Work Text:
To say Hugo was a little peeved was an understatement. Due to Varian’s constant need to be the perfect upstanding citizen he was, Hugo was now stuck behind bars, wishing he were literally anywhere else.
If Varian had just let Hugo do his thing, they wouldn’t be in this situation. Now they were both trapped in a jail cell in some random town and were delayed in their search for the next trial until Yong and Nuru could bail them out. In fact, they would likely know the location of the next trial by now if Varian hadn’t decided he wanted to be sanctimonious all of the sudden.
And if Hugo was pettily keeping his back turned on Varian from inside the cell, well, who was there to judge him other than Varian himself. The other alchemist hadn’t said a word since entering the cell regardless, which only seemed to add onto Hugo’s annoyance. While Hugo hadn’t expressed much of his irritation out loud, surely Varian could tell he was mad based on the fact he was pointedly turned away from him. Maybe Varian was also ignoring him?
Hugo gripped the bars of the jail cell tighter, debating whether he should request a separate cell out of spite.
It all started earlier that morning. The group had arrived at the town and had decided to split into pairs to find information on the next trial, since Varian’s mother’s journal was particularly vague on where the location was. Varian had paired up with Hugo and had sent Ruddiger to go with Nuru and Yong. While they wouldn’t usually leave the younger two to explore by themselves, a potential place for information on the next trial meant sneaking into a restricted area of some sacred structure, which Varian wanted to keep them out of.
Hugo, in all his thieving expertise, assumed it would be an easy mission and wasn’t too careful with being stealthy. I mean, surely there wouldn’t be much security for some old run-down building, right?
Except that wasn’t the case, because only a few minutes after the two snuck in with nothing yet found, some dumb guard came in and started yelling at them to freeze. Hugo pulled out one of his sleeping draughts from his pocket to use against the guard only to be stopped by Varian’s gloved hand and warning look.
“We don’t need guards actively hunting us down while we’re in this village,” Varian whispered, his grip on Hugo’s forearm rigid. “Just comply for now and the others will come help us.”
Hugo sent him an astonished and furious expression, but Varian’s gaze was resolute, his mind clearly made. Hugo gave an exasperated groan and pocketed his chemicals before reluctantly raising his hands, Varian doing the same.
The guard approached them and quickly put cuffs on them both. Hugo noticed Varian flinch when the cuffs were snapped around his gloved wrists, but Hugo was too busy sending scathing glares his way to be concerned.
While they were being led out of the building, Olivia snuck herself out of Hugo’s pocket, and Hugo whispered to her to find the others to bail them out. The mouse nodded and scurried off unseen by the guard, with Hugo crossing his fingers in hopes she’d be able to find Nuru and Yong and get them bailed out as quickly as possible.
The guard had come prepared with a horse-drawn carriage, so he promptly forced them inside before slamming the door and beginning the ride to the nearest holding cells.
The ride was suffocating to say the least. Hugo and Varian both sat across from each other, avoiding meeting each other’s eyes as the carriage shook.
Hugo wasn’t all that worried. He’d spent a few nights in various jail cells over the course of his time working for Donella, and she had always bailed him out, usually within a day or two. Frankly, for him prison just felt like an inconvenience, and always made Donella displeased when she had to bail out his sorry ass.
For Varian though, it seemed as though a few hours in prison was the equivalent to receiving a death sentence.
Despite his seemingly best efforts to remain calm, his forced deep breaths were shaky and his cuffed hands were trembling in front of him. Even in the dim light of the small window in the carriage, Hugo could tell he was paler than usual, with his expression troubled and his eyes constantly searching as though something was going to jump from the shadows.
Hugo almost scoffed at the sight, still bridled with annoyance, but something about seeing Varian’s barely concealed panic made his heart hurt strangely in his chest. Varian was often the most intrepid of the group, and would constantly throw himself into danger with little regard for his own safety. Seeing him so uncharacteristically worried was somewhat alarming to Hugo, to say the least. Even so, his logical side knew Varian was undoubtedly overreacting, and it was likely due to the boy’s clean record from being a goody-two-shoes his whole life.
