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Rapunzel was halfway through a beautiful sand rendering of the castle when she noticed it. She moved her head to the side very slowly, trying hard to be subtle because she knew that if he noticed, he would hide what she saw - but, there it was. Thinking that she was focused on her sand castle, Eugene didn't bother to hide his wince, or the pain lines surrounding his eyes, as his right hand slowly made circles above his knee to try and relieve the ache. Rapunzel frowned, before getting up in a quick movement.
When she looked straight at him, all traces of pain had been smoothed out of his body language as he offered her an innocent smile.
"Yes?" he asked politely, a picture perfect representation of the ideal husband - and, as Rapunzel knew, still a skilled liar.
"Eugene," Rapunzel answered sweetly, "you would tell me if you were in pain, right? Like you promised you would?"
He gulped audibly and Rapunzel's smile grew, knowing that he wouldn't lie now that she evoked the promise. He knew how she felt about them, and he hated lying to her anyway, even by omission. To be fair, Eugene was the ideal husband - Rapunzel's ideal husband - he just wasn't the ideal caretaker for himself.
He sighed, resigned. "I may have not mentioned that my leg was hurting again. A little!" he added, waving his hands in front of his face. "I can stay here more, there's no reason to worry yet!"
And yet, Rapunzel was already packing her stuff, meticulously folding her beach towel and gathering the tools that helped her build her half-finished sand castle. She heard Eugene grumble behind her, but she was frustrated with him, so she didn't try to listen and understand. Which didn't stop him from protesting again when she got up ready to go.
"We don't have to leave because of me Sunshine, I swear!"
"Your leg is hurting," Rapunzel tried to reason calmly, "we've been here for two hours already, and a broken bone needs rest."
"Then I'll get rest! And you can stay here and enjoy the beach more, since you don't have a broken leg!"
Eugene smiled, eyes warm and honest, and Rapunzel softened immediately - because that was the heart of the matter, wasn't it? Eugene didn't hide his pain to frustrate her, she knew, he was only feeling guilty to cut her enjoyment short. They had planned this vacation for weeks, trying to find a perfect opportunity that worked for all of them - Lance, the girls and Varian's schedules hadn't been too hard to coordinate, but finding a free spot for both the Princess and the Captain of the Guard? It was a nightmare nobody wanted to live through again, least of all Rapunzel and Eugene.
Then, three days before their long awaited trip to the beach, Eugene broke his leg. More exactly, a criminal broke Eugene's lower leg trying to escape, to her husband's ever-growing despair.
He had argued again and again with Rapunzel against her idea to just cancel the trip, and went to great lengths to prove to her that he could be more or less independent. However, with his cast, he couldn't do much more than sit on the beach - water was definitely prohibited, and crutches were not that useful on sand. And he kept insisting that Rapunzel didn't have to stay with him, that she should enjoy her well deserved vacation as much as she could - he would enjoy by proxy, he had assured her.
She had spent exactly five minutes in the water with the others before going back to sit with Eugene - but he still hadn't gotten the message.
Abandoning her recently gathered stuff, Rapunzel carefully climbed over Eugene's lap, getting close enough for their noses to touch as she took his cheeks in her hands. Any protest he might have died on his tongue, and she was proud to see the slightly flustered - if definitely interested - look on his face. Her hair fell a little over his face, blocking out the sun and giving them a frail impression of privacy, while also tickling him.
"Eugene Fitzherbert," she whispered, revelling in his little exhale as his eyes seemed unable to leave hers, "I wanted this vacation because I wanted to spend my time with you. I don't care about the sea. I don't care if we go on adventures for a week straight or if we stay playing scrabble in your room all day long-"
"You do love scrabble," Eugene interrupted with a grin, and Rapunzel laughed, her forehead finally touching his.
"Yes, I love scrabble. And I love you," she added, not to be distracted from her original point, "so let's go back to our room together, because I won't like my time off if you're in pain during it."
Eugene sighed, but his smile betrayed the fact that Rapunzel's words worked. His hand went to put a strand of Rapunzel's hair behind her ear gently, taking the chance to slowly stroke her cheek and guide her to his mouth. Her lips brushed his softly and, as always, she couldn't contain the surge of warmth lighting up her heart - she pressed forward, her fingers passing through his locks to bring him even closer. She shifted and he gasped, but she recognised immediately that it wasn't from enjoyment.
"Oh!" She jumped off his lap in one swift movement, Eugene too taken by surprise to keep her there. "Your leg!"
"My leg," Eugene echoed with a pout - he was starting to grow tired of his damn broken leg, especially if it got in between his kisses. He had to admit that it was hurting more and more as time went by though - and Rapunzel could clearly see the little clues of his pain escaping his notice.
She put her beach bag on her left shoulder and offered her right hand to Eugene, helping him get up. They had foregone the crutches because they did little in the sand, so Eugene had to hobble unsteadily back to the cabin Rapunzel's parents had lent them - which, thankfully, wasn't too far, because he was already leaning heavily on his wife when they finally reached the deck.
It took some more manhandling - and a quite awkward if sexy shower - before they were both sitting on the bed, as sand-free as one could get. Eugene, who had insisted on taking the shower before he took any of the plant based remedies the castle doctors had given him, didn't exactly regret his decision, but he certainly felt its consequences fully. Even sitting wasn't comfortable, right now.
"Ready!" Rapunzel exclaimed, her still wet hair clinging to her head as she extended the weird and smelly plant concoction Eugene was supposed to drink. She had taken a special interest in medicine these last months, delighted to be able to combine both her cooking skills and her science skills, while experiencing healing in an another form than magical abilities.
"Ugh," Eugene groaned, taking the bowl in his hands, "I hate this."
"It's good for you."
"Doesn't smell like it."
"It'll make the pain better!"
"And then it'll put me to sleep, so I won't even enjoy the pain-free time," he retorted, before meeting her pleading eyes. "Okay, okay, here goes."
Rapunzel tried not to laugh at the funny faces Eugene was pulling, but it was hard. She felt bad, sure, and she hated seeing him in pain, but she knew that this particular medicine wasn't as disgusting as her husband made it out to be. She took the bowl once he finished and, after some coaxing, she managed to convince him to lie down completely on the bed with her.
"That's unfair," he breathed as she leant over him, "you know that this will make me fall asleep for sure."
She hummed, and settled back on the arm he had extended toward her, not afraid to snuggle him since his broken leg was on his other side. "Maybe my ideal vacation is taking a nap with you."
"Don't lie, your ideal vacation is going to see the glowing ice caves in Arendelle."
"Alright, you got me, that still sound like the coolest thing ever!" Rapunzel gushed, drawing a tired laugh from Eugene. "But I still want to do it with you. My ideal vacation is you, Eugene Fitzherbert" she said, bopping his nose to support her argument.
He smiled, and a comfortable silence settled between them. From her position, Rapunzel could hear the steady and reassuring beating of his heart and could feel the rising and falling of his chest - getting slower and slower as the medicine took fully effect and made him groggy enough to fall asleep at four in the afternoon. Watching him at his most relaxed, his most peaceful, knowing that he was trusting her fully to be open and vulnerable with her - that was still the best sight she could ever imagine, better than Arendelle's glowing caves or even the lanterns.
"You're my ideal vacation too," he mumbled suddenly, with his eyes still closed and his body still completely limp - and Rapunzel knew it wasn't an afterthought, but a sign that she was always his last thought at night and his first in the morning.
Rapunzel smiled against his neck and quickly followed him into slumber.