Wasn't Love, Blondie

by little princess 15

AU: Flynn wanted to steal the princess' crown, he never planned for the Princess herself to tag along. One thing is for certain; no one messes with Flynn Rider, and he wasn't going to let this girl start now. He had to find a way to get rid of her, and losing his heart along the way wasn't an option. Of course, that was easier said than done.

6. Into the Sea

Chapter 6: Into the Sea

Hello my fellow readers. First of all I want to apologize for the extremely long hiatus. My personal life got in the way and I just didn't have the time nor the inspiration to keep writing. That being said, I want to thank each and every one who left a review or favorite/liked this story, each review helped me to find my inspiration back and reminded me that there were people who still liked this story.

The good news is this is an extra long chapter full of fake-married tropes, I think we all deserve it after that extremely long wait. I hope you enjoy it!

Note: for any new readers, please note that this story was first published long before Tangled the Series came out, so none of the events of the series will be taken into account.

Disclaimer: nope, still don't own anything. Lyrics within this chapter belong to the lullaby Song of the Sea.

---

There she goes in front of me

Take my life, set me free again

We'll make a memory out of this

~Not Today

---

In hindsight, she probably should've known that leaving the kingdom and pursuing her dream wouldn't prove to be such an easy task. Despite the whole thing going relatively smoothly at first, she should've known there would be bumps along the way. But if she was being completely honest with herself, she had never expected the extent of the troubles they would encounter before they even made it to the kingdom of Cygnus.

She hadn't really been counting on their journey going south before they had even left the bay, to begin with.

Rapunzel's excited mood lasted exactly five minutes. That is, before she discovered that her queasiness and the slight churn of her stomach had nothing to do with any feeling of eagerness or anticipation she may have had, but very much to do with the moving vessel.

She rested her head against the ship's bulwark as a particularly large wave hit the vessel, the smooth wooden surface providing a soothing cool sensation against her clammy skin. She felt like the ground beneath her feet was disappearing constantly, making her legs shake and her stomach turn with the rising tide. Rapunzel let out a pitiful groan, trying to repress another wave of nausea that would surely make an appearance soon enough. Meanwhile, Pascal sat dutifully beside her resting head, his scales turning a sickly shade of yellow to match the princess' unfortunate state as he tried in vain to sooth her with sympathetic chirps and gentle pats against her cheek. The little reptile recoiled with a squeak, however, as Rapunzel's entire body shook with a dry-heave.

Thus, the start of their journey was certainly proving to be anything but pleasant.

But while Rapunzel reevaluated her poor decisions in life as she tried to quell her uneasy stomach, the same could not be said for her partner in crime. Flynn walked aimlessly around the main deck, carefree and looking fresh as a daisy as he examined the ship's many details with an air of thinly veiled self-satisfaction. This entire feat of escaping Corona with the princess herself in tow had proven to be entirely too easy. In fact, way too easy if he said so himself, and part of him was still half expecting a bunch of royal guards to come jumping out of every corner of the ship, ready to arrest him, or for a fleet of Royal Navy vessels to intercept them on their way. But overall, his efforts to weasel his way into a merchant ship completely inconspicuous had been successful, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a bit proud of himself over such an achievement.

Well he had not earned the title of best thief in the entire kingdom for nothing.

As luck would have it, however, his good humor would not be lasting long. The small, slightly arrogant smirk vanished from his face as soon as he heard a rough voice calling out his fake name.

"Mr. Sinclair?" Flynn whirled around to be met with the sight of a towering man who, although not burly built, still appeared big enough to be slightly intimidating. Or perhaps what would be most unnerving were his calculating, stormy gray eyes, which swept over Flynn's figure as if examining every single detail of his person with one long careful glance.

Flynn tried not to gulp under the man's intense stare and instead squared his shoulders, straightening to his full stature and arranging his features into a charming smile. "That would be me, sir."

He extended a hand in a friendly gesture, hoping his natural charm would help appease the man's severe features. Apparently that was all it took, for after a moment's hesitation, the taller man's strict mien softened considerably, his frown now replaced by a polite smile.

"My crew mates just informed me of you boarding the ship." The man accepted Flynn's extended hand with a firm shake of his own. "Captain James McGregor, at your service."

"Pleased to meet you, sir." Flynn lied through his teeth, trying not to wince under the Captain's crushing pressure over his fingers. A feeling of dread slowly made its way through his chest, the fact that the captain of the vessel himself was seeking him out seemingly just to make his acquaintance could not forebode anything good.

"I apologize for the lack of protocol, but unfortunately we were not aware that we would be welcoming you aboard on our journey." The Captain explained with a friendly smile, finally letting up his firm grip over Flynn's now crushed hand. "It's been a while since the warehouses have sent supervisors for our trips, you see."

"You mean you were not previously informed?" Flynn didn't waste time falling into the pretense, perfectly acting out the part of a surprised and somewhat indignant worker. "My, that is quite unfortunate indeed."

"Yes, it came out as a big surprise. I am usually informed of every passenger that will board my ship weeks prior to my destined journey." He didn't miss how the captain's stormy gray eyes seemed to be examining his every reaction, looking for any indication he might be actually boarding a stowaway. He must've found none, as he soon waved his hand as if to brush off the issue at hand. "No matter, I made sure to check out your letters of transit and everything seems to be completely in order."

Flynn suppressed a sigh of relief as he received the good news. He was quite glad to know that those letters of transit at least had been worth their rather expensive price. "I understand you came with your wife?" The Captain inquired good-naturedly.

"That's correct, sir, she's right over the-..." he trailed off as both the Captain and Flynn's eyes widened in astonishment when they took in the appearance of his supposed wife. Seeing as the entirety of the crew seemed to consist of foreigners, Rapunzel had deemed it safe to remove the hood of her cloak, a decision that wouldn't have made much of a difference either way considering no one would've recognized the pristine and elegant Crown Princess of Corona if anyone looked at her at the moment. Her haggard and disheveled state would've shocked everyone had they known her true identity. Her golden locks fell like a curtain over her face obscuring her features completely as she stood hunched over the ship's bulwark, her shoulders shaking as if she were taking in deep and controlled breaths. Flynn grimaced as the sound of her violent coughs reached his ears.

"Oh my, is she quite alright?"

The Captain's slightly concerned voice snapped Flynn out of his stupor and he hurriedly approached Rapunzel's hunched up figure with the Captain in tow. Extending a hesitant hand, he carefully -and quite reluctantly- rubbed her back in what he hoped would appear like a comforting gesture, although to him it appeared more like he was attempting to pet a wild and feral creature ready to bite his arm off.

"Erm... Blondie? Are you alright?" The sound of her pitiful groan was the only response he got from her. An instant later her entire body seemed to convulse as she dry-heaved. She appeared to be moments away from spilling the contents of her stomach into the sea bellow them, and Flynn felt oddly grateful that they hadn't eaten a bountiful meal right before they boarded the ship.

At the sound of her retching he recoiled with a slightly disgusted grimace, which he promptly replaced with a sympathetic smile once he turned to face the Captain just a few paces behind them. "The poor dear, it must be seasickness. She's not at all used to traveling by sea."

Rapunzel finally seemed to somewhat gather her bearings and slowly, if a bit unsteadily, straightened herself to face him. Her skin appeared to have taken a greenish pale hue and her eyes seemed to be struggling to focus as she blinked blearily. "I'll be fine, I just need a moment." She swayed precariously on her feet as the vessel moved with another large wave and she instantly returned to her previous position.

Meanwhile, Captain McGregor looked on with a contemplative frown. "Hmm, I would expect the wife of a traveler like yourself would be quite used to traveling by sea." He mused as Flynn scrambled for a well-thought excuse to give.

"Oh, we are newly wed, you see. She so hates to travel abroad and so far away from home but I naturally couldn't bear to part with her so early in our marriage." Flynn explained apologetically as he once again tried to rub Rapunzel's back in soothing circles, hoping against hope that she would soon overcome her wave of nausea. "I practically begged her to come with me. This is her first time aboard a ship, probably the reason she's feeling so seasick."

The Captain, for his part, nodded understandingly, although the sudden knowing glint in his eyes didn't help to make Flynn feel quite at ease. "Perfectly understandable, I do hope she can feel better soon. You know, seasickness is not the only reason why a young lady might experience a slight spell of nausea."

Rapunzel lifted her head slightly, looking a bit confused while Flynn blinked blankly. But before he could make sense of the Captain's enigmatic words he continued on. "I remember a particular trip in which my wife accompanied me. She felt sick and nauseous for the entirety of our journey, we all attributed it to seasickness and it was not until we reached port that we actually discovered that there was a much more joyful reason for her nauseous state."

Both Rapunzel and Flynn stared blankly at the Captain, not quite able to understand the hidden meaning behind his words. The Captain grinned knowingly before taking pity on the young couple and answering their unspoken question. "She was with child."

Rapunzel's face seemed to take and even paler, sickly color just at the mere thought while Flynn sputtered nervously, almost choking over his own words as he realized what the Captain was implying. "Oh, no, I'm... I'm fairly certain she is just feeling a bit seasick, that's all."

The Captain seemed entirely too amused as he laughed joyfully. "Well, one can never be too sure, right?"

Flynn chuckled awkwardly in return, suddenly getting the feeling that pretending to be Rapunzel's doting husband for the entirety of their journey until their ship docked was going to be a lot harder than he had initially expected. Rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture, he scrambled to change the subject. "Why, how rude of me, I never introduced you properly!" He exclaimed in an effort to chase away the feeling of awkwardness that had settled over them.

"Blondie, this is our good captain, James McGregor." He hesitantly put his arm around her shoulder as he gestured toward the Captain, who dutifully saluted with a slight bow.

"At your service, ma'am."

"And Captain this is my wife, Elaine." Flynn hoped the elder man hadn't noticed how his voice caught as he uttered the word 'wife'. Rapunzel still appeared to be struggling to focus, and she lifted her hand up delicately as if she was expecting the other man to bow respectfully over it and kiss it, like he was sure she had been raised to do when being introduced to someone bellow her rank. The Captain stared confusedly at her hand, not sure what to do next. Noticing his hesitation -and after a discreet nudge from Flynn- Rapunzel seemed to finally realize what she was doing and retreated her hand somewhat embarrassedly, replacing the gesture with a small and completely awkward half-curtsy-half-bow that made Flynn wonder if the Captain suspected he had married a completely socially awkward woman.

"Um... pleased to make your acquaintance, Captain." Mumbled Rapunzel awkwardly, her utterly pale cheeks blooming with the faintest hint of a blush.

"Likewise." The Captain replied with a friendly smile. "As I was telling your husband, we were not expecting you joining us aboard and therefore weren't prepared to accommodate you. Fortunately my first mate offered his cabin for your stay."

