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The day's travels had been going fine, up until now. The group had taken their caravan along with Prometheus on a trail which took them about five hours. According to their map, and Ulla's journal, this trail was meant to lead them directly to a rest-and-stock somewhere in Neserdnia. What stood before them could be classified as such, despite the fact that it resided in the middle of nowhere.
“This has got to be it.”
Varian announced, his eyes glued to the map in his hands.
“We're nowhere near Neserdnia. This probably belongs to someone.”
Hugo poked at the chipped and broken wooden walls of the shack, pressing his fingertips together before brushing the dust off of them.
“Then maybe my mom was being a little broad. It's not exactly in Neserdnia, but it's close enough.”
Varian looked up from the map, rolling it up and tucking it into his pouch.
“And if it isn't? We'll just be stealing from some poor unsuspecting woodsman. Have you sunk oh-so low, Goggles?”
While Varian and Hugo stood on the outside with their belongings, Nuru and Yong took it upon themselves to inspect the inside of the shack. The front door had been left cracked open, giving the two of them easy access to slip inside.
“I didn't realize that was a concern to you.”
Varian shot a glare at Hugo, his eyes squinched.
“Just putting it out there,” Hugo shrugged, beginning to walk around the building to find the entrance.
“If some crazy lunatic points a pitchfork between my eyes in the morning, I'll be calling your name.”
“I'm sure you would be, in a cry for help.”
Varian scoffed, beginning to tie Prometheus up to a pole which stood outside of the building.
Hugo remained silent, leaving Varian unsure if he had even heard him.
After successfully tying Prometheus and the caravan outside, Varian followed the others into the shack.
“Find anything?” He asked, crossing his arms tightly as he looked around. The inside was much bigger than it seemed from outside, there were shelves upon every wall and boxes scattering the floors.
“Not really,” Nuru began, sighing before turning to face Varian.
“But we can spend the night here. It's better than finding somewhere new to set up our tents.”
Varian nodded, walking towards the entrance while he spoke.
“I'll go grab our things, and we'll-”
He stopped suddenly, his hand resting on the large door.
The other two turned their attention to Varian curiously.
“What's up?” Hugo questioned.
“Uh. The door,” Varian pushed hard into the wood, stepping back a little before attempting again.
“Did one of you close it? It won't open.”
“Step aside.” Hugo brushed Varian's shoulder, lightly pushing him away and taking his place. He pushed as hard as he could, then tried to push even harder when it proved ineffective.
“Are we stuck?” Yong asked somewhat fearfully, looking to Nuru for an answer.
She shook her head, straightening her shoulders and placing a hand on Yong.
“I'm sure it's fine, the door is probably just jammed. It seems old after all.”
She tried to reassure the younger boy, patting him softly on the back.
Both Varian and Hugo were putting all of their weight on the door now, but nothing seemed to work.
Hugo groaned out in frustration, leaning his back against the door as he raked a hand through his hair.
“This isn't working, it's no use.”
“Says you. I'm much stronger than you are, I'm sure I can get it open in no time.”
Varian grunted through his words, continuing to push into the door until his legs slipped and he began to slowly fall to the floor.
Hugo said nothing, looking down at Varian with a bored expression.
“Alright. We may be stuck here for the night.”
Varian sighed, getting up from the floor and brushing off his pants.
“Well, isn't that just dandy.” Hugo mumbled, stepping away from the door and finding a stack of boxes to lean against.
“So we'll have to go a night without our sleeping bags. That's alright, we'll be fine.”
Nuru rested her hands on her waist, puffing her chest out a little as she tried to lift the mood with determination.
“What about in the morning? What if the door still won't budge?” Yong asked, tugging at Nuru's arm.
The other three exchanged looks, wondering what they could say to assure the youngest of them that things would in fact be alright.
“Don't worry, Firecracker,” Hugo strode towards Yong before ruffling his hair.
“I'll make sure that door is knocked clean open by tomorrow. I'm just tired is all, need some rest.”
Yong smiled at that, nodding his head with acknowledgement. Very suddenly, Yong then rushed to a corner of the room and hopped upon a pile of boxes which were covered in a silk sheet.
“I call this area!”
