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rocksandrobots · 7 months

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PotP Ch 52 - Christmas With The Krampus: Part 1

Madame Canardist blew out the last of the candles and placed the antique decorations into a cardboard box. The silvery glint of the ornament caught the eye of the chimpanzee next to her and he 'oohed' with interest.

"Here Vigor, be a dear and put this in the back with the others." She sweetly called out to her pet.

The monkey grabbed the box and dutifully waddled his way to the storage room in the back of the shop as Cardanist finished cleaning up from the celebrations of a long forgotten holiday. Even in their own world, the festival of stars was a dying tradition, as there was no longer a people to carry on the old ways.

Canardist still did. She still remembered all that her parents had taught her, the same as their parents had taught them. How knowledge of the heavens and the secrets in its patterns could protect the world, or, in her case, worlds.

She frowned as she picked up a tattered scroll. However, unlike stars, knowledge was not forever. It had to be preserved and passed down in order to continue.

Canardist never did find an apprentice to teach. She had vaguely hoped one of the younglings of this universe would take interest... but no one took magic seriously here.

And then there was the matter of Vigor.... there would be no guardian to care for him once she was gone. She was the last who knew his secret.

Not for the first time she contemplated packing up and starting anew somewhere else... or even returning to their home plane... but there was still the prophecy to fulfill. Things had been set into motion and they needed to stay to play their part.

As she paused in her clean up to read the scroll again, Vigor was unsteadily climbing a footstool, box still in hand. He stood on tip toe on one foot as he precariously balanced himself in order to push the box on to an empty space on a higher shelf.

His other foot swayed with the exertion and accidentally tipped over what looked like a snow globe.

Canardist heard the glass shatter. She flung the scroll down and ran to the back, even as Vigor's terrified screams grew louder.

"Vigor!" She yelled, but her voice was drowned out by an unnatural wind that swirled through the air of her little store; knocking over antiques, books, and ingredients for spells.

Then the wind died as suddenly as it had started.

Canardist screamed as something monstrous, tall, and hairy, wrapped a clawed hand around Vigor.

Fright was replaced by anger.

"Let go of him you big galoot!" and hurled a book at the creature. Only to be pushed away by a muscular arm. The breath was knocked out of her as she went flying into the bookshelves behind her.

She heard Vigor howling with fright as lumbering footsteps shook the floor.

She looked up just in time to see the door of her shop being ripped off his hinges.

"Vigor!" she cried out again as her beloved pet was stolen away by the mysterious monster.

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"Who wants peppermint hot chocolate?"

The various party goers swarmed around Aunt Cass as she handed out the festive refreshments.

She was just handing the last mugs to Carl and Globby when a knock came at the back door.

She excused herself and ran back to the kitchen as she overheard Noodle Burger Boy telling the rest of the kids about their recent holiday vacation.

"Feliz navidad!" Cruz yelled as soon as she opened the door.

He was wearing a ridiculous sweater with a reindeer knitted on it and holding a piece of mistletoe over his head.

Poor Megan gave an embarrassed grin beside him. "Hi Miss Cass." She greeted before running past her and ducking into the dinning room with her gift.

Cassidy purposefully ignored the mistletoe and moved to grab the tupperware container under Cruz's arm instead.

"Oh you brought the popcorn to string! Thank you!"

Cruz couldn't help but look a little put out as she started to hurry from the kitchen.

"Ah-ahem." He coughed, and held the mistletoe up higher. "That's not all I brought."

Cass feigned ignorance. "Oh the decoration... yes.... ummm... just put it up anywhere."

Cruz sighed with frustration as she left, and then hung the mistletoe over the door mantle.

He'll have to try again later... when she was less busy.

----------------

*clink*, *clink,* *clink.*

Honey Lemon rapped the side of the coffee cup with a spoon to gain everyone's attention. She stood behind the cash counter as Baymax turned down the holiday music that had been playing. The various conversations stalled around the room as all turned to look at her.

"It's so great to see that everyone could make it tonight, and now that we're all here, it's time for the gift exchange! The rules are simple. We're going to pull names out of a hat. When your name is called you'll come up and pick out your present, and once you open it you gotta guess who gave it to you."

"If you guess right, you'll get a sticker. If you guess wrong, then the rest of the party gets to guess and have a chance to win the sticker themselves. The person with the most stickers at the end of the night gets a prize!"

"Do we get to guess ourselves?" Megan cheekily called out from the back.

"No, but you can try to fool the other people guessing." Honey Lemon answered, then she turned to a man dressed in a tux standing over in the corner. "Heathcliff, will you do the honors?"

"Yes, Miss Lemon." He gave a little nod of his head and pulled a slip of paper out of a top hat. "Mr. Wasabi"

Wasabi got up and Honey Lemon handed him a broad rectangular package with his name on the tag.

He carefully began to untape the snowman themed wrapping paper.

"Oh come on, just rip it off!" Juniper yelled at him.

"And tear the paper!?" He asked, aghast. "Please, we aren't animals here people."

And with that he finished pulling off the last bit of tape. He gasped in delight at what he found.

"OOOHHH! Personalized Labels!!!" He hugged the folder full of stickers to him. "With my name on them and everything.... Ooo, ooo, and look! They're even categorized by function! Storage, food, folder tabs!"

"So who do you think is your secret santa?" Tadashi asked.

"Hmmmm..... Honey Lemon? You're the sticker fanatic around here. Was it you?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, I got someone else."

"Sam!?... You know me better than anyone."

"Hey, you can't guess twice!" Karmi complained.

"Sorry again, Wasabi, but Karmi's right. Who else thinks they know who Wasabi's secret santa is!?"

Trina timidly raised her hand. "It was NB. That's the same wrapping paper Globby bought for our gifts."

"That's right!" Noodle Burger Boy shouted as he jumped from his chair. "I'm the bestest gift giver ever!"

He opened his mouth and more printed stickers streamed out like ticker tape. He then handed this to Wasabi.

"Merry Christmas Wasabi, and a Happy New Year!"

Wasabi took the hamburger themed stickers in surprise. "I never would have guessed.... but, come to think of it, the french fries shaped ones probably have tipped me off. Thank you NB."

As Wasabi took his seat again, Heathcliff called out the next name. "A Mr. Stu..."

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Cruz saw this as his chance. As the kids played their game, he brushed down his sweater, made sure there were no crumbs on his mustache, and walked over to Cass who was watching the game with interest.

"Oh, how cute. Juniper and Stu got each other in the Secret Santa exchange." She said as he neared.

Cruz turned to see the former criminal, face practically hidden in the giant scarf and hat he'd just received, get down on one knee to present his present to his sweetheart. Juniper screamed with delight when she saw the ring.

As everyone clapped to congratulate the happy couple Cruz couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "A little young aren't they?"

"Oh, plenty of people get married in college." Cass dismissed. "You and Maria did."

"Yeah and look how well that turned out." Cruz couldn't help but mutter. Cass put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but still gave him a long, suffering look.

"Now that was long after college… besides you gotta let them figure it out. Live their own lives. And who knows, it might actually work out for them?"

