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It was cold, something that Hugo absolutely hated, but perhaps worse, it was cold and Yong had accidentally burned down one of the tents. That meant they were down to two, because they'd already 'lost' Nuru's ridiculously large tent. Hugo almost wished he hadn't 'dropped' it down the cliff sides first chance he got. Because now, Nuru was taking one tent with Yong, leaving him and Varian to share one. And that made the risk of the alchemist learning his true reason for being there that much more strong.
"Are you going to go to bed or not?" Varian's annoyed tone got Hugo out of his thoughts.
Varian was already in his sleeping back with his back to Hugo, which was rare because usually Varian was always trying to keep an eye on him.
"What are you so snippy for, sunshine?" Hugo teased, a little amused how much Varian bristled at the nickname. "Corona gets colder then this, doesn't it?"
"Do not call me that. And I personally hate winter. I'd think an Ingvarrian would get that." Varian snapped back.
"Oooh, there a story there goggles?" Hugo asked, sitting down on his sleeping bag.
"Not one I'd share with you." Varian countered.
Hugo sighed, getting into his sleeping bag before turning down their lamp. Wearing Varian down was hard, if he'd known Donella was going to have him join their party he'd never had snatched up the fire totem from the Coronan in the first place. The guy could hold a grudge, which Hugo found pretty curious. What would someone from the kingdom of the sun have to hold a grudge for? What would someone from the wealthiest kingdom in the Seven Kingdoms have against winter, when from Hugo's understanding it was usually considered a relatively fun time of year for those in that kingdom. Varian had been in a bad mood as soon as a somewhat chilly wind had reached them, which Hugo found curious. Still, the cold wind did have him on edge himself. He hated winter, Ingvarr's winters were cold and bitter and hard to survive. The wind picked up, and both of them shivered as the chill pierced through the thin tent. Hugo sighed a bit, before he turned over to look at Varian.
"Look, it's freezing. We should move closer so we don't freeze." Hugo said, Varian looking over at him incredulously, not that Hugo could see in the other young mans face.
"Your kidding."
"I'm not askin you to cuddle up with me, just share body heat. I'd like to get some sleep." Hugo insisted.
"… Fine." Varian sighed, moving closer to the blonde.
It was better, even if Varian hated being so physically close to someone he just plain did not trust. Being pressed back to back, though, meant that he'd know if Hugo tried to do anything. At least that's what he told himself as he finally dozed to sleep. When they woke up tangled up in each others arms, they both swore not to talk about it.
Hugo didn't mind the lack of tent anymore, a few more months in. He was, however, worried about how much he was falling in love with the clumsy, but brilliant, alchemist. He glanced over where Varian was getting himself ready for bed, but before long Varian seemed to notice his gaze and looked at him.
"Something wrong Hugo?"
"Nah. Just thinking." Hugo shrugged, both of them shivering as they felt a cold wind. "We better get clear of Galcrest before winter though. Or find a place to wait it out."
"… Is uh, is winter close?" Varian asked, turning to face Hugo as he laid down. "I thought there was more time…"
"It usually hits Galcrest before Corona. You know, being further north." Hugo frowned a little, putting his glasses to the side before he looked at Varian. "What's wrong with you, freckles? Corona has winter, Corona even exports its fur coats, you should be used to it."
"What does Ingvarr not have fur coats?"
"Your avoiding the subject." Hugo countered, Varian sighing.
"… I…" Varian sighed. "… Did you hear about the great blizzard about… four years ago?"
Hugo thought for a moment, "Ah. I heard about it but since it sounded like it just lasted a few days and it was already 'sposed to be winter so I guess I figured everyone there bounced back from it just fine."
"… Everyone but me."
"…" Hugo put his glasses back on, he could tell by the tone in Varian's voice that something had shifted.
Varian was staring, in no direction in particular, but clearly haunted by whatever had happened during that blizzard.
"… Varian?" Hugo wasn't used to saying the others real name, but it didn't feel right to use one of his impersonal nicknames.
Whatever this was, it was serious to Varian, and Hugo wanted to treat it as such. The friendship wouldn't last, not when the truth came out, but he was enjoying it while it was there.
"… I uh…" Varian shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it. It just… something happened during that blizzard that ruined my life."
"… Alright. Well, if… if you ever want to talk about it… I'm right here." Hugo offered.
"… I'll… I'll keep that in mind." Varian nodded. "Let's… let's get some sleep."
