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When Eugene had invited Rapunzel on a date today, he had expected them to go see some beautiful scenery, or maybe grab some fresh fruits to eat. There wasn't much to do on the road, but as long as they were with each other - and as long as Rapunzel found beauty in everything - he was sure that they would be fine and enjoy themselves. He should have known that, with their luck, it wouldn't happen quite like he had envisioned it. At least, this time, it was thieves and not a weird monkey supposed to predict their future - then again, there was a dozen of them, and only two of Rapunzel and him (well, Pascal might count, so three), so, perhaps, the monkey had been better…
Ha. Who was he kidding, he'd take attempted robbery over monkey hair on his face any day.
"You really couldn't have chosen a worse target," Eugene laughed, raising his sword as Rapunzel let down her hair with a smirk.
The thieves looked at each other, puzzled, then proceeded to attack them, foolishly thinking that their superior number would be enough to bring down the Princess of Corona and her - quite dashing - former thief of a boyfriend. Something they promptly learnt to be a mistake, as Rapunzel knocked out three of them in one swoop of her hair. Eugene laughed, paring his opponent's sword easily before knocking him out, going to his next target as his girlfriend was taking care of virtually everyone else without even breaking a sweat.
Boy, did he love that girl.
His new opponent was better with a sword than the first, for sure, but he was still no match for Eugene - one slick move from his hand and the goon was disarmed. Eugene grinned, ready to say something witty, when the guy had the crazy idea to simply… Run right into Eugene’s sword. Eugene yelped, and then tried to get the sword away, not too keen on actually stabbing anyone, but it meant that dear stupidly buffy thief - he’ll call him Steve for time related purposes - could throw his whole body weight at him with no obstacles.
With a yell, Eugene fell backward, crushed under Steve as a white hot pain in his back took his breath away.
His brain disconnected for a second or two, before a growl made him come back to himself. Above him, Steve was raising his fist, ready to strike down and Eugene squeaked - not the most heroic sound, for sure, but his amazing face was on the line. He didn’t have his sword anymore, had probably dropped it as he fell, and his other hand was pinned under Steve, so he was in for a real bad time... Until something blond obscured his vision.
"Eugene," Rapunzel called worriedly as she casually grabbed Steve with her hair and threw him to the side without a second thought, "you’re okay?"
"Yeah," he breathed, feeling lighter now that he wasn’t being squished under someone else, "thank you Sunshine!"
She smiled and grabbed someone else’s leg to destabilize them as Eugene got up. His ribs were pulsating in pain, and he nearly doubled over again as he stood up - the world swam around him for a few moments, but he bit his lips and powered through, hoping that Rapunzel didn't see the pain on his face. She would be worried. He also really hoped he hadn’t broken anything, because it would be a pain to deal with. Quite literally. Sighing, he went to collect his sword, trying not to bend down too much as it ignited the pain again, and seathed it right as Rapunzel took care of the last thief. She was beautiful like that, and he couldn’t help but smile as she pumped her fist in the air with a grin, Pascal clapping on her shoulder.
"Here goes our peaceful date, huh?" Eugene joked as he pushed an unconscious thief’s arm out of his way with his boot, wondering what they should do with them.
"Ah, it’s funnier that way," Rapunzel teased, before frowning. "Are you okay, though? That guy made you fall pretty hard."
Eugene hummed, and was happy to see that, despite the pain, his breathing was seemingly fine. That had to mean nothing was broken, no? Though, he still felt not quite right. The buzzing pain in his back felt as if it was seeping through his whole body like poison and, as he watched Rapunzel walk toward him while talking to Pascal, he couldn’t shake off the impression that sounds were becoming muted around him. His next step was wobblier than he expected, as if the ground under his foot was soft - but when he looked down, it was to see that it was as firm and solid as everything else.
He raised his head and noticed concern on Rapunzel's face - and noticed too that the world was tilting dizzyingly to the side.
"Uh, Sunshine?" he said, his voice sounding far away to his own ears. He took another step, swaying. "I think… I don't feel so well..."