She shrugged and then grabbed a tub full of dirty cups. As she made her way back to the kitchen as the next name was called out.

"Mr. Fred."

Cruz didn't pay any attention as the Fredericksons' boy walked up to get his present. He was too busy following Cass.

"So what about you?" He asked as he entered the back room.

"What about me?" She asked, confused.

"When are you going to settle down?"

Cass could barely contain her laughter. "Me, marry?" She shook her head in answer.

"What's so inconceivable about that?" Cruz chuckled.

"For starters, I'm not interested in marrying anyone, and secondly, who needs it? Oh, no offense to anyone who would want to… It's just… You don't have to go through all the trouble just to be with someone."

Cruz nodded his head in consideration. "I can see where you're coming from… but you've nothing against dating, then."

She shrugged again as she finished placing the last coffee cup in the dishwasher. "Dating's fine."

"Would you wanna go on a date with me?"

Aunt Cass froze in mid-action as she rubbed her hands with a dish towel.

The still running faucet was the only sound in the kitchen as the awkward silence filled the room.

Chief Cruz gave an awkward cough to gently nudge the conversation along.

"Ummm..." She finally hummed.

"'Ummm' isn't really in answer." Cruz nervously laughed.

"Weeeellll..." Cass squeaked instead, and Cruz frowned. That was an even less encouraging response.

"It's just..." She stumbled a third time. "I... I'm kind of seeing someone else right now."

"Oh." Cruz deflated, but quickly recovered. "Well serves me right for waiting too long. Who's the lucky guy?"

He could see Cass squirm even more as she thought of an answer.

"Well, umm, you two do know each other… and he's in his 40s… he's tall a-and he umm… oh.."

"Just spit it out Cassidy."

"It's Alister." She quickly mumbled and ran from the kitchen.

Cruz stood stunned for a moment as he tried to figure out who 'Alister' was… then it donned on him.

"Keri!?"

He stormed after Aunt Cass as she tried to distract by handing out more appetizers.

"Anyone for some pigs in a blanket?"

"Cass…"

"Thumbprint cookies?"

No one took up her offer, as everyone paused in their game.

"Cassidy."

"I'll go make some more coco then."

She dodged her best friend and ran back to the kitchen with the food. Cruz followed.

"You're dating Keri!?'

"Well, he's really been putting in an effort lately and…"

"And we've talked about this Cass. He's not any good for you."

"Oh and who are you to tell me who's right for me or not!?" Anger replacing her guilt.

"You dumped him for a reason, remember?"

"Yes, I do remember, and so does he, and he's been putting in the effort to change."

Cruz rolled his eyes. "Guys like that don't change Cass. You know that."

"Why do you always expect the worst of people?" She sighed.

"Because I don't want my best friend to be taken advantage of!"

Aunt Cass could only laugh at that.

"Diego, we're not in high school any more. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, but I don't trust him."

"Then why not be an actual friend and trust me ."

Cruz frowned. "What's that supposed to mean? Of course I trust you."

Cass only folded her arms and gave him a purposeful look.

"Okay… so I'm a little protective sometimes, b-but that's only because I care-"

The expression didn't change on her face.

Cruz sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll respect your decision to date Keri."

"Thank you."

"And when it all falls apart again, you still got me as a shoulder to cry on and for a good 'I told you so'."

Cass rolled her eyes at the joke, but could dismiss the smile off her face.

"I wouldn't expect anything less." She chuckled as she gave him a hug.

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The Gift Exchange had ended and the party guests were now milling around, eating the rest of the food, and conversing. A few were dancing in the corner as Minimax played DJ, blaring out those catchy Christmas tunes that Varian had heard on a loop for a month now wherever he went.

Christmastide was indeed an important festival season in Corona as well, but Americans really upped the ante when it came to the holiday. Instead of just being twelve days of feasting, the US started celebrations an entire month before the first actual holy day came to pass.

It was exciting and exhausting all at once. So many new traditions, so many lights, so many new foods to try, and not a single boring church service in sight! But after you heard "Jingle Bells" for the thousandth time, well, the 'Christmas Spirit' started to lose its appeal somewhat.

"So when's your flight?" He overheard Hiro ask Wasabi.

"Five in the morning," Wasabi groaned.

"We should be at Mom's in time for Christmas Dinner." Sam added.

"You know I could always just open a portal to Hawaii for you." Varian offered, adding himself to the conversation.

Wasabi turned the offer down. "No thanks. I would prefer not to give my future in-laws a heart attack upon first meeting them."

Tadashi raised an eyebrow, "In-laws?"

Wasabi froze.

"In-laws?" Sam echoed, a teasing smile on his lips.

"Ummm… I just… I just meant… hypothetically… you know… in case… this works out… long term, I mean…. Hey, weren't we going to decorate the tree?"

Wasabi ducked out the group and ran over to the other side of the room where Karmi, Fred, and Baymax were already hanging homemade paper decorations onto a plastic tree.

Sam and Tadashi shared a laugh and went over to join them.

Varian was about to follow when he heard some call his name.

"Hey V, can ya help me with this?"

It was Carol. She was covered in stickers and juggling several gift baskets that she had won in the games.

Hiro beat him to it.

"I got it." He took one of the baskets. "Boy you racked up?"

"I know, right!? This is going to feed me all through the next week… I just need to make sure none of the other girls find my stash. Now where were those leftovers?"

"You're not going home for the holiday?" Varian asked as he handed her the goody bag that Aunt Cass had made earlier.

Carol shook her head. "No, it's too far and tickets are too expensive… and I also don't want you giving Grandma a heart attack with those mad scientist portals if yours."

Varian rolled his eyes. "Why does everyone think people will get heart attacks from my portals?"

"Well, we do need to work out the kinks some." Hiro admitted. "You want some help carrying all this out?

"Oh would you? That's awfully sweet. Fred is giving me a lift back home, and I think Heathcliff parked the car on the corner."

"No problem…." He said as he readjusted the baskets and followed her out the door.

"So umm… What exactly did Karmi say to you when you helped her pick out my gift?" Varian overheard his brother whisper as he and Carol left.

Carol had apparently helped a lot of people pick out their gifts for the Secret Santa. That was how she won the guessing game portion of the gift exchange.

Karmi had gotten Hiro, and Varian could tell that his little brother was desperate to know if the handmade keychain from his crush meant anything deeper.

That reminded Varian… he hadn't seen his own crush in awhile…

He walked over to where everyone was dancing. Stu and Juniper were lost in each other's eyes, Heathcliff was, surprisingly, twirling Barb around, Gogo had graciously agreed to a dance with Mole… provided that he stuck to the six foot rule, and Carl and Globby were slow-waltzing in the corner… Minimax wasn't even playing a slow song at the moment.

Varian scanned the small scene before him but he didn't see the pretty redhead. In fact he didn't see her anywhere.

That's when he spotted Megan and Trina off to the side. They were giggling over something.

"Hey… have you seen Honey Lemon?"

Both girls stalled, and Varian got the distinct feeling that he had just interrupted something.

"Umm… I think she went into the kitchen?" Megan guessed.

"She said something about how her brother was going to be here soon." Trina added. "I think she went out to wait for him."

