Archive of Our Own

Varian had been in this business since he was 12. Well, not by choice anyways.

Corona was always known to have secret agents. Those to do the dirty work as the king remained with his polished crown on his head and shiny smile. The palace, a paradigm of peace, whilst they lurked in the shadows.

There was a reason Corona and the Dark Kingdom, or Lunaris as he called it, got on so well. As whilst Corona was the brightly lit kingdom to the public eye, Lunaris was its shadow. The shadow containing all of its dirty little secrets.

Varian was a dirty little secret, or what they’d call an agent. Growing up with a family of secret agents in Lunaris didn’t exactly give him much choice but to become one as well. It meant he got to go to the surface, see the normal folk, and act as the royal family’s guard dog.

In particular: Princess Rapunzel. He was directly under her, rather than the king himself. She gave missions to him, and so she could seem the optimistic princess as he got things done.

It was because of her that he met his now partner in crime Hugo. Varian was never a team player, despite having a big family. He preferred to be alone, with his own thoughts, own plans, and no one messing it up for him.

Until Hugo came along, messed everything up and sauntered out with a smirk.

At first, they were constantly at each others throats. In fact, Varian started to try and assassinate him only after a week. But slowly, and he means extremely slowly, did they finally start to bond. Both of them were not only similar age, but kindred spirits. Both scientists using their gifts in their job, both of them competitive to the core even on missions, both of them wanting to be the smartest in the room and both of them felt alone, all of the time. Whilst Varian was surrounded by people who didn’t get him, and Hugo forced himself into company he didn’t enjoy just to feel wanted, they both found themselves to be outcasts.

Made for one another.

As the years rolled by, it became less of a rivalry, but more of a partnership. One deep from countless missions and near death experiences. One forged for life.

So, what do secret agents do on their down time?

Apparently, they save cats out of trees.

Rapunzel got a complaint about a really annoying cat in a tree that is keeping people up with its incessant meowing. Despite there being a fire brigade in Corona, she decided to send her top two agents because… well because Varian complained too loudly that he was bored. They had been off for a week! With nothing to do except annoy each other!

And that’s how Hugo ended up in a tree, trying to coax a cat down as he sneezed frantically.

Varian may or may not have forgotten Hugo’s allergy, just to make him suffer up there. He was such a good friend.

He giggled happily as the cat shuffled away from Hugo, seemingly preferring to be stuck up there for eternity than to be in his arms for two seconds.

Hugo grit his teeth, “Oh come on, just come here! I’m not going to eat you.”

Well, the cat clearly thought differently, as it moved to the edge of the branch. Hugo sighed, moving over until he reached the thinner parts. Parts that definitely weren’t going to be able to hold him up.

Varian called out, but it was way too late for that. The branch snapped, sending both of them tumbling. Whilst the cat landed on its feet fine, Hugo wasn’t really a cat, and so Varian groaned internally as he had to catch the other boy.

Hugo collapsed into his arms sheepishly, “Okay, so how embarrassing was that?”

Varian froze, seemingly forgetting what he was supposed to do. But as Hugo smiled, it clicked instantly.

Ah, insult him.

“So embarrassing, in fact I think you shouldn’t go outside the house for a week,” Varian teased, proceeding to carry him out as the cat was safely returned.

Funnily enough, Rapunzel was pleased at the story as they reported it back, much to Hugo’s distaste. The blonde was nearly red as Varian rambled on and on, not forgetting a single incriminating detail. Hugo’s fringe fell into his face as he tried to hide, and Varian bit back every urge in him to push it to the side.

After that was done, Rapunzel settled her cup down and sighed, “As much as I enjoyed that, I’m afraid we have… more pressing matters.”

Oh, that meant a job. By the moon he was excited. Every time he got a job it felt like an itch was finally scratched inside of him.

Rapunzel continued, “There’s a vault being transported by plane tomorrow from Corona to Ingvarr. Now, this vault is incredibly important. It contains the material possessions Ingvarr requested as part of the recent peace deal. And I’m sure you both know how important it is that we maintain this peace.”

Oh he knew. Hugo was an Ingvarrian agent before he was here, which was funny since agents working for Corona were pretty much all from Lunaris, Varian included.

He could still remember when Hugo was on Ingvarr’s side, that was when he had his first interaction with the guy actually, when they had met on opposite sides of a war.

But they had moved on from the war. They had fixed it, or so he thought. Clearly there were still some loose ends.

Hugo cleared his throat, “So where do we come in? Are we part of the material possessions?”

Rapunzel laughed, “Oh no, I’m much too attached to you for that. It’s just that a group of people wish to ruin this. See, not everyone wants peace. You’ve seen the riots amongst the Ingvarrian upper class. I need you two to prevent them from interfering. The plan itself it completely up to you, I thought you’d appreciate the free rein.”

Oh, Varian would so love the chance to be in control.

They took the mission excitedly, quickly making for their rooms as they packed frantically. Once that was done, Varian led Hugo to the war room, and began to move pieces into place.

Hugo teased, “Can I be the king?”

Varian slapped the king piece from his hand playfully, “No way, you’d be a jester at most. Now, I’ve got a plan, feel free to add on to it.”

“I’m sure I’ll need to Freckles, if we just trusted you we’d probably end up dead before the plane takes off.”

“Hilarious,” Varian rolled his eyes, “Now here’s the plan. We’re acting like civilians. We board the aircraft, and then sneak over to the vault to protect it.”

“But,” Hugo started, “I think we should do something more drastic. Like drop the vault out of the plane.”

“What?!”

“Listen,” Hugo got out his phone, “Other people know it’s there, and if we’re outnumbered we stand no chance. I think we need to move it somewhere else so that they all think it’s on board, but actually it’s taking a different route to Ingvarr that they can’t stop.”

“Okay, and how are we going to get a vehicle able to take the vault that we drop? We’re not driving to Ingvarr… are we?”

“Oh no,” Hugo laughed, “That’ll take a year.”

“We don’t have a year!” Varian yelled, “We need to seal this deal Hugo. And this plan sucks, it’s not like you can just call someone up and say oh hi, mind if you pick up a falling vault and take it to Ingvarr—“

Hugo dialled a number, “Hi Nuru, it’s your favourite agent in the world! Mind if you pick up a falling fault and take it to Ingvarr—“

“Oh fuck my life,” Varian groaned as Hugo shot him a shit eating grin.

…

After arranging Nuru to fly under them to receive the vault, they took off for the airport immediately. It was a flawless operation really, checking in was great, despite Hugo trying to say that they were married, which they were not! Not something funny to lie about Hugo! Not when it did weird things to his stomach!

But all of that changed when they got to security and Hugo was an idiot, like always.

He got stuck at the metal detectors. Whilst Varian got through easily, Hugo decided to cause a scene.

The security workers went up to him, demanding him to give up his metal. But Hugo just looked dumbly at them, “What metal?”

“We know you’re hiding metal in your shoes, pockets, pants, glasses and your hair.”