While Hugo had wanted to continue his silent treatment against the other alchemist, he was sick of the dark-haired boy’s constant fidgeting in their tightly enclosed space and wanted it to end.
(Either that or he was concerned by Varian’s clearly distressed state and wanted to help — although he would never admit that outloud.)
“First time goin’ to prison, Goggles?” Hugo drawled, then stretched dramatically to try to make the air in the carriage more relaxed. “Don’t be so overdramatic about it, it’s not that bad. Trust me, I’ve had a few brushes with the law in my past and for a violation like this, we’ll likely only be there for a few hours tops until Starlight and Sparkles bail us out. One singular infraction won’t ruin your perfect record, Hairstripe.”
It took a moment for Varian’s eyes to meet his own, but even then it felt more like Varian was looking more through him rather than at him. It was slightly unnerving.
Almost as if he hadn’t processed the words, Varian muttered a distant, “yeah…” before closing his eyes and continuing his forced deep breathing, as if Hugo hadn’t even said anything.
Hugo was almost offended by how little his words seemed to affect Varian. Good luck getting me to try to comfort anyone ever again. And to think he had even pushed aside his anger towards the boy in order to reassure him, only for it to be meaningless.
Hugo tried to pretend like it didn’t bother him, but he couldn’t help the strange hurt feeling in his chest. The feeling was somewhat foreign to him as someone who was usually unbothered by the way he was perceived. Why do I care so much what Varian thinks anyway?
His thoughts and emotions were at war with one another for the remainder of the carriage ride, but getting unloaded out of the carriage and shoved into a cell was a great reminder of why he was so pissed at Varian in the first place. Thankfully they had their cuffs taken off of them, but Hugo’s skin still felt slightly chafed from where they had been around his wrists.
And now, they were stuck together in a cell.
And Hugo refused to face the other boy.
And Varian wouldn’t say a word.
Hugo lightly knocked his head into the bars of the cell out of frustration. He told himself he was gonna wait for Varian to speak up before breaking his silent treatment, but since the other alchemist was so stubbornly insistent on not talking it out, it looked like it would be Hugo’s responsibility to break the silence.
“This could’ve all been avoided, y’know,” Hugo spoke, still facing away from the other boy. “If you didn’t have to be so goody-goody all the time, that guard would be sound asleep thanks to me, and we’d probably have the answers to where the next trial is. Hell, we could already be on our merry way to it. Instead, we are stuck in a shitty jail cell for who knows how long until the Princess and Firecracker notice we are missing, and after that we still have barely any information on the next trial. You get why I’m pissed, right?”
No response.
For someone who constantly preaches talking through your feelings, you’d think he would at least try to listen when I express my own emotions, Hugo thought bitterly to himself, biting his tongue so he wouldn’t say it out loud.
After a few more moments of silence, Hugo growled in frustration before whipping his head around towards Varian’s direction.
“You know, I really don’t appreciate being ignor-” Hugo started, anger leaking from his tone. His words died in his throat once fully turned, finally getting a good look at the dark haired boy since entering the cell.
Varian’s face was blank. Unnervingly blank. His blue eyes, normally bright and full of life, appeared to be glazed over as he stared straight ahead. He was perched on the edge of one of the cots in the cell, his gloved hands curled into fists beside him and his posture slightly hunched. It was as if someone had snuck in and replaced Varian with an emotionless statue in his place, the only sign that that wasn’t the case being the uneven breaths Hugo could see stuttering quietly in the boy’s chest.
“Hairstripe?” Hugo asked hesitantly, slowly approaching the frozen boy. When Varian made no sign of even hearing him, he cautiously knelt down in front of him, struggling to swallow the dread threatening to overcome him.
“Yoohoo, space case, are you there?” Hugo chuckled apprehensively, waving his hand in front of Varian’s eyes. His forced smile quickly fell when Varian didn’t so much as blink. Not even snapping in his face worked, the boy seeming entirely catatonic.
Now Hugo was really starting to panic.
“Varian-” Hugo said urgently, moving to grab the boy’s shoulders.
His hand had barely made contact with Varian’s shoulders when, all of the sudden, Varian let out a strangled gasp and jerked away as if he’d been struck. Varian’s body involuntarily flew backwards on the cot as if trying to escape from Hugo’s reach, his head colliding with the stone wall behind him with a resounding thud.
