Chapter Text
“Hello my dear, how are you?”
A blond man seemed to appear out of nowhere to ask Varian, his words, sickenly sweet, as if dipped in honey, and yet, Varian didn’t mind it.
It was so strangely comforting, like resting on a cloud, soft, and safe, the man continued to say kind and quiet reassuring words to him.
He couldn’t exactly make out what he was saying, just faint whispers, his voice distorting and warping at times, but it was addicting hearing it nonetheless.
Varian didn’t quite know where they were, but it looked nice, the scenery slowly shifting to make the shape of trees, were they in a forest? It didn’t matter.
The man enveloped him in his arms as they held together in a warm embrace, seemingly floating, Varian looked up at him as the man opened his mouth to say something.
“Varian, I have to tell you something…I…I..BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!”
Beep beep beep? Out of all the sweet things the blonde was telling him, that was the weirdest.
He continues to beep, expression going blank as he lets go of Varian, that’s when he realises, they were actually floating, and now without the man keeping him up, he began to fall.
It wasn’t slow and dreamy like everything else was, no, it was fast, cold, hard.
Why did he let him go? Why did the ground look so hard when it seemed so soft a moment ago?
As his head hit the ground he jolted up with a squeak, he was in his bed, and of course, he had dreamt about that dumb guy again.
Varian took a moment to yawn and stretch before checking his phone, then turning off the alarm that was beeping, that explains that part of the dream. 7 A.M, good.
He had about an hour to get his roommate out of bed and get ready for his shitty part time job as a barista at the cafe down the street.
He grumbled in annoyance about how he had dreamt about that man that always comes in the coffee shop, with an almost blinding bright attitude for so early in the morning, and his usually difficult order that he asked for, every, single, day.
As far as Varian was concerned, he hated the guy, so why did his brain keep putting him in these ‘situations’ with him?
He decided it was better not to think about him any longer, as it would most likely lead to more dreams about the guy, and that was the last thing he wanted.
He peels off his duna as he realised he was sweating quite a bit from that dream, was it really that stressful? I mean, the last part was kind of scary, but for the most part, the dream was actually quite……ugh, he needs to shut up.
Varian puts on his slippers as he sneaks to his roommate Mirielle's room, looking at her for a moment, she was sleeping so peacefully, he almost felt bad waking her up, his mouth went up in a wolfish grin, almost.
He slid over to her blinds before yanking them open, filling the room with the sun's warm, but really, really, bright rays.
Mirielle groaned before throwing one of the many plushies she had nested herself with at Varian, it only bounced off him as Mirielle didn’t have much strength for someone who had just woken up, but he acted like she might as well have hit him with a cannon ball.
“Augh! Oh, Mir, you wound me, is this the end? I see the light…..” He flails around the floor dramatically, writhing in fake pain.
“Ughhh, Varian nooo, it’s too early for this!” He does a fake sniffle before getting up like he hadn’t just pretended he was dying.
“Well I know if I hadn’t woken you up, you would’ve most likely gotten up sometime in midday! Someone has to be the responsible one here, sheesh! We also have a job to do, remember? Y’know, the one your girlfriend got us-”
His sentence was interrupted by another plushie to the face, followed by Mirielle’s groans as she stretched, getting out of the warm comfort of her bed and going over to her closet, picking out her work clothes.
“Oh fine, I suppose if it means I get to see my darling~ again I'll endure the hard labours of work.”
Varian pretended to gag at that, which got him an eye roll, before a knowing look spread across her face.
“By the way, before you come to me, you should get dressed first.” She giggled as Varian came to the realisation that he hadn’t changed out of his pajamas yet.
They had a distinct sheep pattern on them that caught Varian's eye while shopping, and he couldn’t resist. That made him think briefly about how many sheep related things he had bought.
He didn’t dwell on it long before going back into his room and putting on his work clothes. He began to rest his eyes for a bit before Mirielle called to him.
“Variannnnn!!! Can you do my makeup? Pleaseee?” Varian sighed in his peace filled moment being popped as he reluctantly slugged over to her room.
He sat down next to her mirror, and got out her makeup bag. She did a giddy little noise of victory before hopping on the stool next to him and closing her eyes, ready for the makeover.
As Varian started to apply the foundation he asked her “Remind me why do you always get me to do your makeup again?” He said, already expecting the answer she always replies with.
