Chapter Text
Hugo pressed in a bit closer to Varian than was strictly necessary. The tavern was very crowded so he’d guessed Varian wouldn’t take notice. Though if he were to be honest, even if the bar was deserted, he doubted Varian would find any meaning behind the unnecessary touch. He had been flirting for weeks now, he wasn’t sure if the boy was this oblivious or just straight up ignoring his advances.
Varian had only once seemed to have responded to Hugo’s advances, that was when they had finally finished the last trail and gained the last totem. In a rush of happiness, he had hugged Hugo tightly only to release him the moment he realized what he was doing.
Nuru sat down at the other side of the table, two drinks in her hands. “An ale and a beer,” Nuru said, pushing the drinks to the boys.
Yong sat down beside her with two more drinks, handing one to Nuru.
They’d searched out this tavern to celebrate, not only for finishing their quest but also for returning safe and sound back to Nuru’s kingdom. Nuru thought it would take them about five more days to reach the castle. In a way, it was also something more somber. Nuru had to return to her castle and resume her position as a princess so maybe even more than a celebration, it was an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company while they traveled the last few days.
They talked over the loud music of the bard a few tables away while they slowly emptied their drinks. In the span of two years, they had grown together, becoming comfortable in each other’s presence. Chatting came easy and Hugo honestly never felt at home this much with such an odd group of people before. Varian was certainly the linchpin in this group, holding them together. Varian’s never wavering optimism seemed only ever dampened by Nuru, the level-headed one of the group. Her studies as a princess and sharp mind made her wise beyond her years. It had taken a while before Varian and Nuru found a good way to work together. And even longer before Nuru trusted Hugo. Now, Nuru and Varian were a shining beacon of teamwork and were the fastest in finding the way together, writing out maps in a matter of moments. Yong, on the other hand, was the young brother of the group, especially towards Varian. Hugo had never known the two separate from each other but he doubted it had taken long for Yong to build the immense trust he had towards Varian. It was clear in the way the two carried themselves around each other that Varian had taken an almost mother-like role towards Yong. He guided the young and gullible Yong towards a calmer version of himself, one who let things explode far less often than before. Hugo had an inkling this was because Varian might have shared more than one trait with Yong in his past. It made him wonder how Varian was before he left his home, how he had grown into the man he was now. It made him wonder how many times Varian had made things explode and for some reason it made him envy whoever had been there to witness Varian growing up.
But it looked like these roles would cease to exist once they would split up. Within the coming days, they’d have to say goodbye to their first companion, Nuru. Hugo was sure they’d visit again soon but it was still jarring to finally split up after working together for so long.
“This round is on me,” Varian said, getting up from beside Hugo. “Another milk, Yong?”
Yong nodded, passing his empty glass.
“I’d like more tea, please,” Nuru said, polite as always when passing her empty cup.
“On it,” Varian smiled. “And you?” He turned to Hugo who downed the last bit of beer.
“I’ll help you carry it,” he answered easily, grabbing both his and Varian’s empty tankards. “Don’t want your tiny hands slipping and dropping our drinks, now do we?”
Varian rolled his eyes at the familiar tease. “Come on then,” he answered, not reacting to the tease beyond that, turning for the bar.
“As quick as the wind, princess,” Hugo called after him, slipping off the bench.
He followed Varian through the crowd. He was taller and definitely broader than Varian, making it harder to follow the boy slipping past people like he was air. Hugo would describe himself as nimble and fast on his feet yet he never was able to rival Varian’s talent to push himself through a crowd in these taverns.
He lost eyes on Varian for a moment before finding him at the bar, already talking to the tender. “I’d like a brandy,” he whispered in Varian’s ear with far too much air, causing the boy to jump.
“Hugo!” He swatted at the other, the itch in his ear still going. “Wait,” it clicked what Hugo just whispered in his ears. “You never drink anything stronger than beer.”
“Aaaah,” Hugo started, stretching his arms before letting one fall on top of Varian’s head. “Tonight is a special occasion, is it not?”
“I thought you hated the feeling of not having control?” Varian asked, pushing the arm off of him. “Are you sure?”
“Yup,” Hugo answered. His hand found Varian’s with ease, the back of their hands bumping against each other, causing Varian to look down for a moment. As Varian looked back up he tangled their fingers together and flagged over the bartender with his free hand. Both Hugo and Varian would seek to hold each other's hands more often and just like this time Varian really wouldn’t pay much further attention to it, much to Hugo’s dismay.
“Also a brandy and a mead with my order please.” He leaned forward, trying to lift his voice over the chatter and music. Hugo couldn’t quite catch the bartender’s answer, but he could hear Varian answering the apparent question asked. “Eh, cherry please.”
