Hey guys, seems like the story's really taking off now – chapter 10! Hopefully this chapter will deal with some of the issues left open at the end of the last.

Flynn Wanted

~10~

It's a difficult night Eugene and Rapunzel spend together, sleeping close enough to touch but unable to breach the gap. While they both want nothing more than to fit together and sleep in each other's arms, Eugene keeps his back to her and will not let it happen, his and her own suffering aside.

It's because he has the fortune – or misfortune – of knowing his limits, and he knows he can't sleep next to her without going too far, not tonight, not after what happened, with the hot sick streak of possessiveness hissing in his ear. He only just stopped himself once, and while they could get away with it – there's hardly anyone watching, any way the palace could find out – he knows Rapunzel isn't ready, and deserves a lot better than him taking out his jealousy and frustration on her in a place like this. So they sleep cold and lonely, barely a meter apart.

The nights of sleeping rough are starting to take their toll on Eugene because he wakes groggy and rough around the edges; he slumps back against a log and rubs his jaw, his stubble threatening to become a full beard, his body eliciting clicks and aches in protest to the abuse it's suffering.

Scratching his chin, he wonders if it hurt Rapunzel when he... looking over to where she sleeps curled up under her cloak, her face is calm and unblemished, no signs of harm, but on her neck sit faint marks, dark like bruises. They will fade, but it wouldn't bode well if she were to be seen at home like that – he's not even meant to kiss her, prim and proper suitor that he is, let alone give her hickeys.

He's worried that he lost control, even if it was only for a moment, because even now – after everything that happened – he still feels a lurch in his chest when he thinks about her and Francis, and knows he could do the same again if he were pushed. While he talks a big talk about wanting Rapunzel to be free, sometimes he fears he'll be left behind – a lumbering man on the ground, watching a bird fly away; that fear makes him want to grab on and never let go, exactly the way Gothel tried to.

Insecurities are something he has to live with now – when he was Flynn he didn't need to have any, he was such a perfect caricature he never needed to doubt himself, never needed to care enough to feel anything. But while Eugene Fitzherbert has more problems, he also has Rapunzel, and that makes everything else worthwhile. That said, he's still known the Stabbington Brothers longer than he's known her, and while he certainly doesn't want to marry the grusome twosome, he's tortuously aware that he and Rapunzel do need to take things slow – slower than they'd like, at least.

He's not loud, sitting in silence, musing over his relationship in unhelpful circles, but something wakes Rapunzel, because she picks her head up and looks around suddenly, like a startled deer. The first thing she does is look for him, he notices, her face calming when she spots him lolling back in his makeshift seat. He offers her a weary smile and limply lifts a hand; she smiles back, then quickly shuffles over to him. He raises an arm and she tucks herself under it wordlessly, wrapping her own around his stomach, face resting on his chest, rising with his breath.

It's only just getting light – from the trees birds sing a chorus of mixed up tunes – and they sit awhile and enjoying the silence, enjoying being close and at peace. Her forehead presses against his collarbone, his hand on her hip, and talking doesn't seem necessary, so they just rest and watch shadows growing shorter over the trees.

At least until Max wakes up, as he takes one look at the two of them and whinnies up a storm – he seems to be compensating for last night, when he snored blissfully ignorant through their altercation.

"Oh come on!" Eugene protests when the horse tries to headbutt Rapunzel away from him. "It's not like I was even doing anything!" Max neighs in his face, and he pales at the animal's morning breath, shuddering unpleasantly.

"Well thanks, Max. I think you just horked away the last bit of romance there," he comments sarcastically – which only makes the horse hee-haw cheerfully. Eugene starts to push up his sleeves up, as if readying for a fight.

"Shall we go soon?" Rapunzel interjects before they can degrade to brawling. "If we set off early, we can catch Francis quickly, right?"

"What? Oh, well, about that," Eugene says awkwardly. "See... I was gonna go after him by myself. Cause' you should probably go home. Your folks gotta be worried about you." Rapunzel looks at him coolly, perhaps a little disappointed.

"No," she answers concisely, and then carries on packing her things.

"Hey... I'm serious," he insists, going after her and catching her as she stuffs things into her satchel. "Francis is my problem – so I'll fix it. Max, you'll take her back, right?"

He looks up at the horse, who nods, but then there's a sudden thump, and he glances back to see she's thrown down her bag; for a moment it's like even the birds have stopped singing, and then she suddenly whirls around to face him.

"I would've thought you of all people would understand, Eugene!" she shoots, and there's a sharp edge to her tone. "I'm not going back. These are my problems as well – I want my own answers. Can't you see?" she exclaims. "I'm trying to do something myself! And – and, even if you're standing in my way... I don't care. I'm not going back; not for my parents, not even for you."

