A/N: Hi, excuse me, two seconds here. I don't like explaining myself *in A/Ns*. So author's notes will be brief if at all. Go find me on tumblr, as MiraNova23. But this is plotted to be a long, many long chaptered story, with a definitive end already decided. Just wanted to give a heads up that I know where I'm going. Fear not the make-out inner-monologues starting us off, the rest is normal novel style. Okay. You got it? Alright, we're gonna move ahead. Sorry to slow you down.

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost;

that is where they should be.

Chapter 1: Tangled vs The Balcony

"You were my new dream..."

"And you were mine."

This was clearly Rapunzel's first kiss. Just like a tenderfoot, she had merely pressed her puckered lips against his. Perhaps more like smashed, as she had gripped Eugene's collar to propel them both towards impact. He had been shocked, but by no means displeased. It was yet another chance to hold her close; another chance to teach her something he prided himself on. Their prayers had just been answered by a miracle, and now they would have many, many more chances from here on out. Another chance at life.

Eugene brought his hand up to the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her fresh cut, but still silky tresses. He had to guide her, they both knew, and both relished it. With an ever so slight tilt of pressure, he showed her how to position her lips to interlock with his, as he took over. She was eager to kiss her new dream? Well, he was eager to show her how it's done. Immediately, he eased it into a deep, sensual French kiss. His lips knowingly turned to seal over hers, as his tongue parted them and expertly sucked hers out with all the fervor she had initially grabbed him with. He could deny her nothing. He wanted to hold nothing from her. She wanted him? He was happy to give her it all.

Rapunzel startled herself at her own uncontainable excitement. She had pushed them into this before she really knew what she was doing. She had barely been able to acknowledge to herself that his chest had not re-risen for far too long and that his heart had fully stopped; now she could barely comprehend his vitality again. Now she was bouncing on a cloud, both their hearts beating faster, and wondering why it had taken two days, or even one, to kiss. The shock of their lips making forbidden contact was electric, but the real fire started when he so gently took control, as she graciously melted.

What was this new world she had unlocked? She had never before dreamed of such a way to kiss. She may have dreamed that touching another person would feel somewhat exciting, but not like this! This was even more breathtaking -literally- than the entire day of the festival the day before. The forest, the pub, the town, the rowboat; they were all amazing to finally experience. But experiencing another person, like this? Her hand gripped his arm, trying to remember that this was real.

There was no telling how long this first 'kiss' actually lasted, but it felt like an eternity that still was not long enough. Both hung suspended in disbelief. Rapunzel remained kneeling beside Eugene, tugging on his collar and shoulder as if he would not stay grounded otherwise. He, however, was not even bothering to move from what would eventually become a strained sitting position, leaning back on his shackled arm with his legs straight out. Yet he also held his hand on her firmly, as if she were his only lifeline to stay in this world, lest he fall back to that cold darkness.

Eugene's mind, on the other hand, was racing. This amazing girl- no, woman- whom he had fallen for hard, had just saved his life. Brought him back to life, actually. How? He didn't care. He was alive again and in her arms. There was probably some form of residual magic or something leftover, or whatever. The pain from his side that had engulfed him was not only completely gone, but he had never felt so rejuvenated. Of course, the adrenaline probably helped.

Love... He knew that was it. Why he was so worried about her all night. Why he was so frantic to get back here today. Why he had stopped her from throwing her life away by healing him. Why he was in ecstasy now, despite nothing more than their lips playing. Love had kept his heart pounding all night, all day- til it had stopped, still all for her. Again now, though, his heart was pounding in his throat as her tongue braved fumbling explorations.

I love her... The actual words finally materialized for him, as the jumbles of thoughts sorted themselves out. He had certainly not wanted to die; had not wanted to be pulled away from her. But even in his last moments, those actual words had eluded him, though they were just clouded by thoughts of only her. Yet he had needed to convey exactly what he was feeling, since that was thought to be their last moment. 'You were my new dream.' It was true. That had said it perfectly with the last of his willpower, and he was content enough. But now there was all the time in the world. What was after this? What did the future- what did their future hold?

I KNEW he liked me! She remained focus on every point that was touching. It simply had to mean he really did like her. And what did that mean? What did any of this mean for her?

Forever... Maybe not literally forever; then again, maybe so with her magic. Even better! But how would that work, what did that mean? To love her forever?

Moth- "Mother" is gone. I can do anything I want now, but, what am I going to do now? What is he- what could WE do? I hope he stays with me, somehow... The possibilities seemed endless! But at very least, she would certainly rather enjoy living in the tower with Eugene, of course with many frequent trips out to see the whole world.

I just want to love her forever... to... To marry her. MARRY?! Part of him jumped in fear for a split second. Another part chalked it up to excitement at the roll she just tried with her tongue. Flynn Rider was infamous not only for stealing, but also for stealing hearts from ladies, bedding merchants' wives as well as- other- merchants' daughters. Any idea of fear quickly washed away. Again, maybe because she had finally figured out how to breathe efficiently, while still pulling him into her now. But he knew; the mere thought of her was what overwhelmed him. His arm buckled a bit. T-to be with her forever- To run away with her, somewhere, far from here. Build a new life together. Find a home together. Do honest work. Make her happy. What an adventure... Yes, to marry her... His hand squeezed her a little tighter, squeezing them a little closer.

What am I thinking! I'm so dumb- ugh- I'm the Lost Princess! She grinned a little, but quickly returned her lips to where they were. So I wonder what me being the princess means... What does it mean for Eugene?

