#tjbea

As they continued to make their way through the manky and dusty cobwebs, Rapunzel paid no heed to their environment. Eugene, however, finally felt a distinct unease for the first time, since, well….since just before Gothel had stabbed him.

He could not bide by it...and found himself readying the cast iron fry pan in a defensive posture as they wound their way down the indoor tower spiral. The skeevy feeling caused Eugene to whirl around behind him, since he certainly felt as if they were being watched. And he hadn’t remained a successful career thief as long as he had by ignoring his instincts.

“We’ll talk more in detail once we get outta here,” Eugene ushered Rapunzel to go faster. Rather than question him, she followed his lead until they were out of the spiral staircase chamber, out of the chamber door (closing it behind them) and finally on the opposite side of the base of the tower in the bright cheerful sunlight. He had begun feeling better immediately.

Now with the couple’s clothing shown in stark relief, they could both better see the remaining evidence they carried of the aftermath concerning what had taken place within the past hour. Eugene’s clothing -- and even Rapunzel’s -- were covered in patches and smears of dried blood. It was less noticeable on Rapunzel’s pink and purple dress….but patches of her partial handprints were left behind nonetheless. And neither Eugene nor Rapunzel had realized until then that Gothel had managed to run Eugene clean through….for there was evidence of an exit wound that neither Rapunzel nor Eugene had seen. On the back of Eugene’s doublet and his trousers was another smaller dried stream and more patches of blood...leading from another separate jagged crimson tear through the back of his shirt and doublet.

Before either Rapunzel, Eugene, or Pascal could say much of anything, Maximus, who had been drinking at the spring, turned around and cantered up to them.

Rapunzel’s jaw dropped as she demanded of Eugene, “Don’t tell me Maximus is the one who helped you escape!?” And Eugene self-consciously rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and grinned in spite of himself. “He’s the main one, yeah.”

And the closer Max got to them, the more alarmed the horse became. Before long, he was snuffling around the bloodstains on Rapunzel….and at last figuring she was all right, went over to Eugene. The couple tried to explain that even Eugene was okay now too. However, the adamant horse would not stop nudging and pestering Eugene until Rapunzel was compelled to take the frying pan from Eugene’s hands before he accidentally dropped it and Maximus had effectively made the young man strip to the waist for his personal equine inspection in spite of all the vehement protesting.

“Why Max, I never knew you cared,” Eugene jabbed at him playfully, a wan smirk on his face as he folded his arms over his toned bare chest. The horse gave him a withering death-glare and continued to circle Eugene, nonetheless scrutinizing him even more closely. Rapunzel quipped, “He’s just making sure he didn’t go to all the trouble of rescuing you for nothing.”

“You’re not ‘nothing’, though,” Eugene protested. “Oh….really?" Rapunzel replied pleasantly. "So what am I, then?” Rapunzel flirted, her eyelashes batting up at him. Eugene slowly drew in lungfuls of air before rapidly exhaling, “Only…. everything,” he finished with breathless sincerity. And the princess blushed in the sunlight as Eugene stood closer to her, lacing their fingers together. She felt a heady rush as the scent of Eugene’s sun-kissed bare skin tickled her everywhere from the inside out.

Eugene gulped hard several times; the silence stretched a bit too thin between his forthcoming answer and Rapunzel’s question. Eugene could feel that old standby instinct of wanting to lie through his teeth threatening to take over. But this was Rapunzel before him…. And this much he’d learned by now; if an honest woman confronts you about your past hookups, you should level with her. Though Eugene would've told Rapunzel whatever she wished to know, no matter when she chose to ask. After he’d been exploited for so many years by the likes of Stalyan and the Baron, Eugene had reached a breaking point fairly early on where he couldn’t bring himself to seduce the innocent anymore. He’d never liked doing that in the first place since it made him feel cheap, sleazy, and just all-out gross. Even grifters had to draw the line somewhere. It was yet another reason why he’d left Stalyan.

Eugene also knew that if he had to start running interference regarding his past during his first day as Eugene Fitzherbert the gentleman ….then he’d have to keep lying forever afterward….just like Flynn had. And Eugene was simply tired -- no, exhausted -- from all of the running, running, running. Flynn Rider had been on the move ever since he ditched the orphanage before his 10th year all those years ago. No more running, Eugene resolved. Even if leveling with the princess means she wants me out of the picture, so be it. She deserves to hear the truth from the source.

“Rapunzel….” Eugene began delicately, “the short answer to your question -- I’m sorry to say -- is far too many. But I’m requesting that we put a bookmark in that answer; we’ll circle back around to finish it.” Eugene nearly lost his nerve to continue after seeing the crestfallen look in Rapunzel’s eyes. He instead busied himself by locating the ring-shaped pull embedded in the trapdoor of the floor. After tugging on it, he noticed it wouldn’t budge. Without prompting, Rapunzel volunteered further information, explaining how when the princess was still little, Gothel always made her go up to the loft before she opened the trapdoor for her trips away. The crone never wanted the girl to figure out how to operate it. Thus Rapunzel said, “But you’re good at finding your way out of places. I figured you could make the mechanism work -- even without having seen Gothel’s trick to unlatching it.”

