The Raccoon and His Boy - A Varian x Reader story

I

Libraries are magical places, and no one is ever going to convince you otherwise. You had the privilege of growing up with the Corona Village Library as your second home, and even after you'd worked there six years, starting at age nine, you still couldn't get used to the fuzzy feeling of entering the large building. It was like a spark of warmth in your stomach, a big hug welcoming you home from a long and tiring journey. If that isn't magic, you don't know what is.

Unfortunately, this magic had negative side effects too. Leaving the library and stepping out into the square, with all its hustle and bustle, was like being woken from a peaceful dream by a bucket of ice-water. The musty smell and calm atmosphere faded away like they had never even been there to begin with, leaving you with an emptiness where the warmth had been.

Because of this, you'd made it a habit to roam around in the square once you finished your shift and Dad took over. The late afternoon hours were the most busy in the town, and there was so much to see that you were able to shake off the feeling of loss rather quickly. And even with all there was to do, the only memorable adventure you'd had in the square was when you first saw the raccoon.

It was a windy day in early autumn, and stepping out into the wild weather felt almost like entering a different universe than your own. The winds whipped your hair around in the air, blowing the cold across your neck and stripping away any warm remainders of the crackling fire from the fireplace. You pulled your hood up over your hair the moment you had your coat on, but after the winds shoved it back down you were seriously debating if to skip your stroll in the town for the day.

That was when the wafting smell of cherry croissants was carried over to your nose by the wild winds and any doubts slipped out of your mind as you walked briskly towards the bakery's selling stand. A few minutes and a silver coin later, you had a warm cherry croissant in each hand, and you made your way against the winds to the bench at the corner of the square.

You were almost there when a small furry creature sprung out from the bushes and landed before me, forcing you to skid to a stop. After taking a moment to regain your balance you recognized the creature as a raccoon, with the eyes surrounded by black patches staring at you curiously. After watching you for a few seconds its gaze shifted to the croissant in your hand and it chittered at you, almost demanding you give it some food.

"All right, little guy," you sighed, kneeling down beside the critter and breaking off a small piece of croissant to give it. You were about to hand the small portion to the raccoon when, in one swift move, it lunged at you and snagged the big chunk that remained. You watched, disbelieving as it chomped down on the pastry, not letting a single crumb go to waste. It was too cute to be mad at, though, so your anger lowered until the critter grabbed at your second croissant and you leapt to your feet to avoid it.

After crouching for so long the spring to your feet cost you your balance, and you slipped backwards. The good thing was you had something to cushion your fall. Someone, to be exact. you heard a yelp of surprise from behind you as you collided with another body, and the figure and you crashed to the floor together.

You rolled off as soon as the world stopped spinning. "I am so sorry!" you said, rubbing the sand out of your eyes. "I didn't even- Hey!" In your fall you'd dropped your second croissant, and the raccoon had already grabbed it off the floor and started munching away. It chittered at you and turned to scamper off, but not before the figure beside you grabbed it in his hands. "Ruddiger! Get back here with that!"

You finally turned to examine the boy. He was cute, to say the least, with a teal streak in his floppy black hair, goggles perched atop his head, freckles across his cheeks, and two small buck teeth sticking out slightly over his front lip. It was the eyes, however, that caught your attention - two sparkling pools of sky blue among an ocean of white.