Merida watched as the rain ran down the windscreen of her beloved land rover. It had been her first car, and 7 years it was looking a little worse for wear. Tears were visible on the interior, and the navy-blue doors were scratched and dented, but she still loved it, and drove it whenever she could.

As she took a left down a tree lined street though, she realised just why people living in the city were buying smaller cars. It was narrow due to the cars parked on either side; two much small cars than hers were carefully passing each other up ahead. She drummed her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, glancing at her watch. At this rate she was going to be late for lunch with her uni friends. The driver of the car coming towards her finally made it past, then looked up and visibly shook his head at her big car. Merida frowned back at him.

"Rude, okay," she muttered to herself, and pulled into a space between cars at the side of the road to let him past. As she waited, she looked to her left up at the tall white building nestled in between the more typical Edinburgh houses. The sun glinted off of the wet windows stretched up at least 8 stories, and plants tumbled off the the balconies. It looked like exactly the kind of place she would stay if she lived in this part of the city, and she sighed wistfully at it. Her current flat was the second floor of an old tenement that she shared with another girl – Mavis – who she'd met through her archery friends at university. She was energetic, friendly, and a bit wild…but was forever going away with her boyfriend on long trips abroad, and so Merida found herself alone most of the time. It had been that way since she'd graduated. The last year had been filled with her internship and a temporary placement at a small firm in Leith, but ultimately she was back at square one, a big, quiet apartment, and nobody to talk to.

Maybe that was why she'd been so full on with Hiccup yesterday. She'd be lying if she said she'd had any time for boys…well…ever, not seriously at least, so she was a bit pent up, and that would explain why she'd been thinking about him almost non-stop since he disappeared into the crowds. Definitely. Not because she remembered how sweet and funny he was, and how she'd felt more relaxed sitting with him in the grass than she has with anyone in a long time, and how her stomach has flipped and squeezed when their hands touched, and when he smiled at her. Of course.

Looking back across to the road, Merida noticed it was clear, and thanked the stars for Sunday mornings, then laughed internally at herself.

"Who am I," she muttered. 10:30am was not a time Merida Dunbroch saw often, but she'd not seen her archery girls in a while, and they were insistent on brunch. She pulled out into the road, and barely made it 10 meters when a figure suddenly shot out in the road in front of her. She shrieked, and slammed on the brakes. Her heavy car slipped on the wet road and ground to a halt with a gentle bump against the man standing in the centre of the road. Her hair spilled forward over her face (though she'd never admit it, her mum had been right this morning when she said she should tie it back) and she groaned loudly, shoved it back, and angrily threw open her car door, stepping out into the pouring rain.

The cold water hit her like a slap, and she splashed through the rapidly forming puddles on the road towards the figure, who appeared to be frozen, hands braced against the dented bonnet of her car.

"Hey!" she cried. No response, so he moved closer, and waved a hand in front of their face. "Hello? Idiot? What's happening?"

The figure eventually looked at her, and she almost laughed out loud. White hair was soaked to his forehead despite the black hood he had up, and he looked absolutely freezing.

"Oh man, Merida?" Jack gasped with a laugh. "Did you just hit me with your car?"

"No!" the redhead fumed, having to shout over the sound of the rain bouncing off of the nearby cars. "You ran in front of my car-"

"So you hit me with it!" Jack taunted back. The rain was running down their faces down, and Merida laughed suddenly – a quick snort that came out before she could stop herself. Jack, surprised, started to laugh too, and soon the pair of them were in stiches, bent over her car in the pouring rain. Suddenly, a pair of headlights illuminated them, warning of an approaching car, and Merida brushed the rain and tears from her face.

"Can I give you a lift anywhere?" She asked, moving back to the car. Jack nodded, and they climbed into the car. She carefully manoeuvred them down the street, and Jack gave her an address near the university campus. They drove in silence, the radio quietly humming as they dripped over the car. Merida eventually broke the silence.

"What brings you back into town? I thought you were filming that show?"

"I was," he admitted. "But we just finished season two, and I really missed this city."

Merida smiled at that. She totally understood. Her home was in Stirling, with her parents, and her brothers, and her horse, but Edinburgh had stolen her heart, and she felt connected to this place like no other. Admittedly, she'd never left the UK, so her options were limited, but she had a feeling that nothing would ever call to her like this city did. She didn't tell Jack any of this, of course, just smiled and nodded.

"I get it. You still got a place here?"

"Yeah, I've had it since I was 19. It sits empty most of the year but it's somewhere to crash. I wouldn't want to inflict all the crazy that follows me about now on to one of my friends."

At the mention of his friends, Merida's mind turned, not for the first time that day, to Hiccup. Wondering what he's doing, where he is. And then, miraculously, Jack answered.

"I was just visiting Hiccup actually. Haven't seen him in almost 2 years." He glanced to her, looking for a reaction, and Merida battled to keep her face neutral. Jack proceeded cautiously. "You remember him right? Man, that was a weird night. You guys never kept in contact, did you?"

