Warnings: major angst, suicidal thoughts/idealation, mentions of self-harming. A sex-scene at the end. Angst with a happy ending. (Or will there? >:3)
Rapunzel had been released from being bedridden a couple days prior after being stuck in bed for nearly three weeks. She was still healing so they weren't allowed to leave the nice village they found themselves in, but she was allowed to leave the room and actually get up and walk around instead of staying in the bed all day.
Due to Cass killing their wanted predator, the village was incredibly grateful and have been ever so nice. Rapunzel and Cass were able to leave the hospital once Rapunzel was freed from bedrest and they found themselves in a pretty fancy hotel room for free. They tried to decline but the villagers pushed on anyway.
They had become pretty good friends with the young woman that warned Cassandra all those weeks ago. Her name was Dallas. She was very similar to Rapunzel in a lot of ways and being in her presence relaxed them both. She showed them around the village and gave them tips on which places to shop at, or eat at, and which places to avoid because they were terrible. Dallas was apparently the headmaster's daughter and much like Rapunzel in Corona, she had a lot of power and was very much adored. She didn't use the power to her advantage though, only when it was necessary. But the town was more than happy to do anything for their 'saviors' so it wasn't really a problem.
Cassandra had left the hotel room to go collect more supplies and currently, Rapunzel was staring at an object in her hand in horror. How could this happen? It wasn't possible.. It couldn't be possible. It couldn't be true. How could this happen? Rapunzel's hands shook as she stared at the positive pregnancy test in her hand. How was she gonna explore the dangerous lands, while getting ready to fight a dangerous battle, pregnant? God, how was she going to tell Cass?
Even though Rapunzel knew it wasn't her fault, she still felt like she betrayed her wife. Would Cass hate her? Would she leave her? Would she decide this wasn't what she wanted and leave? Would Cass be disgusted with her? Be mad at her? Would she turn away? Rapunzel was practically hyperventilating at this point. Everything was spinning, she couldn't focus, and no matter what she did, she couldn't calm herself down. She felt like she was dying. Was she dying? Rapunzel was starting to get dizzy. She barely heard the door open and close.
And that's how her new friend, Dallas, found her. Hyperventilating, spiraling out of control, crying and all-in-all freaking out. Dallas was by her side in a second as she placed a supportive hand on her back. "Woah, hey, breathe girl, breathe!" Rapunzel tried to listen to the soothing, honey-like voice of her friend but she could barely even hear or register her. Everything was distant as a million negative thoughts rushed through her mind. She didn't even register Dallas getting up and rushing away but she did vaguely hear her mention Cass's name but she didn't hear the rest of what she said.
Rapunzel had no idea how long it had been. She knew it had been some minutes. 10? 20? 30? She had no clue. She was starting to grow even dizzier and everything was starting to grow dark. She couldn't see her surroundings. She couldn't focus on them. She wasn't able to register the sound of a door slamming and a worried Cass rushing in. Cassandra quickly knelt to the ground in front of her and tightly gripped, but still softly, the princess's shoulders. "Raps? Hey, Rapunzel? Come on, breathe! Hey, look at me, Raps, come on, listen to my voice," Rapunzel's eyes slowly opened (when had she closed them?) as she tried to focus on Cass's worried eyes and tried to focus on the sound of her voice. When did Cassandra even get there?
"Breathe. Come on, breathe with me Raps." Cassandra said softly as she took a couple deep breaths. "...1." Rapunzel followed as she slowly tried to level out her breathing. "Good." Cassandra took another deep breath and released it. Rapunzel followed. "...2." Slowly Rapunzel's senses slowly came back to her as she followed after Cassandra. "That's my girl. Come on, one more." She took a final deep breathe. "....and 3." Finally, Rapunzel took that final breath and her body relaxed but the panic inside her didn't disappear. Cassandra let out a sigh of relief as she brought the still freaked out girl in her arms and held her close. Cassandra snapped her eyes up to the worried Dallas. "What happened?" Dallas flinched. Cass didn't mean to glare at her nor did she mean for that to sound as venomous as it did but her worry for Rapunzel got the best of her.
"I-I don't know!" Dallas responded frantically. "I-I just came in here and she was like that... I tried to help b-but she wasn't responding and it was just getting worse so I went to get you. I don't know how it started or-"
"I'm pregnant." Rapunzel's quick, quiet voice echoed throughout the room. The room went quiet. Rapunzel squeezed her eyes shut and pushed away from Cassandra as she pointed her head downwards.
Cassandra slowly looked from Rapunzel to the startled, empathetic girl staring at the distressed Rapunzel, Cassandra's face unreadable. "Dallas, I'm gonna need you to leave." Rapunzel nearly flinched at the harsh sound of Cassandra's tone.
Dallas snapped her eyes back to Cassandra's and her eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Y-Yes, of course. I'm... right down the hall if you need anything." With that, she turned around and left, closing the door behind her with a soft click.
