Title: We'll do it together
Summary: It's two weeks before their wedding, but Rapunzel still has a thing or two to teach Eugene.
Rating: K+
Word Count: 1480
Warnings: Get a pillowcase ready, because there's a massive amount of fluff in this.
Author's Notes:
The door creaked softly as Rapunzel slowly opened the thick wooden door to her room, Pascal quickly following before the heavy door closed behind her. The sun was still behind the mountains, the moon dimly shining light onto the treetops of the forest. She kept her footsteps soft, not wanting to alert the guards that made the morning rounds, and crept through the huge, darkened castle. The twists and turns of the hallways were completely familiar though, so the need for a candle was ignored.
The door to Eugene's room was in sight when she heard the clanking armor of a castle guard. Quickly, she hid in a corner, careful to pull her nightgown close to her and away from the guard's line of sight, letting him pass without even a glance in her direction. When she was sure he was gone, she hurried back to Eugene's room and knocked.
When she heard no reply, she tried again, this time a little bit harder, and placed her ear on the door. Again, there was no answer, so she opened the door as carefully as she had her own door, and poked her head in. "Eugene?" she whispered, watching the blanket piled on the bed rise up and down with his breathing.
She walked a bit farther into the room, ushering in Pascal quickly, and closing the door behind her. "Eugene?" she asked again, this time receiving a grunt as he rolled over towards her voice. She walked up to him, shaking him lightly to wake him up, to no avail.
Frustrated, she walked to the bottom of the bed and pulled his blankets off harshly, Eugene immediately curling into a tight ball at the cold. His eyes flew open only to find Rapunzel staring back at him, her green eyes bright, even without the assistance of light in the room.
"Blondie? What are you doing in here?" Eugene asked, sitting upright, rubbing his eyes.
"Shhh, come with me," she said, slowly walking to the door, picking up Pascal by the door. Eugene stared after her a moment before grabbing his shirt from the chair by the bed, slipping it on quickly, and drowsily following her into the hallway.
"What are we doing in here?" Eugene asked, arms hanging lazily to his sides as Rapunzel danced across the room, throwing open the curtains that lined the room.
"I'm gonna teach you how to dance," she said, pulling off her robe, her nightgown flowing as she unconsciously spun.
Eugene stared at her as if she was crazy, "You're gonna teach me how to dance? At four o'clock in the morning?"
"Well, technically, it's four thirty seven," she said, smiling in amusement at his exhaustion. His expression stayed unamused.
Rapunzel sighed as she walked over to him, pulling his hands into hers, "Look, our wedding is in two weeks. Between double-checking the guest list, approving the decorations, and my fittings, I am busy all day. And you with my father doesn't give you any time either. This is the only time we can practice."
Eugene contemplated simply saying no and walking back to his bedroom, but the thought of leaving her all alone in that huge, empty room was not even an option. "Okay," he sighed, "where do we start?"
She squealed in delight, running to the corner to get her guitar, too considerate to wake anyone else up to play. "First," she said, "we need to see how good of a dancer you are."
Eugene scoffed, "I am a fantastic dancer." He flourished his arm in front of him, giving Rapunzel a simple bow.
Rapunzel giggled, "Well then, let's see it." She played a simple tune as she motioned for him to start.
He cleared his throat loudly, held his arms in front of himself as if he had a partner, and moved his feet, attempting to copy how he had seen people dance. His feet stumbled on themselves a few times, Eugene coolly playing it off as if nothing happened.
"Stop, stop." Rapunzel said, taking her guitar off her shoulder and walking over to him, "You have no idea what you're doing." Smiling, she placed one of his hands on her shoulder, holding onto the other, "Just let me lead."
Slowly, she moved to an unheard song, guiding her partner though tiny steps across the dance floor, "First, you move your left foot, then together, then right, then back together." Eugene watched his feet most of the time, following her every step, carefully memorizing the moves. Occasionally, his eyes met with hers, causing her to blush softly, her smile blanketing every feature.
She quietly hummed the same tune she had been playing on her guitar, matching her steps to the song as Eugene followed suit. He met his eyes with Rapunzel again, this time forgetting to keep his focus, and stepped on her feet. She yelped slightly, dropping her hands from their place on him. "Oh my gosh, Rapunzel, I am so sorry," Eugene said, throwing his hands to his face in frustration.
"Hey," Rapunzel said, pulling his hands from his face, "hey, don't give up yet."
"Blondie, I can't do this," Eugene said, sighing, "I can't dance."
"Dancing takes a lot of practice. It's okay to mess up." She placed her hands into his, intertwining their fingers, pulling him with her slowly onto the dance floor, "Come on, we'll do this together."
She positioned his hands on her once more, and again, they started the dance. "Left, together, right, together," Rapunzel guided him through the simple steps, telling him when to add a spin or change directions. Eugene would step on her feet every once in a while, but Rapunzel kept him calm, simply telling him a way to fix what he had done.
They danced long past the sun came up, lost in each other's company. They didn't even hear their audience until a throat cleared loudly behind them. They turned quickly, finding the King and Queen watching them. "We hate to interrupt you two," the Queen said, "but we have lots of things to do today, Rapunzel."
"Oh, of course," Rapunzel said, letting her hands drop from their place on Eugene before gathering her things from the corner and putting her robe back on.
"Feel free to join us today, Eugene. We're choosing the cake and the entrees for the reception," the queen said, smiling.
Eugene smirked, "Well, how can I pass up food?"
"Rapunzel. Rapunzel, wake up," Eugene said, shaking her shoulder lightly.
"Eugene?" She said, opening her eyes, sitting up to look outside, only seeing the dark, distant mountains, "What time is it?" she asked.
"Um," he said, "I don't know, but I wanted to see if you'd be willing to dance with me again. We haven't really been able to practice all week."
The excitement in his eyes made Rapunzel smile, "I don't know, I've got a full day ahead of me today, and I need my sleep…"
Eugene sighed, "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. I really want to get this dance right, you know?" He paused, "Plus, I… I kind of enjoyed it, dancing with you."
Rapunzel squeaked, throwing her arms around his neck. She pulled back to look into his eyes, "Okay, you talked me into it," she said smiling.
"Announcing their royal highnesses, Prince Eugene and Princess Rapunzel!" Eugene walked Rapunzel onto the dance floor, the entire audience hushed as they watched the future rulers make their way to the center. Eugene gulped loudly as he looked around at the huge crowd around them, his stomach tightening into a ball as a bead of sweat ran down his neck.
They stood there for a moment before Rapunzel spoke, "Are you okay?"
"I don't remember," he said as he looked around the room once more before looking into her eyes. "I don't remember what to do."
She smiled, "It's ok, don't freak out," she said, putting his hands on her as she did in practice, one on her shoulder and the other in her hand, "we'll do this together."
She moved him to the rhythm, whispering to him as they moved, "Left, together, right, together." Before long, she saw the spark of recognition in his eyes as he took over leading, taking them all across the floor.
He spun her occasionally, the dress she wore moving in ways it seemed made for. Her eyes sparkled as danced seamlessly through the steps, giggling softly when Eugene made a face to make her smile.
Finally, the song ended, the crowd cheering loudly as the couple kissed once more before resting their heads on each other, hands intertwined behind Rapunzel's back.
"Thank you," Eugene said, staring into his wife's eyes.
"Hey," she said, "for better or worse, we'll do it together. Forever."
Eugene smiled, "I love you."
"I love you most."