Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

SunDrop Criminal Justice Institute was the main driving force of law enforcement and crime investigation within the Corona area, currently being led by someone who’s practices were as creative as they were surprisingly effective. Rapunzel had a knack for thinking of solutions on the fly, and more often than not they ended up working out. Heck, not only did they work out , but there was rarely any violence involved too.

It’s mainly thanks to her that Corona’s law enforcement was viewed in such a positive light. In the past, thanks to the rulings of Rapunzel’s father, Corona’s reputation seemed unrecoverable. Unfair trials, rough handling from officers, unsuitable cell conditions, and the list only went on. 

Varian, the leader of SunDrop’s branch of investigation, had been a harsh victim to Corona’s history of faulty justice. 

He’d agree with most people that things had gotten better, and that the future only seemed bright from here on out. But that didn’t mean he was exactly eager with certain ideas Rapunzel came up with.

Usually he was the brains behind everything. Varian and his team researched crime trends, executing plans and requesting units to be despatched for patrol on a calculated schedule. But, when it came to flushing out Rapunzel’s plans and applying logic where it was desperately needed, Varian usually did the evaluations on his own.

The only people who were ever let in on Varian’s plan analysis was Rapunzel herself, her husband Eugene who worked as the head for dispatch, and other trusted personnel. These people usually included Lance who commonly lent himself to be their inside man, gathering information straight from the source, and his prodiges Red and Angry. If they were lucky Cassandra would make a visit to lend her knowledge as well. 

So you could imagine his utter surprise when he gets called in for a very-much-not-welcome emergency board meeting during his lunch break, where he receives the most baffling news imaginable.

“Excuse me, you want me to do what? ”, Varian stared like a deer in headlights, rising from his seat with his hands tensely laid flat against the desk. He looked around the room, desperately attempting to find someone to come to his aide, and all he got in return were a few meek stares and sympathetic headshakes. Even Eugene, who usually would’ve been absolutely against the idea Rapunzel was suggesting, only shrugged hopelessly.

Rapunzel let out an airy giggle, as if she didn’t understand what she just asked Varian to do.

As if she didn’t understand that she was about to send him in disguise to a literal mafia group in order to gather intel. The mafia group that was behind the most recent crime spike in Corona’s southern borders, along the coast of a city known for its shady dealings and strides in the industrial industry. Lovely.

Allow him to repeat: his boss/best friend/sister was sending him on a suicide mission to a gang responsinble for one of the largest crime spikes in all of Coronian history.

“Rapunzel. There’s no way I can do this. I’m-”, Varian lost track of his words for a moment, uselessly sputtering out his frustration instead. He took a deep breath and made a violent hand motion, gesturing towards himself, “I’m the one behind the operation, okay, I’m not meant to do anything actually hands-on! Especially this! ”

“Well-”

“I don’t think you get it!”, his hand gestures now seemed more directed at the ceiling. “My team- I- We- We’ve seen the spike! After a few days of research, and going over the records and reports, we can confirm that this is the biggest resurgence of criminal activity we’ve seen since…”, Varian paused for a moment as his skin went pale. The whole room could almost feel the sudden burst of anxiety radiating from Varian, “ His gang was on the rise.”

Rapunzel’s voice rang in again, more akin to a sigh than anything else.

“There’s no way you can send a rookie in there, let alone me in there! I’m sorry, Rapunzel, I’m sorry , but there’s no way I’m going into… oh, what were they called…”, in his anger, his mind had blanked for a moment.

“They’re known as The Iron Fist, I believe.”, one of Varian’s team members piped up, seemingly all too familiar with his superior’s fits of rage induced rambles.

“Ri-”

A loud scoff could be heard from the head of the room, “Pff, The Iron Fist? How much more cliche and on the nose can you get!? First we’ve got the Saporians, which has no creativity in it at all, and now we’ve got Iron Fist . What dork came up with that?”

Varian quickly recovered from the despair that struck him the moment that name was brought up and rolled his eyes at the man’s scoffing, “I think you’d stop laughing if you saw the records we’ve got stashed up. They’ve done so much in such a short amount of time…” He shook his head, apparently an action worrying enough to spark Eugene’s interest.

“Most of that was just theft though, no?”, Eugene’s voice rang out again.

“They could just be testing the waters. Seeing how much they can get away with before they go in to really strike. We can’t let it get to that point.”, Varian sighed, smoothing out his temples with his twitching fingers.

Rapunzel didn’t seem to catch his anxious behavior as she spoke again, “Yes, and that’s why we need you to go in there.”

“Okay, but why me? ”, Varian seemed desperate as he stared at the woman at the other end of the room.

“Lance wasn’t available, thanks to some terrible flu strain that got him. Angry and Red have been taking care of him, and there’s a chance they’re starting to catch it too. We don’t want to run any risks with anyone’s health.”, Rapunzel sighed

“Oh… tell them that I hope they’re doing alright if you ever visit them.” The raven haired boy paused for a moment before speaking again, “What about Cassandra?”

