A/N: Welcome to my random fandom. I wrote this oneshot two years ago when I first watched the Princess and the Frog and it's been sitting in my laptop ever since. Just thought I'd post it and hope it catches someone's fancy. So read, enjoy and don't forget to leave a review if you liked it. Also I don't own a thing, not the characters and not the song at the end, which belongs to Train.

Tiana fixed an indulgent smile on her face as she listened to the Baroness of Ilea describe her garden. She didn't want to be rude but the old woman had gone on and on about her lilies and her begonias for ten minutes now and to be honest, Tiana was beyond bored. She brought her champagne flute to her lips to cover the yawn that escaped, and then nodded as the Baroness launched into the importance of earthworms.

This was the fifth ball she'd attended in the two weeks since she and her husband had arrived in the tiny island country of Maldonia. The past few days had been a blur of horseback rides, croquet, crocheting by the fire and yes, you guessed it, balls. Queen Cassandra and King Amin had been gracious and accommodating. Queen Cassandra had taken it upon herself to teach her new daughter-in-law the ways of court and the history of the royal family over daily afternoon tea. At first, Tiana had listened, enraptured by this new amazing world her husband had occupied. But by-and-by her attention had began to falter and she found herself concentrating more on trying to decipher the ingredients of the delicious Maldonian crumpets served with the tea. She was feeling antsy, and knew that if she could just find the kitchen she would feel like herself again, but in this whole darned colossal palace with its maze of corridors, she hadn't actually managed to locate it. She suspected that Naveen had instructed the help to deliberately confuse her.

If she was frank, she was more than a little bored with all this pomp and ceremony. She liked the people well enough: King Amin was warm and welcoming, and though he acted dignified at all times, she noticed in his eyes the same spark of fun and daring that resided in his son. The Queen was as beautiful as a film star, elegant and oozing grace from every pore. And Naveen's younger brother, Shaheen, could always be counted on for a laugh. Still, she wasn't used to being pampered and followed all the time. She missed laughing with Lottie until she felt she might bust a gut, or hearing the jaunty tunes of Louis' trumpet. Heck, she missed sweating!

Such thoughts made her feel guilty. She had everything a girl could want here. In fact, she could recall thinking very differently when they had first arrived…

...

"Land ho!" someone called.

Tiana looked up from the book she'd been reading. She stood and squinted into the distance, shielding her eyes from the glaring sunlight with her hand.

Naveen came up beside and threw an arm around her.

"That's it," she breathed, eyes shiny and focused on the island before her. It was just a speck on the horizon now but it loomed larger every second.

"Yes," Naveen grinned. "That's Maldonia."

Tiana didn't know why she was so overcome. She swallowed hard and clutched her husband. A single tear escaped.

"What's the matter, my Evangeline?" he asked her, still smiling.

Tiana hurriedly wiped the tear away. "Nothing," she laughed, embarrassed. Another tear snuck past her defenses.

"I'm so happy, Naveen," she told him, her voice shaky.

"But?"

But I'm also a little nervous," she confessed into his chest. Nervous was an understatement. It was more like scared spitless. She wasn't a fearful person, usually. She'd pursued her dream of opening a restaurant with monomaniacal determination, refusing to let anyone stand in her way. And if she could do that, despite all the odds stacked against her, meeting Naveen's family and countrymen shouldn't be an issue. Except that it was. Tiana was a waitress from New Orleans. What did she know about schmoozing with royalty? What did she know about being royalty?

"Nervous, my darling?" Naveen grabbed her by the shoulders. "Don't be. They're all going to love you!"

"But what do I know about being a princess?" she pouted. She and Naveen had had this discussion before but she couldn't let it go. What if she wasn't what people expected her to be?

"About as much as I knew about being a waiter six months ago," he replied. "And I think I'm doing alright."

Tiana was about to mention the two plates he'd broken but she bit her tongue. He was right. He'd improved. His first night of work, at the opening of Tiana's Palace restaurant, she'd found him throwing out the used cutlery.

"What else am I supposed to do with them?" he'd shrugged.

"Give them to Carl so they can be washed," she'd instructed him, hands on her hips.

Naveen stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Yuck. You actually want people to use them again?"