No sooner had Rapunzel said the word “unlatching” when a sharp click-THUNK issued from the floor. “Found it,” announced a smirking Eugene, as he moved the toe of his boot off of the otherwise camouflaged mechanism. He couldn’t help feeling a little smug after having effectively outthought that diabolical dead woman….again. The young man repositioned himself to again tug the metal ring and sure enough, the trapdoor swung open this time.

“After you,” said Eugene, gallantly gesturing Rapunzel down the next set of stairs.

“If only I had met you sooner,” Rapunzel said wistfully, as she shook her head. She’d tried to find that hidden mechanism in the floor for years. Eugene had discovered and figured out how to disarm it in mere seconds.

Eugene could not help his contrite chuckle. “Rapunzel, if we had met sooner -- even one year earlier, I doubt I ever could’ve left this place the first time. But it would’ve been for an entirely different reason.”

“Oh, yeah?” Rapunzel challenged, an unexpected edge to her voice. She folded her arms and demanded, “And what’s that?”

“Well, for starters,” said Eugene, his voice becoming far more subdued, “you never would’ve reached the fateful decision to enter a trust agreement with the kingdom’s most disreputable scoundrel. I mean….how could you?” Eugene pondered softly. “Especially based on the faulty info you’d been given about the world in general, you wouldn’t have had a reason yet to take the chance on our deal. Gothel’s control freakishness….hadn’t yet pushed you to the brink. Instead, she would’ve come home, you would’ve had no choice but to tell her that you’d caught me breaking in, and….well….”

“Don’t say that,” Rapunzel abruptly cut him off, abandoning her walk down the stairs, instead rushing over to grab Eugene’s free hand. “Don’t you ever say that,” she admonished, eyes wide. “Even if you had remained a perfect rogue stranger to me, Eugene Fitzherbert, I never would’ve wanted that old crone to hurt you on purpose. And especially not like... this,” finished Rapunzel, once more stretching her palm and pressing it against the jagged bloody tear in his doublet. A renewed ember of hope sparked inside him. And before he knew it, Rapunzel was apologizing, of all things!

“I….I’m sorry I put you on the spot that way regarding, ah, any prior relationships. It wasn’t fair of me to throw something like that on you so suddenly.” Meekness overtook Rapunzel and she looked at the floor, absently tracing out an invisible half-circle with her big toe. “Besides,” she confessed, “I only did it to distract you from my own awkwardness. But….but you kept…..insisting I should tell you what was bothering me since you are trustworthy.” Eugene was swift and carefully set the trapdoor down with the hinge open outward. He also briefly removed and set down his satchel.

The anxious young man went directly to Rapunzel with open arms but halfway through the motion thought that perhaps he shouldn’t, because Eugene didn’t want her to feel obligated to reciprocate. So the keyed-up man kept his fingers curled into his palms rather than reach out, and he kept his arms from raising above waist height. He was half-frozen, trying earnestly not to telegraph what he truly wished to do.

Eugene’s own thumbs must’ve betrayed him, though, as they involuntarily flexed, splaying outward from his balled fists. Rapunzel approached him and briefly gazed into his eyes with a hint of smile behind her own. She proceeded to lean over and take each of his hands, in turn, and tenderly kiss each errant thumb, in turn. Yet any embarrassment Eugene felt over her keen perception would soon melt away. For the princess took his left wrist and placed his arm over her right shoulder, took his right wrist and guided his arm around her waist, and then she mirrored the gesture with her own arms around him. The pair had briefly stopped their world to oh-so-carefully melt deeply into each other. After some time, they briefly broke their embrace. Rapunzel drew her arms in and criss-crossed her upper body with them, tucking in right up against Eugene’s chest. This allowed the sweet young man to attentively draw the princess into himself so tightly, nearly tight enough for him to wrap his arms around her twice as he buried his entire face into her silken hair. Each time they embraced….Eugene was simply floored with just how perfectly they “fit” one another; she could nestle comfortably and flush against his own shape, creating a head-to-toe highway of warmth and love.

Eventually, contented humming issued from Rapunzel’s throat. “I’ve never felt this safe before,” she murmured in awe, her face still pillowed against Eugene’s chest. “Nobody’s ever held me like this before either.” This realization had moved the princess to tears. Eugene leisurely placed a ring of popcorn kisses around the crown of her head in effort to soothe. “Dearest Sunshine of mine,’ he whispered into her hair, “I can promise you there’s so much more where that came from…..” and he was able to draw her imperceptibly closer into himself.