"Thanks… oh and thanks for the gift by the way."

"I'm glad you like it." Trina replied. "You are the hardest person to shop for, you know."

"Well you did an excellent job. Who else would think of a recipe journal?"

Megan disagreed. "I think Minimax has the hardest pick… what on earth do you get for Mole? He already has everything?"

Trina shrugged. "A signed autograph from Boss Awesome apparently."

"What was it that you got again?" Varian asked.

Trina's face lit up and she excitedly showed him the guitar pick on a string around her neck. "It's a limited edition Mind Smith Turbo collector item!" She turned towards Megan. "I don't know how you ever found this."

"Ah, it was easy. I just had to go scrounging around AuctionBay. What I can't believe is that Carol found my gift at a thrift store for only five bucks. It's a genuine Noir jacket. Those are like five hundred dollars off the rack! We have got to go bargain hunting as a band more often."

Varian backed away slowly. "Yeeeeaaaah when I hear the words, "bargain hunting", I know it's time for me to dip out."

"Just because you don't have any taste!" Megan joked.

"Let us save you from your poor sense of fashion!" Trina called after him.

"I'm good!" He yelled over his shoulder as he ran away.

----------------

Varian found Honey Lemon in the kitchen leaning against the door frame. She was looking at the bracelet he had given to her, examining its details while a smile played on her lips.

"Do you like it?" He asked.

She looked up in surprise, having not noticed his presence before, but quickly recovered.

"Oh I adore it. Where did you get it?"

"I made it." He beamed.

"Really!? It's beautiful...and I love that it's rose gold! Oh and all the little flowers! You know, you have a real talent... this is art."

"Ahh, I don't about that." Varian sheepishly shrugged off the complement, but then more seriously, he said. "But when I got your name for the gift exchange, I knew I had to give you something special."

He reached out and grabbed her hand. Honey Lemon blushed, but didn't pull away. She did however try to change the subject.

"What does the inscription say?" She asked, pointing to the engraving written in the band of gold.

"Alles Liebe."

"Alles Liebe." She echoed, not quite getting the pronunciation as well as he did. "Is that German or Russian?"

"German. It's a common saying in Corona, something you might write on a gift tag or at the end of a letter... it's short for 'to you, with lots of love' or 'with all my love'.

Honey Lemon felt herself blushing even more. As was pointed out, it wasn't uncommon to put well wishes on a present, but something about the way Varian said it, the way it was so delicately and thoughtfully etched into the glinting metal, and the fact that it was told in a language that no one else they knew spoke, made it seem more romantic... like a secret that was only shared between them.

Varian took her other hand in his, and her pulse quickened. She racked her brain looking for another excuse to change the conversation, but found none.

Why did she want to anyways? Not when he was staring at her intently with those piercing blue eyes of his, or when he was leaning closer to... to what exactly?

Honey Lemon never got her answer, for no sooner did she close her eyes and tilted her head towards him, lips parted, heart pounding her ears as she desperately hoped he understood the clear hint she was giving him, then did Karmi hurried into the room.

"I'll get it! it's near th-... oh!"

Both teens immediately jumped away from each other upon the intrusion.

Karmi seemed embarrassed, as Honey Lemon plastered on a fake smile and Varian avoided eye contact.

"Sorry... I just came in here to get the popcorn." She awkwardly said as she picked up a tupperware container on the counter. "Didn't mean to interrupt. Just go back to doing what you were doing, and I'm going to get out here."

"Oh we weren't up to anything... I'm just waiting for my brother to pick me up."

Karmi clearly didn't believe Honey Lemon's protest, as she gave them both a skeptic look. Then in reply, all she did was point upwards.

Honey Lemon and Varian looked up in response and saw the small bouquet of bright green leaves.

"Oh..." was all Honey Lemon said, and Karmi gave them both a smirk as she left the room.

Honey Lemon and Varian both made a point not to look at each other even after the other girl had gone.

"S-Sooo... you have mistletoe here too, huh?" Varian finally asked, trying to brush aside the awkwardness.

"Hmm, hmm." Honey Lemon hummed in response, still choosing to play with the tip of her hair then to look at him.

"Does it work the same way in Fansokyo as it does in Corona?"

"I... I think so... Do you... do you ... you know..."

"Kiss? ... Yeah."

"Then yeah... it- it's the same here." She placed her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth on her heels, still trying to find some other place to look, any place other than his hypnotizing eyes.

He also looked around desperately trying to find anything else to talk about... seconds slipped past and he began to tap his foot impatiently.

They were doing it again... avoiding their feelings…

Screw it... Just ask her!

He shut his eyes tight. "Do... do you wan---"

*HONK*

A loud car horn interrupted him.

Both teens poked their head out of the door and saw an old, beat up pick-up truck parked in the street out front.

A young man, close to their own age, was sitting in the driver seat. He honked the horn again upon seeing them.

"Oh it's Carlos!" Honey Lemon explained, as she ran back inside to grab her purse. "Mama's expecting us for Mass tonight, so we need to get on the road."

Varian however could only look on helplessly as he saw his chance slipping away from him yet again.

"Oh... well.. I hope you have a nice time then... Drive safe," was all he could muster.

Suddenly, Honey Lemon was by his side, a tender hand on his arm.

"I really do love my gift."

"I'm glad. Merry Christmas." He smiled back, and then, to his surprise, she kissed him! Right on the cheek!

It was just a quick peck. Nothing you could call romantic, but it left him in awe nonetheless, as he dumbly watched her run over to the parked car.

"Bye. Merry Christmas!" She yelled back. She turned to see him standing in the doorway with a stunned smile on his lips.

Her heart pounded in her ears even louder. She couldn't believe what she had just done.

It was the mistletoe. She told herself. It's tradition. It didn't mean anything.

She hopped into the seat on the passenger side and her brother gave her the most infuriatingly smug look.

"¿Ese es el chico que te gustaba?" He asked.

"Cállate" was all she said to him, then she poked her head out the window again as her brother cranked the car, laughing to himself while doing so. She ignored him.

"I'll see you next week!" She waved at Varian as the truck pulled away.

Varian's dumbstruck smile only grew wider as he waved after the receding vehicle. Soon that smile turned into a giggle, which turned into a laugh, which finally ended in a whopping holler of exuberant elation as he punched the air and spun around yelling "yes" frantically in the empty alley.

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Hiro stretched and yawned as he turned down the sheets on his bed.

"So what time are you waking us up tomorrow?" he heard his brother say. He looked over to find Tadashi already snuggling under the covers of his own bed.

"Six, four… two in the morning? Just remember you gotta give Santa time to actually deliver the presents first." he chuckled at his own joke.

Hrio rolled his eyes. "I'm not eight. I'll probably sleep in tomorrow. So don't you wake me up early for Krei's burnt waffles... or whatever he's making in the morning."

"Knowing him, he'll probably bring over a whole catering service rather than cook."

"On Christmas?"

Tadashi shrugged. "Not everyone closes on Christmas. Maybe we'll have Indian curry for breakfast, who knows?"

Hiro shook his head. "I can't believe Aunt Cass invited him to celebrate with us."