Rapunzel looked even more embarrassed than before as she spoke next. "Oh, that was not necessary at all-"

"Nonsense." The Captain cut her off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "A lady should always be accommodated properly. Now, if you will just follow me I will lead you to your destined cabin."

They both nodded mutely as they made a move to follow the Captain towards their destination. Rapunzel had barely taken a step forward before another wave of dizziness hit her. Seemingly unable to keep her balance, she stumbled back into Flynn's outstretched hands.

"Whoa, careful there, Blondie." He grasped her shoulders firmly as she tried to steady herself, however she still swayed over her feet and seemed hardly able to keep herself upright. The Captain eyed her somewhat worriedly.

"Perhaps you should carry her, she doesn't seem stable enough." Captain McGregor suggested carefully while Flynn struggled to help Rapunzel keep her footing. Flynn paused slightly, not quite comfortable with the Captain's suggestion. He recalled the last time he had been in a similar situation. Back then he had dealt with an unconscious Rapunzel, he had unceremoniously carried her over his shoulder like he had been dealing with a particularly heavy sack of potatoes rather than an unconscious princess. He couldn't quite do the same now, he was aware. However, carrying her any other way seemed rather too intimate for his comfort.

Surprisingly enough, over the course of their acquaintance Flynn had hardly touched Rapunzel, if at all, for longer than a few seconds, and that had been only when strictly necessary. He had kept a respectable distance between himself and the young princess, well, as respectable as their situation could allow. For some reason he felt highly uncomfortable whenever their interactions became too intimate, like when she had embarrassedly asked for his help with doing the laces of her dress, or when she had excitedly hugged him on the spur of the moment. He couldn't quite put his finger on why he felt thus, perhaps it was due to the fact that she was an actual princess. A princess whom he had kidnapped and who more often than not irritated the hell out of him, but a princess nonetheless. Or perhaps it was just the fact that he became uncomfortable with any form of intimacy when he knew he couldn't escape the situation at any given moment. In this case, he was stuck with her until the stubborn princess decided that she had had enough adventures to last her a lifetime. Either way he would prefer to just stick to their current form of interaction and refrain from getting too physically close to her whenever he could help it.

He didn't seem to have much of an option now, he realized. Not if he wanted to keep up the appearance of a man happily married to her.

The Captain seemed to sense his hesitation and proceeded to explain the logic behind his suggestion. "The sleeping quarters are below decks and the halls are quite difficult to navigate if one is not used to the movement of the ship."

Flynn nodded distractedly, not quite sure where or how to accommodate his hands over Rapunzel's body in order to carry her. He finally settled for placing one arm carefully around her shoulders and the other just below her thighs and lifted her up with one swift movement. Rapunzel yelped in surprise, apparently not quite prepared for the action. Flynn suspected she hadn't actually been listening to the conversation and hadn't been aware of the situation at hand, however her tensed shoulders soon relaxed, her entire body sagging against his arms as she sighed, either in exhaustion or relief at not having to keep herself upright any longer, he wasn't exactly sure. Her eyes fluttered close, and a frown settled upon her brow, which soon was obscured from his vision as she burrowed her face in the crook of his neck. He noticed her pet lizard precariously perched upon her shoulder, as usual directing an accusatory glare towards him. He repressed the urge to swat it away.

Flynn wordlessly followed the Captain as he guided them towards the first mate's usual cabin, navigating through narrow and obscured halls that made him feel slightly claustrophobic. He fervently hoped that Rapunzel wouldn't suddenly feel nauseous once more while she was in his arms, he wasn't exactly looking forward to getting barfed on.

The Captain paused before a small wooden door which he carefully opened with a welcoming gesture. "Here we are. I apologize for the reduced size, but as you can imagine this cabin wasn't designed to fit more than one person."

To Flynn that felt like a huge understatement. As soon as he caught a glimpse of their destined sleeping quarters he knew him and Rapunzel wouldn't have an easy time sorting themselves out during their stay. "But I'm quite sure you'll make do. After all, newlywed couples usually like to spend more time huddled together than apart, right? You can take this as an additional honeymoon."

The Captain chuckled amusedly as he stepped aside to let them in. Flynn wondered briefly if Rapunzel had somehow managed to fall asleep during the short trajectory from the main deck to their cabin, but she soon demonstrated the contrary as her head jerked up in surprise at the Captain's words. Flynn hesitated for a moment, not quite liking the idea of crossing the threshold of their newly acquired cabin while carrying Rapunzel bridal style in his arms, somehow that felt like a bad omen when he knew this whole situation was nothing more than a huge ruse.

Seeing as he had not much of an option he stepped inside and crossed the room in a few swift strides, gingerly placing Rapunzel's barely conscious body on the cot-like bed in the corner of the room. Rapunzel, however, seemed to be fighting off her spell of dizziness, and with what appeared to be a great effort on her part lifted her body just enough to sit herself upright on the bed, facing the Captain with a wavering tiny smile that seemed more like a grimace.

"Well, I have a few important matters to attend to, so I'll leave you two to settle yourselves." The Captain informed with a good-natured smile. "Mr. Sinclair, I will come back to retrieve you in about an hour so that we can oversee the cargo at our disposal and you can make sure that everything is in perfect order."

With one last nod towards them Captain McGregor left the room, carefully closing the door behind him to grant them some privacy. Flynn heaved out a relieved sigh as the door closed with a soft thud, he hadn't quite realized how tense their situation would be while they had to interact with the ship's crew. As soon as the Captain disappeared behind the threshold Rapunzel let out a pitiful soft groan, her body sagging with exhaustion as she unceremoniously flopped down onto the mattress like a rag doll. She covered her eyes with her arm as a soft whimper left her pale lips, making Flynn frown slightly.

"Are you quite alright, Blondie?" He approached her slowly, pausing right before the bed to observe her more carefully.

Rapunzel's barely audible whimper was the only answer he received for a few seconds. He debated whether to feel more concerned for her present situation or just brush it off and let her rest the dizziness away, either way there was not much he could do about it. But Rapunzel wouldn't grant him enough time to reach a conclusion. The young princess abruptly sat up with such a sudden movement that left her bouncing slightly on the tiny mattress, her hair wild and untamed and her pale face adorned with a suddenly horrified expression so strikingly different from her previous apathetic and sickly demeanor that it made Flynn wonder how exactly she managed to deviate from emotional state to emotional state almost in the blink of an eye.

"Oh," her balled fists fluttered from her temples to her mouth as her wide eyes scanned the room. "Oh, what are we going to do?"

Flynn raised a questioning eyebrow. "What are we going to do about...?"

"What are we going to do about this!" She exclaimed, gesturing to the room at large with an incredulous look directed at him that clearly seemed to indicate she couldn't understand how he wasn't freaking out along with her. "These quarters are tiny, Flynn! There's barely enough room for the both of us! How are we going to sleep? How are we going to settle ourselves? How...?" She finally trailed off, seemingly too out of sorts to even finish with her concerned musings.

He didn't need to hear the rest, however. He knew exactly what concerned her. How were they going to coexist in such a limited space for the next couple of days when they could barely manage the night before in much more decently spaced lodgings? One look at the uninviting wooden floor had him frowning at the prospect of many restless and sleepless nights.

"Well, I would suggest a fair and perfectly balanced arrangement." He drawled with feigned disinterest. "We will take turns with the bed. And seeing as it was my turn to sleep on the floor last night..." he let himself trail off as he closed the small distance between himself and the small cot in which Rapunzel currently sat, and with a nonchalant movement dropped unceremoniously on the mattress beside her. "Have fun getting acquainted with the floor tonight, Blondie."

Her answering expression was equal parts endearing and amusing. Her lips pouted and a disgruntled frown settled on her brow as she seemed to decide whether to be indignantly irked or reluctantly resigned with the situation at hand. "That's not... that's not our only concern."

She sprang to her feet, previous nausea apparently forgotten as she paced nervously from one end of the room to the other. "How exactly are we going to successfully fool the entire crew into thinking we are a happily married couple for the entirety of our trip? We barely know each other! And I don't think we made a very convincing impression a few minutes ago."

"Hey! Speak for yourself," Flynn shot her a very convincing indignant look. "I think I played my part of the doting husband quite flawlessly, mind you. I even carried you all the way here like a dutiful loving spouse would, you're welcome by the way."

She rolled her eyes in response. "I'm serious, Flynn," biting her lip anxiously she let her hands get tangled in a tress of hair near her face, twisting the strands between her fingers in a nervous gesture he was already becoming quite familiar with. "What would be the consequences if they find out this is nothing more than a huge lie and we are actually stowaways trying to weasel our way out of Corona?"

Flynn tried not to let dread settle in the pit of his stomach at the thought. "Well, for one, they would throw us in the brig for the rest of the journey until we docked in the next port available. Probably until we got to Cygnus."

"The brig?" Rapunzel gasped, horrified at the idea.

"Then they would hand us to the authorities of the Kingdom to be questioned; a procedure I imagine would be quite unpleasant." He grimaced, thinking about all the godawful tales he'd heard over the years about the brutality and even torture some guards favored for the questioning sessions. He decided to omit that particular detail in favor of sparing Rapunzel's delicate sensibilities. "They would eventually find out you are actually the Crown Princess of Corona, I imagine, and that would be that for you."

Rapunzel's eyes widened as she considered the facts just relayed to her. "They would find out everything, my reputation would be ruined, my family's good name... this would be the scandal of the century."

Flynn suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Indeed, such dire consequences for your apparently momentary lapse of judgment, Princess." He drawled out, all icy sarcasm and bitter cynicism. "Meanwhile I would be facing certain death for aiding in your little caprice."

Her already large eyes widened even more and her eyebrows almost disappeared into her hairline as she let out a horrified gasp. He felt a tiny, momentary, almost imperceptible pang of guilt at having so crudely laid down that particular fact to her. After all, she did seem appalled at the thought of such a fate befalling him and it being even remotely her fault. The feeling, however short lived, disappeared almost completely as she uttered her next words.

"Well, that wouldn't be entirely my fault, right? I never asked to be kidnapped." She seemed to be speaking more to herself than to him, as if trying to convince herself of the idea to spare her guilty conscience.

"You're gonna keep throwing that to my face, aren't you?"

Rapunzel's face seemed to crumple into her own despair, and probably for the first time since he met her he noticed a glint of defeat in her eyes. The sight seemed utterly wrong to him for some reason, it was as if he had just seen the light snuffed out of an ever burning candle. "Hey, hey, c'mon, no one is saying that any of that is going to happen, okay?"

"But how do you know? Flynn, we don't really actually get along, we can barely have a normal conversation without getting into an argument of sorts." She resumed her nervous pacing as she went along with her words, listing every possible reason why their plan could possibly fail.

"I think you're making too much out of this situation." Flynn interrupted after a while, not in the mood to keep listening to her nervous mutterings. "We are perfectly capable of pretending for a few days, I should think. Besides, this crew doesn't strike me as particularly observant, or clever for that matter."

