Trigger warnings: panic attacks, injuries, self-hatred

As the morning sun filtered through the clouds and fog, Varian stumbled wearily to the edge of town. He had walked through the night, tripping and stumbling in the darkness, jostling his arm and ribs. One of his ankles was aching from a fall. Ruddiger had hopped off his shoulders to walk beside him.

He must have looked a sight. He brushed dirt off his shirt and combed his finger through his hair. If he was going to move on, the last thing he needed was someone deciding to pity him and send him to an orphanage. He needed to look somewhat respectable. Not that the scars crossing his face allowed for that, but hey, he was trying.

He entered the town just as people were starting to open up their shops. A few sent wary glances his way. He clenched the straps of the backpack in his hands tightly to stop them from shaking and kept walking, holding his head high.

The alchemy shop loomed on his right. Seeing the sign hanging above the door sent his heart plummeting into his stomach. No, he was ready. He had mentally prepared himself for this during his walk. He pushed the door open, the bell chiming softly, and stepped inside.

Glassware lined the shelves. Jars of powders and rocks and chemicals sat on every available surface. In one corner, a table held sets of gloves, aprons, and goggles. Books on every possible topic pertaining to alchemy were stacked nearly taller than him.

Half a year ago, the sight would have sent Varian into a fit of ecstasy. He would have gladly lost himself in here for hours. Now, though, it took every ounce of his willpower to keep from bolting out the door. He kept his eyes on the floor and walked over to the proprietor.

"Excuse me, sir?" he began politely. The proprietor turned to him. Varian slipped off the backpack and set it in the only empty space on a nearby table. He opened it to show the contents. "A friend of mine bought all this here the other day."

The man nodded. "Tall fella, braids, had a raccoon with him?" He gave Ruddiger a suspicious look.

"Yes sir. He got this for me, but I can't use it. I was wondering if you'd be kind enough to buy it back."

The man nodded. "I don't see why not."

"Thank you."

The bell on the door chimed again. "Can I help you?" the proprietor called.

"I don't think so," came the response. "He can, however."

Varian turned to see who was there. His eye caught sight of a gleaming gold uniform. He gasped in horror and stepped back, his spine now pressed painfully against the table behind him. He needed to run, to escape, to find a back door and go anywhere but here, but he stood frozen to the spot.

"Figured as much," the soldier spoke cheerily, as if this were just a casual conversation between friends. Beside Varian, Ruddiger hissed angrily. The man gave him a sidelong glance, then ignored him. "I kept an eye on this place. Figured if an escaped alchemist would come anywhere, he'd come here."

Run! Do something! Don't just stand here! But he couldn't move. He was shaking, terrified, but he couldn't move. The door opened, and a second soldier entered.

The first one reached out and grabbed Varian's arm. That broke him out of his frozen state. He drove a kick at the man's ankle. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make him loosen his grip on the boy. Varian wrenched his arm away and ran. He bolted for the back of the shop. As he ran, his brain helpfully reminded him that he was surrounded on all sides by alchemy. A few seconds was all he would need to cause a big enough distraction to escape.

No. He had seen what that stuff did. He couldn't bring himself to reach out and grab the vials that beckoned to him.

Two seconds later, he regretted that. The back door was in sight. He was almost there. Before he could reach it, a body slammed into him, knocking him to the floor. He landed on his broken arm with a pained scream. His vision started to blur, and his chest ached as he tried to draw in breath. The soldier who had hit him grabbed him roughly by his right arm and yanked him to his feet, throwing him over his shoulder easily. The last thing Varian saw before losing consciousness was Ruddiger struggling in the grip of the second soldier.

O‴O‴O‴

I didn't tell him. Why the crap didn't I tell him?

Hector would never forgive himself if anything happened to the kid. He had neglected to tell him about the guards, figuring it would frighten Varian. Besides, he had trusted him not to go off on his own.

But Ruddiger! Ruddiger had seen them, too. Had he just forgotten to warn the kid? He wasn't sure how good a raccoon's memory was.

He and the animals raced through the woods, reaching the town in about half the time as it took them the other day. It wasn't fast enough, in Hector's opinion. If Varian had walked through the night, he probably would have made it just before dawn, depending on what time he left. Given that the only thing he had taken with him was the backpack, it wasn't too hard to guess that he would head straight for town and try to sell it back to get some money for supplies. He probably wasn't expecting Hector to follow him, given the contents of the note.

