Disclaimer: I don't own Tangled. Disney does. I just taint the characters.
The small bells chime, signalling the arrival of a customer in the Snuggly Duckling. A huge man with a steel hook narrows his eyes, trying to identify the hooded stranger. He sees a green creature atop the stranger's head and finally recognizes who it was. With a knowing smile, he leaves his position from behind the piano and approaches the hooded being.
"Hello, Princess."
She turns suddenly, her movements so quick that the too-large hooded cloak falls and reveals a blonde head. She looks anxiously around, trying to find the source of the voice calling her, knowing who she is.
"Up 'ere," she hears and she looks up to be greeted with a wide smile from Hookhand, one of the only friends she has outside the castle walls. "To what do we owe the honor of your visit, Princess?"
"Shhhh!" she reprimands him, looking around if someone had heard their conversation. "Someone might hear you and I really don't think my parents would be too pleased to hear that I'm here without supervision," she explains. She's deep in thought before she adds, "and not doing my politics homework."
Hookhand's booming laugh causes her to smile. She first met him at the Spring Ball her parents hosted. Hookhand was responsible for the beautiful music flowing through the grand ballroom and it completely mesmerized her. When Hookhand took his break, she dashed forward, complimenting him and in absolute awe of his talent. They spent the remainder of his break talking; she told him how exhausting her classes were and the various paintings she's done and he told her about living his dream as an achieved pianist and the pub he usually frequented and performed on occasion.
When he was about to leave, he took one look at the longing and sad expression on her face and was moved. Being the Princess of Corona, she had an endless list of duties to fulfill, important tasks to be accomplished – all the while, maintaining that long hair of hers, Hookhand thought. With a smile, he cupped her cheek with his hand – the good one – and said, "If you want, you could visit me in the Snuggly Duckling, the pub I mentioned earlier. I'll show ya' around, girlie, maybe teach you a few things on the piano." Her answering smile is wide and genuine and tells him she'd take him up on that offer.
And now here she is.
She didn't think about the consequences coming to the pub brought. When Hookhand had told her about the Snuggly Duckling, her thoughts immediately went to the people she could meet, the worthwhile experiences and memories she could make and all the fun she could have. Don't get her wrong, she was a smart girl. She rejected the offers her parents gave her on a stroll outside to study instead. She wanted to make her parents proud of her and to lead the kingdom the way her parents and the generation before them had.
Thus she would stay inside, learning about the world instead of truly living in it. She would study and her daydreams of the outside world would suffice. It was because of these that gave her the aspect of a lady trapped in a tower.
"Well your Highness, I'm glad you could make it 'ere," Hookhand says, smiling down at her.
"Just Rapunzel, please," she corrects him. "And if I do remember correctly, you said you'd give me piano lessons if I came here, isn't that right, Pascal?" She motions to the little chameleon perched on her shoulder and it nods before scurrying to Hookhand's side.
"Hmm, well, I'm actually about to perform right now," he says. Her face falls and a cute pout forms on her rosy pink lips. "Don't worry, girlie, I'll keep a good eye on you. Go on, make friends- hey! I'll even make this fun." At that, Rapunzel tilts her head, curious.
"Tell ya' what, I'll teach ya' a few things on the piano if…," he draws out slowly.
"If..?" Rapunzel prompts.
"Use a pick-up line on anyone here," he finishes, "you know what's a pick-up line, right?" Rapunzel looks quizzical for a moment, remembering the rare times she'd catch one of the maids in the palace blushing and giggling at what the male chefs or gardeners would say. She nods slowly and Hookhand grins even wider.
Rapunzel takes a deep breath and looks around the bar. Two huge men were sitting in the corner, drinking copious amounts of ale. No, not them. Hmmm. A drunken man dressed up as Cupid was waltzing around the platform, garnering looks of amusement from everyone. There was also a mime, a man with a huge nose and a burly looking character holding a tiny white object - was that a unicorn?
She walks over to the bar and sees the back of a blue vested man, his chestnut colored hair in slight disarray on top of his head. Nervous sweat trickled down her hand as she ponders if she could actually pull it off. What if I make a complete idiot of myself? She looks for Pascal and Hookhand in the crowd and they're stationed near the piano, a few feet away, watching her.
With a sudden surge of confidence, Rapunzel gently taps the stranger on the shoulder, mentally psyching herself up. I can do this. The man turns his head to look at her and she's struck momentarily at how handsome he was. She swallows and clears her throat, here goes.
"You owe me a drink," Rapunzel says, a light falter in her delivery.
The man swivels his seat to her, giving her his full attention. "Do I?" he questions, raising his eyebrow.