Hugo took his glasses off again, getting as comfortable as he could, but the early winter winds were clearly keeping Varian awake. Hugo tried to ignore his desire to reach out, he tried to remind himself what he learned over his years of life… but as his eyes adjusted to the dark, even as blind as he was without his glasses, he could see Varian was sitting there trying hard to ignore the sound of the winds. Ruddiger, the little trash monster, came over and curled up with Varian on the pillow, clearly helping him feel better, but only so much better. Hugo thought for a moment before he sighed a little, moving closer and pulling Varian a closer.
"Hey what-" Varian started.
"I'm cold, your cold, it's fine." Hugo insisted. "Besides… I dunno, being this close to you, your almost cute, freckles."
"Your blind without your glasses." Varian was warming up, so Hugo could guess he'd gotten him to blush.
"Eh, still. Your growing on me. I don't like seeing you… suffering through whatever winter is doin' to you." Hugo admitted quietly. "Just… relax. Get some sleep. We got a long way to go still."
"… alright. Goodnight Hugo."
"G'night Goggles."
They were just out of Ingvarr, the journey was almost done, and Hugo wasn't sure he'd ever felt so afraid. Too afraid to sleep, he was sure, but he was exhausted. And worse, he could tell Varian could tell something was up. They hadn't gotten another tent, they just kept… not thinking about it when they were in towns. They'd gotten used to each others presence. Hugo was in love. He'd made a choice, a choice he was sure put him in harms way if Donella caught up with them. Hence why he wanted to keep awake, but that wasn't so easy.
"Hue?" Varian's voice made him jump, and he looked over.
"Yeah?"
"Is something wrong? You look… well frankly, terrified." Varian admitted.
"… Ingvarr just uh… well it's where I'm from. It makes me… uncomfortable." Hugo admitted quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Glad to be out of it again, I guess."
Varian nodded, thinking for a moment, staring at Hugo with his big blue eyes for long enough that Hugo was sure that the boy was onto him about what he'd been up to. But before Hugo could try to talk to get the gaze off him, Varian looked away and then back up.
"… I… can I tell you something? Something I… I don't want Nuru or Yong to know yet?" Varian asked.
"… Yeah, of course."
Varian took a deep breath, before he detailed everything about the blizzard. How he'd accidentally gotten his father trapped in an amber like compound. About how he'd trudged through the deadly, magical cursed storm to get to Corona, to try to get help. How the princess couldn't help, but worse, something Varian tried hard to move by too quickly for Hugo's liking, allowed the guard to throw him back out into the blizzard. How Varian got home to find his father completely encapsulated in that amber. How he spent months alone, scraping together what he could to try to free his father, months with barely any food, no company aside from Ruddiger, and growing resentment. About everything that happened afterward, though at that point Varian was rambling in a panic and was just about on the verge of tears, refusing to meet Hugo's gaze.
A part of Hugo was surprised to find out Varian was The Alchemist, the major threat he'd heard stories about once not so long ago, but mostly, he was enraged. Not that Varian had hid this, he understood that completely, it would be more dangerous for anyone to know the diminutive inventor was once a criminal. Hugo couldn't imagine how Nuru would react, she'd gotten better but she was still a privileged princess who saw very little wrong in any royal decree. No, he was enraged because Varian clearly, despite all the wrongs that had been done to him to cause his actions, solely blamed himself. Hugo already hated royalty as a general rule, but this just made that hatred all the more strong.
"Hey, hey calm down Varian. It's okay." Hugo insisted, putting a hand on Varian's shoulder after hesitating just a moment. He'd considered placing that hand on Varian's cheek, but he couldn't for whatever reason. "I… I get why you hate winter now."
It was the lamest thing he could have said, but the small laugh it got out of Varian made it feel right.
"… You… don't think less of me?" Varian asked after a moment.
"No, I don't. If anything I think more of you. You brought a kingdom to it's knees-" Hugo started, Varian sighing.
"It was wrong-"
"Maybe. But they started it. Did you ignore that whole secret police trying to capture you thing? Or you being thrown back out into the blizzard to die?" Hugo asked.
"I'm sure Rapunzel didn't mean-"
"It doesn't matter what she intended. The impact is what's real." Hugo huffed. "… This is why you sort of wanted to stay in Galcrest, yeah?"
"… Yeah. I… I never felt like I belonged somewhere before… but… I have to see this through. I have to know what happened to her." Varian admitted.
"… And then after that? Will you really go back to that… gilded bird cage they gave you as a job?" Hugo asked.
Varian clearly hadn't thought of the job that way, or if he had he'd buried it. He was silent for some time as he thought, before he answered a quiet, timid "I don't know…"
Hugo felt bad for asking, but he thought for a moment before he smiled over at Varian, putting a hand on his cheek.