Rapunzel shook her head stubbornly, refusing to be dissuaded by his argument. "No, if we want to keep this pretense we need to step up our game." She came to stand directly before him, her brow firmly set into a determined expression. "We need a truce."

"A truce?" He lifted a skeptical eyebrow, not quite sure where she was going with all this.

"Yes, a truce, a compromise!" The intensity of her gaze compelled him to actually listen to her without interruption this time. "We will agree to be civil with each other, we will try to be on friendly terms and tolerate each other for the remainder of the trip until we arrive to Cygnus." She stated her idea with such finality and leaving no room for disagreement that he was finding it hard to reconcile this side of her, all regal and authoritative, with the girl that had just moments ago been muttering nervously about failed plans and atrocious consequences. "In other words, we will strive to be friends."

That last statement finally snapped him out of his thoughts. "Um... friends seems like a rather strong word." He was reluctant to agree with her on her terms, for some reason this seemed to require way much more emotional commitment than he was willing to give at all.

But Rapunzel was not backing down, and as her eyebrows furrowed in that particular stubborn frown of hers he found his resolve already weakening. "We need this, Flynn. If we want to convincingly portray a happy couple we should try to at least be friends and actually get along!"

Flynn let a lapse of contemplative silence stretch between them as he considered her offer. On the one hand, he could see where she was coming from; it would be far more convincing to act the part of a happy couple if there was actually some genuine sort of easy-going chemistry between them instead of the somewhat tense and reluctant vibe they seemed to give off. They couldn't keep walking around on eggshells between them if they were going to be constantly exposed to the scrutinization of the crew. However on the other hand, he had absolutely no interest in getting more personally acquainted with the princess and her one thousand oddities. Their reluctant alliance was supposed to be purely a matter of forwarding mutual interests, and he found that mixing personal matters with whatever sort of task he was hoping to achieve more often than not led to absolute chaos. It was not that he was an emotionally stunted man with various problems of commitment and trust issues and a keen inability to form intimate connections, he was just a pragmatic sort of guy who much preferred an objective solution to an objective problem without the need to get his personal life mixed in the way. Or so he told himself.

Pursuing a friendship with Rapunzel when he knew nothing good could possibly come off it should be far up in his list of 'not-to-do's. However, the princess' intense green eyes seemed to be burning a hole into his head with the intensity of her gaze, a sign he knew meant she was not about to accept a no for an answer, much like when she managed to blackmail him into this entirely ridiculous trip.

With a resigned sigh he dreadfully accepted his fate and tried to hope for the best. "Fine, if you insist."

Rapunzel's answering smile had him equal parts amused and unnerved. "Excellent!"

---

In all honesty, Rapunzel couldn't quite understand Flynn's reluctance to her perfectly reasonable proposal. If anythingshe should be the one cautious and hesitant to forward any kind of relationship she may have with him. He was the thief, he had been the one to kidnap her and the one who had tried to steal her crown. He was a scoundrel, a renowned liar and expert in deceit. And now that she was considering all these facts she was beginning to suspect that perhaps befriending an infamous criminal wouldn't be in her best interests. After all, Rapunzel was perfectly aware of the dangers it posed to have a soft and often times too-generous heart.

Even though Flynn had not revealed to be a very concerning threat to her well-being in the time they had spent together, she still had to remind herself that, reluctant ally or not, he was still a convicted criminal. A man she could not fully trust. And so she made a mental note not to get carried away with this new-developing friendship, or whatever it was. Sure, they could be perfectly civil to each other, they could joke around and have fun and be confortable with the other's presence as friends should, but that was that. She could not trust him with the important details of her life, after all she had her sometimes too-gullible heart to protect from any possible betrayal on his part. And from the way he seemed to be utterly reluctant to agree to her truce, he was probably equal parts as cautious as her.

What really intrigued her, though, were his reasons to be so hesitant to her plan. What was he to lose if anything went south? She was the one who depended more on him and his good favor in their current situation.

She decided to let the matter rest and move forward with the second phase of her newly developed plan. Their act needed to be spotless, and she was definitely not looking forward to spending any time in the brig. "Well, now that that's settled, we need a convincing story."

"Story? What story?"

"Our story, of course! How we met, how we supposedly fell in love, when we married, important details about each other..." she went on, listing every particular thing that would make up their very fictitious life as Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair. And with every word that left her mouth Flynn seemed to grow more and more uncomfortable by the second.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. Who's going to ask so many questions about our life, Blondie?"

Rapunzel paused mid-sentence to dedicate him a particularly annoyed glance. "How would I know? But we're going to spend a significant amount of time in this ship, we have to be prepared in case any of these questions arise."

Flynn seemed utterly unimpressed with her careful planning. "Can't we just ignore whoever starts to get too nosy?"

"Yes, that seems to be your go-to solution to everything." She muttered somewhat crossly, his flippant attitude already wearing on her nerves.

'Compromise' she reminded herself, and with a patient sigh she tried to approach the subject differently. "We should try to at least make up a believable story about how we met."

That's it, baby steps.

Flynn answered with a trademark disinterested smirk, his attention already deviating from her as his eyes scanned the room, perhaps trying to ascertain if there was anything valuable in the first mate's cabin that he could claim as his own. "I rather prefer to wing it as the situation arises."

She pursed her lips in annoyance. "I rather prefer not to." Rapunzel tried to soften the bite in her tone with a very forced smile. Fortunately, Flynn seemed to acknowledge her efforts and with a sigh of acquiescence, he finally relented to her protests.

"Fine! How about this; we met completely by accident, and since the first moment you saw me you thought me the handsomest man of your acquaintance." His smirk widened as he noticed her unamused glare.

"I do not find that story particularly convincing." Rapunzel deadpanned, earning a small chirp of agreement from Pascal, who was all too happy to glare at Flynn from his spot on her shoulder.

"Seems convincing enough to me." Flynn shrugged dismissively. "Easy to remember and straight to the point. I really do think that should be our version of the story, love at first sight and all that nonsense."

Rapunzel resisted the urge to rub her temples. "Shouldn't we add a little more detail to it?" She asked contemplatively, hoping against hope to get him to take the matter at hand seriously. "And why should I be the only one who apparently is a hopeless romantic?" She added almost as an afterthought.

"What do you mean?"

"If I have to pretend to have been so utterly enamored by you, that it was 'love at first sight' then you should play the part too!" She crossed her arms and popped out her hip in a determined pose, convinced that Flynn would refuse to have the tables turned. "You should then pretend that I was the most beautiful woman you had ever laid eyes on. Then we would be even, and it would be a fair recounting of the story."

She smirked triumphantly, certain that this way Flynn would drop the idea and opt for a less sentimental, less idealistic version of a first meeting. However, as always, he managed to do exactly the opposite of what she had anticipated.

"Fine by me. I wouldn't be pretending though." His comment threw her completely for a loop and with an astonished glance she watched as he directed a flirty wink her way, a saucy smirk perfectly in place on his handsome face as he nonchalantly sauntered off the cot in the corner of the room and proceeded to examine every object of interest that would catch his eye in their small cabin. Rapunzel felt a treacherous blush creep up from the tip of her toes to the roots of her hair, and she floundered helplessly for a few awkward seconds, words not quite forming in her lips as she tried to find a way to retaliate. It was not until she heard his thinly veiled snigger that she managed to make sense of his comment.

"Oh, I see what you're trying to do." She let a defiant grin of her own spread over her lips. He was clearly trying to throw her off with his unexpected compliment and his disconcerting flirty remarks that seemed to come completely out of nowhere in the most ridiculous of times, just like he had done the night before in the inn they had spent the night. He apparently got a kick out of managing to reduce her to a bumbling mess, all flustered and abashed and blushing like a schoolgirl. Well, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. "Let me tell you, it will not work. I shall grow used to your mindless teasing."

Flynn, however, seemed to take her firm statement as a challenge. "We'll see about that." A mischievous spark glinted in his eyes as he raised an unconvinced eyebrow, previous smirk widening into an amused grin that lit up his whole face in a very becoming way, if she was being honest with herself. And had those dimples always been there? She had never noticed how much more youthful he looked when he smiled in such a genuine and carefree way. It rather suited him, she decided, and somewhere in the back of her mind she thought she would like to see that very same smile more often, even better if she was the one to cause it.

She noticed with a start that she had been staring when the sound of his amused chuckle reached her ears, which contributed quite a bit to her already prominent blush and she hastily searched for a change in subject.

It took her some time, but she eventually managed to convince Flynn to recreate a more convincing and detailed story of their first meeting, ready to use in case either of them got questioned out of curiosity by some member of the crew. Considering all the time they would spend onboard, someone was bound to make at least some small talk with them during their journey. Better to be prepared with every possible scenario. They spent the next hour filling in details of their 'married couple' facade; special dates and anniversaries, making up stories and unimportant facts about each other to build up a believable backstory and recreate that sense of intimacy that should be present between a husband and wife, one which they were so sorely lacking.

She found the notion of creating a whole new fake identity for herself quite entertaining, and the minutes passed her by without her even noticing. Halfway through the conversation she realized this had actually been the longest she'd spent talking with Flynn without either of them making any flippant quips or arising an argument between them, and actually agreeing with the other's suggestions. It mattered little though, considering every aspect of their conversation consisted solely on lies they made up to keep up a pretense. Rapunzel felt a distinct pang of something akin to guilt at the thought, and she silently wondered if all the deceit would be worth it in the long haul.

Feeling somewhat desperate to hang on to something that was actually genuine for a change, she decided to approach their situation a bit differently. "So, Flynn, I feel like we have covered more than enough facts about our supposed life, but very little -if any- of those are actually true." She said airily, hoping her tone had sounded as unconcerned and casual as possible.

"Uhh, I thought that was kind of the point?" Flynn's brow furrowed, whether out of confusion or annoyance she couldn't quite tell.

"Well it wouldn't hurt if at least some of those details were actually true." She continued with the same fake casualness. "It would make it all the more easy to remember. I don't know anything real about you! For example, where are you from?"

That seemed to draw the line for him. His previously easy and laid-back manner became closed up in an instant, and she automatically regretted her decision to even ask. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, sorry Blondie, I don't do backstory." She barely had time to feel slightly disappointed, although not at all surprised, before he continued. "However, I'm quite interested in yours."

She didn't know how to respond to that, but she found that he wouldn't give her even enough time to figure it out.

"Now, you won't talk about your hair, I know."

"Nope."

"Or your parents."

"Nope."

"Frankly, I'm scared to ask about the frog."

"Chameleon."

"Whatever." He brushed off nonchalantly, clearly not interested in that particular topic of conversation. "Here's my question; if you wanted to travel outside Corona so bad, why did you never do it before?"

His question floored her, and she fumbled for an answer for a few awkward seconds, long enough for Flynn to feel the need to elaborate.