Soon moisture pricked the corners of his own eyes, for Eugene had a similar epiphany to Rapunzel’s. In all his years of relative isolation on the run, Rider never once allowed himself to partake in anything on this type of intimacy level. He’d always been keen to its existence, though. And he knew it was so much deeper and more meaningful than sex. And being the secretly sensitive person Eugene was, it was something he furtively craved but couldn’t bring himself to put that type of expectation upon another human being, knowing the unfavorable lifestyle he led.

And here this fractured thief managed to get caught up within a perfect healing ray of sunlight….and she was willing to take him on along with all his demons, even without knowing the full story in advance. And boy, did he ever have more than his fair share of demons. In spite of himself, Eugene had to say it again. “Sunshine…..I don’t deserve you.”

He immediately heard a tiny huff of impatience from her. “Eugeeeeeene,” Rapunzel overemphasized with mild vexation, “deserving or not, I’ve chosen you. You are forever my new dream. So….so start acting like it….please?” she implored, gazing at him with wide-open concerned eyes. Even her pep talk to him had proven about as rough and tumble as dandelion fluff.

“For you, Sunshine.” Eugene caressed her cheek. “It’ll be a struggle for awhile….but I will no longer speak of ‘deserving to have you.’ I shall instead focus on ‘building new dreams with you’.”

“Thank you,” Rapunzel said gratefully. “It….just….hurts me to see you thinking so much less of yourself due to circumstances now beyond your control.” She slipped her hand into Eugene’s own. And it was that moment he finally found an opening to finish what he started.

“Circling back to the bookmark in our conversation…. Rapunzel…. Ever since the first time you chose to address me as Eugene, everything...the past few days...has been unlike anything I’ve ever felt or experienced with any woman before. It’s all new….all of it. So many firsts already. Nonetheless, you still have every right to ask me about whomever I’ve been with prior to when we met. And while I do intend to eventually tell you about those encounters -- if that’s what you want -- you should also be aware that for me, Eugene Fitzherbert, it’s still a little too soon to openly discuss much of anything just yet. But I will try for your sake, if that’s what you need.” He briefly bowed his head, his eyelids automatically sliding shut.

Rapunzel was so fleet-footed that Eugene had not heard her change positions to where she grabbed his satchel, immediately encouraged Eugene to open his eyes and to help a struggling Pascal who was now lugging a forgotten cast-iron frying pan, and she started down the steps at long last. That was….abrupt, Eugene thought to himself. If Rapunzel was perpetually so talented at keeping him on his toes, then he’d best get himself some better boots -- and soon!

“You okay?” asked Eugene, just to make sure. He grabbed the brass ring of the trapdoor and just before he closed it…..he looked around the Tower one last time. He knew that he should feel the most ominous and terrified that he’d ever felt, especially upon glimpsing his own bloodstain on the floor. But something…..someone was protecting him. And even though he was neither superstitious nor believed in ghosts, once in awhile he would privately allow himself the indulgence of conjuring up invented people and imagery from his past. Fleetingly an image of who could only be his mother comes to mind; it was her spirit that must’ve been shielding him from the worst of today’s trauma, he decided. Thank you, he mouths the words to a seemingly empty Tower, pulling the trapdoor tight shut forever.....

“I’m more than okay,” Rapunzel replied enthusiastically, as she made her way down the dingy spiral staircase. “Who cares about past relationships when you can tell me about all of those firsts you just mentioned instead?”

Eugene almost -- almost -- laughed aloud with relief. Here he had been so worried about past relationship questions when Rapunzel instead wanted to be told all about the present. Three days, and this was the only thing he’d come across so far in which Rapunzel was anything like any other woman he’d met. And Eugene was more than happy to indulge her need to know just how special she had become to him and why.

“Look at this!” Rapunzel exclaimed, surprised, as she traced out an invisible line across his palm. “There’s some of those magicky healing sparks left on your hand.” The young woman pulled back her own hand so he could see and sure enough, Eugene spied some faint twinkling beneath the very top layer of his skin. “Whaddyaknow?” he shrugged. “Huh.” A thought occurred to him and Eugene wondered if the glittery effect was now permanent. He surmised that it shouldn’t be and that it’d wear off soon enough...hopefully.

Chapter Two: The Lock-Picking Frog

Eugene and Rapunzel sat down together on one of the lower steps of the Tower’s inner staircase. She took his left hand in her lap, turned it palm upwards, and said, “Wait a minute….” brought up the same hand closer to her face and peered at it quizzically.

“I wonder…..” Rapunzel quickly let go his hand and reached across Eugene’s waist, her own left hand now hovering over the rips in his doublet and shirt where Gothel’s dagger had pierced him. And although she blushed a very lovely shade of pink upon asking him, the princess asked, “May I?” while pointing to his right flank.

