Another fic I'm crossposting from ao3! Title and username are the same over there. Hope you enjoy!

Giselle stared blankly at Robert who, now confused, stared back, before bursting into a loud fit of laughter.

"Why are you laughing?"

Her sides began to hurt, and she shook her head, feeling a tear slide down her cheek. "B-Because!"

"Because what?" Robert asked with a half-smile, his brow raised.

"That story! I do not believe one word of it!"

"Why not?"

"Because you hate getting dirty!" Giselle wiped her eye, and met his gaze, a grin still plastered on her face. "You start huffing when you get so much as one speck of dirt on your pants. You truly expect me to believe you used to climb trees? You? Robert Florian Philip?"

"Don't call me that." Robert grumbled, his eyes rolling.

"Why not? It is your name, isn't it?" He crossed his arms in response, which only made her smile grow wider, and she leaned closer, kissing his cheek.

Noticing the corner of his lips quirk up, she nudged his shoulder playfully, then pulled her legs up, resting her head against her knees.

"You really think I'd lie about something like that?" Giselle raised a brow, and he pointed to a faded mark on his forearm. "I have a scar from when I fell and broke my arm, see? That's proof."

"You will not even lay in the grass with me." She teased, gesturing to the patch in front of them. "It is a miracle I somehow managed to get you to sit here."

Scoffing, Robert rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, well, sue me for not wanting to get my clothes dirty."

"They can be washed, you know?" Giselle nudged him again, and he smiled slightly, nudging her back. "And you do not even have to scrub them by hand like I did growing up!"

"Yeah, but avoiding dirt as much as possible means I don't have to wash everything right away."

Shaking her head, she stretched her legs back out, and slid her arm around his stomach. Resting her cheek against his shoulder, she chuckled quietly.

"You are a very silly man, Robert." Giselle squeezed him tighter and tried desperately to hold back a grin. "But do you know what you are the silliest about? Your hair. I'm surprised you even let me touch it as much as you do." Lifting her hand, she ran her fingers through it slowly, and Robert met her gaze with a curious smile. "I am convinced you spend at least an hour brushing it every morning."

"I do not!" He huffed, pushing her arm away.

"Yes, you do!"

Sitting up, she placed a hand under her chin, and pretended to look in a mirror while meticulously 'brushing' her hair with an exaggerated frown. A faint blush of embarrassment spread across his face, and he grabbed her arms, trying not to smile.

"Stop it."

"Every morning—"

"I don't do that!"

"You do!" Breaking out of his hold, Giselle ran her hands through his hair again, successfully mussing it up.

"If you keep messing with me, I won't kiss you anymore." He grabbed her wrists again, and she giggled, trying to pull away.

"You tease me all the time! I think I am entitled to a little revenge!"

Wiggling in his grasp, Giselle pushed up onto her knees, and tried to reach for his hair again. Robert held her tighter, leaning away, and she followed, more laughter escaping her lips. With a bit more pulling, she finally managed to get one hand free, and swung her arm forward, only to accidentally smack him directly on the forehead.

Gasping, she clamped a hand over her mouth, and watched as he tumbled back onto the grass.

"Are you alright!?"

"Ow." Robert grumbled, holding his face.

"I am so sorry, Robert!" Crawling over him, Giselle gently took hold of his wrist, and moved his hand. Noticing a now faint pink mark just above his brow, she winced. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Robert's eyes fluttered open, and he gave her a small, playful smile. "You're a lot stronger than you look."

Laughing lightly, she brushed his bangs out of the way, and kissed his forehead softly. "I really am sorry."

"It's okay. You almost broke my arm a few weeks ago, why not go for my face this time?"

Giselle let out a whine, and dropped to her elbows, burying her face against his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He repeated with a chuckle, placing his hand on her lower back. "I'm alright, I promise."

They laid in comfortable silence for a moment, before another smile formed on her lips. Lifting her head, she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Try not to panic," Giselle teased, tugging on the sleeve of his shirt. "But I think your clothes may have some dirt on them now."

"Thanks."

He pushed her cheek gently, and let out a long, overdramatic sigh. Grinning, Giselle gazed lovingly into his eyes, and nearly lost herself in them, before slowly capturing his lips with her own. Robert smiled against her mouth, and wrapped his other arm around her, holding her tighter. Her heart began to beat faster when she felt his hand slide up her back, and she shifted, resting her palm on his chest.

All too soon, he pulled away, eliciting a quiet whine from her throat, and her cheeks grew warmer.

"We, um—" Robert's lips brushed against hers, and she tried to kiss him again, but he tilted his head back with a smile. "It's almost two. We have to pick up Morgan, remember?"

"Oh." Giselle swallowed, finally opening her eyes. "Right."

Forcing herself up, she held a hand out, and Robert took it, following her. Noticing a few blades of grass on his back, she giggled quietly, and plucked them off one by one.

"There. Now you are nice and clean."

"Thanks." Robert chuckled, and leaned over, kissing her cheek softly.

Taking her hand again, he stood, pulling her along with him, and they slowly began making their descent down the tiny grass hill. Spotting a nearby tree, Giselle couldn't help but laugh again.

"You really used to climb trees?"

