"This would have been real handy," says Eugene, looking at the door to Rapunzel's Tower, the torn-out bricks covered in moss by now. "I should've checked instead of calling out for you to drop your hair. Being stabbed really isn't one of my fondest memories."

He looks back at Rapunzel, who doesn't laugh. She's staring at the Tower as if it's a sleeping monster that will awaken any moment and swallow her up. Her bottom lip trembles, and Eugene figures it wouldn't be a great idea to stop it with his own lips.

"Come on, Rapunzel," he says, though his voice is soft and so is the hand he puts in Rapunzel's. "There's nothing to be scared of."

"I'm not scared!" she says defensively, glaring at him and heading up the stairs much faster than she wants to. Truth be told, fear has very little to do with it. It's her memories that make her wary. So many good times, so much safety, ruined by one moment of terror. The equivalent of finding out that your favorite teddy bear had hidden fangs all along.

Teddy bears. She shouldn't be thinking that way anymore. She's the Lost Princess.

"Oh," is all that escapes from her lips as she emerges into her old home. The home she didn't come out of for all of eighteen years. The home where she realized she was royalty, that she had a family. The home where the woman she thought was her mother tied her up and killed her boyfriend. The room where she lost her golden hair.

She crumples, hands pressed to her mouth, tears fighting their way out and burning her eyes and cheeks. The walls seem to close in on her as her breathing gets heavy and her vision blurs entirely until she can't –

A hand on her shoulder. Gentle, warm. Eugene.

He kneels down next to her, protecting her with his arms. He has no idea what to say, but he's not letting go until she smiles again.

"Everything changed. . . so fast," she says in a cracked voice.

"I know, darling. I'm sorry," he replies, eyes closed. "I'm sorry."

She knows she shouldn't, because she loves him, but she does blame him for the loss of her hair. She tells herself it's silly, because no one else seems to care as much about their hair as she did about hers. But for so much of her life, her hair defined her. And she knows that it's sick and twisted that her mother – her stepmother only loved her for it, but even worse: Rapunzel was proud of it. She grew up so proud of her hair, a constant reminder that her mother loved her.

And it was gone. She doesn't hold it against him, but it does hurt sometimes. A little less every day, but it hurts nonetheless.

"You shouldn't be sorry, Eugene. You set me free," she says, her words muffled by his shoulder. "You were so brave. The bravest and best. Flynn Rider, gentleman thief."

"Nah, Flynn was a coward. I spent my life running away, do you know that? I was never brave. I only ever did anything daring when I knew I could get away with it."

"You knew you could save me?"

"Hell no! I was sure I was gonna die. And I did. And that was the first time I ever did anything for someone other than myself. The first time I took a risk. And it's just – nothing else had ever been worth it, you know?"

She lets go of him to look into his eyes. Hers were still shimmering with tears, but she smiled and kissed him. His lips were perfect against hers, firm and gentle and hot all at once. Kisses weren't that new to her anymore, but every bit as fascinating as the first one.

"Now let's get your stuff," he says, breaking the kiss. He smiles and ruffles her hair, helping her up before capturing her in another hug.

It would take time to heal. Time and probably more hard work than he's used to. But it would be worth it.