And Eugene couldn’t mask his curiosity; his eyebrows arose right along with his elbows as he gave Rapunzel better access to his midsection. Far be it from him to stop the beautifullest young woman of his dreams from unfastening his doublet untucking his shirt for him. And although Eugene politely looked elsewhere partly for her sake, and partly for fear he might lose his gallant resolve…. He still very much wanted to say something cheeky or pithy or romantic or --

“Looks like my theory is correct,” reported Rapunzel. “Hmm?” Eugene was bewildered and his brow furrowed. “Theory?” he echoed, not entirely able to hide his disappointment at the aloofness of her reply. This wasn’t what he’d expected from this interaction at all. Eugene supposed he should’ve known better.

“Uhmmm,” said Rapunzel, suddenly shy again, “Well, I had guessed that the places on your body where you’ve been wounded the worst and most recently would therefore most likely possess some residual magic.” She sat back up and pointed toward his torso, “Looks like I was correct.”

And Eugene raised his shirt to look down at the place where the mortal wound once was, glimpsing for himself the same shimmering phenom of which Rapunzel spoke. That particular sparkling penetrated far deeper into his flank than what appeared near the surface of his palm, however.

Rapunzel kissed the inside of her hand and gently caressed the healed area on Eugene's side with those same fingertips. It was a gesture so pure and tender that again he found his heart melting with just how gentle she was with him -- the hardened criminal. Because this particular sensation…..what he felt now, what he’d felt when Rapunzel was tracing and kissing every inch of his face, and especially when Rapunzel had initially and carefully healed the palm of his hand two days before….it was so fantastic and new. And what Eugene could not have known then is that he was positively starving for it. He soaked up every drop of her kindness as if she were the sole oasis in his desert of loneliness. It’s why the young man knew he couldn’t let her walk away from him even after their special night of lanterns had concluded.

For Rapunzel hadn’t merely healed his largest mortal wound with her tears or the slicing through his palm with her hair. Without disdain or mockery or any form of guile, this unassuming young woman was healing parts of Eugene that he hadn’t even realized were chronically aching and long ago flayed raw in the first place. He had become numb and oblivious to all of it. Yet this impossibly kind and loving young soul was offering unconditional acceptance to Flynn Rider, the misunderstood career criminal whom everyone in all the seven kingdoms (and beyond) had come to loathe. Since the moment he met her, Rapunzel’s mere presence had become like sweet salve for his bruised soul. Even if it took Eugene the rest of his life, he vowed to himself that he would strive to be worthy of his dearest Rapunzel.

Eugene carefully gathered up Rapunzel under his arm and she leaned into him as they embraced again. Rapunzel was….almost impossibly genuine. Is this what real love has always felt like??, he mused. There’d been times Eugene had experienced such deep sadness and devastation in his life that it felt like his heart would certainly break. In fact, he had experienced that exact emotion as recently as that very morning during his imprisonment….. And it wasn’t because he feared dying…..it’s because he was all but certain he’d never see Rapunzel again. Never get to rescue her from wherever the Stabbingtons had gone off with her.

Prior to meeting Rapunzel, Eugene hadn’t ever experienced so much love and peace and contentment, it seemed as if his heart might burst from inability to contain itself. Once again, he appeared to have dozed off with Rapunzel squished up against him. Eugene yawned tiredly, internally berating himself and wondering why on earth he was so exhausted…. Until realization finally dawned that it had been over 24 hours since either he or Rapunzel had been able to get any sleep or rest whatsoever. It appeared to have finally caught up to them now that the worst of the danger had passed.

“So...how did you figure it all out?” Rapunzel asked softly, still holding him close with her head nestled against his chest. “It had to be pretty early on. Especially considering our entire first discussion regarding ‘backstory’....” And Eugene chuckled.

“You’re right, you’re right,” he replied. “I had definitely begun to suspect something was up by the time we were running through that underground escape system. There were just too many coincidences. A few being that: a.) it was the 18th year of Corona’s lantern festival and you just happened to be turning 18; b.) magicalness notwithstanding nobody else in the whole world had hair like yours -- its length and tensile strength belied its beaming gossamer beauty; c.) I’ve seen children -- even young adults -- utterly terrified of their parents, and for good reason; while I originally thought it was just a figure of speech when you said you “never left the tower”, I came to know you were being quite literal...therefore d.) you had further cemented my belief that you are Corona’s princess when you shared with me the ways in which your magical hair worked.

Suddenly, some insistent squeaking noises in front of them on the floor broke into the conversation. Eugene’s head whipped toward his right and looked down.

“Well, hullo there, Li’l Froggy,” he greeted Pascal warmly. This caused Pascal to glance over at Rapunzel with a wry look as he sighed long-sufferingly. “Yup. I think you’re stuck with it now, Pascal,” Rapunzel agreed. Pascal held out his claws heavenward, shrugged, and then hopped up on Eugene’s free wrist and scaled up toward his left shoulder, around his neck, finally perching on Eugene’s right shoulder. He squeaked something lengthy to Eugene. And Eugene, who wasn’t yet fully versed in Pascallese, had to ask Rapunzel to interpret.

