The trip to Corona wasn't a long one, but Lance came to learn quite a bit about Varian. The very first thing he learned was that the boy didn't seem to like people. Lance had thought that Varian was distant with him, but it was nothing compared to the cold shoulder he gave to everybody they passed. Varian seemed to think that everybody was out to get him, and after Lance had heard a thing or two about the kid's upbringing he couldn't blame him.

From what Lance could gather, Varian had basically grown up in isolation. He'd never met people outside of his immediate family. No wonder he was cautious around people, and all of his training didn't allow him to really let his guard down around anybody.

At first Lance had been a little hurt that Varian didn't truly trust him, but he relaxed when he saw how little Varian trusted everybody else. The poor kid saw everybody as a threat. Lance considered himself lucky that Varian felt safe enough around him to not glare at him, or point his spear at him whenever he moved too quickly. Varian was reluctant to trust him, but at least he didn't see Lance as a threat.

Another thing that Lance learned about Varian was that it wasn't actually all that unbelievable that he was Horace's bodyguard. He was just a child, a scrawny little thing, but he was a master at hand-to-hand combat. Lance learned this the hard way when Varian, who had been tired of his skills being doubted, had challenged Lance to a short spar.

Varian had easily won, and it had been absolutely humiliating. Lance would have been absolutely devastated by the loss if it weren't for Varian's proud, smug smile. It was the first time he'd seen a sincere smile from the kid, and Lance found himself wanting to do anything to bring that smile out again.

Lance encouraged Varian to show off his skills with weapons. He worked best with a staff or a spear, though Varian seemed to know a thing or two about using a small dagger. It was impressive, and clear that this was something the kid had been working on since he was really young.

Lance didn't know just why Varian's mysterious kingdom felt the need to train a child to be a warrior. Why would they be so desperate for fighters? No matter how many times he asked Varian, the kid wouldn't tell him what was going on, and the more Lance asked the more suspicious the boy got. Eventually Lance decided to stop asking. He was only mildly curious, and his slight curiosity was not worth turning the kid against him.

Lance had been worried that Varian had been so busy learning how to be a warrior that he didn't really know who he was outside of his skills. He was unspeakably relieved when Varian mentioned alchemy. It had just been in passing, but Lance was barely familiar with the word. In his experience, people didn't casually mention smart words like alchemy unless they knew what they were talking about.

Lance asked Varian a bit more about it, and that seemed to be enough. The kid started to go into great detail about some kind of experiment. At least, Lance thought that was what he was saying. Honestly, he only understood about half the words that Varian was saying. Despite this, he could listen to Varian talk about alchemy all day.

The kid was so passionate about his science and experiments. It was admirable and impressive. Lance didn't think he was ever going to get tired of seeing Varian's excited smile and hear his voice crack when he got overly passionate about something.

Lance liked seeing Varian happy, but he was still a bit concerned. It was nice that he had an interest outside of his knight training, but alchemy was still very complicated and grown-up. There was nothing wrong with Varian having an interest in alchemy, but Lance was worried that the kid hadn't ever been given the chance to be a kid.

Well, Lance was often called an overgrown child. He was determined to show Varian how it was done, though he would have to be sneaky about it. If there was one thing that Lance knew about teenagers, it was that they got defensive if they felt like they were being called out for doing something wrong.

Lance tried to play catch with Varian's brightly colored orbs, but the kid had just gotten mad and screamed at him. Lance quickly learned to not mess around with Varian's alchemy, partially because the science could be dangerous, but mostly because Varian was strangely scary when he was mad.

Lance didn't know a lot about kids and what they liked. His own childhood felt all blurred together. The only thing he knew he'd been interested in when he was Varian's age was the Flynn Rider series, which he'd enjoyed throughout his entire childhood. It was a book, so Lance thought it was safe to assume that Varian would like it, since a smart kid like him probably liked books. However, Varian had a very odd reaction when Lance mentioned it.

At first the boy's eyes lit up with excitement, but his eagerness had quickly dimmed into a pained and angry grimace.

"I don't want to hear anything about Flynn Rider," Varian said angrily.

"What did Flynn Rider ever do to you?" Lance asked. He was almost offended on behalf of his favorite book series.

Varian shifted uncomfortably. "It's Horace's favorite series. We used to read it together."

"Right, got it." Lance nodded. Anything that reminded Varian of Horace was off the table. Varian was still hurting after his one friend had left him.

Lance had only briefly met Horace, but the young man had seemed to regret whatever had happened between him and Varian. Lance didn't like to judge people when he didn't understand the full story, but it was so hard to not be mad at the prince. Varian was just a kid. He shouldn't be left to his own devices, and he shouldn't be so scared of letting others get close to him.