Hugo whistled, “Wow airport security has improved a lot.”

And he began to take out his weapons for the world to see. Three knives in his boots. Two bombs in his pockets. Five lock picks in his waist band. Micro-darts hidden in his glasses frame. A cough drop tin full of shurikens. A dagger in his hair.

What happened to being secret agents? Emphasis on secret.

Varian sighed, already anticipating the problem, “Why do you have this many weapons?”

“Okay, so just to clear it up, I knew about the first two knives in my boots, but the third I completely forgot about.”

“Hugo I swear to Demanitus—“

And that’s the first time he’s had to pull out his seal from Rapunzel (it’s really not but hey). It easily got security to back down, but he still forced Hugo to give up all of his weapons.

Hugo pouted as they continued to duty free, “Way to go Freckles, now we’re unarmed and vulnerable—“

Hugo’s mouth went agape as Varian twirled a gun in his hands. Hugo shoved him hand down, looking around to ensure no one saw, “Are you crazy?”

Varian cocked his head to the side, “I just wanted to show you something.”

Hugo groaned, “How did you get that?”

“Well, I brought it in, because it isn’t made of metal. It’s made of a compound of my own design, and contains no metal whatsoever.”

Varian looked at Hugo with smugness as the other boy stared at him in barely contained awe, “Are you going to stop staring? I have one for you as well.”

Hugo’s cheeks dusted pink, making Varian try to look away from them quickly to avoid the butterflies in his stomach as Hugo took the new gun and ammo.

They then went to eat, since the flight was still hours away. Hugo had teased him relentlessly for that, since Varian was the one pushing them to be at the airport at least three hours before. It was nothing much, just some burgers, and Varian went to grab a table whilst Hugo got the order.

As soon as he did, he couldn’t stop his staring. He stuck out like crazy with his light blonde hair. Varian’s gaze dropped to the freckles on his cheeks, and then to his smile. Then he turned the complete opposite way because absolutely the fuck not. He is not swooning!

It made Varian want to chop his heart into little pieces. These thoughts were intrusive, but kept building in intensity until he realised their meaning.

He liked Hugo. Like, like liked Hugo.

Of course, initially he was too scared to make any move. He just lived in denial, bit his tongue and hoped he would get over it soon enough.

But he didn’t. It just kept getting worse, and worse, and worse.

But even if he wanted to confess, he couldn’t. He couldn’t do that, ruin their friendship over his stupid feelings. They had been working together for years, been partners for years and gone on countless missions together.

But after every mission he felt the fear in him shrink, and the desire to say it grow.

To the point that Varian couldn’t control it anymore, he couldn’t say no, he couldn’t pretend it doesn’t exist, because it did, it well and truly did.

So, new plan. This mission wasn’t just about preserving peace. It was also about bringing peace to him.

He was going to confess his love to Hugo, and the other boy had no idea. He knew it was probably the worst secret to spill for him, but he simply couldn’t care anymore.

As soon as Hugo sat down with the food, Varian looked at him and forgot what he wanted to say immediately. Hugo had an annoying habit of doing that, of making Varian feel dumb.

He put a chip in his mouth, trying to concentrate on anything else other than his eyes. Oh, a kid was crying over there. Their gate still hasn’t been announced. Those people seem really late if they’re running like that.

Ah, confess.

But the words fell uselessly at his lips. He can’t ruin their partnership. He thought he was over this! But clearly he wasn’t, as the fear still creeped back.

Don’t ruin your friendship.

His knuckles turned white around his milkshake.

Don’t ruin your friendship.

He fiddled with his hair nervously.

Don’t ruin your friendship.

Hugo looked way too peaceful despite what he was doing to him

Oh fuck it.

Ruin your friendship.

This was stupid. He was stupid. Hugo was stupid. The entire plan was stupid.

“Hugo, I—“

“Sir, can you please step aside.”

Varian blinked, turning towards the source of the noise. An airport policewoman stood next to a man, holding what looked very much like a bomb.

When the woman fell to the ground, and the man into a run, Varian swore under his breath as he launched after him, “Oh for the love of—“

The man turned, almost hissing at Varian as he dashed into the lounge. Varian followed suit, gun up his sleeve as he tried to ignore all of the shocked looks from the other people.

He needed to get into a secluded area without civilians. Civilians get in the way, and so would make it very hard to get a clean shot, despite Varian’s record.

He followed the man into the suitcase storages. He could even see his own bag in the pile, ready to be taken to the airplane.

Varian skidded to a halt. If this guy wanted to place a bomb on suitcases, he probably wanted to do that to hijack the plane. Meaning…

He was one of those who opposed the peace. He was one of their enemies. And he was also pretty valuable.

Varian switched his gun to stun mode as he took his shot. It landed, the man screaming as his body locked against his will. The bomb dropped out of his hand, clanking against a suitcase.

Varian decided to make his day worse by pulling his hair backwards and squashing his heel into the man’s hand. He writhed in agony as Varian spat, “Start talking. Who do you work for?”

“Fuck you,” the man scowled.

Varian continued, pressing his heel deeper. “How many people are there?”

When the man refused to give, Varian switched his gun back to normal, before shooting him in the thigh. He crumpled again, crying out as large tears fell down his face, “l can’t— I can’t— she’ll kill me!”

“At this point, I’ll beat her to it,” Varian raised his gun again, before the police rushed the scene.

“Hands up!”

Varian stood like a deer in headlights as he slowly realised they meant him, not the guy on the floor. He sighed, pulling out his seal from Rapunzel yet again to get them to calm down. They dragged the guy away, leaving Varian alone in the room to ponder. He seemed awfully afraid of a woman, perhaps his boss? It barely gave any clues, it wasn’t like there was only one group of people in the world led by a woman. But with how much fear she inspired into her subordinates, clearly she wasn’t playing around, setting up the scenes for this mission to not be smooth sailing.

As he began to exit to tell Hugo his findings, a small beeping noise brought him to a terrifying realisation.

The bomb.

It was still on.

He rushed over to it, eyeing the clock in horror. Five minutes. He had five minutes to crack it.

He wouldn’t claim to be an expert in defusing bombs. Varian was usually the one setting them off. It was Hugo who did this sort of stuff, Hugo with the clever slender fingers to do it, Hugo with the knack for it.

Time was of the essence. Varian cursed as he tapped on the comms, “Hugo, I might need your help?”

“Of course you do—“

“You have four minutes and fourty three seconds before a bomb blows me up. Start talking,” Varian commanded, silencing Hugo at once.

Hugo began instructing him, and Varian followed blindly, cutting that wire or flicking that switch inside. He gave himself up completely to Hugo, carrying out every order without attitude or question. He tried to work as quickly as possible, sweat building up on his brow as he got down to the final thirty seconds.

Feeling the time flow away from his fingers, Varian stuttered, “Hugo, I don’t think we’re going to make it—“

“Varian, I need you to listen to my voice—“

Varian exclaimed, “We only have thirty seconds left!”

