Rapunzel's spunky spiritedness never left as well, much to Eugene's pleasure. In spite of all the changes in her life, her natural inclination for spontaneity still manages to take him by surprise.

"Don't these walls get too claustrophobic at times, Blondie?" he had asked out of the blue as the couple walked hand-in-hand through the halls after dinner.

"Doesn't it?" She agreed with such unexpected relief. "We should go to the Snuggly Duckling's!"

Eugene stopped dead in his tracks to look her in the eye. "At this hour?"

"Why not? We don't have anything to do for the rest of the evening."

Eugene shot her a calculative look, but later realised she was right. There was nothing to be fearful about sneaking out. This was initiated by the Princess herself. Had he been the one to persuade her to sneak out with him … then that would be another story to tell. Perhaps the royal advisor would lose all his hair if he ever catches them again.

And the two found themselves dressing in their most mundane clothes (the ones which they first wore to reunite Rapunzel with her parents). They snuck out of the castle's quarters with the help of Maximus in the darkness of the night and arrived to a boisterous, welcoming crowd in the notorious tavern.

The royal couple certainly had strong ties with the the rest of the kingdom's outlaws. The evening was spent catching up with one another (mostly with Rapunzel while poor Eugene was shoved to the side of her limelight) and the night was one of the liveliest that the couple has had.

"Do they serve you fancy drinks?"

"Not as fine as yours, but still tolerable," Rapunzel assured, being so charmingly appeasing to everyone as always. This sent the circle of thugs whooping in victory.

"Then that calls for another round on me!" Hook Hand howled in delight.

"And what about you, Flynn? How's the castle dream goin' for ya?"

" - That's Prince Consort to you, Big Nose," Eugene smugly pointed out as he downed the remains of his pint.

"Big whop!" Someone hollered.

"Get outta here!"

This left Rapunzel laughing as she glanced at her husband. He rolled his eyes at the apparent dissimilarity in the way each of them were treated in the tavern and returned to hunch over his now-empty pint on the bar.

"Eugene's been doing a lot for the townsfolk actually," she later pointed out. "In fact, he's looking to find a way to slash taxes in this area and direct more funds for development here. Isn't that right?"

This got him to frown at her, obviously not comfortable at the idea of announcing he's dealings to a bunch of rowdy thugs.

"That's a good joke, princess."

"Tell us more!"

"No, I'm telling the truth!"

Another round of laughter ensued among the boisterous crowd before Hook Hand directed his attention to Eugene. "Wow … you've certainly taken a 180 degree turn eh, Rider? You've taken us all by surprise, for sure."

"Well," Eugene sought for a response to give. "It's what the married life demands."

He smirked faintly and flashed a wink at Rapunzel. He could've said 'royal life' but that was not enough. He would have rebelled from the very start and perhaps run away from all the duties entangling him were it not for Rapunzel.

Shorty jumped up in-between Rapunzel and Eugene and looked them over with his usual sleazy, inebriated smile. "Married life, eh? So when can we expect little Riders? Soon? How about tomorrow?"

Eugene looked down at him, mortified. Rapunzel had turned red just a little bit but she was still very light-hearted about it.

"You'll be the first to know, Shorty."

"Well, just lemme know if Rider here's doing a poor job at getting it on." He wiggled his brows up at Eugene. "It was I who taught him the tricks to being super suave in the room."

Eugene choked at this and slapped his face. "That doesn't sound right … at all." He wouldn't admit for all his life that Shorty was telling some truth about receiving tips on women from him.

"Really now?" This got Rapunzel's attention and she raised her brows up at Eugene.

"Damn right! D'you know Liezl? The busty woman down the street - "

"Drink up, folks!" Hook Hand announced as he slammed another tray-full of beer pints on the table. Eugene was thankful for the interruption.

"Rider here got Liezl real good that one time - "

" - Okay! I think that's enough storytelling for the night, Shorty." Eugene grabbed a pint and shoved it to the chatty old man. "We'll call you when a baby's on the way."

Shorty seemed pleased at this and happily dragged himself away with his refilled pint of beer.

"Liezl?" Rapunzel asked Eugene inquisitively.

"It's nothing, Blondie," he assured her. And that was enough for her - but she wasn't going to cease the fun so quickly. Eugene took her hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss it. "You know you're the only one for me."

"So then it'll be okay if we meet this Liezl someday right?" She innocently asked with a smile.

Eugene searched her face, confused. But then he knew better than to take Rapunzel's innocence at face value at that point of their relationship. She knew better. "I don't think that's necessary, my love."

Rapunzel finally let out a laugh and nodded. "I know."

"What are you waiting for, lovebirds?" Big Nose interrupted. "Drink up!"

Eugene squirmed on his seat and courageously shook his head. "I think we've had enough for the night, guys. We best be heading back."

"Don't be a spoilsport, Rider!"

"Who are you? Her mother?"

"Her husband, actually."

"Oh please!"

"Stay another hour!"

"Well, let's ask her!" Hook Hand suggested. "Are you tired already, Princess?"

Rapunzel's eyes repeatedly shifted from Hook Hand's to her husband's. She then settled her eyes on Eugene's with a pleading look. "It's not everyday we get to stay, Eugene."

He couldn't say no to her. Not because of her pleading eyes, or the fact that she was Princess of Corona. But also because she had a point. When was the next time they could have as much fun like this and drink endless pints of beer without being chastised by their royal advisor?

"Alright, alright, Blondie."

This sent the whole place roaring once more and Rapunzel jumped onto Eugene, squealing. All forms of regal propriety forgotten at that instant.

"But I'm not answering to him again," he mentioned as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Rapunzel kissed his cheek and pulled back to look at him. "Don't worry, he won't mind if it's me."

"Lucky you."

"Don't hate the player, Eugene, hate the game." She smirked up at him. He hated how quickly she can play his game. And yet he found himself falling all the more for her because of it.

"Aye, this calls for a night of toasting and endless drinking!" Someone announced. "Who's up for a game?"