Work Text:
Once in front of his door, Rapunzel hesitates. It had been easy to drive here, fueled by sheer anxiety and determination. It had been easy to convince herself that her presence would be welcome, because they were friends and, as a friend, it was normal to check up on each other. But now, in front of Eugene's door, her old key in hand because he had insisted she keeps it, Rapunzel hesitates.
She hasn't been here since their break-up.
It hadn't really been a conscious choice on her part. Eugene and her stayed friends, best friends even, and he told her that she could come to him at any time, that his door was always open for her. She simply… hadn't taken him up on it. She knows that door like the back of her hand, knows exactly how to turn the key for it to open with minimal struggle, knows the hallways that lead to it down to every weird stains on the walls… And yet, the sight is suddenly alien to her. Everything feel wrong, and Rapunzel hesitates because she doesn't think she fits into Eugene’s life like she used to. Maybe she should accept that.
Lance's words float back in her mind at the right time - they were the trigger to her mad dash to Eugene's appartement. The talk of an accident at a fire is jumbled even now, because her fear had drowned out pretty much all of it, but the odd seriousness of Lance's voice echoes clearly in her head.
Rapunzel breathes, and opens the door.
As she expects, Max greets her with an excited bark and comes beg her for pets, obviously overjoyed to see her again. She had missed him too - had missed this appartement. She had spent months here, the happiest months of her life in a long time, and the sight of it is enough to make her want to curl up on the couch and stay there forever. However, she has a goal in mind - and already, she can hear Eugene move in his bedroom, alerted by Max's noises.
Rapunzel hurries to his bedroom door right as he opens it, too pale and a hand on a bandage on his stomach. He's also shirtless, and she would enjoy that a lot more if she wasn't busy already pushing him back to his bed.
"Wha- But- Rapunzel?" Eugene stutters, eyes wide - but he diligently goes back to sit on his bed. She doesn't know if he's too tired to protest, or if he simply knows she wouldn't let him get away with it.
"Hey," she says.
She hasn't thought that far. She doesn't know how to even begin to explain the train of thought that led her here, because her mind feels too scrambled trying to take in Eugene, and determine if he's okay. She has always known that being a firefighter was dangerous - had literally met him in one of these dangerous situations - but a part of her always wished that Eugene was untouchable. Getting a minor burn on his stomach wasn't the worst thing that could happen, but it was a proof that one day, Eugene could not be okay. She never knew how to live with that, and she doesn't think she ever will.
"Hey," Eugene smiles gently, and her treacherous cheeks immediately darken. "Not that I'm complaining, but you are here because…?"
Oh, that one was easy. "You're hurt. And I'm your friend, who is also training to be a doctor, and I wanted to check up on you," she explains, sounding way more rational than her actions were. Eugene's eyes crinkle as if to say that he sees right through her, and, to be honest, that's probably true.
Instead of dwelling on it, Rapunzel peers closer at the bandage, trying to ignore how much… chest is visible. She immediately notices that it's in need of a change, but Eugene grimaces before she can say anything, all too aware of how she thinks.
"Yeah, I need to change that," he admits before she can point it out. "Thankfully, those burns are easily accessible, I can do it myself."
That - the dismissal - was expected too. They stayed friends after breaking up, but there was always- always a new distance between them that they couldn't cross. Despite knowing each other's vulnerabilities better than anyone else, there was a silent agreement to not bring those up, to ignore it because they weren't to each other what they used to be.
But today, Rapunzel isn't ready to let go. Today, Rapunzel got a call from Lance telling her that Eugene had been hurt, and her mind had rolled away with it, always going to the grimiest scenarios. Today, she had thought about a "what if" scenario she hadn't wanted to face - and she wasn't ready to let go. Not again.
"I know you can," she whispers, meeting his eyes. They're focused on hers too. "But can I help?"
It's a question he had asked her a lot when they first started dating. Rapunzel had been- well, still suffered from trauma, that was the best way to put it. It had been difficult to admit at first, even though she was plainly aware that everything she lived through - and everything Gothel did to her - was more than traumatic. She had been deep in her denial that anything could be wrong with her. And Eugene had tried his best. She could still hear him, constantly asking "can I help?" after her panic attacks, her nightmares, or even her rare bursts of anger. She asks can I help, but she hopes he hears the same "I love you and I want to be there for you" she had back then.
Eugene hesitates enough for her to be sure that he does. Then he sighs, lowers his shoulders, and perhaps, she thinks that something shifts inside of him. He smiles and nods once, and Rapunzel has to fight the urge to pump her fist in the air.
"Where's-"
"The antibiotic ointment is in the bathroom," Eugene immediately finishes, before grinning sheepishly. Rapunzel can't help but grin back.
She doesn't have to ask him to find her way to the bathroom, of course. Max, who had been diligently waiting outside of Eugene's bedroom, doesn't hesitate to get under her legs again, relishing in the attention the dog has missed these past months. She can't believe it was so long ago already. Can't believe everything that happened between them.