Tiana smiled a little at the memory. Naveen was right, of course. If he could go from being a lazy, party-boy who'd never worked a day in his life to being a decent waiter, she could certainly learn to be a princess. Besides, she reasoned, it had to be easier than being a frog, and she'd adjusted to that pretty quickly.

She stared into her husband's deep brown eyes. "You're right."

"Of course, I am," he said with a dramatic sweep of his arm. "You have nothing to worry about!"

Tiana finally started to feel at ease again. She could do this. She'd been through a lot worse – and a lot slimier – and she'd come out alright. As long as she had Naveen, she'd be fine.

"Besides," the prince went on. "Maldonians love me. Even if I'd married a plank of wood they would have adored it!"

Tiana narrowed her eyes at him. "Gee thanks," she said dryly.

He caught her expression and swept her up in his arms, burying his face in her neck. Tiana's irritation was forgotten in an instant. She giggled furiously.

"Naveen," she tried to push him away. "Stop it! People are looking!" The crewmen on the steamship had been looking but averted their eyes pretty quickly.

"But you smell so good," Naveen spoke directly onto Tiana's dusky skin, making her laugh even harder. Pull yourself together, girl, she told herself sternly. What was the matter with her, carrying on like this like she was some silly schoolgirl? With all the strength she could muster between giggles she extracted Naveen off her.

Mischief glinted in Naveen's gaze. She admonished him but with such a huge grin on her face it was hard to take her seriously. She meant it though. It wouldn't do for her to be so flustered just before meeting Naveen's family and the Maldonian people. People only get one chance to make a first impression, and Tiana was not about to blow hers. She needed to be psychologically prepared for the meeting.

"This is not the time for fooling around," she told him, a frown appearing now. She adjusted her dress and her hat, which had been thrown askew.

His eyes widened a little, perhaps a little hurt by her reproach. She quickly kissed him on the lips.

"That comes later," she whispered silkily. His face brightened. He got another kiss in before the blare of trumpets announced that they had entered port. Tiana helped him slide into his royal blue military jacket and swept some imaginary lint off his shoulder.

They gazed at each other and shared a smile before turning to watch as the gangplank was lowered.

Trumpets played again. A guard of honour assembled along the whole length of the plank. Naveen squeezed his wife's hands and together, they stepped off the ship...

...

Tiana nearly jumped when she felt a warm hand on the small of her back. Naveen had come up beside her, and politely asked to steal away his wife. The old lady nodded. Tiana flashed her one final smile before turning and whispering to Naveen:

"Thanks for saving me."

She realized that he was guiding her towards one of the ballroom's exits.

"Naveen?" she stared up at him questioningly.

He grinned. Tiana knew that look. He was up to something.

"Naveen, where are we going?" she hissed as they left the ballroom. What could he possibly be thinking? The ball had been held in their honor. Surely everyone would notice if they disappeared.

He guided her down a flight of stairs. This was not a part of the palace she recalled being in. She stopped abruptly.

"Naveen, I refuse to take another step until you tell me where we're going," she frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

He turned to face her. "It's a surprise."

"But we can't leave!" she protested. "How is it going to look if we walk out of a party held for us?"

Naveen chuckled. "Tiana, people throw parties all the time here," he told her. "We're just today's excuse for the Maldonian upper crust to compare bank accounts."

She searched his gaze uncertainly. He was probably right but she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize the relationship she was building with Naveen's family.

He took her hand.

"Let me take you," he said dramatically, "on an adventure!"

She smiled her assent.

He led her down another flight of stairs then a long corridor. The ambient shadows gave her Goosebumps. Ever since hers and Naveen's encounter with the Shadow Man, darkness gave her the creeps. And this particular hallway felt cold and haunting. She moved closer to Naveen.

At the end of the corridor was a door which opened to the garage. There were dozens of cars in there – Cadillacs, Rolls-Royces, and Bentleys – but Naveen passed by them. He picked a brown newsboy cap and cream scarf off a hook in the wall and put them on. He pulled a tarp to reveal a shiny Indian Scout motorcycle with a sidecar. Naveen's eyes lit up at the sight of the machine. He ran his fingers over its smooth red side and handle bars, all the while murmuring something in Maldonian.

Tiana watched him bemusedly. She cleared her throat. "Should I leave you two alone?"

He smiled lopsidedly, a little embarrassed. "She was my first love."