But how to ask her to marry him? Simply, for their simple life-to-be. Just, 'Will you marry me,' will do. She loved him as he was; he didn't need anything else. Except... Not with my hand still shackled. And maybe... Not spring it on her all at once now. Too many things had just happened. Let's settle down from this, get our heads together, then, I'll ask her to leave here with me. We'll be safe from the guards here, but she can't possibly want to stay in this tower any longer...

He pulled away from her long enough to quip, "Hmm, so I'm alive, right?" but he stole another quick peck. "Or maybe this is just heaven." The look smeared across his bedroom eyes was priceless.

The cheesy line made her giggle, before pulling him back in.

Eugene pulled away again and readjusted the shackled arm he was propped up on. "I'm serious though." Finally opening his eyes fully and looking at her immediately distracted him from his previous ideas. The first morning sun rays were shining through her hair, illuminating her from behind with a golden halo of light. Smiling softly, he ran his free hand through her new haircut. "It looks gorgeous," he breathed. "What do you think?"

She sat back and both hands flew to play with the new short lengths, also distracted now. "You think so? I don't even know what it looks like yet." Her hands smoothed the strands back and down along her head, only to have them quickly spring back up. "It feels weird, but, like, kinda cool," and added as she squeezed her arms together in front of her chest, "I mean, I guess..." But she was still too busy beaming about their victory to truly be upset about losing the companion, and tool, that was her hair.

Eugene took the opportunity of her distraction to sit up properly and lean back against the banister. He also took the opportunity to openly gape at this remarkable being, now cutely playing with her new hair. From his new perspective, he gazed around the room. 69 feet of now dead brown hair lay strewn about the floor. Shattered glass was scattered everywhere, and the window was still gaping wide open, welcoming in the fuzzy sunlight announcing the glorious new day. Ironic, that window had just let death out.

"I honestly didn't know it would do all that to her," Eugene confessed solemnly. "I just didn't want her to- to just use you like that."

Whether Eugene realized it or not, she was surprisingly unaffected by her 'mother' just having fallen to her death. She was finally gone, it was finally over, Thank the Goddess!, and that's all there was to that. "You could have at least waited til after I healed you with it, though," she shoved his arm, trying to lightheartedly chide him, but it was no use as she turned solemn, too. "You really were already-... I thought I'd already lost you forever..."

He held her gaze until it was painful, to see her pain again. He just looked down and shook his head. "I'm sorry I-..." I'm sorry for dying on you, for everything... "I just, couldn't think of anything else... I didn't want to just use you like she was going to, and I didn't want you to feel stuck with that promise you made." He bit his lip, and looked her up and down, and over again. "Rapunzel, um," he risked reaching out to grasp her waist. She only flinched and smiled a little at the tickle he caused. One stroke there, and he moved his hand to rubbing the small of her back. "Rapunzel." His voice strained and his brow furrowed deeply. "They didn't hurt you, did they? Did they, touch you? At all?"

"They?" she asked, confused. It was just moth- oh.

"The-"

"Oh!" It dawned on her. "Those two..." What had she called them? She was right about those two at least... "Those two brutes?" she pouted.

Eugene winced. "Just tell me, please."

"No," her pout dissolved. "No, they didn't hurt me. One just brushed my hair, but otherwise," she shrugged, shaking her head as she looked down and away.

Eugene sighed in relief. Oh thank God...

She was staring blankly at the bloody gash in his vest. "Hey." He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear with his shackled right hand, hoping to both block her view of the old wound, and get her attention back on his face. It did. "You're okay. I'm okay now. Everything turned out for the best." He smiled.

She sighed and smiled back at him, then reached up to hold his hand there against her cheek. It was warm again. She winced, remembering how it had just been turning ice cold minutes before. As she went to run her hand down to his forearm, though, she felt something else cold. "Oh," she grabbed the shackle on his wrist, "What are we going to do about this?"

"Don't worry," he said as he pulled it back to inspect it, only he was looking at the lock part of it. "Lost my lock pick last night, obviously, somehow." The guards would be too stupid to know where he kept them, but the guards weren't the ones handling him while he was unconscious. He searched his hems and pockets all night in the prison cell, but they were gone. "But anyway, this should be easy enough with a hair pin or something. Could you...?" He looked to her, almost sorry for asking for anything.

"Oh, of course!" She grinned and bounced up. "Um, I do actually have some now. Be right back!" She bounded up the stairs as fast as she could to her bedroom, and grabbed the little basket full of flower hair pins from the night before. She bounded down the stairs just as fast, and presented the basket on Eugene's lap. "Here ya go."

He jolted a bit at her jerky running, since the emergency was over. "Oh, nice, you still have these." He plucked one out and set to work biting it into a particular curve. He couldn't help but smile though, remembering how stunning she had looked with her hair done up like that last night.

She watched him intently, thinking the same. "I was thinking I wanna try to braid my hair up like that again sometime- I mean, but..." She looked down, as she wrung her hands together and her smile faded. "It's okay," she mumbled, "I'm sorry, nevermind..."

Eugene stopped and studied her for a moment. "Hey," he nudged his chin out to get her attention. "Rapunzel." She looked to him and when her smile returned, so did his. "Everything is okay now," he nodded. She was able to breathe easy once again. He went back to picking the lock.

Oh Eugene, there's still so many things I need to ask you...

