Title: Nostalgia
Author: NexustehULF0o
Description: That aching feeling in your chest when you feel like there's something that you want, that you had once…that you wish you had again…Flynn/Rapunzel. Post-movie. Oneshot.
Rating: K +.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TANGLED. I wish the DVD was out so I could own that at least. But as it is right now, I own nothing.
Nexus: This is extremely out of my element, but I loved Tangled SO MUCH that I wanted so badly to write a fanfiction for it. So I'm going to try my hand at a little fluff, mkay? Enjoy, and lemme know if you like it!
Flynn Rider never really was one for boredom.
He'd much rather be out "living his dream", spending egregious amounts of money on nothing in particular, living on a deserted island and having the time of his life.
He'd often thought about that dream, you know. "The road not taken" type deal. Flynn Rider was a different person now, and with becoming a different person comes a different dream.
Because Eugene Fitzherbert could be bored for hours and never truly know it.
He doubted he could really even call it boredom, actually. Sitting outside the kingdom gates, staring out over the glistening lake while he leaned back in the plush grass – it made him think, especially the lake itself. The emerald sheen that the water reflected sent his heart spinning into a breath-stealing tizzy.
He had Blondie to thank for that.
Well, now she'd be more like a – a Brownie, but the nickname Blondie registered nostalgia. And so it stuck.
Nostalgia. That old feeling of missing something you once had. And since he'd fled the kingdom of his own accord about a week or two…or three back, he'd experienced it almost every day since. That aching feeling in your chest when you feel like there's something that you want, that you had once…that you wish you had again…
He shook his head, shaking his short brown hair about his face before running a hand through it. She was the princess now. Princes and knights and all kinds of other suitors from lands far and away would come pouring in to marry her soon, and who was he to keep her from all of that hubbub? He was just Flynn Rider – secretly Eugene Fitzherbert – a thief, undeserving of Rapunzel's love, no matter how much he wanted it.
The sun sank lower and lower in the sky until it was simply a sliver on the water, glinting ever so much until it was finally out of sight. Eugene heaved a heavy sigh, no longer able to see the greenness of the water that reminded him so much of her eyes. He took a minute to stand and brush of the back of his pants before looking upward at the night sky. Stars twinkled in varying amounts of brightness, and he was vaguely reminded of the crown he had once stolen, the one that now sat atop Rapunzel's head. He remembered the last moments that they had been together, when she had placed the crown on her head, the sun hit the jewels adorning it just right, causing slivers of light to dapple the room. He smiled at the reminiscence, although for no one.
She was beautiful in that crown.
Another heavy sigh passed his lips as he stuffed his hands into his back pockets. The stars were beautiful tonight anyway – bright and shining with a reddish-yellow glow. It almost was–
Wait.
He returned his eyes upward, noticing the reddish-yellow glow in the sky. He focused his eyes on it, knitting his brow.
It was moving. The reddish-yellow star was moving.
Unless…unless it wasn't a reddish-yellow star at all.
Rapunzel.
Before he knew what he was doing he was sprinting toward the kingdom gates. Two knights were rolling up the drawbridge for the night, yelling curses through their helms when he absentmindedly dashed across. The lantern rose higher and higher into the sky, and he watched it carefully as he sprinted his way to the palace gates. He slowed to a stop, looking up at the giant pair of doors blocking his path.
The palace gates were closed.
He was too late.
Breathing heavily, Eugene stared up at the night sky once more. The lantern was now a mere flicker among the stars.
She was probably still waiting. He cursed himself inwardly.
"I didn't think you'd see it." A voice wafted in from his left.
He slowly turned, noticing a young woman with short brunette locks that stopped right beneath her ears, a pale purple dress hanging to her ankles. She leaned up against the side of the palace walls, bare feet accented against the cobblestone street.
"Rapunzel!" He breathed, standing straighter. "Err, Blondie…What are you doing out here this late?"
She half-smiled, before standing up and moving closer to him.
"Why'd you leave, Eugene?" She asked quietly, stopping when she turned him to face her and rested her dainty hands against his chest.
He gulped. Busted.
It was now or never. He came back here for a reason, and he'd be damned if he were going to lie to the woman he loved.
"Uh," he started badly, then whistling air out of his nostrils and using a hand to rub the back of his head. "Well…Rapunzel…you're a princess now, and I'm…well, I'm –"
"You're…what?" She asked, naiveté shining through. He loved it though – he could barely breathe as it was, and now she was making it worse.
"I'm a wanted criminal. So, you know, we can't really hang, if you know what I mean."
"Hang." She repeated, although it sounded so…evil when put on her lips.
"Yeah." He nodded weakly.
"Flynn…no, Eugene. Eugene, I love you. And I don't care who or what says that you and I can't be together." She stated, causing his heart to stop, realize what she'd just said and then start again in a raging thunder that made him almost want to faint.
"But Rapunzel, you're a princess, and you and I, well, you're gonna have knights and princes lining up to marry you any day now and…"
She silenced him by fervently pressing her lips to his, leaning inward to mold their bodies together. Surprised yet pleased by the sudden bravery, Eugene leaned in as well, wrapping one arm around her waist and bringing the other one to her cheek, holding her close to him.
Their lips parted soon after, and the two sat in the silence of each other's arms for what seemed like an eternity.
He sighed, breaking the silence while leaning his head on top of hers.
"I gotta hand it to you, Blondie, you knew how to get me runnin' back to ya, didn't you?"
She giggled softly, then moving her head to look up at him. The same emerald sheen he had seen in the lake glittered brightly in her eyes, the light of the candles make it ever more vibrant.
"Just…promise me you won't leave again." She said, her smile fading before she accented her proposition with an innocent blink. "Promise me that you'll be my knight and my prince and…and…I can't…I won't lose you, Eugene."
He stared deep into her eyes, reading her. It wouldn't be easy – he'd have to give up his nomadic ways, quit thieving forever, and win the hearts of the entire kingdom, Rapunzel's mummy and daddy included. Especially them. It would take a lot of work.
But it was certainly doable.
He smirked crookedly for her. "Anything for you, Blondie."
And as their lips met for another kiss, he'd all but completely forgotten Flynn Rider.