Author's Note: This is my first Tangled fanfic so please be gentle. I am using the song "If I Never Knew You" that was written for the Disney movie Pocahontas. I am only incorporating the lyrics that were used in that scene between John Smith and Pocahontas. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled, the song, or Pocahontas. Though I wish I did own them all.
If I Never Knew You
Eugene and Rapunzel were enjoying some time alone together after having a nice dinner with the King and Queen of Corona. The sun was setting from where Eugene was sitting on the bed. He was resting his back against the headboard, Rapunzel resting her head on his leg, reading a fairy tale book. He stroked her hair, which was easier to do ever since he had cut it to save her from Gothel, turning it a soft shade of brown. He could just stare at her forever, whether her hair was blonde or brunette.
He could get used to this. All right, he was used to it. He was starting to at least; being with a girl who loved him unconditionally, who opened his eyes to the world around him, a girl he loved absolutely and entirely with his whole being.
Rapunzel made him feel…free. She had found within him passion he himself didn't know about. It was a little strange to be perfectly honest, but he didn't feel like he had changed all that much. After all, he was Flynn, well, Eugene, still himself, but at the same time, he realized so much more about himself when falling in love with her. He began experiencing feelings and emotions he had never felt before.
The life that he had previously led he thought, at the time, was full. But now he realized that there had always been something…missing. But now, gazing down at her, reading, he contemplated about how many thoughts and feelings that she had made come alive in him, how many things he did not understand about himself before he even knew her, but now did because of her presence in his life.
He hadn't changed completely. Actually, it wasn't a change at all…it was just learning more about his own self. Eugene Fitzherbert had always been inside of him, but he had found out as a child that it wasn't something that could him what he wanted, or what he thought he wanted to be happy. He grew up thinking that no one could possibly understand what he really needed, what he thought no one could give him: a family, a sense of some place where he felt like he belonged. Rapunzel gave him that. And he would be eternally grateful.
It was then he noticed Rapunzel had put down her book, staring out at the balcony, where the night sky was blanketed with twinkling stars.
"Hey Blondie, you all right?" he asked, using his old nickname for her.
She sat up to turn to look at him a slight frown on her face. She snuggled into his chest as she replied, "I was just thinking about what would've happened if you hadn't found my tower, if I would still be there now, never finding out I was the lost princess…never meeting you…"
He looked into those bright green eyes of hers and brushed a strand of hair gently away from her face.
"But we did," he answered, hugging her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist, "I don't know exactly what brought us together, whether it was fate, destiny-"
"-A horse," Rapunzel interjected, remembering their very first conversation back at the tower.
Eugene let out a small chuckle and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"What I was trying to say before a certain princess interrupted me," he said, "was that I would do everything the same-in a heartbeat-for you."
Rapunzel glanced up at him for a brief moment, her eyes a bit wider than usual, and turned away as she spoke.
"You don't mean…that you would…you would die? Again?" she half whispered, as if she could barely say those words out loud. The incident in the tower involving his death was still a touchy and painful subject for Rapunzel, for the both of them.
"Rapunzel, look at me," he said quietly, tenderly bringing her chin around to face him once again, "I would rather die, again, than live a hundred years without knowing you."
Cupping her face in his hands, he said softly to her, "Without you… I would be…empty. I have so much to be thankful for, but most of all, I am thankful to have met you Rapunzel."
He caressed her cheek tenderly, and started to sing:
If I never knew you
If I never felt this love
I would have no inkling of
How precious life can be
Rapunzel released her embrace from him slightly, looking up at him smiling that same bright smile that he loved. He continued on:
And if I never held you
I would never have a clue
How at last I'd find in you
The missing part of me.
At this point Eugene noticed the tears in his princess's eyes. He wiped away the ones that had escaped and trailing down her cheeks with a gentle brush of his thumb, all the while putting his feelings into song:
In this world so full of fear
Full of rage and lies
I can see the truth so clear
In your eyes
So dry your eyes
His forehead touched hers, messing their hair up somewhat, finishing his piece:
And I'm so grateful to you
I'd have lived my whole life through
Lost forever
If I never knew you
Rapunzel then pushed herself off the bed, pulling on his hand, leading him out towards the balcony. When they reached the railing, she released his hand, laying her elbows on the ledge, and took in a deep breath.
"For the brief moments, you were…you know, lying there in my arms…dead," she began, "I thought of what would it have been like, for us to be…together."
Eugene's heart ached for her and her sadness, but before he had the chance to say anything to comfort her, she began to sing:
I thought our love would be so beautiful
Somehow we'd make the whole world bright
I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong
All they'd leave us were these whispers in the night
But still my heart is saying we were right
"And the thing is, I don't have to wonder anymore, you know what I mean?" she finished, twisting her neck to see him.
"Yes," he whispered softly, putting his hands on her shoulders, "I do."
"Oh if I never knew you-" Rapunzel continued singing once again.
"There's no moment I regret-" he cut in, now leaning on the balcony next to her smirking, but meaning every word.
"If I never felt this love-" Rapunzel tried to finish, looking a bit amused at his melodious interruption.
"Since the moment that we met-" Eugene interjected once again, nudging her arm, trying to get her to smile.
"I would have no inkling of-" Rapunzel sang back to him, a playful grin now appearing on her lips.
"If our time has gone too fast-" Eugene carried on, taking her hands, rubbing them lightly with his own.
"How precious life can be..." Rapunzel finished, inching closer to him, gazing up into his brown eyes.
"I've lived at last," he ended, his voice becoming softer with each word he spoke.
Eugene then suddenly twirled her, watching her spin, laughing her laugh that was filled with warmth and love. She soon spun back to him, her back resting against his chest, his arms embracing her, both lost in the moment.
"Don't ever leave me," she whispered, tightening her hold on his arms, as if he would disappear if she let go of him.
"I never will," Eugene replied, putting his chin on her right shoulder, "the thought of life without you would just be…meaningless, unfilled. I think that I would miss you even if I had never met you. No matter what happens, I will always be with you…forever."
He felt her sigh contentedly, and he then continued to sing:
And if I never knew you
I'd have lived my whole life through
Empty as the sky-
"Never knowing why," Rapunzel sang, turning to look at him once again, and he somehow knew what was to come.
"Lost forever, if I never knew you," they finished together, their voices singing in perfect harmony, which then turned into a simple delicate kiss.
They broke apart as a shooting star lit up the starry sky. Eugene looked at Rapunzel and smiled. He did need to make a wish. He had his new dream standing right in front of him. He knew her; she knew him. That was all he needed.
Yes, Eugene Fitzherbert thought to himself, I could get used to a view like this.
THE END
I hoped you all enjoyed this! Reviews would be very nice indeed.