< Varian and his Cuckoo-Clock Heart > [Varian x Reader]

Chapter 4: Good-Feeling Dreams

"What happened to him?! Why didn't you keep a close eye on him, Cassandra?!" Quirin shouted, hastily dumping little droplets of water into Varian's gears to cool them down.

Cassandra frowns deeply, not being able to say anything out of fear from Quirin's wrath. Varian sighed dreamily, thinking back to that shared duet he'd done with [F/N], and how their lips almost touched. Yes, the feeling dug under his skin and nearly killed him, but it was worth it.

"She's so beautiful, Dad. She's like a shooting star with the voice of an angel and the body of a girl. I felt as though I could fly when I was running with her!" He exclaims, waving his arms around as if he were a bird about to spread its wings and leave the nest.

Quirin's brow furrows, seeing Varian's hour hands fly around and poke out in different directions from his dial. He pushes his son back down on the work bench with a sharp glare.

"You ran off with this girl against Cassandra and Rapunzel's wishes?! What has gotten into you, Varian!"

Varian slightly cowers from his father's tone, finally being brought down from cloud nine to get a sense of the situation at bay. Quirin takes in a deep breath to calm his nerves, handing Varian his button-up shirt.

"I want you to stay in your room until dinner time."

"But–"

"Now, Varian!"

Varian only sharpens his own look before scurrying up the stairs to his room. Cassandra takes a step next to Quirin, attempting to defend the boy.

"Quirin, I know you only want to protect him, but he really was just having fun. [F/N] wouldn't have purposefully hurt him."

"Purposefully or not, he almost died. And I don't want him to end up like his mother," He states, glaring coldly towards Cassandra before pacing out of the workshop. "Keep him away from that little singer. I'm afraid his feelings for her might grow."

Cassandra nods in understanding, following him out the workshop and leaving the home in disappointment.

Varian laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with tear-filled eyes. He felt the waterworks cascade down his freckled cheeks. A sad cuckoo came shooting out of the doors of his clock heart. He sighed deeply, his eyelids becoming heavy until they fluttered shut, sleep overtaking him.

Quirin walked up to Varian's door, taking in a deep breath before lightly knocking. No response. He opened the bedroom door, peeking his head inside. "Varian?"

He smiles a little softly, seeing his son cuddled up close to one his pillows, seeming to be in a peaceful slumber. He quietly walks into the room and sighs, sitting down on Varian's bed while brushing his hair out of his face.

"I'm sorry, Varian, but I can't lose you, too. You understand, right?"

Only soft snores come out of the little boy's mouth, along with incoherent mumbling and murmuring. 'He must be dreaming,' Quirin concludes, patting his son gently on the back.

He went back to the door to finish dinner alone, but stopped abruptly when he heard what Varian was mumbling.

"[F/N] ... Mmm ..." The boy's smiles widens as he buries his face into the pillow, his hour hand spinning.

Quirin frowns deeply, gripping the doorknob. Varian can't even escape that girl in his sleep. He must have fallen hard. Although Quirin would love to see his son grow up with this [F/N] girl happily, it's too risky. He should know. He did do the surgery. He finally exits his son's room, coming up with an idea on how to really hammer the rules down into his head.