"Wow," she smirked. "I was expecting competition but not of the two wheeled variety. I'm a little jealous."

"You have something Ingrid will never have," he murmured, his arms snaking around her waist.

She has a name, she thought. "What's that?" she prompted him.

He pressed his lips to hers. "One heck of a gumbo recipe," he finally answered when they drew apart.

Tiana smacked him on the arm. He laughed. "Among other things!"

Naveen rolled the motorcycle out of the back gate of the palace then started it up. Tiana clambered into the sidecar, trying to maintain some semblance of poise despite the restrictive silk gown. Once she was settled in, Naveen tore down the street.

They came to a stop at a seemingly random point on the road. Naveen carefully guided Ingrid into the bushes, making sure she was well covered. Then he led Tiana through the trees to a pristine stretch of beach. Coral rocks rose out of the sand on either side of them, giving a sense of privacy. The moonlight shone on the sea like crushed diamonds. A welcome breeze kissed Tiana's skin.

"You're absolutely dazzling, my love," he commented, taking her in once again. Her gold silk dress flowed over her curves like water. Her hair had been done up in finger waves, with two canary yellow diamond barrettes at each temple. She was wearing make-up, something she rarely did, but at this moment, nothing looked better on her than that self-conscious flush on her cheeks.

She bit her bottom lip, stained pomegranate in colour, and smiled at her husband. Just because he'd got the girl didn't mean he'd stop trying to charm her. It was kind of sweet, really.

Placing her hands on her hips, she scanned the area. "How did you know about this place?"

"I found it when I was a little boy," he explained. "I was hiding from my governess."

Tiana didn't find it hard to imagine Naveen as a precocious, exasperating youngster with huge brown eyes that could make anyone forget why they were mad at him. His eyes still had that effect on her.

"Did you bring girls here?" she blurted out. She tried to keep her tone light and unaffected but she couldn't help thinking it. Naveen was a notorious lothario before he came to New Orleans. Whereas he, she thought pitifully, was her first and only love.

He turned to her, a scarcely seen serious expression taking over his handsome features. "Never," he said solemnly. "Only you."

She felt an inordinate amount of relief at that. Relaxed, she grinned at him. "Ok. Now what?"

Naveen brought his ukulele to his chest. "A private performance for my gorgeous Evangeline by a handsome and very accomplished musician."

Tiana clapped her hands. "I guess I'd better sit down for this." She dropped onto the sand and slid off her shoes, burying her toes in the sand. She was too giddy to worry about whether she was ruining the dress.

"It's a Maldonian folk song but I'll sing the English translation," he informed her and began to play. His voice wasn't perfect but it was honest and playful and altogether pleasant to listen to.

Your lipstick stains

On the front lobe of my left side brains

I knew I wouldn't forget you

And so I went and let you

Blow my mind

He gestured at the full moon that was smiling benevolently at the lovers.

Your sweet moonbeam

The smell of you in every single dream I dream

I knew when we collided

You're the one I have decided

Who's one of my kind

Tiana laughed. Oh, how true those lyrics were. Her mind traveled back to the time she and Naveen had been turned into frogs. They were certainly two of a kind – mind of a human locked in the body of a frog, and both failing to see who they really were.

Hey soul sister

Ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo?

The way you move ain't fair you know

Tiana, who had been swaying and clapping, shot to her feet and shimmied over to him. He looked surprised but pleased. Tiana began to dance around her man. If Charlotte saw her now, she would faint. Tiana usually came off as quite conservative so seeing her boogying with her husband on a deserted beach at night would shock Lottie silent – and that was harder to do than escaping mosquitoes in the bayou. Tiana wasn't a dancer but Naveen made her forget herself, forget her fears and just enjoy life.

Way you can cut a rug

Watching you is the only drug I need

She pulled the fur stole off her shoulders and threw it around his neck. Still holding it, she rounded him and then with her back against his, she slid down against him. When she got back to his front, his face shone in pure euphoria.

As the song was drawing to a close, she put her arms around his neck and they swayed together.

Hey soul sister

I don't want to miss a single thing you do

Tonight.

As the last note was carried away on the wind, their lips met. By the time they pulled apart, her anxiety about skipping the ball had completely melted away. The only thing she knew for certain she was that she was exactly where she wanted to be.