Chapter Text
Queen Rapunzel led Maximus back to the stable after their morning ride, when she heard a familiar voice coming from inside the stables.
It was her son, Adrien.
Six months ago, Rapunzel and her husband Eugene were reunited with their long lost son after so many years. As a baby, he was taken away by a wicked sorceress named Shuriki, an old acquaintance of Mother Gothel, who wanted revenge on the couple and to take control of their kingdom and the neighboring one of Alicorn.
Thankfully, Adrien inherited his mother’s courage and managed to defeat Shuriki, by trapping her in the very tower Adrien has spent most of his life in. He returned to Corona and started a new life with his true family.
Rapunzel held her finger to her lips, asking Max to stay quiet as she listened.
“Hey, Sophia. No, no, that’s not right.” Adrien cleared his throat and did a finger pointed gesture, “Oh, hi Sophia. How’s it—What is wrong with me?!”
“Girl trouble?” Rapunzel opened the stable door and Adrien jumped in frightened, his face red as a tomato from embarrassment and he knocked over some barrels.
“Mom!”
Rapunzel giggled and comforted her son, removing some of the hay from his hair. While Rapunzel’s hair had returned to its natural brown, Adrien was born with golden blond hair. Her old friend Varian deduced it was because the magic of the Sun drop was inside Rapunzel for so many years it resulted in Adrien’s hair color, even if he didn’t show any signs of healing or sun related magic. Mostly because the Sun drop and the Moon stone were long gone now, but that’s another story.
“Alright, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Wha—what makes you think something’s wrong?”
“Honey, I’m your mother. I know everything.” Rapunzel led Adrien outside and they sat on the edge of the castle fountain. “Is everything alright with Sophia?”
“Everything’s great! But…” Adrien sighed.
“But what?”
“She… invited me to this wedding and… she asked if I could be her plus one.
“And what did you say?”
“Nothing. I froze! I just said: ‘See you chemistry’ and I ran.” Adrien buried his face into his hands. “I’ve never been so nervous around her before.”
“Any particular reason why?” Rapunzel asked, but judging by her tone and raised eyebrow and smirk she already had a hunch on what the answer would be.
“I was… hoping she was… asking me to be her date. And, I wanted to say yes but then I started asking all these questions: What if it goes wrong? What if I’m not boyfriend material? What if I make her feel awkward? Or worse, what if she doesn’t feel the same about me as I do about her?”
“What makes you think she doesn’t feel the same?”
“Mom, I lived in a tower with an evil witch, a talking cat fairy and an elf girl who was more like a sister to me. Pardon me if I don’t have a whole lot of experience with girls.”
“I remember when your father first asked me on a date.”
“Yeah, bet he didn’t fumble all over his words.”
“Oh, he did. Your father can be very smooth, but when it came to being vulnerable he was a fumbling mess. Lucky for him, I married that man and not the roguish thief. He learned didn’t have to be afraid to be his true self.” She pulled her son close. “And I know without a doubt that Sophia feels the same about you.”
“I just… I don’t want to ruin our friendship. If I screw up, she might never want to talk to me.”
“You can’t let the fear of ‘what if’ stop you from following your heart, Adrien. That’s what Jinu learned.”
“Who’s Jinu?”
“A young man who once was so overcome with fear it nearly stopped him from doing what was right.”
“And how does this relate to me?”
“More than you might think.”