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Rapunzel had been with Eugene and Cassandra for weeks now, but they hadn't gone on any real dates. They had barely been alone together, with all of their duties around the castle. Every time Rapunzel planned something, it would fall through. They would have to settle on something simple.
Rapunzel thought a picnic should be simple enough.
She went down to the river on her day off and set up a quilt with enough food for 10 people. She had never cooked for three before.
"Rapunzel?" She heard a voice say behind her. She immediately recognized it as Eugene. "You said to meet here?" It took him a second to take in the scene. “Wow, this is a lot.”
“A lot good or a lot bad?” She had wanted it to be perfect. ‘A lot’ wasn’t exactly the feedback she was looking for.
“Good, definitely. It’s part of why I love you.” He leaned down to kiss her, and sat next to her on the blanket, in between sandwiches and salads.
They sat watching the river, holding hands, and Rapunzel felt in her element. She was used to this, with just her and Eugene. Just as she was feeling comfortable, she heard Cassandra clear her throat behind them. She jumped up, embarrassed, as if Cass hadn’t seen them in a romantic setting before. Still, this gave her an opportunity to pull her newer lover into a hug.
“Cass!” Rapunzel said with levity; she hoped her love for Cass might ease the awkwardness. “I’m so glad you came.”
“It’s far too cold for a picnic date.” She sat down next to Eugene, with enough room in between them to fit Rapunzel. “But of course I came.” Cass was bundled in at least three layers, but she was still shivering.
“Do you need my coat Cassandra?” Eugene asked, using the pronunciation of her name that had pretty much become his nickname for her.
She rolled her eyes like always. “Thanks for the offer, but I have a better idea for warming up.” She looked to Rapunzel, and patted the spot next to her.
Rapunzel caught on, rushing to sit next to them. They both leaned into her, and she pulled them close.
“That’s better,” Eugene said.
Rapunzel grabbed a plate of sandwiches, trying her best to still stay cuddled with them as she did so. “Anyone hungry?”
They both grabbed sandwiches, but when Rapunzel felt how cold Cass’s fingers were, she set the plate down and grabbed a hold of Cass’s hands. “You weren’t lying about being cold.” She blew warm air on Cass’s hands, and only when she saw the look in Cass’s eyes did Rapunzel notice how tender the act was. She dropped the hands she was holding, and was suddenly very aware of Eugene’s gaze. “Sorry.” Her hands were cold, now, too.
“Don’t apologize. I love seeing you in love.” Even that simple reassurance seemed to make Rapunzel’s heart swell. Eugene put his arm around her. “Anyway, I’m not surprised by the cold hands. We all know Cass is cold blooded.”
Cass punched him lightly, but she was blushing now, despite the cold.
Eugene wordlessly slipped his gloves off and handed them to Cass, who put them on just as silently.
They ate, discussing the reasons they had all been so busy, and what they could do the next time they get time off, if that was ever a possibility.
A snowflake fell on Eugene’s nose, and for Rapunzel, this was a sign of disaster. “The food!” She panicked, quickly covering as many plates of food as she could. The other two helped her cover it up with the quilt, but then they had nothing to sit on. And the ground was only getting colder and wetter with time.
Rapunzel sighed. “Of course the one day we have time off, it snows.”
“It’s okay, Raps.” Cass put a hand on her back, and was suddenly able to feel how quickly her heart was beating. “It’s just us.”
Rapunzel couldn’t look at either of them. "That’s just it, though-- I'm doing this for you."
Cass brought her other arm around Rapunzel and embraced her. “This shouldn’t be work, though. This is our break, after all. It should be fun for you, too.” There was a mischievous smile in her voice, but it didn't sink in for Rapunzel exactly why until she felt something cold hit her back.
She turned around to see Eugene holding multiple snowballs, and he threw another, just behind her, to hit Cass. Quickly, a smile returned to Rapunzel’s face, and she gathered as much snow from the ground as she could, but before she could throw one, she felt another hit her back, this time from Cass’s direction. She whipped her head around, only to see Cassandra acting innocent, despite her gloved hands being covered in snow.
They kept up their little battle for a while, and although Rapunzel never knew it was possible to win a snowball fight, it was obvious that Cass reigned victorious. A smug smile on her face, Cass fell to the ground, which now had over an inch of snow. Rapunzel followed her, dropping her last snowball, and Eugene was quick to follow as well.
“Actually, the snow is pretty.” Rapunzel looked at the sky, allowing the snow to fall on her face, tiny pin pricks of cold causing her to quickly numb.
One long walk and three hot cocoas later, they cuddled up in front of a fire, and for a second, Rapunzel sort of missed the cold.