A/N: Didn't want to leave this one in suspense too long, plus it's super short…

Edited as of: March 27, 2022 to reflect corrections, additions, and general changes since publishing Ch9.

Suitors of Rapunzel

Ch4 □ Day 306 ⌧

playlist on YouTube as SoR - Ch4 - Day 306

The next morning, Eugene was up before Rapunzel or even the sun, since he was barely able to sleep anyway.

Only then did he realize that when the door fell -was pushed- from the mantel, not only did it render the spinning wheel useless, it had flipped the mirror back over. In the first hazy hint of daybreak, he stared at it, where only half of the glass was even left. And what was there, showed his reflection back in countless splits. All of them with a purple-tinged spot in the center, that he gingerly touched, before flinching away. He glowered at all of himselves.

There's not multiple paths here. It's just an illusion. Rapunzel was a lost cause from the start; got me too dreamy-eyed to see. Tom's really nevermind; if not for the state I was in I probably wouldn't've ever done anything about that one- he's a freakin' guard for cryin' out loud, but still a very good friend. I could always fall all the way back to rock bottom; but I gotta stop thinking that way. I could do all of whatever everyone else wants; a desperate loveless side fuck to royalty, behind the back of my wife and family. - No. There's only one path here. Save for a ring, propose to Brenna, buy a house, start a family...

He flipped the mirror back over.

He crept up to Rapunzel's bedroom, and, without waking her, stole a clean outfit from the wardrobe. He washed the paint stains off and changed.

He had breakfast ready and was dishing it out just as the sun broke through and Rapunzel, cautiously, came downstairs. He did not seem to react at all to her approach. He was, however, careful to keep either his back to her, or his head down, bangs fallen over his face.

Rapunzel gulped, worried she had been too quiet, and so spoke up as she approached the kitchen area. "Um, hey…" She tried apologetically, attempting to smile.

Eugene did not even flinch, but continued stirring a bowl at the counter.

She noticed there were at least two identical bowls in front of him. "Oh, th-thanks for making breakfast!" she tried to chirp, though she failed at sounding anything like herself.

Again, he did not acknowledge her presence at all. He roughly scooped up the other bowl and her teacup, turned abruptly, and plopped them down at the far side of the table where she stood, still keeping his head down and turned. Even more quickly, he whirled back to the counter.

She was too startled by his entire demeanor and trying to take in as much information around her as possible - she was not sure what she saw. "Eugene?" she asked with a quiet, newly-concerned shock.

He continued fixing his coffee, then, with a deep breath, turned with his own bowl and cup.

Rapunzel gasped, hands flying to her own face, mimicking the place where his nose was bruised. "Oh my goodness- I am so sorry- Eugene, I didn't-"

"Shutup," he threw out carelessly. He just as coarsely shoved them down to the table, and finally dropped into the chair. One hand to eat, the other to cover his face.

I did this… This is my fault… She dared studying his face as much as she could, trying to determine how bad the damage was, and attempting to discern anything else from his zombie-like expression. But, even she swore she had never seen his eyes more lifeless, or his face with such a pallor. Sips of relief from his coffee were all that would move him to any reaction.

As unresponsive as he was, she knew she had never seen him so… angry? Was she even sure this was anger? Regardless, she quickly jerked down into her seat to focus on eating. If she focused on doing what he clearly wanted her to do, perhaps he would not be so angry. That was the obvious thing right now that he expected from her, and staring into the bowl would help her, too. If she could just keep her nerves steady with the spoon and if her stomach would calm down enough to realize an appetite, everything should be fine. Just fine. For now.

Just like the last time she dealt with silent treatments around here…

He did the same, anyway.

After a few hours worth of silent torture that lasted scarcely a single minute, Eugene rested his elbows on the table extra calmly, and clasped his hands together, so tightly that his knuckles turned white and forearms shook as they fought each other.

She stared, cringing.

"Princess," he said with as much disdain as he could control, "I would never mean to repeat any trauma you've gone through here in this very same place, so I will tell you this once." His eyes shot daggers to hers. "And you may always outrank me, but we both know damn well that you will do whatever I tell you when we're like this. So I'm telling you. Do not speak to me today. And I am not speaking to you for the rest of today, either. Is that clear?"

Despite his extensive 'thoughtful' warning, she shrunk in on herself. Yesterday, he basically said that I guessed right, that he still loves me - or rather, loved me. Because now I don't see how he could ever… She nodded sullenly.

"I'll give you until I finish eating here for whatever you wanna get out."

"I am so sorry," she blurted, trying to sound her sweetest. "I didn't mean to-"

"You did. You absolutely DID mean to hurt me. Don't lie."

She deflated. So I can say whatever I can, but he's not going to hear any of it.

He finished the last glug from his cup, and stood to refill it.

She jumped, and watched him carefully again. He still had a mouthful left in his bowl.

He leaned on the counter, falling into a slouch, where he gripped the edge just to stay up. His head hung slack, between stooped shoulders.

The shudder she saw ripple through his back looked a silent sob, though she had no hope of seeing his face, and he did not make a sound.

That is, until he whispered, "You used me…"

Rapunzel sat up and looked straight ahead at him, brow furrowed in opposition. This she was calmly confident in, that she had done no such thing. He was also secured enough in his own little world over there, for her to safely peer in on.