“Breathe,” Hugo’s voice softened, “You can do it. I know you can. Just focus on me and nothing else. Can you do that?”

Well, it was kind of his biggest problem right now that he was too good at it. So yes. Yes he could.

Varian worked, flicking and cutting until it was the final ten seconds.

Ten.

Cut that.

Nine.

Press this.

Eight.

Push that.

Seven.

And then push that.

Six.

Check the timer.

Five.

Pull that.

Four.

Type that.

Three.

Keep typing.

Two.

Type faster.

One.

Pray.

Varian closed his eyes, bracing himself as the timer reached zero. But when no explosion happened, he slowly blinked back to reality, the bomb sitting useless in his hands.

“Freckles,” Hugo’s voice resounded over the comms, seemingly distressed, “Are you there? Are you okay?”

Varian snickered, “Relax, I’m fine. I didn’t know you cared that much.”

“I don’t, just hurry up. The gate has been announced,” Hugo deflected.

Whilst Varian was the one who teased first, he didn’t expect his reply to sting that badly.

…

Hugo’s POV:

Of course their gate was the furthest one. Of course they needed to take a train to get to it. Of course said train had a half an hour wait time.

But, they got there eventually, sitting down at their gate with time to spare, leaving Hugo with plenty of time to contemplate the sick feeling in his mouth.

The first rule of being a secret agent was that feelings got people killed. He knew that rule like it was on the back of his hand. It had been drilled into him as a kid, as the only kingdom apart from Lunaris that trained agents like dogs was Ingvarr. Let’s just say this, Hugo wasn’t a stranger to collars or muzzles. Even the electrocuting kind.

Hugo had completed every mission he’d ever been assigned. He was a weapon. He knew his purpose. He was made to kill, he was given a target, and he did it perfectly. He never got attached. He never overstayed his welcome. He was always in and out.

But this one? This one was proving difficult.

Hugo had a secret: he had been ordered to kill Varian three days ago. Donella had taken him aside after a conversation with Rapunzel to inform him of it. Despite moving to work with Varian after the war, he never truly cut ties with her.

How could you sever your ties with your own mother?

Not biological, of course, but she practically was his only maternal figure. Meaning he still answered letters whilst being five hundred miles away. He still dreamed of his old bed in her house. He still wanted to be in her arms.

Pathetic as it was, he took a liking to her. Even if she was cold and heartless, his frozen empty body felt like it was burning at her touch.

She had wanted Varian dead on this mission. Apparently she thought that he was a threat. That was probably an understatement, if he was being honest. Varian had infiltrated Ingvarr effortlessly multiple times. He’s the reason half of the capital is still being repaired. He’s also the reason every one of their codes got cracked in a day during the war.

He was flawless at his job. He was basically flawless at everything. Whilst Donella saw it as danger, Hugo saw it as something oh so similar. Same fast heart rate, same quick breaths. But something else underlying it.

It didn’t matter what that feeling was. He had a mission. Feelings couldn’t get in the way. He couldn’t fail because he got too caught up. Because Varian made him distracted.

Varian did always find a way to distract him. The banter was addictive. His smile was too.

Fuck he was like a broken jack in the box. Always saying the same thing on loop.

He’s pretty.

He’s smart.

He’s perfect.

Would he ever shut up?!

Every time he tried to take him out, their countless missions flooded back to him at once. Like the time they worked a 9-5 at a fast food restaurant for cannibals. That was… peculiar. Or the time they had to hold desperately onto each other and a flimsy glider to carry them across the entire of Equis.

Every memory hit him like a knife, twisting deeper into his gut until he couldn’t take the shot.

It’s not like he can’t kill for a mission. He’s done it countless times. He had poisoned Coronan nobles time and time again, killed kids half his age, even walked out of banquets with more blood on his hands than wine.

He hadn’t noticed his face had gone deathly pale until Varian tapped his shoulder, “Hey, are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

“Oh yeah. Just trying to plan when to get Nuru to come,” Hugo lied without hesitation. He didn’t even need to blink. It just spilled out naturally. It’s always been a skill of his. Easier to get away from the police when the lies flow out of you like a river you can’t keep going against, so much so that it’s broken the dam you set for it.

Varian scoffed, “You? Planning? Never heard of it.”

“Wow Freckles, didn’t think you thought so low of me,” Hugo attempted at a tease, making Varian smile at him.

And just like that, he was at ease again.

That was Hugo’s job. Keep him calm. Keep him supple. Prepare him, lull him in. And then kill him.

Should be a piece of cake.

…

It was funny really. They were working for the princess of Corona, and she couldn’t afford anything better than economy.

Not that Hugo was ungrateful, no he was the type to laugh as soon as rain fell. He took every blessing, great or small.

But, he was into the lavish lifestyle, being somewhat of a street urchin himself. Especially after seeing the people in first class. It was stupid really, that he’d feel a twinge of jealousy seeing them in their fancier silks. That man in the nicer hat. That woman with a nicer bag.

Envy was always his biggest sin. It consumed him as a kid, making him so relentless that he would rather die than not get more. He was never satisfied, well until this job. Until Varian stopped that part in him, quelled it, made it pretty much disappear.

Before? He wouldn’t be able to sit still, needing to grab everything they owned. Now, he just found it funny that Rapunzel has all that money, and refused to spend it on her ‘favourite agents’.

It was notorious how badly agents were treated. Sure, Rapunzel was nice, gracious to them at times, but she was still their master. They still served her. The allusion of equality she tried to create was false, despite her best efforts.

But the pay was magnificent. Accommodation and food was paid for. Oh, and they got to parade past the law. So, the job had its perks.

However, you can’t always feel them when every time you work, you’re afraid your boss will tie a rope around your neck and let you go.

As soon as the plane took off, they beelined for the vault. Supposedly, it was where the luggage compartment should be. Both of them treaded quietly, reaching a door locked with a keypad.

Varian quickly took to it, writing possible codes with haste, “Hugo, cover me—“

“Varian, this is the most time wasting plan you’ve ever had,” Hugo sighed.

Varian huffed, “Well I don’t see you doing any better. Besides, I’ve already done all the codes starting with a 1. This’ll be quick.”

“Sure,” Hugo rolled his eyes, “Try 7777.”

“I will,” Varian didn’t even look up, “When I get to it using my system.”

“Humour me.”

“I’d rather not,” Varian responded dryly.

Hugo pointed at the plane, “Do you see anything special about the plane?”

“No?”

“It’s Ingvarrian,” Hugo continued, “Meaning 7777 should be the code.”

Varian finally stopped, looking up at him “Really?”

No. Not really. In Ingvarr, if you put 7777 into a vault, it triggers an explosion. Hugo had already ensured Varian didn’t have a parachute, whilst he did.

Meaning he’d finally be rid of him. And he wouldn’t have to do it himself. He could tell himself it was a tragic accident.

Varian pressed the first 7.

Hugo held a breath.

7.

Why was this making him ache? Why were his thoughts filled of every victory they had had together?

7.