She shook her head, “Cassandra isn’t available either. She’s occupied with work in another city right now.” Rapunzel saw Varian open his mouth again and answered his unspoken question before he could waste any time asking it, “Eugene’s not an option either. He knows the Boss’s son, and there’s no way he’d be able to go undetected.”

Varian knew he couldn’t argue at that point, admitting defeat in spite of himself. “...Fine. Can you at least explain what I actually need to do?”

“It’s simple, really. I wouldn't have asked you to do something I didn’t think you could pull off if you really tried!”, Rapunzel smiled warmly as she tried reassuring the extremely anxious boy in front of her. It definitely wasn't doing much for him at the time. 

Seeing that the task was fruitless, the woman sighed, returning to a more business-like expression, “We need you to infiltrate their lair as one of their own, gather entail on whatever crimes they’re planning next or the reasoning behind the crimes they’ve already committed, and report back to us so we can plan on how to prevent this crime spike from going further up.”

“‘As one of their own’ … Rapunzel, you’re not making me go in a full out disguise , are you?”, Varian filled with dread, not liking where this is going.

She sighed, knowing that this situation needed to be handled with some delicacy. “Look, I know that going in here at all is going to bring up a lot of bad memories of… Andrew and all…”

Everyone in the room cringed at the pained whine Varian made in response to the name, Rapunzel herself giving him an apologetic look before continuing, “But, we need to do this. For th-”

“For the sake of Corona… yeah, I know.”, Varian shuffled nervously on his feet.

Eugene had had enough of his brother’s anxiousness and decided he needed a quick break from the meeting, and perhaps a little cheering up from the older half of team awesome.

The man gave his wife a look, who very quickly got the message and dismissed the meeting for a short break. “I’m sorry, Varian… I hope you can take this time to calm down a bit, alright? I’ll make it up to you.”

The boy gave a shaky nod as she gingerly closed the door, allowing Eugene to take the wheel.

“Hey Bud, y’know, if this is too much for you right now, I’ll make Raps throw the whole thing off. I get that there’s a lot of pressure on you to do this, but what I think everyone in that stuffy meeting room is forgetting is that you’re still just a kid . No matter how mature or intelligent you may be.”, He set a hand on the boy’s shoulder, reassuring in a firm way that felt comfortingly similar to his father. 

The offer of escape from this situation seemed to tempt Varian for a moment, before he shook his head with a sigh. “No, Eugene, I want to make up for everything I’ve done in the past. Because what I’ve done hasn’t been pretty… I can’t let the citizens of Corona down again .”

“Kid, you’ve done a lot , y’know. You’ve single handedly helped us with multiple crime surges, and without you, no one else would be able to make any sense of Goldielocks ideas.”

Varian chuckled at him, looking up at the man’s kind eyes amusingly, “I’m sure you’d be able to.”

“Look, I love her to death, but sometimes I just have absolutely no idea what’s going on in that sunny lil’ head of hers.”, Eugene sighed fondly. “You’re one of the only people who seems to connect the dots of every splattered idea she throws onto the canvas. It’s probably cause’ of the freckles.”

To Eugene’s utter delight, there was a chuckle that came from the smaller boy, “Pff- Our freckles?”

“I mean, think about it! Do I have freckles? No, and I can’t understand her.”, He saw Varian’s continued giggling as a sign to continue, “No one else here has freckles and they can’t understand either. But you on the other hand, mister freckles mcgee over here, can understand! It’s the freckles, I’m telling ya!”

The two of them allowed themselves to laugh for a moment, somehow only now realizing how much they missed moments where the two of them could just be brothers happily goofing around with each other. Varian waited for the laughter to die before saying something he knew would bring down the mood again, wanting to cherish this happy moment for as long as he could.

“Seriously though. Nothing I ever do is going to make up for the things I’ve done. I-I…”, Varian took a deep breath before running down the list, “I accidently put my father in a coma just for starters , I stole things from Rapunzel that I thought would help, I kidnapped her mother in order to lure Rapunzel into giving me one of her ‘miracle cures’, when that didn’t work I attempted to kill Rapunzel and her parents, and to top it all off I helped a literal gang take over the city.”

Eugene thought for a moment of what to say before deciding to actually speak, “Well, think about Cassandra. She’s done a lot of bad things to Rapunzel too, heck, she’s done a lot of bad things to you , and you forgave her, right?”

“Well… I mean yeah but-”

“But nothing, Varian. If you can forgive her, I think it’s about time that you considered forgiving yourself.”, Eugene spoke firmly, however each of his words dripped in such a tender care that for the first time in a while, Varian was able to feel like he was worth something again.

The older man filled the silence of the room himself, “So once again, let me offer this; if you think this is going to be too much of a reminder to you of things in the past, you don’t have to do this. I’d never force you too, and I’d never let anyone else here force you to either. Not even Rapunzel. You’re safe now, I want to make sure you’re able to feel like you are.”

Varian smiled at Eugene, genuinely touched by his concern. “I’ll be okay… maybe. Worst case scenario, I’ll call you up at some point if I need some consoling.”

