Quirin had no idea what he was doing, but that wasn't anything new. He'd always had a hard time talking to Varian, and he didn't know why. His boy was his world, his everything, and yet he'd let this divide come between them. Even as he sat here trying to fix things and make it right he could see it falling apart right before his eyes.

He tried. He tried so hard to keep his son safe. From his past, from his anger, from the boy's experiments, and the people's judgement. Varian was still so young, and the world was dangerous and cruel. Quirin knew that he couldn't protect the boy forever, but he had hoped that he'd be able to do it for a little longer.

But in trying to protect the boy he only ended up hurting him. He'd saved Varian from the amber, but in doing so he'd just left his son alone. Varian had gotten sick, and hurt, and imprisoned, all because Quirin had tried too hard.

He'd known for a long time that he needed to talk to Varian. He'd always come up with reasons not to. He was too busy. His head was hurting and making it difficult to even think, let alone talk. Varian was still just a little too young. Excuse after excuse.

Now here he was, sitting next to Varian, and they were finally going to be talking about everything. Quirin was open to talking about it, really he was, but then Varian asked about the moonstone, and his powers, and what was Quirin supposed to say?

He wasn't going to lie to his boy. Never again. But what was he supposed to say? He wanted to explain himself, and tell Varian what he was thinking, because his son deserved to know, but any explanation that he gave would just sound like excuses.

But he couldn't remain silent, because with every second of silence Varian looked angrier, and more hurt and betrayed, and his son deserved so much more. He deserved more than Quirin could give him. If Varian had people who could give him more, give him what he needed, then Quirin would back off. He would let his son go so he could be happy.

But Quirin couldn't leave. Last time he'd left his son alone, hoping that he would be okay because surely there was somebody else who would take care of him, well, look what happened. Look what happened to his boy. He'd fallen so far, and suffered so much, and Quirin couldn't take the chance that something like that would happen again.

Quirin may not be good enough for Varian, and he couldn't give him what he needed, but what little he could do for his son was better than nothing. So Quirin had to give his boy what he could, because what else could he do?

"None of this was your fault." Quirin said. "The amber, the black rocks, the constant fighting between the two of us, and all the times I let you down, it's not your fault."

Varian just watched him. He looked doubtful, and scared, and far too upset. Varian didn't say anything. He just waited. Quirin continued.

"I know that I should have told you about the moonstone." Quirin said quietly. "But I was scared. I was scared of so much."

Varian clutched the moonstone. "You…you were scared of me? Of my powers?"

"I was never afraid of you." Quirin insisted. "I was…cautious about the powers of the moonstone, because I've seen the destruction that it can cause first hand. But that wasn't what scared me most."

Quirin sighed. "I was worried about what you could do, but more than that I was terrified of what other people could do to you."

Varian flinched slightly. "W-what do you mean?"

It was just a few years after the princess was taken." Quirin said. "Everybody in the kingdom knew that she was taken because of her magical healing powers. I knew that if word got out that you had powers too then somebody might come around to try to use those powers for their own selfish gain."

Quirin shook his head. "I couldn't lose you like that. I wouldn't be able to take it. So I kept it a secret. I didn't tell anybody, even your mother, about your powers."

"How did you know about my connection with the moon?" Varian asked.

My first clue was that on the day you were born it was supposed to be a moonless night, and yet when you were born and started crying for the first time, I could swear that I saw moonlight shining down on you." Quirin said. "I told myself that it was just a trick of the eyes, but when your hair started to come in I immediately noticed the streak of blue. And that's when I knew that you weren't…"

"Normal?" Varian grimaced.

"Yes." Quirin sighed. That wasn't the phrasing he would like to use, but he didn't know how else to say it. "For a few years I thought you were just blessed by the moon." It wasn't a common occurrence in the Dark Kingdom, but it wasn't unheard of. "When you were about five years old you were trying to get me to play with you when I was busy working. You got frustrated and stormed off, and as you left small black rocks showed up where you stepped. That was the day I knew that you had a connection not just to the moon, but to the moonstone."

Varian blinked, looking thoughtful. "Is that…is that when you started keeping secrets from me? When you started pushing me away?" Varian grimaced as he gave Quirin a wounded look. "I remember when I was really young you used to let me go everywhere with you. You were always ready to play with me, or to talk, and then one day it all just stopped, and I never knew why."

