Here's a fun little one-shot chapter. This was actually an idea I had from the very beginning, when I initially started writing this story in the first place around two or so months ago as of this date. More simpler times, when I didn't intend to make this story public after being ashamed of leaving my other story posted on here to die. Though, I'm now glad I made this public, and I'm forever grateful for each and every one of you; the few of you who come back each time to see the new chapter. I appreciate you all so, so much.

1. The next chapter after this is actually something unique, for it is the first chapter I intend to post that actually has not been fully written yet as a rough draft. For all the previous chapters before this one, I had them written beforehand, but this one I had only just thought of the idea recently, and begun to write it.

2. Enough blabbering on my part. My apologies for any spelling/grammar mistakes that fall through the final cut. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 37 - Snow day

Type: Standalone one-shot

Description: One month after the events of 'Chains of her Sorrows'. Rapunzel and Eugene find some time to have some quick fun out in the snow.

It was a cold, early winter day in the Kingdom of Corona, and our favorite Princess and her fiance, former thief and soon to be Prince Consort, were sleeping soundly in their room inside the castle. Ever since the proposal and the announcement of their engagement, things have been more hectic; frantic you may say, around the castle, and both their separate schooling studies have intensed because of their soon to be wedding, which will also serve as a double coronation, where they will both be announced formally as Prince Consort and Princess of the Kingdom.

Eugene had a late night last night, going to bed far later than his soon to be wife because the King needed him to attend a meeting on...

Economics.

Basically, the most boring and lamest thing ever. Bleh.

He finally was able to call it at around midnight, and was not surprised whatsoever to see his darling Princess already in bed, fast asleep with Pascal resting peacefully on her shoulder. I don't know if he does it on purpose, he thought to himself, but it's almost as if the little rascal wants me nowhere near the girl.

He sighed and stripped off his clothes, not even caring to take a shower this night because he was just so damn tired from all his classes, helping out at the orphanage for a few hours, and then that stupid economics meeting with the bankers of the state that lasted so much longer than it needed to.

Wearing nothing but some trousers and casual, purple cotton pants with numerous yellow sun symbols etched into its exterior (a nice little engagement present from the soon to be in-laws), he slipped into his side of the bed and adjusted his pillow. His movements must've been a bit too heavy, because right when he was about to close his eyes, he felt a familiar hand touch his cheek. He immediately jerked his head to the side and saw Rapunzel smiling ever so faintly, her eyes barely open.

"Hey," she whispered softly, barely awake he could tell.

"Hey, you doin' alright?" He leaned over and pecked her cheek with his lips, causing her to let out a breath of contentment.

"Always am, always will." She sighed peacefully and moved in closer, wrapping her left arm around him as she nuzzled herself close into his chest.

You see, one of the few perks of this thing called being "engaged", especially more so now in these cold, winter months, is this idea called shared body warmth, and Eugene has been absolutely living in the moment and loving every second of it whenever he's able to cuddle with his beloved on a cold night like this one. He began to rub his fingertips across her shoulder soothingly, just basking in how beautiful she looked whenever she was sleepy. "How was the meeting," she whispered to him, eyes still open but looking as if they were on the verge of collapse at any given moment.

If not for his own tiredness, he would've taken her right there and kissed her on the spot.

"...Boring," he finally muttered. And, boy, was it boring.

She let out a breathy, faint laugh, "I guess you didn't have fun?"

"You guess right," he deadpanned, "as per usual."

Rapunzel snuggled in closer and he leaned his cheek onto the top of their hair, and that's honestly the last thing he remembers, because the both of them soon fell asleep in that position afterwards.

The next morning, Rapunzel woke up at her normal, hellish hour of 6 A.M and let out a loud yawn as she wiped her eyes. She looked up to see Pascal perched in his normal spot above their bed before leaning over to see Eugene still fast asleep, his back turned to her. For 4 months, practically, she was yearning, wanting ever so badly to sleep with him, cuddle with him, have him whisper sweet nothings into her ear each and every night...and just her luck, now that they're engaged, they can do just that without any repercussions whatsoever.

It's still hard for her to comprehend just how lucky she's gotten. In a way, she has everything she's ever wanted.

Their room was warm, perhaps a bit too warm. Eugene did in fact have a stern talking with some of the castle maintenance men, and he made sure that they adjusted the heating system so his special Princess received extra warm heat at nights. They didn't go back on their word, of course. Rapunzel moved her covers off, making sure to not disturb Eugene by doing so, and slumped her legs over on the side. She rocked them back and forth and hummed a little tune to herself as she jumped down and proceeded to quietly tiptoe into the bathroom, intending to take her daily, morning shower.

Eugene jerked around a little bit in his sleep, but the sound from behind their bathroom door was not enough to wake him. He hasn't stolen a single thing, nor has he lived on the run in more than half a year practically, and while he still has some of his thieving instincts, the one where he's always alert even when he's sleeping has slowly been drained out of him. He was exhausted, and was ready to do anything and everything in his power to get as much sleep as possible before having to take on even more work for the day.