Lance struggled to find ways to make Varian lighten up, but at least there were the rare small moments when there was at least the shadow of the kid that Varian should be. The boy was at his most relaxed when they were eating, and Lance himself happened to really enjoy cooking, so he took advantage of that.

Lance didn't have access to many great ingredients on the road, but he made do with what he could find. He made a lot of simple foods, but Varian didn't seem to recognize most of it. The kid's mind seemed to be blown when Lance was able to get his hands on some chocolate and made some hot cocoa.

"Have you really not had any hot chocolate?" Lance raised an eyebrow at the kid. "Ever?"

Varian shook his head. "Tea is much more common, but I definitely like this stuff better."

"I don't blame you," Lance shook his head. "It's killing me. What kind of food do you guys actually eat in this weird kingdom of yours?"

Varian grinned and started explaining food from his home. A lot of it sounded like different soups and stews, warm, hearty dishes to warm them up. It was because of this that Lance was able to figure out that wherever their kingdom was it was somewhere cold.

Lance knew that Varian was homesick, so he wanted to do his best to replicate those stews. Varian didn't know how to explain how to make the soup, but he did his best to help Lance make something anyway. Lance didn't know how authentic his soup was, but it tasted really good, and Varian seemed to have some fun cooking.

Lance had already been thinking about having Varian help him prepare their meals, but when the kid actually let out a small laugh when he saw Lance's hands stained red from the beets for the soup, he knew this would have to be something he did again. Varian's awkward little snort wasn't the most attractive laugh in the world, but it was music to Lance's ears.

It wasn't until they had reached the boundaries of Corona did Lance learn about something fun and safe that Varian enjoyed doing. Lance had gone ahead into town to pick up some supplies and ask if someone had seen Horace. Varian didn't feel comfortable around people, and he had so much pent-up energy from his eagerness to find his lost prince that they had agreed that it would be safer if the kid stayed behind and start setting up camp.

As Lance approached the camp he heard Varian long before he saw him. The boy was singing, loud and proud. Lance would have been happy to hear Varian sing anything at all, even if he had a terrible voice, because it meant he was comfortable. But not only was Varian singing, but his voice sounded absolutely amazing.

Lance stayed out of sight and just listened to Varian for several minutes. The kid put a lot of emotion and passion into his singing. He could make a living off of that voice if the alchemy or knight thing didn't work out for him.

When Varian finished a song on a particularly high and long note, Lance couldn't stay back any more. He finally stepped into view, applauding. Varian started and quickly turned towards him. He looked alarmed and ready to attack for a short moment before he realized it was just Lance.

Varian relaxed and gave Lance a sheepish smile. "H-hey, Lance."

"Kid, you've been holding out on me." Lance said. "Where'd you learn how to sing like that?"

Varian shrugged. "I don't know, it just kinda happened."

Lance shook his head. "That kind of voice doesn't just happen. Take it from someone who's been singing his whole life, this kind of thing takes work."

Varian gave Lance that small smile that he loved so much. This was yet another moment that proved to Lance that the easiest way to make Varian happy and comfortable was by offering compliments and encouragement. The kid thrived on positive reinforcement, and Lance was more than happy to give it to him.

"I picked up some more chocolate." Lance said. Actually, he had stolen it, but Varian didn't need to know about that bit. Normally Lance wouldn't dare to steal anything from Corona, but he wanted to give Varian a treat and help him to relax. Besides, everybody in Corona was so busy getting ready for a festival of some kind that they weren't paying attention to little thieves.

Lance quickly made the chocolate. He normally took his time, but Varian had been very impatient this whole trip, and now that they were in Corona Lance doubted that he would be willing to sit back and rest.

"Did you hear anything about Horace?" Varian asked eagerly.

"Actually, I think I did." Lance said. Somebody in this town said that there was a bit of an incident in a neighboring town. Apparently an outsider riding an antelope ran through the square, causing all kinds of trouble."

"An antelope?" Varian almost seemed to bounce on the heels of his feet. "That's Nelovko. It's Horace. He's close." Varian picked up Ruddiger and cuddled with him a bit. "You hear that buddy? We've caught up with him."

"I think that's cause for celebration." Lance said. "How about you help me with this, and then you can put those tracking skills you've told me about to the test."

Varian, still smiling, nodded and took to stirring the pot over the fire while Lance threw things in to balance the flavor. Before too long the hot chocolate was finished. Lance served the two of them up, and also gave Varian some dried fruit to munch on. He would rather they have some proper food, but he didn't think Varian would be willing to wait that long.

The kid drank through the hot chocolate really quickly, probably burning his mouth. Lance knew he wouldn't be able to get away with telling him to slow down. Varian was starting to relax around him, but the kid didn't see him as an authority figure over him. Lance felt like it was his responsibility to take care of Varian, who was too young to be taking care of himself, but he couldn't push too far and scare him away.