"I didn't know you remembered that." Quirin said quietly. He felt a twist in his gut. It was bad enough that he had started distancing himself from Varian. He didn't mean to, and he didn't want to, but he was scared. The moonstone had practically destroyed the Dark Kingdom and everybody who had dedicated their lives to serving it. There was a reason why they had left the kingdom. The moonstone, while not necessarily evil or even bad, was dangerous.

Quirin hadn't meant to avoid Varian at the start. He'd been really busy looking around every nook and cranny of Old Corona to find any other sign of black rocks, though they were more like black pebbles. Any black rocks he found, most of which were around their house, he buried under the ground. The very last thing he wanted was for people to start asking questions.

Varian hadn't known what he was doing. He just thought that Quirin was digging for fun, or going on a treasure hunt. Varian had asked to join him, and each time Quirin sent him on his way. Because of his concern and stress about the black rocks he was probably harsher with his boy than he wanted to be. Eventually Varian stopped asking to join him. Even when Quirin was convinced that he'd found all of the black rocks in Old Corona, Varian still seemed nervous about going to him.

Things only went downhill from there. Suddenly once Quirin knew that his son had powers it felt impossible to talk to him about anything. Should he lie to his son? Should he tell him everything he knew? Should he just pretend that nothing was wrong, and hope that Varian didn't ask him a question that he couldn't answer? In his indecision Quirin ended up doing the worst possible thing, and he started distancing himself from his son.

He didn't completely ignore him or push him to the side. Quirin still took care of Varian, taught him about alchemy, and made sure to comfort him and hold him close if he was distressed. It was the small things that changed. Quirin stopped taking Varian to the capital with him, because he couldn't risk anybody noticing his son's abnormalities. He stopped telling Varian bedtime stories before bed, because all of the stories he knew were the legends of the Dark Kingdom and he didn't want to put ideas in his son's head.

Quirin knew that Varian was aware of their tense relationship, especially since it had gotten worse over the years, but the fact that Varian knew that it had been better than this at some point hurt. His boy probably blamed himself and wondered what he had done to fall out of his father's favor.

"I never wanted to hurt you." Quirin said. He took his son's hands in his own. "I just tried too hard to protect you."

Varian gave him a shaky smile. "I guess that's something else we have in common, because I also tried too hard to save you." Varian scoffed and squeezed Quirin's hands. "I almost eliminated the Coronan monarchy because I was jealous that Rapunzel got to have a happy, whole family, and I was alone."

"You never should have been alone." Quirin said. "Why didn't anybody help you? What happened?"

Varian shrugged. "The people of Old Corona tried to help me at first, but I was stubborn, and scared, and wouldn't let them in. I wouldn't tell anybody what had happened to you, or where you had gone, and I guess the people had their own problems to deal with, and I wouldn't let them help anyway, so they stopped coming by. When the black rocks got worse the people evacuated Old Corona, and I was left alone…until the guards came by."

Quirin listened attentively as Varian told in greater detail about the guards' plot to keep him confined in Old Corona, unable to seek help or answers. Varian told him about how he was finally able to reach out to the princess so she could distract the guards, giving him the chance to escape their watchful gaze. Varian told him about his plan to steal the sundrop flower so he could use its power to counteract the amber, and how he was officially marked as a criminal after that.

Varian told him that the sundrop flower didn't work because all of the power had been drained out of it and now resided in the princess. In desperation, and because he didn't think he had anything else to lose since he was already a wanted criminal, Varian had kidnapped the queen.

Quirin felt like it was an unnecessary extreme leap, but he couldn't blame his son. Varian was young, terrified, and pushed into a corner. He'd needed the princess' help, but he knew from past experience that she wouldn't provide it if he just asked.

Varian wasn't blameless, but he seemed to regret how far he'd taken things. He knew what he did was wrong, and was trying to be better, so Quirin didn't see any reason for his son to be punished and suffer more for what he had done.

Corona's king and guards would probably disagree, but they had been punishing his son before he'd ever done anything in the first place. Quirin didn't think that they got to have a say in how his son's future looked.

Quirin would protect his son. He wasn't going to end up in the dungeon again, and he certainly wasn't going to end up being used as a weapon in the name of 'community service' or whatever else King Frederic tried to do to Varian.