“First of all,” Rapunzel began, “he says that ‘Frog’ is a rather insulting nickname but he’ll cut you some slack, being that you died, came back, and fainted all in the past 30 minutes.”

“Whoa-ho! Well, thanks for that vote of confidence,” a smirking Eugene sarcastically replied to the cheeky lizard on his shoulder.

“Second of all, while you and I were...talking,” continued Rapunzel, “Pascal scared up that hairpin and sewing needle you’d mentioned needing for picking locks. He says if you hold up your wrist with the shackle and instruct him right now in real time, he’s willing to help pick that lock with you,” and Rapunzel grinned.

“A lock-picking frog, eh?” Eugene marvelled, in spite of himself. He couldn’t help it -- the still-too-loud-Flynn Rider half of his brain was going wild considering that potential. “That is definitely gonna come in handy someday, ” he said with a faint smile on his face.

Eugene grabbed in his left hand the hairpin that Pascal had brought. The young man made sure it was bent crookedly in a certain way at one end and handed it back to Pascal. Next Eugene held up his shackled wrist and proceeded to coach the little chameleon in how to use the tricks of a thief’s trade. Twice more, Eugene modified the end of the hairpin, always handing it back to Pascal. Within about 90 seconds, the rusted manacle had popped open and slid off Eugene’s wrist onto the floor…..where he couldn’t help but notice a blood stain on the nearby tile below.

To divert Rapunzel’s attention (and his own), Eugene hastily put his boot over the top of the stain and made a big show of finally being free of the manacle. “Ahhh!!” he massaged his right wrist, “that’s more like it! Tiny high-fives, Froggy!” Eugene reached out his index finger toward Pascal who was still perched upon his right shoulder. The chameleon then “fived” Eugene’s fingertip with his bitzy claw.

Rapunzel helped Eugene all the way to his feet and with great relief, he stretched his long legs and even longer back all the way up to his full considerable height. As he was stretching over backward, allowing his spine some satisfying cracks, Eugene surprisingly felt someone touching his bare skin and stole a downward glance at Rapunzel, who was once again examining the former wound in his side.

Chapter 3: Eugene's One and Only “And...is that height a bad thing?” Eugene asked, trying to break the tension. His attempt at levity flew right over Rapunzel’s head, however.

“Of course it isn’t bad --” she said hastily, holding up her hands.

“Because I can slouch if you want,” Eugene interrupted, trying a bit harder this time, his shoulders slumping over so suddenly that it even startled Pascal a little. “How’s this, now?” The sight of Eugene arduously trying to appear permanently humpbacked, even with his lush upper body was so ridiculous that both Rapunzel’s and Pascal’s eyes bugged out and their jaws dropped. A spontaneous snicker escaped Rapunzel in spite of herself and one of her hands flew to her mouth.

“So….no?” deadpanned Eugene, on a roll now. “Because I can always go lower, you know.” Then he bent his knees until he was bow-legged in combination with the super-slouch, and he was schlumping around in front of her, back and forth, like some court jester. Rapunzel and Pascal burst out laughing. When he was satisfied the tension was fully dispersed, Eugene dropped the goofball routine, happy to see that Rapunzel’s nervousness had disappeared. The young man never wanted her to be afraid of him, even if it was merely over their height difference.

“That’s my girl,” Eugene grinned and affectionately set his hand against her cheek. Rapunzel perked up even more after he said it. “Hey, that’s really what I am now, aren’t I??” she replied wondrously, covering his hand with her own. “I’m your girl!!”

“Only if you wish to be,” Eugene amended softly.

“Of course I do!” Rapunzel exclaimed. Unable to contain herself, she bounced from the pads of her feet to her toes. “More than anything!”, and she bubbled over, launching herself into his arms with such sudden and wild abandon that Eugene nearly lost his footing. As soon as he regained balance, Rapunzel again sealed her lips over his and urgently showed him just how much she wanted him, wanted to be his girl and nobody else’s.

After they came up for air, chests heaving, Eugene braced Rapunzel against him so their foreheads could touch. “I want to be your girl,” she whispered, still breathless from their most recent dalliance. “Eugene’s girl.” And oh, how Eugene’s heart soared! “I believe you,” he answered fervently, positively giddy at the prospect. He could have sung….Eugene’s girl, indeed!!! It still sounded so fresh to his own ears. For Eugene hadn’t ever dared to approach a girl before; that territory had been exclusively reserved for one Flynn Rider. Until just two days prior, Eugene had always felt too shy or insecure to approach girls as his authentic self. Now he knew he’d found a great woman who wanted him for who he was, and not just for good looks, not for a projected façade, not for his illegal skills, nor ill-gotten gains, nor anything else. But it wasn’t just that.