He repeated just a bit louder, using his actual voice but still quietly, "You used me." His teeth gritted as he whipped back around to face her, though his eyes avoided her, and the rest seethed out. "I'm just a nobody you used to figure out what those lights were. You used me to get out of this place. And you're using me now to avoid your suitors. You just want to use me for your own-..." He trailed off. He could not very well call it her own 'sick pleasure,' when he did long for the same thing. But I would want it with love! His face broke, looking back towards her, the bannister and window behind her, the stain he knew that rug covered. Fateful things that had held so much of their destiny; things that had nothing to do with the infinite incomprehensible picture of the chaotically random and uncaring universe. He shook his head with a strangled grunt. "You thought I would just let you?! That I would just let you steal me away out here to use me?! -AGAIN?!"

"Eugene-!" she gasped, horrified that she could not argue against what he said. Or at least she did not know how.

"What?!"

"It- it wasn't like that-" she scrambled.

"Wasn't it?! God, I was so stupid! I actually- I did all that- I said all that- 'cause I didn't see that you were just doing the same exact thing to me!"

"No- no, Euge-"

"Maybe you are just like her and maybe I do hate you 'cause I just can't believe- I've never gotten played so hard- talk about bein' a fuckin' fool…"

"I wasn't! Eugene, please!" I'm not like her- I'm not like her- He's always said I'm not- … was I? … He's just hurt and lashing out again… But was I?

"If you weren't then what was it?! Hm?! You didn't just worm your way in, like some siren, to blind me?! And use me for a tour guide, AND bodyguard AND confidant AND bedmate?! UNPAID even?! Guess I got the pardon, but you did NOT need to crush MY heart just to escape her."

"Eugene, we- I- we were friends!"

He scoffed. "Friends don't kiss like that. And don't even try- you know you don't kiss anyone else like you've kissed me. Hook and everyone get a peck on the cheek. You didn't even touch Barkole when you two kissed! Just thought I was your personal common manwhore or something, I don't know, but I don't care anymore. My life's moved on, I got other things goin' on I'm worried about now. That are none of your business."

Finally she stood straight up, shoving her chair back. "EU-GENE!" She sternly yelled as loudly and authoritarian as possible. "STOP IT. You know full well that none of that is true."

"Do I?! Stop trying to tell me my eyes and ears are lying!"

"And stop yelling at me!"

"YELLING?!" he scoffed louder. "You're mad I'm yelling-" he pointed to his nose, "What do you think my sentence would be if I'd done something like THIS to YOU?!"

She crossed her arms. "I told you I didn't mean to, and you don't need to yell."

With a nasty look, he obediently dropped his volume, but it sounded just as threatening. "Then help me understand. YOU tell me what that all was- YOU tell me what we went through last year. What that was all for."

"It was… for what was right…"

He still shot his brow up. "So it coulda been anyone."

She gasped, finally trying to look at his face. "No, I mean-"

He scooped up the last bite from his bowl, and with it still in his mouth, finished: "I'm done here." He walked away.

She huffed a sigh in defeat, slumping back down into her chair. She settled into her own brand of pissed off. "That's all you have to say?" she called after him. "After you died for me, after I saved you, after you wanted to marry me?! This is it now?!"

He stopped, stared back at her blankly for a moment until she noticed. Without a sound, he turned away again to continue up to the bedroom. He had lashed his diary to his belt, but was going to do more money figurings against the lump sum reward he still had credit for.

She hmphed at him, then angrily set to cleaning up.

Both master escape artists, they managed to avoid each other for the rest of the day without ever leaving the hidden valley. Eating at different times, carefully turned backs, unnoticed glances…

She still tried to passive-aggressively or covertly get his attention. She baked cookies, but pointedly ignored him with her sassy smile. He went outside to avoid even the platonically tempting aroma.

He still waffled all day, still privately mourning the way he thought the past had been, the person he had thought she was. He still made sure any work or exercise he did was shirtlessly in view from the windows.

That night, Eugene crossed off another day.

May 23 - Day 306

I was so stupid. Been numb since I realized that.

Is this the closure I wanted? Because when I first came here, I fantasized about a set up like this a lot. And now I can't wait for her to leave.

I miss Brenna… where things were happy and made sense...

Upstairs, Rapunzel waited on the landing above, waiting for an opportunity. Silently, she wept, not only for the usual of what had become of them, but now also for what he thought of her entirely.

Once she was sure he was asleep, she began mouthing the incantation like a prayer, and crept downstairs again. This time, she wiped a single tear from her eye and let it drip on his nose.

He wriggled it around in his sleep and sniffled, but quickly settled again, unawakened just yet.

Light began to swirl around, briefly illuminating the dark moonlit room with a golden splash of daylight so close to his eyes. She gasped and bolted back up the stairs. From the landing, she peeked over the edge. The light dissipated.

Eugene fluttered one eye open, rolled over, and looked around in confusion. Satisfied he was just paranoid or at least mistaken, he flopped back over and right back to sleep.

Rapunzel let go of her breath she was holding and her death grips on the balusters. She slinked back into bed, relieved that tomorrow already looked better.

A/N: Next chapter's gonna be a long one, maybe 2 weeks at least. Luckily this particular story obsession has been holding out well! Thank you so much for all the hype!

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