Rapunzel felt her breath catch in her throat. Had she not, just a few days ago, told him she wasn't ready to get married? Her head spun, quickly thinking over her choices. But there he was, looking at her expectantly, and she just didn't have the time to doubt herself.

She nodded, smiling as tears started to form in her eyes – she hoped they were happy tears, not scared tears. She wasn't scared, she was just…overwhelmed. Very overwhelmed. "Yes – yes, sure, I'll marry you."

"Great!" Eugene said, and she liked to think that he looked genuinely happy. He wrapped his arms around her in a crushing hug. Rapunzel rested her head on his shoulder, holding onto the fabric of his shirt, trying to calm herself down. She couldn't help but giggle a bit – she had missed hugging him.

He had told her not to tell anyone – not yet. He had a plan, he said. He was going to propose to her – properly purpose to her – in front of her parents and what sounded like anyone else he could get. He wanted a spectacle. He wanted it to be a big deal, for people to talk about their engagement. He just wanted to get her approval first, just in case she didn't like the idea.

Rapunzel didn't really want to make such a big deal out of it, but he didn't give her a choice.

"Look, babe," he said, flopping down on the sofa in her room. "Your parents are sure to make a grand announcement when you tell them anyway."

"Well, I know – " Rapunzel started.

"So relax. I know what I'm doing, okay?"

"What do you mean, you know what you're doing? How long have you been planning this?"

His face fell a bit; she had caught him off guard. "A while," he admitted. "I mean…" He laughed nervously. "I knew I was going to marry you from the moment we saw those lanterns together. You know that."

Rapunzel smiled, looking down at the sweater she was currently knitting for Pascal. Had he really wanted to marry her, even way back then? That was sweet. "Well, I didn't know you were interested in it until a few weeks ago…"

"The idea took a bit of getting used to, but I always wanted to."

Huh. Rapunzel felt the same way. At least, she thought she did. She was still getting used to the idea. She just had to keep reminding herself how happy her parents and the rest of the kingdom would be. And he was right, anyway. She had always known she was going to marry him, so why not do it soon? "So…what is it you want from me?" she asked curiously.

"Okay, well, here's what I had in mind," he said. "You know the ball coming up in…what is it now? Less than two weeks? I'll propose to you then. You'll act really surprised and say yes, and then everyone will cheer for us." He laughed merrily. Rapunzel suspected he was still a bit tipsy from all the wine he had with dinner. "It'll be great."

Sounded simple enough. "Eugene, uh…what do we gain this way?"

He sighed, and she felt stupid. "Rapunzel, everyone is going to be so excited if we do it this way. Trust me."

"Yeah, but they would find out anyway…"

"Look, hun, just trust me," he said. "I've thought it through. Do you really wanna know the reason why?" He sat up, resting his hands in his lap, his fingers intertwining. "Because I don't exactly have a reputation around here yet. At least – not a good one." He shrugged. "And this, this ball, is going to make people realize that I've actually changed. That's why I want to go. And if I can get a proposal in too, well, that will just prove how nice of a guy I am. "

Rapunzel understood it now – he just wanted to make himself look good. It didn't seem like he had changed at all. "You care that much about what people think of you?"

"Uh, yup," he said, smiling and laughing. Yeah. He was definitely still drunk.

Rapunzel wasn't quite sure how things worked in the real world, but at least in the books she had read, marriage was supposed to be about love, not about image. But then again, she was the princess. She couldn't expect a normal marriage. That didn't mean she couldn't live happily ever after, though – the princesses in her book always did.

"Well, as long as we're both happy, that's all that matters," she said. She was mostly talking to herself. She hadn't even realized what she said until Eugene responded.

"And we will be. We'll be the happiest couple ever. I mean, we're going to be royalty!" he said with excitement. "It can't get any better than that, can it?"

Rapunzel shrugged, rather indifferent on the matter. Royalty and happiness did not have much in common in her eyes. "Don't you think it's time for you to get to bed?" She was getting pretty tired herself.

"Aww, I don't wanna go to bed," he complained.

She smiled, finding amusement in the fact that she always had to mother him. She put her needle and thread aside and walked over behind the sofa, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Go on," she said, "I'll see you soon."

"I can't stay here?"

"No…not tonight. Save it for the wedding," she teased, kissing the top of his head.

He laughed sneeringly, standing up. "Not much chance of that happening," he said. He sighed heavily. "See you soon, babe."

"See ya."

Rapunzel looked down at her left hand, wondering what it would look like with a ring on it. Did Eugene buy a fancy ring? She bet he did. He liked to show off, that was for sure. He always had. That was the whole point of Flynn Rider, wasn't it? Sure, money was part of it, but she knew that most of the reason he stole was maintain his 'fake reputation.' If you asked her, he still seemed a little hung up on it. And it had been over a year now. Where was Eugene when she needed him?

She sighed, falling down onto her bed. "Eugene," she muttered softly, closing her eyes. She was being too hopeful, that was the problem. It was foolish of her to think that he had changed so much. But being in love meant expecting people for who they were, and besides, she was sure that he would get better. He was still improving, after all, he just been having…well, something of a relapse into his old egotistical ways.