"I mean, you're a princess for crying out loud. You could've traveled wherever the hell you wanted, you had enough money to do it. And if protection is what you needed you could've had an army of royal guards ready at your beck and call." He considered her contemplatively for a second, his brown eyes seeming to reach into her very soul in search for the answer.

"And I know for a fact that not all royals are that protective of their Crown Princess. At least not to the point of having her almost imprisoned in a castle." He continued, brow furrowed in contemplation. "So why the secrecy then? What exactly are you being protected of?"

Eyes wide and mouth agape, Rapunzel considered what would be the best way to deflect the question. "Um, well..."

She was miraculously saved by a knock on the door. She breathed a sigh of relief as the Captain sauntered in, ready to take Flynn off to 'examine' the ship's cargo and that everything was in order. Flynn reluctantly followed behind him, clearly irritated by the interruption but unable to do anything about it. Once the door had closed behind them, Rapunzel collapsed soundly on the cot, the events of the day now weighing heavily on her.

Pascal chirped sympathetically beside her, patting her cheek in what attempted to be a comforting gesture.

"I know Pascal. This is getting to be a bit too much." She sighed, her mind exhausted and her body sore. Another tiny growl indicated Pascal's slightly irritated mood, and she chuckled softly at her friend's protectiveness. "Yes, Flynn was getting too nosy with his questions."

Although to be fair, she had been the one to stir the conversation towards more personal ground. She now regretted her decision to do so. He was clearly a closed off person, and every time she'd tried to pry into his personal life it had spectacularly backfired on her face as he redirected the question into a personal inquiry of his own. One which they both knew she would be reluctant to answer. It was as if he was directing a silent warning at her.

And if she was being honest with herself, she knew he had a much keener power of deduction than she had. It wouldn't take him long to put two and two together and connect her strange protectiveness over her golden tresses to the fact that she had not been allowed to leave Corona's capital city her whole life. And she couldn't have him discovering the secret of her magic hair.

With a regretful sigh Rapunzel allowed herself to close her eyes, hoping that Flynn would just drop the subject and forget he ever asked anything about her situation.

---

By the time Flynn came back it was already dark outside, and the captain graciously invited them both to dine with the crew. They both accepted, and were promptly introduced to the rest of the crew. Dinner was had in the main deck, as it was the crew's preference to spend their time relaxing and joking around under the starlit sky rather than cooped up below deck.

Rapunzel's eagerness to meet new people made her instantly befriend her new crew mates. It didn't take her long to familiarize herself with them during the course of their dinner, memorizing their names and charges as they talked animatedly with her. They seemed to take well to her friendly behavior and avid curiosity. Before long they were already trading stories with her, and she listened with rapt attention to their tales of their seafaring adventures and the exotic places they had traveled to.

It was like a breath of fresh air, to be able to talk with people so different from the stuffy, snob nobles she had grown up used to. Their easy and boisterous manners fascinated her, and although they lacked propriety in every sense of the word - being merchant sailors of no good breeding- she found them more genuine and kind than any of the hypocritical members of the royal court.

All in all, she considered it a successful first impression, and the night was still young when Flynn and her bid them goodnight to retire to their own quarters, both quite exhausted by their impossibly long day.

Their first night in their tiny cabin, as expected, had been awkward at best. Settling themselves in such a limited amount of space had been no easy feat, and they fumbled around awkwardly for a few minutes, neither of them knowing exactly how to accommodate themselves.

Rapunzel reluctantly accepted her defeat as she regarded the cot that would be their sole sleeping space for the duration of their trip. It wouldn't be fair to not share the tiny bed with Flynn and he was right, it had already been his turn to sleep on the floor the night before, so with a regretful sigh she offered the bed to him.

However, Flynn surprised her by graciously declining her offer, insisting that he could very well sleep on the floor if only she would surrender her pillow to him. An offer that she was more than willing to accept. And that had been that.

As the days passed by they settled into a companionable routine, slowly getting used to the other's presence. Rapunzel's initial skittishness around Flynn faded away as she grew used to him, finally convincing herself that he would not try anything untoward while she was in such a vulnerable position. A thief he may be, but he was no cad, she slowly realized.

At some point she reluctantly traded decency for commodity, it was entirely too uncomfortable to sleep while still wearing a tight-fitting dress and she couldn't have her skirt all wrinkled by the time she woke up the next day. Nevertheless, she was still too modest to allow herself to sleep in only her chemise and underskirt while Flynn was in the very same room, mere feet away from her. So at Flynn's suggestion, she 'borrowed' a pair of oversized trousers and shirt from the trunk in the corner of their cabin, and deemed them appropriate enough to be her improvised sleepwear for the time being.

Both Rapunzel and Flynn tackled each tiny problem that arose with surprising camaraderie. It didn't take them long to realize which would be the two most prominent obstacles that they'd have to face every morning; one being the task of untangling Rapunzel's seventy feet of blonde hair, and the other being her still present inability to do up the laces of her dress.

It took only one morning of her taking ages to get ready and make herself presentable enough to leave their quarters for Flynn to lose his patience, opting to step in and help her.

Rapunzel would wake every day at the crack of dawn, eager to leave the stuffiness of their cabin and trade it for the fresh marine breeze waiting for her outside. She made use of the limited time she had before Flynn began to stir - being always the one to awake after her - and swiftly exchanged her sleepwear for her dress. By the time Flynn woke up, she was already freshened up and ready to begin a new day, save for the fact that he would always have to help her do up the laces at the back of her bodice, a task he was already becoming quite skilled at.

She considered that after that humiliating first day she had had to ask him to do it for her, it couldn't really get all that more mortifying. For his part, Flynn was surprisingly blasé about the whole deal, sparing her any sarcastic quips or the occasional flirty teasing comment, which she was very thankful for.

After the laces were done he would then trade the former task with the very tiring chore of helping her brush and untangle her messy bush of golden hair to the best of their abilities. Sailors weren't exactly known for their grooming skills, and at the inconvenient lack of hairbrushes at their disposal they had to make do with only their fingers. With Flynn's help it didn't take them all that long to get her presentable enough to leave their cabin, and she came to realize, with no small amount of surprise, that she quite enjoyed their shared time together every morning. Their mindless chatter and easy companionship was a nice change to their former hostility.

It was during one of these mornings, however, that Rapunzel found out that despite their lack of animosity, they still held a bit of prejudice towards the other.

Rapunzel sat sprawled on the floor, skillfully running her fingers through the pile of golden locks resting on her lap, trying with no small amount of difficulty to get rid of the knots left in her hair from a previous windy day spent helping the sailors on deck.

She grumbled under her breath as she yanked at a particularly stubborn strand. She wouldn't have to do this every morning if it weren't for the fact that the high seas wind and salty breeze left her hair completely matted by the end of the day.

After donning his vest and boots, Flynn sat beside her with a regretful sigh. She could see it in his face that he found this particular task quite unpleasant, and she was silently thankful that nevertheless he still helped her do it.

"Honestly, Blondie, I don't understand what exactly is the deal with your hair." He grumbled out after a few minutes of patiently running his fingers through a tangled mass of hair. She raised a questioning eyebrow, too concentrated in her own pile of golden locks to make much of a response.

"I mean, a trim once in a while wouldn't hurt anyone." He continued, probably wishing he had a pair of scissors in his possession to do it himself. "You have enough hair to make a wig, why not cut it a few... feet?" It clearly weirded him out to use that term instead of inches like a normal person would when referring to a haircut, but Rapunzel was too busy already panicking over the idea to even notice it. She instantly tensed up, hands frozen in place and fingers twitching as if she was making a conscious effort not to leap and take the strands of hair right out of Flynn's now dangerous hands.

One look at her wide, panicked eyes had Flynn chuckling in amusement. "Relax, I'm not gonna cut it for you." He shrugged nonchalantly, still carefully smoothing his fingers through the knots in her golden tresses. "Just a suggestion. Would make it a whole lot easier to brush every morning. Don't you ever get tired of this?"

"Hmm, not really. It's not that tiring once you get used to it." Rapunzel answered easily, thinking about the thousand times she'd had to do this. Of course, having a hairbrush at her disposal had made it a whole lot easier. "Besides, I had my lady in waiting to help me style and braid it everyday, back in the palace."

Flynn snorted at that, a sardonic grin spreading over his lips. "Great, I've become a poor substitute for a lady in waiting. What has my life come to?"

"I wouldn't say you're a poor substitute." She chuckled, thinking about her lady in waiting's silent mumbles and subdued behavior. Harriet was a nice girl, but Rapunzel always wished she was more... talkative. "It's far more entertaining to do this with you than it was with Harriet. It's nice to be able to spend time with friends for a change."

The last statement had Flynn's amused grin wiped right off his face, a contemplative frown taking its place instead. "What, do you mean you had no friends back in the palace?"

"No! Well, yes, I mean..." She didn't quite like the hint of something akin to pity she detected in his gaze. "There was Pascal, of course." The little chameleon preened at the recognition, puffing his chest out proudly.

"I don't think that counts."

Pascal growled indignantly in response.

"Well..." Rapunzel fumbled with a lock of hair, searching for the right words to adequately express herself. It wasn't as if she'd grown up alone and isolated back in the palace. She had her parents, and Pascal, and her tutors, and the servants who were always amiable and kind. Other than that, however... "It was sometimes hard to discern if people were being nice to me because they actually liked me or because they wanted to gain some political connection."

She heaved out a sigh as she thought about it, a small rueful smile on her lips. "I don't know, I guess it was hard, finding someone I could genuinely call a friend... growing up I didn't have someone I could actually trust."

And it was always the same story. She had to be vigilant, she had to be careful and hesitant with whoever approached her. She wasn't only a crown princess, she was a young girl burdened with the magic of the drop of sunlight coursing through her veins. Her parents were cautious with whoever they let near their daughter, and for that very same reason she had grown up with very limited company.

"Must've been a lonely childhood." Flynn deduced. He regarded her with a look she couldn't quite decipher, and she was beginning to think that he did understand after all, what had driven her to take the decision to leave. "What a sad little sob story."

And just like that all progress made extinguished like a candle snuffed out by the wind. His words had been biting, his tone sarcastic, as was usually his way when he made a cynical quip at her expense. To his credit, he did seem to regret his words as soon as they left his mouth. He grimaced, as if he had said something he hadn't quite meant to, but the damage was done. Rapunzel felt the spark of indignation rising up her chest as a frown settled on her brow.

"No, wait, that came out wrong, I didn't-"

"It's not a sob story," she interrupted, not caring for his excuses this time. "I never intended to tell you this so you would pity me!"

"And believe me, I don't." Flynn insisted earnestly. "Look, I didn't mean it that way, it's just, I..." For once he seemed to struggle to find the right words to explain himself, but Rapunzel didn't need them. It was clear that his opinion of her hadn't changed at all since the day they met. He still considered her an immature, spoiled princess, too wrapped up in her own world to care about anything or anyone else.