"Besides," he said with a second pin sticking out of his mouth, "I said I think it looks gorgeous. Maybe even better than before. The color's great-" The lock finally popped, and he took the pin out of his mouth and motioned with it like a pipe. "That's my opinion at least." He looked back to her, trying to reassure her with his smile. She was fragile about what he thought seemed like strange things to be fragile about, but he supposed it made sense that her hair was one of them. "Um," he glanced at the tipped-over and shattered mirror again. "Why don't you- um, you have another mirror in your bedroom?" The shackle fell to the floor as he massaged his wrist, which was a nice relief finally, but he was newly concerned after asking about her bedroom.

"Yeah, uh..." she chuckled, "I didn't even look when I was just in there..." She seemed a bit concerned about it, too.

He decided to just push on. "C'mon. Let's go have a look." He got up, which was surprisingly easy without any bodily injuries anymore. She hesitated, but he took her hand gently and lifted her up. "Lead the way." He snatched up Pascal as well. "Hey there, lil guy. You okay too? That's good."

Rapunzel giggled, with a little excitement that surprised even herself. Something was pulling at her- uncertainty, at least. She brushed it off easily enough, chalking it up to her lingering questions. Still, she cautiously dropped his hand as she reached for the banister, but nonetheless lead him up to her bedroom. She brushed through the curtain, passing it off to Eugene behind her.

Eugene held the curtain back, but stopped in the doorway, trying to be polite. Any other time he had been in a girl's bedroom had been for naughty reasons. Without knowing how to properly conduct himself otherwise, the doorway felt safe. He wanted her to feel safe. After all, she had a lot to process. She had been overjoyed sharing in the ecstasy of their kiss earlier, but since then had started to seem rather shaken. No condition to be sweeping her off her feet right now...Pascal scampered down and headed over towards the vanity.

Rapunzel took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and slowly moved to where she knew she would be standing in front of her vanity's mirror.

"It would help if you opened your eyes," Eugene chuckled.

She wrinkled her eyebrows even worse, but slowly parted her eyelids.

"See?" He leaned against the door frame, pinning the open curtain behind his body, and crossed his arms. "Gorgeous..." he sighed, beaming as he gazed upon her once more. He didn't notice how raspy his voice came out. Something so earthy about brunette hair... Then again, he knew he'd love her with any color, or length; it made no difference to him.

"Oh..." Her expression fell. Her chest fell. Her arms hung limp. She was locked on her reflection, but wanted to disappear.

"Rapunzel?" He snapped to the reality of her reaction.

She closed her eyes again and hung her head.

"Rapunzel..." His bedroom misgivings fell to the wayside as he stepped right up to her side and took her shoulders from behind. "What's wrong?" His entire face gaped open, watching her just about to ugly-cry in the mirror. So cute...! "Buh- Rapunzel," calling her 'Blondie' is probably not allowed anymore. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I cut it." Great, now she hates her hair and me. He urged her to turn around to face him, and gently lifted her chin. "Um, 'Baby?' 'Darling?' 'Dear?' 'Sweetie?'" She wouldn't lift her chin. "Ah, 'Princess?'" Instead, she just covered her face with her hands. He fell to one knee, so he could look up to get in her sight, and gripped her wrists. "Rapunzel," he said almost sternly.

She started at his tone, and with that, let him move her hands away. She opened her eyes to see his worried ones. Finally, she exhaled a long breath.

"I'm sorry." He put his palm to her cheek, his other hand still holding hers. "I thought it would be for the best. I'm so sorry. I know you've been through a lot with that hair, but now you're free- and you, are not one to cry just about something like looks. You're stronger than that, I know. Do you think you could tell me why you're so upset about it? It's okay- only if you can."

"Muh-" Her voice quivered and broke off. "Gothel." She choked and swallowed the '-el' sound so Eugene could barely make out the name.

"Gothel?" he questioned. "That was her name?"

"Uh-huh," she sniffled. "She..." Rapunzel reduced her voice to a whisper to be able to get anything out. "She already said I looked too plain and, unimpressive, and... And now..." She managed to squeak only at the end. Now, how could you still like me?

"Oh, Rapunzel," Eugene sighed, wiping her cheek. He couldn't help but chuckle. Is that all it is... "Your mother had horrible taste in women."

Now she couldn't help but chuckle.

"You're gorgeous," he repeated. "Took me enough courage to finally say it to you! I wish you'd actually believe it yourself. Here, um..." He darted to another table that held a washbowl with a pitcher inside and a washcloth draped on the side. "Here," he handed her the dampened cloth.

"Thanks..." She seemed to get quite a bit of relief from the cool cloth. "I'm sorry for getting so upset..."

"Don't be sorry," he countered. "You just went through a lot." His hands went to rubbing her shoulders. "Blondie, when I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. And, you may not know, but I have seen quite a lot of girls. Yesterday, I don't know how all that hair was contained in that braid, but somehow you looked even more exquisite. And now?" He turned her back to face the mirror. "Look. You're a mature young woman. Brave, confident. It looks spunky, like you are."

Rapunzel's mind darted to a few days ago, when a similar posing and topic had ended with her mother- no, Gothel- turning it into a joke. 'Oh look, you're here, too!' She gasped, but it turned into a long inhale that helped calm her down. Eugene wasn't joking. But he still called me 'Blondie.'

"Besides," he cut into her thoughts with a devilish grin as she watched him in the mirror. "Guess what other gorgeous rogue sports short brown hair, er- but in a handsome way?"

