A/n: short filler bc idk I love the breaking glass trope 😭🙏

Varian sighed deeply. He was alone again, and more bored than he had ever been. But being bored was better than fearing for his life, so it was something.

He was just glad he had Ruddiger, who seemed so excited every waking moment he was with Varian, but also sad when he saw all the injuries the boy had. He wouldn't leave Varian's side anymore, no matter what. Which, was mildly concerning, since it was in the raccoons nature to sneak off and cause a myriad of problems all on his own.

Varian was glad that this time he was left alone with snacks, water, and something to pee in close by. The only problem was that he was still too weak to really do anything, so trying to pick up things like his glass of water and snacks were pretty hard to accomplish.

He pet Ruddiger gently as he took a shaky sip from his water. Eugene had brought some books for him to read from the royal library, but that could only pacify him for so long—he had already read like four books, and from what he could see when he squinted out of the barely cracked curtains, the sun was going down.

The day felt rather lonely with nobody watching him. He napped mostly, but if it weren't for the books, he was sure he would have gone crazy. He kind of got a little too into them. He didn't even write anything in his diary, like he'd planned to since he was alone.

They'd tried out another medicine, and so far the only side affect Varian was experiencing was nausea—though he didn't think he would actually puke. The painkiller was pretty good too.

Now he was just waiting for someone to stop by. If he had to guess, it was around five pm. He wasn't exactly sure what season it was. It could be later than that.

He was pretty sure it wasn't spring or summer though, because it wasn't all that hot. So if he had to make an educated guess, which yes, he did because he was bored and needed something to keep his mind on, he would say that it was around five pm.

And five pm was when Eugene and Lance usually came around. Guard training ended a little earlier than that, and they usually did a few other things before coming to see Varian.

He decided that he'd pee before they got there, because why not? Spare the anxiety when Rapunzel and Cassandra inevitably joined them.

When he finished up his business, he wasn't very happy with the color, but hey, what was he supposed to do about it besides what he'd been doing all day? Drinking.

He grabbed his glass to take a sip of water, and laid his head against the bed board, sighing deeply. He wondered how he could feel so exhausted on such a relaxing day. He hadn't really even done anything.

He moved to try and set his glass down back on the shelf, but his arm had a total spazz out and missed it by that much. He gasped as his arm jolted and it slipped through his fingers, falling out of his grip. He tried to catch it, only for him to knock it further across the room and for it to shatter on the ground into pieces.

He flinched. The noise was loud, and he swore that it started ringing in his ears. He widened his eyes when right afterwards he heard footsteps pounding towards the door. He backed up slightly, staring intently at the ground with wide, tear filled eyes. He tensed up as the door knob began to jiggle, as if keys were being rummaged around inside.

He put a hand over his mouth, as if somehow the lack of his own noise would help him. As if it would make him invisible.

Because what if that wasn't any of his friends? What if it was a guard, what if he was found out? What if they—

The door slammed open, before shutting, "Kiddo, what happened?!" A voice yelled.

He squinted through his tears and saw that it was just Eugene. He sighed in both relief and terror, because what if this was the same? What if this was the final straw, what if he couldn't keep getting away with all of these mistakes? What if they treated him how he was treated in prison? Where every mistake resulted in nothing but pain?

He stuttered for a minute, unable to find the words as he trembled. What mood were they in? Was it a stay silent or it will be worse, or a beg on your knees for forgiveness kind of day? As Eugene made his way further into the room, further towards him, with a look Varian couldn't decipher, the boy couldn't help but blurt,"I—I couldn't" his voice broke, "it was—my arms wouldn't—I dropped it!" He wailed, sobbing heavily into his arms, "i'm so sorry!"

Eugene, very scared about getting caught at all the noise, was quick to try and console the boy, "Hey! Hey, it's okay! You're okay, Varian! Buddy, don't cry, you're not in trouble, it's just a glass. A very plain, very not expensive glass! It's okay, really" he said honestly, slowly inching towards Varian, "if you cry, I cry, and then all my skincare starts running down my face, and we really don't want that—"

The boy jumped back, clearly in a panic, "i'll clean it! I'll clean it, I swear, I swear, i'll find a way to—to make up for it. Just please, don't—don't come any closer" he said in a voice that just completely broke Eugene's heart.

Varian flinched away as the man drew nearer. He started shaking, kicking the sheets off as he tried to back away.

Eugene reached forward and grabbed Varian as he almost fell of the bed, "Varian! Stop moving!"

The boy stilled completely and bowed his head, "Yes, sir. I will stay still. Do what needs to be done."

"What needs to be done?" Eugene questioned, kind of freaked out at how quickly Varian had switched up. He could tell the boy was still afraid though, if his trembling shoulders were anything to go by.

"Punishment" Varian responded, closing his eyes, "I was wrong to try to get away. I made the mess, I can deal with whatever consequences there are. I wouldn't want to burden you, please, allow me to clean it up."

His breathing was shallow and ragged from all the movement, and his chest hurt so bad. But he had to be still. He had to be good.

And Varian was confused when all he was met with was silence. Usually, at that point the guards would have given him that sinister laugh. They'd tell him since he was so good, they'd go a little easier on him. They'd raise their whips, They'd—

Oh.

Varian opened his eyes. He blinked as tears ran down his cheeks.

Oh.

They weren't there.