"You just don't take me seriously." She hated how disappointed and hurt her voice sounded as she uttered those words. And to think she had actually thought they had made some progress, that perhaps they could be something resembling friends after all! But she still had some dignity - however little - left in her, and with pursed lips and blazing glare, she lifted herself up from the floor, ready to storm out of the small cabin and seek refuge in the sunlit main deck, far away from his presence.

Flynn leapt to his feet in an instant. "I do! I do take you seriously! I-I'm sorry." He blocked her path to the door, and his earnest eyes made her pause for a moment. That had been probably the first time he had apologized to her for something he'd said and the surprising sincerity she detected in his voice compelled her to listen. "I'm sorry. It's just... it's not easy, I guess, to change the opinion I've had for years of people like you; nobles and royals and incredibly rich people who believe they have a hard time when there are people out there who literally have nothing at all and have it way worse than they could ever imagine."

She was about to retort, righteous anger swelling inside her at his callous words deeming her exactly what she had thought was his opinion of her, when his next words silenced her in surprise.

"Sometimes I forget that you are not like them at all."

Rapunzel regarded him silently for a moment, utterly perplexed by the confusing man before her. She could not for the life of her figure him out. One moment he was all cold and bitter sarcasm, and the next he was surprising her with his gallant gestures and easy jokes. She was dumbfounded by his sincerity, and found it hard to find her voice after his last statement. "How would you know I'm not?"

She regretted her dumb words, when there were a thousand other things she could've said about the very numerous things she found infuriating in him. But Flynn smiled, a tiny but sincere and amused smile that had her silenced once again. "Well something tells me that there are not many princesses who would've jumped at the opportunity of being kidnapped to blackmail their captor into taking them for an adventure abroad their kingdom, for starters."

That earned him a chuckle from her, and Rapunzel felt her anger slowly ebbing away. She couldn't exactly find it in her heart to turn down those earnest eyes and sincere, apologetic smile.

"I am sorry, Blondie. Really. We made a truce and I should abide by it. I promise to try to be a better... friend." Flynn seemed to have struggled with the word, but she was pleasantly surprised to hear him finally accept it. She knew he had been reluctant to label their strange relationship as a friendship, for whatever reason. And in another time, perhaps a few days ago, she would've doubted the sincerity behind his words. Not anymore, though.

"It's okay." Rapunzel accepted his apology with a small but genuine smile of her own. She wouldn't be hypocritical and deny that she still sometimes harbored a small, albeit present prejudice against him. One that she would too, strive to wipe out. "Sometimes I forget that you being a thief doesn't exactly make you a horrible person."

She was half expecting an indignant reply, but all she got in response was a small chuckle.

"So, are we good?"

Her smile widened as she nodded in reply. "We're good."

---

Flynn was surprised, no scratch that, he was stunned, completely flabbergasted by the very long list of his very numerous regrets. And boy did he have many. He had so many that he didn't quite know what to do with himself anymore. He regretted that he didn't have the life he had so longed to have when he was a child, he regretted that one small deed from his part had led him into a lifetime of crime and thievery, he regretted that he wasn't the man he should've been proud of, he regretted that he was now well in over his head with his long list of crimes, that he had become the most wanted criminal in Corona. But most of all, he was beginning to find that his biggest regret yet, was to have ever accepted the job of stealing the Princess' tiara.

He let out a deep sigh as he ran a hand through his face, the cool night breeze tousling his hair. The seemingly infinite horizon stretched out before him, and in the darkness of the night it was difficult to discern the line between the endless sea and the sky. He rested his forearms over the wooden bulwark of the vessel, his eyes searching the starlit sky as if looking for an answer to his problems. He wouldn't find it in the constellations above, he knew. This particular problem of his had its roots in his apparent inability to say no.

Because that's what he should've done months ago, when the Stabbington brothers had initially approached him with the ridiculous plan of stealing the Princess' crown. He should've said no, and then he wouldn't be dealing with his current predicament.

In the vastness of the sea, already miles away from Corona he should've felt free. He should've felt elated at having had escaped the kingdom unscathed after his little stunt. Instead he felt as trapped as if he had been imprisoned.

The sound of Rapunzel's carefree laughter carried in the cool night wind until it reached his ears, and his treacherous eyes immediately turned toward her. Lately he found himself unable to resist looking at her, a habit that had him quite irked with himself. And there she was, eyes sparkling under the light of the lit lanterns around the ship, hair shining messily like a golden halo over her head, smile as large as the sea, lighting her whole face up. And all at once he was reminded of the bane of his existence.

She was all mirthful laughter and joyous smiles, her body twisting around gracefully as she danced. She looked as free as the wind itself, as bright as the stars shining in the night sky. And perhaps that's what irritated him the most. Her joy was contagious, she seemed to be surrounded by a bright aura that enveloped everyone near her. And he was slowly discovering that he found her absolutely enchanting. That was definitely becoming a serious problem.

Around her the rest of the crew cheered and clapped to the rhythm of their song, all of them singing an ancient shanty, as was their custom to do every night. The harmonious sound of a clarinet soon joined the sailors' boisterous voices as one of the members of the crew played it skillfully. All of this was a quite typical night at sea, the crew relaxing under the starlit sky after a hard day of arduous work, all joining to sing and dance and joke around for a few hours on the main deck. And Rapunzel had become a favorite of theirs.

Flynn wasn't the least bit surprised by this turn of events, they were bound to like her, of course. And how could they not? Rapunzel was like an overexcited puppy eager to befriend new people. She had instantly taken an interest in each and every single member of the crew, eager to learn their names, what they did, what sort of work they had under their charges in the ship. Not only that, but she would follow them around during the day, asking incessant questions about their specific tasks and ready to lend a helping hand whenever it was needed.

Needless to say the seasoned sailors had found her behavior quite odd at first. It was certainly unusual to have a woman joining a merchant ship, and much more to have her offering her help to them. But Rapunzel was anything if not charming, and after a few days they became used to her avid curiosity. Now it was not at all rare to catch her climbing the highest shrouds with the help of her hair towards difficult to reach locations on the ship, glad to help untangle ropes and sails when necessary - a situation that had almost given him a heart attack the first time he'd witnessed it.

He was snapped out of his reverie at the sound of Rapunzel's melodic voice, carrying in the wind like the enchanting call of a siren. She had the gall to sing along with the crew, as if her dancing and laughter wasn't distracting enough. And he had no one but himself to blame for that distraction, really. Why was it distracting him anyway? Why was he letting her distract him in the first place? He shouldn't be paying any unnecessary attention to her to begin with!

"Oh won't you come with me, where the ocean meets the sky, and as the clouds roll by, we'll sing the song of the sea." She sang enthusiastically, her feet swaying to the rhythm of the music, skirts billowing as her body twisted while she danced. The last notes of music died away with her enchanting voice, and all around her the sailors exploded in thunderous applauses and cheers. She giggled with them, all too happy to dance the night away.

"Haha! Sinclair you are one lucky man!" He almost jumped out of his skin at the feel of the heavy hand that slapped his shoulder in a friendly gesture. The large bearded smile of the boatswain, a Mr. McKenzie, greeted him.

Flynn let out a nervous chuckle, still a bit startled at the sudden interruption of his musings and not quite sure what the other man was referring to. "I'm sure you are right, but why exactly?"

"To have a wife like her, of course!" Mr. McKenzie nodded towards a smiling Rapunzel, hand still resting over his shoulder in friendly companionship. "Your wife is a very singular woman, believe me, women like her are not easy to come by. You're lucky to have her by your side."

Oh, if the older man only knew. And the truth of the matter was that he was completely right. Flynn should be so lucky, to find another woman half as unique as Rapunzel. She was, by far, the most peculiar person he had ever encountered in his life. And that was perhaps what made her so infuriatingly interesting in his eyes. When he'd met her he'd thought her nothing more than a spoiled brat, another snobby princess too full of herself. When she'd blackmailed him he had been surprised by her tenacity, but he had considered her little more than a nuisance to him, a stubborn woman too focused on fulfilling her own whims. Now, however, he was no longer quite sure what to make of her.

The boatswain's voice took on a nostalgic note as he continued, his eyes glazing over as if he was reflecting on times long since passed. "So make sure you cherish her, and tell her so every day. Let her know how much you appreciate her, how much you love her."

For some reason the man's words struck a chord with Flynn. Perhaps it was the slight sorrow he detected in Mr. McKenzie's voice, or perhaps it was the fact that he most certainly would never take the boatswain's advice. Rapunzel was not his wife, she was not his lover, or his girlfriend, she was hardly his friend, if the weird relationship that existed between them could even be labeled as such. He would never do any of what the older man advised him to do. And he wasn't sure if that fact bothered him or not.

But of course, Mr. McKenzie could never know that, and so Flynn let the older man continue.

"There comes a time, my boy, when that is no longer possible." This time, the grief behind the boatswain's words was unmistakable, and Flynn knew exactly why. He recalled how Rapunzel had retold to him the tragic story, of the man who had lost his wife and unborn child to a deadly disease. A surge of sympathy swelled in him, and he payed close attention to the man's next words. "So make sure you make the most of the time you have with her."

Flynn felt a stir of something akin to longing deep within his chest, that last sentence left ringing in his ears. He watched with unfocused eyes as Mr. McKenzie left his side to join the rest of the crew with one last gentle pat against his shoulder, his brain not quite focusing as it should.

He was snapped back into focus at the uproarious shout from within the crew members.

"Hey, Sinclair! It's your turn to sing with us!" One of the deckhands called with an enthusiastic wave of his hand, and a chorus of agreement followed the invitation.

Arms crossed over his chest, Flynn shook his head in refusal. "No, no, no. Sorry boys, I don't sing."

However Rapunzel was having none of it. A sudden mischievous glint sparkled in her gaze as he met her eyes, and he instantly knew she was up to something. Probably something that would end up humiliating him in front of the entire crew. "Aw c'mon honeybun, won't you come sing with us?"

Yup, there it was. He couldn't fight off the amused grin tugging at the corner of his lips at her ridiculously corny tone of voice. Over the course of their stance onboard, they had decided that the best way to avoid calling the other one by their real name was to resort to calling each other solely by nicknames whenever they were in front of the crew. At some point it had become a game of theirs, to see who would come up with the most ridiculous pet names. He had to admit that honeybun was winning this round.

He could see in Rapunzel's triumphant smirk that she was well aware of it. But Flynn wouldn't admit defeat that easily.

"No thanks, sweetie pie, I'd much rather stay here and watchyou sing and dance to your heart's content." He finished his sentence with a winning smile and a wink that made color bloom in Rapunzel's cheeks. He would probably die before he admitted to himself that he found the sight quite pretty.

"Fine, if you're not one to sing then it's your turn to share a story with us!" Another sailor called out, followed by the encouraging shouts of the rest of the crew.