He needed to stop, he couldn’t do that to him, he—

Varian’s finger fell uselessly to his side as he turned to the door. Hugo turned as well, relieved to not have to focus on his near murder attempt.

Voices whispered outside, small but harsh sounds falling from their lips. One persons gaze flickered over the window, spotting and pointing at Varian who was currently frozen solid.

Hugo stuttered, “So, how bad do you think this is on a scale from one to ten?”

Varian looked at him incredulously, seemingly aghast at the comment, “12?”

“Oh shit,” Hugo laughed awkwardly, pulling out his gun

The door breaks open instantly, both of them dashing round a corner to prevent being spotted. They crumpled into a corner, Hugo’s body sheltering Varian’s.

“That’s strange,” a man’s voice resounded, taking off his hat, “I swear I saw someone in here.”

“You must’ve been seeing things,” a woman spoke, “Lets just get this out of here.”

Varian’s eyes widened as he looked at Hugo in horror, “Hugo, we can’t—“

“I know,” Hugo whispered back.

It’s then when he realised the almost nonexistent distance between them, Varian’s breath on his neck and the sensation of this amount of touch being insanely wrong.

Great, now he was bright red, almost on top of Varian in an enclosed environment, and about to mess up two missions at the same time. Good job Hugo.

Well, he could still kill Varian. That wasn’t complete ruined. If he could actually grow a spine and do it instead of his emotions trying to squeeze him to death.

Hugo snapped to attention, almost throttling the other boy, “Varian! The cameras!”

“Yeah? The ones we disabled— oh. You want me to hack them?”

Hugo stopped, dumbfounded that Varian had got that.

He knew him too well. He could guess what was on his mind immediately.

How could he kill some one who knew him like that? How can you kill someone who gets you more than anyone else did.

It was like killing a part of himself.

Varian pulled out a pad, and in less than a minute they were up and running. The people stared in shock, clambering away to avoid being seen.

As soon as the coast was clear, Hugo scampered over, a grin forming on his face, “What did you know, those bolt heads actually got it.”

The vault door was left ajar, revealing stacks of medicine bottles with their signature Coronan symbol.

Varian quirked a brow, “Why did they want so much medicine? They could’ve asked for anything else—“

“Ingvarr is a kingdom that is constantly at war,” Hugo gritted his teeth, “They don’t need weapons when everything they touch turns into one.”

Like him.

“Besides, Corona has the best medicine in the world, it makes sense why they want it,” Hugo mused, trying to move on from the subject. The whole Ingvarr situation was strange. He honestly didn’t expect them to want peace, and on top of that, he didn’t understand why every time the kingdom was brought up in conversation a sick feeling took over his stomach.

They began loading it up in sacks, getting ready to drop it off to Nuru. The manoeuvre itself was going to be incredibly tough, and he still had no idea how Nuru would do it. Luckily enough, that’s just the kind of detail that got Nuru on board.

Hugo dialled her on his comms, making her bright voice scream into his eardrum, “Hey Hugo, what can I do for you?”

Hugo sassed, “Be here, maybe?”

Varian tried to tell him to not do that as Nuru snarled, “Oh, well it’s not my fault you told me the wrong time.”

“I said 14:30.”

“Yeah, look at the time,” Hugo could practically hear Nuru rolling her eyes at him.

He took a look at his phone, reading the number 13:21, “Well,” he gritted his teeth, “Guess we’re early. Can you hurry up?”

“You know I can’t,” Nuru scoffed, “I’ll be there at the agreed time, go have fun whilst you wait.”

Hugo groaned internally. They had way too much time to kill. Were they just supposed to sit here, twiddling their thumbs until she got here? Those guys could come back any second—

Wait. The man in the nice hat from first class had the same hair as the guy from earlier. In fact, it was even the same hat. If he was the same guy, he was probably hiding in first class until he had another opportunity to get back here again.

Meaning: he needed to take care of him.

It was time to lay a trap.

Hugo grinned, making Varian groan, “I hate when you make that face.”

Hugo questioned, amusement all over his face, “What face?”

“The face you do when you think you’ve got a brilliant idea, but nine times out of ten they aren’t brilliant,” Varian crossed his arms.

Hugo didn’t let his smile drop as he tugged on Varian’s arm, “Well this is going to be the one time out of ten that I am brilliant. Let’s just say, we can kill time and get rid of a guy. How does that sound?”

Varian’s gaze was hard, “I feel like I’m missing a detail.”

Oh he was.

“What, that’s crazy!”

“Hugo,” Varian insisted.

“Fine,” Hugo relented, opening the door, “You have to wear a skirt.”

“I beg your pardon?”

And that’s how Hugo got Varian to wear his first skirt. Poor thing looked lost, twirling around and pointing around about how he didn’t like it. The collar was tight. The shirt was tight. Apparently even the skirt was too tight.

Okay, so stealing clothes from a flight attendant about Varian’s size was never going to be the perfect fit.

Hugo started doing his lipstick as Varian complained loudly, clacking his high heels, “I look hideous.”

Hugo turned around, patting Varian cheeks, “Don’t be ridiculous Freckles, I think it really suits you.”

Hugo’s hands were burning at the touch. He wanted to keep them there for longer. He wanted them just there, just soft, not constantly feeling for the pulse he had to end.

Varian grumbled, “Of course you do. This was such a stupid plan.”

“Just roll with me,” Hugo started doing his hair, tying it into a bun.

Varian laughed, pulling at his hair, “Looks like someone is getting into it.”

“Well, unlike someone, I’m not a hater of feminine presenting clothes. They’re fun,” Hugo clipped his hair and made for the eyeliner Varian was hogging.

“I’m not a hater!” Varian exclaimed, trying to snatch the eyeliner back, but to no avail, “I just don’t like wearing female flight attendant uniforms when there are males on this flight we could’ve stolen from instead—“

“I’m smelling some fragile masculinity there Freckles,” Hugo perfected the wings on his eyeliner as he saw Varian fume in the corner of his eye. He always scrunched his nose when he was mad. It was sort of endearing, in a way.

Oh he was so fucked.

Varian gave up with his hair, leaving it down, “So, what’s the plan?”

“Lure the guy in the hat to his death,” Hugo smiled as he pushed the cart, “And serve lunch.”

Varian gave him a deadpanned look, “You’re joking?”

“No, the flight attendants we knocked out were supposed to serve lunch. So now that’s the price we have to pay.”

“Kill me now,” Varian moaned as he went to the other aisle, putting on a sickeningly sweet smile as he passed out food.

Oh, Hugo would.

…

Hugo had some serious respect for flight attendants. Pouring drinks whilst there is major turbulence whilst in heels whilst wearing the biggest smile he’s ever had in his life is not for the weak.

By the time they got to first class, it had already been about twenty minutes. The whole thing was the same, just smile and give nicer food. And at least this time, Hugo got to sneak some cavier for himself. He deserved a treat after all of that.