“It just looks so much better when you do it though! I can never get the eyeliner right.” She grumbles, Varian raising an eyebrow before replying “Then why can’t I just do your eyeliner and then you do the rest by yourself?” He questioned, a bit of triumph in his voice, since this was the first time he had asked her this question and he knew she was terrible at making things up on the spot.
“Oh, er, I er, um, hm, that’s a good question, anyway!” Mirielle let out a nervous giggle before changing to a different topic.
Varian, truthfully, wasn’t listening, as he had learned to zone her out as they would never get out of the house on time if he didn’t focus on her makeup. Varian wasn’t exactly a great multitasker, so it worked out for him.
About 15 minutes had passed before Varian finally packed everything away, showing Mirielle to the mirror so she could see.
“So, what do you think? Should I drop my degree and go become a make-up artist or what?” He winced at his unintentional reminder of university. God, he had like, 3 assignments that were due in a couple weeks? He let out a quiet groan.
“Oh yes, I love it! Thank you!!!” She swiftly gets up before grabbing her purse before they get in Mirielle's car and drive off to work.
They bickered and teased like they had been friends for years, it was hard to believe they had only met a couple years ago, when Mirielle was looking for an apartment that would allow all her plushies, and Varian, looking for someone who could just help pay the rent.
They both went to the same University, the prestigious Blueberry yogurt academy.
Conveniently, the apartment was pretty close to the campus, so they could easily just walk or take a bike when they had classes that actually required showing up.
Varian was in his final year for his bachelors degree in film. Meanwhile Mirielle had only begun her first year in her bachelor's for Psychology, and yet, she was older than him, she had just been less ‘enthusiastic’ on getting a degree.
He still remembers the day where she first arrived at the apartment. Him, with his very few possessions, watching Mirielle struggle to get up the stairs with her five stuffed suitcases. (he did help her, eventually.)
He let out a contemplative sigh, I guess in the end he was lucky to have found such a great friend.
She also, though he doesn’t like to admit it, helped him gain better eating habits, as before her arrival, he was surviving on cup noodles and energy drinks, which Mirielle immediately threw out for actual food and drink. (he still has a secret stash though.)
The car halted to a stop as Varian realised they had arrived at the Rainy Day Cafe, a small and quaint coffee shop that sold a lot of…questionable drink combinations, and also a variety of pastries, mainly cookies though.
Varian grabbed the staff key from his pocket, almost fumbling and dropping it into a sewage grate before hastily catching it and unlocking the door.
Their manager, and also Mirielle’s girlfriend, Holly, stood before them, giving the floor a good mopping, she noticed the door unlock and the pair walked in, Mirielle rushed in first to greet Holly.
Giving her a loving beam, Holly returns the smile as Mirielle runs to hug her, almost slipping on the recently mopped floor.
“Woah Sugar! Easy there, the floors still wet, can’t have you breaking on me, hah!”
Varian would’ve cringed at the cheesy nickname and the poor attempt at a joke, but he couldn’t bring himself to silently make fun of her, because no matter how bad at flirting they both were, not even he could lie and say they weren’t perfect for each other.
“Breaking on you…ohohohohoho! Ahahaha! Oh my dear, you are so funny!” Mirielle still laughs at her pitiful try to make a joke, maybe a bit too hard, but Holly takes it confidently regardless.
“Aha, yes, I do suppose that was a good joke, wasn’t it?” She joins in Mirielle’s now almost hysterical laughter as Varian just kinda, stands there.
Oh the woes of being single. “Mhm, yea guys really funny, anyway, should we uh, start to open now? It’s almost eight.” Varian says, trying to steer the conversation back to some sense of normalcy, or at least, in a way he felt a little more included.
“Goodness! Is that really the time? We better get cracking, before the boss shows up!” Holly walks over to the open sign, flipping it to show that they were accepting customers now.
“Hm, is Cleo actually showing up to check on her own store today? How nice that she graces us with her presence.” His tone coated heavily in sarcasm.
He’s pretty sure ever since Holly joined the staff, Cleo’s only showed up to the cafe like, two times this year, and they were entering December in 4 days.
Seemingly right on cue. An expensive gold coloured car pulled up to the parking lot, going in the spot reserved for staff. “Speak of the devil.” Varian said, trying to put on the best attitude he could.