"But only the most epic story of all." Continued one of the riggers. "So, tell us, how did you two meet?"

Flynn and Rapunzel shared a glance, and he was suddenly infinitely glad that they had come up with a story before this moment. He came to stand directly next to her, letting out a sigh of defeat. "Very well; this is the story of how my life ended..."

He coughed out as Rapunzel shoved an elbow into his ribs. "Just kidding!"

Flynn pretended to consider his words for a second, a part of him wondering if perhaps his life had indeed ended the moment he had met Rapunzel, because it certainly was nothing like the life he had dreamed he would have once he'd finally stolen the crown. "Well, I'd say it was fate..."

"Or destiny." Rapunzel added.

"Let me tell you, either way, it was a complete accident." And he was not lying there, meeting the princess of Corona had not been even in his wildest plans. "I was out there, gallivanting through the forest, minding my own business, when a storm broke out."

He enjoyed the way the rest of the crew listened with rapt attention, and he was suddenly assaulted by a memory, of another life, years ago, before he had ever become what he was now, when he had done something very similar with a very different audience to enjoy his storytelling. "I needed to find shelter, and so on my way back to the village I stumbled into an isolated tower in the middle of nowhere."

"And he decided it would be a good idea to break in." Rapunzel interrupted once again, adding a detail that was not necessarily untrue. He had broken into her home, after all.

"Because I needed to find refuge until the storm passed." He made sure to emphasize. "Either way, I got in and there she was, ready to defend herself and what was hers at whatever cost."

Another slight alteration to their original meeting.

"Naturally once she saw me, it was like love at first sight." A mischievous smirk settled on Flynn's lips as he considered his next words. "She thought me the most charming and handsome man she had ever had the fortune to meet."

"And it was mutual, because he considered me the prettiest woman he had ever seen." Rapunzel added immediately, with a peeved frown and pursed lips that made her look more adorable rather than the least bit threatening.

"I sure did, pumpkin." He agreed, his smirk broadening into an amused smile as he playfully pinched her puffed up cheek in a fake tender gesture, one that was sure to irk her even more.

"And that was that." Rapunzel concluded, swatting his hand away as delicately as she could. Around them, the crew cheered and laughed at their playful banter, all apparently enjoying their tale.

"Oh but that story merits a kiss!"

Flynn's amused smile was instantly wiped off his face. "A what now?"

"C'mon, don't be shy now."

"Show her your affection!"

Flynn could feel Rapunzel tensing up beside him. He was sure that his nervous laughter was fooling no one, but he still tried to talk his way out of the very embarrassing situation. "I'd much prefer to show her later."

"Oh, I see what you mean there!" Called out another sailor, a knowing smirk set in place. Flynn wasn't one to blush, but he sure as hell almost choked at the implications of that poorly thought out sentence.

"Come now, you're acting like you just met! You're already married, a kiss is not that big a deal."

"Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!" He was overwhelmed by the crew's incessant cheering, and he silently wondered how the hell he had ended up in this situation. He knew they wouldn't cease their insistent encouragement, and adamantly refusing to kiss Rapunzel, when they were supposedly happily married, would arise some questions, if not suspicions, to the nature of their relationship.

He realized he really didn't have much of an option.

"Alright, fine!" Flynn finally relented, almost willing to do anything if only to silence the sailors' boisterous cheers. If a kiss is what they wanted, a kiss they would get.

He turned to face Rapunzel, who was frozen in place, eyes wide and face as red as a tomato. He almost didn't want to look too closely at her, and he pushed through his reluctance to approach her, swiftly placing a soft chaste kiss to her flaming cheek. It was barely a brush of his lips against her warm skin, having ended as soon as it started. It couldn't have lasted more than a second, and still it left his lips tingling with a warm sensation.

"There!" He declared with finality. That would be as much as they would get. If it were possible, Rapunzel's blush turned an even darker shade of crimson.

"That's not a real kiss, mister!" The boatswain argued, and the entire crew joined him soon after. There had been very few times in his life in which Flynn had so fervently wished the ground beneath his feet would open up and swallow him whole, but this could very well classify as one of them.

They were spared further embarrassment, however, when the booming sound of the Captain's voice interrupted their ruckus.

"Alright gentlemen, party's over!" Everyone stood at attention at the Captain's orders, silence reigning over the deck as they turned to face their Captain's grim face. "There's a problem that we need to discuss."

---

There was a storm coming. And it was fast approaching their way. After having spent the entire evening sequestered in the captain's quarters, the first mate, sailing master and the Captain himself had emerged with grim faces to deliver the news to the rest of the crew.

Due to the turn in the weather, the howling wind and the rising tide, the sailing master predicted that the storm was bound to be a big one, and given the nature of the impetuous seas they would be heading toward, the weather would be too dangerous to navigate in.

Therefore, in order to avoid the worst of the storm the sailing master announced a change in course, one that would delay their journey for a few days.

Rapunzel watched with a sinking feeling as the crew prepared themselves for the storm they would be hitting shortly. She was well aware that the delay in their journey only meant more days she would spend away from home, and though this whole trip had been her idea, she hated the thought of worrying her parents - and the entire kingdom for that matter - for even more time than she had initially predicted.

By the time dawn broke in the horizon the weather had already taken a turn for the worse. Stormy, gray clouds blocked most of the sunlight, and the unforgiving sea made the large vessel shake dangerously with each wave it hit. Soon the clouds gave way to thunder and lightning, and before long the storm hit them full on.

Rapunzel had never witnessed something as astonishing and at the same time terrifying as this particular wonder of nature. Watching a storm up close was much different than watching it within the safety and confort of the castle. It was as if the sky itself was crumbling and falling upon them in the form of countless raindrops. The tempest made the tide turn violent, enormous waves hitting the ship mercilessly, making it shake within its core and threatening to turn the vessel over with their powerful force.

But Rapunzel could only witness the very beginning of the storm. As soon as the water drops turned icy and the waves crashed upon the vessel with such force that the deck began to flood with water, Flynn led her belowdecks, quickly guiding her towards their designated cabin, much against her protests.

"I don't understand why you would take me here. I can be of help on deck!" She exclaimed as soon as Flynn closed the door behind him.

"How exactly would you be of help? They already have enough on their hands as it is, they don't need a nosy princess getting in their way!" He argued back, clearly frustrated by her insistence. She narrowed her eyes at him, indignation already flaring in her chest.

Nosy princess? How dare he! "Need I remind you that I helped quite a lot with the rigging and sails for the last few days?" She crossed her arms over her chest, determined frown firmly set on her brow as she tried to stare him down.

"Yeah, on a perfectly calm weather an when the ship wasn't threatening to sink with every crashing wave!" Flynn exclaimed, arms flailing as if to emphasize his point. "Look Blondie, you are not a sailor, you're not even an experienced traveler, alright? You're a princess very far away from home, and a stormy flooding deck with sailors working desperately to maintain this ship afloat is no place for a princess."

"I can take care of myself!" He may have a point, but Rapunzel was very much capable of making her own decisions, thank you very much.

"I know you can, I'm not questioning that." Flynn sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in what appeared to be a very frustrated gesture. "I just think it would be best for you to stay here, at least until the worst of the storm has passed."

She was reluctant to agree, but as another wave hit the ship with enough force to make her loose her balance and stumble slightly, she was forced to agree.

That is until she saw Flynn heading back towards the door.

"And where are you going?"

Flynn paused just before he reached the door, but didn't bother to turn around to acknowledge her. "I'm going back on deck."

Well how very hypocritical of him.

"Oh, so you can help but I can't?"

He had the decency to turn at that, but the expression in his eyes was something she had not been expecting. She would've expected annoyance, stubbornness, maybe even a furious glare, but what she got instead was a surprising earnest look of - was it worry?

That definitely made her pause. Flynn approached her once more, this time with a hint of something akin to understanding in his softened expression. "Look, I know you want to help, I get it." He rested a hand over her shoulder in a calming gesture, but it only served to cause her body to explode in jitters at the feel of his warm skin pressing into hers, even through the fabric of her dress. "But it's too dangerous up there. Just stay here until the worst of the storm passes. Please."

Rapunzel looked deep into his brown eyes, they seemed to almost beg her to stay put. She found it difficult to deny him that. Not when he was staring at her with such an unfamiliar softness. So she reluctantly agreed, much to her annoyance.

She flopped on the cot with a resigned sigh as she watched him disappear behind the threshold. Pascal soon approached her with a hesitant chirp, his little brown eyes watching her with silent sympathy. She gave him a gentle smile, scratching the top of his tiny head. She felt utterly helpless and useless sitting here while everyone else was up there, helping and even risking their very lives to keep the ship sailing properly. But what could she possibly do?

When the crashing waves made the ship shake ferociously once more and the muffled sound of the startled cries from the sailors on deck reached her ears, she sat bolt upright, eyes wide and heart hammering against her ribcage. She couldn't wait safely hidden in her cabin while she knew she could be of help somehow.

Making up her mind, she stood back on her feet as steadily as she could given the violently moving vessel, and resolutely made her way toward the door. Pascal, however, was none too pleased with her reckless decision. The little reptile attempted to stop her from going any further with an alarmed growl of protest, but Rapunzel was determined to help however she could, and her mind wouldn't be dissuaded.

"Don't worry, Pascal. I'll be alright, I promise." She smiled reassuringly, earning only a frown in reply. "I'll just have to make sure to stay out of Flynn's way." She muttered more to herself, and with a wave of her hand she left Pascal behind, safely hidden away in the comfort of the cabin.

Rapunzel made her way through the narrow corridors on unsteady footing, easily finding the stairs leading up to the main deck. She hadn't yet fully emerged through the trapdoor blocking the interior of the ship from the outside when the powerful wind and freezing rain hit her face with unexpected force.

The sight that awaited on deck was enough to blow the air out of her lungs. The entire crew fought against the tempest to keep themselves upright. The relentless waves crashed against the vessel with enough force to splash an enormous quantity of water onto the deck, sometimes knocking the sailors off their feet. Left and right, the crew shouted orders, fought against the wind to pull at ropes or climb the shrouds to place the sails accordingly.

She spotted Flynn nearby, helping two other sailors to pull at a rope near the mainmast. That's when she noticed something amiss.

It all happened too fast. And at the same time for her it felt like she was moving in slow motion. Lightning illuminated the stormy sky, and she watched as a powerful gust of wind loosened a pulley right over Flynn and the other two sailors tugging at the rope directly attached to it. They never noticed it though, and with the force of their insistent tugging, the pulley was bound to come loose at any given moment.

She ran towards them, the ice cold rain hitting her face making it difficult for her to move as quickly as she wanted. "Flynn!"

She tried to call out to him, but it was useless. The storm and havoc reigning over the deck was too loud for her voice to be heard. She was close though, just a few more steps to reach them...

