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Post by Eugene Fitzherbert on Feb 10, 2011 1:08:31 GMT -5
Wait, what? Marriage to dancing? Seriously? Blinking a little at this, Eugene managed to smile a down at her and chuckled. It was things like this that made him love her so much. She was so innocently loving and open with him, even though everything about him should make her not trust him. He was a thief and a liar--okay, had been--and her dad wasn't about to let him forget it anytime soon.
"I'm not good at dancing without music," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I don't even dance that well normally."
Okay, so he'd danced at her birthday, but really...that was an impromptu thing that was brought on by a horse forcing him into it.
"And maybe we'll get married someday," he said with a grin. "Not too far in the future, but not for a while just yet."
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Post by Rapunzel on Feb 10, 2011 10:03:29 GMT -5
Oh, he had gotten off easy; she was innocent about most things but she wasn't stupid and she could tell he wasn't too comfortable talking about marriage. She wasn't too bothered by this; she knew that he loved her, and whenever she doubted its reason he was quick to reaffirm her in his affection. But at the very least he could appreciate her transition. Maybe it was better that he didn't realize.
"You're a wonderful dancer," she chided him, smiling as she took his hands, looking at her feet as she placed herself. "And we can always sing." Her eyes met him, daring him to say he didn't sing - she knew he did. "And you're a wonderful singer." She drew closer to him. This was not the fun reel of her first day in the city, but a more formal waltz.
He was going to have to learn it, for random balls or for when they did get married, and it was better for him to learn with her help than at the hands of impatient tutors. They'd be so impressed to see he already knew how to dance, and they didn't have to know how he had learned; they could just chalk it up to the refinement to the thief at whom had turned their noses up a moment before.
She saw things like that and they pained her; she wasn't oblivious to everything. She didn't like the dance teachers, or her lessons, or not getting to see Eugene as much as she wanted because of dinner meetings and visiting dukes. So he'd just have to try harder to impress them - though she knew he had been trying. For her.
It was difficult not to squeal and jump up and down in excitement at what he said; sure, they'd get married, but this was a confirmation of it, and not too far in the future!! She pretended to look down in concentration at her feet to hide her giant smile. "Well, then you had better be prepared for our first dance - the whole kingdom will be watching." No pressure or anything. She raised her face to let him see her smile, and hummed in time to the steps as she started to lead through them.
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Post by Eugene Fitzherbert on Feb 10, 2011 11:36:38 GMT -5
Maybe he should have saved the announcement that they would get married in the future, but seeing the grin on her face more than made up for the fact that he felt a little silly. Especially because they were dancing in the middle of the library. That was just silly, and he felt like a big idiot. Then again, he was dancing with Rapunzel, so he couldn't exactly complain. Though he had to admit, it was one thing to dance an energetic reel in the town square, but a waltz just left Eugene nervous and afraid he'd step on Rapunzel's feet.
At least if he did that now, it wouldn't be as bad as it would have been if he'd stepped on her feet during her birthday. Now she was wearing shoes regularly, after all, because that was just what princesses did. Poor kid hated those shoes, but at least he had tried to make her feel better about it. Sighing a little as he adjusted his hands so that he hand one pressed against her back and the other gripping hers, he rolled his eyes dramatically.
"I hope you appreciate the sacrifices that I make for you," he muttered darkly. "And whoever said anything about dancing in front of the whole kingdom? Where in the rulebook is that?" Great...so to get married he had to be on display like that. Making a face, Eugene sighed again. "Okay, so how does this dance go...?" he grumbled as he kept his eyes on their feet, trying very hard not to step on her toes.
It wasn't an easy task, as she was moving through the steps much more confidently than he was. In the end he did step on her toes once. "Sorry," he said with a sheepish smile.
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Post by Rapunzel on Feb 10, 2011 19:34:54 GMT -5
"Oh, yes, it must be horrible being my boyfriend," Rapunzel teased, sticking out her tongue. She was not being self-deprecating anymore, just jesting with him. "And being groomed for being a prince... The new outfits, the pin-money for your own spending, the lush rooms and the banquets..." She went on and on, eyes flickering to his face in amusement.
Her eyes lowered, cheeks flushing slightly as his hand settled firmly on the small of her back, half out of sudden shyness and half out of pleasure; she could close her eyes and imagine that this really was their wedding, and that there was real music instead of humming, and her dress was more elaborate, and there were people watching, and there was a ring on her finger.
"In the same part of the rulebook as not complaining when you're dancing with a princess," she responded primly, recovering quickly from her momentary sheepishess. His hand was surprisingly soft in hers, and she wiggled her calloused feet self consciously within her shoes; she was learning too.