The words of the note were burned into Hector's brain. How long had Varian felt this way? Why the crap had he told the boy about his dedication to the mission? Had he made him feel irrelevant because of that? He never should have told him about his doubts on whether to go after him or not. He had been a fool, and now Varian could pay the price.

If those guards left a single bruise on his nephew, he was going to end them.

O‴O‴O‴

His arm was throbbing. His head was pounding harder than the thunder of horses' hooves. If only the blessed relief of unconsciousness would ease his pain! But no, life was determined not to give him even that temporary reprieve.

As he awoke, Varian gasped in agony and wrapped his right arm around himself as if that could protect him. The sun was shining directly onto his eyes. He tried to roll over, but the stabbing pain in his chest made him regret it. He twisted his head away from the light and tried to look around.

In front of him was a set of bars.

With a yelp of pain, Varian sat up. Where was he? Where was Ruddiger?

The answer to that last question came from somewhere nearby. The sound of angry screeching caught his attention, and he stumbled to his feet and limped over to the bars. He was in a sort of holding cell, it appeared, and on the other side of the cell was an office. On the desk sat a cage with a very irate raccoon in it. Ruddiger stopped yowling when he saw Varian. He pressed himself against the cage, trying to get closer to his boy.

Varian's breathing quickened. How had this happened? How had the guards found him? They should have outpaced them by weeks! A four-day delay shouldn't have cost him that much ground. His eyes fell on the wanted posters against the wall at the back of the room.

Of course. This was a Coronan outpost. As soon as his escape was discovered, the king would have sent messages in every direction, probably by carrier pigeon. How had he been so stupid?

Panic started setting in. He was trapped again, locked up by the very people who hated him and would gladly make his life a living nightmare. He would be taken back to Corona and thrown to the monsters in prison again.

And this time, Hector would not come.

Varian had made sure of that.

The door at the front of the room, off to his right, slammed open, and a soldier walked in. Varian gasped and stepped back away from the bars. He recognized him as the first soldier. He was probably also the one who had hit him, as he had been the closest. The man looked over at him and smirked. "Good morning. Sleep well?"

Varian didn't answer.

"Nothing to say, huh? And after I went to all the trouble to bring you breakfast." He held out an apple.

Varian took a step back. Being locked inside a cell brought back all the instincts he had been learning to let go of. Outstretched hand meant pain. Food meant being sick on his stomach.

"You need to eat. We've got a long trip ahead of us, and I'd like to take you back alive." He set the apple on the floor just inside the cell and walked over to the desk, handing Ruddiger a second apple. The raccoon didn't touch it.

A second soldier entered. "The others are ready. You coming?"

"Yeah. I don't know why all four of us have to go."

"Because he's a high-risk prisoner. Took out most of the guard, remember?"

"I remember." The first man turned to the trembling child. "Turn around and face the wall."

Varian did as he was told, noticing then that his sling was gone. The cell door creaked open, and a second later cold cuffs were secured around his wrists. He bit his lip against the pain but didn't make a sound. Stay still, don't fight back, don't give them a reason to want to hurt you. Not that they ever needed a reason. His vision started to blur. He was guided from the cell, a bit more aggressively than strictly necessary, given that he wasn't resisting. The second soldier grabbed his other arm, which just so happened to be his broken one. He gave a slight yelp involuntarily. The soldier's eyes widened, and he loosened his grip slightly.

They led him outside to where the other guards were waiting. A third man went back inside and grabbed Ruddiger's cage. "What do we do with this?" he growled. "It's smart. It'll try to help the kid."

"Keep it locked up," the first one answered. "We'll get rid of it on the way."

Varian's breathing picked up pace. They were going to take Ruddiger away again!

The man saw his struggle. "Relax, kid. It's not like you can have him where you're going, anyway. Panicking will only make it worse."

Instead of calming him, the words only served to make him feel worse. Before he could stop himself, he gasped out, "Pl-please— just let him go! The-the man I was trav-traveling with, he's not far from here. Let Ruddiger go to him!"

"And let him lead him back here? Not a chance."

"He's not coming." Varian's shoulders slumped. "He's not coming for me. Please…"

"Sorry, kid, not gonna happen."

Before Varian could argue, he was picked up and placed on the back of a horse. His hands were uncuffed and tied in front of him to the saddlehorn. The first soldier mounted behind him.

"Let's go," he ordered. The other soldiers moved their horses into position, one on either side of them and one in front. They started down the road back to Corona, back the direction Varian had come from, away from the town.