His legs crumbled under him and his vision tunneled right as an intense pain exploded in his entire body. He thought he heard Rapunzel yelling his name, but he blacked out before even hitting the ground.
Eugene woke up to a hand softly stroking his hair, getting it out of his face. He wanted to smile, but his head was pounding, his mouth was dry, his cheek was stinging and- wait. His cheek was-
Something slapped him hard and his eyes popped open, indignation on his lips until his movement made him cringe in pain.
"Eugene! Are you okay?" Rapunzel cried out, relief evident in her voice as her hand cradled his head.
"You… You slapped me?" Eugene sputtered.
"Oh, yes, sorry, but you weren't waking up- hey, don't move," she said sternly, one of her hand holding him down, "you've been stabbed."
"I've been what?!" he screeched.
"Stab- no, I mean, not stabbed stabbed, but you fell on a piece of wood that was sticking out, and it's still in your back, which is probably why you passed out and- and-"
Rapunzel stopped herself, taking a deep breath and Eugene could feel his fear recede as he softened. Her hands were trembling in his hair. She was freaked out more than enough, he really shouldn't be panicking and pilling more stress on her. Especially since, despite the general pain coming from his back, Eugene didn't feel that bad. His hand sneaked its way into her empty one, and he drew a smile out of her, like he had wished to do. Gently, she helped him sit up fully and he had to bit the cry of pain that wanted to escape his lips - though, going by her frown, she had seen right through him.
"We need to get you back to the caravan," she said in a whisper, voice heavy. He couldn't see his own back, but he could guess that her gaze was focused on the blood oozing from his wound, and that it must be bringing back bad memories. He nodded, squeezed her hand and she focused back on his face - better.
"We'll have to go on three dates to make up for this one," he grinned, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Pascal levelled him with an unimpressed look, but Rapunzel's lips went up, and even the frog smiled.
"Hmm, we'll have to," Rapunzel said softly, helping him to his feet. His back still hurt, his ribs were protesting and the world still didn't seem as solid as it should be, but he managed to stay upright after a few minutes of Rapunzel supporting his weight.
They chatted along the way to the caravan, Eugene much more steady on his feet as time passed. His injuries weren't that bad, they had just been a shock to his system. He hadn't even been passed out for too long, really, but he had scared Rapunzel half to death going by the nervous glances she threw his way every five seconds. Eugene wasn't about to tease her for it, though - he understood where she was coming from better than anyone else, and could only wish to forget the cold panic that had washed over him when he had heard the word "stabbed".
They didn't have to say it outloud, but they both refused to let themselves think of Gothel, and both tried to distract the other from the memories.
Rapunzel's hand slipped back into his gently, and he squeezed, hoping to tell her that everything would be fine. Then he met her eyes again, and lost his breath at the way she was gazing up at him - like he was the most precious thing in the world. Eugene knew that she loved him. He knew that he was her dream, just like she was his. But right here, right now, he could see in her eyes all the love and the affection she couldn't always put into words, and any lingering pain from his injury seemed to fade away as he leant down to kiss her.
Then Eugene made a wrong move and pulled at the wound, and yeah, ow. The pain was still here, his bad.
"Come on," Rapunzel breathed out, her worried frown making a comeback - though her eyes were still shining and her shoulders seemed less tense after their kiss. "To the caravan."
"Aye ma'am," Eugene grinned.
Getting the piece of wood out was not a pleasant experience. Cass was the one to do it, grumbling about it all the way through while Rapunzel crushed his hand in hers, but Eugene was sure sure that, despite her words, Cassandra had tried to be gentle with him. He appreciated it. Appreciated it a whole lot less when she slapped a bandage over the wound without warning.
However, less than pleasant experience with a pointy thing meant a more than pleasant comfort offered by Rapunzel. His ribs were still aching and his back still hurting, and maybe they would for quite some time, but that night, Rapunzel cuddled closer to him and whispered in his ear how much she loved him, and kissed him, and slept in his arms - and he thought that it wasn't so bad in the end.
Eugene slept peacefully, knowing that they had three more dates to look forward to.