"Well, no matter what… I'll be there to support you. Even if your too afraid to be rude to the fat, stupid wealthy people in Corona castle, I'm not." Hugo said, Varian looking up at him. "So if you need someone there to tell you when that bastard is being unreasonable, which frankly would be anything to me after what he did, I'll be there. Like it or not."
"…" Varian suddenly hugged onto him, Hugo hugging him back. "I… I'd love to have you there."
"Good. Your stuck with me. I'm about as stubborn as your pet pest." Hugo said. "We should probably get to bed, Nuru's gonna be cross with us in the mornin' if we're tired."
"Alright." Varian didn't really move, they just laid down, still cuddled up. Which was for the best, Ingvarr was cold, even in spring. Hugo certainly wasn't going to complain, he already loved sleeping beside Varian. And even if he was afraid of what he'd left behind in Ingvarr, there was something nice about knowing Varian felt similarly about his home.
Varian was pacing. Or at least Hugo thought he was, he heard some kind of noise as he started to wake up. When did he go to bed? He didn't really remember what had happened, at first, but as he started to wake up he realized how much pain he was in.
"Varian?"
"Hugo!" Varian suddenly rushed to his side, putting a hand on his cheek as Hugo opened his eyes slowly. "Are you okay? I-I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I-"
"Calm down… I'm fine… what… happened?"
"A-Andrew he- I'm sorry, I-I-" Varian was still panicking, so Hugo tried to lift an arm to touch his face. But there was not much left of that arm.
And then it all came rushing back. The run in with the separatists, all of whom wanted Varian dead for betraying them. The leader of the group, Andrew, being particularly vicious in his attempts to get Varian. Varian trying to split off from the others to keep them safe. Hugo not letting him go alone. The two getting captured, Hugo being tortured because Andrew could tell it was much more effective then simply killing Varian, the rescue from Nuru and Yong.
The explosive that went off in his already mangled hand because of a mistimed throw when he thought Varian was in danger.
"It wasn't your fault V, I just moved too slow…"
"You shouldn't have been dragged into that. I… I don't know why he… I thought he'd just kill me, if he caught me. Maybe used me as a hostage to try to get Rapunzel to listen to him at best. I didn't…" Varian started to ramble again, but Hugo used his other hand to grab Varian's.
"… I'd do it all again for you, V. I was afraid of losing you, that's why I followed even though you told us all not too." Hugo said, trying to sit up, but Varian quickly moved to stop him.
"You need to rest. We're going to get to my home tomorrow and then… then rest as long as you need." Varian insisted.
"Alright, alright. Just… I feel a little cold. Stay here with me." Hugo knew Varian would do the request, but more importantly for Hugo, it meant that Varian would rest too. He clearly needed it.
Varian paused a moment before he laid down next to Hugo, the side that still had an arm, which was convenient for Hugo because he wrapped that arm around Varian. Varian looked up at him, and Hugo knew they were both on the same page now. They couldn't pretend they weren't anymore, Andrew had made it clear why he was using Hugo to hurt Varian. And Hugo made it clear why he couldn't let Varian nearly get himself killed just to keep the rest of them safe.
"… You know Hue… I didn't want to say it before because your ego is already way too big but- your unfortunately exactly my type." Varian said, Hugo chuckling a bit.
"Oh, I could tell. I could tell the moment we both grabbed that totem back in Bayangor at the same time and our eyes met. But I'm glad I am otherwise you might not have put up with me so long." Hugo admitted.
"Maybe not. I'm glad you are too. I went on this journey to learn more about my mom. And… and because living the way I was in Corona was… harder then I thought it would be, back when I convinced myself that everything would be okay. That I… I just wanted things to go back to normal. I was used to everyone else hating me, that was… that was fine. They just had a real reason now…"
"Gonna be honest Goggles, your only making me hate these people more and more. If they thought a sweet guy like you was a menace, wait til they get a load of me. Sides your dad, of course." Hugo admitted. "Him… him I'm kinda nervous to meet. Think me being exhausted and missing a limb is a bad first impression?"
"I think him hearing you lost an arm to save me might actually be the only thing anyone could do for him to accept any kind of boyfriend for me." Varian admitted. "Just because he's overprotective."
"Fair enough." Hugo smiled a little, yawning as he started to doze back to sleep.
Varian cuddled in, willing himself to sleep too. He knew he'd have a long story to tell his father, and with Hugo in the state he was in, Varian needed to be able to do the brunt of the introductions.