She thinks that the break-up was mutual - that, if she hadn't said it first, Eugene would have ended up pointing out the problems they were facing. They had met in explosive circumstances, to say the least. Rapunzel had just left her childhood home, and had recently learned that most of her life had been a lie - that who she called mother was actually her kidnapper and abuser. She had a lot of unaddressed trauma, that she hadn't been eager to actually address - and Eugene had been the same, but for different reasons. He always joked that the "orphan trying to prove himself" story was too cliché, but it was his anyway. Their relationship had been full of communication, they had tried really hard to be there for the other, but they never truly managed to be there for themselves first, and it made everything else crumble. Add unaddressed trauma to unaddressed trauma, and you get two people who love each other but are not helping the other grow.
She hadn't wanted to wait and see if they would ever turn destructive for each other. She thinks Eugene didn't want to either.
So they broke up. And stayed good friends. They still talked regularly, still met each other regularly too, still shared the same friends and enjoyed the same things, still had the keys to each other's appartement but- there was a distance that couldn't be crossed between them.
And yet, when Rapunzel opens the bathroom cabinet, she finds her old toothbrush neatly put away where she always stored it. She allows herself one heavy exhale - allows her eyes one second to water, before she gets herself back together and grabs the ointment. She's not here to dwell on could-have-been. She's not here to pry into Eugene's life without her. She's here for Eugene, and him only, because he is hurt and she's his nearly-a-doctor friend that can make it a bit easier for him.
She still feels lighter on the way back, the image of her toothbrush, still sitting there for her, burnt into her mind.
When she enters his room again, Eugene is sitting up, leaned against the wall at the head of his bed, his legs in front of him. It's exactly the position she needs, but it does mean that it's the sight of a shirtless Eugene, waiting on what once was their shared bed, that mets her. Memories of more… agreeable times flash through her head, but she shakes them off. Rapunzel already knows she's blushing, but she walks closer anyway, not to be discouraged in her task.
She doesn't see how his eyes follow her movement closely too - doesn't see how Eugene is basically drinking up the sight of her like a lost man in a desert. She misses him - but he misses her too. She climbs up next to him on the bed, kneels to lean over his wound, and doesn't notice the blush orning Eugene's cheeks too.
Carefully, Rapunzel takes off his bandage, revealing his red and blistered skin. She knows exactly what she's doing, because she may have payed a lot of attention to her classes on burns, but she also knows it's still painful for Eugene. She can feel him quiver under her, and wishes she could do anything else to ease his discomfort. It's him that offers a solution, in the end.
"So, uh," he starts awkwardly, "how are your classes going? Ready to be a doctor yet?"
Rapunzel chuckles, and throw herself in a long-winded explanation of everything she learned since they broke-up. At the same time, she applies the ointment, and is relieved to see that Eugene fights the pain by listening to her and asking questions. She wants to say sorry each time she makes him flinch, but instead, she simply tells another story, and hopes that it's enough.
"You know," she breathes, eyes still focused on his wound, "I wouldn't be able to do all of this, be all of this, if it wasn't for your help."
"Blondie-"
"Eugene," she interrupts, even though her heart skips a beat at the familiar nickname. "You- you helped me get over my fears of the world. You helped me discover it, and everything it has to offer. Most of all, you helped me love myself, and made me feel worthy enough to get into a medical school despite my situation."
She stops, for a second, and she sees his chest moves slowly with his breathing. Finally, she raises her head and sees for herself all the affection in his eyes - the affection that never disappeared, and probably never will. He loves her. She knew it, knows it, but it still hits her all the same.
"For all of that, thank you, Eugene."
"I can't let you say that," is his answer, and that makes her still her hands above his wound.
Eugene puts his own hands on her shoulders to make her look at him again, and she suddenly wishes it wasn't so glaring that he never got over her.
"Rapunzel, you are the strongest person I have ever met. You- despite the circumstances, you always make the best of any situation, you always sees the best in the world and in people," he insists fervently, nearly babbling about how amazing she is. "I helped you, yes, but even if I hadn't… Even if we hadn't met, you still would have found your path." Gently, his right hand goes to push her hair back behind her ear like he always does. His eyes are shining and hers are too. "You've always been brave enough," Eugene breathes, and Rapunzel understands then that she absolutely didn't get over their break-up either.
She bites her lips, and finishes dressing his wound, because she doesn't think she can even find an answer to that. Eugene hesitates, before taking his hands back, and she suddenly wishes she knew how to express herself better. She thinks that she keeps making things worse - but her therapist would tell her that it's the trauma talking, and she's getting better at believing it.
The thing is, she knows she had missed Eugene. Being friends meant that they kept talking a lot with each other, but she had missed their comfortable intimacy, and the way he always understood her before she even had to say something, and missed him, in general - with his jokes and his charms and his kindness. And now that she's close to him again, on the same bed as before, she only wants to cuddle close to him and laughs with him as if nothing happened.