Hugo immediately fell backwards in shock, landing on his ass on the cold floor. He watched with a stunned expression as Varian’s once stupefied state immediately became a full blown fit of terror. Varian’s breathing was desperate and shallow, with him letting out small involuntary whines as he struggled to take in a deep breath. His body trembled terribly as he curled in on himself against the wall, almost in an attempt to make himself smaller or hide himself from view.
“P-please don’t hurt me! I’m sorry!”
Tears fell from Varian’s eyes as he cried out desperately, his eyes screwed shut and his arms blocking his head like a shield.
Hugo observed stupidly from the floor, feeling helpless as he watched Varian lose himself in his spiralling panic. Hugo’s mind raced as he tried to think of a solution, feeling entirely lost. He’d experienced and seen fits of panic before, but never anything like this. Not to mention the fact that Hugo had absolutely no experience trying to comfort anyone in his life.
Think, Hugo, think. Varian had never been afraid of Hugo like this before. Although, Varian didn’t exactly seem to be in the right headspace at the moment, cowering as if hiding from something that wasn’t there. Maybe he was seeing something not there.
What is he sorry for? Who hurt him enough to make him react like this?
Varian’s hyperventilating reached a point where Hugo knew he’d likely pass out from lack of oxygen soon if he didn’t act fast. Before he could think twice, he sprung up and seized Varian’s arm, keeping it in his grip even when Varian flinched violently in response and began to squirm and whine. He felt a pang in his heart at Varian’s terrified reaction but held onto hope his half-baked idea could work, even as he struggled keeping his balance knelt by the cot with Varian’s efforts to get away.
Hugo quickly tugged Varian’s glove off his hand and held the panicked boy’s bare wrist in his grasp, leading Varian’s hand to the back of his head even as he fought to escape. Please let this work.
He felt Varian’s hand make contact with the ponytail that held his blond hair, then led the boy’s hand down to the shaved part of his hair. While Varian’s breathing was still erratic and his eyes still firmly shut, Hugo could feel the hand in his hold almost twitch to life, no longer only trying to pull away in desperation. He felt Varian’s fingers lightly brush against the fuzzy back of Hugo’s head and watched Varian’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, even in his panic.
“You feel that, Goggles? How many people d’you know have their hair half-shaved like this?” Hugo asked softly, attempting to keep his tone light so it wouldn’t betray his overwhelming fear. “Probably not very many, considering how many times you’ve made fun of me for it, huh? Guess it’s only fair with how often I call you Hairstripe.”
He forced out a chuckle, attempting to appear composed as he smiled desperately at Varian, praying to the stars that his stupid plan would work.
Maybe he was imagining it, but Varian’s breathing seemed to be slightly less choked as his palm fully connected with Hugo’s scalp. Hugo loosened his grip on Varian’s wrist, grateful that the boy no longer fought to get away.
Varian’s hand started absentmindedly tracing Hugo’s head, going from his shaved scalp to his ponytail. To Hugo’s relief, his breathing did appear to slow down, along with the boy’s violent shivering.
“See? S’just me here, Stripes, nothing to be afraid of,” Hugo spoke gently, trying to sound as reassuring as possible even while mentally pissing his pants with nerves.
Hugo's hand stayed where it was wrapped around Varian’s wrist as Varian seemed almost lost in the sensory stimulation. Even with his eyes still shut, he appeared to be in somewhat of a daze, the fearful tension in his face fading as his head hung low. His hand began to absently make its way to the front of Hugo’s head, where he began gently tracing Hugo’s hairline. Hugo held as still as a statue, barely daring to breathe. The feeling of fingertips brushing over his face was foreign but not unwanted, it was soothing and warm in a way Hugo had never felt before. His brain was struggling to form proper thoughts and his stomach fluttered peculiarly.
Hugo watched and felt as Varian’s fingers tracked the frame of his glasses, then made their way down the slope of his nose, before finally settling on the skin next to his lips.
Hugo, too focused on trying to keep the strange blush off his face at the sensation of Varian’s soft touch, barely noticed Varian’s breathing gradually slowing until it had entirely evened out. The panic seemed to now be out of his system, his body no longer shaking in fear, and Hugo felt he could almost cry in relief at the sight.
