Author's Note: Hi! *Waves* Okay, so I'm just another victim who's been sucked into the awesome world of Tangled! AND I LOVE IT! I think Tangled is one of the BEST animation movies Disney has created, and I think it was a great return from Disney that has been on a very inspirational vacation XD Anyways, this is my very first Tangled fic, and I am SUPER excited to start writing in this category! YAY! (You might have noticed that I'm not the sanest person you know, but, hey, you can't control yourself when it comes to Tangled and Eugene/Flynn!) XD

Disclaimer: Hey, guys, guess what, I OWN TANGLED! YAYYY! *Waves contract of rightful owner of Tangled* *Two dudes in a suit snatch the contract out of my hand, mumbling something about how 'Crazy Teenagers should never be trusted to watch a contract for the move Tangled with a very hot male character'* Awwwwww, I guess I don't own Tangled after all *Light bulb flashes above head* Not yet anyways *Grabs chainsaw and follows the two guys with a crazy look* O_o

INSPIRATION: I was deeply inspired into this fic when I listened to Bruno Mars' hit song "Just The Way You Are" - it's even the title - and I HIGHLY recommend that you hear it! It is AMAZING! XD

Just The Way You Are

"Come on, Blondie, we're late," Eugene Fitzherbert – or publicly known as thief Flynn Rider – called out in annoyance to his girlfriend. It had been three months since he rescued Rapunzel from the tower and got her home to her true parents. Of course, after the whole week of the celebration, the king and queen gave Rapunzel a little time to adjust to her new surroundings. After all that time, the King and Queen decided to throw a ball – after spending nearly ten minutes explaining to Rapunzel that it was some kind of a dance, a night where people got together and mingled and danced, and that it was not a bouncy ball – inviting all the Kings and Queens and Princes and Princesses so Rapunzel could finally act like a princess – with a lot of practice, though.

"Coming, coming," Blondie – who wasn't much of a blonde anymore, but the nickname stuck and she and Eugene were both used to it – said, coming out of the bathroom, Pascal on her shoulder. "You have no patience whatsoever, Eugene, and I'm not even sure that's healthy."

"What's not healthy is being late for your first ball," Eugene remarked, causing her to roll her eyes. "Besides, you take all that time just on your hair, and that doesn't even make any sense. Just leave it down like you always do, it's perfect like that."

"Aw," she said, leaning in and giving him a peck on the cheek. Pascal turned red – as he usually does when Rapunzel and Eugene kiss. "You're so sweet, Eugene, but can you think you can only be that sweet with me and not with all the other princesses out there?"

"Aw, Blondie's jealous," Eugene teased in a singsong voice. Rapunzel was about to argue, when he rolled his eyes and continued, "You know you're the only one I see – but that doesn't mean that I'm the only ones the ladies see."

He raised his eyebrows and dropped them in his flirty way, and smiled an ear-to-ear grin. Kinda like the way his first attempted at flirting with Rapunzel the first time they met in the palace – but unlike all the other women, Rapunzel was actually confused by that.

But Rapunzel only rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, Eugene, weren't we late just a few minutes ago?"

As if he just remembered it now, Eugene started pulling Rapunzel with him. Rapunzel was wearing a pink dress – as usual – it was similar to the one that she wore in the tower, but this one was more well-made and elegant. She was obligated to wear shoes – which she complained about to Eugene almost every time she took them off – and to make it worse for her, they were 4-inch heels. Well, a girl's gotta grow up some time.

Eugene was dressed in his usual attire; only instead of a blue vest he wore a black one and no belt. He was a little nervous at first when Blondie's parents announced that whole ball to them. He wasn't sure how people would react when they find out that Rapunzel's hopefully-prince-consort-to-be used to be the kingdom's most wanted thief Flynn Rider. Of course, the King and Queen warmed up to Eugene quickly, and sent out the guards to remove all the Wanted papers. I mean, people would've thought it would be impossible for him to return the crown, but he returned with the Lost Princess instead. He just hoped that that 'savior' thing covered up the 'Most Wanted Thief' thing…

They entered the doors of the ballroom, and Rapunzel was suddenly taken aback by the sudden lights and music and all the people wearing expensive jewelry. Rapunzel had her eyes wide and alert through all that time, with Eugene getting more nervous by the minute beside her. She wasn't used to crowds like this, all fancy-talking and looking. She made sure to stick next to Eugene at all times as she made her way through the crowd to her parents, who were sitting on their throne.

"Hello, Rapunzel," the Queen said sweetly, smiling at them. "Hello, Eugene. What took you so long in getting here?"

"Ugh, I was working on my hair," Rapunzel said shyly. "Um, Mother, what am I supposed to do now? I'm not used to being in places like these."

