just something short and sweet, if a bit too angsty.

Rapunzel didn't come to dinner that night.

The king and queen exchanged a few concerned glances when the long-lost princess failed to show by the salad course, but seemed to decide with a series of meaningful nods and blinks that she should be left to herself.

Eugene, however, couldn't stop himself worrying. He merely played with the soup and didn't touch the turkey. Finally, he waved off the dessert and stood abruptly, aiming a rushed and very improper bow to the king and queen before striding out of the room. The rest of the court erupted in scandalised whispers and rustlings; the king and queen merely wished him the best in their quiet way.

ooo

"Rapunzel?" Eugene knocked and listened for an answer from inside the princess' quarters. "Blondie, you in there?"

Several long moments passed before the heavy wooden door swung slowly open. "Hi, Eugene," Rapunzel said flatly.

Eugene gave her a look that mirrored her tone. "Why so glum? And what... happened?" A tub of paint lay spilt on the floor, its contents splattered crimson and half-dry around it. He slipped inside the room before Rapunzel could protest and closed the door behind him.

"I threw it," said Rapunzel.

"Funnily enough, I had figured that out," Flynn replied smoothly. "But why? And why did you skip dinner, everyone is worried about you."

Rapunzel's right hand moved behind her slightly, seeming to search for something, before she caught herself with a frustrated huff and fell back against the wall. "It was hazelnut soup," she said.

"Yyyyeah. Delicious. You'd have loved it."

"That's exactly it, Eugene! I do love hazelnut soup! My mo- I mean... she... made it for me sometimes." Rapunzel's large soulful eyes fell, and Eugene could see that she was struggling not to cry. "I know it's wrong, but... I miss her. Isn't it wrong? She did so much to me... she lied, she used me, she took me from my real family... but she was all I ever knew."

"Ah." Eugene thought he understood, and his voice took on a slightly patronising tone without his realising it. "But you're back with your family now, Blondie. You have your parents and your title and your rightful place in the world."

"I don't know if this is what I wanted anymore," Rapunzel mumbled, sliding down the wall and pressing her hands to her face. "This isn't back with my family. This is just with my family - with strangers, really. And I don't feel like a princess, I don't feel like I belong in this castle. I feel like I belong in my tower."

Eugene didn't know what to say to that. "Well, Rapunzel..."

"I miss her. And I miss my tower. And I don't know what to do around all these people, the servants and the courtiers and my parents and you and I can't paint on the walls anymore and I feel sad all the time and I MISS my HAIR!" Her voice broke and the tears in her eyes overcame her.

There it was. There was the issue. Eugene went over and sat himself beside her, close but not too close. He put a gentle hand on her knee. "I know a lot has changed for you in a really short time, but you'll see it's for the better. I mean, you said it yourself: she used you and lied to you. She wasn't the kind of person you'd want to spend your life with."

Rapunzel looked up, cheeks wet and eyes shining. "But-"

"I know, she was all you had. And I understand that. But look at you! You don't need her! She was holding you back from everything you could be. And that tower? The way you ran around and explored everything that first day out? You deserve to be rid of the tower. You deserve wide open fields and tall trees to climb and great blue seas to swim in. You deserve the world, Rapunzel."

Eugene gazed deep into Rapunzel's huge green eyes. "Plus, I told you already: I've got kind of a thing for brunettes."

She giggled through her sadness, ducking her head shyly and running a hand over the (ridiculously) short hair at the back of her head. Eugene stood and offered a hand and a mischievous grin. "Let's get painting, shall we?"

ooo

The king and queen paid a visit to their newfound daughter's chambers later that night to find bright paintings on the wall opposite the door, the glass panes of the window, even the heavy drapes and the floor around it all. Prominent among the designs was an obviously collaborative effort: a short brunette in a purple dress holding hands with an elegantly painted young man with a handsome smirk, surrounded by dozens of glowing lantern shapes.

They looked to the left to see Eugene reclining barefoot on the four-poster bed and Rapunzel draped innocently over him, both covered in paint and sound asleep.

The two monarchs looked at each other, smiling faintly, and closed the door softly on the young couple.

supposed to be working on a japanese project *wince* oops.