They got to Corona later then they'd hoped, but all of them were worried about pushing Hugo too much. But Quirin still welcomed Varian home and his friends into his home, and he'd taken it upon himself to make sure Hugo was comfortable. The first night, Hugo struggled to sleep because Varian was up late into the night telling his dad everything. Including about them, and Hugo had strained himself to listen to what was said. The next day, Quirin certainly seemed to be trying to pry at him a bit, but he was a lot more friendly than he'd been worried he'd be.
But sitting alone in that guest room every night after bed was harder than Hugo expected. Varian spent plenty of time with him, in fact he and Varian had made a new robotic arm that worked as well as his real arm. Hugo had drawn up the plans, to the best of his abilities and he'd been quietly thankful he was ambidextrous. Varian giving him praise about his understanding of machines had been, perhaps, one of the most pleasant things he'd ever experienced, even if he felt embarrassed about how much it made his heart flutter.
"Hue? You awake?" Varian's voice was quiet as he opened the door a little bit, clearly avoiding Quirin hearing.
"Yeah." Hugo sat up a bit as Varian entered quietly. "Something wrong?"
"No no, I just… I guess I kind of miss the tent. Or uh, sleeping in the same room, at least." Varian admitted a little nervously.
"Oh? Miss me that much?" Hugo teased a little, Varian rolling his eyes before Hugo cleared his throat a little. "But uh, I've missed you too. I even miss the little rodent."
"Ruddiger." Varian corrected, thinking a moment before he came over. "Scoot over."
Hugo did, though a part of him was worried how Quirin might take finding them in the same bed, "sure about this Goggles?"
"I'm an adult. Besides, it's not like dad's been poking his head in to check on you a lot, right?" Varian asked.
"Ehh…" Hugo knew the man had, in fact, been checking on him quite a bit.
They'd even had a lengthy conversation over a bowl of beet soup the man made to 'help with the blood loss', about how Hugo felt about Varian. The good news, to Hugo, was that it seemed like Quirin believed him that he loved his son, and he didn't seem to want to chase him off. He wasn't sure how that might change if he found the two of him cuddled up under his roof, though.
"Oh it'll be fine." Varian insisted, rolling his eyes. "He told me that he likes you for me."
"He did?" Hugo asked, blinking a bit. "I mean I didn't feel like he didn't like me or was gonna run me off once I was better but, I dunno. It's good to hear. You didn't tell me how massive or intimidating your dad is."
"Well to me he's just dad. Especially uh… after the amber. He… well, he told me eventually he… he could hear everything I went through. And I guess he realized how… not close we were. We've been working on it." Varian admitted. "I can guess he didn't tell you outright he liked you for me because he probably didn't feel like that was appropriate. He was a knight for a king once so-"
Varian shrugged and yawned, clearly not intending to finish that thought as he cuddled in to get some sleep. It seemed like Varian hadn't been sleeping as well either, and while Hugo was a little worried about what Quirin might say, he was too comfortable to care much longer as he dozed off to sleep.
Hugo was used to goodbyes. He was used to leaving people behind. It never hurt like this before. When Donella showed up and revealed the truth, when Varian had looked at him with nothing but heartbreak and betrayal in his eyes, Hugo had known it was over. He hadn't been willing to leave then, he had a bad feeling that was proven right when he saw Varian possessed. He thought Varian had died, but thankfully, somehow, Varian pulled through. He'd been a mess, sobbing and apologizing and desperate, but now that it had been a few days, they hadn't spoken about it or anything else. Varian was bedridden, but it wasn't like Hugo was avoiding him. He asked him if he wanted to talk, but Varian didn't even look at him. That was answer enough.
Nuru had left that day, but not before trying to insist Hugo really sit down and talk to Varian 'before doing anything rash'. He wasn't doing anything that felt rash, but he knew she was, despite having been against them for a while, trying to push them back together. At least from his end, he wasn't sure what if anything she'd said to Varian. Quirin hadn't said anything, but the man looked devastated. Of course he did. He'd mentioned before that he hadn't seen his son that happy in years, back when he first met Hugo and Nuru and Yong. Now, Varian was almost despondent, or forcing himself to seem happy around the others when they sat with him.
So, he was waiting for everyone to be in bed and for certain asleep before he'd leave in the night. Be exactly the person Varian had assumed he was. He thought it would make it easier on Varian in the long run. As soon as he hadn't heard even the sound of Ruddiger skittering across the floor for around an hour, he got up and started gathering his things. But as it sank in what he was doing, as soon as he realized he'd never see Varian again, he'd gotten shaky, needing to pause to try to force himself to not cry. It was his own fault, he knew it was his own fault, and it was all he deserved. The only good news was when all was said and done, it seemed like Donella was willing to take him back. Everything would go back to how it was, in time, he might force himself to forget the whole thing. Though he doubted he could, or that he even wanted to, forget Varian.
