A Series of One-Shots 🔷️

{2} "Believe" (Variro)

Thunder rolled overhead as Varian stirred a pot of hot chocolate on his kitchen stove. A steady stream of rain poured down from the heavens, the drops plinking on the roof. A crack of lightning boomed in the sky, a flash of white color breaking through the gray clouds, but Varian wasn't afraid of the storm at all. He seemed to focus more on whatever invention he was cooking up in his brain with background noise. In fact, he even hummed to himself as the delightful aroma of vanilla filled the room. Varian drummed his fingers against the countertop when he turned off the flame and poured the drink into a to-go thermos.

"I will make you proud, I will make you have faith in me ... " sang Varian quietly as he placed the lid on the thermos and treaded lightly to the living room. On the coffee table were thick books about alchemy and the sciences at work behind the subject. "I will prove that the way I used to be is all in the past. I will save the day and come back here triumphantly, 'cause I long for that look in your eyes when you see your son rising at last! The pride in your eyes when you see your son rising at last!"

When Varian settled into his father's armchair, sipping his cocoa, he heard an unsettling noise that wasn't part of the rainstorm. The teenage alchemist tensed up, unsure if someone was trying to break into the house. The sound occurred again as Varian set his drink down on a coaster and walked towards the front door. He armed himself with a chemical ball and opened the door, ready to defend himself.

"Woah, woah! It's just me!" a familiar voice called out over the din of the rain.

Varian growled internally as he put the weapon into his pocket. "Hiro, I thought I told you that I was not into you that way," the alchemist shouted at the boy genius.

"I know, but I want just one chance to show you a different side of me," said Hiro.

Varian muttered, "Mein Gott," and sighed heavily.

This guy just didn't understand that the Bjorgman family has had horrid luck when it came to romantic relationships. When Varian was nine, his mother abandoned them to avoid the heart-wrenching divorce case. Seraphina and Elsa broke up three months into their relationship because of conflicting interests for their futures. Even Kristoff and Ryder Nattura hit a rough patch because the latter hadn't come out to his family while the former was out and proud. Even though Varian had observed how much they'd changed after seven years, just seeing these dynamics fall apart made the alchemist realize that he didn't want a relationship if it meant that he would end up feeling utterly miserable.

But spending time with Hiro made Varian feel something, which he couldn't understand because he had never felt anything utterly romantic or sexual towards any of his friends. Even then, he didn't have a lot of friends, choosing to hang out with Seraphina and Kristoff or spend time by himself, working on his inventions. Occasionally, he spent some days with his dad, chilling and having conversations about books they've read. With Hiro, it was roughly about the same thing, but Varian found himself blushing and stuttering over his words. Chris said that Varian was falling in love with Hiro, and Varian went straight into denial mode. He became frustrated with Hiro's friends, who strangely kept mentioning a group named "Big Hero 6" for some odd reason.

"Fine, but will this different side of you explain why you're wearing that get-up?" Varian hissed as he shut down his house hurriedly.

Hiro had donned purple armor with red accents and black armor underneath that covered most of his body up to his knees, and his black sneakers were relatively the same except for the steel-toe. Varian could also identify red magnetic pads on this armor as well, but the purpose of this addition eluded the young alchemist. Either way, Hiro seemed genuine in this moment (well, he was always genuine, but the armor seemed far too good to be true), so Varian took the boy genius's hand.