Away from any chance of freedom.

Away from Hector.

O‴O‴O‴

Hector tore into the building at top speed only to find it empty. In rage, he split the desk in half with his blade and threw one of the pieces against the wall. Spotting the wanted posters, he sighed and placed his hand on the paper with his nephew's image.

"I'm not giving up, kiddo," he whispered. "I'll find you."

He stormed outside and hopped onto Riki's back, pointing him in the direction of Corona. It was out of the way, but he didn't care this time. He had learned his lesson.

It didn't take long for the hunters to overtake the guards. Seeing the party up ahead on the rocky path, they scrambled up to a high ledge running beside it and quickly passed them. Then Riki leaped down in front of them, startling the horse in the lead. It reared and threw its unfortunate rider to the ground. It danced off to the side in fright.

The other three pulled up quickly. Hector could see Varian on the horse in the middle, his skin ashen and dark circles under his eyes. Dirt smudged one of his cheeks. His sling was missing, and his wrists were bound. The child looked up in surprise and gasped when he saw Hector. Tears flooded his eyes.

Hector flicked his wrist, unsheathing his sword. "Let him go."

To his credit, the soldier had a backbone. "You are interfering with Coronan official business. Stand aside."

Hector growled, the low sound sending the remaining horses into fits. Their riders struggled to rein them in. "I asked nice the first time. I won't do it a second."

The soldier who had fallen climbed to his feet and drew his sword.

"You don't want to do that," Hector warned.

"Either remove yourself from the path or be cut down," the soldier holding Varian warned. "This is your last chance."

"Well, then, I'll make this easy for you. No. We fightin', then?"

The two soldiers flanking the prisoner dismounted and started forward. Hector got off Riki and prepared to meet their advance. Varian's voice stopped everyone in their tracks.

"Move."

Hector looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

"Move," he whispered.

"Not gonna happen."

"Please." The tears in his eyes broke free and slipped down his face.

The sight broke Hector's heart. He thought again of the note in his pocket. "Sorry, kid. I can't do that."

Varian hung his head. The soldiers stepped forward again, swords drawn.

The first one swung at Hector. He brought his blade up to meet the attack easily, the metallic screeching familiar music to his ears. Twisting his sword, he drove the point of his opponent's weapon into the ground. A swift punch to the face knocked him unconscious. The second charged forward with a quick lunge. Hector sidestepped, spun, and kicked the man in the head. He, too, found his resting place in the dirt. The third, wiser than the previous, had rushed forward while he was still engaged with the first. His sword missed Hector's face by mere inches. The sunlight gleaming off the cold steel flashed in his eyes as time seemed to slow around him. He grabbed the man's arm and yanked him forward, throwing him to the ground roughly. The soldier jumped back up and charged again. Hector once more dodged the blade as the man swung downward in an arc. The sword struck the dirt, and Hector's knee struck his ribs.

The fourth soldier wheeled his horse around, intending to flee, but Kiki jumped down behind him. The horse skidded backwards in fright.

"Last chance," Hector echoed his words from earlier.

The soldier glowered and hopped down to confront him. As soon as he was away from Varian, Artemis swooped down from the sky and slashed at the ropes binding they boy. They snapped easily, but the bird of prey spooked the horse. It reared, and Varian fell. Hector's heart stopped as he heard the child's startled cry cut short as he hit the ground. The horse bolted, and Kiki let it pass.

His attention was quickly caught by the fourth soldier. The man ran at him. Hector leaped straight over him, letting the soldier's forward momentum send him sprawling into Riki. The bearcat, completely unimpressed, shoved him off and pinned him to the ground. Hector delivered a swift kick to his head. Then he turned back to Varian.

But the few seconds of delay had cost him.

The third soldier had climbed back to his feet and grabbed Varian, dragging him up and holding his left arm painfully behind his back. He held a dagger to his throat. Varian, whose eyes were unfocused and wide, winced slightly.

The only remaining horses were on the other side of Hector. The soldier's eyes darted between the mounts and the warrior. "Move aside," he growled.

"Never. Release him!"

The man's hand was shaking. The dagger was too close to Varian's neck for comfort. "The poster says dead or alive, and I can make it dead if you don't move!"

