Rapunzel looked up at Eugene with her big green eyes. They seemed to sparkle as they caught the golden gleam of the sunrise. Eugene fought to keep a smile from spreading across his face. She'd think he was crazy, smiling at nothing.
"Eugene?" She said; she was curious again; Intrigued by some fancy in her little head. Eugene loved that.
"Yes, Blondie?"
She blushed ever so faintly at the nickname. "I was just wondering… about the clouds."
"Clouds?" He looked toward the East. The rising sun was lighting up the clouds brilliantly in vibrant golds, pinks, oranges, and reds. Some were sharp and bright, others soft and feathered. All of them combined like a beautiful symphony, all in harmony with one another; none quite the same, but all playing together to create a truly stunning scene.
"Well…" she began quietly. "They're so beautiful, but they're always changing. It just… Makes me sad sometimes."
"Why on Earth would it make you sad?" Eugene asked, bewildered yet again by the innocence of her thoughts.
"They're so fleeting. It's like they're the most wonderful things in the world, but they disappear. And once they're gone there's no record of them even existing. And eventually they become forgotten… it just makes me sad." She looked down, staring at her hands.
"But that's the wonderful thing about clouds." Eugene took her hands in his. Her hands were soft and small, his large and rough. "They don't just disappear; they fall as rain and nourish the Earth. And in the end they rise back in the sky to become new clouds, just as beautiful as before. And you can enjoy those too. None of them really vanish; they just come back new and different. And they'll always exist as long as you remember them."
Rapunzel smiled. Eugene could feel something squeezing in his chest. Her smile made all the difference. If he could just capture this moment, the sun lighting her hair to a glorious gold, a slight pink on her cheeks and lips, and the green of her eyes so clear and deep, captivating him and pulling him in. He would bask in this forever. If the world itself ended, and he could only choose one thing to take with him, he would choose her.
She played with his hands. He was still amazed at the tenderness in which she touched him, as if she was handling something precious. He swallowed hard as his stomach leapt into his throat.
"But do you know what makes those clouds so beautiful?"
She looked at him inquisitively.
"The sun. The sun is what makes them look like they do now, and when it's high in the sky it makes them look white and the end of the day it makes them soften for the night. And the sun's a constant. It's always there, day after day, shining continuously bright. If it weren't for the sun the clouds would not have the light to reflect on them to look so pretty."
She squeezed his hand. "I guess you're right." She looked back up at him, her eyes were full of light. "The sun is the most beautiful."
Inwardly he agreed. She was the sun in his sky. She was the reason his life had meaning. She spread warmth and light to everything she touched. Before he had nothing but night, with the gleam of empty promises of happiness in greed. But this was something pure. Something innocent. He caught her looking at him, and suddenly became aware of their closeness. He began to blush, and looked away so she wouldn't see. God he was becoming a softy. How could she do that to him? Flynn Ryder would have never said anything like that! He was becoming one of those sappy romantics. But her hand on his melted him like nothing else could.
Her voice rang softly behind him, like chimes. "Eugene, I'm so glad I met you." She snuggled her face into his arm. And suddenly, the rising sun had brought him home.
