"Leaving someone like this is definitely something Flynn Rider would do. But ask yourself... is it something Brock Thunderstrike would do?" Eugene asks, voice loud enough to be heard over the rushing water.

Brock stills. Eugene can't see his face, but Brock stills, and there's a hope right there - that his words had gotten through him, that he had managed to make him see that this wasn't a path he should want to follow. But the hope is short lived; Brock doesn't turn back to help him, and Eugene is left struggling against his bounds, the frigid water nearly at his neck.

He had never been as good as Rapunzel for life-changing pep talks anyway. He never thought he would die because of it, though.

That mere word is enough to make him struggle again, because the water is rising and he's going to drown if he can't lockpick the manacles. He bends his hands as much as humanly possible, but it's not enough - he can't fit his pin into the lock, and doesn't even know if he's close. The water is cold, and his hands are already growing numb from it, and Eugene curses at his own helplessness. He pulls on his wrists again despite the pain that it causes him, desperate to free himself as the water keeps rising steadily, but his fingers rip against the metal and the pin falls from his fingers.

"Oh come on," he exclaims, voice wobbling on the last syllable. The water laps over his collar, his teeth are chattering from the cold now, and… And for the first time in a long while, he doesn't see any escape.

"Eugene!"

He raises his head just in time to see Rapunzel above him, hair shining under the moonlight, and green eyes wide with fear in the quick glimpse he gets of them. And then she's jumping down into the water with him, hair floating around her as she rushes to his side, looking determined and beautiful.

"Sunshine," he laughs, relief evident in his tone because of course she's here, and even if he can't escape on his own, he's not a thief working alone anymore. He's not Brock, and he's not Flynn Rider either - he has changed and he has grown, and part of it is due to Rapunzel bringing the light back into his world.

"Where's your lockpin?" she says urgently, fingers fumbling with his bounds under the water.

"It fell do- Sunshine wait!"

Eugene's exclamation is too late, because she's already diving under, and he feels her move next to his legs. This is when the situation hits him all over again. Maybe the pin has floated away from him, maybe Rapunzel won't find it in time, but the water is already at his chin and he knows it won't be much longer before he's submerged. She appears to take a breath, before diving again, and the dread he had momentarily pushed aside at her entrance comes back with a vengeance.

"I can't find it!" she yells, panicked.

"Sunsh- Rapunzel," he pleads, and he must have sounded scared enough for her to not dive down again immediately. "Rapunzel you- you need to go."

"What-"

"You need to- You need to go, the water is rising too quickly and- and it's too dark, and-"

Eugene is struggling to keep his mouth out of the water, and struggling to voice his thoughts, too. She needs to go because it's dangerous, because he doesn't think she will find the lockpin, doesn't think she can get him out in time and… He doesn't want her to see him drown. He doesn't want her to stay too long and drown with him too, doesn't want her to get hurt because of his past mistakes. It's all his fault, and he tries to explain it to her, babbles all the reasons she should get out of here before it's too late but-

"Hey, hey, Eugene," Rapunzel interrupts, an ineffable tenderness in the way she says his name. She puts her hands on his shoulders, wet hair plastered to her face, feet not quite touching the ground anymore - and despite all of that, she's still the best sight Eugene could hope for.

"You-" He tries to stutter something, anything, because his heart is beating in his chest too quickly and soon he won't be able to talk, because the water is going to-

"Eugene," Rapunzel says again, with more force behind her tone. "Eugene, I'm not leaving you behind. I'm going to save you."

There's no doubt in her voice, no fear in her smile. Gently, she brushes his hair back from his face, hand cold and wet against his temple, and the situation doesn't change, but Eugene is reassured all the same. He remembers clearly that first day they spent together, and that time in the cave, when they both thought they were going to die in the water. He remembers doing his best to calm her down, feeling so guilty for dragging this sweet girl into his messes, and pushing her hair aside so he could truly look at her. He wonders if she felt the same warmth back then, the same overwhelming love that was spreading in his chest as Rapunzel did it for him. He figures that it wasn't quite the same yet, back then, but that she had trusted him as much as he was trusting her now.

"I promise," Rapunzel says, and that's the last thing they can exchange, because they both have to draw a last breath, and the water goes over their head.

Immediately, Rapunzel swims and disappears behind him, searching for the lockpin, and all Eugene can do is hold on. His heart is beating quickly, but it's not as bad as it could have been.

He trusts Rapunzel.

Each seconds make his lungs scream for air louder, his throat burning with the desire to inhale. He feels her hands on his wrists, before feeling her going back up - to breathe? He knows he would do it too if he could. His entire body is now protesting violently against the lack of air, and his pulse is thumping in his head loudly, and Eugene presses his eyes closed in a vain attempt to keep his body under control. Rapunzel is back, he feels her near him as his body trembles from how tense he is.

Eugene lets some bubbles escape from his mouth against his will, before clamping it shut again, head spinning. He's starting to see stars, and he doesn't know how long it had been now, doesn't know how long he can still hold on-

Suddenly, his hands are free, and a strong grip on his arms yank him up to the surface. Eugene gasps and coughs harshly, desperately trying to breathe and not sink again - and there are arms going around him, keeping him steady as he calms down. It takes a few seconds before his body catches up with his mind and realises he's safe, but when it does, Eugene has his head on Rapunzel's shoulder, holding onto her dress tightly.

"Well," he chuckles weakly, not too sure of where he's going with this.

"Eugene, are you okay?"

He raises his head finally, and sees the worry and the relief in Rapunzel's gaze as she looks over him to check that he's really fine. They're both cold, and wet, and miserable, but he doesn't find it in himself to care, because Rapunzel saved his life tonight, in more ways than one.

"I love you," he whispers, and she's the one who laughs at that, pressing her forehead against his as she cups his jaw.

"That's not an answer," she says playfully, "but I love you too."