Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE PREVIEW PICTURE! IT BELONGS TO HoliMeiMei ON DEVIANTART! I also do not own any of the characters. All I own is the storyline.

When they were 17, Rapunzel's mother pulled her out of school.

On the very first day of his visit, he sensed the melancholy in his friend. Tail fins drooped, her shoulders slumped, her eyes devoid of their usual playful glimmer. She greeted him with the same cheerfulness as always, but something about her smile seemed empty.

"Are you okay?" he asked immediately.

She hesitated briefly before answering. "Actually, no. Something really horrible happened."

"Oh." Jack regarded her sympathetically. "What was it?"

"I was playing around with Anna and her older sister Elsa, and then Elsa accidentally shot some of her ice magic at Anna and…and she started to freeze to death! So the school called in the town sorcerer over to help, and all he could come up was this stupid cryptic thing about an 'act of true love' saving her. So we tried to think of something to save her…for the rest of the day, but…nothing worked. So I…"

Tears were starting to form in Rapunzel's peridot eyes. Jack pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I healed her myself," she continued, her voice shaking. "Mother told me over and over again to never use my powers on anyone but her, but…Anna's one of my best friends, Jack! I couldn't just let her die!" A tear trickled down the blonde mermaid's cheek.

"I tried to do it someplace private, this secluded part of the schoolyard no one ever goes to, but…this one kid happened to pass by and see me, and the next day everyone at school knew I had a power. Mother, she…" Another tear.

"She was so furious! I mean, I've seen her get angry before, but never like that. She was screaming. She told me that she had given me one chance to prove I could function in the world, and I failed." Rapunzel was starting to sob now, her voice cracking. "And she said…I can't ever go to university. I can't even go back to high school! I just have to stay at home with her for the rest of my life, just being cooped up and singing and doing chores. Jack, I was so excited about getting out and living my own life, and now I'm trapped again!"

All Jack could do was hold her close as she cried, whispering that it would be all right again and again. She buried her face in his chest, and he felt his heart quicken. He gently stroked her long hair, and planted a quick kiss on the top of her head. To his relief, she didn't seem to mind.

"They come to visit me sometimes," Rapunzel said, when her tears were starting to run out. "Anna and Merida. Sneak over to my house when they can. So that makes it better. But it'll never be the same…"

"I'm so sorry," he said.

Rapunzel leaned away from him and wiped the saltwater from her face. She grinned up at him.

"At least I still have you!" she said cheerily. "It's strange to think about, isn't it? All these years, and Mother still has no idea I'm sneaking out!"

"That's good." Jack smiled in relief. "I don't think you need another reason for her to be mad at you. No offense, but your mother kind of scares me, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel laughed softly. "No, I can see why. I know she only wants the best for me, but I wish she'd give me another chance."

Maybe she doesn't want the best for you, Jack thought, gazing at her long locks of golden hair. He only barely stopped himself from speaking the words aloud.

One evening, as Rapunzel was about to go home, she turned and said something strange.

"Meet me out by the grassy beach tonight."

Jack regarded her, puzzled. "Why?" he asked.

"Oh, just because." Her eyes sparkled with uncharacteristic mischief.

He raised his eyebrows. "So whatever-it-is can't wait until tomorrow."

She grinned. "Nope!"

"Well…I suppose," he ventured finally. "The beach house isn't too far from here. And lucky for you, my family are all sound sleepers."

And so as soon as the stars had appeared like glinting dewdrops in the night sky, Jack made his way out onto the patio in his swim trunks, hoping that the wood underfoot wasn't creaking that loudly. As soon as he had walked down the steps to the beach, he glanced at the row of cottages lining the sand. It was just after midnight. Most had flicked their inner lights off, emitting nothing but a dim yellow from the porch light.

The beach stretching out in front of him was mottled with light and dark, a strange mix of cutting black shadows and luminance cast by a far-off lighthouse, its glowing beams bringing out the soft gold of the sand.

It was a long walk to the place Rapunzel had mentioned, but Jack didn't mind. The beach felt soft and spongy beneath his bare feet. A chilly breeze brushed past the skin of his chest, and he smiled. He had always loved the cold. The night was utterly silent, save for small waves beating against the shore. The moon was a tiny white sliver, slipping behind buildings and trees and peeking out again as he walked.

Once he got past all of the beach houses and the town buildings drew further and further away, Jack knew he was getting close. At last he arrived at the place where the beach rose up into dunes and tall, shrubby grasses. Out in the water Rapunzel was waiting, her shape silhouetted against the swath of stars.