"Hugo?"
He froze up, he'd been so focused on trying to calm himself down that he hadn't heard approaching footsteps. Then again, Varian had always been light footed so it was just as likely he'd snuck up on him. He turned quickly, trying to think of a lie about looking through his bags, the bags he had to pack back up because Varian had insisted he could unpack because until a few days ago they'd both decided he was staying there with them, but nothing came to mind. He couldn't lie to Varian. Not again.
Varian was looking at the scene, but his face was unreadable. Hugo couldn't tell if he was angry or devastated, he just looked tired.
"Running away?" Varian asked.
"Well I… I just figured I should go." Hugo said, looking at the floor. "I mean, you made it pretty clear that… well, for understandable reasons, you don't want me around anymore so-"
"I didn't say that." Varian countered with a pretty sharp tone. One that Varian himself flinched at, but Hugo had learned that Varian didn't trust himself when he was angry.
"Uh… sorry. I guess I thought you didn't-"
Varian walked over, and Hugo somewhat expected him to lash out at him physically, but Varian just took his bag and put in on the ground, sitting on the bed in its place. Varian seemed to be trying to compose himself, so Hugo waited, though he felt awkward standing there when he was the one who was in trouble for his actions. Varian pat the bed next to him, and Hugo sat down, staring down at the ground instead of at Varian.
"… I'm sorry. I should have tried to talk to you sooner. I was just so mad and… I still am. I'm mad. But…" Varian paused, clearly thinking through his words carefully. "I don't think it's at you as much as it is… everything else that happened too. I'm a little mad at you. But… but you came back. If it wasn't for you I might not be here. I… I've never had that before…"
Hugo slowly realized what Varian meant and felt his general dislike of the princess and her sycophants grow a bit more. Varian was thrown out back into a blizzard that could have killed him, and then he was alone. Alone for months. Alone until he forced Rapunzel to face what happened. Alone still until he was thrown in prison when he tried to force everyone to face the facts of what Frederic had been hiding from them. And arguably, considering how much he hid himself and how he still felt about that situation, still alone because he could not be fully honest with them. Not even Quirin, it seemed like, because while Quirin certainly wouldn't say anything, there was a stark difference in how he spoke about royalty now versus how he seemed to regard them in the past.
But Hugo had turned back to help him immediately, not hid from what happened for a quarter of a year. And the others had come to try to help as soon as it was clear there was a problem. Hugo, Nuru and Yong came to help Varian as soon as they realized there might be a problem.
"You came back. Even after what I said to you and- and even though at that moment you thought we weren't-" Varian sighed, seemingly stuck. "I… I don't think I've had to be really honest about my feelings for a long time I'm sorry I'm rambling. The point is… your the first person in my life, as far as I can remember, who hurt me, came back to help me though something, and apologized all the span of maybe an hour. Not avoiding me for months or anything like that. I-I really appreciate that. So I didn't want to talk until I… I worked through how mad I was because I didn't want to say anything to you I'd regret. I wasn't even really mad at you, not that much at least, it's mostly … at… at her."
Hugo nodded, reaching momentarily to take one of Varian's hands but pausing since, even though things were clearly more okay then he thought, he wasn't sure if Varian wanted to touch him. Varian noticed and put his own hand in Hugo's, but Hugo quickly realized how cold Varian's hand felt and turned to take the other worriedly.
"Your freezing."
"Yeah uh… that's been a side effect that's gotten a little better over time but-" Varian sighed. "I dunno how long it's going to last but I've been cold since it happened."
Hugo felt a pang of concern and touched Varian's neck, but his pulse felt normal, and he seemed completely alert. It wasn't like Hugo was super familiar with the side effects of possession, but he didn't like the idea of Varian always being cold. He realized how much closer he was to Varian because of his quick movements due to his worry, but Varian didn't seem to mind. If anything, it seemed like Hugo checking on him had helped Varian relax or at least put him more at ease. He did move Hugo's hand from his neck, but he didn't pull his hands away.
"… Hugo? I… I won't force you to stay but… I do still want you here. I'm just… working though a lot emotionally, and some physically." Varian admitted, shivering a little. "I'm sorry I didn't try to tell you somehow."
"As long as the invitation still stands… as long as you want me here, Varian, I'll stay." Hugo assured, grabbing the blanket from the bed and wrapping it around Varian. "You need warmed up. I dunno when you'll be back to normal, but until then we'll have to find a way to keep ya warm."