After each of them had established their own sleeping area, they began to settle down for the night. Yong must've drifted off almost immediately, already snoring softly in his cozy little corner. Nuru faced a wall where she laid on a pile of flat cardboard.
It had been about an hour now since anyone last spoke and Hugo was almost sure he was the only one still awake, until he started to hear rustling from behind him.
The rustling continued for a moment before coming to a stop, just to then be replaced by pacing footsteps.
Hugo peaked over his shoulder to find the culprit of these noises, but was unable to see very clearly through the dark. He grabbed at his glasses and adjusted them on his face before turning his body entirely to watch what was clearly Varian pacing almost erratically around his corner of the shack.
“You all good?” Hugo asked, getting up into a half sitting position.
Varian stopped in alarm, turning to shoot Hugo an uncomfortable, shocked expression.
“What? Yes. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.”
“You didn't.” Hugo sat up completely before standing on his feet.
“You sure you're okay?” He kept his voice low, crossing his arms as he spoke.
Varian's face scrunched up, his eyes darting across Hugo's own as if in thought. He stood up straight, making fists at his sides as he sighed.
“I didn't have a chance to use a bathroom before this whole ordeal.”
Hugo raised an eyebrow with a smirk, letting out a chuckle. “Always remember to see a man about the plumbing, Goggles.”
Varian glared in response, a light blush tainting his cheeks. “I was going to. I wasn't planning on being imprisoned inside of a dirty useless shed.” He spat, his voice rising.
“Shh,” Hugo placed a hand on Varian's shoulder, nodding towards their sleeping friends. “At Least there are no pitchforks.” He added with another short laugh.
Varian just sighed, extracting himself from Hugo's touch and began to slowly fall back into his pacing rhythm. Hugo watched for a moment before blocking Varian's path.
“You can just go here, you know.”
“Inside?” Varian's entire face wrinkled up in shock and disgust.
“I'm not doing that.” He continued with an aggressive shake of his head.
“It's not that big of a deal. Just go behind some boxes, I won't look.” Hugo shrugged his shoulders.
“You'll hear it! You'll probably smell it. There's no way.” Varian groaned in embarrassment at the thought, holding onto his own shoulders.
“What are you going to do, just hold it in all night?” Hugo asked, gesturing to Varian's clear discomfort.
“If I have to. I'll be fine, I can last until morning.”
“Really? You look like you won't last another hour.”
Varian's expression contorted into one of embarrassment and distaste, sporting a heavy frown as he moved to cross his arms tightly.
“I have better judgment over my own bladder, thank you.”
“You're making this bigger than it has to be.” Hugo placed a hand on his hip, trying not to dramatically roll his eyes.
“It is a big deal to me. I can't do it, I won't. I'll just have to sleep through it.”
“And risk waking up soaked?” Hugo said with a laugh, earning a scowl from Varian.
“Really, I'll be fine.” He added harshly, his grip on himself tightening.
Hugo stared back at him for a moment before letting his shoulders fall with a sigh.
“Fine, suit yourself.” He waved a hand as he sauntered back towards his pathetic cardboard bed.
Varian watched without moving as Hugo laid with his back towards him. He bit his lip to stifle a pained noise before stepping back into the wall just by the door. He slid down it until he sat on the cold floor, squeezing his legs together as he rested his head on his knees.
.
Hugo woke again some time later, groaning as he stretched out and turned onto his back. Judging by the darkness and how tired he still was, he guessed it had to have been only an hour or two since he managed to fall asleep. He was pulled away from his thoughts by the sound of a faint muffled cry in the room. Hugo lifted his back up from the floor and squinted towards the direction of the noise. He felt for his glasses again and placed them on while moving to stand.
Having now adjusted to the dark, and with the much needed help of his glasses, Hugo could see Varian pushed up against the wall in a sitting position. His face dug into his knees as his legs shook and shifted uncomfortably underneath him. Coming closer, he could hear much more clearly that Varian was crying softly to himself.
“Goggles?”
Varian lifted his head abruptly at the sudden sound, his eyebrows scrunched together and his eyes red and puffy. He didn't say anything in response, just stifled a small sob as his legs tightened closer together beneath him.