Tadashi yawned. "Face it Hiro... the heart wants what the heart wants."

"Yeah, and they also say that the heart is stupid and love is blind." But he never got a reply back as Tadashi was already asleep.

He shook his head and went over to Baymax's battery case to see if it was hooked into the computer properly. The faithful robot was already powered down and his memory banks for the week were steadily up loading to the storage base.

That was when Hiro heard the low growl behind him.

He froze and out of the corner of his eye he saw something dark and menacing looming in the window.

Were those red eyes he saw?

He quickly spun around to catch whatever it was that was trying to climb into his room, only to see a flurry of claws and a swishing tail hauling it itself up to the roof.

He ran to the window sill, hopped up on his bed, and pushed the window open.

Cold air hit him in the face but he ignored it as he leaned out as far as he dared in order to look up at where the creature had gone. All he saw however was the clear sky and the bright full moon.

He looked back to his brother but Tadashi was already soundly snoring. He clearly hadn't heard anything.

He heard another clatter, this time coming from below. He peered down into the alley, but it was only Mochi rummaging in the trash.

He saw a light stream out into the dark as someone opened the back kitchen door and he heard his aunt call the cat back inside.

Hiro shook his head for being so silly and closed the window.

Of course there wasn't any monstrous beast lurking in alleyways. All his time superheroing had made him jumpy.

Then again....

Hiro spared one glance back at the window.

Still nothing.

Shoving the gnawing pit in his stomach down, Hiro finally crawled into bed.

He was asleep in minutes and therefore he never noticed the glowing red eyes that continued to watch him through the window.

#big hero 6 #bh6 the series #hiro hamada #varian #varian tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #tangled #honey lemon #aunt cass #wasabi #krampus

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rocksandrobots · 1 year

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PotP Ch 47 - Therapy, Tempers, and Triangles: Part 1

"Has anybody seen Varian?" Tadashi asked as he entered the communal lab.

Wasabi only gave him a belabored sigh and pointed upward.

Tadashi titled his head up and sure enough there was his step brother sitting up in the rafters.

The moody teenager was reclining on a steel beam, one leg dangling over the side as he sulked over his notebook.

"He's been up there all morning." Honey Lemon whispered into Tadashi's ear.

"I won't ask how you got up there, oh 'He-Who-Dances-With-Raccoons'," Tadashi called up at him. "But it's time to come down now. We need to talk."

"I don't wanna." Varian whined back.

"Please querido?" Honey Lemon pleaded.

"Yeah, you can't stay up there all day." Wasabi added.

"Wasabi is correct." Baymax put in. "You have an economics final today at 3 PM."

"You're still trying to figure out the portal, aren't you?" Hiro sadly stated.

"It's not working." Varian huffed. "I did everything the same as last time, but the portal's no longer opening up where I need it to."

"You got the mini portals working though." Fred pointed out helpfully, "And Tadashi was able to travel to Japan and back no problem."

Varian was not encouraged by this. "Yeah, I got the spatial portal working just fine. It's been working, but it's no longer responding to the amber. I can't find the right frequency to get home, and I don't know what I'm doing wrong this time!"

Varian growled in his throat as he scribbled furiously in his notebook. Then the growl turned into a shout of anger and he flung the notepad and pen to the ground.

Everyone exchanged worried looks as Tadashi picked up the book.

"What are you, six or sixteen?" He berated. "Get down here."

Varian didn't comply. Instead he crossed arms, slumped even further on the rail, and huffed.

Tadashi could only shrug at the rest of his friends.

Gogo walked past them, and then threw a crumpled up piece of paper right at Varian's head. He didn't say anything, but he gave the girl an indignant look.

Having gained his attention however, Gogo got straight to the point.

"Why does your hair glow?"

"I don't know, Gogo." he sneered before throwing the wad of paper back at her.

He missed.

"I think it's time to face the facts, Varian." Hiro sadly stated. "All this weird stuff from Corona isn't just going away, and somehow you're connected to it."

"Connected? How?" Varian frowned.

Hiro only shrugged. "I don't know, but your hair does that weird glowing thing whenever one of those freaky rocks show up."

"But... but it didn't always do that." He protested.

"So what's triggering it, then?" Honey Lemon asked.

"And more importantly, is it dangerous?" Wasabi added.

"You know what I think?" Fred interjected. "I think that fairy tale princess put some sort of curse on you."

"Curse?" Varian echoed.

Gogo rolled her eyes. "Get real Fred."

"I am real! She's not though... well not real in our world anyways. Obviously she's real because we've seen her-"

"The point, Fred." Tadashi interrupted.

"Oh yeah. The point is, Varian comes from a world of fairy tales. It doesn't run off our logic."

"So if magic is real... then curses are real." Wasabi said, as he pieced together Fred's theory.

"Exactly, and Varian's hair only started glowing when he and the princess were singing on stage. She was chanting some sort of incantation."

Varian looked thoughtful at that revelation, but the others were more skeptical.

"Even if that is ture, Fred, then why curse him to have glowing hair? What sense does that make?" Gogo pointed out.

"Also the first time his hair glowed was when he fainted in our apartment. That was before Halloween." Honey Lemon pointed out.

"Besides... we know that the rocks aren't magic but radiation." Hiro also stated.

"How do you know that?" Varian asked and everyone exchanged awkward glances.

"Baymax scanned both of you during your light show on Halloween." Tadashi stepped in. "And we may have 'borrowed' that weird paper weight that Madame Canardist has in her shop..."

Varian jumped down from the ceiling and landed on his feet with ease, as if it was nothing to jump from such a height. He then stood up straight, looking as tall and imposing as he could, and gave Tadashi his best intimidating glare.

"I thought I told you not to mess with that."

"And I told you, you can't boss me around." Tadashi said evenly.

Gogo put herself between the two of them before a fight could break out.

"Listen, it doesn't matter who did what. It's done now. Let's focus on figuring out what's going on instead."

"Nothing's going on." Varian hissed.

"Sure it's not." Wasabi said." You just became a night light because you felt like it."

Varian's face flushed red, but he didn't say anything further.

"Varian, maybe you should... uh, maybe you should hold off on trying to get back to Corona?" Hiro hesitantly suggested.

He flinched at the look of betrayal on his step brother's face.

"I'm not saying to give up," Hiro quickly corrected. "I just think we should be better prepared for what we might find over there."

Varian raised an eyebrow. "We?"

"Yeah, we." Gogo repeated. "We're going with you."

Varian shook his head. "You can't do that."

"We can and we are." Tadashi pressed.

Varian only shook his head more furiously. "You don't know what you're getting onto. You need to stay out of this."

"We would know, if you would just tell us." Hiro insisted.

"Besides, we promised to help rescue your dad and we will." Wasabi said.

Varian sighed. 'Guys... I really appreciate your support. I do... but this is for your own safty-"

"And what about yours?" Tadashi interrupted.

"Mine?"

"Yes! Your safety, you dingbat." Gogo added.

"If this Corona is as dangerous as you say it is, you can't expect us to let you go back alone, do you?" Hiro put in.

