My Little Engineer

Chapter Twelve: Cloudy Skies

There was a coolness in the sleeping bag next to Hugo. He reached out to wrap his arm around the smaller man, but his hands grasped at nothing. He opened his eyes, slipping glasses over his face and sitting up. 

Soft clinking sounds of metal against metal clued him in and he looked over at the green biplane. Varian, with his engineering goggles over his eyes and apron around his waist, was crouched under the nearly finished wing, his rolled-up sleeves revealing toned, muscular arms as he worked. Varian's tongue was sticking out slightly, his expression one of pure focus. 

Hugo couldn't help but stare.

Slipping out of the sleeping bag, he walked over, his not-so-quiet footsteps making the other man aware of his approach.

"Morning!" Varina said brightly, not looking up from his work. "You sleep well?"

He came to crouch down next to him to see what he was doing. "Yeah. Really well."

Varian fumbled a bit with the wrench in his hands then, dropping it on the ground. "O-oh, my bad." 

Hugo reached down and grabbed it, chuckling. "What about you, Sweetstuff? Sleep well?" He placed the wrench back into the gloved hand.

He had not once yet made eye contact. "Thanks. Uh, yeah, I guess I did."

"When did you start working on the plane?"

He laughed nervously. "Several hours ago."

"Sunshine..."

"I just, I want us to be ready as soon as possible. We're at risk out here and plus, I'm dying to see my mom. Hugo...what do you think she's like?"

He blinked. "I don't really know. I've never seen or met her. I just know the deadly blows she can land on her enemies. She can be pretty fucking ruthless." Varian frowned. "But hey," Hugo continued, patting his arm, "you're the opposite of her enemy. I'm sure she'll be happy to finally see you after all these years."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He rubbed his hands on his apron and lifted his goggles up onto his forehead, finally looking over at the blond. The sweaty, grease covered face contrasted with dazzling blue eyes. "Thanks for taking me. You really don't have to do all this for me."

"Oh, but I do," he replied smoothly. "I'll take you wherever you want, Hon."

"Why?" 

The honest question caught him slightly off guard. Varian's eyes bore into his own, and Hugo felt like he'd been caught. 

They considered each other for a second before he finally replied, "Because I owe you that much, plus, we're partners, remember?"

A big grin spread over his face. "Yeah, we are, aren't we?" He went back to his tinkering as he added, "Do you mind starting breakfast, Partner? I want to finish this up."

"You got it, Dear." 

As Varian turned away from him again, Hugo released a breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding. Why was he helping Varian so much? Well, he knew the answer, but he wasn't about to admit anything to himself, much less out loud to his partner.

After breakfast, it was only half an hour before Varian was completely finished with the plane. They secured everything inside, including the wooden crates and then they were out of the forest, into the water, and soon up in the air in no time. 

The fire kingdom was somewhat close to where they were. They'd be there by late afternoon, and as late afternoon rolled around, sure enough they were nearing Incendio City.