Far sooner than Lance would like Varian was on his feet, raring to go. His raccoon beast was sitting on his shoulders, chattering to him. Lance thought that Ruddiger was just making casual animal noises, but Varian seemed to be listening carefully to him. There was a look of caution in Varian's eyes, though also eagerness.

As Varian listened to his raccoon he tightened his grip on the odd staff that he insisted on carrying with him everywhere. Finally, just when Lance was starting to feel very uncomfortable with whatever this was, Varian nodded.

"I don't think I'll need my tracking today," Varian said. "I know where to find Horace."

"You what?" Lance frowned. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I...okay, this is going to sound nuts." Varian ran a hand through his hair. He looked sheepish. "I think Ruddiger told me."

Lance blinked, trying to take it in. "You think that your raccoon, who can't talk and has been with you this whole time, so he couldn't possibly know where your friend is, told you where your friend is?" Maybe Varian had been getting far less sleep than Lance had thought.

"I don't know." Varian sounded frustrated. "I just...look, I don't know how, but lately sometimes when Ruddiger talks to me I can actually hear someone talking to me. I don't know if it's him or...or something else." Varian sounded a little unsettled, which was concerning. "I normally wouldn't listen to a random voice that haunts my dreams, but it told me how to free myself when Horace trapped me. It helped me then, and I think it's trying to help me now."

Lance wasn't so sure, but he didn't say so. Varian was obviously overwhelmed and trying to figure out what he was doing, and if Lance questioned him then he would start questioning himself. This kid needed more confidence.

Besides, if Lance let Varian know that he doubted whatever this voice was, the kid might decide that he'd be better off going on his own. As much as Lance didn't like the thought of Varian listening to weird raccoon voices in his head, he especially didn't want to leave him alone with only those voices to listen to. Lance had come all the way to Corona to keep Varian out of trouble, and he wasn't going to back out just because things were getting a little weird.

"Well then, lead the way." Lance packed up their supplies and scattered some dirt over the fire to put it out. "Let's go."

Varian gave him a small, grateful smile, and that was enough to get rid of any unease Lance was feeling. "Thanks...for everything. You didn't have to come with me."

"You kidding?" Lance slung an arm around Varian's shoulders. The kid only got a little tense. "There's nothing else I'd rather do." Somebody had to make sure Varian was okay, and since the kid's dad wasn't around, and Horace had left, it was Lance's job to pick up the slack.

"There are a lot of things I'd rather be doing." Varian muttered. That all too familiar pained and angry look was in his eyes. "I just wanna go home." The boy sighed and rolled his shoulders back. "And if listening to an unknown voice is what it takes for me to find Horace and do that, then I'll do it. I'll do anything to bring him home."

Lance had heard the kid say this kind of thing dozens of times while they'd been travelling together, but this time it left him feeling unsettled. He had the feeling that Varian wasn't even exaggerating when he said he'd do anything. Lance would just have to stay at his side and pull him back if he started to take things too far.

Lance was determined to protect Varian, and that included protecting him from unseen forces, or even from himself.

As they started walking Varian slipped back into his quiet self. Lance didn't like how uncomfortable the kid was. He needed to get him to loosen up and calm down. Varian was sure to be tense when they eventually found Horace, as he had all of those pent-up emotions that were just waiting to be let out. Lance didn't think it was fair for him to be upset before they even found the lost prince.

Lance was pretty good at distracting people from the things that bothered them. It came in handy a lot. Fortunately, Lance's go-to method was something that he thought would work decently well with Varian.

Lance started to hum and sing a small song. He started quiet, but by the time Varian led him into the woods Lance was practically belting. Varian was nodding his head and smiling in amusement. He almost looked relaxed, which was far more than Lance had expected to achieve with the kid that day.

Lance felt far too pleased with himself when Varian let out a small laugh and started to sing along with him. The kid's voice sounded just as great as it did before. It had been far too long since Lance had sang casually with somebody like this. He'd almost forgotten how much fun it was to just let loose and act silly just for the sake of it. The fact that Varian also seemed to be enjoying himself made it even better.

Lance knew that Varian would return to being tense and upset sooner rather than later, and he wasn't looking forward to that. However, he'd been able to get the kid's mind off of things for at least a few minutes, and Lance considered that a success.

A/N: This is more of a filler chapter than anything, which is why it's a bit shorter than I would like, but I felt it was necessary to show Varian and Lance bonding over stuff.

This chapter in a nutshell:

Varian: *Does anything.*

Lance: "This is the most amazing child I've ever met, and he must be protected."