As he was about to leave, he saw Varian talking to a guy. And he was looking good. Not in that way, of course, but he actually blended in. Sure, he was a secret agent, and Hugo had no idea why him doing the basic necessities of his job enticed him, but they just… did. Varian was never one for these sorts of plans, the whole schmoozing situations. He’d rather be given a gun and twenty guys on his back.

He laughed, and Hugo nearly dropped the drink he was pouring. He smiled, and Hugo would have to ask the person to repeat their order.

Maybe he should just kill him. It’d save him from this torment of his heart betraying him.

But then his gaze dropped lower, to the person he was talking to. Dark hair, cold eyes, fancy hat.

Oh. Hat.

Now all he had to was lure him away.

Varian was talking, making no gesture to move.

Varian, say that you need him to go with you.

Varian bent closer, almost whispering something into his ear.

Varian, get the fuck away from his ear.

The man laughed, tracing his hand down Varian’s arm.

Varian. Do your job.

Hugo was about to scream. His ears were pounding into his skull, screaming at him to intervene, to stop it, to pull him away. He wanted to tear that man to shreds.

Thankfully, another flight attendant went up to him, signalling that they needed to go. Varian faltered, giving a small wave to the disgusting man in the disgusting hat.

They both met in a closed room, Hugo locking it before he screamed, “Varian, what the actual fuck were you doing?”

Varian looked honestly perplexed, “Luring him?”

Luring him. Luring him? More like trying to seduce him—

Hugo grabbed his shoulders, “Why were you letting that happen, you know what, better yet, why were you instigating it?”

“Instigating what?”

Hugo yelled, “Are you seriously playing dumb right now? Why are you flirting with the guy we need to kill?”

Varian crossed his arms, “Hugo, do you know what luring means?”

“Do you know what luring means?”

Hugo faltered, finally letting the pieces slide together. He was luring him, but in a way he didn’t expect. Varian was going to use himself as bait.

Hugo snarled, “You can’t do that!”

Varian’s voice hardened, “Why not?”

He had no idea what was possessing him. Usually he was fine with these sorts of things. He’d done it plenty of times himself.

But he couldn’t watch Varian do it. If he did, he’d end up jumping off of this plane.

“I—“ Hugo couldn’t find a way to express himself in words, settling for a quick, “You know what, do it. What do you need me to do?”

“Stay in the bathroom next to this room, and ensure no one comes in,” Varian’s gaze hardened, “When I give you a signal, you need to open the bathroom door and shoot him. Can you do that?”

“Sure, have fun,” Hugo said half heartedly, ashamed that he was so pissed with this idea. He was being stupid. He can’t control Varian. If he wanted to flirt with some random guy, he had every right to do so.

Doesn’t mean it would stop the anger bubbling in him.

He left, locking both doors behind Varian as he sat in the bathroom. Now all he had to do was wait.

…

It seemed Varian was actually pretty good at leading guys on. Actually let’s rephrase.

He was way too good at leading people on. Because in a matter of ten minutes, he could hear a slam of someone against the bathroom door, and moans accompanying it.

He knew that voice. An awful realisation creeped into his head, making his stomach lurch.

It could be someone else. Maybe he’s just hearing things.

Another slam, and the person whined even louder, “Ah, Jae, slow down.”

That was Varian’s voice. Varian’s voice moaning another guys name. The sound hitting the door was probably him. He said he was luring him, not fucking him in the bathroom. He knew Hugo was here!

Unless, this was Varian’s awful way of giving a signal.

Hugo took a chance, letting the lock open as they stumbled inside. He dashed under the sink, closing his eyes as a shirt fell to the ground.

He actually wanted to die. Please, someone, anyone, kill him. At least then he wouldn’t have to do his mission.

Hugo kept his hand over his mouth to stop himself from screaming as he sees Varian is literally pinned against the sink.

This cannot be happening. This actually cannot be happening.

“Ah, ah, Jae—“

The man groans as the suspect sounds get louder and louder. Hugo covered his ears like a kid, praying for it to stop.

Jae’s voice was deep with arousal, “Fuck, you moan so pretty—“

Hugo couldn’t take his agitating voice. His hands were probably all over him. He was probably all over him.

He went for his gun, nearly screaming as he realised it wasn’t in his pocket. Funnily enough, female flight attendant uniform, like most female clothes, doesn’t have pockets.

Meaning his gun was with his clothes.

So he could either go back into the vault to get it, or find another way. But that meant leaving Varian with him, and he couldn’t do that. They were already obscene enough as it is.

Hugo did what he did best, grabbing a toothbrush and leaping on the guy. He slammed into the floor, Hugo on top of him as he opened his mouth and slammed the toothbrush in. The man began to choke as he did it over and over again, aiming to slice the back of his throat open.

He needed him dead.

He needed him to bleed.

He needed to be the one to do it.

After a couple of agonising minutes, the man finally went limp, and Hugo’s arm fell uselessly at his side. Varian sat in the corner of the room, laughing incredulously, “What the fuck?”

“What the fuck? At least I wasn’t moaning whilst being pinned against a sink!” Hugo fisted his hands.

“He was a bit eager,” Varian mused, hiding his flushed cheeks, “But it got the job done.”

“You shouldn’t have done it,” Hugo looked at him as he tried to clean the blood all over him, “It could’ve gone badly.”

“You were in the room,” Varian returned his stare, “I knew you’d kill him. Sure, not in that way, but—“

Hugo didn’t realise his mouth opened, “You shouldn’t rely on me.”

“Why not?”

And now he had gone and messed it up. He had let it slip, and now he’s going to know.

“Just—forget it. I didn’t have my gun, if you wanted to know,” he tried to avoid the subject.

Thankfully, Varian took it, “Ah, so a toothbrush was the next best thing?”

Hugo huffed, “It did the job!”

They both laughed, falling into comfortable silence on the floor.

But of course, Hugo had to break it, “So, do you want to fix your shirt before we leave or?”

Varian looked down, flushing at all of the hickeys covering his neck, “Oh, yeah, uh, I’ll do that.”

Hugo watched awkwardly as Varian covered them up. Some with just his shirt, but others needed heavy layers of foundation to hide the bruises. Every time he stared, he couldn’t get Varian’s moaning out of his head. He hated his mind for torturing him in such a way.

This was a very big sign to kill him. He was distracting.

Varian spotted him staring, making Hugo look away in shame, “You know, nothing really happened right?”

“Uh huh,” Hugo mused. Nothing happened? Ah, ah, Jae. That’s nothing?

“I’m being serious,” Varian insisted, “He was the only one shirtless. I kept everything on—“

“Barely,” Hugo tiffed against his will.

You shouldn’t care.
He’s the target.

Varian gave him a look, “You do realise I was aiming for this right? I had things under control.”

He knew. He knew how Varian worked. He liked control, and panicked as soon as he didn’t have it.

He wondered if Jae knew. He probably didn’t. The rat didn’t know anything about him, and he still got to do all of that with him. It just left a sour taste in his mouth.

“I know,” Hugo replied, motioning to open the door. They went back to their clothes, changing in the vault as Hugo finally got his hands on his gun, and aimed for Varian.