"Just go talk to people," the King said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Get to know who these people are. Hey, there are a few princesses over there; maybe you should go talk to them."

Rapunzel nodded, but she was still unable to shake the uneasiness from her chest. She held onto Eugene's hand tightly, practically dragging him with her.

"Whoa, relax, Goldie," Eugene said, scurrying to keep up with her nervous pace. "You heard what your dad said; don't try and escape the party. Come on, let's go and try to mingle."

"Mingle?" Rapunzel asked, confused. "What does that mean?"

Eugene resisted the urge to chuckle. Even after three months she was still the same: adorable and innocent and clueless about the world around her, one of the things Eugene loved most about her. "It means we go meet some people. Come on."

Rapunzel nodded and walked with him, her head slightly lowered from shyness. Okay, Rapunzel, she said to herself. Remember what your tutor taught you: Head up, Shoulders back, and confident walking.

She brought her head up to meet the eyes staring in awe at her, straightened her back, and started walking steadily, matching Eugene's pace. Sure, he was just as nervous as she was, but the thing he learned to do so well over the past years was to keep a poker face.

The couple was stopped by a man and a woman who looked in their thirties; married, too, according to the ring the woman was wearing on her left hand that was held by the man's shoulder.

"Hello there, you must be the long awaited Princess of Corona," the woman said in a rich and elegant British accent. Shaking Rapunzel's and Eugene's hands, she continued, "I am Melinda, and this is my husband, King of Tangerwood, Richard. We are pleased to meet you."

"A pleasure to meet you too," Rapunzel said politely, shaking King Richard's hand. "As you know, I'm Rapunzel, and this is Eugene."

Frankly, Eugene was too fazed to correct the name into Flynn Rider. I mean, seriously? These people looked as if they were people who just got off of the Titanic's first class. I mean, a silk black tux, a silk and spotless wish shirt, and a turquoise tie that looked over 500$ definitely expressed a man with money. His black hair was neatly brushed and his green eyes glowed. He was slightly overweight, but all of which he was wearing didn't even get the eyes to focus on his weight.

And Melinda wasn't dressed to shabby either, in what seemed to be a velvet black gown, V-neck, and a skirt flowing until it reached her ankles, covering up her black 6-inch high heel shoes. Her caramel hair was tied up in a neat bun, little pearl-shaped barrettes holding up her bangs, showing off her hazel eyes. She was wearing diamond rings on both her hands, pearls around her neck, pearls around her wrists, and pearls dangling from her ears. Their whole attire – plus their hairdos – looked like they cost over twenty-five thousand dollars.

Eugene silently thanked God that he wasn't a thief anymore, or else they would wake up the next day bankrupt.

"Ah, I presume you are her husband?" King Richard asked, staring at their intertwined hands.

Eugene and Rapunzel looked at each other awkwardly, and then Eugene quickly said, "No, no, we're not married yet."

"Oh," Melinda said, looking a bit disappointed. "Well, I wish you both good luck. Welcome back to your home, Rapunzel."

They nodded at them respectfully, and walked off, leaving a wide-eyed Rapunzel standing. "Wow," she said, breaking into a grin. "They were so nice and this was so easy! Come on, Eugene; let's go meet the other people."

It almost took no time for her to drag Eugene across the entire ballroom. Her Charisma and beauty pulled in a lot of people into her circle, and everyone who talked to her loved her instantly. Eugene just watched in amusement every time she talked to someone and they would recognize Eugene as Flynn Rider and she'd have to explain all over again how he saved her from the tower. It was even more amusing when people would notice Pascal on her shoulder and get all freaked out and asked her what the hell that thing is.

"This is fun," she exclaimed as she and Eugene went to have a drink. "But I haven't met any princesses yet, and you haven't met any princes."

"Now, now, why would you think that I would like to hang around dudes who look like they spend more time staring in a mirror than leaving a room?" he said, giving her a look.

She shrugged. "So? You spend a lot of time working on your smolder than you do with me."

"Hey," Eugene said, taken aback that she could snap a remark like that. "That is so not true."

"Yes," she said, raising her eyebrows at him. "Yes it is." He was about to snap another remark when she sighed and said, "Please, Eugene, just try and blend in. For me?"

He was about to try and fight his way out of it, but then she looked at him with the eyes. I mean, picture the huge green eyes of an adorable cat looking pleadingly at you on Rapunzel's face. Yeah, exactly. Oh, and adding that to Pascal turning blue and sticking out his bottom lip at an attempt in a puppy-dog pout, leads to an easily defeated Eugene.

He sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright. I'll go. But just keep in mind that you owe me one."

