not, they felt more like business partners than family. Donella was too cold towards him. Cyrus was probably the closest he had to a brother, although even he wasn’t around much.
So, there they sat, with the weird friends-maybe-turning-into-lovers atmosphere clinging to the air around them.
Hugo (very unlike himself), fidgeted with the hem of his ugly science pun sweater that Varian totally hadn’t forced him to wear.
Yep, the corny one that said “Chemistree, Oh Chemistree” which Varian had made a tradition of him (and now Hugo, too) to wear every Christmas and Hugo thinks it’s really stupid but also stupidly adorable and oh whoa he said that last part out loud–
“Huh?” Varian questioned. “Did you just call me adorable?”
Hugo immediately felt his face heating up… Because it was cold in the room, obviously!!
“Wha– no, I–”
“Awww, how cute! Look at you blushing… Ooh, I never thought I’d be able to be the one who does this to you. Is this how you felt when you used to tease me? Man, does it feel good–”
Hugo turned his head away from Varian embarrassedly and shook his head. “No, I teased you because I liked you. Definitely not anything close to what you’re feeling right now, heh.”
No! Damnit Hugo, you’re supposed to be the stoic one! You can’t just say stuff like–
Varian blinked, then a soft smile slowly grew on his freckled face. “Who said I didn’t like you?”
They stared at each other for a moment, then Hugo broke the silence by flushing further and shoving an item in his hand towards him. “Just take your gift, stupid.”
Say goodbye to Hugo’s dignity. It now lies six feet below this very spot.
The blue-eyed boy snickered softly. “Okay, fine.” He opened the item– box– only for it to reveal a pair of… goggles?
“They’re mine,” Hugo whispered. “...But, I figured you could have them. As a token of my affection. Or whatever.”
...
Hugo wasn’t actually sure what reaction he was expecting, but for Varian to just burst out laughing was definitely not registered as a possibility in his brain.
“Are you serious?” Varian managed to breathe out inbetween giggles. “You stole my idea!” He grabbed a box very similar to the same one Hugo’s gift had, and handed it to Hugo before collapsing into a fit of laughter. Again.
“Goggles, please take a breath. I really don’t want you to die again.” He opened Varian’s box, only to realize they did, in fact, have the exact same idea.
“...These are your goggles.”
Varian finally sobered up enough to be able to say a sentence without having to stop 27 times to laugh even more. “Yeah. I wonder how you figured that one out, Sherlock.”
Hugo studied his best friend(?) for a moment before questioning him. “But… aren’t these your mom’s? Are you sure you want me to have them…? After all, they kinda are the last thing you have left… of her…”
Varian tilted his head slightly. “Well, if you asked me that question two years ago, I would’ve said, and I quote: ‘Hell no.’ But, since you’re asking me now, I can finally say… Yes. I do. I trust you enough.”
Hugo fixed him with a wide-eyed stare. Filled with complete and utter admiration and love for the boy sitting across from him.
“...Oh. Um. Thank you. I’m honored to have that privilege. …And I’m happy that you’re finally able to trust me again. Y’know, after everything I’ve do–” He cleared his throat, and continued. “Er, everything that’s happened.”
Varian looked out the window to see Yong and Nuru throwing snowballs at each other. It seemed as though he had something on his mind. “Yeah. I honestly don’t know where I’d be without you guys.” He seemed somewhat nervous to continue. “...Without you. Hugo, I’ve only known you for two years, but those two years have single-handedly been the best two years of my life because of you. When we first met, I know we had a bit of a… rough start, but… look at us now!” He sighed deeply, as if mentally going through all the memories they’d had together.
Hugo was very much mentally sweating because of the weight that this conversation was picking up. Yet, he smiled at the excitement his little bluebird was radiating.
“Hugh, I just– you’re so– ugh. How do I even begin? You’re charming, pretty, smart, creative, you can be pretty empathetic when you need to, did I mention pretty stinkin’ gorgeous?” The mentioned boy flushed a little bit at the praise, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Varian. He took each one of the green-eyed boy’s hands in his. “You genuinely light up my life. I…”
“...I think that I love you, Hugo.”
…
Oh.
Oh.
Oh, woah. Wow. Christmas Day and Hugo was receiving more presents than he’s ever gotten in his whole entire sad, lonely, poor orphan life.
'Love'? Seriously. Did Varian, the boy he’s been in love with since day 1, just confess his love to him?
No. There’s no way. He must be way too sleep deprived. Or maybe he’s on drugs. Did someone lace his eggnog earlier?
Well, he most likely did hear right, because he could see Varian looking at him expectantly.
Okay, Hugo. The love of your life just confessed to you, so, naturally, the only somewhat-coherent response your happiness-intoxicated brain could come up with was:
“...Huh?”
Varian shrunk back a little, losing confidence by the second. “...I-I love you. I said that I love you.”
Okay. Yep. He was definitely hearing him right.
A good minute passed by, with neither of them talking.
Neither of them noticed Yong and Nuru sneakily slinking back and walking towards the doorway with something in their hands.
Eventually, Varian stood up and started to walk towards the door, taking Hugo’s silence as a rejection.
“Wait! Uh, Varian!” Hugo called to Varian. It didn’t take much time to catch up to him, considering Hugo’s long legs.
He grabbed Varian by the neckline of his sweater. “Varian, I… I love you too. Always have.”
Varian looked up at him with tears in his eyes. “You… You really mean it?”
“Do I really mean it?” Hugo mocked lovingly. “Yes, you absolute idiot! I can’t believe you never notice–”
He never got to finish his sentence, as Varian dived right in for a kiss. Hugo froze for a second, until the alarm bells: ‘DING DONG! WAKE UP, IDIOT!! A SUPER CUTE GUY WHO YOU’VE LIKED SINCE FOREVER IS KISSING YOU!!!’ went off in his brain.
He immediately moved his arms to loop around Varian’s waist, as Varian’s did the same around Hugo’s neck. The kiss was anything but short and sweet– it was filled with years of pining and yearning and pure, unfiltered love for each other–
Out of nowhere, a pair of teenagers cleared their throat from behind the two. They immediately broke apart, and spun their heads around towards the source of the sound.
Nuru and Yong.
Yong poked Nuru in the side repeatedly. “OH YEAH!!! Mission Merry-Mistletoe is accomplished! See, ‘Ru! I told you putting the mistletoe there would be a good idea!”
“Missi- The WHAT?!” Hugo immediately looked up at the ceiling, only to be met with a very-much-there-and-real piece of mistletoe hanging from the archway. Varian didn’t even bother to look; he simply blushed a tomato’s color and buried his face in his hands.
“Well, don’t let us ruin your little make-out session,” Nuru said, ignoring Hugo’s interruption of “It was just one kiss-!”
“We’ll just get on going now. Have fun!” She linked arms with Yong and started to walk away, but not before whispering “Make sure to use protection!” into Hugo’s ear.
Hugo watched them disappear helplessly.
“...Gods, do I hate teenagers.”
Varian, who had stayed silent for most of that encounter, finally raised his face from his hands. “I think I’ve been robbed of a kiss.”
“You could just ask for another, y'know, like a normal person, instead of using that weird 'implication' technique.” Despite his words, he still made his way back over to Varian again.
“How about you just shut up and kiss me?”
They did, in fact, end up taking Nuru’s advice that night.
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When they woke up in the morning, buried safely and comfortably in each other’s arms, they both silently decided:
‘Maybe the holidays aren’t so bad after all.’
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