His hand shook.

It would be better this way. He was distracting.

He couldn’t reach the trigger.

You care too much for him. You can’t even let him seduce a target anymore. You’re weak for him.

The gun fell out of his hand, clattering to the floor.

Pick it up. You have to, it’s a mission. You don’t fail missions.

But Hugo didn’t pick it up. He didn’t dare touch it. He just stared like it had burned him.

When Varian turned back around again with a soft smile, all resolve in him died.

He was well and truly doomed. All because of him.

…

Varian’s POV:

Varian wasn’t a stranger to make out sessions. It surprised Rapunzel when she found out, because she babies him incessantly, but it’s true. He did it for missions all the time.

As an agent, you’re always told to weaponise whatever you had. If you were large, use it to your advantage, because you were probably stronger than them. If you were smart, use it to your advantage by outsmarting rather than fighting.

Whilst Varian did the latter, he also found out something else on the job.

Guys found him cute.

At first, he found it kind of weird. But as soon as he came to terms with the fact that bisexuality exists and he’s one of them, he decided it could be something to exploit.

So he played into the cute facade. He acted innocent, slightly teasing, just the perfect little catch. He’d bat his eyes, be a doll until he got what he needed.

Doing it as many times as he had, he’d say he was reasonably experienced. Adjusted to it. He wouldn’t freak out.

Except he was now.

He had just kissed someone in front of Hugo. Hugo. And it wasn’t just kissing. It was heavier, more intense. And the worst part was the poor guy had to hear everything.

In one fell swoop, he had just ruined everything. He could barely look Hugo in the eyes. He felt shame after doing it, almost as if he had betrayed someone in the process.

Hugo. He had betrayed Hugo.

He knew this was ridiculous. How could he betray someone he owed no romantic allegiance to?

Well, because he didn’t have to owe it for it to be there. The marks on his neck burned, screaming about how they shouldn’t be there. Every time he caught a glimpse, his breath caught in his throat.

It was like he was branded, but the sigil was all wrong. It wasn’t Hugo’s.

After that, Hugo probably didn’t want him anyways. He probably saw Varian as a flirt. Someone you can’t emotionally invest in because he does stuff like this on a whim. He probably hated Varian. He probably thought he was disgusting.

His chances looked well and truly screwed.

Hugo snapped him out of his thoughts, talking to Nuru over the comms, “Hey, we’re in position, bags are ready to drop. Are you here?”

He could almost imagine her confident grin, “Let the floor drop, I’m here.”

Varian walked over to the button, pressing it and freezing in shock as the floor slowly gave way, revealing Nuru’s smaller fighter jet. He asked hesitantly, “Are you sure you want us to drop the bags?”

“Yeah,” Hugo agreed, “How are you going to catch them?”

“Oh, I learnt a new trick,” Nuru laughs over the comms as she began to turn the plane, staying perfectly in place under them as she flipped herself over, revealing an open compartment.

Saying she was a good driver was an understatement. Nuru was one of the best by far. She was staying perfectly still as she matched their planes speed despite being upside down.

Koto’s air force was a beast.

They quickly dropped the bags, Varian hoping they can get her back to her normal position as soon as possible. He didn’t want one of his closest friends to have their head explode because he made her suspend herself upside down for too long.

Nuru spoke again, “Okay, I’ve got everything, and I’ll drop it off at Ingvarr’s palace. Anything else I need to know?”

“No, not really. And, thank you Nuru,” Varian beamed, causing Nuru to stammer under the gratitude about how he didn’t need to say such things because they were such good friends.

Well, since they met in the war, yeah, they pretty much were good friends now. They certainly weren’t bombing each other anymore.

She left quickly after, the last thing he heard was the sound of her music blasting as she shot off. Varian relaxed, closing the hanger doors. They both headed out, walking back to the room next to the bathroom from earlier. When the coast was clear, they slid the lock closed, collapsing into the plush seats.

It was serene, both of them sitting silently, just enjoying each others company. Until Varian’s brain couldn’t switch off.

It was calm now.
No distractions.
A perfect opportunity.

He should just do it. Just get it out quick, don’t make a scene, make it cute, make it nice.

He fiddled with his fingers, “So, I’ve been thinking…”

“Oh, now that’s dangerous,” Hugo teased, a playful grin lighting up the freckles on his face. He never drew attention to them, especially since he tried to make it out that only Varian had them, but Varian had looked hard enough to know exactly where they were.

Varian could feel his hands go clammy, “About this mission, well not about the mission itself, that’s just weird, it’s basically over and it wasn’t too tough, but about us. Our partnership.”

“You’re rambling,” Hugo’s smile softened, making Varian gulp loudly.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” he apologised awkwardly, “I was trying to say, we work together well, I mean obviously we do, it’s the most efficient partnership I’ve seen. You know we are 150% more efficient than any other agent partnership Corona has—“

Hugo shook his shoulders gently, “Freckles, loving the statistics, but what are you actually trying to say?”

Varian opened his mouth, before closing it and opening it once more, “I— I don’t think we’re just efficient. I don’t think— I don’t think this is just efficiency.”

Hugo’s posture stiffened, as if he was no longer at ease, “What is it then?”

The next word that spilled out of his mouth would be dangerous. Life threatening. World shaking. It could spell the end of whatever they had, or the beginning of something more beautiful.

He wanted to say it. That he loved him, that he wanted to spend every day with him. Every moment close by, every touch possible without it being weird. He could constantly be with him, bantering and ranting about who knows what. They would be partners for life.

But, in true Varian fashion, he decided to forget English as soon as he spoke, “I want— I think I’m in— I need— oh by the moon why is this so hard!”

Sensing the frustration creeping into his voice, Hugo asked curiously, “What is?”

Oh nothing. Just confessing his deepest darkest secret to the guy he used to want to kill.

“Hugo, I think I am—“

People burst through the bathroom door, pointing at Varian angrily, “Hey, that’s the woman who seduced Jae!”

Varian huffed, pulling out his gun, “I’m a man!”

“Okay Freckles, save it for later,” Hugo yanked him away from oncoming fire, dashing behind a sofa to give them cover. They took it in turns to dip out and take a shot, before retreating back behind it.

The woman from earlier spoke up, “Give us the loot!”

Hugo played innocent, shooting one of the guys in the arm with a well timed shot, “What loot?”

“From the vault,” her voice hardened, “We know what you guys did, not only here but to Jae as well. Hand it over, and no one needs to get hurt.”

Varian could feel them enclosing in. There had to be at least five, giving them some pretty awful odds.

Varian put on a confident smile, “Number 1: Jae deserved it. He was disgusting. Number 2: you’re never getting what was in the vault.”

He pulled Hugo up, dashing out of the door and into a run. They raced down the aisle of the plane, screaming apologies to the startled passengers. Babies cried around them as shots rang through the air. Varian gritted his teeth, firing some of his own to get them to calm down.