He watched carefully as Varian’s head lifted and his eyelids finally fluttered open to reveal exhausted blue eyes. It appeared like Varian was waking up from a mental haze, which he likely was, as he slowly blinked himself into awareness.
Varian’s bare hand slowly lowered from Hugo’s face, with Hugo’s hand still loosely around his wrist. He felt a strange texture on Varian’s wrist, but his brain was too focused on the loss of contact on his face to truly notice it. He immediately began missing Varian’s soothing touch on his skin before throwing that baffling thought out of his head because what was that about??
He cleared his throat, trying to force the heat from his cheeks. “You good now, Hairstripe?”
Varian blinked again as he finally seemed to note Hugo’s presence, the brain fog slowly draining from his eyes. It took a moment more for Varian to fully come back to himself before he seemed to remember the question.
“O-oh, yeah, I’m- I’m good, sorry,” Varian responded absently, his head shaking lightly as if dispelling the last of the fog.
Hugo let out a breath of air that was a mix between a laugh and a sigh of relief, finally letting go of the nervous tension that hadn’t left since finding Varian with a terrifyingly blank expression. That image will probably be ingrained in my mind forever. “Thank the stars. You really had me worried there, Freckles.”
The clear vulnerability in his statement and voice was not lost on him, but he was too relieved that his impulsive plan had worked to try to save face.
Despite his lighthearted tone, Varian’s expression turned guilty with his shoulders hunching in response.
“I’m sorry,” he spoke, so quiet Hugo had to strain his ears to hear it.
The words made somewhere in Hugo’s chest ache, but he pushed that aside and forced a smirk on his face.
“Apologizing over something you couldn’t control? I thought you were smarter than that, Goggles,” Hugo tried joking in an attempt to make Varian smile, but it only seemed to add to Varian’s guilt.
“But I could’ve controlled it!” Varian rasped louder than before, his hand leaving Hugo’s as he gestured in exasperation. “I’ve experienced being hunted by guards before so I stupidly thought it’d be better to just face the law and get it over with, even though you easily could’ve prevented it. And I knew I wouldn’t react well being in prison again but I-I still let us get arrested because I thought I could handle it! But obviously not!”
Varian laughed hysterically, his hands tugging on his hair harshly. Hugo would’ve tried to calm him down again if he wasn’t too busy trying to process Varian’s words.
“...Again?”
Varian froze, and that’s when Hugo’s eyes drifted to his hands still gripping his hair.
Specifically, his wrist, the one that Hugo had forced the glove off.
His bare wrist.
Varian’s eyes followed Hugo’s, and it only took a moment to process what Hugo was seeing before he flinched violently, quickly grabbing onto his wrist with his gloved hand and obscuring the skin. But it was too late, a moment was all Hugo needed to recognize the marks he’d seen.
Prison scars.
Specifically, caused by prolonged wearing of handcuffs. Hugo had seen it a few times in his life, mainly due to his presence in many criminal circles from working with Donella. There was no chance Varian had gotten the scarring from the short time wearing the manacles on the way to the cell. Which meant he truly had already been in prison before.
And had been in prison long enough for his wrists to be permanently scarred.
He must’ve been quiet for too long, because Varian only seemed to become more freaked out.
“Hugo, I-” Varian sputtered, his words tripping over themselves in his desperation to explain. “It- it’s not what you think it is, really, it’s nothing, I don’t- I- I can’t-”
“Can I see?” Hugo blurted out, before immediately regretting the question when Varian froze. Great going, asshole. “I- I swear I won’t judge you or think of you differently, I just…”
His words trailed off and he immediately reconsidered his idea earlier to request a separate cell, though this time for an entirely different reason.
The two sat quietly for a moment, their gazes locked as neither moved. To his utmost surprise, just before he was about to spout apologies, Varian started moving to uncover his wrist. He carefully brought his ungloved hand towards Hugo, who felt almost too scared to breathe as he sat perfectly still.
Once Varian’s hand was in front of him, Hugo lifted his hands slowly and gingerly held up Varian’s palm as if he was holding a precious gemstone. Even while being as gentle as possible, Varian still slightly flinched at the touch.