The bartender seemed satisfied with the answer and disappeared to finish their order. Varian leaned back again, taking his right hand from Hugo’s loose hold to grab his coin pouch. Hugo simply watched as Varian squint his eyes to peer at the coins in his pouch through the low lighting and shadows the bodies cast around him.
Hugo didn’t like it when Varian took this long with his money. He knew very well that every moment he had it out in the open was a moment someone could snatch it from his hands. Varian always seemed just a slight bit too trusting of the rest of the world. He hated it in these moments but adored it in most others. Maybe it was the thieving he had done for so long that told him Varian’s actions spoke of weakness and invited him to be a victim but whatever it was, he just wanted to protect Varian from that kind of grief. To his relief, Varian had found the coins he was looking for and put his money away again. His blue eyes looked up, meeting the green ones staring at him. Varian seemed to see something in the stare that had not been there as his eyes spoke of a question.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Varian said, clearly thinking Hugo had said something.
Thinking quick on his feet, feeling the odd need to run with Varian’s thinking that he wasn’t just staring at him but had asked him something. He asked the first thing he could think of. “What was that cherry thing you ordered?”
“Oh,” Varian seemed a bit surprised. “The normal mead is already out. So he asked me if I would like a flavored one. I chose cherry mead.”
Hugo pulled his cut eyebrow up at the answer. “Didn’t know you liked cherry.”
“Well, I do.” Varian smiled at Hugo.
“But you gave me all the cherries when we were stuck in that town,” Hugo recalled, thinking back how Varian had seemed to settle for the far less sweet elderberries. He figured the boy didn’t take to the sweetness of cherries. At this Varian seemed to get flustered, this was rather rare for Varian. “Oh-” He looked away from Hugo, his hand finding his neck, rubbing at it. “I knew cherries are your favorite so I gave them to you.”
Hugo’s heart skipped a beat. “What?”
He knew he had told Varian that his favorite fruit was cherries, but he didn’t think Varian would have made the effort to remember. They’d been brewing new potions, experimenting with new ingredients and filling up the room with different kinds of fumes. To make sure nothing too toxic would knock either of them out, they’d fired off random, seemingly unimportant questions at each other, leaving them free to watch their concoctions. Hugo had been very concentrated on his potion, barely paying attention to the questions or the answers, but apparently, Varian had found it important enough in that moment to remember Hugo’s answers.
“Here you go.” The bartender placed the four drinks beside Varian.
“Oh-” Varian turned to the man. “Yes, thank you.” He handed the coins over, handing Hugo the brandy and the glass of milk. He took his mead and tea for Nuru with him. Without another word, Varian started to worm his way back to the table.
Hugo ignored the tug at his heart for now and followed the small scientist. They both sat down again and handed the new drinks to their friends.
“Mead, huh,” Nuru said, eyeing the red drink, too light to be wine. “Cherry?”
“Yup,” Varian sat down and took a long sip. “They ran out of natural,” he added.
“I haven’t seen you drink mead before,” Yong said, licking his milk mustache away.
“Well, this might be the last time we’re together like this before…” Varian looked away, sadness tugging at his smile. “I mean, we did finish all seven trails! We deserve it, don’t you think?”
Nuru’s smile had turned to something more comforting, as she reached out for Varian’s hand. “We certainly do.”
“Yeah!” Yong bellowed, downing his glass in one go.
Hugo laughed at the youngest of their group. “You always drink milk, nothing new there.”
The group lapsed back into comfortable chatting before Nuru and Varian went for another round for the group. The evening flew by and before they knew it they had to leave. The night was advancing fast and they still needed to find a place to camp.
Varian hadn’t been too surprised to see Prometheus without Ruddiger when they left the tavern. The Raccoon didn’t like the noise the taverns brought with them and often went off to find snacks in the forests. So he simply untied his donkey and led him with the group.
By the time they found a suitable place, Yong was ready to pass out. They might have stayed out a little too late for the poor kid. He was still young after all. Nuru was hiding it well, but Varian could see it in her dragging her feet that she too was spent.
Yong simply dropped his belongings and himself into the grass, face first. “Can’t we just sleep under the open sky tonight?” he asked, voice muffled by the grass and dirt.
“It might rain tonight,” Hugo looked at the sky, seeing the dark spots where the stars were hidden by clouds. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Here,” Varian picked up Yong’s bag. “I’ll help you.”
The help had slowly turned into Varian doing all the work as Yong stood swaying on his feet, nearly nodding off to sleep where he stood. Hugo was finished with his tent and helped Nuru with the last pegs of her tent. She thanked him for his help and the rest for the fun night.