Rapunzel's breath caught in her throat, and she watched with panicked eyes as the pulley finally gave out, coming down with dangerous force toward them.

"Flynn, watch out!"

Fear seemed to seize her entire body and she didn't even think about her following actions. She launched herself towards Flynn with enough force to knock him over, well out of the pulley's way as it came crashing to the ground, leaving an ugly dent in the place it landed.

She had grossly miscalculated her force, though, and they came tumbling to the ground, landing just at the edge of the deck, right next to the ship's bulwark.

She had barely enough time to stand back up, hands unsteadily leaning over the bulwark for support, when an enormous wave crashed against the vessel, knocking the air out of her lungs and sending her flying overboard and straight towards the unforgiving sea bellow.

---

Flynn felt as if time had passed in a blur, a sudden flurry of activity that left him confused and disoriented. One moment he had been helping with the rigging, pulling and tugging at a tangled rope when an unexpected body tackled him to the ground, sending him flying almost to the edge of the deck. He thought he'd heard her voice crying out his name, but he hadn't had enough time to even react to it.

He pushed himself upright with a groan, when a second violent movement jerked him back down. He had enough time, however, to glimpse a mass of telltale golden locks before they disappeared over the edge of the ship.

The sudden, unpleasant realization came first, and the bloodcurdling scream reached his ears second. A scream all too familiar to his ears.

With a sense of dejavú, Flynn recalled the last time he had heard that very same scream; the fateful night he'd kidnapped Rapunzel, when she had come flying off the horse and over the edge of that cliff. His panic this time, though, had multiplied tenfold.

"Blondie!"

He was on his feet in an instant, his heart in his mouth and fear rising in his chest as he hurriedly approached the edge of the deck, leaning over the bulwark in hopes of catching a glimpse of her.

"Man overboard!" He heard one of the sailors call out, and he wanted to shout his protest. Man? That was no man, that was a woman. And not just any woman, that was Rapunzel. That was the Crown Princess of Corona, and she had just gone flying overboard. And he could not catch a single glimpse of her in the swirling sea bellow.

The rest of the crew joined him at the edge of the deck in an instant, all of them preparing for the according protocol of rescuing a sailor that had unfortunately fallen of the ship. But Flynn didn't have enough patience to wait for them.

He removed his boots in one swift motion, getting rid of any unnecessary items that might weigh him down. He heard the distinct voice of the Captain ordering the sailors about as he got ready to jump over the edge of the bulwark, but a heavy hand caught his wrist before he could finish his action.

"Mr. Sinclair, this is dangerous for you." The boatswain warned. "Let the other, more experienced sailors go to your wife's rescue."

But a glimpse of golden amidst the darkness of the ocean caught his eye. Rapunzel was struggling to stay afloat, but he knew she wouldn't last long in the high seas current. He needed to get to her, she needed his help. And he wasn't about to get stopped.

Flynn jerked his wrist loose of the boatswain's hold, and without much of a thought he jumped overboard.

Breaking into the ocean's surface almost knocked the air out of his lungs, and the freezing water hit his body painfully, the cold seeping into his very bones, making it difficult to move. He pushed his legs and arms with all the strength he had, fighting against the unforgiving tide to stay afloat, but every crashing wave sent him back down below the surface.

However, Flynn's only concern was finding Rapunzel. He needed to find her, and he needed to do it quickly. The tide was too violent and the sea too dark to see anything under the surface, but Flynn pushed his legs nonetheless. If only he could catch a glimpse of her impossibly long locks that would be enough of a lead to find her.

"Blondie!" Panic began to seize him as waves upon waves threatened to drown him, and still there was no sight of Rapunzel. The ice-cold water was slowly making his muscles cramp, and he knew he wouldn't be able to bear the stormy tide much longer.

He was beginning to lose all hope, when he felt a hand fiercely gripping the side of his vest. He caught it instinctively, and tugged at the arm to push Rapunzel up toward him, allowing her face to break through surface of the freezing seawater.

She coughed violently, her petite body shaking and spasming with the effort of pushing breath through her throat. Flynn wrapped a protective arm firmly around her waist, bringing her flush against him in an effort to keep her afloat.

"It's okay, Blondie. I've got you. Everything's gonna be fine." He spoke reassuringly as he pushed his legs with every bit of strength he had in him, making his way back toward the ship in an agonizing last effort. The weight of Rapunzel's body almost wrapped around him and the turning tide trying to push him below the surface were slowing him down significantly. He watched as the crew pushed the Jacob's ladder off the side of the ship, readying it for them to climb their way back toward the deck.

With one last effort he pushed toward the large vessel, grasping at the rope in the ladder and clinging onto it for dear life. At some point Rapunzel had wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, her small hands grasping at the fabric of his vest as she struggled to keep her head above the rising tide. One look at her was enough to make him realize that she wasn't going to be able to push herself all the way up the ladder, and he didn't have enough energy left in him to climb it while carrying most of her weight in his other arm.

His lungs burned with exhaustion and the cold made it feel as if a thousand needles were piercing his skin, but he made one last effort to try to push Rapunzel towards the ladder.

"Alright, Blondie, can you hold onto the rope? Just try to push yourself up, hold on tightly and don't let go." He instructed, while pushing his body a pair of steps up the ladder to allow some space for Rapunzel. She nodded shakily, an arm still tightly wound around his neck as she extended her other hand to grasp the rope of the ladder. Once they were both securely holding onto it, the crew up on deck did the rest of the job for them, much to Flynn's relief, pushing the ladder supporting them all the way back up the ship.

They collapsed on the main deck, a tangled mess of intertwined limbs falling onto one another, both coughing up seawater and struggling to catch their breath. Flynn's body sagged with exhaustion as he tried to sit up, his left arm still securely wrapped around Rapunzel's waist.

Rapunzel's body was almost convulsing as she shivered, her skin as pale as snow and her lips turning almost an alarming shade of blue. She huddled closer to him, and he realized it was in a last vain effort to draw as much warmth as she could from him. But he was as freezing cold as she was, and there was no comfort he could offer her in that regard.

With a shaky hand, Flynn gently brushed the hair out of her face, cupping her cheek and lifting up her chin in an attempt to make her look at him. "You alright, Blondie?"

She didn't seem to be able to articulate the words to answer him back, shivering as she was and still taking large gulps of air. But her cold hand wrapped around his wrist, gently squeezing in a reassuring way that was answer enough to him. She would be alright.

A pair of large quilts was promptly wrapped around their shoulders and Flynn looked up, slightly startled, at the booming sound of the Captain's voice ordering a few of the sailors to fetch as many blankets as there were available in the ship.

The first mate approached them with a hint of worry in his eyes. "It would be best if you retreat to your cabin immediately. It's important that you warm up as soon as possible."

Flynn nodded. He knew that perfectly well. The exhaustion and the cold were already making his body feel like it was made of lead. He tried to stand back up on his feet with unsteady legs, attempting to help Rapunzel up with him. But it was no use, the princess could barely keep herself from collapsing on the ground and he realized with a sinking feeling that he would have to carry her down to their cabin again.

The first mate must have realized the same thing, and he rested a reassuring hand against Flynn's shoulder. "Don't strain yourself. One of the deckhands can help her to your cabin."

The appointed deckhand promptly approached them, but as soon as he attempted to reach towards Rapunzel she started and leaned away from his touch, her body pressing even closer towards Flynn as if she was afraid they would remove her from his side. But Flynn thought he had a good idea of what was happening.

However headstrong and impetuous she may be, Rapunzel was a princess. A wayward princess, but a princess nonetheless. And she had been raised her whole life with the poise and propriety of a royal lady. And a lady could never in good sense allow another man to approach her with such liberty, much less a man way below her rank. He recalled how hesitant and apprehensive she had been whenever he had come near her at the beginning of their acquaintance, how she would tense up if he even so much as grazed her body, how she'd leaned away from his touch if possible. Her cautiousness wore off eventually, and it seemed that she had grown so accustomed to his presence that Flynn was now the only exception to her unbreakable breach-of-propriety rule.

He knew then that she would not allow anyone else to come to such close proximity to her. With a nod of his head, Flynn gently waved the deckhand off, his hands coming to rest on Rapunzel's shaking shoulders. "Do you want me to carry you back to the cabin?"

She initially tried to decline his offer, but as her attempt to stand back on her feet failed a second time she was forced to agree meekly.

Flynn would not deny that carrying her back to their quarters had been no easy struggle, with his body burning with exhaustion and his muscles cramping with shivers, but he managed to occupy the last of his strength in carrying her safely back to the cabin, where he gently placed her on the floor near the cot to avoid dampening the few linen bedsheets they had at their disposal.

At the sight of the shivering princess, pale as a corpse and body sagging against Flynn, the little reptile Rapunzel kept for a pet chirped and growled in distress, quickly approaching the young woman now slumped against the base of the cot.

"Are you sure you're alright, Blondie?" Flynn asked gently, mind still reeling over the events of the day. Rapunzel looked up at him, wide green eyes slightly disoriented. She offered him a shaky nod, the corners of her mouth tugging into the smallest of smiles.

"I'll be fine." She answered quietly.

"Good. That's good." Flynn stroked his chin thoughtfully, pacing the limited length of the room as the shock of it all slowly wore off. "Then would you care to explain why on earth would you do something as foolish as that?"

Rapunzel's eyes instantly lowered to her lap. He hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but damn if this woman didn't rattle his nerves. He ran a hand through his hair in a mixture of exasperation and uneasiness.

"I told you to stay belowdecks. I told you it would be dangerous. You could've died today! I could've-" Flynn cut himself off with a sigh. He could have what, exactly? He could have lost her, was that what he had been about to say? He dismissed the ridiculous thought with a displeased frown. Rapunzel wasn't his to lose, and he would do well to remember that. He told himself he wasn't too fond of the idea of having the princess of Corona's death hanging over his head either, and so that was the sole reason for his anxious discomfort.

"I'm sorry." Rapunzel replied in such a quiet voice he had to strain his ears to listen. "I didn't mean to be so reckless, it's just... when I saw that pulley falling towards you I-"

"Wait, what pulley?" Flynn interrupted, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"You never saw the pulley, did you?" She met his eyes, her own expression slightly apologetic. When she was met by only silence on his part, she sighed tiredly. "I'm guessing that's a no."

"When you were helping the other sailors near the mainmast, there was a loose pulley hanging right over you. I saw it come loose and fall towards you and... well, I..." she trailed off with a shrug, and realization slowly dawned on him.

In the blur of the moment he had not realized, nor cared, who exactly had tackled him to the ground, or the reason why. Now he knew it had been her. She had tried to save him, with no regard to her own safety. Flynn didn't know whether to be thankful or exasperated with her selfless but completely careless action. His mien softened at her admission, regardless.

