A Hearts Met Its Match

Disaster Day

Varian's day had not started out great.

Which was saying something, because he'd had one hell of a life already.

Well, he'd woken up late, forgotten his gloves on his desk, then he'd managed to burn his hands on one of the new solutions he'd created. Now, with tears in his eyes, he stumbled his way through the castle to find the princess.

The tears finally let themselves loose as he tripped, hands flailing out blindly as he pitched forward. Strong arms caught him, however, and his face was met with someone's chest. Looking up through panicked eyes, Varian felt the other steady him.

"Ah- hey Hugo-"

And then, voila, his voice cracked.

It couldn't get any worse, could it?

Hugo smirked, his grip loosening on Varian, and his gaze falling to his hands. Surprise shone through in his hazel-green eyes- first at the burns, but also probably because Varian wasn't wearing his gloves. Raising his gaze back to the alchemist's, he asked, "Bad science experiment?"

Rolling his eyes, Varian pushed past him.

"Yep. How'd you guess?"

Hugo sighed, following after him.

"Want some help wrapping the burns?"

Varian glanced over, tilting his head as he considered the offer. He stopped, leaning back against the wall.

"I guess it wouldn't be a terrible idea," he paused, "if you wouldn't mind."

A breath wisped out from between Hugo's lips, sounding similar to a laugh. "I wouldn't have suggested it if I minded, freckles."

Varian let Hugo lead him on, seeing his green gaze flick back to him from time to time. When his gaze lingered a little too long, Varian lifted an eyebrow.

"What?"

Hugo looked back forward, a red tinge showing on his cheeks.

"Nothing."

Varian didn't say anything about it, only walking past him as Hugo motioned him into his room. Hugo followed him in, and Varian looked around when the light flipped on.

He was slightly startled at how neat Hugo's room was- he'd half expected it to be messy. But other than a couple shirts strewn close to the laundry basket, everything was spotless.

"Surprised, Varian?"

Varian turned to look at him, and was greeted with the sight of Hugo shrugging off his jacket. Underneath, he wore a white tank top, which was tucked into his pants. Varian knew Hugo was slender, but he could see the way his chest was well-toned. Averting his eyes, he backed up until he bumped into the bed.

"A little," he admitted, clearing his throat.

Seriously, he would not allow himself to have a gay panic here- inside Hugo's room. It wouldn't happen.

He heard Hugo shuffling around, grabbing bandages and mixing together some sort of salve to put on the burns. When Varian looked up, Hugo's eyes met his.

"Feel free to sit down. Wouldn't want you falling over," he smiled, making his way over with the salve and bandages, "seeing as how you're pretty accident prone today."

Varian held in a sigh, extending his hands when Hugo asked for them. Looking up at him while he focused, Varian studied the curve of his glasses, and the way his hair fluffed over them. Green eyes were focused with intent, and Varian was very aware of how gently Hugo trailed his fingers over the wounds. He froze, however, when his eyes found the puffy remains of old scars. Varian closed his own eyes, keeping sure not to look at Hugo. When he opened them, he looked down.

He'd forgotten how ugly it was. The letters were scattered across his hands, but still visible from under the burn marks.

'Freak.'

The silence was uncomfortable, prickling at Varian's skin, stabbing its way into his ears. His face flushed, and he began to regret allowing Hugo to help. He should've done it himself-

"Varian?"

He wouldn't look up.

"Please tell me you didn't do this to yourself."

Well... he looked up.

"I didn't," he promised.

Then the tears came in at full force, and Hugo pulled him in close. The explanation came too, but it was shaky, "It was from guys in my town- I-"

He breathed out, the huffs creating bumps on Hugo's skin.

"I had magic."

Hugo pushed him back, looking down at his face. The look he wore was puzzled, as if he were trying to piece together the things Varian was trying to explain.

"What do you mean had?"

Varian pulled his hands to his face, crying into them. The pain made it worse.

"I don't use it 'nymore."

'It couldn't get any worse,' Varian had swore it.

It had. He hated to be reminded of that time, of when he really was just a social outcast. But... then it had gotten better, surprisingly. It felt okay to talk about it- to make someone else understand, even if they didn't have 100% of the facts. The way that Hugo held him helped. And, just slightly, he could see the hint of tenderness in the way his gaze raked over his face.

Hugo pulled back the scarred hand, holding it gently away from Varian's face, and pressed his lips to the scar.

"Is this the reason why?"

Varian looked away, hiccups mingling with his words, "Science is more reliable. It's real. It's solid."

Hugo's leafy gaze met his- almost sad, in a way. "You can't really mean that. You have a gift Varian."

"The gift is my brain."

"You-" Hugo sighed, just bluntly hugging him again. A smile formed on his lips, hands tangling in to mess with Varian's hair. "That's why I like you. You're smart, Varian. And if I'm quite honest, you've taught me more things than I'm sure I've ever taught you. Your past doesn't define you."

Varian nodded, sniffling. At the very least, this made Varian want to count up the little things that had gone right today. If he hadn't burned himself, and forgotten his gloves, maybe it wouldn't have led to this moment.

"I love you Hugo."

The burst was startling to both of them, and Varian buried his face in Hugo's chest. It took a minute for Hugo to respond, but Varian could practically feel the truth hanging in the air around them both.

"I love you too."