Hugo also began to turn and take aim as they ran, doing everything in their power to slow them down. Men shouted at them to stop. Women screamed and protected their children. Kids cried, whimpering about how they wanted to live.

Varian faltered. He wasn’t one to be overly emotional. He was on a job and he knew that. But he never wanted to cause terror, especially to those who didn’t deserve it. He had left that in the past.

He pushed Hugo’s gun lightly, a non verbal sign to stop shooting as they just ran, trying to get the others away from the civilians. They burst through another door, panting as they finally escaped the cabins.

But now they were in the cockpit, with two very frazzled pilots.

The pilot shrieked, “What are you doing here?!”

Hugo breathed heavily, “We honestly have no idea.”

The others burst through the door, making Varian put his hands up in an attempt to stop them, “Hey, we can talk about this—“

“No,” another woman replied coldly before taking the shot right to his head.

He couldn’t remember what happened. All he knew was that one second a bullet was going for his head, and the next he was caged under Hugo who had his arms wrapped protectively around him, shielding him from any threats.

Varian could barely form a sentence.

He had saved him.

Well of course. He is your partner.

But he sacrificed himself.

Same logic applies.

He cares.

So what?

Varian bit the urge to lean in as Hugo hovered over him, noses nearly touching. He was in the perfect position, gazing softly into his eyes, admiring every small detail of his face, like the fact that he has a freckle in his left eye.

But the sound of squelching woke him up to the pilot crumpling on his chair, blood spilling onto Varian’s face. He gasped in horror, backing away like it harmed him as he saw the sight. The man’s head was blown in, body crumpled and bleeding out its contents like a bursted bubble.

It was revolting.

Varian turned on his heels, snarling, “What was that for? We need the pilot? Do you want us to die?”

The woman spat back, “Do you think I wanted to kill him? I was going for you!”

“Well next time, do better,” he wrinkled his nose as Hugo shook him to lay off. The other boy was helping the co pilot try and take control of the shaking aircraft, slowly stabilising it.

As soon as it was steady, the woman got her gun out and loaded, “Oh, I will.”

Hugo yelled about this being the second time in too short of a time span as Varian lunched, knocking her hand sideways.

Sideways towards the co pilot.

In a matter of seconds after his friend, the man screamed, his consciousness fading rapidly as Hugo clung onto him.

Hugo rolled his eyes, “Are you kidding me? You just had to kill both of them.”

They began to fight amongst themselves, squabbling over who got to hold the gun now as Varian lurched to the side dangerously. He wobbled, before taking a look at the window.

It wasn’t a pretty sight.

They were going straight for the ground.

Varian snapped into action, knocking dead pilot off the chair as he grabbed the wheel, “Hugo, keep them distracted for me.”

Hugo saluted before taking his aim, trying to get them to calm down and let Varian drive them to safely or they’ll all die. And whilst those guys were stupid, their small amount of self preservation made them sit obediently as Varian got to work.

With Hugo’s gun raised firmly as a warning, Varian sighed, knowing he finally had a shot.

One problem: he had no idea how to fly a plane. And Nuru wasn’t picking up.

Varian gritted his teeth as he just started pushing things. Things started happening at once: the red button he just pressed got the wheels out, the orange one next to it brought the flaps of the wings up, and that green button did… seemingly nothing?

He could feel the sweat building on his face. He wasn’t supposed to be pressing these buttons. He pressed another and the plane started to shake, making him scramble to turn it off.

Great. Now he could barely breathe and look straight ahead where the ground was approaching rapidly.

He grabbed a joystick, pulling it towards him roughly. The plane jittered, beginning to slow down.

Okay, that’s the throttle. Well, he hopes it’s the throttle. If it’s not the throttle then they were all going to die.

He continued to pull it, hoping to get it to level out before they reached tarmac. He pulled the wing flap button again, well after pressing 3 other incorrect buttons, to get some drag. He had no idea if they were even making enough, but hey, everything was welcome at this point.

He closed his eyes as a runway appeared on the ground. So he was going to crash. He was going to die—

Focus, Varian. Wheels. He needed wheels.

He got the button right this time, the wheels extending slowly as he braced for impact. He knew they were still going too fast, despite him pulling at the throttle to slow them. He knew this was probably the most uncomfortable descent in the world for everyone onboard.

The plane made contact, and Varian had to play a whole different game.

It sped down the runway, swerving from side to side dangerously as he fought to keep it straight. He clutched the throttle for dear life, just hoping they’d stop before he drove them off a cliff.

Miraculously, the engine quietened, and Hugo emerged covered in grease. He hadn’t even known he was missing, too focused on the impending doom in front of him.

Varian panted, taken out by all the stress of piloting, “How did you—“

“I just broke the engine,” Hugo announced, seemingly triumphant. And honestly, Varian was too. They were safe. The goods were gone. They had succeeded.

Now all they needed to do is go home.

They stumbled out of the cockpit, looking around in wonder at their surroundings. A large manor stood before them, marble pillars beside the grand entrance.

Hugo looked pale at the sight. Varian looked at him and teased, “What, you have a fear of rich people?”

Hugo barely breathed, “Yeah, I’m richpeoplephobic. Now can we go—“

Varian turned to him, a puzzled expression on his face, “We should probably explain to them why we used their runway. We don’t want to get Rapunzel in trouble—“

Hugo tugged on his arm frantically, “Theres no time to be a good soldier Freckles, we need to leave—“

Varian didn’t get it. There was no rush anymore. They were finally safe after all of that stress. They were free to go home. What was keeping Hugo on edge?

Varian stood his ground, “Why are you so insistent that we leave?”

“Please,” Hugo looked up at him, eyes pleading, “Freckles— I mean, Varian. We need to go.”

Varian froze at his name being mentioned for once. A small part of him gave in. He wanted to listen. He wanted to do whatever he said.

In a minute, he would know he should’ve gone with it when he had the chance.

A booming voice resounded, “Go where?”

Varian turned to the sound of the voice. A woman with a large scar down her face sauntered down the stairs, eyes set on them. Her grey hair was in a braid, heels clacking against the ground to give her presence even more noise.

Hugo grabbed him and ran, before they hurtled straight into guards with guns. They turned again, reaching more guards. Both of them fell back to back, guns at the ready as they faced an encirclement of guards pointing guns at their heads.

Varian stuttered, “Wait, we can explain! I’m so sorry about using your runway—“

The women smiled cruelly, “This isn’t about the runway. Is it… Hugo?”

How did she know his name? He swore he never said it in front of her. Did he know this woman? Since they were probably in Ingvarr, the odds of that were pretty high.

Hugo blanched even more, refusing to talk.

The woman applauded, “You know, I thought you’d get it done before. But it seems you wanted to make a show out of it.”

Varian looked at him frantically, his head pounding at the possibilities of her statement, “Show out of what? What is she talking about Hugo?”

Hugo avoided his gaze, shuffling away, “Yes, ma’am, that’s exactly it.”