For the first time in his life, Rapunzel had actually made Eugene love hearing the sound of his given name. It was both an unintended consequence and serendipitous gift. As far as Eugene was concerned, this gift was every bit the mystical miracle that Rapunzel’s tears saving him had been. Even the lilting musicality of the way she pronounced “Eugene” made it all uniquely special. He felt almost silly for asking, but he just had to hope she would "get" it. And as intuition would have it, he was right.

“Could you….could you say that again? For me, please?” he requested, so softly that Rapunzel nearly had to ask him to repeat himself. His thumb gingerly skimmed her bottom lip as he cupped her chin in his hand. She gazed into his eyes questioningly, but only for a mere second before she understood.

“I’m Eugene’s girl!” Rapunzel stated proudly, her smile beaming even brighter than midsummer’s day.

Overcome with lover’s euphoria, Eugene lifted her high above his head as effervescent laughter escaped from his throat, filling the air. Rapunzel’s laughter immediately joined him as he spun his princess in tight happiness circles across the cleared portion of the floor...and back. Hearing her say that with such love and sincerity meant more than he'd ever imagined.

Following their spinning, it was Eugene’s turn to be breathless as he pondered, utterly awestruck, “Whatever did I do in my miserable life to deserve someone like you?” He trailed a fingertip down from Rapunzel’s forehead and booped her nose. His question was rhetorical, of course, but the young woman answered him anyway.

“Hmmm…” Rapunzel considered. “Maybe it's because you….finally made some better life choices?” she quipped, with a twinkle in her eye.

“PffffSHahahaHAHA!!” The simple baldness of her reply caught Eugene so off-guard that he instantly released Rapunzel and burst into raucous guffaws in spite of himself. “I--I--” he attempted to reply but continued spluttering through his laughter so hard that tears leaked from his eyes. “I cannot argue with that! Not even a little bit!” And wow, did Eugene ever need this release! It had been one hell of a morning (or week) -- even according to Flynn Rider standards -- that’s for damned certain.

Rapunzel pondered innocently, “How can a person even ‘deserve’ another person, anyway?” Her face scrunched up in genuine confusion, which in turn made Eugene want to boop that adorable button nose of hers again. He had enough tact to refrain, though. She continued “Besides, it isn’t about what you deserve….it’s about sharing what you have, right? Sharing time, life, and building new dreams together.”

“My dear Sunshine…..” and Eugene clasped her hands within his, “once again, you are correct.” He brought her right hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Before Eugene knew it, his diligent princess was once again checking up on his former wound.

“Sunshine, sweetheart, I can assure you that I’m quite all right at this time -- all thanks to you.”

“Yeah, I know….I know,” said the princess, hesitating. “It’s just that, well…..”

“...you keep waiting for life to drop the other shoe and just end the suspense? Get things over with already?” Eugene finished for her gently.

“Yes!” Rapunzel replied, “But….but how could you know? I’m always worried you’ll think I’m just being stupid or naïve or something...”

“I could never,” assured Eugene with utmost sincerity, shaking his head and again taking both of her hands in his own. He meant it, too. “And as far as me having anticipated your answer? That’s easy,” he said with a sad smile, “it’s because those self-defeatist emotions are nearly always born out of genuine need. It’s a hallmark of someone who never possesses quite enough. And admittedly," Eugene dipped his head back and forth in that self-deprecating way of his, "it's something I've seen an awful lot amongst those of us who must live life on the run. Your basic daily needs of food, clothing, shelter, and positive human companionship aren’t being met, no matter how hard you try,” he elaborated, looking down at the floor with a pained expression. Eugene tried hiding it, yet it seemed clear he seemingly wrestled with some long-buried memories that were closer to the surface than he’d let them come in a very long time. “And....then….without even realizing it, you become so accustomed to life’s tiniest happiness crumbs….that you actually start to believe it’s all there is to have. Without anything real to look forward to, you’ve overtrained yourself to deal with the inevitable, which winds up being…..” Eugene paused briefly in spite of himself before continuing.

“....bit-bitter disappointment,” finished Eugene acerbically, stuttering over the words. “Bitter disappointment,” Rapunzel said in unison with him.

“I’m so very sorry,” she continued worriedly, openly concerned that she had inadvertently caused Eugene to recall his own pained past, “we can talk about something else,” Rapunzel suggested. “The last thing I wanna do right now is dredge up painful memories from your childhood--”

“--it’s….it’s quite all right!” Eugene held up a hand and cut her off mid-sentence, eager to let her know that wasn’t at all the reason why he sounded so bitter and angry. "It's not what you're thinking."

Rapunzel was clearly puzzled. “Then….why were you sounding so harsh?” she tilted her head at him quizzically.