"Yes." She pauses for a moment, drawing in a quick breath, "because when I looked at you, I dropped mine."
Rapunzel internally gave herself a pat on the back as she smiled proudly. She did it. She delivered her line to an absolute stranger. She seeks Pascal and Hookhand from behind the stranger and it was evident in their facial expressions that they were shocked – shocked that she actually managed to do it. Hookhand blinks and gives her an impressed look, flashing her a thumbs up.
Rapunzel turns back to the stranger and her smile starts to fade. His jaw was dropped and it looked like he wasn't breathing. Rapunzel searches his face for any emotion but sees nothing.
The man slowly places his hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eye. "Are you lost?" he asks, genuine concern in his voice as he leans toward her.
Her eyes widen and she blushes under his gaze. He thinks I'm deranged. He thinks I have some sort of mental disorder, what do I do?
She lets out an intelligent, "uhhh," before averting her eyes anywhere except his deep, brown ones. She sighs, ready to leave when-
"Because heaven is a long way from here."
She blinks. And blinks again. What?
The man smirks, leaning away. He signals the bartender for a moment as Rapunzel realizes what was happening. Oh. Oh! He's playing along. Recovering from her initial shock, she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips.
He turns toward her, shrugging his shoulders in a, "your move" gesture. He takes his half-full mug of ale and winks at her before finishing it. Rapunzel watches the sexy way his Adam's apple bobs as he drinks it and she thinks of what to say next.
"Are you a thief? Because you've surely stolen my heart." There. Perfect execution, no falter or lilt in her tone. The man laughs and she smiles at the sound. I did that, I made him laugh.
"Well, I'm actually Mr. Right – I hear you were looking for me, Blondie." She brushes that off, a sort of, "is that really the best you can do?" expression on her face. He sighs, gripping the handle of his mug, "do you have directions?"
She's taken aback with the seriousness of his tone. "Err, where to?"
He smiles. "Your heart."
It wasn't his best one but he got the intended effect: she laughed. He laughed along with her, the whole situation was crazy and funny and perfect to him. He didn't know why the flustered green-eyed beauty approached him in the first place. He didn't expect her to blush and use a pick-up line on him. He didn't expect her to be so cute, so sweet and adorable and he most certainly did not expect to have his cold, black heart to melt at the sight of her smile.
He was fucked.
"Oh wait, you've got something in your eye," Rapunzel quickly swiped her finger underneath his eye, a shot of electricity buzzing through them at the contact. "Never mind, it was just a sparkle."
He shakes his head at that one and smiles at her, "Someone should really call the royal guards," he starts and she cringes. Does he know that she's the princess of Corona? Is that the reason why he's talking to her?
"Being that beautiful must be illegal." She muffles her laugh with her hand. He's quite the charmer. She was drunk on happiness and of the charm and beauty of the stranger. Speaking of drunk-
"That was a good one, but I'm not drunk, I'm just intoxicated by you."
He chuckled, nodding his head of approval. He takes a swig of the refilled mug of ale laid before him and he counts the number of drinks he's had to make sure he's not hallucinating. He glances at her and she has her head down, a warm smile on her face as she plays with a strand of her hair. She looks up at him and holy shit, there's that strange heart beat skip thing.
The man squints his eyes and his hand moves to his forehead, pretending to shield his eyes from light as he looks out the window. "Fuck, is it already this late, did the sun just come out?" He slowly looks back at her confused expression, "or did you just smile at me?"
Rapunzel raises her hands in mock surrender, "Okay, okay. You win; you're hands-down the master at pick-up lines."
"Why thank ya, Blondie. But eh, pick-up lines aren't exactly my forte. I actually have something much more powerful, effective and," he pauses, "you wouldn't want to know. You wouldn't be able to handle it."
She was about to protest but he asks, "Hey, would you happen to know the time?"
"No, I'm sorry," Rapunzel says with a grin, waiting for his latest. "Why?"
"Well, I wanted to know the exact moment that the most beautiful girl in the room agreed to dance with me," he says, holding out his hand.
"Oh, I don't," Rapunzel starts, her eyes darting around. "I'm sorry, but I can't..."
He sighs. "Look Blondie, I didn't want to do this but you leave me with no other choice." Rapunzel tilts her head in confusion. "Here comes the smoulder."
The man drops his head before levelling his gaze on her, eyes narrowed and lips pursed to the side. He expected her eyes to soften and her guard to let down. He expected her to readily accept his dance offer – something he doesn't normally ask women. He expected her to melt for the smoulder never fails.
Instead, she burst out laughing. "Wha- what was that?" she managed to choke out in between fits of bell-like laughter. She swipes at a tear in her eye as her laughter subsides.