"Yes." Robert said with an exasperated sigh, another grin forming on his face.

"And you had a treehouse?"

"Yes."

"One you played in all the time?" He nodded, fighting the urge to roll his eyes, and Giselle wrapped her free hand around his bicep. "Of all the things I have learned about you so far, this is definitely the most exciting. I would love to see you climb one now."

"That's not going to happen."

"Please?" Giselle begged, pulling his arm. "What about that tree over there? I'll even climb with you!"

"No." Robert laughed, and she tried a different approach, batting her eyelashes.

"We can kiss at the top."

"A tempting offer, but my answer's still no."

Sighing dramatically, she dropped her head to his shoulder. "You are supposed to be getting better at saying 'yes', yet you insist on saying 'no'."

"Hey, I'll say yes to whatever you want, so long as it doesn't involve me possibly getting hurt."

"Or dirty?"

"Or dirty."

"Well, I will keep that—" Giselle foot suddenly caught on something, sending her stumbling forward, and she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the fall. But it never came. Blinking, she looked down, and noticed Robert's arms wrapped around her waist.

"Are you okay?" He held her tighter, worry in his voice, and she nodded, slowly meeting his gaze.

"You actually caught me that time."

"I guess I'm getting better at the whole Prince Charming thing." Robert joked, giving her a small smile. She let out a weak chuckle, and winced, holding his bicep to better balance herself. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"No, I'm fine. But I think my shoe is broken." Lifting her leg backwards, she grabbed her ankle, and sighed at the sight of her snapped heel. Robert was still holding her, keeping her steady, and she let go of his arm to slip the shoe off. "I really loved these heels, too."

Placing her foot on the ground, she stared at it with a frown, and tried not to whine. "Oh well. I guess it cannot—"

"Put that back on." The stern tone of Robert's voice made her jump, and she looked up with surprise.

"What?"

"Put your shoe back on, please."

"I can't. It is broken, see?" Giselle held the heel up higher, nearly shoving it in his face, and let out another defeated sigh. Lifting her other leg, she moved to slip the opposite shoe off, but was quickly stopped by Robert's hand grabbing her wrist. "Robert—"

"Do you have any idea how disgusting this city is?"

"What?"

"You can't walk around barefoot."

"Oh, don't be silly, Robert." She laughed, waving her hand dismissively, and he shook his head, still staring at her in disbelief. "Walking through dirt and grass without shoes on is nothing new to me. I will—"

"Manhattan isn't just dirt and grass, Giselle."

"But I cannot walk in this." Giselle huffed, pushing the broken heel in his face again. "It is broken!"

"You don't have to walk in it."

Robert grabbed the heel with a sigh, and she opened her mouth to argue, when he suddenly dropped down onto one knee. Before she could ask just what, exactly, he was doing, his hand gently wrapped around her ankle, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Her head began to feel fuzzy as she watched him slide the shoe back onto her foot, and she clenched her fists, trying to steady her, now shaky, breathing.

"Get on my back." Giselle tried to say something, anything, but the words got stuck in her throat when she felt his hand slowly slide up her calf. Confused by her silence, Robert lifted his head, and met her gaze with a raised eyebrow. "Giselle?"

"Y-Yes?"

"I'll carry you." he said with a lopsided smile, finally letting go of her leg. "Climb on my back."

The spot he had been holding felt oddly cold now, and all Giselle wanted to do was grab his hand and put it there again. Gripping the material of her dress, she swallowed, and forced herself to look at his back.

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't." He joked, patting his shoulder. "Hop on."

A small grin formed on her face, and she stepped up behind him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she felt his palms slip under her thighs, and her heart began to flutter again.

"Comfortable?" Robert asked, standing up straight.

"Yes." She mumbled, crossing her ankles. His thumb brushed against the side of her knee as he started walking, and she held him tighter, her cheeks warm. Forcing a smile, she tried her best to ignore the heat pooling in her stomach. "You know, this kind of makes you like my noble steed."

"It's funny you say that," Robert let out a light laugh, and she felt her smile turn genuine when he squeezed her leg playfully. "I've always wanted to be a noble steed."

"Oh?" Giselle's smile grew when he nodded, and she leaned closer, kissing his cheek. "Well, then, I am glad I could make your dreams come true."

As they continued down the path, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

"Are you going to carry me all the way to Morgan's school, and then all the way back home?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. I wouldn't want you hurting your back." Giselle shrugged. "Aren't I heavy?"

"You weigh next to nothing." Robert chuckled, rubbing his thumb against her knee again. "Besides, isn't carrying princesses kind of a noble steed's entire job? I'd get fired if I made you walk."

Her stomach flipped at the mention of being a princess, and she lifted her eyebrow, a confused smile on her face.

"I am not a princess, silly."

"Says who?"

"Me!" Giselle laughed loudly, staring at him in disbelief. "I am not from any kind of royal family, and unless you are hiding some secret, royal background from me, us being together does not make me one either."

"I'm definitely not hiding anything, but none of that matters." Robert turned his head enough to look at her and pressed his lips against her cheek softly. "You'll always be a princess to me."

Thanks so much for reading! You can find me on ao3 (vantrisha) or on tumblr (roberrtphilip)
- Emmett