“You have no idea how proud I am of you kiddo, about just the fact you’re willing to reach out. You’ve been making a lot of progress.”, He ruffled the boy’s hair fondly, “I’ll be there when you call. You can count on that.”, and when Eugene said that Varian knew for a fact that he really could. 

The door cracked open slightly and Rapunzel peaked inside, receiving a thumbs up from both men to continue the meeting. She mouthed a small ‘thank you’ to her husband before hugging Varian tight. To anyone else it just seemed like Rapunzel was showing simple affection, but Varian knew it was a silent sorry, a sorry that he assumed was being applied to multiple things.

‘I’m sorry you have to do this.’ ‘I’m sorry for overwhelming you.’ ‘I’m sorry for not realizing you needed a break.’ Whichever one she meant, whether it was one or all three of them, didn’t matter to Varian when he returned her protective hold in a way that said 'It's okay.’

The freckled siblings smiled at each other before Rapunzel returned to her rightful place at the head of the room. Apparently it was silently agreed upon that Eugene would stay right where he was next to Varian, which the boy wouldn’t complain about when the man was literally acting as his emotional support through this whole meeting.

“Alright, break over, and funnily enough, the meeting is just about to end too! But, I have something to present.”, She smiled nervously.

Varian expected a few things from what her sentence implied.

Perhaps another powerpoint presentation on one thing or another. Maybe an informational video. Something along those lines.

Most certainly not whatever monstrosity Rapunzel pulled out from behind the desk.

It wasn’t even that bad, in retrospect. The outfit was actually nice . It was sharp, stylish, and tactful. It seemed pretty fitting for a gang that was settled in a city where materialism basically defined everything .

But to Varian, who knew this was the uniform of an actual gang . A uniform of an actual gang that he was going to wear. It was actual nightmare fuel.

From there the meeting had basically already ended, because Varian was pretty much checked out. The thought of that stupid suit was tucked into the crevices of his mind, where he knew they would forcefully come out to haunt him the next day when he actually had to wear the damned thing.

Later he was definitely going to bitch to his friends about this.

---

Varian most certainly bitched to his friends later about it.

Of course he couldn’t just give out confidential information, even if it was to his three best friends. None of them even knew he was acquainted with anyone in law enforcement, let alone that he literally works for law enforcement, so he always had to get creative when it came to talking about it.

He lied by saying he had gotten dared to go to some random Senior’s party pretending to be some random Junior. It was a stupid lie, but Varian had said enough stupid lies for it to fit with the rest pretty cohesively. Just another ‘Varian Shenanigan’ as they liked to call it.

“Oh? Do you really have no choice? You could always just back out of a dare, y’know.”, Nuru scoffed, clearly over any sort of highschool drama despite barely dealing with any herself thanks to being the daughter of a stupidly rich family.

“Oh-ho-ho, I wish .”, Varian had to come up with something on the fly, some random excuse that Nuru and Hugo would buy. He had to worry a little less about Yong, thanks to the fact he still had enough child-like-naivety to not question things too much. “These jerks have blackmail on me.”

“What do you out of all people need to hide, hair stripe?”, Hugo scoffed.

Almost too many things ran through his mind in response to that question. ‘Oh, nothing, just my past crimes, the fact that I’m working as a higher up for Corona’s main Criminal Justice Institute, and my crippling feelings for you.’ is what Varian would’ve said if he could afford being honest. But instead he simply shot a knowing look to Nuru, letting her be the one to decide what this secret of his would be.

To clarify, Varian hadn’t told her about anything outside of his struggles with school drama or his homelife, so Nuru knew nothing about the first two things within Varian’s passive-aggressive internalized reply to Hugo’s question. But what she did know about was that last one. It was something she teased Varian for quite frequently in fact, because who in their right mind, goes off and falls for Hugo of all people? 

So of course that’s what she decided to go with as her eyes sparked in realization. “Well, I’d say you’re already pretty obvious about that .”

Yong’s mouth formed the shape of a small ‘o’ as he caught on to what Nuru was talking about, “Yea! I mean even I know?? The only person who doesn’t is, well, Hugo.”

In response to that Hugo made an offended squawk, “Oh, we’re on about this again! When are the three of you just going to tell me ?”

The three shorter and younger teens all exchanged looks with each other knowingly, before Varian piped up to try and quell Hugo’s playfully hurt expression, “If we told you, you’d spill it out to the wrong person!”

Hugo rolled his eyes at that, “Oh please sweetcheeks, as if that’s stopped you from telling me about things before.”

Varian chuckled, raising his brow, “Is that you admitting you suck at keeping secrets?”

“I keep plenty of secrets, thank you.”

“Oh, excuse me, what I meant was, are you admitting that you suck at keeping other people’s secrets?”, He batted his lashes at the boy, his blue eyes shining with a playful gleam.

“Look, if this was going to turn on me , I wouldn’t have brought anything up!”, Hugo readjusted his glasses, giving a teasing pout as the room fell into a familiar comfortable silence. For as pompous and unfazed Hugo tried acting though, it seemed he couldn’t let this go however as he spoke again, “Seriously though, it’s about me, isn’t it? I mean Yong said everyone but me knew.”

