"Hell of a ride"
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"I know a place about five miles off the border of Old Corona, we can stay there for the night," you said coldly, guilt rising in your chest as you turned away from Varian's hurt face.
You.. you shouldn't feel guilty, he was the one that had been treating you like a toy from the moment you broke him free of his chains. You were just standing up for yourself, making sure you didn't get roped into his games again. You... you were right.
Then why did you feel so wrong?
"That's fine with me," Varian said, the painful look still throbbing on his face.
He pulled his arm away, and used it to gesture forwards.
"Lead the way."
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You walked in silence, Varian carrying the heavy bag without complaint the whole journey. You looked down at your feet as you stopped by a river for a drink, kicking the rocks around and scooting the sand over your shoes.
"(Y/N)," Varian asked, meekly, as if he were scared of you. No, wary is more the word. They were partners, nothing more. In crime. You couldn't get attached. And he knew that too.
Varian's hand was outstretched and he flexed his fingers, bouncing his eyebrows in suggestion. You frowned at him, confused. He rolled his eyes.
"Your flask, (Y/N), can I fill up your flask?" He said, annoyance nipping at his voice. You huffed.
"I can do it myself, Varian," you snapped, and walked over to the river, leaning over it.
You placed your flask in the water, and your hand immediately froze because of the temperature. Little needles pricked at your fingers as you gripped the flask tightly; the current was rather strong. You stayed there for a few moments, before looking over at Varian, who was also leant over the river. A smile came across your face, as you pondered your idea.
You laid your flask carefully down beside you, so Varian wouldn't notice you were finished. You submerged both of your arms and looked to the side. He had no clue.
Anarchy controlling you, you brought your arms back and sent a wave of water over Varian. You choked down the urge to laugh as you looked at your accomplice, soaked and staring at you, blinking the water out of his large eyes, a look of shock on his face.
"Oops," you said innocently, twirling a strand of your hair around your finger.
Varian blinked a few times more, before settling a mischievous grin upon his lips. He thrusted his hands into the water and pulled upwards, splashing you with more water than you sent at him. You knew so, because you fell backwards. You sat up, one hand behind you, one hand wiping your hair from your face. Varian burst into laughter, rolling backwards, his hand on his stomach, his eyes creased and his mouth wide in joy. You couldn't help but smile too.
"This is war," you waged, and ran at Varian, who was still distracted by his victory.
You opened the lid of your flask and brought it backwards, building momentum. Before he knew what was happening, you had thrust it forwards, the water flying out into his face and shirt, which stuck to him like rubber.
"Oh why you-," he started, and began to undo his lid as well.
You dodged when he pushed it forwards, but rolled to the side as you fell over his ankles, pulling him with you. You wiped your hair out of your eyes, and blinked rapidly as droplets of water fell off of Varian's hair, and into your eyes.
Varian had fallen on top of you, his elbows and forearms resting on the ground, a look of surprise and embarrassment on his face.
You started to giggle, and red crept into his cheeks, a coy smile appearing on his lips. He too started to laugh and he brought his head down as he did so, his bangs hanging over his eyes. When you both stopped, he looked up at you, a fond look on his face. You tilted your head to the side.
"You better still have that bag of spare clothes," you stated, as you both started to laugh again.
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You walked over to the clothes and brought out a plain white shirt, the sleeves slightly billowy, the neckline in a V shape, but not revealing. No, just fashionable. You laughed when you held it up to Varian's torso as he stood in front of you.
"Perfect," you joked, and threw it at him, along with a pair of pants.
The hot sun had already started to dry their hair, so that it hung in wet waves instead of sticking to their faces. Varian pulled off his goggles and brushed his bangs back, revealing his forehead.
"You know you should wear you hair like that more often," you noted, Varian looking up. He smiled.
"Yeah, maybe."
You searched through the bag and brought out a blue dress, frills enveloping it, a collar of white blooming out of the top. It was Varian's turn to laugh.
"Nope. Absolutely not," you said matter-of-factly, throwing it aside.
"I think it looked cute," Varian said, picking it up and holding it up to you like you did to him.
You stuck out your tongue. It hardly even hit you how nice he was being. How easily you had both shifted from accomplices to... to friends. How easily he had shifted back into your Varian. You stuck your hand back into the bag, and brought out a shirt similar to the one you gave Varian, except unlike the one you gave to Varian, it was way too big for you.
You rummaged through the bag and brought out a corset. You had to admit that it was beautifully crafted, blue and green, with strings of purple trying it up at the front. It looked like the type that show performers would wear, since it didn't look like it would do up tightly, and because the strings did up at the front. You threw it onto the floor with the rest of your stuff.
"Turn around," you ordered to Varian, who blushed and whirled on his toes. As you changed you kept a close eye on him, but he was too busy fiddling with the buttons of his new shirt. He turned to you, and you giggled.
"It looks fantastic, Varian," you teased, and he shot an awkward smile at you.
"So do you," he said. You. He had said that you looked amazing, and at that realisation, you turned away blushing.
"Come on then," you waved, beckoning him to you.
"Where are we going?"
"Wait and see"