Again, she saw that sad, pinched smile -- and Eugene replied softly, much to Rapunzel's surprise, “It’s….it’s because I was thinking about your past, not mine -- that's all. Your upbringing….what it must’ve been like for you being lied to and promised things your whole life, only to have them yanked away when it mattered most.” He reached up a hand and tucked Rapunzel’s hair lock behind her ear and tugged her closer by grasping her wrists. She reflexively winced and sucked in a sharp breath.

“What is it?” Eugene hastily pulled back in alarm. “What’d I do?”

Rapunzel’s eyes had squeezed tight shut, and he looked down to see angry-looking red weals on her wrists from those god-awful manacles Gothel had shackled upon her that morning. Eugene gasped in spite of himself.

“Oh, Rapunzel," he indicated, his voice overflowing with guilt, "I’m--I’m so sorry!” For no reason at all, Eugene clearly felt personally ashamed it had taken him so long to notice these wounds of hers.

“I--it--really, it’s okay!!” Rapunzel reassured hastily, “truth be told, I didn’t even notice them myself until just now. Far too much happening at once, I suppose,” she smiled weakly.

If she weren’t already dead, Eugene would’ve had some very choice actions to visit upon Gothel at that time. Having been caught by some of the worlds most notorious bounty hunters and at times held in some of the world's most notorious prisons (however briefly), Rider had gotten far too familiar with nasty chafing from iron chains. In fact, it's the main reason he got such an infamous rep for picking locks. Pain can be an obnoxiously good motivator. But Eugene refused to dwell on that now.

“Do you have any healing salts?” he asked Rapunzel.

“Yes,” she said. “Across the floor in Gothel’s potions dresser. The second drawer on the left, clear corked bottle.”

“How about water and clean rags? Oh, and a small dish and spoon?”

“We’re out of water. But Gothel always got it from the spring behind the Tower. Spoon and saucer are over there in the cupboard.”

“The one with that waterfall? It’s also a water spring? That’s so cool!”

“Why, I s’pose it is!” Rapunzel agreed, having tilted her head in consideration. “I’ve never thought about it before.”

“I say we’ve definitely spent more than enough time in this place,” said Eugene, as he was gathering up a small bit of Rapunzel’s lengthy cut-off hair. “I have a feeling we’re gonna need this later,” he said seriously. Rapunzel was momentarily concerned with the sudden gravitas Eugene projected but it was gone before she could mention it to him.

Eugene was so pleased with Pascal’s helpfulness, he was nearly beside himself. As Eugene had turned toward the wall in order to tuck in his shirt properly without, ah, exposing things, the little chameleon had shown up at their feet again. This time he had Eugene’s satchel that contained Rapunzel's crown, the healing salts and clean rags, a dish and a spoon. “He’s so strong for something his size! Thank you, Froggy,” Eugene said, “for all your help. Just don’t hurt yourself, hmm?” And Eugene took his satchel from Pascal, who was suddenly indignant. He squeaked out something angrily to Eugene.

“It’s okay, Pascal,” Rapunzel soothed, “he was actually admiring your strength. Not insinuating that you are weak.”

“That’s right!” Eugene agreed, taking his lead from Rapunzel. “Pfffsh. Weak?? I could never think that. Not now, after watching you haul around something that’s gotta be 100x your size.” The little lizard grew proud and puffed up, and dropped the angry stance entirely.

“So,” Eugene turned to Rapunzel, who was again on the stairs, “were you needing anything else here?” He grabbed a purple ribbon from Pascal and tied it around the furled up lock of Rapunzel’s hair, stashing it carefully in his satchel. He slung the leather bag across his body.

“Nope,” Rapunzel stated firmly. “Nothing.” If Eugene was surprised by her resolve, he elected not to show it, instead saying, “Then let’s get the hell out of here.” And he looked around. “But….uhhhh,” he asked, suddenly stymied, “is there a way to get out of here that doesn’t require using the window?” He no longer had his arrows nor Rapunzel’s blonde hair to scale the side of the Tower.

“Over there is a trapdoor in the floor to a second staircase,” Rapunzel replied, pointing all the way across the floor.

“Right you are,” Eugene said, once again full of purpose. “However, as you are a barefoot maiden, I simply cannot have you pick your way across all that broken glass.” He bowed deeply to Rapunzel, much to her surprise. “Might I offer assistance to milady?” He straightened up and held out his arms to her where she stood above him on the stairs.

For a second or two, Rapunzel couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. After all, she really was royalty….but then she caught the quirk of his top lip.

“Oh, you….” she reached out and ruffled Eugene’s hair as they both laughed.

