Everything is Perfect

Hiding in Plain Sight

Going about the rest of his day, Varian started off happily humming as he finished up his homework assignments, later wiggling his hips as he checked over the plans for his secret lab.  Then he was snapping his fingers to a song in his earbuds as he made a ham sandwich for himself, and by the time he was organizing his room, something sticky and festering rose slowly into his stomach.

He didn't notice it at first as he finally unpacked his last box from the move, but when his eyes caught the bundle of blankets still cast aside on the floor from that morning, it flooded over him all at once. 

"Shit." He exhaled a heavy breath. "I was doing so well..."

These last three months, he'd finally been on his way to being what everyone had always wanted him to be. To being worthy. To being enough. 

But he hadn't even tried that morning the second he'd decided to give in. If anything, he'd amped it up to ten times the normal amount. 

He'd only been away from home for two weeks and things were already falling apart... 

Sitting on the floor cross legged, he put his face in his hands, letting the floodgates burst.

Who am I kidding? I'm such a useless fuck up.

The knock on the door nearly stopped his heart as Hugo's muffled voice cut through his self-destruction. "Var? You have a second?"

"Oh, uh." He cleared his throat after that voice crack, looking around frantically for a moment before spotting his backpack and pulling it over. "Sure. Come on in."

By the time Hugo stepped inside, Varian had a textbook on his lap that he was looking over thoughtfully. "Hey, Hugo." He didn't look up as the casual voice left his mouth. "'Sup?" 

There was a pause, then that intoxicating scent filled Varian's nose as the blond took a seat beside him. "What are you doing down here?"

Closing the book, he finally forced his eyes over to meet the inquisitive green ones. "I uh, study better on the floor."

He snorted. "You can just say you can't afford a desk."

It was barely a conscious decision at this point to nudge Hugo's arm with his own teasingly. "Rude. So, what did you want?"

"Well, I was wondering if you knew which coding language the prof wanted tomorrow's assignment to be done with. He never specified."

Varian gave him a look, putting his book down harshly on the carpet beside him. "He did, you just came late."

There was a loud, offended gasp. "I would never!"

Returning the smirk Hugo gave him, Varian's corners fell slightly as he noticed something off in the other's face. "Hey, Hugo. I know Cyrus is the reason you were late that day. Overheard him demanding you drop him off somewhere while I was leaving the apartment. Hope he's not giving you a hard time again."

"Oh, yeah." Hugo rubbed the back of his neck, not meeting Varian's eye. "He just had some last-minute plans. It really wasn't a big deal."

"Mm hm."

He looked at him quickly, frowning. "I'm fine. Just drop it, Varian."

"Oh." He blinked a few times at the use of his full name. "Yeah, sure." There was a long pause. "Well, anyway, the professor wants it in Java Script for the homework, so..."

"Oh, good. JS is the easiest." Some life came back into Hugo's voice. "Heh. I can do it in my sleep." 

Varian rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. You do it every night when I'm trying to sleep." A millisecond later, he had both hands over his mouth, face burning. "Wait, I mean—"