“It was really great,” she smiled, crouching down to get into her tent. “Have a good rest.”
“Good night,” Varian answered from behind Yong’s tent, also working on the last pegs.
“G’night,” Hugo said, rolling out his sleeping mat.
Yong mumbled something but they weren’t sure if the boy himself knew what he was trying to say. Varian laughed quietly at the boy before his eyes met Hugo’s. Hugo smiled before winking.
Varian did what he always did when Hugo would flirt with him, react like it meant nothing to him, and continue doing whatever he was doing before. While Varian moved to the other side of the tent to fasten the other pegs, Hugo huffed in disappointment. What else had he expected Varian to do? Varian had never really reacted to his flirting. Varian had certainly drank more that night than he’d ever seen the boy do, and there was a certain flush to his freckled cheeks. He didn’t think Varian was drunk necessarily, but at least a bit tipsy. Apparently being tipsy didn’t make him any more susceptible to his flirting.
He watched Varian help Yong get his mat ready as well and put the boy to bed. “Good night,” he heard his voice low and warm through the tent. Varian appeared from Yong’s tent and eyed his own unmade tent and sighed.
Hugo watched as he rubbed at his face while walking over to his own stuff. “Why don’t you sleep in my tent tonight?” Hugo offered. “Mine is big enough to hold two.”
Varian looked up from his bag. “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Not if it’s you,” Hugo smirked at Varian.
Varian seemed relieved at those words instead of flustered, which is what Hugo had aimed for. “Thanks, Hugo. You’re a lifesaver.” He picked up his bag and moved it from the open space where he had planned to make his tent to Hugo’s. He took out his mat and rolled it out as well.
Feeling just a bit too brave after tonight, Hugo spoke up. “Are you really this thick or just ignoring my flirting?”
“What?” Varian looked up, eyes speaking of his confusion.
Hugo laughed quietly and rubbed his face. He was really oblivious then. Oh lord, why did he have to fall in love with someone this thick?
“ Wait,” Varian slowly turned red. “Are you pulling my leg?”
Thinking he could blame the brandy later on, Hugo pulled Varian into the tent. Making sure not to stop pulling until their lips were nearly touching. He could smell the cherry mead Varian had been drinking that night. Had Varian been drinking it on purpose to seduce him?
“H-Hugo,” Varian’s whispered voice sounded unsure as his eyes bore into Hugo’s. The flush from before still lingered and it stirred up a longing inside Hugo.
“I want to kiss you, Varian,” he said but did not make a move, feeling himself sink into the blues of his eyes. He was not going to make the final move, no matter how much he wanted to. He had made enough moves as it was and it was time for Varian to answer. He let his hands drop away from Varian’s arms, giving the other man the room to move away if he wanted.
There was a moment of silence, one that seemed to linger far longer than Hugo had anticipated. There was a moment he thought Varian would pull away, but he didn’t. Instead, Varian shifted, moving into a more balanced position. He watched, almost as if time was slowed down, how Varian closed his eyes and moved in. Their lips met, slightly awkward in its novelty, a little sloppy but definitely a kiss. It almost felt unreal to finally have Varian’s lips against his, making him wonder if he hadn’t just dozed off and this was a dream. It felt simply right to have Varian this close, to feel his lips on top of his own. But it was as if time regained its speed because the kiss was over far too fast. Varian had been the one to break it but Hugo couldn’t find it in himself to complain about the duration when he saw Varian’s face.
Varian’s face had flushed even deeper than before, eyes seemingly lost in Hugo’s green ones. Suddenly, as if someone popped a balloon, the dream seemed to stop as Varian shook his head vigorously. “This is ridiculous,” he said, picking up his mat again and pulling it into Hugo’s tent. “We both had too much to drink.”
Hugo watched as Varian worked in the small room to get his mat down properly. He worked quickly and dexterously as he’d done with Yong’s tent, whatever alcohol in his system seemingly not enough to affect his motor skills. When he managed to do so, he turned to the open part of the tent, pulling in his big bag and placing it on the unoccupied side of the tent. He sat down on his mat, back turned to Hugo as he rummaged through his belongings. He pulled out one of his water skins and downed it in one go.
“You’ll need to pee tonight if you drink this much,” Hugo said teasingly.
“And wake up with a hangover? No thank you.”
Hugo watched him as he started taking off layers, preparing for the night. “You know, I’ve been flirting with you for a while now,” Hugo said, as he laid down on his mat. He had already removed his outer layers and pulled a thick blanket up, covering himself. Tonight was a cold night.
