Title: The Tear heals
Fandom: Tangled
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Flynn/Rapunzel. Also, mother Gothel.
Genre: drama
Rating & Warnings: rated PG for mentions of character death
Word Count: 320
Summary: It's not really happily ever after. At least not right away.
Author's Note: The only part of the movie that bothered me was how quickly Mother Gothel was forgotten. So this is my two cents. I think something is slightly off her, but I have a feeling if I keep tweaking I'll ruin it entirely.

DRABBLE

He knows it isn't easy for her- this huge upheaval of her life, the dark-to-light switch. While Gothel was out enjoying herself, Rapunzel had been locked away, living on lies and painting lifelike murals on the stone walls of her prison. In a world of darkness, she'd dared to dream about lights. Floating lights.

And now it's all changed. And of course she's happy, it'd be ridiculous not be happy. She'd found a family who loved her- a kingdom who adored her. More than that, she'd found freedom.

Freedom to go where she pleased, and do as she pleased. To live.

Yet there are still sometimes he catches her, her fingers weaving through her short hair, her head tilted as if it's trying to support a great deal of weight. There are times when she looks at her mother, her real mother whose hands, hair, and features so resemble her own with such intensity it makes his heart ache for her.

Flynn understands. And when she cries, feeling guilty for wanting the mother who manipulated and lied, he holds her tightly until the tears have passed. Even if the old woman had not fallen from the tower, this sadness would still remain. Rapunzel is not mourning the physical death of Mother Gothel, but rather the imaginary Gothel who never existed. The woman who made hazelnut soup because it was her daughter's favorite. The one who was willing to travel three days to get shells for birthday paints.

The one who told her she loved her more.

No, most.

When it's all over, Rapunzel wipes her eyes with her sleeve, smiles embarrassedly and intertwines her fingers with his. He notices that as the weeks pass, the breakdowns are occurring less and less, as if each time she cries, the gaping wound in her heart closes a little more.

As if over and over, her teals continue giving the power to heal.