The blue eyed boy’s face turned bright red, fear creeping in on him as the older boy inched closer and closer to unveiling one of his many secrets. 

“You could say that.”, Nuru spoke without missing a beat and enjoyed watching as the red tinting Varian’s cheeks began to stain them an even brighter hue.

Hugo raised his brow, his eyes darting between Nuru’s smirk and Varian’s flustered reaction as the words of their conversation bounced in his head. He’d never consider himself to be dumb or dense, not in the slightest. So obviously the hope filled idea of Varian having feelings of him was becoming likely in his mind.

Too bad for Varian and himself though was the fact that he had to act dense for both of their sakes. Hugo’s position was simply too dangerous, he didn’t want to put Varian in such a vulnerable position. Just the fact that they were friends was already pushing it. He could’ve never hoped for anything more, no matter how much he longed for those ocean eyes to stare into his all day...

The blonde surprised himself with that thought. He had never been the type to be overly lovey-dovey, nor had he even been the type to think about the long term when it came to relationships. But with Varian… it was different. Oh sun was it different.

He couldn’t act on those feelings though. No matter how new or thrilling or enticing they were for him, there were too many risks.

If things were different, maybe Hugo would’ve given it a shot. If Varian knew already of the risks he would’ve been taking by allowing himself to love Hugo and have Hugo love him in return, perhaps. If Varian was willing to accept Hugo despite the life of crime he was adopted into, by chance. Maybe then Hugo would take advantage of Varian’s not-so-secret feelings for him and sweep him off his feet.

But things weren’t that way. So he couldn’t. Not yet at least.

Hugo feigned innocence in the form of another lie, “Well great, Nuru , that sure helps a ton with me figuring it out.”

The girl rolled her eyes, “Are you kidding me!? Augh, what are you? Dense? Maybe if I push you into a pool you’ll sink to the bottom too, pebble brain .” No matter how annoyed she was with Hugo for seemingly not picking up something so obvious , the fondness in her voice made her teasing apparent.

The taller boy ended up chuckling, standing up abruptly and stretching out his muscles. It seemed Varian had to leave now too since he was silently collecting his things. The chirp of Varian’s ringer almost confirmed Hugo’s thoughts as the boy cursed under his breath. As if the two of them were in sync, the green eyed boy began to feel the distinct buzzing of his phone from his pocket, it’s vibration sending chills down his spine. 

“I’d ahm… better get going. My sister is expecting me, and I gotta get some rest for that stupid dare I’d gotta do tomorrow.”, Varian sighed, already making sheepish steps away from the group.

“I’m expected to be home already now too. I’ll see you all some other time.”, Hugo, unlike Varian, made no hesitation to break away from the rest. He was in a hurry, mind you, so it wasn’t like he was eager to get away from his friends.

“Well someone was excited to leave.”, It didn’t mean Nuru wasn’t allowed to make a joke about it either way though.

Yong chuckled, ripping open another pack of fruit snacks and popping one in his mouth. “Tell Rapunzel I say hi!! Oh, and my mom baked her cookies for babysitting me last week too, she can come by anytime to pick them up.”

Varian chuckled, nodding, “Okay, will do!”

“Oh, and V! Good luck on your dare .”, Nuru teasingly put an emphasis on the word.

Little did she know how bad Varian really needed that luck.

“Har har, very funny. Be safe, I'll let you guys know if anything exciting happens.”, he turned away fully now, briskly walking away. With a simple tap the phone lit up, and Varian was met with a fresh set of expectant texts from his boss, reminding him that it was too late to back out of the job he was so kindly forced into accepting.

“Oh sun.”, suddenly the situation seemed a lot more real than it did before. He was really doing this.

Varian was only now realizing how bad he’d need that luck too.

Chapter Text

There was a pattern of hurried footsteps approaching the door, Hugo’s feet pittering against the tiled floor of the estate in a fast rhythm. It took a while for his heart’s pace to not match that speed, as the initial panic he had began to die down.

He shouldn’t have panicked, really. Donella requesting his presence in her office wasn’t something out of the norm, and it wasn’t even necessarily a bad thing either. Despite her reputation, the leader of The Iron Fist was far more humane than anyone ever gave her any credit for.

It was probably adopting Hugo that made her soften a little, even if it was barely noticeable to anyone outside of her clan. 

So it should’ve been fine, right?

Hugo had absolutely no idea. For some reason something felt off . It wasn’t even off in a bad way, just… off in general.

His pale fist gave a firm knock to the door, and after a few beats of silence, his hand lowered back down to his side as the door opened. 

“You’re late. Did someone hold you up?” To anyone else, Donella’s word choice and tone would’ve been spine chilling, but Hugo caught onto the shred of protectiveness that she accidentally let slip through her voice. Once again, despite her reputation, she cared a lot more than people gave her credit for too. It was mainly just Hugo that she felt or expressed these tendencies towards, as her more motherly instincts faintly kicked in. 

It had shocked Donella as much as Hugo when they both realized this side of her existed. The woman had thought she didn’t have the capacity to feel such kinship with another person once Ulla was gone. But it turned out she was wrong. Oh so wrong.

