The Raccoon and His Boy - A Varian x Reader story

XIV

WHHOOO! We've almost reached 600 reads! Thank you all so much! I won't keep you too long from getting on with the story, but I just want to say that this is so special to me, and I appreciate every moment you spend reading this story.

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The next day, you were at Varian's house as soon as possible. Granted, this was only at around two-thirty in the afternoon, but Dad hadn't let you leave before that, even when you told him what had happened. Star was curled up in your arms – despite her resistance you'd brought her along, positive that another cuddly animal around would help his recovery.

You lifted your gloved fist to knock on the door, but your arm froze seconds before it collided with the wood. You wanted to help, but what if you would just make things worse? It wasn't unlikely Quirin wanted his son to stay in bed with no visitors until he recovered, and you showing up would interfere with that plan. Your thoughts bounced from one course of action to the other, and it was so confusing you had to put a stop to it eventually, so you reached up and knocked three times before you could change your mind.

Your knocking was followed by a loud crashing noise from inside, and you pressed your ear against the door to try and figure out what was going on. All you heard above Star's meowing were loud, uneven footsteps, and a moment later you had to jerk back as the door swung open.

"N/N!" Varian exclaimed, throwing his arms around you before you even registered he was there. You stepped back a little in shock as his arms wrapped around you – his skin felt like it was on fire, and a thin layer of sweat coated his body. You weren't sure, but he was probably still wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

"Hey," you replied tentatively, giving him a small pat on the back. Varian didn't let go, so you added, "Can I have a little breathing space, Var-Bear?"

"Oh, yeah, of course, for sure," Varian rambled, taking a step back. He looked like hell, his hair messier than ever before and two thick black rings under his eyes, which looked to be shining in the afternoon light. You frowned in concern, and clearly you weren't the only one with worries – Ruddiger was standing a few paces away and didn't seem sure how to react to his owner's strange new energies, and Star pawed at him curiously, as if he were someone new she hadn't met yet.

"Hey, I got something to show you!" he suddenly said and grabbed your arm, pulling you after him as he ran through the house. You barely had time to register your surroundings, but what you did was a complete mess. Things didn't get better when you followed Varian down into his lab and spotted the entire area in complete upheaval, with chemicals on every available surface (not necessarily inside their vials) and plenty of alchemical junk, including a few bubbles floating around and a thin layer of purple goop holding one of the chairs in place.

"Wow..." you said, trying to take everything in without overloading your brain. Varian seemed incredibly proud of it all, and by this point it was getting abundantly clear that no matter what he thought, the boy was sick and hallucinating slightly from his fever.

"I found a new compound!" he announced excitedly, running over to the far table. You weren't sure if to let him near the chemicals because of how it might affect his sickness, but it was too late. Varian shoved things around his table until he found what he was looking for, and then held it up to the light.

It was a silver-pink rock about the size of his eye. You watched as he ran his fingers over the surface, as if he still hadn't gotten used to his own creation. It almost seemed as if he'd calmed down from his feverish mania, and you started walking tentatively over to start guiding him to his bed, which you weren't even sure he'd visited the night before. The shock when he hopped towards you and pulled you to the table almost made you jump out of your skin.

"Varian, what are you doing?" you asked as he grabbed and pushed at all sorts of vials and materials on the table. He didn't fully seem to hear you, and instead tossed you the rock over his shoulder. "It makes glitter; it can help you with your art! Let me show you how to make one."

By this point you realized resisting Varian was pointless. Your only hope of getting him to bed was waiting for his fever to calm down or overpower him, and the latter seemed much more likely. Reluctantly you turned to his alchemy table and relaxed a little seeing it was finally a bit more organized, even if the rest of the lab was in complete chaos. Varian was still a mess, but you somehow managed to follow his complicated instructions and in about half an hour you had a glitter rock of your own.

Varian clapped ecstatically, almost appearing like a little kid at a performance. His face was read and beaded with sweat from the fever, and you weren't sure how he hadn't collapsed yet. Instead he just shoved more chemicals in your direction and told you to keep making more rocks. Under different circumstances it would have been really exciting to be learning your boyfriend's favorite hobby, but you were currently more concerned with his health.

There were already eight glitter rocks made when the fever finally overpowered Varian. He probably could have gone on for longer, but his chaotic working style resulted in one of the rocks being pushed off the table and exploding in a cloud of shimmering red dust. You could hear him moan dizzily before he collapsed to the floor, and once the glitter settled it outlined his body across the wooden planks.

You sighed. "You couldn't just listen, could you?" you asked aloud, and leaned down to lift Varian off the floor. He was surprisingly light, but you weren't sure how much of that came from the sickness. Slowly, holding him with his neck over one arm and knees over the other, you made your way to Varian's room. He stirred and moaned as you set him down on the mattress, but the best you could do to calm him was brush his hair aside and try and wipe the sweat from his brow.

He didn't wake for three hours, and you weren't sure what to do. Every so often you would check his temperature and re-wet the cloth you'd laid across his forehead, but it didn't seem to have much effect. It was a giant relief when Quirin finally came home, and you filled him in on the situation.

The man nodded in understanding. "Varian tends to overwork himself, even when he's sick," he said. "I'm sure that after a few days he'll feel better, so long as he rests enough. Thank you for taking care of him today."

"Of course," you smiled, though it was slightly bittersweet. Seeing Varian so manic was a little unsettling, and you were shaken by the thought that he could get this way every time he got sick. Still, you promised yourself to talk to him about it sometime, and for now just made your way back upstairs to give him a small kiss goodbye.

Compared to when you walked through the door earlier, he'd cooled down significantly. You let yourself relax a bit as you noticed this, and reached over to pet Ruddiger. Star had been curled near the door the entire day, but Ruddiger was clearly concerned for Varian, and he'd followed you around every time you went to get the boy a cloth. It was a nice reminder that even with his mischievous and sneaky raccoon nature, deep down Ruddiger cared.

Varian was better a week later, but over those seven days you spent a lot of time watching him sleep. It wasn't productive at all, but it helped you calm down and start trusting that he was getting better. When he was thinking straight again you asked him once about the mania and the glitter rocks, and aside from remembering he'd discovered them, the entire scenario seemed to have been wiped from Varian's mind.

You decided this was for the best. You'd hate for Varian to feel guilty for acting so insane, and no harm had come of the situation. You'd come to terms with this little quirk, and now that you knew to expect it it wouldn't be as jarring in the future. Besides, he'd thought about you even while he was delusional with fever, and to you that made up for his strange behavior in an instant, a simple reminder of just how much he loved you.