Rapunzel got out of the shower and bathroom after twenty minutes wearing nothing but a towel. Her hair was still slightly damp, but her eyes widened when she turned to her balcony door. A newfound excitement rushed into her as she ran up to the door and planted her face right against it. All of the outside world had suddenly changed overnight, as if a thick blanket of white fell from the heavens above! It all looked so...magical, so surreal; she couldn't believe what she was seeing!

Losing her cool for a slight moment, the Princess let out a high pitched scream of excitement, causing Eugene to twist and turn in his bed before plopping his face back down into his pillows.

Here we go again-

"Eugene!" Rapunzel jumped on their bed and began shaking him, even though she was wearing nothing but a towel; she didn't care though, something wonderful happened last night and he needed to see it!

Eugene cursed into the pillow and groaned very loudly, "Goooo awayyyy!"

"Eugene, come on! Something happened last night!" She pulled and tugged on his arm, but to her frustration, he wasn't having any of it.

"Nooooooo-" he whined.

"Yesssss!" she said, trying to mock his most annoyingest of tones. "Please come look, Eugene, and stop being a Debbie Downer!"

"Buuuut I love being a Debbie Downer!" He reached over and pulled a second pillow to the back of his head, basically making himself the insides of a pillow sandwich. Rapunzel groaned and finally gave up. He was just too big and too obnoxious to pull out of bed like that. She tilted her head up and quietly whistled to Pascal, who started moving seconds later, mumbling something inaudible before turning his groggy eyes to look down at the Princess.

"Pascal! Come down here, I think it snowed!" She ran up to the glass balcony door, which was fixed about a week after that big incident that happened the previous month, still in nothing but her towel. She watched in awe as a few snowflakes began to come down again. Pascal scurried up her shoulder and she rubbed his head with her finger in a loving and motherly manner.

"It's all so white! So bright! I wonder what it feels like to jump into? Ohhh, I can't wait to go outside and-" She was interrupted by a very loud and obnoxious groan being elicited by Eugene, and that's when she turned to Pascal. She didn't even have to say a single word, and the chameleon nodded in agreeance before scurrying down her shoulder. She skipped happily over to her closet then, and grabbed some warm clothes to wear for the day.

She found what she wanted and had moved to go behind her changing curtain when she suddenly heard Eugene's covers being thrown about and some unholy words come out of his mouth.

"Pascal! I swear, you'd be dead if it weren't for-

"Hey!" She leaned her head around the curtain and eyed Eugene menacingly, pointing a finger. "Don't talk to him like that!"

"But he just did that tongue thing to my ear!"

"I told him to!"

His eyebrows furrowed as he threw his arms in the air, his back and head now rested against the back of their headboard. "Why, why would you-"

"Because you need to get up so we can go out and play in the snow!" She spoke in such an authoritative and direct voice, cracking him up so much because she was literally saying something so laughable.

He chuckled quietly to himself and brought his hand to rub the temple of his forehead, "Sweetheart, it's like six in the morning."

"Yes, and this is the only time we'll have." She pouted her lips and gave him the puppy dog eyes. Why on Earth he ever told her what her eyes could do to a man like him, he'll never know, but he couldn't say no to that face. Not now, not ever.

He rolled his eyes and slumped back, "Alriiight...fine." He crossed his arms and she pumped her fist in triumphant victory before leaning back behind her curtain. He moved ever so slowly but he eventually rolled himself out of bed and grabbed a wool flannel with some pants to accompany it before stomping into the bathroom, irritated.

Rapunzel finished getting herself ready, having grabbed a big fur coat from her closet and having it rest over the back of one of her chairs. She sat down and waited until Eugene was done in the shower.

After twenty ruthless and painfully long minutes, Eugene exited the bathroom, steam piling out into their bedroom, fully dressed now. Rapunzel jumped to her feet and turned to him with the biggest smile yet.

"Are you ready! Can we go now!?"

He chuckled, "I don't get it, girl." He then strolled up to her and wrapped his arms around his waist, as she wrapped her own around the backside of his head. "How do you have this much energy in the morning?"

"Isn't it normal for people to wake up feeling like this?" She tilted her head to the side.

"If this is normal, then I don't think I want to see what morning people are like." Rapunzel giggled and pulled his hand, tugging him along with her throughout the quiet and dark halls of the castle until finally reaching the main door. Rapunzel was practically ready to explode in excitement as Eugene slipped on his winter coat.

"Now, sunshine, it's going to be very cold and slippery so you need to be careFUL-" Rapunzel took his hand and gripped it tightly as she flung the main doors open, laughing in joy as she got her first look of this powdery, white stuff in person for the first time. She ran over to the railing and her eyes widened, her breaths slowly returning to a calming pace. Eugene walked up casually behind and wrapped an arm around her.

"Jeez, you act as if you've never seen or been out in the snow before."

She fiddled with a strand of loose hair, anxiously mumbling, "That's because I haven't."