“Sorry,” Hugo murmured, in which Varian looked away in response, almost in shame. Hugo wanted nothing more but to smooth the stress line formed between Varian’s eyebrows. “I won’t hurt you, I promise.”
Something indecipherable flashed in Varian’s expression at Hugo’s words. Before Hugo could even attempt to guess what it meant, Varian lifted his eyes and met Hugo’s green ones. His eyes held a kind of sincerity that Hugo had never seen before and was too afraid to look away from, almost as if it would disappear in an instant and would exist purely in his imagination.
To his surprise, the boy smiled softly.
“I trust you.”
A foreign feeling settled in Hugo’s stomach, one that created a lump in his throat and caused his eyes to become strangely watery.
He quickly looked away and cleared his throat, trying to clear the sudden blurriness from his eyes. He risked a glance back at Varian only to find the boy’s smile had only grown.
His heart fluttered in his chest.
Oh, I am so fucked.
In an effort to distract himself from the burning in his cheeks he finally began observing Varian’s wrist, in which his efforts immediately became successful as his stomach dropped at the sight.
The skin around Varian’s wrist was hypopigmented from the boy’s usual tan skin and raised with scarring. The area was also slightly red, with angry irritation surrounding it. Likely caused by the cuffs from before, Hugo’s brain supplied, which only made his stomach hurt more in response.
It felt almost impossible trying to associate the scars with the Varian he knew, despite the fact that both were in front of him and clearly connected. While he had noticed at some point in their journey how Varian never took off his gloves, even in sleep, he assumed it was likely just a weird comfort thing. How could someone so good receive such terrible marks?
And he had constantly been belittling Varian since day one due to the ignorant impression that Varian had never suffered a day in his life.
Sun, I’m such an asshole.
“It was a long time ago.”
Hugo was so horrified he hadn’t even realized how long he spent staring at the other alchemist’s wrist, lost in thought and overcome with guilt.
Hugo swallowed, struggling to find his voice as he slowly moved to sit next to Varian on the cot, still gently holding Varian’s hand. “H-how long were you…”
He was almost too terrified to finish the question, his brain still refusing to relate the new information in front of him with the Varian he’d spent the last few months getting to know. Thankfully, Varian immediately understood.
“Around a year of incarceration, give or take,” Varian replied, his blue eyes also seemingly locked onto his wrist with a pensive look in them. His expression was carefully blank, but his eyes betrayed the emotions he was clearly battling with. “It would’ve been much longer, if we hadn’t- um, if- if I hadn’t broken out. But then I helped Princess Rapunzel reclaim the kingdom from terrorists, and, well. I was pardoned of my crimes. But-” his voice cut off, and when it came back it was choked and shaky. “But it had still been the worst year of my life.”
Hugo’s mouth was dry. Dread clung to him like a vice, his mind swirling with all the new information Varian supplied. A year in prison, more if he hadn’t broken out?!
The longer he stared at the raised skin on the boy’s wrist, the more upset he felt. It’s likely the same scars on his other wrist too.
His thumb gently rubbed against the raised skin of Varian’s wrist, carefully feeling the way the texture differed from the rest of his skin.
“Did it hurt?”
While on paper the question felt stupid to ask, there was more to the question beneath the surface that he was afraid to ask about directly. His mind kept going back to Varian’s desperate pleas from earlier, when Hugo had barely touched Varian yet caused him to break out into terror and spew broken apologies.
And based on the way Varian’s eyes flashed, it was clear he understood just what Hugo was asking.
Varian took a deep breath in and let it out shakily, closing his eyes only for a moment. When he opened them, they looked as though they were seeing something else entirely.
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry,” his mouth moved before he even processed it, though this time he didn’t regret his words even without planning them.
Varian’s eyes finally lifted from his wrist to meet Hugo’s green ones.
“Why? It’s not your fault,” Varian said, his tone carefully even.
“I suppose not. I’m still sorry it happened though,” Hugo responded, trying to project as much sincerity as possible into his voice.
“You don’t even know what I did to be imprisoned in the first place.”