Again, she didn't understand the form of words and looked at Eugene in confusion, her eyebrows furrowed. "What – "

"I'll tell you later," Eugene cut her off, afraid that if he looked in those eyes for another second he might collapse in front of the entire room. Rapunzel grinned, and looked down to Pascal on her shoulder, who was smiling slyly at her. She chuckled as she tapped her finger on his cute little hand, as if giving him a high-five.

"Works every time, Pascal," Rapunzel told him, and started walking towards two 18-year-old looking twins. They were both blondes, one with hair that reached her shoulders and the other with hair that reached her waist. They were both wearing green dresses that complemented their white and soft skin and blue-gray eyes. Wow, if it weren't for their hair, they wouldn't be recognized from each other.

"Hi," Rapunzel said excitedly. "My name is Rapunzel."

"Oh, hi," the girl with the shoulder-length said, grinning at Rapunzel. She just gleamed with friendliness that Rapunzel instantly liked her. "I'm Ashley, and this is my twin sister Alyson."

"Hi," Rapunzel said, directing her words at Alyson. Rapunzel noticed that Alyson actually did look a little different from her sister, no huge smile, no friendly eyes and definitely no kindness.

"Ew," was the first thing that Alyson said when she looked at Rapunzel. "What is that?"

She pointed at Pascal with a disgusted look. Rapunzel didn't really mind at first, since that reaction was predicted when somebody sees a chameleon on someone's shoulder. "Oh, this is my pet, Pascal."

She heard a slight growl behind her ear, and looked down at a glaring Pascal. She chuckled, and added, "And he's also my best friend."

"You're best friends with a frog?" Alyson said in disgust.

Rapunzel was slightly offended by that, but she tried not to show it. "First, it's not a frog, it's a chameleon, see?" she turned to Pascal and he jumped on her head and turned brown. "And second, he was my only friend back when I was at the tower."

Luckily, it was Ashley that spoke next. "Aww," she said, grinning at Pascal, and he tried to flash one of Eugene's ear-to-ear flirty grins. "He is soo cute!"

Pascal used his eyebrows to do that flirty thing Eugene does with his. Rapunzel rolled her eyes at this, and grabbed him down onto her shoulder. "He likes you, Ashley, and that's rare, because he never usually likes anyone in a matter of seconds."

"Aw, well that's sweet," Ashley said. "Oh, by the way, Rapunzel, I love your hair."

Rapunzel was slightly taken aback by that, since her messy hair was never complimented on, usually her eyes or smile. Plus, she was starting to miss her old long hair, and was looking forward to her hair growing. "Really? Thanks."

"I love how it can look messy and cute without actually being messy," Ashley kept on going. "Who does your hair?"

"Um, I do, actually," Rapunzel said, feeling a bit confused. Don't princesses brush their own hair? "It's not a big deal, really."

"But I still admire the cut," she turned to her sister, who had been quiet through all of that time, inspecting her French-manicured nails. "Aly, what do you think?"

Alyson shrugged, not even looking up. "It's okay, I guess."

Disappointment surged through Rapunzel. She could understand why she might not like the cut, since Rapunzel's hair barely reached her chin and Alyson's hair reached all the way down to her waist. "You don't like the cut?"

"No, the cut's fine," Alyson said, looking up. "It's your hair color, it's all… brown."

"What? You haven't met any brunette princesses before?" Rapunzel was slightly amused at the fact that a girl like her might not have met any princesses with brown hair before, since she seemed like the kind of girl who met everybody.

"Oh, I have," she said. "But I've met much prettier looking princesses who were blonde, much like myself. To me, brunettes just look… Dull."

"Oh…" Rapunzel said, tears springing in her eyes. And as if she hadn't stung Rapunzel enough, Alyson continued.

"I mean, if you were blonde, you could have actually made your eyes look good, since they're so wide and all, but well, I guess you're born the way you were born…"

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she got back to her nails, and acted as if Rapunzel wasn't even standing there anymore. Ashley turned back to Rapunzel with apologetic eyes, saying, "I'm so sorry, Rapunzel, but Aly has this issue with brunettes and–"

"No, its okay," Rapunzel said reassuringly, not wanting to dump everything on the nice sister. "Um, excuse me…"

She quickly turned away from the sisters, and tried hard to keep her tears in just long enough until she was out of the room. She made her way through the crowd, and struggled to calm herself down.

Noticing her, Eugene excused himself from the other princes – who actually liked him, not that it was much of a surprise for Eugene, after all, he was likable with everyone that doesn't have anything sharp – and started following Rapunzel. He thought she was going to talk to someone else, but was a bit surprised when she stormed through the doors of the ballroom and ran out.

She didn't even notice some of the eyes that were trailing behind her exit. She didn't even notice that the King and Queen saw her storming out of the ballroom. And she scarcely noticed that Eugene was following her as she absently ran towards her room. She was letting the tears spill by now, and was fighting hard not to trip on her own feet from the blur of her tears. It was her first real ball, the first time she ever met people who were from the same type of families as she was. It was her very first time to ever feel accepted by everyone, to be loved by everyone other than her Eugene and Pascal and her parents.