Varian looked at him before rolling his eyes a little, with a small smile so Hugo was fairly certain he wasn't angry, before he laid down.
"Well, I can think of one way, at least for bed time."
Hugo blinked a little before he smiled a bit, laying down next to him after putting his glasses on the nightstand, and getting comfortably cuddled up to Varian.
"I'm never gonna have my own bed again huh? Oh well, you've gotten me used ta you bein' here so I don't mind." Hugo admitted, brushing some of Varian's hair out of his face.
"Good thing you dropped Nuru's tent off that cliff on purpose huh?" Varian asked sleepily, Hugo looking at him with surprise. "C'mon, the guy who snuck around the fire trial and got to the totem without participating in the trial and managed to sneak up on me and Yong while we were camping suddenly becomes a klutz when it comes to a bag containing a princesses tent? After making not at at subtle jabs about royalty?"
Hugo blinked at the realization that Varian had known, and had likely known the whole time and never said anything, before he smiled a bit, pressing his forehead against Varian's.
"And you didn't say anything bout it?"
"Well- I didn't really want to carry her tent around either." Varian admitted. "The wagon was full enough as it was."
"Devious. Let me do the dirty work and enjoy the benefits. If I'd have known that, I might have fallen for you a little faster." Hugo admitted.
Varian yawned, clearly exhausted and not really able to respond. The possession had taken a lot out of him, the fact he'd survived felt like a miracle to Hugo, and one he wasn't going to overlook. Especially since Varian still loved him, despite what had happened.
Things had gotten back to mostly normal faster then Hugo could have hoped. Better then normal in some cases, Quirin, despite seeming a little out of sorts about them not being married, actually decided it was better if they shared a room so Hugo could, hopefully, notice if anything went wrong with Varian in their sleep. Aside from the sudden cold spells though, and nightmares from the possession, Varian seemed to be alright most of the time. But Varian was stubborn and Hugo was sure he was hiding how bad those nightmares were, or how the cold spells really felt. Hugo had been as pleasant as he could force himself to be when he was introduced to Rapunzel and Eugene, but it was clear Eugene at least noticed his facade. Working with Varian and Quirin was nice, though, especially seeing as he realized he didn't have to try too hard to scare off any unreasonable demands.
If Hugo countered anyone who came to them with how impossible or unreasonable the ask was, Quirin was surprisingly quick to support him. Granted that support mostly came with a quiet, stern glare, but that was enough. It seemed to Hugo that Quirin had some inkling how hard this job was on Varian, specifically because who he was expected to work for, but he wasn't really fully aware of the ligistics of many of the asks Varian was given. Hugo was, so the two of them were more then a little capable of humbling whoever dared come into the lab to try to demand anything of Varian.
Before too long, though, it was close to winter, and Hugo found himself worried about how Varian was going to handle it. He'd asked Quirin how Varian handled work through the winter, but he was glad to hear that the agreement was quite simply that Varian was not to be expected to come to the castle lab during the winter months. Something about the travel being too much for a day to day basis that Hugo was certain was a lie but one no one was willing to fight Quirin on, or Varian, whoever had put that down in the contract. They were in Corona when the first snow started, and despite attempts to get out of there quickly there was already inches building up on everything. Worse, on their way out, Rapunzel had tried to stop them and had tried, pretty aggressively, to get Varian to stay in the castle this year for winter.
Hugo had gotten used to that being a topic she brought up from time to time, rooms in the castle because they did technically work there and it would save them time in walking. Hugo could see through it, she wanted them there for her own reasons, but thankfully Quirin spoke up before Hugo could snap at her. Hugo took to getting Varian home while Quirin stopped to get them some supplies, and now the two of them were laying in bed. Varian was facing a wall, and Hugo was just holding him, resting his chin on his head and waiting for Varian to say anything.
"… I don't get how she doesn't realize why I hate winter. Or Corona in the winter." Varian said after a moment.
"She's stupid? And selfish?" Hugo said, though Varian's sigh made him know now wasn't the time for his personal feelings about Rapunzel to be spoken about. "She's thoughtless and probably hasn't put two and two together because she is self absorbed when it comes to things like that."
"… I guess so." Varian sighed, putthing his hand on Hugo's, the hand that was resting gently on his side. "I can't talk to her about it though. I've… tried but, talking to her about the blizzard is just too awkward."
"I could do it." Hugo offered, perhaps a bit too quickly because Varian clearly caught on to why he'd be willing to.
"You'll be callous. And cruel on purpose."
"So? She's used to that." Hugo shrugged. "I've never made an effort to soften things for her so it's not like she won't expect it from me."