“I haven’t noticed,” Varian said, folding his trousers and putting them on top of his small stack of clothes.
“Really?” Hugo asked.
“Yeah,” Varian pulled a blanket from his bag and spread it out over his mat. “I’m not good with love.”
Hugo turned to his shoulder so he was facing Varian’s back and hummed. “Oh, how come?”
Varian was quiet for a moment as he pulled out a small pillow and placed it down, eyes finally meeting Hugo. “I-” he fell quiet again. “I don’t know.”
Hugo frowned in disbelief. “Really? You, the boy with-”
“Man,” Varian interjected. “I’m not a kid anymore.”
Hugo huffed a quiet laugh. “You, the man, with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and undying love for figuring out mysteries, hasn't tried to solve the mysteries of his own heart? I don’t buy it.”
Hugo could see something tighten in Varian’s face before he turned his back to him once again. He rummaged through his bag but Hugo was certain he did this just to be able to turn away.
“Didn’t you used to have a crush on that Cassandra girl we met after getting the fourth totem?”
Varian’s head snapped around. “How’d you-?”
Hugo laughed. “It was quite obvious,” he said. “There was clearly something more than just friendship between you and her. And didn’t you say you created an element and named it after her? That sounds like a very love-struck Varian to me.”
“That was before…” Varian’s voice died out and he promptly turned back to his bag. “Whatever.”
“Varian?” Hugo reached out to touch Varian who spoke before he could.
“Drop it, okay?” he didn’t sound angry or irritated, just exhausted. “I’m tired.”
Hugo took his hand back feeling like he was misunderstanding something. Did he miss something? “S-sure. I didn’t mean to push it.”
Varian sighed softly before he seemingly finished doing whatever he had been to keep himself busy within his bag. He looked around to see Hugo still staring his way and gave a small smile of gratitude. Hugo answered with one of his sincere smiles and watched Varian lay down.
Varian settled himself under his blankets before turning to his side, facing Hugo. Hugo was happy to see that the heavy exhaustion that had been looming over Varian had lifted a bit. “Thanks,” Varian said.
He scooted a bit closer, decreasing the gap between the two of them before he let out a small giggle. Hugo couldn’t do anything but stare as Varian turned a bit giddy. “I drank way too much,” he said in an almost sing-song voice.
Hugo couldn’t help but question how Varian could look so approachable after closing up so completely only moments ago. He didn’t think he could find any satisfactory answers tonight so pushed it aside in favor of enjoying the moment that was happening between them.
“Same here,” Hugo smiled, noticing the smell of cherry mead had watered down a bit. He reached out to brush the black and blue hair strands from Varian’s face. Varian let him, and Hugo’s eyes found Varian’s lips. He really wanted more, could he ask for more?
Regaining his boldness from earlier he spoke up. “One more for the night?”
Varian seemed to need a moment before he caught on to what Hugo meant but then smiled shyly at him in a way Hugo couldn’t quite place. “Okay,” he said and Hugo’s heart skipped a beat. “But it is the last one.”
Hugo hadn’t taken much notice of Varian’s words after his okay and moved in. He didn’t need to be told twice, he was allowed to kiss this adorable little alchemist.
He wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the rush of hearing Varian say it was okay to kiss him but he felt bravery to press in deep. He tried his best not to make too many loud noises as he explored the taste that was Varian. He tasted mostly like cherry mead but there was something else there, something wholly unique. Something he could undoubtedly describe as Varian, simply Varian.
Varian was letting Hugo take the lead but was certainly following along, if a bit more timidly. Hugo couldn’t help but wonder for a moment if Varian had ever kissed someone. Had he kissed Casandra? He pushed those thoughts away to enjoy his moment with Varian.
But even this moment had to end. He felt like he shouldn’t press his luck too far and slowly pulled back , wincing slightly at the loud and wet noise they created in parting. It had almost sounded forbiddingly loud against their soft gasps and he just hoped Nuru and Yong wouldn’t hav e heard them.
Hugo’s mind swayed back to Varian in an instant as he saw the look the boy was giving him. He could see something akin to a longing in his eyes and something else, it made him doubt Varian’s last words. He’ll figure out later why he had even suggested this being their last. Varian clearly felt something for him.
He sighed in contentment and decided to try and solve the enigma that was called Varian’s feelings another moment. “Good night.”
“Good night, Hugo,” Varian answered in a whispering voice.
He watched Varian turn to his other side and decided to at least give sleeping a shot. Though he wondered if he could, with how fast his heart was hammering against his chest. To his relief, he didn’t have to wait long for the familiar tug of sleep. Maybe he had drank exactly enough this night.