"I understand." He said softly, offering her a genuine, albeit small, smile, one that she was quick to return. "But don't ever do that again, okay? I'm fairly certain the life and safety of the princess of Corona is worth much more than my sorry existence."

He meant it almost as a joke, but he could see she did not appreciate his quip. "Don't say that." Rapunzel softly argued with a small frown. "Everyone's life is worth the same. Besides," she added, a playful smile back in her face. "I would be rather helpless without my guide."

Flynn chuckled at that, his eyes locking with hers in what felt like a deep, meaningful stare. They shared a silent moment in which something seemed to pass between them, something resembling understanding and respect.

He blinked his eyes back into focus, ending their peaceful moment as he cleared his throat rather awkwardly. "You should put on some dry clothes, otherwise you won't warm up at all. I suggest you remove your dress, at least until it dries."

He avoided her intense stare as he said the last comment, his hand coming to rub the back of his neck in a slightly nervous gesture. "Well, I'll leave you to it."

Flynn turned to leave hastily, when the sound of her voice softly calling out his name stopped him. When he turned to face her again she was biting her lips, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Um... I still need help with the laces..."

Of course she does, idiot. He thought, silently, chastising himself for forgetting it and making this situation all the more awkward by having her remind him.

He had helped her undo the laces of her dress countless times already, not making much of the situation as it was clearly awkward for the both of them. He couldn't quite put his finger on why it felt different this time, though. The situation was exactly the same, but the atmosphere around them seemed charged, there was a certain chemistry flowing between them that definitely hadn't been there before. And Flynn was quite determined to ignore it, as he ignored everything else; her short intakes of breath as his fingers accidentally brushed against her bare neck, the way his own hands tingled at the feeling of her cold skin against his own, or how he was struggling not to look too closely at the light, almost unnoticeable freckles dotting her back.

His chest was almost burning up when he removed his hands as soon as he was done. "I... um... I should go see if they have more blankets we can burrow."

He almost fled the room, feeling confused and slightly alarmed by this newfound situation between them. And Flynn did not like it one bit.

---

Rapunzel couldn't quite make sense of what had transpired between herself and Flynn, but she was left feeling rather breathless and she wasn't exactly sure it was due to the incident of her almost drowning at sea.

She heard Pascal's inquiring chirp and was snapped out of her reverie. "Don't worry, Pascal. I'm fine."

She sighed, wondering if she was indeed as fine as she assured she was, and proceeded to remove her soaked dress and change into her now usual nightclothes. She should have felt better once she had donned her perfectly dry clothes, but she still felt the cold deep in her bones, as if she was freezing from the inside out. As she wrung her hair to rid it of any excess of water, she recalled the unusual warmth that had coursed through her body when she had sung the incantation to activate the power within her hair. She reckoned it would definitely come in handy right now.

With a careful glance toward the door, Rapunzel sat back on the floor and quickly wrapped as much strands of hair as she could around her shivering body, making a cocoon for herself that almost covered her entirely. Once she was safely enclosed in enormous piles of her own golden locks she closed her eyes, and willed her mind to remember the strangely familiar melody that triggered her powers.

The warmth that coursed within her as her magic activated seemed to chase the freezing cold away, as if dazzling rays of sunlight were grazing her skin after countless days spent in darkness. When she finally opened her eyes again, the unnatural glow emanating from her tresses was slowly fading away, her hair returning to its natural golden color, now completely dry.

Just as the last traces of magic faded, the door opened once more, revealing Flynn crossing the threshold with a pile of blankets in his arms.

"Hey Blondie, I managed to get a few more bla-" he cut himself off as soon as he caught sight of her, sitting on the floor with only her face visible from within the enormous pile of blonde locks wrapped protectively around her body. She must have looked pretty ridiculous, for as soon as he noticed her, he couldn't hold back an amused chuckle.

"What are you doing?"

"Um... you know, just... getting warm."

Flynn shrugged, clearly choosing to ignore her very strange quirks, and dropped the blankets on the cot. As he passed her by, Rapunzel noticed he had changed out of his sodden garb, probably borrowing some dry clothes from one of the sailors. His hair, however, was still soaking wet.

Flynn seemed to have noticed the exact opposite in her, as his eyes narrowed suspiciously once he took a closer look at her. "Wait, how did your hair dry so fast?"

Rapunzel shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant as she stood once more, making her way toward the cot. Fortunately for her, Flynn didn't seem overly interested in getting an answer out of her, otherwise she was sure he would've gotten even more suspicious when he caught her without a coherent explanation for why her hair was suddenly as dry as if nothing had ever happened.

Rapunzel flopped against the uncomfortable mattress with an exhausted sigh. She was ready to slip into a dreamless, profound slumber and let her body rest for a few uninterrupted hours. As she removed the bedsheets and climbed into the cot she caught sight of Flynn, carefully selecting a pair of blankets from the small pile he had borrowed and preparing what she could only call a small nest on the floor for him to sleep.

She paused, noticing how despite his now dry clothes, he was still shivering slightly, his skin a shade paler than usual. She felt a surge of sympathy deep within her chest at the thought of him feeling the same freezing cold she had felt mere minutes ago, and even greater guilt when she knew she had the ability to alleviate his discomfort, especially when it had been her own fault that he was in this particular situation.

The thought crossed Rapunzel's mind for a moment; she could chase away the cold. Surely she should be able to trust him by now, after all he had saved her life, he had jumped to the unforgiving sea to rescue her, when he could have easily let another sailor do it.

But something made her hesitate. What would Flynn do if he found out about her magical hair? Her parents had gone to great lengths to keep the secret of her magical abilities hidden from the world. The world was sometimes a dark, selfish place, and not everyone could be trusted with such a precious secret. A gift as powerful as hers had to be protected. And Flynn may have saved her life, but he was an infamous thief. What if he took advantage of her trust?

No, surely he wouldn't... he had demonstrated that he wouldn't harm her...

Still, Rapunzel wasn't sure she was ready to reveal her most precious secret to him.

But her conscience wouldn't allow her to let him sleep on the floor with only a pair of flimsy blankets to keep the cold at bay while he shivered like he was freezing.

So she did the next best thing she could think of.

"You know, there's room in here if you want to..." Rapunzel patted the spot next to her on the cot, scooting as much as she could to make room for him. Flynn raised an unconvinced eyebrow, perhaps not quite sure that she realized what she was actually saying.

"There's barely enough room for the two of us." It looked like the option of sleeping in an actual bed - however uncomfortable - after several nights spent sleeping on the cold floor was quite tempting to him. Especially when his body was shaking with uncontrollable shivers. But he still looked uncertain about her offer, and so she granted him a reassuring smile. Surely it couldn't be quite that bad, right?

"There's enough room to fit us both." She shrugged. When he still looked hesitant, she tried to approach the situation through a more logical side. "It will help to keep us warm."

"Well, I can't argue with that logic." Flynn tilted his head to the side, either in agreement or contemplation, she couldn't exactly tell. "Are you sure, though? Aren't you worried about your pristine reputation?"

Rapunzel snorted, quite the unladylike thing to do, but surprisingly enough she found that she no longer cared as much. "My reputation would be more than ruined by now. You're already staying in the same cabin I am, the entirety of the crew out there think we are married, I'm traveling with a thief that I blackmailed into taking me on this journey." She listed off all the reasons why she should be the most scandalous princess that ever existed. "But nobody needs to find out, right?"

She shared a glance with him, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She hoped she could convey with one look what she was thinking; she trusted him enough to know that he would never try anything untoward. With a careful nod, Flynn finally accepted.

"Fair enough." He picked up the blankets and made his way toward the cot.

Rapunzel's heart skipped a beat as she felt the mattress dipping under his weight.

She admonished herself for letting it affect her so, it wasn't as if she hadn't been in such close proximity to Flynn before. She had clung to his body for dear life just mere hours ago, for crying out loud.

But this time it felt different, more intimate. And she was glad for the darkness of the cabin, so Flynn wouldn't see her flaming blush. Hoping that he wouldn't be able to hear her heart hammering in her chest, she lay back down, turning her back to him.

"Goodnight then, Blondie." Flynn said, his voice soft, almost a whisper.

"Goodnight, Flynn."

---

The next few days passed by in a blur, with not much to account for. When Rapunzel woke up the next morning she had been surprised to find the other side of the bed empty. For once Flynn had woken up before her, and as she glanced around the room, it seemed that he had also left the cabin well before she'd awakened. He returned just as she had finished putting her dress back on, and as usual helped her with the laces and her hair with uncharacteristic silence.

He didn't give much of an explanation for it when she came to find him in the main deck later in the day, helping the crew with the aftermath of the storm. Rapunzel set to work with the rest of them, helping as much as she could while the sailors worked on repairing the sails and rigging that had been affected in the tempest.

And so Flynn and Rapunzel readjusted to a slightly different routine. Not seeing much of a problem now that they had done it before, Rapunzel allowed him to continue sharing the cot at night with her. And she would always wake up the next day to find him already gone, only to return around the same time he had done the first morning. She supposed it was better that way, so she wouldn't have to deal with the awkwardness of waking up next to him every morning.

The days passed in a whirlwind of activity that left Rapunzel quite exhausted by nightfall. Before long the Captain announced that they would be docking at the port of Cygnus shortly, and she was filled with a newfound sense of excitement.

She was pondering over what new adventures would be awaiting her once they arrived to the kingdom of Cygnus when it happened; the lookout stationed at the crow's nest shouted something that she couldn't quite make out, but the entire crew seemed to tense up at the announcement.

"Ship ahoy!"

The Captain only had to take a look through his spyglass before all color seemed to drain of his face. He shouted an array of orders that had the whole crew instantly jumping to action in a flurry of activity that left her apprehensive.

Rapunzel was about to ask one of the sailors what exactly was happening when she felt a strong hand tightly gripping her shoulder. She turned around and came face to face with an anxious-looking Flynn.

"We have to get off this ship, and fast." He was already tugging at her, silently urging her to pass through the busy crowd of sailors moving at their captain's orders as if their life depended on it.

"What? Why, what's happening?" A feeling of dread settled deep within her as she looked into Flynn's suddenly worried gaze.

"Those are black sails, Rapunzel. The crimson flag!" Flynn's voice was laced with something akin to fear, and it only served to make Rapunzel even more anxious than before.

"I-I don't understand, what does that mean?"

Flynn answered with a single word, but it was enough to make her heart stop in her chest, terror seizing her entire body.

"Pirates."

---

So, looks like our favorite couple will be in trouble! Fortunately they seem to have finally crossed the step from reluctant allies to friends. I look forward to seeing what you thought of this chapter. Your opinion is very important to me so don't hesitate to let me know. As always, reviews are very appreciated!

I don't know yet when I will be able to update, but hopefully it won't take me quite too long, especially since there's a scene in the next chapter that I'm very excited to write. Hopefully if my schedule allows it, I won't keep you waiting for too long. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!