Hugo shook his head, “Nope. It’s just a long bus ride from Corona to here. Whatcha need me for?” The blonde tapped his foot, the noise it produced echoing within the walls of the room.

“I just wanted to make you aware of an event we’re having tomorrow.”, She silently observed the boy in front of her as he nodded along to her words. She noticed a small cut he had gotten on his cheek, gesturing with one finger for the boy to step closer so she could properly look at the offending wound. 

“Oh, you noticed that, huh. It’s nothing, just something I got on the way here.”, Despite Hugo’s dismissive tone, he stood still so Donella could do whatever she deemed necessary.

Donella gave a skeptical ‘hmm’ in response to Hugo’s words. She would’ve had to have been a fool to not already be aware of the blonde’s tendency to not accept help, whether he needed it or not. She could’ve easily allowed this behavior to fester, but she knew that she couldn’t let him become weak due to his own bad habits. 

A part of having strength was admitting when you needed help maintaining it. It showed self respect, and respect to your fellow man as well by proving that you trusted them to be of service to you. That’s where Donella guessed Hugo struggled the most, the trusting part of things. 

Whether his trust was faulty when it came to other’s intentions or their actual capabilities was a mystery to Donella, but she viewed that as something for Hugo to figure out on his own. All she could do now was ease him into the idea of accepting help in the first place, even when it came to something as small as this. As someone who sought out members for her clan based on their pure moldable potential, Donella was well acquainted with the fact that baby steps were everything.

The older woman stepped away from Hugo in order to grab a small bottle of disinfectant and a cotton swab. Hugo watched Donella’s precise movements before speaking again, “Anyways, that event, what’s it about?”

She poured a few drops of the medical solution on the swab, feeling the cotton becoming cold as it absorbed the liquid. “To make peace between us and a gang stationed somewhere along the southern east coast of Corona.” Donella held the swab close to Hugo’s cheek, pausing for a moment, “This might sting a little.”

“‘S fine. I don’t mi-”, Hugo’s words were cut off by the pained noise of him sucking a sudden breath of air through clenched teeth. He muttered out a small sorry, which Donella was quick to dismiss.

“That’s… you’re talking about The Saporians, right?”, Hugo raised his brow as the woman nodded. “Aren’t they disbanded? All of their members were… they were arrested, weren’t they? Aren’t they rotting in Corona’s cells?”

Donella shook her head slowly, “There’s a reason Corona kept the whole situation to themselves. There was a deal made with them. As long as the Saporians never set foot in Corona again, they’d be free.” She let a few beats of silence pass over them before she spoke again, “Besides, did you really think the Saporians were made up of only five members? They were once an entire city. There are others, Hugo. Out there hiding along Corona’s borders in secret.”

He couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback. Donella really did have eyes and ears everywhere. “Oh… Wow. I never even expected to hear the name of that little group again, let alone hear that they were still around to begin with.” Hugo's brows then furrowed in confusion, “Wait, why would we wanna make peace with those folk?”

“I’d rather them be our ally than our enemy. They may not have their old ace up their sleeve anymore, but they’re most certainly still a force to be reckoned with.”, Donella explained thoughtfully. “This is more of a truce than anything, until I’m confident in our abilities to best them if there ever comes a time.”

Hugo nodded in understanding as the older woman finished cleaning up his wound, a satisfied smile poorly suppressed on her face. “I see. Does everyone else know about this too? Or is everyone assuming that this is a genuine treaty?”

“The lackeys don’t even know anything is happening to begin with. I’m trying to keep them on their toes so they finally get their act together, they’ll know right at dawn.”, Donella discarded the swab in a small bin she kept under her desk. “As for everyone else, they’re well aware that this is happening. Only higher-ups such as yourself know my true intentions, however. I can’t afford anything being accidently spilled by telling the wrong person.”

“Understood.”, He nodded affirmatively. “Thank you for ahm- trusting me not to fuck things up.”

Donella looked at her adoptive son and shook her head firmly, “You have to trust yourself not to screw up for my opinion to even matter. You are what you say you are, your words and thoughts will come back to haunt you through your actions. You’re only a screw up if you think you are.”

Hugo stared up at her like a deer in headlights, taking her words to heart as a small smile graced his features. “I won’t.”

“You won’t, what ?”

“I won’t screw up. I know it.”

She walked over to pat Hugo’s shoulder, “That’s my boy.”

With one last solid nod to each other, the blonde excused himself from his mother’s office. 

The way the two of them expressed their love was different- Hugo knew that. But it was a kind of different he didn’t really mind. 

Hugo always heard boys his age complaining about their moms, and sometimes he wanted to snap and shake them by the shoulders. Because the truth was that he was crazy about his. It didn’t matter to him that they weren’t related by blood, or that they were a little different compared to other families. 

Yeah- he’ll admit he didn’t like the life she had brought him into. No one really asks to be forced into a gang , afterall. But he loved her , and that was enough.

Hugo allowed himself to smile as he started preparing himself for the next day.

---

Unlike Hugo however, no amount of preparation would be enough for Varian.