"There's no reason for you to march over to Corona in the snow just to hurt Rapunzel's feelings." Varian countered. "It's fine, we're home, we'll be home for a few months. I… I don't want you on that road alone in the winter. I feel bad enough that dad insisted we go ahead even though I know why, I-"
"Okay Varian. I understand." Hugo assured. "And your dad is tough. He just stayed back to remind the princess of the deal, and to get some shopping done."
Hugo could even guess why, Quirin was probably picking up items to make Varian something he liked for dinner to try to cheer him up. Being in that snow, in Corona, it was clearly wearing on Varian every second they were in the city. The fact Rapunzel didn't get it was frankly insulting to Hugo, he saw guards, who he had to assume were part of the mysterious masked men who had hounded Varian when he was a child in need, who spotted them and looked away in some semblance of shame. If some bastards in armor could get it, he didn't understand how the princess who was apparently 'friends with everyone' couldn't.
"It makes me feel kind of bad but… I really appreciate how bad you treat her." Varian admitted quietly. "It keeps her at arms length and… I don't know."
He sighed, rubbing his face before he turned around to look at Hugo.
"… You know Varian, you don't have to do this. Pretend things are okay. You thought you were friends before, she failed you as a friend and as a ruler. You thought that's what friendship was and you missed having someone, anyone with you so you let them back in. They still failed you. Treating you being kidnapped as some kinda cute date night would have set me the fuck off." Hugo mentioned.
Varian had done his best not to react too much during that story being told to Hugo for the first time, because he himself really hadn't heard how it went until then. It felt bad, but he was used to how thoughtless Rapunzel and Eugene were about him. Hugo had been so visibly angry that, surprisingly, Rapunzel actually caught onto it and had stopped to think about what was being said. She'd tried to talk to him about it later but Varian insisted he was busy and left, because he really just… couldn't take apologies from her anymore. They didn't feel like they meant anything when it came to him.
"I don't know what else I could do exactly. I got the job I wanted-" Varian started.
"We could move. All of us, your dad's only staying here for you at this point. There's so many places we could go. The Dark kingdom, where your dads family are. I bet they'd appreciate uh… irrigation! Or something to help them rebuild. Or, Ingvarr. Place sucks but your smart, you could make something of yourself there. I know Donnie would actually appreciate your skills. Or, Galcrest! Your uncle and his family, they love you. They're just like you. And I know your dad would get along with them. Heck, it's even another farm. He'd love it there."
It wasn't the first time Hugo had gently floated the idea of leaving. The first time was actually immediately upon meeting Rapunzel, as soon as they'd had a bit of time away from her.
"… Hue… I… I said I wanted to be friends again-"
"She was never your friend. She tore apart the kingdom for her stupid lizard. She personally defended some pub thug. She never gave up on a woman who actually attacked the kingdom over and over again when she gave up on you before you'd done anything." Hugo listed, sighing a bit when he noticed how upset Varian was. "… Sorry. This might not be the right time. I know winter is hard on you."
"It's alright. It's kind of nice… I know your trying to get me to leave because you care about me and literally no one else here, except maybe my dad." Varian admitted, Hugo nodding. "… I'll think about it Hugo. I really will. It… it is hard to ignore, now. How different my friendship with Nuru and Yong and… well us, even if we are more then friends, is. Nuru… she also offered we could move to Koto. She misses us a lot… and uh… she agrees with a lot of your points. I mean in a nicer way but… still…"
Hugo could almost hug Nuru the next time he saw her hearing she was also expressing the same concerns, but in her much nicer, more agreeable to Varian way. Between the two of them, maybe three if Yong wrote about the same concerns. Varian no longer felt like he had to be in Corona. He no longer felt lucky that he'd been forgiven, he recognized that it wasn't as simple as he was totally wrong and they were blameless just because he'd been the one who 'took it too far'. As if sending guards, disguised because what they were doing was bad enough the captain at the time recognized they couldn't do it in any official capacity, to try to… Hugo wasn't even sure what they intended to do, had they captured Varian, wasn't 'taking it too far'.
"Varian? Hugo?" Quirin's voice called. "I'm going to make stew for dinner."
"I'll come help dad!" Varian called back, getting up. "… Thanks for trying to help me relax Hue."
"Anytime." Hugo said, standing up. "I'm no good in the kitchen but I'll help too."
"You might learn something if you let me and dad try to teach you." Varian teased, grabbing Hugo's hand and dragging him out of their room.