She rolled her eyes and finally, really calmed down. "You," she cocked her head towards him and smirked.

"Oh, well..." he played it off cocky. "Why thank you. You see, just like myself, I believe the most attractive people," he watched her eyes in the mirror as she watched his, "Have ambitious spirits, regardless of their hair color, or name, or what have you." He wrinkled up his nose and shook his head with the last part, then eagerly awaited her realization.

It hit her alright. 'I like Eugene Fitzherbert much better than Flynn Rider.' Her eyes showed her shock and understanding.

He grinned. "But really, you do look gorgeous, too," he nodded as they both chuckled.

Rapunzel turned around to throw her arms around his neck. "Thanks, Eugene."

His hands went to embrace her waist. "Anytime, Blondie." She seemed to be as calm as she could get, given the circumstances. Is now a good time to ask?

She pushed away and gave him a disapproving smirk. "You still called me 'Blondie,' again!" She folded her arms defiantly.

His brow furrowed and his head bowed apologetically with his own sad smirk. "Sorry." Guess not. He looked her in the eyes. "But do you mind?" he blushed. "I still like it as a nickname for you, but if you don't, then..."

"No, I don't mind though," she smiled. "After all, what's in a name?" She shrugged and purposely turned her gaze sultry.

Oh God, marry me. Marry me and call me whatever you want! As if heeding a command from her eyes, he leaned in for a kiss. Sure enough, she grabbed his neck and pulled him the rest of the way. Maybe I can ask her after another session here? She has to know she's not going to be left alone here...

This one would be just a quick reprieve. "But Eugene," She pulled away to find his hands at her waist, so her arms rested on his chest. Her expression turned sullen again. I'm safe here, in his arms, but... It wouldn't do for what she needed to ask. If he wants to leave, at least now I know I have my parents to go to. She gently pushed his arms away, and while at first he resisted for a moment, he quickly dropped them when he got the hint of what she wanted. His fists groped at nothing as he turned extremely anxious. As she usually did for comfort, she wrapped her arms around herself, and looked down. Deep breath... "Why did you leave me last night?"

Eugene was hit with shock. She was missing a huge chunk of the story, wasn't she? And she still saved me? "Rapunzel, I didn't- I mean I didn't mean to." Now he had to take a deep breath. "Whew, okay... Actually I suppose I'm missing a bit, too, I guess..."

"Eugene." Her small voice pleaded, still keeping her gaze off to the side.

"Rapunzel, I- I'm sorry." He turned his gaze down, too, now, and let his hands go limp. "You know that, what was in the satchel, that's what I'd stolen the other day. A crown."

"Crown..." She repeated and looked to him, logging away the fairly new word, but still upset.

"Yeah, but, it wasn't being used anyway. I was planning on selling it for, basically just imagine a mountain of gold. But the Stabbington Brothers had helped me steal it, and I was trying to get them out of the deal. I needed their help, but didn't want to split the gold with them. So I ran off on my own with the crown and hid in here. They were two of the ones chasing us at the dam. They-"

"Dam?"

"The dam," he repeated, before realizing it was another new word. "Oh, um, the place where we came out of the tunnel, and there was that huge wooden wall holding back all that water? That wooden wall is called a 'dam.'" He paused for her to take in the simple definition, waiting for permission to continue.

"Okay..."

"So, where was I... Uh, after the dam, the brothers were standing on the shore, where I saw them from the boat. But, by then, I'd realized it wasn't worth it- the crown! The crown wasn't worth it. I wanted to just get rid of it, get rid of them chasing us. I couldn't believe when you brought it up in the boat, like-" he chuckled and rubbed his neck. "Like you still had to pay me for taking you out there... But once I spotted them, I couldn't focus on you while feeling guilty that you'd given it back to me. I didn't explain it all to you before because I just didn't want you to worry about any of it."

"You still-"

"I know, Blondie, I know..." He lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut, not seeing when she flinched. "I should have just kissed you then, and never stopped." She eased up and even blushed at that. He opened his eyes again but kept them downcast. "I was planning on just surrendering it to them so I could just run back to you and be at ease, but they didn't want the crown anymore, because somehow..." It still felt like he had shackles on his hands, again, as he confessed everything he could to her. He looked up. "They knew about you... Your hair. At the time, I didn't know how they could know..." He shook his head her, and mentally restarted the kicking of himself from that moment.

"They said you traded the crown for me," she mumbled in the smallest voice she could, "For the 'girl with the magic hair.'"

"Rapunzel," he said slowly and carefully, looking her right in the eye, "I didn't. They only told you that. But I am telling you, that is not what happened. I would never do that. To anyone." He looked her up and down quickly. "You're a girl – a young woman, in fact. That's... That's just an awful thing to do, magic or no magic."

Cuz I'm so much smaller, and weaker than them... Her grip tightened on her elbows. I still trust him. I want to believe him. But I need to hear this whole story from his own mouth...

He took a couple deep breaths, and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but, hand to hand, I'm no match for those guys. They got me easy, knocked me out, tied me to a dinghy, -a, a type of smallish boat- and sent it back towards the dock, apparently. When I woke up, I was tied everywhere, and there were guards jumping down to surround me..." He stopped only to gulp and try to stop his heart from pounding fear into him- fear of her not believing him. "They got the sentence right away, somehow. I was up all night trying to figure out how to get out of there, and had already told everyone I could that I knew that the brothers were going after some innocent girl, but without telling them about why they would want you and your hair, nobody believed me, -I mean, I didn't tell anybody- but just, nobody cared about them 'maybe,' 'possibly' targeting someone they didn't even know... Then again, I don't know what time the brothers themselves got picked up... This morning the guards came to take me to the gallows, I-"

Rapunzel gasped and whimpered all in one, and returned to staring at the distant floor. I do know what 'gallows' are...