Varian took a deep breath, closed his eyes, pressed his palms together, and bowed his head in thought as he tried to come up with a response that didn't lead to more yelling.

"Look... You realize that to me Corona isn't some fairy tale world?... It's my home. I've lived there my whole life. I know how to navigate it, you don't."

"That's why we got you, buddy?" Fred grinned and patted Varian on the shoulder.

"No... You don't understand." Varian said as he brushed off Fred's arm. "I can't save my dad and look after all of you. You'll be more of a liability than a help; a... a distraction. What I need from you guys is to stay here and man the portal in case anything does go wrong."

"Such as?" Tadashi asked.

"Such... such as the return lever not working, or ... oooorrr..."

"Or that nasty king captures you?" Honey Lemon pouted.

Varian frowned, but he didn't deny it.

"In which case, we're just going to follow you through the portal anyways." Tadashi said. "We might as well save ourselves the second trip and just come along with you. We'll get someone else to man the portal; like Trina or Granville."

Varian shook his head again. "You can't.... Please, why won't you listen to me?"

"Because you're a walking disaster." Gogo bluntly said.

"And because we care about you." Honey Lemon added, more gently.

"Also, I really, really, really want to see some dragons."

"For the last time, there are no dragons, Fred."

Honey Lemon gently cupped chin, pulling him back to the argument at hand. "Please let us help you."

"Honey..." He sighed and removed her hand from his face, clasping it tightly in his own. His voice was barely a whisper as he hoarsely continued. "You haven't seen what I have, and you don't want to. Trust me. Canardist's paper weight, Lima's spear, even the amber... those aren't the black rocks... not the real ones. Maybe they're related, connected somehow,... but they are nothing like what you'll face in Corona. The rocks aren't something you can fight, or fix. They're an unstoppable force of destruction, and I'm not allowing anyone to put themselves in danger because of me."

"I... I've seen them." Hiro whispered.

"When?"

"I overheard you and that Rapunzel woman talking on Halloween."

Varian's face darkened at that reveal, but Hiro ignored it and pressed on.

"I don't know how they pulled such an illusion off, but I'm guessing the real rocks behave similarly."

Suddenly Varian stalked towards Hiro, his face contorted with rage, and despite himself Hiro involuntarily stumbled backwards.

"What do you know?" He demanded.

"N-nothing..."

Tadashi pushed his way between them.

"Hey! Stop it, man. What's gotten into?"

Varian ignored him. " What did you hear!?"

"Just... just that you don't like those jerks... I don't know?" Hiro protested. "Why does it matter?"

Varian tried to lunge at Hiro, and it took Tadashi, Fred, and Wasabi just to hold him back.

"Dude! What is wrong with you!?" Wasabi yelled.

Varian flung them off him without a word, and started to march towards Hiro again.

Gogo stopped him.

"Varian. You need to calm down." She said, simply, calmly, with a tone that said not to argue with her, as she held him in place with a hand on his chest.

This seemed to finally reach him, as he blinked and looked around him desperately. As if he only just realized where he was and that he was somehow still lost.

"B-but I need to know... if.. if he..." He protested, pathetically.

"You already know. You were there." Gogo pointed out. "Whatever you talked about with her, then Hiro heard it. Not that it matters. We're not talking about the past, we're talking about the future."

Varian squeezed his eyes shut and choked back a sob, but he didn't make any moves towards Hiro at least.

"You are distressed." Baymax said, stating the obvious. "Sometimes we can react with anger when we are frightened or sad."

The robot waddled up to him and lit up a picture on his chest, this one of a scale composed of smiley faces with different emotions.

"You have been working on identifying what triggers your anger with your therapist. If you can inform us what is wrong, we can help you find outlets to better express yourself and manage your confrontational outbursts. On the scale can you tell us what you are feeling? Are you sad, or scared?"

Varian didn't answer. He turned on his heel and promptly stormed out of the room.

"Now what?" Fred asked as everyone stared at the door Varian had walked out of.

"Maybe there's something in his notes." Tadashi sighed before opening the notebook.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Wasabi cautioned. "That's not just a notebook. It's more like his personal journal. He won't be happy to find out you read through it."

"Look, do you want to get to the bottom of this or not?"

No one agreed.

"Fine, I'll only look for things about the rocks; nothing personal. Like his love letters to Honey Lemon, or anything."

He winked and gave Fred a playful nudge.

Honey Lemon nervously twiddled her fingers. "H-his what?"

"There's no letters, Honey. Tadashi is just teasing." Gogo reassured her.

Tadashi ignored this exchange, cleared his throat, and opened the notebook to a random page. "Ingredients for Sleeping Powder!"

"Oh that's easy." Honey Lemon chirped. "Just some some melatonin and some-"

"Deadly nightshade?" Fred read out loud.

"Does he have 'eye of newt' in there too?" Wasabi asked, deadpan.

He didn't get his answer, for Varian rushed back into the lab, gave Tadashi a nasty look, yanked the notebook out of his hands, and then marched back out without another word.

----------------------

Varian sat in the doctor's office staring at his toes. Hiro had barely said three words to him since his outburst two days ago, and he couldn't blame him.

In fact Varian had been avoiding his friends out of shame and fear that they would ask more prying questions.

He knew the arguments over Corona and the rocks weren't going to go away, but as he had no answer to the problem he didn't feel like getting involved in any more fights. Especially since he knew he couldn't handle his temper when it came to the subject of his past.

'Maybe Doctor Brown has some advice? ' He thought dryly.

Varian had come to regard his therapy visits as routine check ups. He didn't always see the benefit to them. He rarely learned anything useful, to his mind at least, but he understood that was probably because he wasn't being any more truthful to the doctor than he was his own friends.

How could he be? He didn't want the man to think him crazy for bringing up magic or alternate dimensions. He also couldn't admit his worse offenses. The things that really kept him up at night with guilt.

Still it wasn't as if he gained nothing from these sessions. He had learned a few things here and there, little tricks and tips for handling mood swings and panic attacks, and he had been sleeping better lately. He was still unsure on whether or not he needed the medicine but it didn't seem to hurt any to take it.

He looked around the little waiting room. It was covered in dull gray. Gray walls, gray carpet on the floors, gray stiff chairs, and one gray desk where the secretary sat. The only pop of color was from a potted fern in the corner by the window.

He met the eyes of the other patient sitting across from him. He gave her an awkward smile and she returned it, equally awkward, before going back to her book.

Salma. That was her name. Varian had remembered the nurse introducing them before, but she had never said more to him than a simple hello. She was the client that the doctor would see after him. She always showed up early, always with the same book in hand, and always covered head to toe in black garments.

Varian assumed she was in mourning.

She must have had some sort of tragic past to come here. All of Dr. Brown's clients did. That was his specialty after all. Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was what he'd been diagnosed with. Apparently only those that have gone through prolonged stress from trauma had it.

Losing a loved one was the most stressful thing Varian could think of.

"Th-that must be a good book." He finally said, just to focus on anything other than his own thoughts. "You're always reading it."

Salma looked up and gave him a tight smile, as if she wasn't sure of what to make of his comment.