He dipped a foot into the surf, and smiled. Still warm from the day. He waded in to his knees, and Rapunzel swam over to him.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi."

"Do you like it?"

He scratched his head in confusion. "Like what?"

"How the ocean looks at night!" She beamed. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's…" He struggled to find the right word. "Magical."

"I love coming out here at night," she said. "Everything is so still that it's almost surreal. And look how many stars you can see!" She leaned back so she was floating on her back, and Jack followed suit. He almost sunk a couple times as he was trying to balance himself on the water's surface, but Rapunzel grabbed his hand to steady him.

There were certainly a superfluity of celestial bodies. Jack could even see the faint outline of the Milky Way. That wasn't the most exciting thing, though. The most exciting thing was that it had been several seconds, and Rapunzel still had not let go of his hand.

At last she did, starting to beat her tail and propel herself around. "I love going for night swims," she said. "It just feels like…you're swimming in the sky."

Jack touched his feet onto the sandy bottom and looked out at the dark, sprawling ocean. It would've been hard to tell where the heavens met the sea if not for the slight way the reflected stars rippled and bended with the waves.

He floated around for a long time, splashing languidly at nothing in particular and focusing on nothing except Rapunzel and the sky and the stars and Rapunzel and the horizon and Rapunzel and the warm water beneath him and Rapunzel.

It was some kind of eternity and he never wanted to leave it.

After a while he started to hear soft music playing, and noticed that one of the faraway beach houses had lit up. "Looks like Craig and his frat buddies are getting wasted again," Jack said with a smirk. "Must be one hell of a par-tay. Wanna go crash it, Zellie?"

"You know very well the only parties I can crash are the underwater variety." Rapunzel crossed her arms, but her tone was teasing.

"Yeah, it's probably pretty lame, actually," Jack conceded. "They're all going to be hungover and miserable tomorrow anyway. Besides, they don't get to look at the stars, do they?" Rapunzel smiled and shook her head.

"Although," he added, "they are playing some pretty sick tunes!"

"Hmmm…yeah, I guess so."

Suddenly, an idea came to Jack. He reached out his hand to Rapunzel, grinning. "May I have this dance, m'lady?"

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "The water's not deep enough to dance, Jack!"

Jack shook his head. "No, not mermaid dance! Like…people dance!"

She looked equally unimpressed. "I don't have any legs, dummy!"

"All right, I'll lead then." He sloshed over to her and lifted her out of the water by her waist, causing her to let out a squeak of surprise. "Just put your arms around my neck. That's all you have to do, all right?"

"Okay." She gingerly laced her fingers together behind his neck, seeming slightly nervous at the intimacy. Jack had to admit he was feeling pretty weak himself.

"Now you just…" He hugged her waist and pulled her as close to him as he could. Their faces were mere inches apart now. "Just hold onto me and I'll do the rest. One, two, three…one, two, three…one, two, three…"

He tried to move his feet to the rhythm of the Coldplay blasting in the distance, but he knew he was fumbling. He hadn't done any waltzing since 8th grade cotillion.

For a long time he looked away, pretending to be focused on his shuffling feet. He couldn't look into Rapunzel's eyes, not when she was this close. He might do something stupid like tell her he liked her.

After a while he finally looked up, meeting her bright green gaze. He was convinced he'd never seen anything more beautiful. But the way she was looking at him sent tingles down his spine. Why was it almost…expectant?

"What is it?" he asked, fidgeting uncomfortably.

A pause. "Why are we wasting so much time?" she said softly.

His face fell. Did she think being with him was wasting time? "What do you—"

And just like that, her mouth was on his. He would have let out a yelp of surprise if she wasn't sucking all the breath out of him.

But once the shock had passed, he let himself savor the moment. Her lips were so soft and comfortable, just like he had always imagined they would be. She tasted like sea salt and coralberries. Warmth spread through his entire body, and he pulled her as close as he possibly could, feeling the cool touch of her smooth pink scales against his legs.

The longer they went on, the more insistent they both became. He lifted a leg to try and pull her tail closer, but it resulted in him losing his balance and sending them both toppling into the surf. Rapunzel let out a startled squeak as they hit the water and they pulled apart, laughing. Jack sat down in the shallow water, waves beating all around him. Rapunzel studied him uncertainly.