She couldn't help but imagine the way he used to be – when they had first fallen in love. The way he would look at her, like she was the most important thing in the world. And he would constantly be telling her that she was the best thing that ever happened to him. Had he just been lying?

No, he wouldn't lie about something like that. He just got swept up in the palace life, ever since her parents let him live here. She couldn't blame him. It was magnificent. Servants waiting on your hand and foot, free food whenever you wanted it… And it must have been ever better for him, considering his destitute upbringing.

It completely made sense. It's just a phase, anyway, she told herself. She was glad when she finally drifted off to sleep. She didn't want her overactive imagination to ruin her opinion of her fiancé.

Rapunzel desperately wanted to tell people about the wedding. It wasn't so much because she was excited, but because she felt horrible for not telling anyone – like she was hoarding some huge secret. She didn't like it. She eagerly awaited the ball, where she wouldn't have to pretend anymore.

Rapunzel knew she couldn't tell her parents, but unfortunately, there usually wasn't anyone else around. Eugene was out drinking again with some friends (she'd asked if she could come, but he claimed that she wouldn't like the guys very much), and she was bored.

She wound up at the Snuggly Duckling about an hour later, sitting in one of the booths with Big Nose. The thugs had all welcomed her warmly, obviously having missed her. She had missed them too.

"So," she said, sipping her apple cider. She had chosen to talk to Big Nose because he knew the most about love. Maybe he didn't give the best advice, but he always meant well. "Can I tell something?"

"Well of course you can, sweetheart," he said. "What is it?"

Once she started talking it was hard for her to stop. "Okay, so last week, Eugene asked me to marry him. And I said yes, even though I didn't really want to say yes. It's not that I don't want to marry him, but I'm not really ready for that kind of commitment. But I thought that maybe if I said yes, he'd start being nicer to me. But all he cares about is his own image and he still treats me like shit!" Rapunzel huffed angrily, looking down at the table. She hadn't meant to swear. She rarely swore.

Big Nose had looked excited when she mentioned marriage, but that was now all replaced by a look of concern. "Now, wait, what's this about him treating you like shit?"

"I…God, I didn't mean that." She sighed. "It's not like he…hurts me in any way. It's just that he never listens to me and he's always telling me what to do and I never get any say in anything! I mean, it's my wedding too!" It felt good to get this out in the open; she had never really talked to anyone about her and Eugene's problems.

"I knew he was a good for nothing bastard," Big Nose mumbled. "I never liked the guy. I only pretended to for you."

"Hey, are guys talking about Rider?" one of the thugs asked.

"Yeah. Rapunzel here says he's mistreating her."

"Why am I not surprised?"

Suddenly, the whole pub knew what they were talking about. Some of the thugs laughed and others shouted in agreement, throwing insults about Eugene back and forth. Rapunzel buried her face in her hands. Perhaps this had been a mistake.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" she asked, looking up at them all. "Not marry him?"

"Of course not. He's a jackass."

"Yeah, you could do way better."

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. It wasn't that simple – she couldn't just break up with him. They'd been together for so long. And she didn't want to leave him anyway!

The rest of her visit comprised of the thugs sharing stories of various criminals they knew and how much they all hated them. Rapunzel slipped out from her booth silently and walked to the door. "Well, uh, thanks for the help, guys, and I'll let you know how things turn out, okay?" They all gave her words of encouragement before she left.

When Rapunzel arrived back in Corona, she decided to check if Eugene was still out at the bar. She made her way to the pub and looked through the window, sure enough making out his silhouette at one of the tables. She pushed open the door and walked in, but Eugene didn't notice and kept on talking. Rapunzel didn't recognize the person he was speaking too, a man of about his age. "And then, just think, in a few years or so, I'll be king. Crazy stuff, right?"

His companion laughed and glanced up, noticing Rapunzel.

"Hello," she said, smiling brightly. Many people in the bar gave her strange looks. Eugene spun around in his seat and stood up, trying to laugh off his surprise.

He looked flustered, obviously not expecting to see her there. "Hey, hun," he said. "What are you doing…outside of the castle?"

"It's a crime for me to go outside, is it?" she asked.

"No, 'course not – but I thought you had lessons?"

Rapunzel shook her head. "Not today. I was off today. I told you that before you left me," she reminded him. He raised an eyebrow, not remembering at all. "And isn't someone acting a little oddly…"

"What? I'm not acting odd." He rolled his eyes and looped his arm around hers, bringing her outside. They started walking in the direction of home. "Anyway, what have you been up to?"

"I don't believe it's any of your business," Rapunzel said. She had no problem with telling him that she had been at the Snuggly Duckling, but she liked hiding things from him. It made her feel like she was getting some revenge. If he was going to act all secretive, then she would too.

"Why won't you just tell me?"

"Because maybe I don't have to do everything you ask me to!" Rapunzel said. Talking with the thugs had definitely upped her confidence. She smiled smugly and wrapped her arms around her chest, looking straight ahead as she walked.

"Geez…someone's touchy," she heard Eugene mutter as he followed after her. She didn't even care.

A/N: Reviews make me smile. :)