Rapunzel woke up with a splitting headache and as she became more and more awake, she realized she couldn't breathe through her nose and her throat felt raw.
She rolled over and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to fall asleep and be rid of the pain. An hour later, however, she was still wide awake and feeling just as miserable.
She couldn't understand why she was feeling so horrible. Moaning, Rapunzel threw a pillow over her face and curled up in a ball.
She stayed in bed for hours and when she wasn't at breakfast, Eugene went looking for her. She was an early bird, after all.
Making his way to her room, he knocked lightly on the door. He got no reply from inside so he opened the door and peeked inside, seeing Rapunzel still in bed.
"Punz?" he asked. 'Punz' had become Eugene's new nickname for Rapunzel, seeing as 'Blondie' no longer fit.
"Go away," she croaked, cringing when she heard how rough her voice sounded.
Eugene picked up on the harsh sound of her voice and walked towards the bed.
"You okay? You sound sick," He said.
"I can't be sick. I've never been sick before in my life!" she declared. This was true. Her long, golden hair had always prevented her from catching anything. But it was gone now, and she was just as vulnerable to illness as the next person.
Eugene knelt next to the bed and placed a hand on her forehead. Even though his hands were not cold, she shivered at the touch.
"Jeez, Punz, you're burning up!" he said. "I'll be right back; I'm going to go get the physician."
He returned moments later, the physician trailing behind him.
Rapunzel came to the conclusion that she did not like being sick. She felt terrible, everyone was worried about her, and the physician wouldn't just let her sleep. He had to check everything just to tell her that she had a small cold and to get some rest and to drink plenty of fluids.
Eugene, taking the instructions from the doctor very seriously, left immediately to bring Rapunzel some water. She was thankful for the drink, for she was very thirsty, but she found that drinking just made her throat more painful. She grimaced and made to put the glass down after one sip, but Eugene stopped her.
"Uh- uh, you're finishing that. You're supposed to drink plenty of fluids, so finish that glass." He told her.
"But I don't want to!" Rapunzel whined. Eugene shot her a look and she sighed, finishing her water.
"Right," said Eugene as he took the glass from her hands. "You get some rest. I'll check on you in a while."
He was already halfway across the room when she spoke.
"Wait, Eugene," She said in a barely audible whisper. He turned around. "Can you stay with me, just until I fall asleep?" She pleaded, looking at him with her big, emerald eyes, those same eyes that he could never say no to.
Eugene made his way back to her bed and was about to sit down in the chair not too far away when Rapunzel shook her head and pointed to the empty spot beside her. As he lay down on the bed, Rapunzel curled up next to him and closed her eyes.
He slowly rubbed circles on her back until she fell asleep.
Maybe being sick wasn't so bad after all.
A/N: Hello! This is my first Tangled fic, and I hope you enjoy it. This was just a little something that popped into my head and wouldn't go away, so I wrote it.
Please review, it would mean a lot!
-Emma-and-Eadric-forever