She knew his teasing was good-natured and that he really didn't mind - he'd do anything for her. It was cute how hard he was concentrating. When he stepped on her foot, it was so gingerly that it didn't even hurt; she'd gone barefoot for eighteen years and had felt worse during the journey to the castle. "You're doing wonderfully," she promised him, looking up into his dark eyes with adoration.
For a moment, they moved to the imaginary music, and everything was perfect. She halted and tilted her head up for a gentle kiss. "Thank you," she said softly, not needing to explain why. He really was trying for her, trying to be a man who was worthy of a princess' hand in marriage so her father would approve.
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Post by Eugene Fitzherbert on Feb 10, 2011 19:43:56 GMT -5
Eugene had to admit that he was relieved when Rapunzel paused in their dancing to kiss him. Smiling softly into the kiss, Eugene pulled her a little closer to him before ending the kiss. Thank you? What did she have to thank him for? It wasn't as though he'd done anything special lately.
"You're welcome," he murmured gently, hugging her tightly with a smile. "Though really, I should be thanking you. I mean...you're the one who always was saving me, with that frying pan of yours."
Said teasingly, but meant whole-heartedly, of course. Pulling out of the hug a little so he could meet her gaze, Eugene had to admire her eyes. He loved her eyes. Normally he hadn't found green eyes very attractive, but after he met Rapunzel, how could he not find green eyes adorable and sexy? Especially the latter.
"So am I done with the dancing?" he asked with the air of a martyr. "I don't like dancing."
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Post by Rapunzel on Feb 10, 2011 20:48:19 GMT -5
Of course she didn’t need to remind him that she had saved his life with more than just her frying pan. But she didn’t want to, either. And truthfully, she was pretty sure that he had saved her. He had brought her to her parents, and she had found true love; what more could she want? And without those things, was her life worth living anyway?
But this was far too serious fare for the two of them, for the most part; sometimes they were grave in their sentiments, but right now, these things seemed too important to be said.
“For now,” she chirped sweetly. Then she rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, yes you do,” she reminded him. Didn’t he remember their first day in the kingdom together, when she’d gotten the whole marketplace to dance, and at the end of the song she had landed, blushing and breathless, in his arms?
He remembered. He just had to whine, like dancing was soooo hard. She was the one who’d gotten stepped on, the lout! “Well, what would you rather do?” she asked him, dropping her hands from their dancing position to loop through his trousers playfully.
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Post by Eugene Fitzherbert on Feb 10, 2011 20:59:59 GMT -5
Eugene gulped a little and tried to force himself to focus on an answer, instead of just how close Rapunzel was. Not an easy task, but he should get a metal for how well he was controlling himself. Smiling a little sheepishly at the pretty brunette holding him, he idly rested his hands on her back.
"Good question, Blondie," he admitted with a shrug. "There's a lot of things to do in such a big castle, after all..."
And he really did hate dancing. He hadn't wanted to join in the dancing, after all. That had been Maximus' fault to begin with. If he'd had his way, Eugene would have stayed in the sidelines, just admiring Rapunzel. Though he would admit, ending up with Rapunzel in his arms was a nice end to an unwanted dance.
Idly rubbing Rapunzel's back as he remembered that day, Eugene chuckled a little to himself and glanced down at the princess. "Well...We could always look to see if this old library has any copies of The Tales of Flynnigan Rider if you really want to."
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Post by Rapunzel on Feb 10, 2011 21:11:28 GMT -5
Rapunzel arched her back like a cat happily as Eugene rubbed it, but in an instant she had straightened up again and now was bouncing excitedly, giving a little gasp. “Oh, do you really think they do! Oh, oh, read to me, Eugene!” In so many ways, she was still a child, and she began to run through the library aimlessly in search of the book he had mentioned.
This was going to be so much fun! She would get to see Eugene at his finest, in all of his story-telling glory! She raced down the halls in no certain direction, until she finally did things in a more orderly fashion. (She had been easily distracted – Eugene should be glad for his quick thinking to calm things down.) Locating the desired book, she cried out happily – “I can’t believe they had it! This is sooo cool!” – and then she handed it to him with a grin and settled down on the floor, cross-legged, looking at him expectantly.
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Post by Eugene Fitzherbert on Feb 10, 2011 21:23:13 GMT -5
...Well that worked better than expected. Blinking a little in surprise, Eugene watched as she rushed around the library, trying to find the book in question. How did she keep going like this, he wondered to himself as he managed to find a place to sit down. He had to say, the chairs in this library were ridiculously comfortable.
When she finally brought the book over to him, Eugene cleared his throat a little and opened the book to start reading. "Okay...right," he said slowly. "So...let's begin, shall we?" Flipping to the first page, he began to read in his most theatrical voice. "There once was a dashing hero, who was the richest man alive, as well as the bravest. He saved those who were in trouble, protected the innocent, and wooed all the ladies in the land. His name, was Flynnigan Rider."