Hugo sighed, frowning down at him before crouching down to sit by his side.
“Listen,”
“No.” Varian interrupted, shoving his face between his legs once again.
“I know it's embarrassing,” Hugo spoke anyway, keeping his voice quiet.
“Just go back to sleep.” Varian's words were muffled by the fabric of his pants.
“Just let me help you! Stop being so difficult.”
Hugo waited for a response from Varian, then exhaled when nothing came.
“Please, Goggles. I don't want to wake up to you weeping between your legs in a pile of urine.”
Varian's head shot up at that, seemingly furious.
“I was not weeping,”
“Didn't say you were.” Hugo interrupted, which Varian ignored.
“And I will not fucking piss myself. I can hold it, and I will until we manage to get out of here. I don't need your help, and I certainly don't want it.”
Hugo lifted his hands in irritated defense, scoffing.
“I'm just trying to lend you a hand here, what's your issue?”
Varian replied with a shaky muffled whine, waving a hand at Hugo with his face once again hidden away.
“Just go!”
The room went silent for a few moments as Hugo stared down at Varian from his position beside him. After some time, Hugo got up to leave. Varian buried his head deeper into his legs and gripped hard onto himself, not anticipating Hugo's swift return.
He then lifted his face just enough to peek at Hugo after feeling his presence.
“Here,” Hugo said, brushing his hand against Varian's before gently grabbing onto it and bringing it to what Hugo held in his other hand.
From what Varian could feel, it was a large empty glass bottle. He lifted his head higher to confirm this with his eyes.
“Why? What's this for?”
“Don't fight with me, we both know you're not going to be able to hold it in until morning.”
Varian groaned at that, attempting to retract his hand and bury his face again. Before he could, Hugo's hold on Varian's hand tightened.
“It's just me here, no one else will ever know.” His words were so soft, it almost made Varian forget why he was ever ashamed in the first place.
“Why do you care so much about my comfort all of a sudden?” Varian said in a near whisper, looking up at Hugo with glassy eyes.
Hugo wasn't sure what to say, his mouth opened to speak but nothing came out. He cleared his throat and looked away.
“Just let me help, okay?”
The two of them stared at one another wordlessly for what felt like much too long before Varian finally found it in himself to respond.
“Okay.” He muttered, his voice shaken.
Hugo simply nodded, brushing his thumb against the back of Varian's hand before letting go.
“Do you want to hold the bottle yourself?”
Hugo spoke softly and carefully, wanting to avoid making this any more uncomfortable for Varian than it already was.
“Doesn't matter.” Varian murmured, avoiding Hugo's gaze.
“Just look away for a moment, will you?”
Hugo immediately averted his eyes at that, turning his head away from Varian entirely.
While turned away, he could hear Varian fumbling with his belt, followed by the sound of fabric rustling. He felt Varian feel for the glass bottle, patiently waiting for permission to face his direction.
“Alright.” Varian breathed out, which Hugo took as an invitation to turn his head back.
Varian held the large bottle with both hands, covering the transparent glass to remain unseen even in the dark.
He looked up to Hugo with almost pleading eyes, his eyebrows knitted together.
“Could you maybe cover your ears?”
Hugo nodded wordlessly, moving his hands up to his head and doing just that.
Varian let out a trembling sigh, screwing his eyes shut and biting down on his teeth. He remained like this for a moment before slowly prying his eyes open and frowning deeply. Hugo caught sight of this and let his hands slide down from his head just enough to hear a response to his next words.
“You alright?”
Varian sighed, shaking his head slowly.
“I can't go all of a sudden. It's like it just won't...” He trailed off, his face burning up.
Hugo hummed, letting his hands fall to his sides. He met Varian's aching gaze and felt an intense pang of sympathy.
“Let me try something?” Hugo asked delicately. He held out a hand close to Varian, unmoving without permission.
Varian nodded slowly, seemingly torn between shame and desperation.
With that, Hugo moved his hand to make contact with Varian. He rested it on his stomach, surveying his face for any discomfort with this touch. He then lowered his hand to Varian's lower abdomen, pressing a little more firmly as he traveled down. Varian seemed to react to this, his face scrunching up as he bit hard onto his lip.