Although, Quirin had tried to protect his son before, and just look at where that had gotten them. Quirin couldn't protect Varian from everything, but what else was he supposed to do? Throw him to the wolves? Not likely.

"I'm not going to stop protecting you and trying to keep you safe." Quirin said. "But I know that I shouldn't protect you from yourself. We're a family. We help each other. You, and me, and Edmund and Hector."

"And Eugene and Adira." Varian added. "And Lance is basically Eugene's brother, so I think he counts too."

"Of course." Quirin nodded. He may not know Eugene very well, but he was the heir of the Dark Kingdom, and he seemed to care about Varian, who trusted him, so he thought he could accept him as part of their family. As for Lance, Quirin hadn't even known that was his name. All he'd known about the younger man was that he had helped Edmund protect Hector from himself, and anybody who could do that was somebody worth getting to know better.

They fell into silence for a long moment, but it wasn't awkward and tense like all of their previous moments together were. This was peaceful and comfortable as they just enjoyed each other's company. Quirin still had a pressing migraine that was trying to demand that he lie down in the dark and push everything else to the side, but he'd pushed through migraines before, and it was a lot easier right now when there weren't blinding lights or fighting townspeople. There was just him and Varian.

Eventually his son shifted and timidly asked Quirin "What was it like to grow up in the Dark Kingdom? What did you do for fun? And how did you find out that you liked farming when nothing grows there?"

Quirin smiled. There was the inquisitive and constantly questioning son that he had been missing. Varian had asked him about his past before, just casual questions about his childhood, but Quirin had avoided answering. Now though there was no reason to not tell him. Varian already knew about the dangers of his past, so why not tell him about the good parts as well.

"I'm not sure if my childhood was normal, even by Dark Kingdom standards." Quirin said. "My mother was the king's advisor, and since my father died in the moon's service she raised me alone, so I spent a lot of time wandering the halls of the castle. I kept Prince Edmund company, and when he started his knight training I accompanied him and suddenly I was a knight."

Varian was staring at Quirin like he was telling the most interesting story in the world. Quirin was glad that his son seemed to be enjoying himself. "My idea of fun was to do Prince Edmund's royal studies for him, and then catch him up on what he needed to know so he wouldn't get in trouble."

Varian stared at his dad in quiet shock for a moment before he started giggling, which then turned into full-blown laughter, complete with a snort or two. "You…you actually…Wow, I guess we really are alike."

Quirin chuckled. It felt nice to finally share these things with his son. They shared a good laugh before Quirin answered Varian's third question. "I got into farming because it was such a novel thought. Nothing grew in the Dark Kingdom, so when I read that things grew so easily throughout the rest of the world I felt like it was something out of a storybook. I thought to myself, if other people can grow things, why can't we?"

Quirin rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little sheepish. "I also conducted a few experiments, I guess you could call them. I tried to grow some plants that I read were resilient and easy to grow. I tried to have the farmers bring me some dirt from outside the kingdom, so I could see if it would still work within the borders of the kingdom?"

"Did it?" Varian asked. He looked on the edge of his seat. Quirin shook his head.

"It worked better than before." Quirin said. "The seeds grew roots and flourished in the dirt, as they should, but as soon as they started sprouting they withered and died within a day. The air in the Dark Kingdom wasn't good for them."

Varian tilted his head. "Was it the Dark Kingdom, or was it the moonstone? You said you spent a lot of time in the castle, where the moonstone is. What if you took the dirt and tried to grow something out of the castle, to see if it would work any better?"

Quirin considered it. He hadn't taken his little experiment any further than testing the dirt. His interest in science had always been more casual than Varian's interest was. The boy went above and beyond to test, prod at, and question everything in front of him.

"We'll have to test that." Quirin said. If you would want to help me."

"Are you kidding me?!" Varian's eyes shone with excitement. "I-I'd love to help. I want to bring life to the Dark Kingdom, and working with you to do that? That would just be…I mean, that's all I've wanted!"

Quirin gave his son a bittersweet smile. How much had he hurt his son that he was so excited to work together on something so simple? "You would want to return to the Dark Kingdom?"