Oh, Rapunzel, is there hope for me in your judgment? "I... uh, I saw them in their own cell. I was able to knock away the two guards holding me, and grab one of the brothers through their bars. They just said they knew 'cause of 'the old lady.'"

Rapunzel kept the wheels of her mind turning, analyzing all the different angles of the bare facts, versus claims. 'Mother' really HAD plotted that part all along... She practically sent those goons after me!

"The guards grabbed me again, but actually," he smiled. "That's when things started getting a little funny."

"Funny?" She sounded offended, but finally looked at him again.

"The thugs from the Snuggly Duckling all showed up and busted me out. Ah- I can regal you with the specifics of that later, it was pretty funny. Maximus had gotten them. Oh, he's actually outside here. Got me here as fast as he could..."

Rapunzel just stared at him, waiting for more.

"And, well, then here we are..." Wince.

She tried so hard not to just succumb to those big brown eyes pleading with her. I'm still upset with you for leaving me on the shore, not telling me what was going on! ...but... She looked to Pascal on the vanity, but his eyes were already dripping tears. "Oh, Pascal!" She went to pick him up, but he shooed her hand away, instead pointing her towards Eugene. "Well, if even Maximus, AND Pascal, believe you, when they don't even like you..." Rapunzel smiled sympathetically, and turned to finally face Eugene again.

And there was the smolder.

"Oh, you!"

They both burst into giggling as she leapt up a bit into his arms, and he pulled her up for a kiss, gently but firmly holding the back of her head again. Now. "Rapunzel," he leaned his forehead against hers and smiled, "I love you."

"I- um," Rapunzel's stomach flipped. I knew it! Her and Gothel would go back and forth: 'I love you,' 'I love you more,' 'I love you most.' But that was an automatic response. She had to. Over recent years, any meaning had been lost already. Why do I have to be reminded of her...

"What is it?" Without parting foreheads, he tried to look into her eyes.

"How do you say it back?" For once she knew how to phrase an important question. Still, she bit her lip in a frown, internal punishment for her eternal stupidity. I do have some stories I've read- why can't I think...

"Well," Eugene smirked, "Why don't you try saying it first, then see what I say?"

The proximity to his face, his chest, his hands, his scent- it was all making her a bit dizzy. She slowly nodded, her lips ever so slightly parted, preparing to try to speak. "Eugene-"

"Hmm?" He coyly teased her, caressing her neck.

"I love you." It came out slow and raspy.

"I love you, too."

Her heart jumped out in joy now at the positivity she knew she would hear. Why did the dark shadows of doubt always creep into her mind? She knew he loved her; yet she still found herself thinking she might be unlovable. She picked her head up slightly, expecting she knew right where to find his lips. But he was already pulling away, and down. What's he- She opened her eyes to see him dipping down, to one knee. He already held her right hand. Uhm, this looks... solemn...

"Rapunzel," he locked eyes with her. "Will you marry me?"

Rapunzel could only make little noises, as she had no idea what to say or do. Luckily, Eugene kept talking.

Because I'm an idiot. "I know you've already been through so much, in just the last few days, and especially just now," Way to freak her out. "But I just want you to know that I'm here for you. I'll keep you safe, always. I want to be with you, forever." Why can't I stop talking. "I wanna run away with you. We can't stay here, I don't expect you to, but..." Now what? "B-but... I promise." Oh, shit. "I will never leave you." Ever.

"Eugene..." She wasn't smiling, just still stunned.

She's not smiling. His stupidity turned it up a notch. His Flynn eyebrow cocked itself. "And when I promise something," he smirked, "I never, ever, break that promise." Well, seeing as this is the first promise I've ever made- I think?

Rapunzel clicked back to reality. He still thought she was pretty, even with the haircut. Loved her, regardless. She had a vague children's-storybook idea of marriage that had been fermented with Gothel's damnations. But staying with her forever? That she understood. He would never leave her. That was more than she had dared hope for at any point! But, what about me being the princess? "Eugene..." she started again. This time, her face was scrunched up in worry and confusion, her teeth gritted.

He shuddered. Flynn died of fright in him and disappeared. His face mirrored hers. "Which stupid thing did I say wrong...?"

Her brow stayed furrowed, but her mouth softened to a smile at his own worry. She shook her head, as if to say That's not it. "Eugene, I'm the lost princess."

He was expecting the knife more than this. Everything about him slowly deflated into shock.

"Please, don't freak out?" Rapunzel held her hands up, leaving his hand to drop.

He stared at his empty hand now, dumbfounded. "Wh-what?" he chuckled. She has to be jok- NO.

"I said, I'm the lost-"

He jumped to his feet. "NO. No, no, no, you can't-" He waved his hands in front of her, trying to make the news go away.

"But, doesn't it make sense?" Her 'smarty-pants' side flailed her own arms, gathering floating evidence to show how right she was. "Gothel even admitted she wasn't my real mother! She practically admitted the entire thing!"

"Rapunz-" His heart sank. He stumbled back to the bed as a flashback hit him. In the orphanage, he was about eight years old. They were releasing lanterns on a new holiday, the Princess's birthday. She had a weird name he couldn't pronounce correctly. Weird, like... Rapunzel. He leaned on his knees and hid his face in his hands.