"No," Merida replied, her voice wavery. "Never saw him again."

Jack nodded, clearly the answer he was expecting, and turned to look out the window. Merida deflated in her seat, and then suddenly realised how selfish she was being. This boy, sitting in the car next to her, broke her best friend's heart. I mean sure, they'd not really spoken in a while, but that was technically his fault too.

"You never saw Rapunzel again either, did you?" she asks, and her voice is sweet and nonchalant, but by the way Jack squirms she can tell he's uncomfortable.

"Not really no," he mumbled, a blush rising on his cheeks. And then, he surprises her. "I wish I had though. Every day I wish I'd tried to make it work. She was the only girl I've ever thought I could've loved."

Merida doesn't know what to say to that. She thinks of Rapunzel's anxieties, the fights they'd had before Merida moved out – she'd been so unforgivably harsh – and the way she'd missed her like absolute crazy ever since. Jack sat up suddenly, and pointed to the pavement.

"Just here is fine thanks," he said, and Merida pulled over. He slid out the car, and chuckled at the wet seat. "Sorry about your car."

Merida laughed sharply and gestured to the tattered, dirty interior, and he laughed again and shrugged.

"See you around Jack." She called after him, and he shut the door, waved, and ducked down an alley into the dark. Merida frowned, and leant down to reach for her phone. She desperately needed to clear out her contacts, but at this time it was a blessing because she knew Rapunzel's number would still be in there. Her contact picture was an old picture of them both as kids at boarding school, in red blazers with gappy grins and freckled faces. She sighed, and pressed the call button.

…

Rapunzel woke, blissfully, of her own accord that morning to light filtering through her curtains and on to her face, and the first thing she thought of was Jack. She rolled over, and her brief sunny disposition vanished. She sat bolt upright, confused. Was yesterday just a really intricate dream? She'd definitely sworn he'd fallen asleep beside her. That he'd curled into her with his arm around her waist, and she thought she'd never sleep with the feel of his hand against her stomach, but she did, she slept better than she had in months – possibly years. She looked up at her clock. Almost midday.

Disorientated and upset, Rapunzel swung her legs out of bed into her bunny slippers, pulled on her robe from the back of her door, and shuffled into the kitchen. Anna was sitting on a stool at the counter, reading a book, and grinned at her.

"Don't you just love Sundays?" she sung. Her hair was twisted into a half knot on her head, and she was wearing a floral shirt and a pair of high waisted jeans. She frowned at her roommate, and put the book down. "What happened to Jack?"

"I thought I dreamt that," Rapunzel admitted. "So I guess he left. Kinda used to that by now."

Anna cocked her head at her and hummed.

"That cant be right. He was crazy about you. I bumped into him coming out the bathroom last night and he just looked so happy. There's absolutely no way he just left."

"Well where is he then?" Rapunzel snapped, then flinched. Anna didn't seem fazed, and just shugged, going back to her book. A distant ringing caught both girls attentions, and Anna looked at her.

"Maybe that's him?" she said, and Rapunzel hurried back to her room, digging her phone out of her coat where she'd left it last night. She answered it immediately without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" she gasped, and the sighed as a female voice replied on the other end.

"Hi-hello, Punz? It's me, Merida."

Rapunzel spun around to face Anna, who was standing in the doorway, and put her hand over the speaker.

"Who is it?" Anna inquired, and Rapunzel made a wild gesture with her hands clasping her phone. Disbelief coursed through her, and she looked back down at the phone.

"Its Merida! I've not spoken to her in forever!" she hissed, and Anna rolled her eyes. Rapunzel knew her roommate hated the fact that they no longer talked, and honestly so did Rapunzel, but she didn't know where to start. She put the phone back to her ear, and Anna moved to sit on her bed. Rapunzel sat beside her.

"Merida, jeez, hi. It been a while!" she replied, brain wracking why the girl was possibly phoning her. "What's up?"

The older girl made a oise down the line, then stopped. When she finally spoke her voice with further away, like she'd put the phone down, and there was the sound of distant traffic, like she was driving.

"You'll never guess who I just bumped in to," the girl said with a chuckle, and Rapunzel knew exactly where this was going, even before she asked.

"Who?" she tried, voice shaky.

"Jack Overland!" Merida gasped. "He's back in town. I thought you should know, just so it doesn't come as a shock if you bump into him in the street or anything."

"Or the sheets!" Anna squealed, and Rapunzel shoved her back on to the bed as the girl dissolved into giggles.

"What was that?" Merida called down the phone, and Rapunzel snorted as Anna shoved her back.

"Nothing, nothing, just Anna. You guys met right?" Rapunzel asked, desperate to divert Merida's attention. Anna yelled a greeting down the line, and Merida laughed. It came through crackly and distorted by the poor connection, but it made Rapunzel nostalgic for her home, and a longing for her old best friend rushed over her.

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Merida replied quietly, and there was a brief pause. Rapunzel cut in suddenly.