But none of it mattered now. Her whole night was torn upside down in a second, and all it took was one word from an obnoxious and stuck-up princess.

Blonde.

Rapunzel finally reached her room, and she instantly made her way to sit on the window seat and look out to the stars. She took off the dreaded shoes that squeezed her feet and tossed them aside, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them. She tried wiping her tears, and used the sleeve of her dress to wipe her eyes. She looked down onto the kingdom grounds and the stars and the full moon, and found herself calmed by that.

She heard a knock on the door as Eugene walked in, but she didn't even look up. "Blondie? You okay?"

The nickname only made her feel worse, and she put her head between her arms and cried. Eugene rushed by her side, and sat in front of her, trying to get her to look at him.

"Whoa, whoa," he said, holding her arms. He cupped her cheeks to get her to look at him, and was absolutely heartbroken by the tearful look she gave him. "Blondie, what's wrong?"

"Don't," she attempted at yelling, but her voice came out hoarse from all the crying. "Don't call me Blondie, Eugene, because if you haven't noticed, I'm not blonde anymore."

Eugene shrugged, failing to see the pain in her voice when she said the word blonde. "So? You like that nickname, and I know you do, so why the sudden change of mind?"

She sniffed, and Eugene reached out behind him to get her a tissue from on her desk. He handed her a tissue, and she blew her nose. "Thanks," she said. Eugene's presence was calming to her; she felt safer in his arms.

"Okay, there we go," Eugene said once she was calmer. "Now, would you mind telling me what all the crying was about?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Well, I was talking to these two princesses and one of them told me that she didn't like my hair color. When I asked her why, she said that it made me look dull, and that-that if I had blonde hair I would actually look prettier like she does."

"What?" Eugene asked in disbelief. What person in their right mind would say that Rapunzel wasn't beautiful? Rapunzel didn't have to be blonde or brunette to look good, she looked beautiful just that way it is. "Rapunzel, I don't know who's crazier, the stupid girl who told you that or you for actually believing her."

"Well, what was I supposed to do, Eugene?" she said, sniffing. "She was right, I did look better when I was blonde, and now I don't look as good."

Eugene brought his face closer to her so that their noses were almost touching, his hands still cupping her face. "Rapunzel, no matter what color or height your hair is, you'll always look beautiful. And not just your hair, your eyes, your smile, your laugh – "

She smiled at that. "You know I hate my laugh."

"You do, but I think it's adorable," he said, and then continued. "You don't ever have to change who you are Rapunzel. You'll always be my Blondie, and know that you're amazing just the way you are."

Rapunzel smiled, and brought her lips to his. Huh, who knew Eugene would be the most touchy feely guy when it came to Rapunzel and her hair? Eugene kissed back almost immediately, anticipating her in her love. The kiss was filled with love and passion that you could just feel it a mile away.

When they broke away, Rapunzel grinned. "You know what's the one thing that the blonde girl – Alyson – doesn't and will never have?"

Eugene focused on her eyes, and barely slapped himself to pay attention to what she was saying before he got lost into her green orbs. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"A perfect, sweet, and loving boyfriend like you," she said. He grinned, and switched into what she liked to call 'Flynn Mode'. "Well, I am quite rare nowadays."

She laughed, and he pulled her in another kiss. They had to part a minute later to breathe, and just sat there, smiling at each other.

Eugene sighed, realizing that they were going to have to get back there sooner or later. "You wanna go back there?"

She shook her head, a smile still on her face. "No," she whispered. "I like it just fine here with you."

They kissed for about the millionth time, and they weren't tired of it just yet. They heard music emanating from downstairs, but they scarcely noticed at all.

"You're perfect," Rapunzel whispered as she closed her eyes, resting her forehead on Eugene's.

"Just the way you are," Eugene agreed, finishing off for her. Let's just say that for Rapunzel, that was the best first ball ever, and for Eugene, it was definitely on his 'Best Nights' list.

"Eugene," Rapunzel said, causing him to open his eyes and looked at her, muttering an "Mmhmm." She looked over her shoulder at Pascal – who Eugene hadn't noticed until then – and he said something in that weird language of him. Rapunzel turned back to Eugene with a grin.

"Pascal says you're smoldering at me again."

A/N: Tada! So, watcha think? Was it bad? Terrible? Good? Great? How was it? TELL ME! *Loads gun* Or you'll see the consequences.

Anyways, please review and tell me what you think! XD Wait, what are you doing? NO, don't scroll up, scroll down! COME BACK HERE!

REVIEW! *Loads gun again and points, waiting*