There was the window of silence, with Varian looking at him with an expectant look on his face. Giving Hugo an opening to ask about it.
Admittedly, Hugo was certainly itching to ask about Varian’s apparent criminal past. The curiosity was vehemently eating him alive, not knowing what terrible misdeeds it was that Varian had engaged in even before turning 18. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, all waiting impatiently on the tip of his tongue. What crimes did he commit? How long was his sentence initially meant to be? When did it happen? How old was he when he was convicted?
Hugo had wrongly assumed he was the only one of the group with a criminal past. He had always thought of Varian as someone pure and innocent, someone who was good because he hadn’t seen what cruelty the world held. Now he knew Varian was good because he had seen the cruelty the world held, and wanted to be good in spite of that.
And at some point, he had done something that landed him in confinement, a sentence bad enough to keep him detained for possibly years. And somehow, he came out of that experience as a good person, and likely a better person from who he was before.
So yes, Hugo was selfishly curious, which was arguably in his nature to be. And Varian was basically offering him the perfect opportunity to ask about it — to finally know the truth about the fellow alchemist he’d been travelling with for months, and to squelch the curiosity now burning inside him.
And looking at him, Hugo knew if he asked, Varian would tell him everything he wanted to know.
But something about that left a sick feeling in his stomach, knowing Varian would disclose his undoubtedly traumatic past to Hugo because he’d feel obligated to. He’d tell Hugo not because he desired to, but because he felt Hugo deserved to know just because of the fact they were travelling together.
Hugo a few months ago would be jumping for joy at the opportunity to get dirt on Varian. But Hugo had changed a lot since then, and it was clear Varian had changed a lot since the mysterious events that led him to be imprisoned.
And the Hugo now would much rather see the Varian he’d gotten to know the past few months be happy than get to know the person Varian once was.
“It’s still not right how you were treated. You don’t deserve what happened to you.”
There was a flash of surprise in Varian’s eyes before he looked away, almost like he didn’t believe Hugo’s words. As if Hugo had said something completely outlandish and not that an 18 year old shouldn’t have scars from being mistreated in prison.
Sun’s above, he’s only 18 and already lost a year of his life to being stuck in a cell.
Hugo wanted to confront him for the skeptical expression on his face, but held his tongue instead. Varian had already had various breakdowns in one day, he didn’t want to add more stress to the already massive pile.
He promised to himself he would force Varian to talk about the feelings he was hiding with him later, but for now he would refrain from continuing the subject. Baby steps.
There was something else he wanted to address instead, something that had been weighing on his conscience ever since first seeing the distinguishable paleness of Varian’s wrists.
“What I can for sure be sorry for,” Hugo started, causing Varian to meet his firm gaze again. “Is for the way I’ve treated you since, well, since even our first conversation. I blindly assumed that you had never struggled or worked a day in your life, and have belittled you constantly for it since. I’ve dismissed all that you’ve gone through in exchange for being purposefully ignorant and poking fun at you, which isn’t fair to you.
“I’m also sorry for earlier today, when I got angry over a reasonable decision you made that I willingly went along with, then called you overdramatic for feelings you can’t control just because I was in a pissy mood. You have every right to react the way you did, and even if you didn’t, it still wouldn’t be fair of me to dictate how you should react to things. I- I’m sorry, Varian, for- everything, really,” Hugo spoke, keeping his eyes down to avoid Varian’s intense stare. “Not just for today, but since the day we met. I’ve been a grade A asshole, and it’s okay if you don’t want to forgive me — honestly, I wouldn’t blame you if you never did — but I swear I’ll try to be better from now on. I just- I’m sorry.”
He wasn’t used to being so vulnerable, especially not in front of the other alchemist, whom he’d admittedly despised for the first few weeks of meeting him. And that feeling had been mutual between the two, with neither hiding their distaste for the other.
Oh how things have changed.
Hugo can’t remember the point in their travelling together when he started actually caring for the boy in front of him, but now he could only guess that things would never be the same between them. And that… Didn’t sound so bad. He’d never really cared for anyone before, not in the way that he felt for Varian, especially in the moment. And the idea of someone caring for him equally as much made something in his chest swirl with foreign emotion, something that felt warm and resolute.