"Eugene," she practically whined. "What else do you know about the lost princess? Please, I know this has to be true." She gripped his wrists as she sat next to him.

No... no, Blondie this ruins everything... EVERYTHING.

She gave up trying to pull his wrists apart. "Ugh... Please, Eugene. Why won't you tell me?" She dipped her head upside down, trying to look as cute as she could, hoping he would be stealing glances through his fingers.

But he was pressing in on his eyeballs. Blondie. His breathing quivered. Right after I spill my heart to you, you are literally asking me to take it back and slowly tear it to pieces for you...

She kissed the back of his hand, rather enjoying making him shudder. It made her feel better. Then the other one. She was well on her way to learning that she could control his every move. She let herself be proud and smile about it.

His hands crumpled with a long, labored sigh. I wish I had drowned with her. "Blondie..." He tried looking at her, but it was better to tell these things to the floor. "You have the same birthday. Same age. I think you have the same name. No, I'm pretty sure. There was a fuss that the baby had blonde hair, but both the king and queen have brown hair. But, right before the queen gave birth, there was a rumor that she had fallen terribly ill or something, and that a 'magic golden flower' was used to cure her. I think I remember people saying that's why the baby had blonde hair- unless I'm just connecting all that now because, I am freaking out." Why bring me back just to torture me...

Rapunzel listened in awe. However, Eugene's attitude discouraged her from jumping around the room. "What about her eyes?" she asked as she crossed her legs and leaned towards him.

He shook his head. "I don't have any idea how any commoner would even know about her eyes..." Denoting the new difference in their statuses bit into him hard.

"Yesterday," she went on, "I saw a huge mosaic of what I think was the 'royal family,' from what everyone was saying. A man and a woman, dressed so finely- and they were holding a baby with long blonde hair and-"

His eyes darted to hers. Her gorgeous green eyes. "Don't."

She didn't hear him try to interrupt. "Green eyes!"

Lord, take me. All he could do was look away again and sigh. He rubbed his hands together, stroking where she had healed him the first time.

She stopped her bouncing on the bed. "Eugene?" Her eyes begged him to meet them, but he was lost staring into space. Her mood plummeted lower than his. "Why are you upset that I would be the lost princess? I mean, is that not a good thing?"

"That depends on the point of view, amongst other circumstances," he snapped. "Blondie, if you're the lost princess, then I'm dead. And it makes perfect sense that you..."

Whatever his reasoning was, Rapunzel knew that him talking about being dead was too much for her. "Why...?" Dead? "Eugene, why would you be dead?" She dared to grab his arm again.

"Because, Blondie," he flopped back on the bed. Doesn't matter now. "For one, I'm on your bed. I kissed you. I had my hands on you. I'm alone with you. I've been alone with you a lot. I'm a thief. A 'Wanted-Dead-Or-Alive' thief. I was already supposed to be executed this morning. And you're, a princess."

Rapunzel shook her head. "I still don't understand, why any of that... I mean besides that..." At least one part slowly pieced itself together. "If... if we went back, they would try to execute you again, right?"

"Maybe more than once, now."

"But..." She looked to her flag, crumpled up on a corner of the bed with them. A whimper finally made it to the surface, in place of words not coming. "I'm sorry," she managed.

In an instant he was pulling her down to lay pressed up to his side, to clutch her, at least while he could. She eagerly snuggled in, breathing him into her, trying to overpower the saltwater bubbling up. "No, I'm sorry," he reassured her, as he held her waist and rubbed her arm.

"I don't even understand..."

He took a deep breath. "Just, trust me..."

"Is this wrong? Why would only you be in trouble?"

"I don't know." What did she even say... He was too busy holding onto her for dear life and trying to bury himself in her cute pixie hair.

"What do the king and queen do? They 'rule the kingdom,' like you said yesterday, right? What about the princess? Doesn't that mean 'rule,' like... laws, and stuff? Bad guys and good guys?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"I don't know how it all works, kingdoms and..."

"Kings and queens make the laws, well, probably mostly just the kings. Er- each kingdom only has one king, and if he's married, his wife is the queen, yeah. And people who break the laws -like, say, they steal something, or touch a woman they're not supposed to- the guards catch them and they get locked up in prison. Sometimes just for a little while, or sometimes they are executed. They're the bad guys, the king protects pe-"

"But you're not!"

"Yes, I am..."

"Eugene, I love you."

"I love you, too, Blondie."

"I can't lose you again. I don't know if I could bring you back again. I want to stay with you forever, too."

Too much. Eugene expertly hoisted her up so their heads were level, lying next to each other there. He devoured her lips, drinking up her words. Her cheeks are hot, but not from crying, from- anger? He had taken her by surprise, but she did not resist his hands on the back of her neck, nor the small of her back. Slowly, as he caught his heart and was able to allow it to drift back down from his throat to his chest, he rolled her onto her back, straddling her dress.

She gasped a little in his mouth, but turned it into a moan on the exhale. She only had to struggle to get her arms up around his neck and shoulders, so she could try to pull him even closer.

His heart bounced up again. He broke the kiss, panting, trying to breathe right.

"Eugene." It came out nearly a whisper.

He opened his eyes to meet hers.

"Tell me," she dragged two fingernails down along the stubble of his cheek, "About the good guys." She cocked her head with a childish smile, unaware it was received as anything but childish. "What do they do..."

