Prompt: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"; Remembering & Lena Flashback – Watch_Dogs OST
Author's Note: Another drabble was made with the same prompt before this one was born, but was scrapped due to ugly quality. Hugh X Juniper needs more light, so I'm back with more.
She will be okay. It's just a minor cold. It's just a minor fever. It's just a minor fatigue. It's just minor, not heart-threatening sickness that will take her away from him. She is peacefully resting at her home, filled with flowers and herbal medicines to help her feel better. Her grandmother is taking care of her right now. She took a day off to combat her illness.
Hugh stares at the horizon. His companion is silence, sitting down on the provided bench on the rooftop, soft breeze flows past his unkempt hair, the sun was close to setting. He wants to visit her in her place, to check on her. He wants to bring her a meal, some medicines, and himself as company. He wants to know, wants to see for himself, to see her alive and well, sleeping comfortably in her room.
He can't do that right now. No, he has to prioritize school. He can't forsake his studies, no matter how much he wants to. It's not like he doesn't care, no, he just can't. He is left with no choice. He just have a lot of responsibilities to deal right now: Student Council, Archery Club, Volunteer Work, Crane Operator, and errands to settle himself in the house that he can call his own home, not from his parents. He just can't squeeze time for her, and that added pricks and needles in his heart.
The free time he has on the rooftop right now is a preparation for the load of works ahead. Robin went on without him to visit Juniper. She's lucky, able to go without any obstacles blocking her path. His best friend understands. She truly understands. She was reluctant to go, leaving him all alone, saddened, guilt, depressed. She gave his shoulder a squeeze, telling him she'll understand. She always does, she reiterate. She left him with a brotherly hug; she has grown to be a tomboy, perfectly comfortable on being like a man, and being a woman at the same time.
That wasn't that long. It was exactly five minutes ago. He has to go at another five, exactly five o'clock. Sighing, he closed his eyes. His chest feels heavy, yet at the same time, he feels something weird. He feels yearning, yearning for her company. Ever since that fateful day, his heart has planted something else in his emotions. He wants to protect her, he wants to shield her from her, he wants to take care of her, he wants to be with her side. He used to dismiss these emotions as normal, a feeling you would feel for a close friend.
Then he talked to Robin about this, and it all changed with her words. "Dude. That's not how you feel for a friend. That's how you feel for someone you love." Of course, he was baffled. He adjusted his glasses to regain his composure. "Please tell me it's one of your antics again." She vigorously shook her head, clasping her hands on his shoulder with a big grin. "Oh man, oh man! Your coolness needs some partner, you know?!" She let go, giggling like a loved-struck teenager, twirling and dancing in front of him.
Hugh just couldn't comprehend it yet. First, they were best friends. Second, it may cause another rift with their friendship, like last time. Third, she doesn't want to make Robin feel awkward and left out since they're on a romantic terms. He pocketed his hands, observing his brother in arms. She was... so happy, he wondered why. If they are going to be together, would she not feel like a third wheel and stay the same? Would she still be his best pal, his opposite side of the same coin, his other pea in their pod? It would be answered soon with a yes. Robin is a loyal friend, a genuine generous girl who is more than happy to live things up between them.
"What should I do, Robin?" He called out, stopping her from her trance. She walked towards him with a toothy grin. "Confess, of course!" "That is never easy to do." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You don't have to confess now, find the proper time to admit your feelings."She stopped grinning, and was now smiling at him. Like a proud man on his best troop. "You don't have to rush things, Hugh, but you can't take your time as well." She placed her hand on his shoulder, her symbol to relax, and trust himself. "It's my feminine intuition, but if you spend more time with her, get to know her more..." Just like that, her playful grin resurfaced. "I know she'll be head over heels at you in no time."
He wants to say he never deserves her as a friend as he reminiscent about the past. He chased her as she screams their name sitting on the tree, kissing, and other corny, grimacing romantic quotes. He wants to say that she deserves someone better, who isn't internally conflicted with himself. Despite the trials and tribulations on another trial, she stayed, never judging him. Robin is a true man's best friend. No, he doesn't mean to compare her to a dog, but he imagines her as one as a comeback.
What was the thing, or rather, someone that completes their friendship, is the very someone who he is madly in love with. Juniper Woods. She is so kind, so meek, so friendly, so helpful, so talented, the list goes on and on and on... Hugh never fails to describe her without making it sounds like he wrote a five-pages essay as a bare minimum on what he thinks of her. She's just that perfect for him, even her sickly condition just adds up to her pros, not cons. She makes him soften up to others, making his coolness more likable, making his image more memorable.
Ah, it is time for him to go. Letting out a sigh, he realizes how someone's absence makes a heart grow fonder, how the distance builds the relationship stronger, how the next meeting will beat the first meeting. How this feelings aren't temporary, how this emotions aren't generated by a simple crush or admiration, how much it changed him for the better.
Walking back downstairs, heading to the Student Council Room, he realizes how grateful he is for the whirlwind of events that transpired in his life. If he wasn't held off in years, he didn't accepted their friendship, he didn't protected Juniper because he thought it was really her, didn't planned to confess to her... none of this was going to happen. Another set of path will be given to him, and honestly, he thinks it would just make things worse.
Hugh truly loves Juniper Woods. He just wants to disregard how important his tasks are and just run straight to her place, but that will not end well. He knows, deep inside, that she will understand, even if Robin hadn't told her yet. Somehow, their mind just synchronizes to one another, even baffling Robin. She may never realized that, but he did talked to Robin about it. He steps inside the room, seeing it isn't as empty as he thinks it will be. Yes, even if he isn't in her presence right now, it makes up by making him realize a lot of things.