He’d just hoped he hadn’t fucked things up permanently with Varian yet, considering how cruel he’d been to the other boy since the start of their journey. He wasn’t kidding when he said he wouldn’t blame Varian if he never forgave him, he’d likely never forgive himself.
Not to mention if Varian found out why I joined the group in the first place, which would cause him and the others to despise me for the rest of their lives.
Shit, he’d almost forgotten about his mission. The whole reason why he met Varian, Yong, and Nuru in the first place was with the intention to betray them.
He’d been told not to get attached. But it was far too late for that.
What am I gonna tell Donella?!
A gloved hand wrapped around his own which was still holding Varian’s other hand, snapping Hugo out of his thoughts. He glanced up to find Varian smiling at him, his cheeks slightly pink in a way that made his freckles pop. His eyes held a certain kindness that made Hugo’s panicked thoughts vanish into mist in an instant, forgetting all worries of his mission and Donella.
“Thank you, Hugo. That- it really means a lot to hear you say that,” Varian said, his voice shy and earnest. “And I forgive you.”
The words released a tension inside Hugo he didn’t realize he had. He was suddenly so grateful for Varian’s kind forgiving nature which he had previously ridiculed Varian so much for. Confessedly, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if Varian never forgave him.
He found himself overwhelmed with emotions that created a dangerously vulnerable lump in his throat, which he immediately tried to shrug off.
“Seriously, Freckles? Not even going to try forcing me to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness? I expected more from you,” Hugo smirked tearily, looking away before he could cry from the fond expression on Varian’s face.
To his utmost relief, Varian didn’t call Hugo out on his obvious attempt for a mood change, instead letting out a burst of laughter. “Well, I could always take back my forgiveness.”
Hugo let out a breathy laugh. This he was used to, bickering with Varian about stupid things. This he could do. “Pretty sure there’s no take backs, Goggles. Although, if you really wanted to see me on my knees you could’ve just said so.”
Hugo wiggled his eyebrows at Varian, a self-satisfied grin on his face. He watched as Varian’s face became engulfed by redness. While Hugo may not be the best with handling vulnerable emotions, he was certainly mastered in the art of making Varian flustered.
Varian shoved Hugo away from him playfully, finally releasing their hands from where they were connected. The loss of contact made Hugo slightly disappointed, but it was worth it seeing Varian’s face blush to the tip of his ears. The mock-angry expression on Varian’s reddened face made Hugo laugh, which in turn caused Varian to break and burst into laughter with him. Varian let out a snort laugh which only made Hugo laugh harder, feeling the lightest he’d felt in what might’ve been years. They both began clutching their stomachs in unbridled laughter, the built up energy from the last hour stuck in a jail cell releasing all at once in unrestrained mirth.
They continued to cackle uncontrollably until someone loudly cleared their throat a few steps away from them. They both whipped their heads around to the outside of the cell where Nuru stood, crossing her arms with a scowl on her face. Beside her was Yong with a confused expression, a relieved Ruddiger on his shoulders, and a curious Olivia perched in his hand. Next to them was a guard who stood awkwardly to the side, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.
Even with the shock of the others having been standing there, the two older boys still took a moment to contain themselves, trying to control their erratic breathing. Ruddiger quickly jumped off Yong’s shoulders and ran through the bars of the cell to jump onto Varian, who scratched him while his remaining giggles faded. Yong lowered Olivia to the ground, who scurried over to Hugo and slipped herself into his pocket.
“What’s up guys, long time no see!” Hugo called out, wiping the final tears of mirth from his eyes.
Nuru raised an eyebrow. “If I knew you two would just be goofing off in a cell together I wouldn’t have bailed you out!”
“What’s so funny about being on your knees?” Yong asked innocently, which caused Hugo and Varian’s faces to become bright red. They noticed how close they were sitting on the cot and quickly stood up, Hugo clearing his throat to try to contain the blush on his face and Varian reaching for his glove on the ground that Hugo had thrown aside. The way Varian slipped his glove over his hand and wrist appeared casual to most, but Hugo could tell by the stiffness in Varian’s stance that it was calculated to appear that way. Hugo only hoped Varian wouldn’t feel the need to wear his gloves as a way of hiding forever.