Heavens help me. "They..." Part of Flynn came back, but only to support the new found sap. A wolfish grin came over him. "They rescue princesses. They only touch a woman when she wants him to touch her." She just quivered, mmph! "They recover what's been stolen. And then..." He couldn't bear the last to her eyes, since it would be a lie, so his face fled to the crook of her neck. "They're welcomed as heroes."

"I told you you were a good guy." Her lips brushed his ear with the whisper, as she squeezed him with all her might.

He clenched his teeth tight, to resist putting them to her delicate skin there. Sounds to me like either way, I die. Died being the good guy, would be dead for being the bad guy, too.

"What about princesses?" she asked at normal volume again.

"Ah, princesses, huh?" He leaned up onto his elbows. "'What do princesses do?' Well, for one," he cocked his brow. "I hear, that they are a HUGE pain in your side." He chuckled, so she did too. "But, I actually don't know. You..." When he was lost in her eyes, the truth did not hurt so much. Actually, it was more like he had already known her all her life. "I was only eight when you disappeared. I haven't heard about what any other kingdoms' princesses actually do."

"Well then," a sparkle flared up in her eye. "For all we know, princesses also get to sort out the good guys and bad guys."

He could not speak. He could not break both their hearts at once. Not again. A hard gulp recovered his vocal cords. "But..." He brought his lips right up within reach of hers. His hair dangled over her, lightly brushing her forehead and cheeks. She smiled, and tried to catch his lips, but he leaned away. "Princesses marry princes." Another gulp fought to beat his heart back down.

For a moment, they both searched each others' eyes for understanding, for answers. Eugene found understanding, but Rapunzel found no answers she liked. She finally gasped, unsure whether to ask 'what' or 'why' first.

Eugene could not take the disappointment in her face any longer. He slid off of her and stood up.

She bolted up indignantly. "But do they have to marry-"

"Yes."

"And it can only be to a prince?"

"Yes."

"You're not a prince by any chance then-"

"No."

"But you said you were an orphan! Maybe your parents-"

"No, I may have been an orphan, but I knew who my parents were. They just, died."

"Well, but..." She could not find any more straws to grasp at. She sat back on the bed, and reached her arms up to hang onto the long hair beside her face- but settled for the canopy post when she found nothing there. "But," she looked up to him, trying not to pout, "Eugene, you're all I have..."

She looked and sounded so pathetic, and he had nothing to make it better, so he simply did not respond. And I want to... want to be your everything, want to be a good guy for you, be your prince, but... The mention of his parents had swirled up, in the back of his mind, the few memories he had of them. Just glimpses, mostly. Ordinary days. But I knew them... He drew a deep breath. This is a suicide mission. "You have your parents. They live in the huge castle we saw. And, you have the whole kingdom, in fact!" He took a delicate step towards her. "That whole celebration was just for you. Just for you. It really was..."

She scoffed and looked away. She knew where he was going.

"You have Pascal. And he knows everything about you. And so long as Maximus isn't in trouble for helping me break out, you can go visit him in the stables. And-"

"But I want you."

Complete suicide mission. "I'm only- Hey, I'm only the first guy you met! There are plenty of guys out there that are much better than me." They'll have to kill me, first, but... they'd better be amazing to you...

She was shaking her head already. "They can't be."

"But you don't even know-"

"Yes I do!"

He shot his hands up in stunned surrender.

"You showed me yourself! You showed me the world, and I've learned so much. You can't just tell me what it's like. It's one thing if I genuinely don't understand how something works, but you can't just tell me how people in general are!"

Eugene's eye sparkled with understanding the root of what she was actually contrasting him to.

"You are the good guy who saved me. No one else could ever claim that now. You even died for me!"

Damn straight! He smiled sweetly, standing directly in front of her again. "But I can't keep you all for myself." He brushed a lock of hair away from her face. "I'm taking you back."

"No!" She grabbed his collar and smashed their lips together again.

I'm beginning to think good guys die even more than bad guys... He didn't fight her; just melted back into her. She's killing me here... Again...

She pulled away to add to her protest. "Not if you can't-"

He returned their lips back together, picking up the pace and pouring in as much passion as he could. He could feel her going faint. Finally... She was at last putty in his hands. He grabbed her around her waist, supported her bottom, and spun her around to the wall. His body pressed up against hers, forcing a startled whimper he felt in his mouth. Taking advantage of her distraction, he moved his hands around to find her wrists. "Payback."He broke the kiss, as he pinned her wrists to the wall beside her hips. "Blondie." His voice was deeper than usual. "You want me?"

She opened her eyes, still shuddering excitedly. "Yes- but..." She giggled. "Eugene, lemme go-" Her giggling was on the verge of sounding actually nervous, but he had a giddy face she knew well.

"Nah-ah!" A devilish grin flashed. "Not til you make a deal with me." He found himself giggling, too.

"Oh, you-!" She giggled more, trying to shuffle her feet to do something about her predicament. A soft, then stubbly cheek brushed hers; lips so close to her ear. She paused.

"I want you to meet your parents. I, will act as your guide, then, if you still want, whisk you away, safely. Then, and only then, will I-"

"What if you're arrested again?"

"Well," He picked his head up. "We'll figure out later how exactly to go about getting you in front of the king and queen. But," He found her eyes to let his swim in. "If it does go south, then hopefully princesses can do something about sorting out good guys and bad guys."

She gulped. "But-"

"Your father's name is Walter."