Despite him not liking Cleo, she still gave him this job, and he didn’t really want to lose it right now, so regardless of how he actually feels, he’ll play nice.
The car door opens. A tanned woman in a luxurious dress steps out, covered in glamorous jewelry. Her golden heels click clacking on the pavement before she enters the building.
When she gets inside, she naturally greets Holly first, walking over to give her a hug.
Holly gladly obliges, wrapping her in a friendly, yet suffocating bear hug before Cleo manages to sputter out “Ow ow ow! Holly, I missed you too, but you're crushing my ribs.”
Holly gasps before profusely apologising, Cleo assuring her it’s okay while she straightens her now ruffled clothes.
She then turns to Mirielle and Varian. Not hugging them, but giving them sort of parental like tussles of their hair before speaking.
“And how are my new little employees holding up? Job not too hard?”
Mirielle seems the slightest bit annoyed about her hair being messed up, but is happy to see her boss nonetheless. Varian however, was now debating his previous plan earlier of playing nice.
“Ah, we’re holding up just fine Miss Cleo! Thank you for asking.” Mirielle gives a reassuring smile, Varian just nods in agreement.
Good thing Mirielle was doing most of the talking, he needed caffeine in his system before he could hold up a conversation.
“Well that’s good, I had just come to check up, make sure we're keeping up to standard!”
Cleo continued to rant about the need for this Cafe to be in tip top shape, but Varian was mostly just wondering how she was able to afford all that expensive gold jewelry, that fancy car, her very satisfying clicky heels, did she have other businesses outside of this one? That would explain why she’s barely ever here and also why she is seemingly loaded.
Once she had done her rounds, looking around the counter, coffee maker, supply closet, and looked really closely at everyone’s uniforms.
Leaving no stone unturned as she checked for stains and dirt, she grabbed her things, and popped back in her car, zooming off with a speed that could not have been legal.
About an hour went by, and luckily they got through rush hour pretty well, considering there were only three of them.
Mirielle and Holly seemed fairly relaxed, but Varian simply counted the seconds to nine o clock, the exact time that annoyingly cute bright blonde came in every morning. Five, four, three, two, one…hm.
For once he wasn’t weirdly punctual. Had he decided to go to a different coffee shop this morning? Or had he decided not to go at all?
Seemingly, just as the thought crossed his mind. The door gently swung open, revealing, sigh of course, the guy.
He looked like he had just come from a jog, as he was drenched in sweat, which practically made his thin white shirt see through, woah, hate him all you want, he’s got a pretty sculpted figure.
Everyone in the Cafe apart from Holly and Mirielle also couldn’t help but look. Varian put on his best customer service smile as he walked over, the man gave him an equally charming disgusting smile as he went up to the counter.
“Hello there! I’d like a-” Varian cut him off.
“A venti unsweetened organic white peach oolong iced tea, half water, half coconut milk, shaken with light ice, 2 pumps of honey blend, 1 pump of classic syrup, no foam, with a splash of lemonade, a scoop of matcha powder, and topped with cold foam made with almond milk and a dusting of cinnamon? Don’t worry, I have your order memorised by now.”
The man's face turned a slight shade of red, barely, but just enough to notice. He was about to tell him it’d be out in a moment and to go to the side, but he managed to finally get a word in before Varian sent him off.
“Pardon me, but I was just wondering what your name was? Mine is Florian by the way.”
Ugh, Florian, an equally difficult name for an equally difficult person. But why did it seem so familiar?
“Uhh, bit of a weird question, but my name’s Varian. Now, cash or card?” Florian seemed to light up at that.
“Ahh, this is perfect, I knew it was you! Do you remember me?” Okay, this was getting a bit strange, he had no idea who this guy was, so why was he talking like they knew each other?
“Uhm no, sorry, am I supposed to remember you?” He sighed, it was too early for this. “Oh, we grew up together, don’t you remember? Oakwood Elementary?”
Oakwood Elementary…Ah! He remembered that was his old primary school before he had moved away for his high school years.
He came back here to study film in Blueberry Yogurt Academy. Good ol Thornfield.
He hadn’t expected anyone to remember him after all these years. Now if only he could remember who this guy was…
“Um, Varian, do you want me to take over the register? There are other customers waiting.” Mirielle said nervously, as that seemed to snap him back to reality, looking at the line of now angry customers who were just watching them chat.