When the two approached the cell doors, the guard walked over and unlocked it. “You are free to go,” he announced, swinging the doors open before speeding out of there.
“So I take it you guys had a good time?” Nuru asked sarcastically as the two alchemists finally left the damp cell.
“Don’t be too jealous of our bonding time, Princess,” Hugo smirked, which caused Nuru’s scowl to deepen.
“Oh please, I don’t think I could last five minutes in a cell with your annoying ass.”
“Your everlasting compassion and civility never fail to impress me, Princess,” Hugo grinned smugly, which caused Nuru to smack him on the shoulder. Even so, her lips were slightly twitching, clearly fighting a smile.
“Is no one gonna explain the knee thing to me?” Yong pouted, which caused Hugo’s face to instantly heat up again.
“Maybe when you’re older, Sparkles,” Hugo replied, trying to evade the subject. He playfully ruffled up Yong’s hair, causing him to giggle and forget about the question.
Hugo snuck a glance at Varian, who was silently standing a bit of ways off to the side. His gaze was locked onto his gloves, specifically his wrists, but the faraway look in his eyes gave the impression his mind was elsewhere. His face was an unreadable expression, one Hugo couldn’t decipher even if he tried.
Ruddiger began to paw at his face with a small whine, breaking him out of his stupor. His face broke into a small smile upon seeing Ruddiger’s worry, and he lifted his hand to scratch the raccoon’s fur.
He thought he might’ve imagined it, but Hugo could’ve sworn he heard Varian reassure quietly to Ruddiger, “I’m okay.”
An elbow suddenly nudged Hugo’s arm, causing him to jump and redirect his focus from where it was trained on Varian. He found Nuru next to him whose gaze was darting between him and Varian, giving him a look. And unfortunately, Hugo had already become acquainted with “that look” from Nuru, the one where she’d raise her eyebrows and look between the two older boys with a knowing expression.
And even more unfortunately, Hugo could no longer deny what Nuru was implying, something that Hugo had denied within himself for far too long.
I am in love with Varian.
Hugo quickly shoved past Nuru, trying to will the burning heat off his face while Nuru snickered knowingly behind him. He was suddenly grateful Varian had been too distracted to notice the interaction, otherwise Hugo would have died on the spot.
“Alright, let’s get out of this place before they decide to arrest us again,” Hugo mumbled while leading the group out of the dungeon hallway, hoping it would force Nuru to stop smiling smugly at him.
“Ooh, can we go get food?” Yong exclaimed.
“Yes please, I’m starving,” Varian remarked, his body slumping tiredly. Ruddiger nodded fervently in agreement, climbing off of Varian and raising towards the exit.
The four had finally made their way out of the small prison and back into town when the silence was broken again.
“By the way, did either of you even find anything when searching the restricted area? You know, before being stupid and getting yourselves caught,” Nuru asked pointedly towards Hugo and Varian.
Hugo and Varian looked between each other before smiling sheepishly in response, which only caused her to groan.
“How about we pay for a nice dinner to make up for it?” Varian offered.
“Bold of you to assume I’ll be contributing, Goggles,” Hugo stated, which caused the other to glare in response. Hugo stiffened. “Er- what I meant to say was, who’s hungry?”
The four of them laughed before falling into a comfortable silence. Hugo discovered he no longer cared what Donella would do to him if she found out he got attached, he felt more at peace now than he ever had — even after just getting bailed out of prison.
A gloved hand made its way into his, and he glanced at Varian in surprise. Varian was smiling shyly and initially looking away, but when his eyes darted up towards him, Hugo could see the message he was trying to convey within his kind blue eyes. Thank you.
Hugo grinned softly and nodded at him, his heart swelling in his chest in a way that left him feeling as if the sun was shining directly on him despite the cloudy day.
And for the rest of the walk the two remained hand-in-hand with Nuru sending knowing glances, Yong chatting excitedly about what Nuru and him had found while exploring, and Hugo and Varian both fighting to keep the blushes off their faces while their fingers were interlocked. And the only thing in the world that existed to Hugo in that moment was the group he’d become so attached to, walking closely side-by-side, and Varian’s hand, safe within his.