Because here he was, in a half buttoned suit while pacing around his bedroom and ranting nonsense to himself. 

It had taken a stupidly long time to dye that blinding blue streak in his hair, just because his hands wouldn’t stop shaking .

Usually, he’d have his father here to comfort him, but Quirin was in the hospital for a check-up to review his health for any other medical concerns in relation to his coma. 

So here Varian was. Alone. Freaking out over the fact that he was going to walk into a literal death trap . 

Suddenly, as if right on cue, Varian felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. At first the feeling scared Varian, causing him to jump. He let out an embarrassed chuckle to the empty room, happy that no one saw him. Being jumpy definitely wasn’t going to bode well for his mission, but at least he was on high alert.

‘Gotta turn that off before I go in’ , he thought to himself as he checked the screen. Eugene.

A sound of relief brushed past his lips in the form of a melancholic chuckle. Normally Eugene had the worst timing in all of the seven cities- he knew Eugene couldn’t deny that. No one could.

That man couldn’t be more illy timed even if he tried. Varian always wondered how in the world Eugene was ever able to be a thief good enough to sneak into a palace with that kind of habit. So that fact his timing was so spot on now truly amazed the boy- maybe anything really was possible. 

If Eugene could finally time things conveniently, maybe Varian could schmooze his way in a gang. Those were completely two different ballparks, but he needed all the hope he could get.

Apparently the man’s horrible timing was starting to rub off on him, because Varian had accidentally let the call ring on for so long that he missed it. Whoops .

He called Eugene back instantly, anxiety pricking at his spine. The phone barely even rang once before the ex-thief answered. It made Varian smile as his worries began melting away. It felt so nice to be cherished by someone.

He wondered for a moment if Hugo would feel warm like that too if he knew he was cherished by someone- if he knew he was cherished by Varian .

Luckily(?), Eugene’s voice cut through that thought, “Goggles, how are you? Do you need to let out any nerves before your assignment?”

Assignment . That was a new one. The man never really used professional language, not even during meetings. Varian would’ve pointed it out too with some quip, but there was something else that caught him off guard.

“Goggles? I haven’t been called that in. In a while.”

“Well, you stopped wearing them. Ever since you kind’ve stopped… ”, Eugene paused for a moment. 

“Ever since I stopped doing my experiments, yeah, I know.”, Varian filled the silence for him. Don’t get him wrong, he really did appreciate the way Eugene cared for him, going out of his way to avoid triggering him or upsetting him- but sometimes it made him feel so weak. Like he was a glass doll that was going to shatter.

Maybe that’s how Eugene saw him?

Varian pushed that thought to the back of his mind, trying to focus on what had already been upsetting him rather than adding on to it.

“You could say I have some nerves. I- I just.. I’m not sure I can do this. I’m going to, I’ve already made up my mind about that but… I dunno. Eugene, I’m scared .”

“I know Freckles, I know. I pr-”, The man was quick to correct himself, “I swear we’ll come in at any time if you need to be bailed out. Okay? Call me any time .”

Varian nodded before realizing that Eugene couldn’t see him, “Yeah. Thank you, I will. Thanks by the way for taking care of Ruddiger for me.”

There was a strained chuckle that made Varian’s mouth quirk up in a smirk, “What can I say? Sunshine loves that lil’ furball. Gotta admit though, I’m still a little hesitant on letting it roam around so freely… that Raccoon is a damn menace I swear.”

The boy laughed, unable to find it within himself to disagree. “Ruddiger is a bit of a little shit, yeah, but-”

“Language!”

“Eugene. I’m going to be 18 . I think I can swear.”, the all-too-familiar sass in Varian’s voice made both of them chuckle.

With a fond sigh, Eugene attempted to seem sarcastic, but the genuine happiness in his voice shone through as clear as day, “Well, glad to see that same old Varian is back. Missed the snark.”

Although he couldn’t see him, Varian knew Eugene could see him rolling his eyes from a mile away. “I’m happy that the old me is back too- I think I feel better. Thank you.”

From there the conversation died out, as if Varian had blown out a candle. 

He was hoping that it’d be enough to get him through the day.

---

The day seemed to drag on for Hugo.

It had been funny to listen to the panic of all the rookies as Donella sprung the news on all of them about The Saporians upcoming visit that evening. Honestly, he was beginning to believe her excuse for doing so less and less- screw the whole ‘keeping the lackeys on their toes’ thing, it was for shits-and-giggles . 

He knew that Donella meant what she said whenever she spoke to him, so the actual chances of that being the truth were slim to none. But, Hugo just wanted to indulge himself a little. 

One of the panicked crew members had asked how he could be so calm when the damn Saporians were going to be at their door in less than a few hours. 

For him, it was a simple answer.

Their huge crime streak ( which The Iron Fist beat already, he’d like to add ) came from an ace up their sleeve that they didn’t have anymore. Donella said they were still a threat- threat Hugo’s ass . He respected her more than anyone in that entire gang, so he didn’t question her out loud when she said that, but he just couldn’t agree.