Things did happen, though. They were different now than they had been some months ago. But there's a spark of hope in her heart, telling her that maybe it is a good thing - maybe they can be better this time.
She hasn't allowed herself to think about it until now. Hasn't allowed herself to think about Eugene's soft skin under hands either, but here she was - he's warm, and he smells nice, and his smile still makes her melt, and she wonders how she could have even convinced herself that she would be satisfied with simply being his friend. She loves him.
She thinks about those last few months, about how she tried to get over him - with Cassandra here to cheer her on in her drunken adventures. She remembers those lips that were too soft against hers, those hands that were too little on her waist, those jaws that weren't sharp enough. The images are still in her mind, an ensemble of jumbled thoughts and sensations that just seemed wrong despite the alcohol. Too long hair tickling her, nails too beautifully done, chins not scruffy enough. Wrong eyes. Wrong laugh. Wrong name.
Rapunzel makes a decision.
She places the last bandage, and checks that it's tight enough without being painful. Eugene stays silent, but she knows he's trying to prepare an excuse for her to leave - she doesn't blame him, the situation is awkward. She knows he still loves her - it's plainly written on his face - but he doesn't seem to realise that she's head over heels for him too, and had never ceased to be. She thinks that, maybe, they were both idiots with good intentions, and she hopes it's enough to fix the situation.
Instead of getting back up, Rapunzel takes advantage of her kneeling position to put a knee on Eugene's other side, effectively straddling him. He looks startled, but still helps her get stabilised, always the gentleman - but Rapunzel isn't so polite. She cups his face in her hands and grows ever so close, until she can feel his breathing on her lips - and she waits. Eugene could back out. He could say no, or pull her hands down, and she would accept it without a second of hesitation. She has always been impulsive, has always wanted to make the most of her life now that she was free to live it however she wants, but this? This is important. The most important moment of her life, perhaps - so she waits for him.
"I can't keep kissing strangers and pretending that they're you," she whispers, because it's true, and because she hopes he sees that she has always missed him. It's brutally honest, but he doesn't comment on it, though she can feels his cheeks heating up under her palms.
Eugene's eyes strays towards her lips. She's close enough to see the little golden specks gleaming inside of them. For a moment, time is frozen between them, but Rapunzel feels warmer than ever.
"Sunshine," Eugene breathes, and suddenly they're kissing, his hands around her back and her own in his hair, trying to get closer and closer and closer. Eugene feels right against her body and she doesn't even know how she managed to survive these last months, because her heart feels like it's bursting and she loves him so much it hurts.
"I- I couldn't kiss anyone else," Eugene laughs as they stop kissing to breathe.
"Oh-"
"No, no, I'm not blaming you! I'm not gonna hold what you did while we were not together against you," he quickly says, voice so earnest she wants to cry. She is still sitting on him, her head above his because of her position, and Eugene takes one of her hands in his, pressing it against his chest, near his heart. "I just… Before meeting you, one night stands and all that stuff, it was easy to me. We broke up, and I thought I could do it again, that it would help me but- I'm not that guy anymore. I love you, Rapunzel."
"I love you too," she says, before kissing him again. His mouth opens for her like it always did and, for a moment, they both forget how to breathe without the other near. "I kept thinking about you," Rapunzel whispers between their kisses, "I… I missed you so much."
"I missed you too," he breathes, kissing the tip of her nose as her hands link up behind his neck. "I missed your voice."
"I missed your laugh," she echoes breathlessly.
"Your eyes."
"Your snores," she chuckles.
"Your freckles," he adds, his thumb tenderly brushing them on her face. "Especially this one," he says, touching the freckle right under her lashes.
"Your bad jokes," she answers, and he gasps dramatically.
"Your terrible puns!"
Their eyes meet, and they both burst out laughing, Rapunzel resting her head on his shoulder. There was so much more that has been lacking from her life, but she doesn't think it can be put into words. She thinks Eugene understands anyway.
Then, he flinches, and she remembers why she is here in the first place. She tries to scramble back, but Eugene grabs her hand, something terrified and desperate in his gaze. He lets her go practically as quickly as he stopped her, but Rapunzel had seen it anyway, that raw fear she would leave again, and they would go back to what they were without each other - happy and whole, mostly, but also missing the other terribly. Missing their love, and their friendship, and a lot of other things that had changed despite their best efforts to stay friends.
Eugene has no need to worry, though - Rapunzel doesn't intend to go anywhere today, and she will be sticking around for a lot longer. She wishes she had done that sooner, but again, maybe the time and the distance helped them in the end. She chooses to believe it has. Instead of getting out of the bed, she goes sit on Eugene's other side, cuddling closer to him. He immediately puts his hand over her shoulders, and everything, in that exact moment, feels perfect.
They still have a lot to figure out, and a lot to talk about, but for now, they hold each other close and promise to never let go again.