"Varian" Eugene said seriously, "i'm not going to hurt you. I'm never going to hurt you. What makes you think i'd ever do that?" He asked, his voice dripping with sadness, "and you're not cleaning this mess up, i'm going to, you're in no condition to be moving around so much, so just...lay back down for me, okay? Breathe."

At that point, the door had opened again to reveal Rapunzel and Cassandra, who closed it quietly behind them.

Rapunzel turned to them, "The maids heard some noise...they alerted the guards but I assured them it wasn't anything important, is everything okay?"

"What happened?!" Cassandra exclaimed upon noticing the glass.

"I'm sorry" Varian blurted, before bursting into tears all over again, "I didn't mean to break it!"

"Really, Cassandra?! I just calmed him down!" Eugene groaned.

"Oh, shi—shoot—Varian, it's okay, i'm not mad!" Cassandra assured, "i'm actually happy—very happy, that glass was ugly, let me tell you!" She let out a nervous, high pitched laugh at the glare Rapunzel was boring into her skull.

"Oh, Varian" Rapunzel said, walking a little closer, and sitting on the edge of the bed, "are these big bad meanies scaring you?"

Varian nodded and barreled into her chest when she opened her arms, leaving the other two in absolute shock.

"I'm sorry for breaking it" Varian mumbled, sniffling quietly, "I promise it wasn't on purpose..."

"Oh, it's alright" she whispered, running a hand through his hair, gently rocking him, "it's alright..."

In about five seconds flat, Varian's eyes fluttered shut and he was breathing evenly, either asleep or trying to calm himself down.

"How did you do that?!" Cassandra asked, "why—oh you can just do anything, can't you?"

Rapunzel giggled, "Almost! Poor kid, he looked so scared. What did you do, Eugene?"

"All I did was come in when I heard the glass break! I didn't do anything! Honest!" He exclaimed.

Rapunzel felt his head, "well, he's certainly still warm. I believe the fever was making him...a little more sensitive."

"No, I think he just..genuinely thought that we were going to hurt him for it" Cassandra frowned, "he looked so scared."

"I was" Varian mumbled.

"You're awake?" Eugene jumped, startled.

"Barely" Varian mumbled, "'Punzel's warm...sorry again."

"It's really okay" Eugene assured, "we'll get this cleaned up really quickly, okay?"

Varian nodded sleepily, cracking his eyes open to peer guiltily at the mess, "I'm sorry for breaking it..."

"Varian, that glass was one of a million others, it's fine, it was really basic anyways" Rapunzel told him, offering a smile, "really. We won't miss it."

"Yeah, do you know how many maids break glasses every day trying to carry more than they can handle?" Cassandra questioned.

"I'm pretty sure they carry more than they can handle so that the big, strong, hot guards will offer to help them" Eugene said, rolling his eyes, "those maids can not keep their eyes off of them."

"Please, the only reason you were even able to break Varian out of jail is because all the guards are drooling over the maids" Cassandra scoffed.

"Um, no, we got Varian out because of me and Lance's pure skill!" Eugene hissed.

"Speaking of, how about we just make Lance clean this mess up?" Cassandra joked.

"No!" Varian said quickly, "I—I don't want him to be mad at me" he mumbled, his eyes downcast.

"Why would Lance of all people be mad?" Eugene questioned, "Lance would be the biggest mother hen of us all, fussing over you and making sure you didn't cut yourself."

"I guess mad isn't the right word" Varian said softly, "I think maybe I meant disappointed? Yeah. That sounds better."

"Please, Lance wouldn't even be disappointed in you if you murdered Nigel!" Rapunzel smiled.

"...Would anyone?" Varian questioned, "I mean, I certainly wouldn't."

Cassandra laughed behind her hands, "he's got a point, raps."

"Yeah, that was not the best example, sunshine" Eugene smirked.

Rapunzel let out a laugh, "yeah, I suppose not—sorry!"

"Woah, kid" Eugene said after he caught a glimpse of the tub on the side of the bed stand, "that's how much you peed while we were gone? We've been gone all day. That's practically nothing!"

"Oh. Sorry" Varian said, frowning. He cut his eyes to the door, tensing in fear when it opened to reveal Lance.

"Nothing to be sorry for" Rapunzel interjected, ushering Lance in quickly, "if you don't gotta go, you don't gotta go—but it certainly is concerning. You haven't been peeing much at all."

"He's dehydrated" Cassandra said, "he needs to drink lots of water. Don't worry, in a few weeks he'll be peeing normally."

Varian stayed silent as he flushed in embarrassment, not liking how everybody was openly talking about his pee, or lack thereof.

Eugene caught glimpse of the boy's pink face and smirked, "he's embarrassed."

The boy only got redder, crossing his arms and looking down at his lap.

"Eugene, he's an awkward teenage boy. Of course he's embarrassed" Rapunzel chastised, "leave him alone!"

"Yeah Eugene, you weren't exactly the most confident at his age" Lance pointed out, smirking.

Cassandra smirked as well, "I bet Lance has a lot of stories."

"Oh, believe me when I say that I do!—"

"Lance!" Eugene hissed, making a zipping motion over his lips.

Varian giggled, "no, no! Spill, now i'm interested."

"How about after we finish cleaning up this mess, Lance can tell you a bedtime story" Cassandra joked.

"Yes!" Varian exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

"What mess—" Lance began, "oh—finally! Someone broke that ugly thing."