This week is two years since I first posted this fic. It's been slow-going, but I want to really pick up, so I'm writing more often than ever before. This one is very short, but I wanted to provide some development and analysis on Rapunzel to give others a break. I plan on posting a (much longer and plot-relevant) chapter later this week, so please check back! As I always intend but rarely say, thanks for reading.

It took very little time to notice that most people over 18 were moving away from their parents, attending higher education, or at least working. Even though she was free to roam as she pleased, the sense of childish dependency felt dreadful. She didn't feel trapped, but rather… useless. Amid the celebration, joyful tears, and about 15 years worth of stories, Rapunzel watched her parents alter each bit of their everyday lives around their new arrival. Touching as it was, the fuss must have caused extra stress, and they weren't as young as they once were.

So, she was weeding. Sun on the skin healed what her hair never could, and she would not be idle. This had to be her favorite chore, because it was so new. Soft, cool earth ran between her fingers when reaching for tough roots and settled around her nailbeds. That was not to be desired and could be solved by wearing gloves, she knew, but the fascinating sensation was too much to give up. Besides, she never loved the way her hands looked more than when they had been dusted in soil. She smiled down at them.

"You've been out here all day, haven't you?" Her mother's voice drifted from behind her, bringing with it a gentle breeze.

Rapunzel turned to smile at her. "Hardly. I was cleaning the kitchen an hour ago." And that was only after sweeping, cleaning her own room again, and some polishing.

"That was before the day had even started, early bird." She knelt beside her and observed, "So you're the reason I never have any housework to do anymore."

"I'm just..." She nearly slipped up and said "Used to it," but knew that what she was used to was no good. "Doing my own part," Rapunzel said, resuming her work. "You've had plenty extra to deal with since I showed up."

"Showed up?" Her mother laughed. "This is your home."

"You teach me, give me food, give me clothes... You guys give me so much that I don't know how to - to give back." She finished with a weak smile.

"That's just what parents are supposed to do, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel tried not to show how little she knew about how parents were supposed to be. All that she really knew was that she wasn't used to it yet.

"I know, I just don't want to cause a fuss every time you see me."

Sweet as ever, but stronger than usual, her mother told her, "Dear, you should know we've been waiting to see you for a very long time. Not a moment that you're here makes life harder. It's all that we could have dreamed for and more."

Her hands stopped and returned from under the dirt. What could she say? Could that even be true? How could someone she never knew have loved her enough to want to give her everything? Rapunzel looked to her mother's eyes, the green matching her own. Whenever she forgot who her real family was, that was usually all it took to remember.

"Rapunzel," her mother reminded her, taking her dirty hands into soothing ones, "You don't have to give us anything. You're all we wanted."