"It.. it is." She stuttered softly.

"What's it about?"

She hesitated, surprised by the question. "Umm... it's... it's the Quran."

She showed him the cover but he still had no idea what it actually was.

"It's a religious text." She mumbled in explanation when she noted his look of confusion.

Varian silently mouthed an 'oh' as he realized his blunder.

"S-sorry. I'm not really religious myself, so I didn't realize...'

"It's okay." She smiled sadly at him, as if used to such misunderstandings. "Many Americans are not familiar with it."

"Well I'm not actually American...but um...I'm guessing you're not from around here either?"

Salma tilted her head, as if seeing him for the first time. "You're not American?"

"No. I'm from Europe."

"Where's from?"

"Well.. ummm... according to my passport Russia, b-but it's a little more complicated than that..."

"Znachit, vy govorite po-russki?"

Varian blinked, surprised to hear his father's native tongue.

"Oh! Are... are you from Russia as well? Otkuda?"

Salama shook her head. "No... but my dedushka was Russian."

Varian gave her a wide smile. "Nu, eto tesen mir, ne tak li?"

They both laughed over the unlikely coincidence. It was the first time he had heard her laugh in months.

That's when the door opened to Dr. Brown's office. The doctor held the door open and Mr. Lockhart hobbled out into the waiting room, leaning on his walker.

Mr. Lockhart had lost his leg during 'the war.' It was a civil war, over sixty years ago, in the country of Korea. For reasons Varian couldn't figure out, America had decided to engage in this war on the behalf of the southern province.

Mr. Lockhart didn't understand it either. He had been drafted and sent over there when he was only eighteen, and the next thing he knew a grenade had 'blown his leg plumb clear off' as he had so colorfully described it.

Varian shuddered at the description. He couldn't imagine ever being so casual over something so horrific, but he supposed that it was Mr. Lockhart's way of coping.

Still the senseless pointlessness of it all made him recoil in disgust and rage. It would seem that America had agreed. The next war had been met with massive protests, the draft was abolished shortly after, and the states hadn't been caught up in a wide scale conflict since.

"Ms. Perkins will schedule your next appointment for you James." He heard Dr. Brown say.

"Thank ya doc." Mr. Lockhart grunted as he made his way to the desk.

Dr. Brown said his goodbyes and went back inside his office, presumably to organize his notes before it was Varian's turn to see him.

"We'll see you next Tuesday, Mr. Lockhart." he heard Ms. Perkins' nasally, pinched voice say, as she handed Mr. Lockhart some papers.

The old soldier thanked the woman and turned to leave. Varian hopped up and rushed to open the door for the man.

"Ah thank ya Varian... Age before beauty, eh?" He joked.

Varian smiled. "No, wisdom before youth."

Mr. Lockhart burst out laughing. "I'm not that wise. If I was I wouldn't be wasting my money on lottery tickets."

He then gave Varian wink. "Thank goodness, my Angie handles all the bills. You married?"

"Uh, I'm only sixteen, sir."

"Oh I forgot, kids these days don't marry as young as they used to. Don't have as many bills either, I suppose." He smiled again and pulled a cigar out of his pocket. "Angie was only seventeen when we tied the knot. She wore blue... prettiest bride there ever was. We wanted to have the wedding before they shipped me off to hell. Do you have a light?"

"No, sorry, Mr. Lockhart."

"Ah no worries. I have one in my truck. You kids have a nice day."

"You too."

"Bye." Salma's soft, shy voice was barely a whisper.

Varian sat back down, pursed his lips together, and rubbed his hands. Salma didn't go back to reading her book, but she didn't really make eye contact with him either. The awkward silence fell once more as they each stared at the floor.

"Sooo… d-do you li-like coffee?" Varian finally stuttered, just to end the defending silence. He cringed as soon as the words were out his mouth. What kind of stupid question was that?

Salma gave no indication that she thought the question odd though. Instead she just nodded and nervously said. "Yeah."

Encouraged, Varian decided to carry on the conversation. "You know, I work at a coffee shop. I could probably get you a great deal on a mochaccino if you stopped by there sometime."

He gave her a hopeful smile, and the pretty young woman blushed.

For half a moment Varian feared he had offended her, but she eventually returned his smile with a shy one of her own.

"Th-thank you… I might."

"Great! It's called the Lucky Cat. I'm usually there on the weekends."

Dr. Brown walked in again, and told Varian it was time for his session.

He gave Salma another smile and a little wave and then followed the doctor into his office.

----------------------

Varian methodically scrubbed down the tables inside the Lucky Cat, not paying much attention to what else was going on around him. His mind was still preoccupied with yesterday's therapy session.

Something the doctor had said stuck to him, about how fear stops us from trusting others, and how without trust it was harder to maintain relationships.

Varian frowned as he saw his muddled reflection in the now extra shiny wood top of the table.

He supposed that was true, but he did trust his friends. Or at least, he trusted them with all of the really important stuff. He trusted them with his life. He trusted them to be there when he needed it. He trusted them to come to his defense. He even trusted them with his past.

Well parts of it anyways.

Trina was the only person he'd told everything to, b-but wasn't that enough? Why did he have to go through it all over again with everyone? Why couldn't they respect his space and his personal judgment on the matter?

It wasn't as if he was keeping things from them just to hurt them. He understood that they were scared of the rocks and worried for his safety, but explaining his past deeds wouldn't protect them any, and it certainly wouldn't save his damned soul.

He sighed, and put the cleaning rag back into his apron pocket as he made his way back to the counter.

Of course it wasn't their prying that was the real issue.

The real issue was his temper.

He picked up the tray of dirty dishes from the sugar counter with a grunt and walked back towards the kitchen.

He knew that he was in the wrong whenever he flipped out like that. He knew that there wasn't any excuse for breaking things or yelling at people. So why did he do it?

He didn't want to. He only felt embarrassed, remorseful, and even more frightened afterwards. After his initial flare of anger faded and he was left feeling empty and cold.

He wanted to run.

But running only made things worse.

Yet when he didn't run, he felt trapped, which caused him to lash out, until people backed off and he wound up running away anyways.

And that only made people even more upset.

It certainly didn't make him feel any better.

He couldn't win.

If he ran or avoided the subject, people got mad. If he yelled at them to stop they got upset. And if he ever gave in and told them the whole truth...

Varian didn't want to think about it.

He knew how the people of Corona viewed him. A traitor, a menace, a monster to be feared. People either only looked at him with disgust, coward in terror, or worst of all, viewed him with pity. Like he was a rabid dog that needed to be put down for his own good.

He shuddered at the thought of his friends seeing him in such a way. Let them get mad, then. Better that, than them thinking he was a villain.

Besides, this latest outburst will surely blow over like all the rest. All he had to do was give everyone time to calm down and then say he was sorry. Then everything would go back to normal again.

With this reassurance to himself, he finished loading the dishwasher and headed back out into the cafe.

There were his friends sitting at their usual table, all listening to Wasabi explaining something, having arrived while he was in the back.

"So I was thinking we could drive him out there and surprise him with a blindfold..."

Wasabi stopped when he spotted Varian.