There was no way he was giving The Saporian’s any credit for the work of someone else. Hugo knew he’d never accept it if anyone tried giving The Iron Fist credit for his accomplishments. Corona kept their lips sealed about the whole case, so to anyone outside of Corona or Saporia the identity of The Saporian’s old wild-card was an entire mystery. But Hugo had no doubt that this mystery person would feel the exact same as him.

He already knew it was going to be an actual challenge not to roll his eyes during this banquet .

That’s right, they were throwing a damn banquet . It was the easiest way to get in The Saporian’s good graces- food, wine, fake laughs, and half-assed small chat; for some reason those things just worked. Donella didn’t like it either, it seemed way too much like a Corona thing to do. The city of sun was infamous for their dumb celebrations and parties- Hugo had even been to some of them, thanks to Varian’s frequent invitations.

On that thought he suddenly remembered the way Varian tried asking him if he’d like to celebrate the ‘Day of Hearts’ together. Out of every invitation Varian had ever given him, this was the one Hugo had actually hoped for. He’d never forget the sinking feeling he had when Varian backed out at the last minute, and he’d certainly never forget the urge he had to invite Varian himself.

Thump, Thump, Thump

The blonde cursed the way his heart was thumping so insistently in his chest at those thoughts. Oh of course- the day he had to be ‘presentable’ in front of guests is the same day that Varian just had to take residence in his mind.

Forget about fighting the urge to not roll his eyes, now he had to fight the stronger urge to just get lost in the thought of those ocean blues. He couldn’t afford being asked something important, only to be blanked about because he was thinking about Varian . 

That thought bitterly crossed his mind, only to be interrupted when he sees something .

He watched as a member of their crew paced quickly down the hall, keeping his head low. Which, normally, would’ve been normal . Newer members tended to keep their heads down around Hugo, it was only natural considering he was the big boss’s son .

But this person… with his black fringe, fast almost clumsy pace, and comforting minty scent wafting faintly in the air as he dashed past Hugo-  it was just all so familiar. 

Hugo found himself looking behind, trying to see where this ‘stranger’ was headed. 

He couldn’t help himself. Hugo looked down- for science - and it was just as he thought. The ass matched up too. 

That was merely just another piece of evidence though, as the blonde followed this boy to wherever he was going, his steps quiet and precise. Apparently they were quiet to the point that Mr. totally-not-Varian seemed not to notice his presence. Perfect .

---

After approximately 1 minute of watching the boy make an attempt at whatever he was trying to do, Hugo was confident. This was Varian. 

Oh, and his evidence?

See, well, Hugo’s evidence was the fact that he had these wonderful things called eyes , and he used them, and- yeah it was Varian. There was no way around it. 

Good boy Varian pretending to be a member of The Iron Fist. The thought alone made Hugo hysteric , but actually seeing it in action? Oh sun it was a delight.

Hugo could’ve- no, not just could’ve. He should’ve told Don right away. As soon as he even noticed something even slightly sketchy he should’ve made a bee-line for her office. But he didn’t, and honestly he had no plans to.

Hugo knew he had to see how this turned out. He just had to watch this- because when else would he get to see Varian do something as wild as sneak into one of the fiercest gangs of their time?? That’s right, never . This was a one of a kind opportunity, one that he was going to hold onto with a vice grip and not let go of. He just wanted a laugh

It was purely because of that.

It wasn’t because Hugo was worried at all about Varian getting caught by someone who’d really have his ass handed to him, or because he was comforted by having Varian around. Of course it wasn’t. That’d be dumb.

Thump, Thump, Thump

Obviously, it wasn’t.

Whether it was or wasn’t was a debate Hugo could have later though, because apparently he had been staring, and it seems Varian noticed and- oh sun, Varian just glanced at him. Fuck.

Hugo ducked his head away quickly, pretending to be doing something on his phone as he pulled it out. It was then that he realized something terrifying:

As funny as this situation was, they both couldn’t get caught.

Varian had stepped into a literal death trap, they both knew that if he was caught then he was a deadman. Other members of the clan would definitely use ratting on Varian as an excuse to suck up to Donella. Not that it’d work, but Hugo knew they’d try anyway.

Hugo, despite this being his domain, had something to worry about too. No one outside of Iron Fist’s walls knew about his association with the gang. If Varian found out- He’d hate him. He’d tell Nuru, and Yong, and- Oh sun.

There’s no way Hugo could let Varian see him.

But it wasn’t like he could just avoid Varian all day so he wouldn’t get caught, because that’d be putting Varian at risk. Without Hugo there to step in, there’s no way the ravennette would’ve been able to see another day- or at least, there’s no way he’d get out of there unscathed.

Fuck.

Hugo knew he didn’t have to babysit Varian. He wasn’t obligated to, and he knew that for a fact. Varian was the one stupid enough to walk into a gang unprepared. It wasn’t Hugo’s problem if that boy was a fool and got caught like one. But if something happened to him-

No . Nothing would happen to him. Not as long as Hugo had something to say about it. Just the thought alone made his spine crawl with despair, furry, and guilt- heart thumping painfully in his chest in a way that wasn’t accompanied by warm and fuzzy fluttering in his stomach, but rather a sinking feeling of pure dread .

