Supaa short chapter this time, hope you like it. Reviews are nice.

The sun was setting on the horizon, and Eugene knew it was almost time. He had promised Rapunzel the floating lights, and the floating lights she would get. Determined to give her the best view he could, Eugene found himself haggling with a few men for a small row boat to take out onto the lake. Rapunzel was busy feeding Maximus apples a nice man gave her for free.

"C'mon, please?" he pleaded. "Believe me, I'm not doing this for myself. It's for her. She really wants to see the lanterns tonight, and it's her birthday. Do you think you could let me borrow it for one evening? Just one? I did mention it's her birthday, right?"

One guy rolled his eyes. When he spoke, he moved his mouth in a manner so as not to be misunderstood. "NO."

Eugene pouted slightly, but turned away. No meant no. His body language suggested that he was going to let it go, but a tiny trace of Flynn Rider lingered in his veins. No, Flynn wasn't giving up that easily.

With his hands held respectfully behind his back, he made his way back over to the Rapunzel. "Hey, Eugene. Did they let you have the boat?"

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. They're just…not ready to let us use it yet," he lied with a sly smile. A stab of guilt pierced his stomach; he hated lying to her.

Maximus nudged her in the back and whined. "I'm sorry, boy. I don't have any more apples," Rapunzel said apologetically, rubbing his muzzle.

"Actually, I think I'm going to go get him some more. Why don't you and Pascal look around the shops while I'm gone?" Eugene asked.

She raised her eyebrows suspiciously – as did Maximus – but she let him go, even though she despised their separation. Now was his chance; he'd better work quickly.

The boat owners still had their eyes glued to him so he decided to start with the apples. If he was gone just long enough, maybe they would think he wasn't coming back. He let them watch him as he purchased the apples at an agonizingly slow pace until finally they cleared out. Perfect.

Flynn slid along the side of a building, hidden by the shadows, making sure no one was around. Daylight was slipping away, so fewer people would notice anything suspicious. When he was as close as the long shadows would allow him to stay under cover, he bolted to the tiny dock and swung himself underneath it. Using his fingertips and the grip of his toes to suspend himself above the water's edge, he kept himself from plain sight. He clenched the heavy bag of apples between his teeth as he tried to untie the boat from the dock with one hand.

Several times he nearly lost his hold on the splintering wood, but after a moment or so, he managed to loosen the rope and slide into the boat. He laid flat on the bottom of the vessel, hoping Rapunzel would be back before someone else caught him.

"Eugene! Eugene, where did you go?"

His heart leapt, and probably too quickly, he sat up, making the boat rock. "Over here!" he shouted, waving his arms.

Rapunzel ran over to the dock, Maximus trailing behind her and Pascal perched on her shoulder. The tiny frog narrowed its eyes at the boat, probably guessing more than Rapunzel could. "This is so cool!"

With all the grace of a swan, she leapt in next to him, hardly making the rowboat quiver. Eugene tossed Maximus the bag of apples assuring him they were fresh. He sat up a little straighter and began rowing them out into the darkening night.

Thankfully, Rapunzel had her back to the village or else she might have seen the angry boat owners running toward the dock. They shook their fists and shouted things that he couldn't hear. When she wasn't looking, Flynn shrugged and flashed his winning smile for the lot of them to see.

Sure, he knew it was wrong, but sometimes, he couldn't help it. As much as he wished it weren't so, Flynn Rider would always claim a part of who he was. He would just have to promise to never let it show again.

"Thanks, Eugene, this is wonderful."