[Corona is an extremely welcoming and accepting place, but even Varian struggled with the concept of where his feelings lay for quite a long time. It took him a lot longer to come to terms with how he felt about Fern than the other way around. The other boy had shown a remarkable amount of patience in waiting for him to come around.

But come around he did, and he honestly couldn't be happier. He and Fern might be objective disasters on their own, but together? They do so much better together. He smiles, still a little awkward, but genuinely happy.]

Thanks...Cass. That- uh, that means a lot. [And, because god forbid he do this without making a stupid joke of it.] I know it's gotta hurt to know I moved on, so sorry, but the heart wants what it wants.