Hugo realized he was just as much of a fool as Varian was. The fact he would do anything for that boy’s safety, even if he knew damn well how bad it could screw himself over- it was the dumbest thing to come from Hugo. That and the fact he ever fell for Varian in the first place.

He was an idiot . Varian brought that out of him. But he also brought out so many amazing things within Hugo that he never realized were there to begin with. Hugo knew life just wouldn’t be the same without him, because he absolutely adored all of the things Varian was able to spark in him.

It took a while for Hugo to get out of his head, as he realized the real weight of his situation. When he looked back over at where Varian had been he was already halfway out of the room. The blonde immediately went to follow, keeping his distance with silent footsteps.

From the slight turns of his head, it became apparent to Hugo that the boy was looking for something. He could imagine the way those blue eyes were scanning everything along the walls and floors- the way his lips pursed in deep thought. Varian’s lips always did that.

You’d think that Hugo at this point would be -and reasonably so- wondering exactly why Varian was here. But no.

Although the question crossed his mind, he didn’t push or prod at those thoughts. Hugo had his secrets- who was he to attempt to uncover Varian’s? That was how the blonde saw it. Sure, trust was a bit of a tricky concept to him, but if Varian was going to trust in him Hugo couldn’t help but return the favor. They both had things they’ve yet to tell- that was fine.

Besides, if it were something to worry about, he had the resources to take care of it. Not that Hugo would’ve ever resorted to something like that unless he felt like he absolutely had to- when it came to Varian at least.

Right now, Hugo was less concerned with all of that and more concerned about the fact Varian was now already around the corner of this damn hallway- for someone with such short legs he was fast .

Hugo groaned slightly as he rushed to keep up, having a feeling that this’d be one helluva long night.

---

Varian was about to go insane .

The whispers and gossip of all the goons working under The Iron Fist were really useful when it came to figuring out what to do and what not to do in order to blend in. Varian had been completely lost when it came to this stuff, but luckily for him, he was a fast learner. 

He learned from the gossip who to look out for, what tasks he supposedly should pretend to do, what things got under the higher-up’s skin and what things that’d keep you in their good graces. His act for sure wasn’t perfect but it was certainly better from how he started. 

Because, he had a rough start to say the least.

For one; of course he came on the day where there was an entire event going on. There were lackeys rushing in a panic to get things prepared, despairing over their shared dread in hushed whispers. 

Eugene’s bad timing must’ve really been rubbing off on him, for real this time. Because how in the name of the moon did Varian manage to get sent to gather intel the same day The Iron Fist decides to have a party . The Iron Fist, having a dinner party - unbelievable. 

If this were Corona, it’d make perfect sense. Rapunzel threw parties all the time, everyone in that city lived for celebration. Varian was sure that if they had the resources they’d celebrate every time the damn sun rised. That was just the way Corona was.

But this was Ingvarr . Ingvarr. If Varian told anyone he went to a party in Ingvarr they’d promptly tell him that, ‘funerals don’t count.’ The city known for steel and bustling industries- it and the city of sun and celebration were absolutely nothing alike. 

The Iron Fist, a gang in Ingvarr, throwing a party . Unbelievable.

Secondly, and probably the worst part of this entire thing; the guests were The Saporians. It took everything in Varian not to dile Eugene’s number like it was an emergency hot-line and beg to just leave .

The entire time Varian has been here too, he swears, he feels like he’s being watched by someone . Not even five minutes in and he felt the terror of eyes being glued on him, and he could’ve sworn he’d gotten a quick glance at the person who had him found out. He just wanted to leave- leave the stupid party, and the stupid saporians, and the piercing stare he felt- he wanted to leave it all.

But he knew all too well that there was no way he could just leave in the middle of this, because that party was probably the best time to get information. As much as Varian couldn’t stand the memories that came rolling in to crush him- he also couldn’t stand the idea of disappointing anyone.

Because despite everything, for some reason they trusted him with this. Even if he was the last option they had among the others of their institute, they still believed in him. 

The only thing that calmed him down was Varian reminding himself that The Saporians were rotting away in prison- where they’d stay for life thanks to their sentencing. There was no way they were actually coming to dinner, if anything, the boss probably only said that to make the clan members work harder. Yeah, yeah that was it.

Whether they came or not was something he didn’t really need to worry about anyways, since he didn’t really plan on actually going to the banquet. Afterall, he was disguised as one of the lackeys and he had serious doubts about one of them being allowed in the party.

It’d be fine.

Varian would escape the staring. He’d use this event as an excuse to snoop around the place and gather as much information as possible, maybe even physical evidence if he could be sneaky enough. He doubted it, especially because Varian could only imagine the amount of security in this place. 

That’s something The Iron Fist and SunDrop had in common; both kept their secrets close to their chest, and they took the necessary precautions to make sure it stayed that way. 

Varian at the very least knew the ropes when it came to that . He knew what behaviors people would look for, what behaviors would throw people’s suspicions off; he’d be safe.

It’d be fine-

Or at least he hoped.