XII

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Published: December 18th, 2021

There's something so soothing about reading with Eugene, curled up in the window next to each other. The rhythm of his breathing soothes your nerves. The Tales of Flynnigan Rider is open on the cushion between you, and every time he finishes a page he waits patiently for you to finish. A few chapters in, you're bored. You sigh and lean your head against the glass behind you, the sun setting and turning the rain clouds almost green. Eugene looks up at you from his slouched position while you roll your head back and forth, trying to rest your temple perfectly against the cool panes. You realize this probably isn't a normal thing to do, and you immediately turn your head and look at Eugene, who is smiling in confusion.

"Don't judge me, I don't know how to act," you say, trying to keep a serious look on your face. He sits up and mimics the strange window action as best as he can.

"Too late, killer. Consider yourself judged."

You snicker, "you look ridiculous." He looks at you and narrows his eyes.

"It feels kind of nice, actually," he says, leaning his head back further to expose more of his forehead to the window. His throat looks abnormally long with his head craned back like this. You almost extend your fingers to touch it, but. That. Would. Be. Weird. You mask what you were about to do by tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear. You look at your boots.

"I wonder if they have clothes," you say, standing up to look through the drawers. Lo and behold, they were stocked with simple nightgowns, sundresses, undergarments, and socks galore -- all of which were either yellow, purple, or a pattern of both.

"They have clothes," you add, holding up a lavender nightgown. "I should change. I haven't changed in days; I haven't bathed in days. I should bathe."

"Who needs hygiene?" Eugene says, standing up and walking over to his drawers. "What's with this place and yellow and purple?"

"Aren't they the flag colors?" you ask absently, holding a sundress up to yourself in the mirror and scrunching your nose up at the sight of your face.

"I suppose. What's more my color, purple or yellow?" he asks sarcastically, mimicking you by holding tunics up to his torso. You whack him in the face with the soft fabric. "Whoa, whoa! Violence is not the answer," he laughs. You snort, checking to see if the door nearby is in fact a bathroom. It is. There's another mirror in there.

Half an hour later, you're completely bathed and dressed for bed. You peer into the curtainy room before running and jumping into the squishy bed nearest to you. Eugene looks up at you from the window, alarmed.

"I am never moving," you squeal into a pillow. It's so comfortable that you feel like you're sitting in a cloud. "I love the king and queen! Do you think they'll adopt me if I ask really nicely?"

He laughs softly and goes into the bathroom to wash up.

It's the weirdest thing, you couldn't stop thinking about him for the past half hour. Or the next half hour. You're nearing sleep, the rain on the roof lulling your senses. Then the bathroom door opens; the sound is almost foreign at this point.

"(Y/n)? Are you asleep?" he mutters. You don't have the energy to respond or even open your eyes. You can tell he's standing near the edge of your bed.

He presses his lips to your forehead, his damp hair grazing your cheek. You hear him turn off the lights, the floorboards creaking slightly under his feet. Your stomach does a little backflip. It was probably customary to kiss people's foreheads in the real world.

You swear you can hear him mumble "comfy" before you finally doze off.

~+~

You start off standing in the courtyard of the palace, looking up. A seven-pointed sun seemingly engulfs you, and everything goes white. When the light dims, you find yourself walking through the streets of Corona, but something is off; yes, it's the ringing. It fills your head and blurs the people's faces. You peer into an alley nearby, and clear as day, out steps Mother. She rushes forward to embrace you, and you expect a warm, comforting hug, but it suffocates you. You can't breathe. You can't think. You can't escape.

Eugene gently shakes you awake. You sit up and open your eyes, only to find the sun glaring at you through the window.

"Are you okay?" he asks, concerned.

"Yeah. Fine. Why?" you say groggily.

"Mhm," he hums, not breaking eye contact. You rub your eyes, collapsing back down among the comfy bedding.

"What time is it?" you breathe.

"Maybe seven?" he answers. He flops down next to you. "I could stay here forever."

You nod, flinging your hands away from your face. You look at Eugene, only to find his eyes already on yours. You don't know what state you're in, so you retreat to under the covers just in case you look like hell. Somehow, you fall back asleep.

This time, you're frolicking through a field of pansies, holding someone's hand. You slip on the dew and fall through the earth, further and further-

You manage to wake yourself up, your stomach twisting as if you actually had been falling. In your sleep, you'd kicked the blankets away from you and onto Eugene, who was now sleeping peacefully beside you. Your eyes linger at his profile, appreciating how straight his nose is and the way his lips curl slightly. You don't know how long you sit there before he stirs and wakes. For some stupid reason, you keep looking at him. He yawns and looks over at you, both of your faces pressed into your pillows. You look at each other blankly for a moment or two before Rapunzel flings the door open. You close your eyes in a grimace. She hops into the bed on your other side.

"Scooch, will you?" she asks, and you move closer to Eugene.

"So," she begins, "I... goodness, I don't know where to start. Um, I kissed Rainy again. The queen wants to have tea at noon. Breakfast is being delivered in a few minutes because I asked. Was there anything else? Oh, yes; can you re-braid my hair?"

It takes a solid forty-five minutes to accomplish. You take a break to have a bite of the waffles Philipp brought every minute or so -- they're delicious. Eugene sits cross-legged next to you while Rapunzel tells stories from your childhood.

Eugene tries to braid your hair, which isn't going very well considering his obvious lack of skill. Every time his fingers brush your ear or neck, a little tingle radiates down your spine. Finally, Rainy walks in; she had been training.

"Your mother is back in the city, with the Stabbington brothers; they're looking for you."

Antigravity             (Flynn Rider x Reader)Where stories live. Discover now