AU: Varian and Cass meet their past selves.
Varian is working in his lab. He fiddles with his wedding ring, made of pure Cassandrium. He smiles at the thought that Cassandra is somewhere in the castle, wearing a matching ring and taking care of their two beautiful children.
If only I could tell my past self how lucky he's going to be, he thinks.
As his mind contemplates how incredible running into his past self would be, a swirling blue portal appears out of nowhere. Startled, Varian screams. But the portal sucks him in before he can do anything.
Varian glances around, and doesn't see anything but blue. What is this strange world he has landed in?
"Hello? Is anyone there?" He hears a voice say.
His voice.
But obviously a lot younger.
Varian comes face-to-face with his younger self. He is in shock, and judging by the look on Younger Varian's face, he is equally confused.
"You're... You're me!" The Varians say at the same time.
"This is amazing!" Younger Varian says once the initial shock wears off.
"H-How is this possible?" Older Varian wonders aloud. "It shouldn't be possible!"
"We can worry about the how later," Younger Varian says. "But right now I have so many questions! How old are you? What's the future like? Do we still love alchemy?!"
"Slow down, slow down!" Older Varian says, holding his hands up. "One question at a time!"
Younger Varian considers this. "So, do we become famous for our amazing alchemy and incredible feats? Ooh I bet we're more successful than Demanitus!"
Older Varian takes in his younger self's appearance and eagerness. He figures this version of himself must be before his villainous streak...
"Well, we become known for... some things," Older Varian replies. "But after a few rough patches, we settle down and start a family. And you will not believe who we marry!"
Younger Varian stares blankly for a moment. "Well, that's... not what I was expecting to hear. But okay. Who do we marry?"
Older Varian smirks. "Has the Princess come to ask for your help with her hair yet?"
Younger Varian nods eagerly. "Yep! She came with Flynn Rider!!! We finally got to meet him! And her hand maiden, Cassandra..." A smitten expression appears on his face. "She saved me. A-And I really wanna do something to impress her..."
Older Varian folds his arms, his smile widening.
Younger Varian studies his face. "Wait... Whaaaat?" He gasps as the realization sinks in. "W-We actually marry Cassandra?!"
"Yep, she's our Cassie. And, we have two amazing children! So far," Older Varian says with a wink.
"B-b-but how?!" Younger Varian says, in total amazement. "I need to—"
Before he can inquire further, two portals appear. They each suck a Varian in, indicating the completion of their meeting.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the castle, Cassandra holds her baby son Jasper in her arms as she tucks her daughter Opal into bed for the night. "Goodnight kiddo. I'll see you in the morning." She gives Opal a kiss on her forehead, and then heads to Jasper's nursery.
After laying Jasper in his crib, and watching him sleep peacefully for a few minutes, she finally forces herself to leave him be. She can't believe how incredibly lucky she is! She has a loving husband who adores her, two amazing and remarkable children... She never thought she would have such a wonderful life.
As she strolls down the hallway, a swirling red portal opens up in front of her. She gasps as the portal sucks her in.
"Wha-What's happening?" She wonders, glancing around at the misty red dimension around her.
"Who are you?!" A voice says. She spins around, and is shocked to see a younger version of herself staring back at her.
"What the...?" They say in unison, taking each other in.
"You're—" Older Cassandra says.
"—Me," Younger Cassandra gasps.
"Why is this happening?" Older Cassandra asks.
"Why are you asking me?" Younger Cassandra responds. "You're apparently the one from the future. Shouldn't you know?"
"All I know is a portal showed up and sucked me in," Older Cassandra says.
"Same with me," Younger Cassandra says.
The two stare at each other, unsure how to proceed. "So, um... how's life?" Younger Cassandra asks.
Older Cassandra smiles as she considers how her life is going. "It's... surprisingly incredible," she says, absentmindedly fiddling with the pendent of her Cassandrium necklace.
"Oh... That is surprising," Younger Cassandra says. "I, uh, like your hair."
"Thanks. We decided to grow it out again," Older Cassandra says. "After some... stressful events, we needed to get back in touch with our original self."
"What does that me—" Younger Cassandra begins to ask. But then she notices her older self's wedding ring... "Wait. Do we... do we get married?"
Older Cassandra smiles. "Yes, we do. And we have two fantastic children." She leans in closer as she says. "This will come as a huge shock to you, but... We marry Varian."
Younger Cassandra's eyes grow wide in surprise. "Hold up... We. Marry. Who?!"
Older Cassandra chuckles at her younger self's reaction. "I know, we never saw this coming. But he's actually really amazing, and understands us better than anyone else. You'll see..."
Younger Cassandra is speechless. "We. Marry. Varian... Varian? Dorky little alchemist who nearly blew up his own village?!"
"That's the one," Older Cassandra replies, smiling fondly.
"B-but what?! I mean h-how... How does that even make sense?!" Younger Cassandra is completely flabbergasted.
Before Older Cassandra can explain any more, the portals reappear and suck them both in. Present Cassandra is once again back in the castle hallways, down from Jasper's nursery.
"Cassie!"
She heaves a sigh of relief as she hears Varian's voice down the hallway. He runs up to her, and embraces her tightly.
"You're never going to believe what just happened to me!" He says excitedly.
"You're never going to believe what happened to me," she tells him. "It was... unbelievable."