They stared at each other for a moment, each waiting to see if the other would give. Finally, painfully slowly, Hector stepped off to the side. The soldier, keeping Varian between them, started forward. He nearly stumbled over the bodies on the ground. Hector took advantage of his moment of distraction. He dropped to the ground, swinging his legs around and knocking them both off their feet. They started to fall to their right. Hector caught Varian, yanking him away from the soldier and the dagger. The man fell across the other bodies in the path.

Setting Varian on his feet gently, Hector stalked towards the man as he scrambled back up and charged again. Hector's fist connected solidly with the man's jaw with a sickening crack. He dropped alongside his compatriots.

Turning his attention back to Varian, Hector grimaced. The kid looked rough. Covered in dust and dirt, left arm hanging limply by his side, breathing laboriously, a thin line of red trailing down his throat… the poor child looked like a strong breeze might knock him over.

"You okay, kid?" Stupid question. No, he was most certainly not okay. "Let's get you out of here." He extended a hand to Varian, who flinched.

"No!" He brought his right arm up to shelter his face, but the movement caused him to gasp and drop his arm back down to cross his chest. Crap. His ribs were probably in horrible condition.

"Sorry! Sorry." Those blasted guards! This was bound to cause a major setback for the kid. He had been doing so well, at least until he started shutting Hector out. "Come on, let's get you patched up."

That seemed to get his attention. He blinked and finally looked up at Hector. "No."

"No?" Hector raised an eyebrow. "Kid, you look like a new trainee after his first fight. Let me help you."

"No." His brows dropped over his eyes as he scowled. If the mood hadn't been so serious, Hector would have laughed. How had anyone been intimidated of this kid? Even the scars across his face and right eye couldn't distract from his genuine childness. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine. Come on. Let's get out of here before these boneheads wake up." He motioned Riki over. The bearcat stepped forward and crouched down.

Varian's eyes widened suddenly. "Ruddiger!" He stumbled over towards one of the horses, a small cage tied to its back. The horse, still spooked, shied away from him.

"I got it." He motioned Varian to stand back. The last thing he needed was a broken foot on top of everything else. Hector started whispering to the horse, holding out a gentle hand. It took a minute or two, but the horse settled down long enough for him to retrieve Ruddiger from the cage. The raccoon ran over to Varian, who knelt down to stroke his fur. He was in no condition to be carrying the thing, that was for sure.

"Right. Let's get out of here." He motioned the two of them back to Riki.

Varian didn't move.

"Kid. We gotta go. These guys are gonna wake up soon."

Varian stood but made no effort to follow. "I'm not going."

Hector froze. "What?"

"I'm not going with you."

"Kid… look, is this about the note? Did they force you to write that?" Varian being kidnapped still wasn't outside the realm of possibility. It didn't make sense for him to walk away on his own.

Varian shook his head. "No. I wrote it. I left. I…" He took a shaky breath. "I can't come with you."

"Sure you can."

Varian suddenly met his gaze with a fiery boldness. "You're not listening! I'm not coming with you!" The tears in his eyes, which had briefly stopped upon getting Ruddiger back, started falling again.

If anyone had asked Hector what the worst thing someone could say to him was three weeks ago, he would have answered wrong. This… this was crushing, breaking, tearing his heart out and ripping it to a thousand pieces and scattering it to the wind so he could never put it back together. "…Varian?"

The boy turned away. "Please," he whispered. "Please, just go. Leave me alone."

"Kid—"

"Leave me alone!" he screamed, stepping away from Hector's outstretched hand.

Hector froze. What was this? Varian had never acted this way before!

Right. Deescalate the situation. Whatever was going on inside Varian's head, he was clearly on the verge of a panic attack. Keeping his voice soft but firm, Hector stated, "'Kay. We'll talk about this. Just not here. We'll go somewhere else so these guys don't wake up and arrest you again. Is that good?"

Varian bit his lip. He was at war with himself, Hector could see. On the one hand, he didn't want to be around the warrior, probably because he'd lose his resolve to stay away and flee back to the safety Hector afforded. On the other hand, he didn't want to get caught.

The only way to convince him would be to give a way out, then. "Look, kid, we'll talk this over. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to. Just—this isn't the right time or place. If you want to go, just let me get you somewhere away from these guys. 'Kay?"

Finally, Varian nodded. "Yes sir." He allowed Hector to guide him over to Riki. Hector got on behind him, making sure not to have too much physical contact.

They raced back to the campsite. The entire trip back, no one spoke. No one dared to break the oppressive silence, even as hard as it was to suffer under it. When they arrived, Varian sat on a rock near the cave while Hector immediately got his medical supplies out of his bag and set to work.