Rapunzel has realised that this is about more than clearing Eugene's name, that it's about righting some horrible wrongs that have been made, and she wants to be a part of it. She's listened to Eugene long enough that she knows she has to make her own decisions – even if they turn out to be wrong, even if means standing up to him; so she won't back down, even if it means a fight.

"... Okay," Eugene replies after a short pause. "Get your stuff, then."

"Wuh... what?" she gasps. "That's it?" She honestly hadn't expected him to fold so easily, and treats the result with suspicion.

"Hey," he says, an almost proud lilt to his voice. "If you want it this much, who am I to stand in the way? It's your life." He slings his pack over his shoulder; he'll probably be happier keeping her in his sights for now, and she can't really go home in her current state either – not without breeding a whole lot of trouble. This way, at least he can say he did honestly tell her to go home – he just didn't mean it all that much. He's a little surprised when she runs forwards and throws her arms around his neck, her feet swinging off the ground as she hugs him fiercely, but he certainly isn't complaining.

"Oh thank you," she gushes. "You understand!" She starts to say something more, but also kisses him at the same time, so it makes very little sense, and he's not the sort of man to turn down a lady's advances. He holds her tenderly for a moment – calm and happy – but Max soon starts shrieking at them, so they break apart and get ready to leave.

"Hey boy," Rapunzel coos secretively, sweet-talking the proud animal as Eugene loads the saddle up with their packs. "Do you think you can track Francis, huh?" Max quirks his eyebrows and his nostrils billow – he shakes himself free and then puts his face to the ground, blowing up puffs of leaves and shovelling through the undergrowth noisily.

"What's he doing?" Eugene asks sceptically when Max snoops straight past his feet. The horse stops, picks his head up, and then sneezes on Eugene, who stiffly wipes his face. "Thanks for that, bud." Max just chortles.

"You know, I'm really not sure if that horse likes me, or likes making my life miserable," Eugene remarks. "... Probably both," he concludes, but then Max appears to pick up on the trail, because he stampedes off into the forest with a determined air; Rapunzel and a more sullen Eugene follow on behind, the latter muttering about being led to water by a horse, but refusing to drink.

"So," prompts Rapunzel after an inconspicuously short silence, pacing after Max as he ploughs onwards, "tell me about Francis."

"Uh... well," Eugene murmurs uncertainly. "There's nowhere to start with him... I mean, what do you want to know?"

"I want to understand, I guess," she answers quietly, a little unsure of herself. "I can't match up the boy I met with this person you're telling me about – someone who robs and hurts people."

"Not surprising, I'm sure he only wanted to show you his good side," Eugene remarks flippantly.

"I... suppose... so..." she replies, but clearly doesn't sound like she understands.

"Honey, I only want to show you my good side," he points out, and she gives him the same puzzled look; Eugene groans and wonders if maybe her mother ought to have included all these things in a 'talk' of some kind, rather than leaving them for him to fumble through.

"Well, when you care about someone – or want them to care about you," he explains. "You only want them to see you at your best." Rapunzel's mouth makes an 'oh' shape, and she nods vaguely, but says nothing, taking a sudden interest in the scenery around them.

"I love you for everything, Eugene," she mumbles suddenly, so quiet and unassuming he nearly misses it, "even your bad sides." He doesn't reply but smiles, savouring the moment. With a quick check to ensure Max is still snorting dirt ahead of them, he reaches out an arm and slings it around her shoulders, pulling her close for just long enough to press his mouth against her temple. When he releases her, Rapunzel feels for his nearest arm and closes Eugene's hand in hers, fingers meshing as they walk in companionable silence. Soon Eugene asks a very valid question.

"Does this horse actually know where he's going?"

Max, who is still nose-to-the-ground ahead of them, stops dead in his hooves and turns around, giving Eugene such a furious eyeballing that he quickly relents.

"Oh okay, I'm sorry, Detective," he apologises sarcastically. "Lead on, by all means." They carry on again, and Eugene questions his wisdom in placing the task of finding Francis in a temperamental horse with an attitude problem.

"Um, Eugene," Rapunzel asks a little later. "When we find Francis... what are we going to do?"

"We?" he echoes. "I didn't think... I was just gonna..." he trails off, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully. "Well, I was pretty much planning on punching his lights out. You know, for all the trouble he's caused me. Then I figured the rest would work itself out."

"You can't do that!" she gasps, shocked that he would even suggest such a thing. "How's that going to make him feel any better?"

"Him? I was thinking it'd make me feel a lot better," he replies coolly, but seeing her horrified expression, concedes to a slightly more serious discussion. "Obviously, he's got to stop," he states. "I was planning on setting him straight, you know? Talking some sense into him."

"But... what about the crimes?" she asks uncertainly. "Someone has to come forward, and the guards... they, well, they aren't really on your side."

