The Raccoon and His Boy - A Varian x Reader story

IV

"You okay, sweetheart?" Dad asked you, coming up beside you as you placed a stack of books on a shelf. He must have noticed you watching the clock, examining the minute hand, which indicated the time was quarter past two. You knew time seems to pass slower when you focus on the clock, but you couldn't help yourself. Varian was fifteen minutes late, and you were starting to wonder if he'd show up at all.

"I'm fine," you told Dad, giving him what was supposed to be a reassuring smile. "Really. I'm just a bit tired, that's all."

Dad squeezed your shoulder. "Well, you've done your work for the day. If you want to go home and rest you can, you know."

You nodded, unsure if to take him up on the offer. Your thoughts had been racing ever since you woke up, and you hadn't been able to relax from the moment you left the house. You'd been jumpy and stressed about your date, if you could call it that, and going home to sleep was a rather tempting offer. Still, you decided to give Varian a few more minutes to get here, and in the end you were happy you did, because ten minutes later he finally came bursting through the door, looking more disheveled than ever.

"Sorry!" he panted, running up to you. Ruddiger raced after him, looking half dead, a look you'd never seen on the energetic critter. You gave Varian the once-over, taking in his wind-swept hair, sweaty brow, and soot-stained cheeks. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he replied, clearly out of breath. "Sorry... I'm late... Big mess... Had to run..."

"It's okay," you said, glancing towards the door in the distance labeled EMPLOYEES ONLY. You figured it would be alright if he came in with you, so you asked, "Do you want a glass of water, or something?"

Varian nodded gratefully, and Ruddiger was already heading for the door, probably smelling the few treats that were kept in that room. You led them both across the hall and pushed the door open, checking both ways before just to make sure you wouldn't get in trouble. There wasn't much to the room, just a tiny kitchen area and a small couch if anyone really needed to sleep, and Varian collapsed onto it while you poured him a drink. "Thank you," he sighed, sipping the water slowly.

"Sure." You knelt down to place a small bowl of water for Ruddiger, and he lapped it up eagerly. "You didn't have to run, you know. I would have been okay," you told them. In all honesty, you're not fully sure if that's true, as you were getting pretty worried and a little hurt even before, but you would feel even worse if Varian carried the guilt around.

He shook his head and sat up to explain. "My invention's test run made a huge mess, and Rapunzel kept me to clean it all up. It made sense, but I just lost track of time, and I had to run all the way here because there wasn't a carriage available."

"Wow," you pulled up a small chair from the tiny kitchen and sat down in front of him. "That's a really long run."

"Yeah. I wanted to keep my word, though."

You smiled. "Thanks." He gave you his glass to refill, and once Ruddiger spotted an apple on the counter he wouldn't stop begging, so you let him have it. A few minutes later, once both of them had caught their breath and Varian had cleaned himself up a little, you headed back out into the library. You'd read over the list of books to show Varian so many times that you already had it memorized, so you led him straight over to the fiction shelves to start with your favorite fantasy stories.

"So we already know we have some common taste," you stated, pulling The Deep End off the shelf and presenting it to him. "But I was wondering if there are any other books you want to share, just to see if we agree."

"Well," Varian scanned the rows of books, obviously searching for something specific. His face lit up when he finally found it. "We can't go listing amazing books without mentioning... these." He held a big book up to you, gesturing to a few other books on the shelf.