Varian's chest was bruised up again, but the ribs were not much worse than they had been. The damage done to his left arm was not major, thankfully. The splint had held it in place. He quickly replaced the sling. Then he patched up the cut on his neck.

"How do you feel?"

Varian didn't answer.

"Kid, talk to me. I know something's bugging you. I can't help if I don't know what's wrong."

"Why won't you leave me?"

Hector was taken aback. "What?"

"Why won't you leave me? Why do you keep coming for me? I told you to stay away."

Hector shook his head. "I know what you said. I can't do that."

"Why not?" Varian turned to look at him. "I told you. I'm a distraction. A bother. You can't keep coming back for me. You have a job to do."

Nearby, the animals watched in shock. They kept their distance, even Ruddiger. They seemed to understand that this was just between the two of them.

Hector took a deep breath. "Kid, listen to me. I'm not leaving you behind, okay?"

"Why not? You said you might have to."

"And I was wrong!" Hector struggled to keep from raising his voice. "Varian, I was stormin' wrong, and I'm sorry."

"What?" Varian shook his head as if he couldn't comprehend what Hector was saying. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I told you. I was wrong. I never should have considered leaving. I pro—I'm not leaving you behind. Ever. 'Kay?"

He bit his lip. "This is why I left."

"What?"

"At first, I thought you'd leave. Keep going to the Tree. And then you came back, and I knew you'd keep coming back. I left because you shouldn't have to! I'm not worth that!"

"You are to me."

"But your mission—"

"Is just a mission. Varian, you're family. You're more important than a stormin' rock!"

"A stormin' rock you spent almost forty years protecting."

"Exactly. Forty years of my life. And what do I have to show for it? Nothing. But you? Kid, I need you to see what you mean to me."

"And I need you to see why I can't come!"

"I told you. You're more important than the mission. I won't abandon you."

Varian gave a choking sob. "You should," he whispered. "Please. Before I—" he cut himself off.

"Before you what?"

"Before I hurt you," he whispered.

"You won't."

"I will! I hurt everyone! My dad! The queen! I can't hurt you, too!" His voice broke. "I can't. It would kill me."

Hector found himself struggling to breathe. This went so much deeper than he thought. "Varian, look at me. Look at me." He waited until his nephew met his eyes. "You won't hurt me. 'Kay? We're going to be okay. Both of us. You're not going to hurt me. I'm not going to leave you to get snatched up by those sadistic freaks."

Tears once more filled his nephew's eyes. "You don't know," he whispered. "You don't know what I did."

"I don't have to. What they were doing to you was sick and vile."

Varian wrapped his arm around himself. "I deserved it."

"Bullcrap! Stop saying that." Hector gritted his teeth. This was what he had been afraid of. Square one, all over again. "That's what they told you."

"They were right." Varian shook his head. "You don't know. You never should have come back for me. They were right to arrest me. After what I did…"

"Varian, stop."

"No, you stop!" Varian leaped to his feet and paced a few steps away. "This whole time, you keep trying to tell me I didn't deserve it, but I do! I'm a monster! I did things I can't ever take back! I committed treason! I stole the Sundrop flower! I kidnapped and attempted to murder the queen!"

"Is that all?"

"What?" Varian whirled on him.

"Theft. Treason. Attempted murder that you've been forgiven for."

Varian pulled on his hair. "Don't you get it yet?" he sobbed. "I'm a monster! I ruin everything! All I ever wanted to do was help, but I just make everything worse! I tried to fix the black rocks, and I killed my dad! I tried to save him, and I committed treason and nearly murdered the queen and Cassandra! If I go with you, it's only a matter of time before I mess up again! Why can't you just let me go?"

Hector listened to the tirade in shock. If he had managed to forget it, it slapped him in the face all over again: this was just a kid. A broken, tortured kid. "Varian. I'll tell you why. Remember when I found you last week?"

Varian nodded.

"Well, there's something I didn't tell you. When I saw you laying there on the ground, I thought you were dead. I thought you were dead and it was my fault. And a part of me died, too. And I didn't get it then, but I do now. It took losing you all over again to see why. I get it now. I get why Quirin chose to put something else over the mission. I get why he chose to have a family, to leave the past behind. There are some things that are more important than that blasted rock. Family is more important. You are more important!"