He pouts then drops his head, muttering, "That wasn't supposed to happen."
"That was the smoulder, your powerful and effective weapon?" she asks, laughing once more as he playfully glares at her. "It looked like you were constipated!"
"This is probably an off day for me, it usually works."
"Uh huh."
"Nevertheless," he says, standing up, holding out his hand once more, "the offer still stands."
She smiles and places her hand on his calloused one. He brings her flush against him and she blushes profusely at the close proximity. Hookhand takes his place behind the piano, cracking his knuckles. It's unusual for the Snuggly Duckling to have classical music playing but everyone seems to enjoy it once in awhile and Hookhand is more than happy to play for them.
He pulls back a little and she looks up at him with her enormous green eyes. He swallows audibly and smiles, leaning forward so that his forehead rested against hers. "Your lips look lonely; do they want to meet mine?" He wanted it to sound suave and charming but it came out as a breathy whisper instead.
He's so close, solid and warm. Rapunzel stands on her tiptoes, brushing the entire length of her against him as a zing of electricity courses through them. She kisses him softly, just a gentle brush of her lips against his own. It was sweet and chaste and she pulls back, looking up at him. His face looked dazed and he smiles at her before leaning in, kissing her this time. Rapunzel's hands clutch the blue vest he wore, drawing him even closer if that were possible. He groans and the sound thrilled her, moving her lips against his.
He starts to tilt his head to deepen the kiss when something in Rapunzel snaps. What was she doing? She hardly knew the man and here she was, kissing him! She abruptly pulls back and she can see the hurt and confusion in his eyes.
"I've got to go," she mumbles before running towards Hookhand and Pascal. She quickly thanks Hookhand, grabs Pascal and dashes off to the nearest exit. Behind her, she can faintly hear the man yelling for her as he pushes people out of the way. She looks back and sees that he's gaining on her.
"Rider!" Someone bellowed and the man comes to a sudden halt. Rapunzel takes this opportunity, pushes open the door and runs to where she left Maximus. She takes one last look at the Snuggly Duckling before she makes her journey back to the castle.
~.~
It was a warm and sunny day in the Kingdom of Corona. In front of the huge mural of the royal family, children ran around, poking each other with chalk. Rapunzel sits directly in front of the mural, watching the children play. The golden brilliance of her braided hair shone in the sunlight as she leans forward, her elbows on her lap, dropping her face in her hands.
A week has passed since she went to the Snuggly Duckling and met the dark-haired stranger. She tried her absolute best to forget him by spending all her time studying and painting in her room but to no avail. When her parents had noticed her peculiar behaviour, they ushered her outside to get some fresh air.
She thinks back to that night; that night when she bribed Maximus with apples to take her to the Snuggly Duckling, that night when she met him, the charming man who she had somehow felt a deep connection with and had somehow bonded over pick-up lines. These thoughts never fail to bring a smile on her lips and when she'd catch herself smiling, she'd gently touch her lips, remembering her first kiss. So busy and occupied was she with these thoughts that she didn't notice the young man that had sat beside her.
"Hey, Blond – I mean, Rapunzel."
Rapunzel instantly lifts her head. She knew that voice. She turns her head to find the stranger she met in the bar, his hands behind his head, the familiar smirk plastered on his face.
"H-how did you know my name?" she stutters, eyes blinking rapidly, making sure he's here, he's real and he's talking to me.
"Oh?" He furrows his eyebrows in concentration. "Aren't all beautiful girls named Rapunzel?"
The corners of her mouth curve up into a smile but it didn't last long. "So I suppose you know that I'm the princess as well, huh?"
"You're the princess?" he exclaims with faux surprise. He looks behind her at the mural and looks back towards her, his expression incredulous. She playfully slaps him on his arm, waiting for his explanation. "Okay, Hookhand told me. Well actually, no he didn't. He threatened me that if I hurt you in any way, not only do I have him and his group of thugs chasing after my ass but the royal guards as well," he cringes, remembering the detailed speech Hookhand told him with matching hand gestures. "Anyway, I pieced the facts together and…"
"So you never knew that I was the princess? But... why did you want to continue talking to me?"
He scratches the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "Come on, Blondie. Who wouldn't want to talk to a nice, funny, beautiful..," he trails off, blushing a little. It was a whole new side of him compared to the confident façade he put on. It was then she wanted to know him, to unravel the secrets he had.
He smiles at her and her answering smile is dazzling. He gently tucks a strand of her golden hair behind her ear and his hand lingers there before he drops it to his side.
"We should start over." Rapunzel clears her throat and extends her hand for a hand shake. "Hello, my name is Rapunzel."
He takes her hand and kisses it softly. "Eugene Fitzherbert."