“Ah, yes, sorry! Look, Florian, was it? We can continue this conversation after my shift, alright? I get off at 12, talk to me then.”
Florian nodded sheepishly before paying and going to wait for his drink. Varian went off to where Holly was originally, joining Holly in making the orders.
After about an hour, he noticed even after getting his drink, Florian was still there, waiting for Varian to finish his shift, like a dog waiting for his owner.
Although he didn't realise, time had passed quite quickly, and his shift was over. The other employees came over to start their own shift.
“Alright Florian, Mirielle's willing to wait ten minutes, so make this quick.” Varian stared at him with an eyebrow raised.
“Oh, yes I guess I should get to that now. We met in Oakwood Elementary, we became fast friends, best friends at one point, but one day, you just left, no explanation, nothing, I eventually pieced together you had moved. We didn't have phones at that age so we were never able to stay in touch…”
His voice sounded melancholy and his face showed a mix of anger and sadness, Varian didn't know how to feel about that. “But, you came back! And now maybe, we can reconnect.” His tone immediately went up in hope, any hint of sadness gone.
Varian however was skeptical, what proof did this guy have? “Uhm, as nice as that sounds, do you have anything to back up your claim of knowing me? Like, a letter or photo or something?”
He wasn't actually expecting Florian to show anything, but as if he was expecting that question, immediately pulled out a wrinkled photo from his pocket and showed it to Varian.
That was him alright, with a young Florian right next to him, it looked like they were in a park?
Varian tried to remember back then, but nothing was coming to mind. However, he couldn’t exactly say the guy was crazy, because he literally had photographic evidence of them hanging out when they were younger.
“Anyway, you should probably go now, your friend looks like she’s getting tired of waiting, here.” He brought out a pen and a small piece of paper, he scribbled down something Varian couldn’t see and handed it to him.
“There, that’s my number, I’ll be in contact soon, alright?” Before he could say anything, Florian waved goodbye and left the shop, leaving Varian with nothing to do except go back to his friend.
As he got into the car, Mirielle’s eyes immediately went up with a passion you’d usually only see in Holly.
“Sooo, what was that about? Who’s this mystery guy? Does he really know you?” Mirielle poked questions, naturally curious, like anyone would be if some random hot guy came up to your friend and started talking to them like they were best friends.
“Apparantly, he showed me a photo of us together so I can’t really deny it, usually I'd just throw this number in the bin but…I want to try remember him, and maybe if I talk with him more I’ll start to remember more stuff.” Varian answered, sighing, he was tired.
“Ah yea, that’s fai-Wait you got his number?!?! Varian! A guy totally your type just gave you his number! And all you can do is sigh?!” Mirielle seemed shocked.
It only then occurred to Varian how much he had really complained to Mirielle about being single.
But whenever he brought that up, she just gushed about her awesome girlfriend, which did not help. (Though it was amusing to watch her talk so excitedly about something, usually she didn’t have the energy.)
That remark also made him think about how Florian was kind of his type…
What is he thinking?! The guy probably just wants to be friends, he’s probably straight anyway, he needed to clear those thoughts out of his head.
They would’ve gotten home a lot earlier, but traffic was a bitch and they decided to eat out tonight since it seemed like they weren’t getting back to their apartment any time soon.
They didn’t go anywhere fancy for dinner, just your standard Mcwitches, it was a weird name, but even with Mirielle’s attempt to get Varian to eat better, she had a massive sweet tooth, and could never resist the soft serves they had here.
Varian didn’t even have to try and coax her into getting something.
They did eventually get home, Mirielle somehow obtaining another plushie, and by that time, it was already seven a clock, time really flies by huh?
Varian wasted no time getting reacquainted with his bed as soon as they opened the door, and as soon as he was about to start attempting to sleep, he realised he probably should put Florian in his phone, before he ended up forgetting.
So with a tired sleepiness in his eyes, he sluggishly typed in the phone number, digit by digit, he felt his eyes getting heavier, he managed to click save to contacts before lying down to sleep, tired from the day. As his brain started to get foggier, his last thought was hoping he wouldn’t dream of Florian again, and soon, it was lights out for his mind, and a new place started to form.