Varian's excitement diminished slightly, and Quirin would do anything to bring that bright joy back to his eyes. "W-would you want to go back there?" Varian asked. "I mean, you love Corona, and don't even like to think about the Dark Kingdom." Varian began tapping his finger anxiously against Quirin's hand. "I-I don't think I can stay in Corona, and I would love to go to the Dark Kingdom and just start over there, but I can't ask you to come along with me just because I screwed everything up here."

Quirin stood up from his chair and wrapped his arms around Varian, pulling him close in a tight hug. "As much as I love Corona, I love you so much more. I wouldn't hesitate to go with you to the end of the world for you if it made you happy." Quirin would do anything for his son, though he sometimes had a hard time knowing what was best.

"For so long I've done what I believed was right." Quirin said. "I think it's time that I ask you what you think is right."

Varian was quiet for a long moment before he pulled away from Quirin. He fiddled with the moonstone. "I-I think I should take care of the black rocks. I don't really like Corona anymore, but the people don't deserve to have their kingdom and lives destroyed, just because their king is a jerk."

Quirin gave Varian a small, proud smile. His son was so kind. Even when he'd been spurned and shunned by the kingdom, he still wanted to help the people. It was more than Quirin thought they deserved.

"Then I want to find a way to get rid of Zhan Tiri." Varian said. "Uncle Hector doesn't deserve this torture."

"No, he doesn't." Quirin couldn't agree more. "Hopefully your friend can find something in the Demanitus chamber."

"If he can't find something then I'll look for myself once Rapunzel's back." Varian said.

"No!" Quirin said. His tone was harsher than he intended. Varian looked at him in alarm. Quirin took a deep breath. He had to remind himself that he was trying to not control Varian anymore. His son wasn't a little kid, but he was still his child, and he wasn't about to let him go walking into danger.

"The Demanitus chamber is in the heart of the castle." Quirin said. "You're still wanted. I-I won't tell you what to do, but I don't feel comfortable with the thought of you anywhere near that place."

Varian was quiet for a moment. "To be honest, I-I don't really feel comfortable going back there either. But the Demanitus chamber is under the castle, and the people are always forgetting that the tunnels are even there. I don't think that any guards even patrol down there."

"But things might have changed in a year and a half." Quirin pointed out. "Look, how about this? We'll have Eugene and Lance go through the tunnels first, since they're the ones that are least likely to get in trouble if they get caught. If they deem it safe, then once the princess returns You, me, Hector, and Edmund will-"

"And Adira." Varian added. "She's travelling with Rapunzel."

"Yes, and Adira." Quirin said. It would be nice to see his sister again. He was glad that his son got along so well with his family. Whenever he'd briefly considered introducing Varian to the Brotherhood he'd been worried that they wouldn't like each other. It was nice to know that fear was unfounded.

"Anyway, we'll all go under these tunnels and go through the Demanitus chamber. Between all of us, if we run into trouble we should be strong enough to get out of whatever danger we may find ourselves in."

Varian gave him a small smile. "I think I can do that."

"So, what do you think of our family?" Quirin asked. Varian's smile brightened. He took Quirin's question as an invitation to go on and on about how Adira taught him how to meditate, and how Hector telling him that it was okay to be angry was a big reason why he was able to begin to get over his anger. Varian talked about how protective Edmund and Eugene were. Even when he was so jumpy around them they both still went out of their way to make him feel comfortable.

Quirin and Varian talked for a few hours before the boy began to doze off. He didn't want to sleep, but Quirin knew how important it was for a growing boy to get his rest. Quirin took Varian in his arms and, despite the boy's protests, lifted him and carried him up to his bedroom. He tucked his son in, something that he hadn't done since the boy had gotten sick when he was ten.

As soon as Varian was laid down he couldn't seem to resist his fatigue. He began to fall asleep right away, though he had just enough energy to grab his dad's hand and keep him from leaving.

"Stay," Varian said quietly. "Please."

Quirin gave his son a gentle smile. He nudged Varian over and climbed onto the small bed next to him. Varian was practically lying across his lap, but neither of them minded. They both found comfort from each other.

"I'm not going anywhere." Quirin said. He pressed a kiss to Varian's forehead. "Get some sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up." Varian hummed in acknowledgement and curled up close to Quirin. He was soon fast asleep.

Quirin was feeling tired himself, but he didn't want to sleep yet. He would sleep in a few minutes. At that moment though he just wanted to sit there and hold his son.