"Do you want to get coffee later? I'm free the rest of the day and just thought a proper catch up would be-"

"Yes, absolutely." Merida interrupted. "Usual place at four?"

Their usual place was a coffee shop below their old flat, with faded tartan curtains and a badle painted mural of a highland cow on the wall, but it was the first place they ever went to together once they started uni, and became their designated lunch-out spot. Rapunzel hadn't crossed the threshold in years, but suddenly the prospect of it was so exciting she could barely sit still.

"Perfect, I'll see you then" she confirmed. Merida said goodbye and hung up, and Rapunzel dropped her phone on the bed and flopped down next to where Anna lay. "That was so completely out of the blue."

"You're definitely having a day of it," Anna confirmed, and Rapunzel covered her face and groaned. The taller girl rolled over so she was hovering over the brunette and grinned. "Shall I get Kristoff to find Jack and beat him up for you?"

Rapunzel snorted, and then laughed. Kristoff was Anna's boyfriend, and he was well over six foot and built like a truck.

"It's okay. I'll just call him, I'm sure there's an explanation." She murmured, and sat up just as their doorbell rang. Anna hopped up to answer it, and Rapunzel followed slowly, scrolling through her contacts to find Jack's name. Her thumb hovered over the call button, and after several seconds she shook her head. What good could come from it? He didn't leave a note, he didn't send her a text, he clearly didn't intend on coming back, so why should she bother. It was on her for trusting him again.

Defeated, she tucked her phone into her dressing gown pocket and looked up to see Anna standing with a big grin on her face, her hand clasped together in excitement, and beside her, Jack, hair wet and dripping from under his jacket, a damp bunch of flowers in one hand and a shopping bag in the other. Rapunzel's breath caught in her throat, and tears stung at the back of her eyes.

"Sorry I didn't call, I thought I'd make it back before you woke up…" he trailed off as Rapunzel crossed the room in two quick strides and leapt into his arms. His wet jacket seeped into her gown but she didn't care, and gently sniffled into his collar.

"I thought you'd gone," she murmured, and Jack held her back, and wiped the tears from her eyes. She was surprised to see that his eyes were brimming too, and she giggled despite herself.

"I'm not going back," he said sincerely, and his blue eyes met her green ones with such an intensity she knew it to be true. "This is my home."

…

The café was exactly as she remembered. The windows were steamed up, and Merida absent-mindedly trailed her finger in wobbly patterns along the condensation. Rain still bounced off the pavement, and her heart went out to the people still at the highland showground today. A waitor came over with her coffee and she thanked him, silently chuckling at his red tartan trousers and matching apron that all the staff wore as their uniforms here. They clashed with the faded yellow walls, paint coming loose near the ceiling in place, and the red reflected off of the metal counter as he ducked back into the kitchen. The walls were adorned with wonky, misshapen paintings of stags, highland cows, and even a single unicorn that appeared to be cross-eyed.

The last time Merida had been in here, she'd sat in this exact seat across from Rapunzel, and they'd organised who would get what items of furniture from their one bedroom flat. Bunkbed for Merida, wardrobe for Rapunzel, spatula for Merida, wooden spoons for Rapunzel. It had felt stiff and mechanical, and had dampened the place permanently for her. The energy of long-time best friends was lost, and to the tourists who'd stumbled into the café that day the two girls may as well had been strangers.

The tinny bell on the café door rattled suddenly, cutting through the gaelic music playing over the crackling sound system, and Rapunzel appeared, shaking the rain from the ends of her now short hair. The length wasn't news to the redhead – Rapunzel had cut it off when she picked up more sports for practicality – but it was a rich chocolate brown colour now, and it had completely changed the girl's features. Despite this, there was more life in her eyes since the last time she'd seen her, and hope spread through Merida's body. She lifted a hand to wave, but the girl was already weaving towards her as if from muscle memory.

She sat on the sofa across from her with a sigh, and the two girls smiled carefully at each other. An odd silence settled, but Rapunzel was first to break it with a sharp giggle.

"I know its been years since we've done this but I missed you like crazy and you're my best friend and I love you and I have so much juicy shit to tell you so we can just get the crying part sorted later okay? Because I have cried a lot recently and its all been happy tears and its totally exhausting. Stop oh my god what are you doing!" Merida was, in fact, crying.

"I'm so sorry I just missed you so much! And I was so out of line back then!" The waiter chose this time to come take Rapunzel's order, but paused at the sight of the tearful girls. Rapunzel laughed, loudly, and for a second Merida felt like they were still in high school, hiding under the stairs, carving their names into the wood with a knife Merida had hidden in her sock, giggling behind textbooks in class, escaping to play separately during gym class. She placed her order between sobs, and Merida continued talking. "You're my best friend too and I don't ever want us to not talk ever again."

Rapunzel reached over and took the redhead's hands, and shook her head adamantly.

"Absolutely not. We're here till death do us part now baby. Now, tell me what I've missed."

Sorry for the constant chapter deletion and reposting, and also for the haitus xxx