With that, Rapunzel felt her head fall, as she gave in to the part of her will that did want to so desperately meet them.

Eugene let one wrist go as he brushed a stubborn springy hair away yet again; his pretense for caressing her cheek. "Your real mother's name is Lillian." His other hand turned to instead interlock with Rapunzel's fingers. "I wish I still had my parents, or at least had them longer til I'd grown up more, like a normal kid."

She sighed, 'Normal...' and pushed her face into his chest. "Alright."

"Promise me."

"I promise- I do want to confirm from my- parents themselves if it is true. I do want to meet them. I want to see what they're like. They obviously really want to find their lost princess, so I want to show them that I'm okay, and who I am. But... I'm scared."

Eugene straightened up, with her falling forward to follow his chest. He collected her in his arms. "It's gonna be alright. Of all the new people you've met so far, all the new people you're going to meet, your parents are not people for you to be scared of."

"I know. But I still am."

"I know, I understand."

"There's that, and of course I'm scared for you."

"I'll be fine." It was just an automatic response.

"But-"

No more buts. "So you promise you'll give it a shot?"

She took a shaky deep breath. "I promise."

He started to pull away. "Alright then-"

She abruptly finished separating them, but sternly took hold of his shoulders. "But then you promise me that you'll stay safe."

"Ah..." He couldn't just start throwing promises around lightly. His blank expression turned somber. "I... I can't really promise that..."

Rapunzel looked more like she was reprimanding.

He sighed. "Blondie, it's not like I'm looking to throw my life away." He chuckled. Okay, maybe a little. "I mean I don't want to die!" Unless I can't be with you. "So of course I'm going to try to stay alive. But..." He turned somber, too, now. "But I won't promise you anything that I know might be out of my control to keep- I couldn't bear to break a promise to you." A genuine smile.

She returned the smile, yet sadly. "Well... Alright..."

Eugene took the opportunity to kiss her worries away for a moment. "I suppose I could promise to 'do everything in my power,' though."

She smirked. "There ya go. I trust you. Somehow it was in your power to break out of prison and get all the way here, so... this shouldn't be so bad, right?"

"Exactly!" He stepped back and held up a bicep for show, pretending to be his alter ego with the massive ego for a moment.

Her giggling overtook her, pushing all the anxiety and uncertainty down, deep deep down.

He allowed himself to catch her contagious giggles again, likewise flinging his fears and worries to the wind. "Let's just get outta here already!" How could he not smile at her? At the start of a new journey...

Her giggling continued in agreement.

He turned to the vanity, and allowed Pascal to climb into his hand, then deposited him on his shoulder. "Are you going to need anything?"

"Oh, um, I don't know, do I?"

Eugene snorted a little laugh. "Alright, let's see." He stood in thought a moment, gazing around her bedroom almost dreamily. For the first time he got a good look at everything, trying to take it all in. This was the only place she had ever been for 18 years. Every bit of her was imbued in every miniscule inch, even invisible stories of how a certain scrape had come across the wooden side of a bureau. Her painted murals, borders, and doodles stretched over every inch of wall. In a bit of surprise, his gaze followed the murals up, up, and up into the rafters of the spire roof. His mouth fell open a little.

"Eugene?"

He blinked back. "This is beautiful..."

She hunched over humbly but chuckled. "Thanks!"

He shook his head. "Um, got a thin blanket?"

Trying to stay focused on what would be practical, or at least what constituted a healthy emotional attachment, Eugene quickly packed a sack for her. He tossed in a nightgown, hair brush, the small kingdom flag, the flower hair pins, a shawl… He showed her how the corners all came together into the center, and tying them held everything in. The sack was set aside next to her little box case of painting supplies.

Downstairs, Eugene insisted he carry her over the broken mirror, towards the kitchen as requested. They gathered the trusty frying pan for Rapunzel to hang onto. She took to scouring her shelves, cupboards, and crevices for anything she wanted to bring into her new life. She found nothing.

Amidst the sparkling shards of mirror and glass, Eugene found where Gothel had dropped her shiny dagger. Ever so slowly, he stooped to pick it up. With a towel and a gulp, he wiped his own blood off of the long blade. His eyes glanced to Rapunzel, the embodiment of his new resolve to live. She was busy studying her shelves of belongings. Gingerly, the dagger slipped through the belt of his vest, right below the bloodstain. A little twist, and the hilt stayed caught on the thin strap.

"I've basically memorized these books anyway..."

"The castle will have like, every book ever made."

"Should we bring anything to eat?"

"Not with the royal feasts you're gonna see."

"Clothes?"

"You have a nightgown for tonight, but just wait til you get your hands on all the gowns for a princess!"

The sun was high in the sky by the time Rapunzel decided she was ready. "How long will it take to get there this time?"

Eugene set the sack under his arm, then transferred the handle of the paint case to that hand. After the revelries he'd just described for her, he sighed. "We'll stay at the Snuggly Duckling for tonight." One night... Just give me a little more time, please. "Okay?"

"Okay!" she chirped. She followed him down the trap door's ladder to the narrow spiral staircase. They carefully felt their way from there in the dark, step by step, as she held sure to the back of his larger belt.

For Eugene, his heart pounded as it did the last time he walked down a tight stone hallway. Though, he much preferred this walk to the gallows than this morning's.

A/N One more thing! Follow me as MiraNova23 on tumblr for updates, chats, my other fanworks [to come], and general Disney geeking. =)