For one thing, this girl was definitely interesting. And different. Probably much more different than any girl Flynn Rider had encountered. She approached things differently, she treated things differently, and she reacted to things in ways you wouldn't expect. He honestly didn't know what to make of her.
Since they had made their somewhat lopsided agreement, - that is, he was definitely getting the better end of the deal – he led Rapunzel through the seemingly never-ending woods toward the village. Even though she had told him at least a dozen times, he still couldn't believe she had never – ever – been there, or how much she desperately wanted to go. After all, this was the place he was trying to run away from.
"Come on, Blondie," Flynn called over his shoulder. "We should probably find some place to eat. Are you hungry? Blondie?"
He turned to see her picking brightly colored berries from a stout bush. She cradled her collection in one arm against her torso and picked with the other hand, humming quietly to herself. "Flynn, look! They're raspberries! Mother always brings them home for stews and stuff." She smiled widely then popped three into her mouth. Mouth full, she said, "They're delicious! Try some!"
"Uh, I don't know…" Flynn said, scratching the back of his neck again. "Why should I trust you?" She stopped chewing and gazed at him with a confused expression. It was supposed to be a joke! He chortled nervously, trying to lighten the mood. "Kidding."
"Oh, okay. Here!" She didn't wait for consent before shoving four juicy raspberries into his mouth. Clearly, he was taken by surprise. Flynn choked slightly, but then chewed laboriously while the sweet taste filled his mouth.
"Mmmm, they are good. But how did you know they were raspberries, and not some poison-berries?" Flynn asked, curiously.
"Mother gets them all the time and I got used to the texture and look of them. They're great!" Rapunzel's smile widened. He laughed again because she was teaching him things! The one who was forced to stay locked away in tower for 18 years was telling him about wild berries. Crazy.
Absentmindedly, Flynn continued to pluck some more berries from the bush and Rapunzel bent down lower to collect more toward the bottom. He watched her crawl on all fours to get some that were hard to reach. He shook her head at her thoroughness.
"OW!" Rapunzel screamed.
"Oh, no, what now?" Flynn bent down and saw her clutching her left big toe with both hands as blood seeped through her fingers. Her eyes were glowing with tears and he noticed that her bottom lip sort of pouted out slightly. He didn't know why, but he thought this was somehow slightly endearing. "Stub your toe?"
"Mhm," Rapunzel sobbed. Flynn sighed and ripped a piece of his shirt off of his sleeve. He wrapped the makeshift bandage around her foot. Immediately, it looked like a red flower had bloomed underneath the white cloth.
"Well, if you were wearing shoes this wouldn't have happened!" He hadn't even registered that she had been wandering in the woods barefoot. What was she thinking?
"Shoes?" Rapunzel looked puzzled. "What are shoes?"
What! She didn't know what shoes were? Flynn sat down next to her and stuck out one of his legs, showing her his leather boots. Doing a rather weak impression of Vanna White, he said, "These are shoes. Well, boots really. But, you get the point. You wear them on your feet to protect them. Why didn't you ever wear shoes?"
"I guess Mother never saw a reason for me to have them if I could never leave the tower." She frowned a little, and her forehead wrinkled slightly. Flynn couldn't help but notice, she was cute…
"Yeah, uh, I guess." Smooth, really smooth.
Then, her face brightened considerably at an unspoken thought that erupted in her head. "Can I wear yours?"
Flynn laughed out loud at her eager expression. She meant it! "I don't think your exactly my size, but – really?" He laughed again.
"Please, Flynn? Please!" she begged him, her eyes widening, expectantly.
"Okay, fine. But, only for a little bit. I need them back, y'know." Rapunzel all but flew into the air, smacking him in the face on her way up. "Ouch! Hey, watch where you're going!"
"Oops!" She giggled a little. "Sorry!" Flynn rolled his eyes and smiled at her excitement. As he peeled his tall boots off his feet, she bounced up and down next to him, obviously too impatient to wait.
"Here ya go," he said, offering them to her. Rapunzel squealed with delight and sat down on a log to wiggle into them.
He was right. She was at least four sizes smaller than he was and the tops of the boots almost passed her knees. She hiked up her periwinkle dress and began running around the forest, doing figure eights around the trees and hopping with poise from rock to rock. Flynn watched her go, noting to himself that he was going to let her keep them for the day. It was the least he could do on her birthday.