She opened her mouth to say something, but Jack didn't want to hear it. He didn't want her to apologize, say it didn't mean anything, say it was just a spur-of-the-moment impulse. He pulled her onto his lap and resumed the kiss.

It was a couple minutes before Jack pulled away. Rapunzel blushed, looking away and pulling a long strand of hair uneasily.

"So," he started awkwardly. "I had no idea you liked me."

Rapunzel giggled. "Well, then you're an idiot, Jack Overland. I've liked you for years! I guess when a cute boy pulls you out of a fishing net, it really makes an impression on you."

He smiled at her softly. "Really? Wow! I've liked you since I was 11, but I guess I kind of always thought you'd go for some hunky merboy. I just never really thought you'd want some skinny, boring human—"

"You're not boring!" Rapunzel retorted, cutting him off. "I guess I kind of always thought you'd never want me because Mother says I'm clumsy and chubby and immature—"

"Rapunzel." He gave her a hard look. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again. That's a load of shit. Don't listen to your mom. You want to know why?" He leaned in and gave her a little peck. "Because you're the only one I want. You're the reason all the girls at my school have always seemed so boring. I've been dreaming about you for years because you're amazing."

"I've been dreaming about you, too," she sighed. "I'm glad I don't have to keep it a secret anymore."

Jack glanced over at the beach to see that the party at Craig's house was already starting to wind down. Had they really been out here for that long?

"And I am definitely not sleeping tonight," he added.

Rapunzel smiled mischievously. "Me either."

The next three weeks were euphoria. Jack and Rapunzel's fingers laced together during their conversations. They wrestled and play-fought on their ledge, which always ended up with them tangled in each other's arms. Sometimes they would spend hours lying close together on the rock, doing nothing but listening to their joint heartbeats. And, of course, there were long make-out sessions whenever either of them pleased.

Emma wouldn't stop gloating when she found out. "I called it," she would say. "You always said 'oh, we're just friends' but I always knew it was a load of poop. You guys were always making moony eyes at each other." And Jack let her gloat. After all, she was right…he and Rapunzel had hidden their feelings for a long time, but there was no need to anymore.

Sometimes Rapunzel would give a moment's notice ("Hold your breath, Jack") before pulling him underwater and kissing him. The first time they did it, he felt like his lungs were burning, and he came up spluttering for air. But after a couple more underwater kisses, they decided to start timing them and see how long Jack could stay under. They'd reached 2 minutes by the end of the summer.

On Jack's last day, the euphoria turned to crippling despair. Both of them were always sad when he left, but that year it felt as though their very worlds were crumbling. It didn't seem fair that their first month of being together had just flown by like a car on the freeway.

There's always next year, Jack reminded himself. It didn't help much.

"So…where do we go from here?" Rapunzel asked uneasily.

"Ah, well…" Jack chuckled. "If you're worried about me waiting for you, you don't have to be. I've been doing it for years anyway. The only difference now is that next year, I'll have more to look forward to!"

Rapunzel laughed shyly. "Right…I'll wait for you, too. But I can't help but wonder…I mean, you're here every year, but are you always going to be? Are you ever going to…stop coming?"

Of course. She was thinking about his brother James, who was in college now and no longer went on the family vacation.

He shook his head. "Awww, Punz…you think I'd just run off and never return without telling you? Nope, I'm booked for this trip for a few more years. Besides, I could try and go to college here, or…or maybe even get a job here someday. Nah Zellie, I'm always going to come back to you."

Her entire face glowed, and she pulled him into a deep kiss. He returned it eagerly, wrapping his hands around her waist.

"That means a lot," she murmured after they had pulled apart. "Thank you."

He brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "We'll find a way to make this work. I promise."

They kissed again as the sun sunk into the ocean, turning the water a rippling golden.

"I have to go," Rapunzel sighed. "Mother's going to be home soon."

Jack nodded. "All right. See you next summer!"

As he watched her dive into the waves, he hadn't the faintest idea that he would not be returning the following year.

YES YES YES YES PLOT IS HAPPENING NOW

Believe me, I was just as impatient as you were for them to just freaking kiss already, and NOW THEY DUN FINALLY DID IT! I hope that whole scene wasn't ridiculously corny and my attempt at visual imagery wasn't all forced and awkward. Sure felt like it ^^; Also, Craig gets the matchmaker-of-the-year award! Let's thank him for finally getting our two favorite annoyingly oblivious teenagers to make the fuck out.

Eheheh, make of the ending what you will!