After letting out a breath of air, Hugo pressed much harder, digging the palm of his hand into the thick skin beneath.
Varian gasped at the rough contact, unable to hold back a shuddering moan as he felt the beginning of release. The floodgates were open, and it was clear there was no going back by the sploshing vibrations against the glass. Relief seemed to hit Varian in waves as he failed to stifle a long gravely sigh. He let his head fall back while Hugo moved his hand impossibly lower, still pressing hard.
“That's it, there you go. Let it all out.” Hugo hummed as he leaned his face in closer to Varian's own.
Varian squinted his eyes open and watched Hugo through lidded eyes as his body jerked and quivered beneath him. He let out a wobbly breath as he felt the final drops leak out of him. He remained still for a while longer, holding onto the glass with only one hand now as the other supported his leaning weight. His chest heaved slightly as he regulated his breathing, his eyes closed again.
“How's that? You feel better?” Hugo asked in a hushed voice, speaking into Varian's ear as his hand rested on his abdomen.
Varian hummed out in approval, nodding his head against Hugo's chin.
“So much better.” He slurred.
Hugo snickered, moving his hand lower to brush it against Varian's own, which held onto the glass bottle. Varian let his hand fall at the touch, allowing Hugo to grab onto the bottle and pull away. He moved it to stand away from them as Varian was busy pulling his pants back up.
“I'm.. sorry for the hassle. I mean, that was probably so weird.” Varian mumbled, brushing off his pants after readjusting his belt.
“I offered to help.” Hugo reminded him, sitting at his side with his legs bent and spread.
“I know, but still.” Varian shook his head slightly, avoiding eye contact with Hugo.
“I just,” Varian sighed, unable to finish his sentence.
“You okay?” Hugo asked, leaning forward in an attempt to catch Varian's gaze.
“Yeah. I'm fine.” Varian said in a low voice, turning his head to look Hugo in the eyes.
“Thanks. For uh, lending a hand.”
Hugo stared back at him for a moment before cracking a smile.
“Yeah, no worries. You owe me one.”
Varian chuckled at that, rolling his head forward.
“Okay, seems fair.”
.
When morning came, the bright sun beamed through every crack in the wood, shining directly onto Varian's face where he laid by the entrance door.
He groaned irritability as he lifted himself into a sitting position.
“You guys,” he announced to the room, rubbing his eyes.
The other three responded with irritable sounds of their own, each taking their own time to finally get up from where they slept.
Hugo stretched his back once he stood, grumbling under his breath about the hard wood making him stiff.
While the others struggled with their desperate want for more sleep, Varian had been peeking outside of the shed through a crack in the wall. Once he saw what he was looking for he extracted himself and moved to press his mouth against the crack.
“Prometheus! Buddy, hey! We need your help.”
The donkey lifted his head, eyes widening just slightly before returning to his half lidded stare. He came up to the door and turned himself around as if getting ready to throw a nasty kick. Noticing this, Varian stepped back from the door and awaited their rescue. Prometheus kicked the door in three times before it broke open, wood cracking against the floor once their freedom was at last granted.
“Good job, buddy! Who's the greatest steed in all of the seven kingdoms?” Varian cooed, ruffling Prometheus’ hair and nuzzling into his side. The donkey brayed happily, snuggling into Varian in turn.
The others happily bustled outside, relieved to be in the freedom of the outdoors.
“Everything turned out just alright then, see Yong?” Nuru said as she took a breath of fresh air.
Yong nodded and laughed as he made his way towards the caravan before climbing atop to sit in the riders seat. Nuru followed behind him, sitting by his side. The two laughed together as Varian worked to clip Prometheus back to the caravan. Hugo stood between his friends and the forgotten shack, sneaking a final glimpse into the darkness.
“You coming, Hugo?”
He heard Varian call out, causing him to turn all of his attention toward the other.
“Yeah, cool your jets.” Hugo waved his hand absentmindedly as he strode past Varian and entered the caravan. Varian watched him leave, then watched for a moment longer after Hugo was gone. He sighed before leaving the donkey's side and joining Yong and Nuru in the rider's seat.