Varian stared. Finally, he shook his head. "No. No, this is why I have to go. I—I'm sorry."

Hector's heart crumbled again. "Varian—"

"No! I know what that 'blasted rock' does, okay? It's probably the only thing more destructive than me! You have to protect it. You have to stop anyone from taking it. I can't be the reason you don't."

"What if I could do both?"

"What?" Varian brushed tears out of his eyes and turned to look at Hector.

"What if I can protect you and the stone? You're more important, but I understand the necessity of the mission."

Varian sighed and turned away again.

"Kid, can I ask you a question?"

He nodded.

"Why did you think I'd leave you? I know Quirin didn't raise you like that. Where did that come from?"

His shoulders hunched, and he drew in on himself as if afraid of being hurt. "It doesn't matter."

"It does to me."

He was silent, and Hector worried he wouldn't answer. Then he sighed. "She abandoned me."

"Who?"

"The princess." He shook his head. "I was stupid. Childish. She said she'd help me, and I believed her. She promised. But when Dad got trapped, she let me be thrown out in the storm on my own. And she never came to help. I thought she'd come… I thought I could trust her. I waited so long… I waited while the guards tore up my house and held me prisoner just for knowing too much. I kept waiting…"

The statement struck him like a fist to the stomach. The princess. The perfect princess, the Sundrop herself, had made a promise she didn't keep. That at least explained his aversion to the word. She had abandoned a child, an orphaned child—in a storm, no less—and allowed him to be held captive unjustly. She had fought him when he struck back, then left him to suffer while she went off on an adventure to find the very thing that had caused this mess in the first place.

"Kid, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I'm so, so sorry."

He shrugged. "I learned my lesson. I'm not worth her time or effort. I only was when I fought her. I learned I was only worth it when I was the bad guy. And I don't want to be that anymore. I hated what I became." His voice was suddenly cold and empty.

"Varian." Hector's voice was breaking now. "Varian, I want you to listen to me carefully, 'kay? I am not her. I am not going to make you feel worthless the way she did. If you come with me, I'm going to take care of you. I won't leave you behind. No, don't look at me like that. I mean it." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Look. I won't force you to stay. I'm not going to hold you prisoner. If you want to walk away, I'll let you. Just tell me so I can make sure you have money and food. Don't go off without being prepared like that again. If you still want to leave, that's your choice. But if you want to stay, if you're willing to trust me, if you're willing to accept the fact that I'm never going to abandon you, I need you to understand that it's unconditional. I don't care about your past. I don't care that you think you're dangerous. I'll never hold that over your head. For all I care, your past never happened, 'kay? We can be a family. I'll take care of you. It's your choice. Go or stay."

Just forcing the words past his lips hurt more than he ever imagined they could. This was up to Varian, now. Hector could not make this decision, as much as he wished he could. If he chose to leave, Hector would have to let him go. He would have to lose him, to go on to the Tree and continue his mission and live every day knowing he had lost the most valuable thing he had ever had. If he chose to stay, though…

Varian still faced away from Hector, but he could see the boy's shoulders shaking as he wept. Everything in his short life was a wedge that had been driven steadily between the two before Hector had known what was happening. Had he lost his chance before it even began? Had the princess's betrayal shattered his heart so badly he couldn't trust anyone to touch the pieces, choosing rather to try to keep them to himself?

A broken sob tore from Varian's throat. He turned and threw himself at Hector, clinging to him with a strength that Hector hadn't known existed in that tiny frame. In shock, he placed his arms around the boy, realizing his mistake as Varian suddenly stiffened. Hector started to let go, but Varian only clung tighter, as if Hector were his only rock in a turbulent sea. He returned the hug fully then, still mindful of the boy's ribs and arm. The two sank to the ground, neither having the strength to keep standing. "I-I wan-want to stay. I want to stay. Please. I-is that okay?" His voice was nothing more than a whisper.

For years, Hector had contained his emotions, keeping a hardened wall between himself and the outside world save for the occasional angry outburst. But this was Varian. This was his nephew. For him, he could let down that wall. So he did. And Varian wasn't the only one crying as Hector whispered back, "Yeah. Yeah, that's okay. That's okay." And then he said the words he never thought he'd say to anyone but his siblings. "I love you, Varian."

For a moment he worried he had gone too far. For all he knew, Varian's decision to stay was only based on a need for safety. But then he heard that soft voice return, "I love you, too."

And Hector's entire world changed.

As always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Thank you and God bless!