AN: Ok, I know I've been procrastinating on "'Till Death Do Us Part" but I'm trying really hard. So, to hold you over, I wrote this one-shot. Hope you like it. - R
Disclaimer: I don't own Tangled, but dammit I wish I did.
In-between
The rain began lashing down onto the roof as the tears fell from Rapunzel's eyes. "No, no, no, no, no, Eugene!" She rolled him over onto his back, and her breath caught in her throat. His skin had turned ashen and cold. His mouth was slightly open as blood ran from the corner of his lips. His eyes, oh god... his eyes were wide open, staring straight up, but seeing nothing, empty, soulless... dead. "Eugene." She shook him by the shoulders. His head fell to the side, but he still didn't move. "Dammit, look at me!" No response. "Please..." She leaned her forehead against his. "Come back." But she knew he wasn't; she knew he was gone.
She pulled away and moved her hands to his eyes, closing them. Take in every last bit of him, she told herself, the minute you step out of this tower, you'll never see him again. She stroked his cheek, loving, but at the same time hating how his soft, stubbly skin felt against her palm. She ran her fingers through his hair, pulling out the tangles, not having to worry if she hurt him. She knew he would never have to feel pain ever again. Why do I have to go through this pain, she thought, why can't I be free? Then it hit her. I don't have to feel pain anymore. One step out that window and I'll be with him. Why go through life, knowing I'll never be happy again? Gently, she set him down, no it wasn't him anymore, it was just a shell, a empty vessel, a corpse. And soon she would be too.
Rapunzel stood and walked over to the window, climbing up onto the sill. She turned to look back one last time. Pascal was still unconscious on the rug. Eugene still hadn't moved, but then again, she hadn't expected him to. She faced forward, closed her eyes, raised her arms, and whispering "I'm coming Eugene.", walked out into the free air. She felt the air whipping past her until she made contact, and felt nothing anymore.
My eyes snapped open and I sat up, gasping for air. My skin was sticky with sweat, heart racing, grass damp against my palms. Max snorted and lifted his head, startled out of his sleep. "I'm ok, Max, go back to sleep." He saw right through my lie and walked over to me, nuzzling my head. "Alright, alright. I had a nightmare." He nodded and sat beside me. I leaned my head on his neck, and looked over at Eugene's sleeping form. Pascal had already told Max what had happened in the tower, but, knowing how smart he was, he had probably already figured it out. I looked up into the horse's big brown eyes. " I know he's ok now, I just..." The look on his face seemed to say, You're still scared.
"Yeah." My eyes began to water. "I mean, what if they don't pardon him? What if they decide to put him in jail, or banish him, or... execute him. I can't lose him again. I just can't." I began to cry.
"Hmm." Eugene rolled over and opened his eyes. "Rapunzel?" He sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" I quickly rubbed my face on my sleeve. " It's nothing." "Bull. Come here." I crawled over to him and he pulled me into his hold. "Tell me what's wrong." " I jumped." His face twisted into a look of confusion. "I had a dream, and you didn't come back. I didn't even get to say goodbye. So... I jumped." He sat silent for a moment, then he unwounded our fingers, laying my hand against his chest.
"What do you feel?"
"Eugene," "What do you feel?"
"Your heartbeat."
He lifted my chin so our eyes met. "And I guarantee you, it's not stoping anytime soon. Ok?" I smiled, and we just sat there, listening to the night.
"Hey, Eugene?"
"Yeah?"
"What's it like? You know, dying?"
He looked at me curiously. "Why do you want to know that?" "It's just... Gothel always told me that death was horrible and painful, and I wanted to know if that was true." He took a breath. "Well, I think it's relative, I mean, the part before dying was hell, but actually dying? For me at least, it was kind of a release, like finally the pain was gone. It was really dark and cold, which was kind of odd. I mean, growing up I was always told that there was either heaven, you know puffy clouds, angels, all that, or hell, all fire and brimstone and eternal punishment stuff. It wasn't either of those places, like I was in-between heaven and hell. I couldn't really remember what had had happened to me, I didn't even really remember who I was. But I knew that this wasn't right, that I shouldn't be there."
"Is that it?" "Let me finish. Anyway, I don't know how long it was, but suddenly I could hear your voice. I couldn't really make out what you were saying, but I could tell that you were singing. And you sounded so heartbroken. I knew I had to help you. Then everything came back in a rush, and I woke up. So, over all, it wasn't horrible, just... weird."
I rubbed my eyes. "I'm sorry I let that happen to you." "What do you have to be sorry about? I made the choice, I cut your hair." "I should have lied to her, pretended I was going to stay." "Rapunzel, I still would have come in and I still probably would have gotten hurt. There's nothing you could have done." "Yeah, but if,"
"Rapunzel, you need to stop looking at the 'If's'. What's done is done, and we can't change it." I sighed. "Ok."
"Anyway, wanna hear about the dream I had?" I snickered. "Sure." "Well, it started out with me riding Max in the woods. Then we got to this clearing, and there was a little house, and two kids about the same age came running out, shouting 'daddy, daddy, daddy!' so I was thinking, do I have some kids I don't know about?" I rolled my eyes. "Then, the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen walked out the door." "Oh really? What did she look like?" "She was tiny, with a little frog,"
"Chameleon."
"Hey, my dream here."
"Yeah, but you're definitely not getting the details right."
"Fine. With a chameleon on her shoulder. She had a brown braid going down her back, oh, and her eyes. In all my years of thieving, never had I seen a gem more green then her eyes." I set my chin on my elbow. "You're really laying it on thick to cheer me up, aren't you?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "Is it working, or do I have to smolder you into laughing?" I put my hands up. "No, no, I feel much better now." "Good."
"Is that what you were thinking of when you said I was your dream."
"At the time, yes. But now, I know that I don't need a castle, or an island, or a house, or piles of money. I just need you."
"I need you too." I pulled him close and kissed him hard on the lips. After a few minutes of pure bliss, Eugene pulled away and brushed the hair out of my face. "We'ed better get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day." I nodded and snuggled against him. "I love you Eugene." He tensed for a moment, but relaxed almost immediately.
"I love you too, Blondie."
I smiled sleepily and fell asleep to the sound of his breathing.
Death has become an important part of my life, ever since I found out that my nana was dying. It's making me admit my own mortality, and the fact that I can't stop growing. The afterlife has always been a fascinating concept to me. I tried to perceive what I think Eugene would have seen, or not seen while dead. I'm also one of the biggest romantics you'll ever meet, so I adore the idea of, dying for love and love outlasting death, which you can find in any of my stories. Please comment and thanks for reading. - R