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Post by Rapunzel on Feb 10, 2011 21:27:25 GMT -5
Rapunzel looked up at him excitedly as he started to read. Oh, he was wonderful! He had the voice, and the stance, and…everything! No one had ever read to her before, but she had dreamed of it, like the parents did in her stories, and this was… it was just perfect. She alternated between sighing contentedly and bouncing excitedly.
Three sentences into the story and she was already hooked! She squealed without thinking; this Flynn sounded perfect! No wonder Eugene had wanted to be like him! She would have said something, like for instance how much Flynn reminded her of him (minus the wealth, which would come later, once they were married), but she didn’t want to interrupt… Still, she had never been very good at willpower, so she simply said, “Oh, go on, go on!”
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Post by Eugene Fitzherbert on Feb 10, 2011 21:40:09 GMT -5
Eugene chuckled a little at her and grinned in his best Flynn Rider fashion before he continued with the story. Clearing his throat, he read about how Flynnigan Rider rode about saving the day and returning to his beautiful mansion at the end of each day. He couldn't help the bit of jealousy that crept into his voice. After all, he'd read about this man for his entire childhood, and so he was bound to be just a little jealous of Flynnigan Rider. He always had been.
Continuing to read, Eugene paused when he came to the point in the story when one of the many love interests of Flynnigan Rider was introduced. Smiling a little at this, he glanced at Rapunzel before he continued.
"He entered the room, not expecting this to be anything but another boring society gathering. What he didn't expect was to see one of the most beautiful women in the world." Closing the book with a grin, he winked at Rapunzel. "To be continued."
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Post by Rapunzel on Feb 10, 2011 22:41:52 GMT -5
Rapunzel stared at him, mouth agape as she waited for more. Oh, just when the story had been getting good! She wanted to hear more. Her mouth worked like a sad fish’s out of water, but suddenly she realized what Eugene was doing, and she snapped it shut, her lips curling into a sly smile, as if she had discovered an important secret.
“And then what happened?” she asked, not in the same tone she would have if she were really curious. “Did the beautiful woman come closer to him? Did she kiss him? Did they get married?” She settled herself into his lap and smiled up at him before blinking and frowning. “Wait. What do you mean, only one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen?”[/b]
But, knowing that he was kidding, she couldn’t help but grin and sit up enough to kiss him, just as she had promised. She was assuming she was the beautiful woman… Or at least if he hadn’t meant it that way, then she could help him make his own story. He could be Flynnigan Rider, just like he’d always wanted… but even better, because this was real.
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Post by Eugene Fitzherbert on Feb 10, 2011 22:51:40 GMT -5
Chuckling a little as she climbed onto his lap, Eugene froze a little as she demanded to know what he meant by one of the most beautiful women. Smiling sheepishly as she snuggled closer to him to kiss him, Eugene wrapped his arms around her and softly kissed her back.
"Hey, that's what Flynnigan Rider is thinking," he assured her with a smile as he pulled out of the kiss. "I've only ever seen one most beautiful woman in the world," he murmured, snuggling against her. "See...she has these gorgeous green eyes and a lot of blonde hair that looks much better short and brown. And she has the cutest freckles on her little nose," he said, kissing the tip of her nose. "Oh, and she happens to be madly in love with one Eugene Fitzherbert."
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Post by Rapunzel on Feb 10, 2011 22:59:46 GMT -5
Twining her arms around his neck to make sure she stayed settled neatly, she buried her head against his chest for a moment before looking up at him. “Oh, Flynnigan,” she sighed, as if that explained everything. She was glad he’d finally let go of that fantasy and determined himself to be different from it; real life was so much better than she ever could have dreamed, anyway.
Rapunzel giggled and scrunched up her nose happily as he kissed it, wriggling in his lap a little. She blinked, blushing as he praised her physical features, ones which she had never thought to be pretty because of what Mother Gothel had told her, tearing her down in order to build herself up. Being called beautiful was new and embarrassing and pleasing all at once. “Oh, is she?” she asked, grinning. “How do you know this? I hope her love is returned, or that could be a very sad story.” She cuddled closer. "And you know I don't like sad stories."
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Post by Eugene Fitzherbert on Feb 10, 2011 23:05:57 GMT -5
"I'm pretty sure she is in love with me," Eugene said with a grin. "And I know that I'd be really sad if she didn't, 'cause I'm madly in love with her too."
Gently cupping a hand over her cheek, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment before he lightly kissed her forehead. It was very easy to say all these things to Rapunzel. She was just so bright and happy, and full of love for him. That and she was the single most gorgeous woman that he had ever known in his life.
"Oh, and did I mention that she has this psycho frog who really hates my guts?"
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