A/N: Got to this Tangled fic faster than I thought! Received a suggestion on Tumblr for a fic where Eugene tickles Rapunzel.

Summary: Plays right before Eugene helps Rapunzel reunite with her parents after Mother Gothel's death. Rapunzel feels insecure about seeing her parents again, and Eugene tries to help her. However things turn out a bit differently when he finds out the princess is ticklish!


Like a Princess

Eugene smiled as Rapunzel was rambling on and on. He hadn't expected her to be so lively after losing Mother Gothel. Even though she was evil, creepy and robbed Rapunzel of a normal life, she was still the mother who cared for her until now.

So he was relieved Rapunzel was still like herself. She even reminded him of when they first started their journey together, and how she was switching between being nervous and afraid, to being happy and excited.

"I'm going to meet my real parents! It's been so long! But what if they don't like me? What if they don't recognize me? Would I be the daughter they wanted me to be? Aaaargh I don't wanna go!" Just as the brunette was having another outburst, Eugene laughed out loud.

"Rapunzel, it'll be alright! Look, we're almost there," he said as they arrived at the water which was the only thing left that separated them from the kingdom. Rapunzel first looked delighted at the sight of the kingdom in the distance, but then she sighed and sat down in the grass close to the water.

"They must think I'm stupid to have lived a life like that. How would anyone with a healthy mind believe they're supposed to be locked up in a tower?" Rapunzel continued. It had been this way the entire travel, and Eugene rolled his eyes mockingly.

"We've been over that Rapunzel, and you didn't know any better," he tried to argue with her neverending insecurities.

"What if they don't like me?" she said again, totally ignoring Eugene's comment.

"I am nothing like a princess, what should I do?" Rapunzel nervously reached to play with her hair, and Eugene looked at her with a mixture of amusement and pity as she was shocked when she couldn't find a lock of long blonde hair. She still wasn't used to it being so short.

"Well, for starters," Eugene started, and he joined her by sitting down near the water as well. He carefully took one of her feet in his hand and stretched her leg, until her foot was in the water. Rapunzel gasped at the cold feeling and looked at him in confusion.

"We could clean your feet. I don't know if that would make you feel a little bit more like a princess? I mean, look at them," he joked, and Rapunzel took a look at her other foot.

"Ah, right!" she said, and she placed that one in the water as well.

"I can't believe you walk around without shoes all the time," Eugene said as he gently started to rub the sole of her foot with his thumbs to clean it.

"Mother never bought me shoes actually. I - ahaha hey!" Rapunzel suddenly giggled, and Eugene looked up at her.

"T-that tickles," Rapunzel admitted with a blush on her face.

"You're ticklish? Isn't that convenient," Eugene said, and he continued to wash her foot with both hands in the most ticklish way possible.

"E-Eugehehene s-stop! No! Hahaha!" Rapunzel fell on her back and she tried to pull her foot away, but she was helpless against Eugene's strong grip.

"Your feet are to be cleaned Rapunzel, the more you struggle the longer it'll take," Eugene said with a playful tone in his voice.

Rapunzel laughed and giggled uncontrollably. It had been ages since she felt such a sensation. She was only tickled rarely when she was a kid, but Mother Gothel mostly used to tickle her as one of her awful forms of teasing and humiliating her.

However this time, despite feeling like it was nearly unbearable, the tickling made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Maybe because of the person who was doing the tickling…

"Hehehe no no don't!" Rapunzel squeaked when Eugene dragged his short nails from her sole towards the arch of her foot. She suddenly used her other - still dirty - foot to kick into the water, and Eugene yelped when water was splashed all over him.

Rapunzel used this opportunity to pull her foot free, and she rolled on her back and broke into another giggle fit because of the hilarity. Water was dripping from Eugene's wet hair on his face, and she couldn't stop laughing at his expression.

"Think that's funny hm?" Eugene said, slowly getting up, and Rapunzel giggled nervously as she got to her feet as well and ran way from him. She screamed playfully when he chased after her, enjoying the ability to run freely without tripping over long locks of hair.

Her freedom only lasted a couple of seconds though, since Eugene caught up with her, wrapped his strong arms around her and dragged her to the ground with him. Eugene ended up on his back in the grass with Rapunzel on top of him, and he used both hands to tickle her sides mercilessly.

"Noooo s-stop stop! Hahaha!" Rapunzel giggled hysterically, and she squirmed on top of him and tried to lift herself up, but he kept her trapped against him.

"But princess, you seem to be enjoying yourself!" Eugene teased, and Rapunzel buried her face into his chest to muffle the giggles. Eugene suddenly let himself roll on top so he could pin her down in the grass and tickle her tummy. The blushing girl was now shrieking with laughter and desperately trying to block the tickles, only to have him find a new spot to attack each time.

"Mercy! Hahahaha E-Eugehehene!" Rapunzel squealed, and he finally stopped. They both panted and for a moment Eugene felt himself drown in Rapunzel's sparkling eyes. Even though tickling forced her to laugh, the smile on her face looked genuine, and he felt himself entranced by the sight of it.

"Well Rapunzel, I have to say.. you laugh like a princess," he said, and he leaned in to give her a loving kiss. Rapunzel closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, giggling softly into the kiss because of that comment.

"You know…" Eugene said, breaking the kiss, and Rapunzel looked at him with adorable curiosity.

"We still need to wash your feet," he finished, and Rapunzel's eyes immediately widened. Eugene laughed at how she started to giggle and protest again while he wasn't even tickling her (yet), so he enjoyed the way she squirmed nervously before he scooped her in his arms and carried her towards the water.