Everyone also turned to look at him, with a mixture of silent worry and challenging glares.

Varian gulped down his nerves and smiled. "So... who are we blindfolding?"

There was a pause, as if no one really wanted to answer him.

Finally Fred took the plunge. "We're planning Sam's birthday party."

"Oh... when is it?"

Another awkward pause.

"It's next weekend." Wasabi finally answered in a flat tone.

Varian searched his friends' faces. All the usual warmth that they typically greeted him with was replaced by an odd coldness.

"Oh... w-well... Sam likes that trading card game, right? I bet he'd love the latest expansion pack that's coming out soon."

Varian didn't even know if such an expansion was out or not, but he smiled wide anyways, hoping he could force a sense of normalcy over the conversation even as he felt things spiraling out of control.

"Um... sure." Wasabi said.

"I'd bet that make a nice gift." Honey Lemon offered nervously.

Another awkward pause followed. Varian noticed Tadashi averting his gaze as he tried and failed to hide the fact he was rolling his eyes. Varian tried to ignore it.

"Great! So... where's the party going to be at? I'll mark it on my calendar."

This time everyone turned to look at each other with wide eyes, no one knowing how to respond. They were silently questioning each other, and in that split second Varian knew; they were afraid of him .

Afraid of his outbursts, afraid of his impulsiveness, and afraid of his self-destructiveness.

"We'll let you know." Gogo finally said, ending the non-verbal discussion.

Varian knew what that meant.

He wasn't invited... or at least they were still debating on whether or not to let him join them.

Varian caught Hiro pointedly staring at his own feet, refusing to meet the other boy's betrayed gaze.

Everyone had taken Hiro's side in the argument. Of course they had. Who could blame them?

For some reason Varian feared that a 'sorry' wasn't going to be enough this time.

"Oh... o-okay." Varian tried to force another smile. "I'll just.. leave next weekend open then. I... I gotta get back to the kitchen... I have a... uh... batch of scones in the oven."

And so he ran.

To the kitchen at least, where he heavily gulped down air and fought the urge to cry.

He pushed the door open a crack as he pressed himself to the wall, not wanting anyone to see him.

"So, let me get this straight," He overheard Tadashi say. "You wanna us to kidnap your boyfriend, blindfold him, an drive him to a non-disclosed location?"

"Why do you always have to fame things in the worst possible way?" Wasabi wearily replied.

Varian could just picture the satisfied smirk on Tadashi's face. His older brother was such a troll sometimes.

Yet as the conversation carried on, Varian became increasingly aware that they weren't talking about him. They had jumped right back to the matter of the party and hadn't given him or the awkward conversation any thought.

Somehow, this only made Varian feel worse.

He was just about to walk away and busy himself with something else, anything else, to keep his mind from panicking when he heard the doorbell ring.

He peeked his head out of the kitchen to see a familiar woman dressed all in black enter.

"Salma." He breathed as a smile formed on his lips.

She had shown up!

Varian dashed back into the kitchen to grab a couple of cups and the cookies he had baked that morning; hope filling him anew.

----------------------

"Who's that?" Honey Lemon asked with interest as she saw Varian sit down with a customer over in the corner of the cafe.

She was a pretty young woman, close to their age, and wearing a black hijab. In fact all of her clothes were black, with silver trim. The garments gave her a sense of elegance that stood out against the ordinary cafe. She looked like she was on her way to attend some sort of formal event.

"Hey, I know her." Fred said, as he noticed the woman as well. "She was at freshman orientation at my college. Salma?... I think that was her name."

"Is she in your class?" Gogo asked.

Fred shook his head. "Nah, I think she's going for a teaching degree."

"Maybe she knows Stacy then." Tadashi mused.

"Who's Stacy?" Gogo asked.

"Just an old friend from high school."

Gogo didn't buy it. "You mean the cheerleader you took to prom?"

"Yeah." Tadashi admitted.

"Should we... should we go over and say hi?" Honey Lemon asked.

"Why?" Wasabi asked. "She doesn't know us, and I thought we weren't talking to Varian. Not until he gets his act together, anyways."

"B-but, how do we know of he's changed if we don't talk to him?" She protested back.

"Honey, if he's sorry, then he needs to be the one to show it." Gogo explained.

Honey Lemon pouted.

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?"

"Honey Lemon, we've tried everything else." Tadashi argued. "We've asked nicely, we've tried to sort it out on our own, we even tried to ask that Canardist woman.... And not only have we not figured out what's going on, each and every time we bring it up Varian just goes ballistic."

Fred sighed. "He did try to attack Hiro, HL."

"This is about more than just Corona," Gogo added. "We all love Varian, but he can't keep losing his temper like that."

"I know, b-but... he only does it when we try to pry. Maybe we should drop it... at least for now?"

"No."

Everyone turn to look at Hiro, who up till now had remained silent.

"You didn't see what I saw that night. We can't leave it alone, because it won't leave us alone. If those people from Corona can get here, then so could... other things.... And we need to be prepared for it. Varian can't keep ignoring the problem forever."

No one argued back.

----------------------

"Then I said… 'on ne Trash Panda; on Waschbär.'"

Both Varian and Salma shared a laugh over his funny story about his pet raccoon.

"So what about you? Do you have any pets?"

Salma shook her head and gave him a shy smile. "My new apartment won't let me keep them."

"So you're not staying on campus then? I thought that would be included in your scholarship?" He asked as grabbed another sugar cookie off the plate between them.

"It is, but the school doesn't have dorms on campus. So they've partnered with some of the local apartment complexes."

"I don't think I've visited the state campus before... that's in downtown, right?"

Salma nodded.

"Maybe I should visit, sometime?' Varian continued, "My friend Fred, says they always have neat events going on over there."

"They do... b-but I haven't been to many of them." Salma softly said as she wrapped her jacket tighter around her and readjusted her seating. She seemed uncomfortable talking about herself.

"No one to go with?" Varian suggested, and without waiting for an answer, "Maybe I could be your plus one next time and you can show me around?"

Salma smiled wider, but avoided eye contact with him as she tilted her head down, both delighted and slightly embarrassed by how forward he was being.

Varian found her blushing adorable.

"Yes..." She finally nodded. "... I think I would like that."

Then she paused as she thought about what event was coming up.

"Um... I think poetry night is Tuesday... at the s-student center." She nervously suggested.

Varian leaned in closer. "Do you write poetry?"

She blushed again and nodded.

"Are you going to read some it?"

"Nooo..." She breathed aghast and shook her head, holding back a horrified laugh at thought doing so.

Varian smiled wider. "Why not?"

"I can't..." She whispered, making herself smaller. "b-but I like to hear other people's work."

Varian gave her his trademark Cheshire grin as he straightened up. "It's a date then. I'll see you on Tuesday, after school?"

Salma bit her lip and averted her eyes once more. "Yeah." she softly replied, then she finally looked back up at him. "I'll see you then."

She returned his smile, before grabbing her purse and standing up.

He followed her to the door, and held it open for her as they said their goodbyes.

----------------------

"Aunt Cass, can you help me with this?" Varian walked into the kitchen, trying and failing to tie a formal dress tie.