“In all seriousness, though, you can’t safely walk across this floor without shoes,” said Eugene and Pascal squeaked in agreement. “See? Even the Frog agrees with me.” Then, “Hey! I’m learnin’ your language, Froggy!” Eugene turned around to face Pascal, who had folded his arms in pretend annoyance. Yet Eugene’s enthusiasm made Pascal think better of it and the chameleon instead gestured the young man closer toward him on the floor. Eugene crouched down and Pascal hopped up on his knee, then up to his shoulder, and nuzzled against Eugene’s cheek. The man legit giggled. Like a little boy.

Rapunzel’s hands flew to her mouth in utter delight. She had no idea someone like Eugene was capable of laughing like that! It was so endearing that she was almost afraid of ruining the moment. In turn, Eugene had unexpectedly reached up toward the little chameleon. “And you’re ticklish, too!” exclaimed Eugene, as Pascal laughed in his own adorable scratchy-voice way.

As Eugene went to stand up with Pascal still on his right shoulder, Rapunzel said, “You’re right about the broken glass and my bare feet. “I saw someone in the town square doing this one thing….carrying someone on their back. Could we try that?”

“One piggyback across the broken glass, coming up!” confirmed Eugene with a smile. He stood with his back in her direction and instructed her to gently wrap her arms about his neck. “I’m gonna reach my arms backward and hook them behind your knees, okay?”

“Okay!” Rapunzel answered, with far more confidence than she felt. She needn’t have worried, though. Eugene’s arms were so large that even while reaching backward, he could support most of her thighs on just his forearms. It was only after he had situated her around his hips that it occurred to Rapunzel just how intimate her position could be. Instantly she had become supremely aware of just what proximity this piggyback might bring for the two of them. Pascal was also watching her, having hopped from Eugene’s shoulder to hers.

“Are you all situated, then?” Eugene asked. Rapunzel got the distinct impression it wasn’t the first time he’d asked the question. “Mhm…” she replied distantly, trying to deal with the sudden electrifying sensations overtaking her body as she sat with her legs around Eugene’s hips, her arms surrounding his neck and shoulders. “Off we go, then….” he continued.

Rapunzel’s lustful little button nose inadvertently brushed the nape of his neck. As she took in the now-intoxicating scent of his hair, Rapunzel quite nearly forgot how to breathe as Eugene’s walking motions across the floor awakened something deep within her netherregions. With each step he took across the floor, Rapunzel’s own hips involuntarily twitched and quivered a little bit more beneath her.

How was this possible?! A mere two days prior, when she had freaked out over the terror-bunny, Rapunzel had unintentionally wound up on Eugene’s back in a fit of pique. Back then she hadn’t felt anything like how she felt now; rather, she had been extremely embarrassed afterward! Yet the feelings she had at this very moment -- ones that made her want to bury her face into the man’s soft silky hair and the urge to wrap her legs and her entire self around Eugene and never let go weren’t exactly unpleasant but they were definitely unfamiliar. Unable to fully suppress a sound between pleasure or longing from escaping her throat, Eugene came to an abrupt stop and worriedly asked her if she was still okay. “Don’t worry, I’m fine,” she quickly replied, trying desperately not to blush yet again.

“Are you sure?” Eugene asked, showing uncanny perception with his ability to know when Rapunzel was keeping something from him.

The young woman quickly slid off of Eugene’s back and onto the floor by the trapdoor. Mumbling a distracted “thank you” to him, the princess mentally resolved to herself to have no more piggybacks until further notice. And to think she had so erroneously believed piggybacks would be a bit less intimate than having Eugene outright traditionally carrying her in his arms....

Rapunzel opted to let Eugene believe that her current, ah, frustrations(??) were related to something else other than the pinching tightness growing in her groin. It was just too blasted intimidating at that time to even think about bringing up her newness with romantic physical intimacy, especially with someone like him.

“Yes,” Rapunzel finally answered Eugene. That clipped reply had sounded almost mechanical, even to her…..and utterly foreign. The perceptive man folded his arms and replied gently, “Wellllll, that doesn’t sound very convincing. At all. Sooo...out with it. You can tell me anything, you know.”

“I’m--just--” she stuttered, not certain where to begin, only to blurt out, “have…..have you had many women?”

Eugene’s eyes widened and he blanched. He had known this was coming but he hadn’t expected the questions to come quite so soon. In his mind, the only woman Flynn Rider ever truly had was his ex-fiancé. And even then….he’d learned Stalyan had been such an over-controlling viper that it was her who’d secretly manipulated him into proposing in the first place. His discovery of the following became a huge part of why he’d walked away from her in the end.

Not to mention that in large part, Stalyan had been directly responsible for grooming him into the womanizer he had become. Once upon a time, when he was very young and still extremely naïve, it’s true that quantity of sexual conquests was what he sought -- exactly like most randy teens. Along came Stalyan who was so hyper-attractive and had such animal magnetism that it was almost unreal. She was six years his senior when she first recruited him and Lance and it had been far too simple for her to mold, coerce, and gaslight the impressionable 15-year-old Flynn into doing and becoming whatever she wanted.