"Come again?" He lifted a hand up to his ear, both of their breaths coming out in a grayish mist.

She spoke a bit louder, "In... inside my tower... Gothel always locked the window when it snowed... she wouldn't unlock it until it all melted." Rapunzel sighed and looked away. Eugene immediately felt a wave of sadness and grief rush upon him. Sometimes, it's easy to forget that this girl had been locked inside a tower for practically her entire life up until half a year ago, and this really is the first time she's seeing this stuff.

Hey, if she wants to have a fun snow day, who's he to not give her that experience that she's been robbed of?

He leaned over and pecked her cheek, taking both her hands, "Hey, forget all that. Just live in the moment. You're out here now, and there's nothing holding you back from experiencing this stuff for everything it is." He smiled warmly to her and she pulled him close, enveloping him in a hug.

"Thank you, for everything," she whispered into his shoulder.

Eugene patted her back, "You know, I can make an argument that you've done more for me than I've ever done for you. So, if anything, you're the one who deserves the thanks."

Rapunzel pulled away and waved a hand, "You don't mean that."

"No, I do... and I'd like to show you just how much I'm grateful," and then with one swift motion, he leaned over and cupped both her cheeks, bringing his lips up against her own. He savored in the kiss until a rather large snowflake fell on Rapunzel's nose, causing her to jump back and giggle in excitement. She immediately put a tight grip on Eugene's right hand and pulled him down the main staircase, somehow not slipping in the process, before tugging him into the depths of the Kingdom, all the way down the island until they reached their forest.

Which is also known as her most favorite playground.

Eugene leaned up against a tree and watched as Rapunzel ran around in the white, powdery stuff. She grabbed a handful and brought it to her face, giggling at its chilly feel as it grazed her skin. She jumped, she ran, and she fell into the stuff for practically an hour, and he never once felt bored watching his beloved experience something for the very first time.

That was all up until when she finally called for him to join her, though. Then things changed.

"Nuh-uh," He shook his head.

"Please! Come on, Eugene! Don't you like snow-"

"Nope."

"Pleaseeeee, maybe you'll enjoy it if you just-"

"I won't. Trust me."

"How do you know if you don't try-"

"Because I'm psychic."

She pouted and crossed her arms before contracting an evil plan. A sly smirk grew on her face, and she leaned down, cupping some snow in her hands before chucking it in his direction. The snow landed directly on his face and she burst out into a fit of laughter, falling over with tears in her eyes.

Eugene growled and wiped the chilly ice-snow away from his face. Though, when his eyes were clear, his expression immediately lit up from watching her laugh at him while practically being fully encased by snow. He felt the sudden urge to laugh now, too, and he ran over to her before picking up a handful of snow on his own, holding it over her head in a menacing way.

"No, please!" she laughed and backed away, but he followed her like how a hunter would follow its prey.

"All's fair in love and war, sweetheart. Revenge is best served COLD!" He threw the snow down to her and she giggled and laughed as it fell all over her. She jerked herself up almost immediately and grabbed hold of Eugene's arm, tugging him down into the snow with her and the two of them almost immediately began to play-wrestle with one another. After about ten or so minutes, they both were spent and rested peacefully up against the back of a tree.

"Wow," Eugene breathed, and removed his knit-cap to empty the snow out of its compartment.

Rapunzel's whole face was practically red and she watched as the snow peacefully fell to the ground all around them, ever so slowly covering up the mess they just made. "Hey," she turned to him. "Where does snow come from?"

"Uh, the sky. You sure you're feeling alright-"

"I'm fine, and I know it comes from the sky. But….why does it exist. Like, I know rain falls because of the clouds soaking up water due to evaporation, but what's the scientific explanation for snow?"

Eugene was dumbfounded. They just got done wrestling and playing in this stuff and now she wants him to somehow explain the scientific meaning behind snow. He laughed, "You know, I really don't know."

She lifted a finger as an idea came to her head, "Oh! Maybe one of my weather books will have the explanation." She grabbed hold of his hand and helped pull him back up to his feet, and she pointed with her thumb over her shoulder back in the direction of the castle. "Want to head back?"

Eugene grinned ear to ear, "You know me so well." He then wrapped an arm around his beloved and the two of them walked ever so slowly, taking their time as more and more snowflakes fell down from the heavens around them. Snow's definitely irritating, and is definitely not Eugene's cup of tea, but for the first time in his life he actually had a fun time playing in it. He knows exactly why, too, because of this awesome girl by his side, and he has a feeling she's going to be changing the way he thinks about things for a long time.

A/N: I'm excited for the next chapter, though slightly nervous. It has lots of dialogue, and I have this idea in my head for the way I want things to go; my only problem right now is figuring out how to execute it. Basically, it's more so a filler chapter, trying to re-introduce some characters who haven't been used for a while (and a potential relationship *wide-eyed emoji*) Nonetheless, there's a chance it might be a bit longer until the next update. But if I'm correct, the chapter itself will be a longer one. 5,000+ words and it's not even finished yet.

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