Aunt Cass dried her hands on a dishtowel and then came to his rescue.

"My aren't we fancy today." She gently teased as she finished with the black tie. "What's the occasion?"

"I'm taking Salma out to dinner. I wanted to take her some place nice."

"Oh and where's that?"

"Nothing too expensive, just Luigi's. She's never had lasagna before."

"Never?"

Varian shook his head. "She's only been in America for four months. Yesterday, I took her out for tacos and she really liked those."

Aunt Cass gave him a secretive smile as she placed the muffin tins in the oven.

"You've been seeing a lot of this new girl lately."

"Yeah... she's... nice... a-and we have a lot in common."

Aunt Cass walk back to the counter and leaned forward, holding her head up with her fist, the smile never leaving her face. "Soooo do you like her?"

Varian shrugged as he fiddled with his coat.

"I don't know. We've technically known each other for months, but we've only really been hanging out for a week.... but I do like spending time with her."

Aunt Cass looked thoughtful for a moment. "And what about Honey Lemon?"

Varian sighed deeply and spread his arms wide.

"She's not talking to me."

"Oh no. Did you two have a fight?"

"No....... " He seemed to want to say more, but then changed his mind. "Maybe Hiro's right. Maybe I've been wasting my time trying to get her to notice me."

Aunt Cass frowned, but didn't comment.

"Also..."Varian said slowly as he placed both hands on the counter and looked down, almost as if he was studying the pattern of its tile. "I think... Salma and I understand one another better."

Aunt Cass gave a contemplative pout, "And why's that?"

"Well.... for instance, we both know what it's like to be immigrants. How hard it is to fit in, in an entirely new country. And even though we both grew up in different cultures, we both had Russian parents or grandparents and can speak the language. That makes communicating easier, and gives us more things to bond over..."

He paused there, as if debating to continue.

"And?" Aunt Cass prompted.

Varian gave her a seriously look.

"We both understand that the past should stay in the past."

Aunt Cass pursed her lips, as she dissected the meaning behind that statement.

"You said you met her at therapy... Was it one of those group sessions you like to go to? What was it... the SVRS?"

Varian shook his head. "She sees Dr. Brown."

Aunt Cass silently mouthed an 'oh' as she put two and two together.

"They wouldn't let her go to school in her home country, so she came here." Varian explained. He didn't say who 'they' were, but Aunt Cass could guess.

She plastered on a grin and tried to steer the subject in a new direction. "Well, does she have any family here?"

"Not in San Fansokyo. She has an aunt who lives in New York, but she won a state scholarship for here."

"Yeah, you said she's a freshman at state. Education degree, right?"

Varian nodded. "She wants to open a school online. Help teach kids who can't go to regular school how to read."

"Awe, that's a very sweet goal." Aunt Cass smiled.

That's when Varian's phone rang.

He answered in Russian.

"YA uzhe v puti. YA budu tam cherez…" He looked at his watch, "pyatnadtsat' minut. Paka."

He hung up and hurried towards the stairs. "That was Salma. She's waiting for me on campus. Bye Aunt Cass."

"Have a nice time. Love you!" She called back.

"Love you too!" He yelled before running out the door.

----------------------

Varian was finishing cleaning up his workstation in the chemistry lab the next day when Honey Lemon walked in.

"Oh!' She jumped upon seeing him and upon her face was the most terrified look.

"S-sorry..." She stuttered as she backed away towards the door, clutching her folder and papers close to her chest. "...I was just... I can come b-back..."

Varian sighed and picked up his bookbag. "It's okay. I was just leaving."

Honey Lemon pouted.

"Sorry." She muttered again.

Varian was going to just leave things there and go, but the guilty apology only angered him.

"Why?"

"W-what?"

"Why are you sorry?" He demanded.

Honey Lemon clutched her folder tighter and shuffled her feet. She cast her eyes around the room desperately before deciding to stare at her shoes.

"B-because... I'm not supposed to talk to you." She whispered.

Varian frowned. "Are you mad at me?"

"Oh no." She insisted, finally looking up. "Noo... it's just... it's just...."

" No one is talking to me right now." He finished for her.

"We're not doing it to be mean." She mumbled.

"No, you're just doing it to get what you want. Information on the rocks."

"What!? No!"

She seemed genuinely offended by that suggestion.

Varian stepped forward challengingly. "Then why?"

"To teach you a lesson." She snapped, meeting his gaze.

They stared at each other for a moment, each silently trying to get the other to back down. Neither would.

"What kind of 'lesson'?" He sneered.

"You know what kind." She answered, putting her hands on her hips and straightening up to her full height. She was still an inch taller than him.

"You can't keep doing this, Varian. You can't keep running off or doing dangerous stunts, and... and you need to learn to control your temper."

Varian couldn't look her in the eye after that last bit.

"Varian..." She reached out and laid a hand on his hand on his arm. He instinctively placed his opposite hand over her own, but he still didn't look at her.

"Varian, I know you don't mean any harm." She continued. "B-but after what happened with Hiro... well......." She sighed. "Look, I know you're working on things, and I know change can be difficult, b-but... That can't happen again. You know that."

He finally turned to look at her, his eyes slowly narrowing. "Because I'm scary, when I'm angry, right?"

He dropped his hand from hers, and she pulled away, wide eyed.

"Th-that's not what I meant."

"Oh no, of course not." Varian mocked. "Because that would be the truth, and you don't like hearing the truth."

She looked hurt by the statement, but then just as quickly it was replaced by annoyed scowl.

"Ok. Fine. Yes, you can be scary sometimes. Is that what you want to hear?"

"I want to hear the truth. If there's a problem, then I want people to be honest with me. Not... whatever this is that you're all trying to pull."

She sighed and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. "Then what do you want us to do? We've already tried talking to you. You say you want honesty but, you're never honest with us... at least not fully."

Varian gave an incredulous look. "What more do need to hear? Do I have to tell you everything I had to do to survive? Do you need to hear about every boring and horrifying day I spent in jail? You want to listen to me talk about the battles I fought in?"

Honey Lemon frowned, but didn't respond.

"No, you don't." Varian answered for her. "You don't really want to go into that, and neither do I, frankly, but that's what you're asking for every time you bring up Corona, or Rapunzel, and those blasted rocks."

Honey Lemon could only bite her lower lip. She still had no answer.

Varian gave up, and rolled his eyes as he turned to leave. "You can have the lab. I'm late to meet Salma, anyways."

"Salma?" She echoed. "You mean that girl from Fredie's school?"

"Yeah." He stopped at the door and gave her a meaningful look. "She understands how not to pry."

For the briefest of moments, he thought that Honey Lemon would cry, but then suddenly her face was masked with a bright smile.

"Well... th-then I hope you have a nice time." She said nervously in her usual cheerful voice.

Varian frowned for a moment as he studied her face, wondering what she really meant or really felt, before deciding that he didn't care.

He closed the door behind him without another word, leaving a dejected Honey Lemon alone in the lab as she stood there and watched him go, chewing on her fingernail in worry.

#varian #tangled #big hero six #of rocks and robots #honey lemon #Hiro Hamada

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