Ma’am? What kind of power did she hold over him? Was she a former employer? No, he wouldn’t still be referring to her as ma’am if it was former. Meaning…

She owned him?

But he thought Rapunzel did. That was on his contract. Agents didn’t have two contracts at once.

Unless one was fake.

Varian felt his blood run cold as the realisation hit him. He staggered backwards, Hugo seemingly oblivious to what he discovered. One guard pressed their gun into his neck to stop him from moving, making him hold his breath. Oh he was so dead. Dead for trusting his partner of years.

The partner he thought he could rely on. The partner he thought he loved.

The woman snarled, “What are you waiting for Hugo? An invitation? Kill him!”

Varian’s worst fear came true in an instant. He never suspected Hugo to do such a thing. Hugo, the man who had saved him from a burning building once. The man who once walked across two kingdoms to keep him alive. The man who he gave his heart to.

He wanted him dead. He always wanted him dead. Any chance of him being his was stupid, wishful thinking. Varian was a fool.

Cursing himself, tears welled in his eyes as Hugo’s gaze turned cold, “Donella, get these people away from my prize.”

Prize? Once he thought that word was endearment. Something to be proud of. Lunaris always treated those they liked as prizes. But being with Hugo, exploring more outside the messed up upbringing he had, he knew a prize wasn’t something to be referred to. It wasn’t endearing. It was possessive. Dehumanising. Disgusting.

And that’s how Hugo saw him. Like an object waiting to be claimed.

He didn’t know how he had gone so wrong. How blind had he been to ignore the signs? Where was his sense of danger? Why wasn’t he on guard?

Because Hugo played too well. He got under his skin, into his mind, and into his heart.

Varian had lost. And this was his forfeit.

Varian shook as the guards disappeared, leaving him, Hugo, and the woman called Donella. Hugo got out his gun, pointing it at Varian’s chest. Straight to his heart.

Just to make him bleed. Just to see the heart he claimed before he snuffed it out.

He tried to aim his gun at him, but his arm couldn’t do it. He couldn’t shoot Hugo. It ached too much for him to try and hurt him.

But then Hugo started to act weird. There were tears in his eyes too. He could barely meet Varian’s gaze, his arm trembling as he struggled to keep it still.

“Do it,” Donella demanded. Hugo flinched at the noise, his finger sliding off of the trigger every time he tried to place it on.

Varian’s realised then and there, that Hugo didn’t want to do it either.

Seeing his chance, and having hope finally flow through him at the sight, he decided to admit it. He might as well, seeing as he’d probably wind up dead in a minute.

Varian sighed, “Do I get any last words?”

Hugo replied softly, as if approaching a wounded animal for the kill, “Yes.”

“I—“ Varian started, taking a deep breath, “I have a secret as well. Whilst mine wasn’t trying to kill you… it is was worse. Embarrassing. More vulnerable. I tried to push it down, to say it didn’t exist and I was making it up, but by the moon Hugo I can’t anymore. I can’t hold it in anymore. I can’t look at you and pretend there isn’t some part of me that wanted more. I can’t call myself your partner in crime without my heart sinking in defeat. I— I’m in love with you, Hugo.”

Hugo winced, acting as if he was shot as he stumbled back. Varian continued regardless, “So take aim. I can’t kill you. You win, and I’ll let you.”

He’s steadied Hugo’s hand, placing Hugo’s finger on the trigger. Hugo shook his head, but Varian grabbed it, nodding his as he soothed him, “Hey, it’s okay. Just do it—“

Hugo pushed him away, turning the gun and shooting Donella in the chest. Her eyes widened in shock, stumbling back as she clutched her chest. Blood poured out, littering the floor as she screamed, “You, you rat! How dare you—“

Hugo readied another shot, until Varian spoke up, “Wait! I think I know who you are.”

“Go on kid,” Donella spat blood onto the floor, writhing in pain.

“You sent those people,” Varian continued, “The ones on the plane. You opposed the peace deal. Why?”

It didn’t take him long. The guy with the bomb seemed terrified of a woman, and here was an intimidating woman with alot of power over her own guards. Better yet, considering her features, she was probably Ingvarrian, and it was known that most people who opposed the peace deal were the rich of Ingvarr. And last of all, was it really a coincidence that clearly competent people accidentally shot a pilot and a co pilot, and so they were forced to land exactly on a runway in the middle of nowhere? No, Varian thinks not.

“Clever boy,” Donella tried to pick herself up, but to no avail, “Yes, I sent them. See, I find the peace between Corona and Ingvarr to be a degradation of Ingvarr’s morals. Why should the greatest kingdom settle, when they could’ve destroyed Corona?”

“So, you decided to take it into your own hands?”

“Oh, I intended to do much worse,” Donella smirked, “Not only would I have ruined the peace deal, making Corona seem untrustworthy, but I’d have a Coronan agent dead because of an Ingvarrian one. I’d say that’s enough damage to spark another war.”

“You’re crazy,” Hugo spat.

Donella turned her head, “Am I? I was going to succeed as well. You were so close to killing him, I know you were Hugo. You’re obedient, you always have been. You’re like a dog—“

Hugo shot again. And again. Until she was nothing more than a limp piece of flesh on the floor. He stumbled back, staring at his hand like it betrayed him. Varian wasted no time, grabbing him by the shoulders, “The guards will be here any minute when realise you killed her and not me!”

Hugo nodded, taking Varian’s hand and running into the nearby forest. Varian knew his heart was singing for a reason other than adrenaline, but he just let it. Let himself enjoy this before it ends.

But as they continued running, he realised no one was coming after them. All they were surrounded by was the sounds of birds singing.

Hugo realised this as well, coming to a stop to catch his breath. They both collapsed opposite each other, their breathing filling the air.

Hugo broke the silence, “You know I couldn’t do it.”

“Yeah, I saw.”

“No,” Hugo’s gaze hardened, “Varian, I had tried earlier. And every time I went to kill you, I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know what was happening to me. I had never failed a mission before, but if I took one look as you, it’s almost as if I wanted to fail. My body would betray me, screaming about how it never wanted to harm you. I never wanted to harm you. Thats when I realised what you do to me. You make me soft around you. You make me happier. You make me feel at home.”

Varian couldn’t do it. If he was right, and Hugo was about to say it, he didn’t know what he’d do. He hadn’t planned for this outcome.

“I don’t want to be obedient anymore,” his voice dropped into a whisper, “I want to do something for myself. I know it’s selfish, but… I want you, Varian. If you’ll have me.”

Varian felt like he was being shot. Actually, this was worse than being shot.

A gun only gives pain for a short period of time. But love didn’t. Yearning after someone for so long wasn’t merciful. It wore you down. It consumed your thoughts.

And now it was reciprocated. It was real.

Varian offered his hand shakily, trembling at what comes next, “Then come with me. I don’t know what our futures may hold, or what we’ll want to do next, but I know this, I want you in it.”

Hugo took his hand, clutching it softly, “I do too.”

And they walked off, hand in hand. The forest was their only witness to what was blooming, but that was all they needed.