chapter word count: 428
noir heart: seventy
"And was he right?" Elsa asks, eyes immovably fixed upon Rapunzel, who nods.
"Five out of five. 'One: the way you hesitated when I asked you out on a date tells me that I'm the first person who didn't want a one night stand, and you weren't expecting that. Two: You wear odd socks and a Mickey Mouse watch, but your clothing is smart-casual - tells me that even though you're an adult, you believe in keeping in touch with your inner child. Three: the paint streak on your left hand that you missed while getting ready tells me that you're an artist, because it's not household paint. Four: you're from somewhere warm, and judging by the sun logo on your purse I'd say Corona City, because you're dressed in long-sleeved top and leggings rather than the short-sleeved shirts and skirts of your friends, who were born here. You don't like the cold, but you love the culture and your friends, so that's why you haven't moved back. Five: the way those gorgeous lips are wide open tells me I just nailed those four things'." Rapunzel recites, and there's an expression of mild incredulity, even all these years on, that he was so accurate. For a few seconds, the bright young woman falls silent, and she smiles to herself.
"So, what happened next?" Elsa prompts her.
"Hmm?" Rapunzel looks blankly at her, before it dawns, "well, I lost the bet, and told him to meet me at the coffee house around the corner in a couple of days. After that...well, the rest is history. We went on lots of dates, had lots of amazing sex, and it was during the party celebrating him and a few of his friends passing the detective's exam that he asked me to marry him. I remember choking on a glass of wine for about a minute straight before saying yes!"
The wistful, nostalgic, almost regretful expression returns, and Elsa gets the impression that Rapunzel is questioning something - and there's no prize for guessing what that something is. "You miss him, don't you?" she says.
Without looking up, Rapunzel's bob dips and rises as she slowly nods, smiling almost longingly. Not having any of that, no way, Elsa thinks. She made her choice. "Yeah...I do. I miss him a lot." The brunette takes a deep breath through her nose, and sighs, "...but I don't miss what happened a few years later."
turtles. also I has a new Anna pin-up tattoo.
special thanks to: doomstone, hornedgoddess, rainbowcolorw0w, vrupd.1992, oninoko, lunasnoir, chiqanti ceres, jpbake and stefalove for the reviews!