They'd slept in the same bed for the entirety of their five year relationship to this point, even before they were official. Back when they could barely stand each other. It was still different now that they were coming home from their wedding and it was now a marital bed. Keeping the wedding quiet, because Varian was afraid someone who might still resent him for his past, might do something was easy. Easy simply because Rapunzel was not informed until shortly before it was set to happen, and because Hugo had made it sound like the reason she hadn't known sooner was because he hadn't really wanted her there. Varian tried to tell him he didn't need to take the blame, but he didn't mind. If anything he got a pretty good sense of satisfaction seeing her hurt by her last minute inclusion, even if she did shake it off to enjoy the ceremony pretty fast.
Hugo only had two people to invite, and Varian only had a few himself, so it was hard not to interact with Rapunzel but Hugo refused to let her presence ruin it for him. He just spoke with the people he wanted to, Donella and Cyrus, Yong and Nuru, Quirin introduced him to Adira, Hector and King Edmund from the Dark Kingdom which was possibly more nerve wracking then actually meeting Quirin had been. Ulf and his family had made it, and they had got along great with Quirin. He knew Varian spoke a bit with Eugene and Rapunzel, and with Lance, who Hugo had to admit might be the only person who really understood what had happened and was generally careful about how he brought it up. What they spoke about wasn't clear but it seemed like, if they wanted to complain about not being told until right before, Lance had derailed for Varian since Varian hadn't mentioned anything to Hugo about any issues with the couple.
The house was full of guests, but Quirin seemed more then happy to cater to them, especially Varian's little cousins. Everyone turned in later then they'd intended to, but that was just because everyone had been enjoying each others company. Hugo had never seen Donella so at ease chatting with anyone before, but it seemed like she and Ulf had been friends before, which in hindsight made sense since she was very close friends with his twin sister. But now everyone was in bed, including him and Varian, though the next day the two of them would be heading off to a honeymoon. Still, Hugo was just happy in the knowledge they were married, even if they were currently in the same room they'd shared for years now. A spring wedding, kept quiet and held with just around twenty guests, to Hugo it was perfect, maybe a bit chilly because it was early spring, but then again he'd never thought he'd be getting married.
"Hue?" Varian whispered, clearly unsure if Hugo was asleep.
"Yeah?"
Varian carefully turned over, shivering a little suddenly, Hugo looking at him worriedly. The sudden spurts of cold still happened from time to time, and while Varian was at best only mildly annoyed by them they still had Hugo worried. According to everyone he'd gotten in touch with, though, Varian would be fine, so all he could do was try to help him warm up after they passed.
"Just the usual, don't worry." Varian insisted, but Hugo still covered Varian up to his neck with their blanket. "It's just… I guess a part of me wasn't sure we'd actually get this far."
"I kept worrying you'd realize who you were getting hitched to." Hugo admitted jokingly. "Glad we're goin somewhere warm for our couple of weeks away."
Varian rolled his eyes a little before he moved to kiss Hugo, which he reciprocated "your still unfortunately my type. And… my biggest advocate. Thank you, for convincing me to hide it from Rapunzel until it was just about our wedding time. She means well… I think, but she was pretty confused why I didn't invite more people. I don't think she'd invite more people to an event she wasn't in charge of but…"
Hugo didn't know how Rapunzel didn't realize the only friend Varian had in town was Xavier the blacksmith, who was at the wedding, but then again he didn't understand her at all.
"Well when she gets married she can invite the whole town to her wedding."
"Uh Hugo, she is married. I missed her wedding." Varian reminded.
"Yeah well, would you have gone if you weren't out meeting the love of your life and your real friends?" Hugo asked.
"… No." Varian admitted quietly. "I… would have come up with some other excuse. … I'm not saying we will, for sure, move when we get back from the honeymoon but… I'm open to talking about it more now. If you still want to."
"Hey, I just want you to be happy. And I don't know if you can really be happy here." Hugo admitted. "Well not here, I'm sure your dad will want to move wherever we go but… Corona, the kingdom. I want you to be happy. I'll be good as long as I'm wherever I am with you. Because I didn't really know what happy could be until I met you. I know you say you didn't know what friendship was like until Yong and Nuru and I, but… I haven't admitted that so much. But you guys were my first friends too. And you were the first person I've ever loved this much."
Varian smiled at Hugo, "I know Hue. If it helps at all… I'm happy as long as your here with me. We'll talk about it more tomorrow, but we do have some travel to do so we better get some sleep."
Hugo felt himself warming up, Varian's emotional sincerity always got to him but even now that they'd been together for years it got to him. They got cuddled up closer, the springtime chill was getting into their room, but over the years they were more then a little bit used to keeping one another warm. And they'd spend the rest of their lives happily doing so.