"What a surprise," he slights. "I didn't do it though, so I'll have to get proven innocent one way or another. There's no need for anyone else to get involved, so long as the crimes stop."

"But... but," she protests. "What if you don't get cleared? What if they have to punish someone, and... and you can't get out of it – and if Francis really did commit those crimes, he should face up to them."

"What, like I faced up to mine?" Eugene reproves coolly.

"That's different," she replies. "You admitted guilt, said sorry, atoned for what you did." A key point in Eugene's pardoning had been that if it weren't for his crimes – which led up to the theft of the princess's tiara – then he wouldn't have found Rapunzel, let alone be able to bring her home. It proved persuasive enough to grant him a new life, a second chance.

"Somehow I doubt 'I'm sorry' will get Francis off the hook," he points out morosely. "He doesn't have a long-lost princess to return... unless you have a sister," he jokes with a dry look. "Look, it's only a couple of robberies, if he stops now, he can still get away with it."

"Is that right?" she challenges, a little disappointed in his evasion of justice. "He really hurt some people, shouldn't he-"

"Right? You want to talk about right?" Eugene shoots, and his hand pulls out of Rapunzel's. "If right is going to jail for something I did to him, then I preferred being on the wrong side of the law." He speaks dramatically, but she can sense he's deadly serious and it worries her, because he's never indicated he'd rather his old life back before; it sends a bolt of panic that he might change his mind racing through her.

"What do you mean, you did to him?" she questions urgently, still following blindly behind Max, who pays no attention to their argument and keeps his nose to the ground.

"It's all my fault," he confesses. "I made it all up – Flynn Rider, the dashing thief, the hero. I sold it to him, practically shoved it down his throat. We were in it together, and then... I left him." For a person who knows plenty about abandonment, Eugene's ashamed that he'd been so quick to do the same to someone. "When I came to my senses, he didn't come to his. I wanna save him, not put him in prison, Rapunzel," he explains climatically. "I got my chance to turn it around – Francis deserves his."

Rapunzel is quiet for a while as she considers her words; she always thought of Eugene as the ultimate free spirit, unbound by anything, but when she hears the huge weight of responsibility in his voice, she realises how much this means to him, and doesn't want to cause upset by saying the wrong thing.

"I want the same things as you," she says delicately. "I do. I just... don't know if running is the best way."

"What would you do?" he puts to her; not angry, but challenging. "You said yourself, you're coming after him of your own will – so what's your plan?"

"Well... I want to talk to him," she replies firmly, not shying away from making her own argument. "Find out why he did it – if he did it. If something's made him angry enough to hurt people, I want to... well, fix it – if I can. There has to be something I can do for him," she insists. "I'm going to find out what it is, and help any way I can... he just needs to let me," she finishes a little unsurely, and Eugene gives her a long, hard look. "What?" she says, and then suddenly he stops, puts one hand to her cheek, another to her shoulder, and drags her into a powerful kiss; reminding himself that he can, that she's his, and then feeling a stab of guilt at the direction of his own thoughts.

This time – probably the first time, Rapunzel doesn't go along with it, she pulls away.

"Where'd that come from?" she exclaims, as his thumb traces along the line of her jaw – it's somewhat distracting, and she tries hard to stay focused. However, he sobers up quickly – sighs and falls away; like a kettle that's boiled over, letting off a great shriek of steam in a single heated moment, only to subdue again.

"Sorry. I – I wish I knew," he mutters solemnly, rubs his face with the ball of his palm. "Things are weird right now. There's a lot of stuff I never expected to get mixed up – Francis, you, Flynn. I just... need to set everything straight," he says at last, pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a deep, calming breath. "Things are gonna start making sense soon, I promise."

Rapunzel sighs and stretches out for him, setting her hands flat against his chest, feeling his heartbeat under her palm.

"Things don't need to make sense," she tells him sincerely. "You just need to be happy, Eugene. That's all I care about." He stares at her, his heart twisting like Rapunzel is wringing it out with both hands. They both dart a look at Max, who still forages ahead of them in blissful innocence, and then leap forwards to tangle in a quick, intense kiss.

"You're too good for me," he murmurs against her lips, leaning his forehead against hers longingly. "I lo-" he starts, but then a shrill neigh comes ripping through the trees and interrupts his attempted confession. There are further shrieks from Max, mixed among the shouts and yelps of a human voice, and recognition hits Eugene and Rapunzel at the same time.

"Francis!" they chorus, and start to sprint through the decaying undergrowth, hurtling towards the source of the noise.

Leave a review please! Unless you have a problem with me chattering to you about Rapunzel and Eugene and why I hate codependency being mistaken for romance, or the new Happily Forever After short that's been announced. In which case I just hope you enjoyed the chapter and stay tuned for the next installation =D