The room was eerily quiet for a couple minutes. Rapunzel still refused to meet Cassandra's eye contact. "....You're pregnant?" Cassandra asked after some minutes, her voice lacing with slight poison. Rapunzel wasn't sure if it was directed towards her or not. Rapunzel slowly nodded. "Are you sure, Rapunzel?" She used her full name. Rapunzel nodded a second time as she pulled out the two pregnancy tests and handed them to her without looking at her. Cassandra took them and her mouth grew dry as she swallowed. Cass stood up without a word and started frantically pacing the room, hands tangled in her hair. "...You're pregnant." She repeated, her voice still laced with poison. She continued to pace the room as Rapunzel slowly crawled backwards and laid her back against the bottom of the bed. She hugged her knees close to her body as Cassandra continued pacing the room; mumbling curses and nasty sentences Rapunzel couldn't quite catch. She didn't even know if she wanted to know what they were in the first place.
"...That little mother-"
"Are you gonna leave me?" Rapunzel's quiet voice cut her off as Cassandra stopped to a halt and stared at the distressed girl in disbelief. She sounded so scared... She looked so scared. She was hugging her knees tightly to her body, there was a pained, fearful expression on her face; tears were already running down and most of all, she was still avoiding her eye contact.
"What?" Cassandra asked in disbelief before rushing over to her and sitting on her knees in front of her. She frantically placed her hands softly, but quickly, on Rapunzel's cheeks and gently rubbed her thumbs across her cheekbones in a comforting manner. "No, no, of course not! Why would you think that?"
Rapunzel still couldn't look her in the eye. "It's just..." Rapunzel finally looked up to meet her eyes; but she couldn't even see them because she was blinded by her own tears. "...I'm sorry." She said quietly. Cassandra's heart broke. She sounded so heartbroken.... Rapunzel looked away again, unable to meet her eye contact anymore. Not that she could see them anyway.
Cassandra peered down to try and catch her eye contact but Rapunzel stubbornly refused to meet her eyes and turned away again. "Hey, Raps, come on. Please look at me." Slowly, Rapunzel raised her head to look at Cass, her hair fanning over her face. Cassandra pushed the hair out of her eyes then pushed it behind her ear. "Why are you saying sorry? There's nothing you should be sorry for. None of this is your fault."
"I-It's just.. It was - he - I feel l-like I be-betrayed you an-and.." Rapunzel wrapped her arms around herself as she started rambling, her breathing once more starting to become more labored by the second. "A-And y-you p-probably hate me... or a-are disgusted with me... and you p-probably d-don't w-want anything to do with me a-anymore o-or wa-want to tou-touch me a-and..a-and.." The poor girl was sobbing and was starting to hyperventilate once more.
"Woah, woah, hey Raps, breathe." Casssandra did the same exercise she did with her earlier until she was able to calm herself down. But not all the way. Cassandra tried to catch her eye contact again. "How could you even think that? Hey, Rapunzel, look at me." Rapunzel slowly looked up. "I need you to understand that none of this is your fault, okay? You didn't cheat on me... and I most certainly don't hate you. I could never hate you. And everything else you said would never happen either." To prove her point, she pulled the princess in her lap, facing towards her with Rapunzel's legs on either side of her. "You were... raped, Raps." Both Rapunzel and Cass had been avoiding that word since it happened. Actually, everyone who knew what happened avoided talking about it at all. The word was much too painful to think about, mostly for Rapunzel. And by saying it, it was them admitting it actually happened, which Rapunzel had been avoiding as well. She wanted to just pretend like it never happened. Apparently, fate had different ideas. Cassandra didn't miss the pained, disgusted grimace that crossed her wife's face at the word alone. "I've given you your space and I've given you enough time to come to me when you are ready but you're never gonna be ready. You can't just keep avoiding it like it never happened. Especially not now."
"I.. can't, Cass." Rapunzel whispered. "T-Talking about it... would be coming to terms with what happened."
"But it did happen, Raps. And you need to talk about it or it's just gonna get worse." Rapunzel hugged herself and looked away. "Rapunzel, this isn't just... this isn't just some small little thing that we can just forget. This is serious, what happened is serious, and what's going on now is serious. You can't just-"
Rapunzel shot to her feet. "I can't, Cassandra!" Cass tensed as she slowly rose to her feet. She never heard Rapunzel yell like that before. "I can't!" Her voice started to break. "...Because I'm not- '' She paused then turned to Cassandra. "...Because this time, I'm not strong enough to handle it! I-I can't bounce back f-from this - I can't just smile and say something positive or even be hopeful - because I don't have any hope anymore and I can't be strong anymore - not for you, not for me, and not for this damn baby who's father was a sex-crazed, power-hungry, lunatic! I-I can't keep pretending everything is alright, because it's not, and I can't just continue with day-to-day life like nothing happened! At this point, I don't even want to be alive anymore!" If Rapunzel was looking at Cassandra, she would've seen the startled, fearful expression that crossed her face. As Rapunzel continued on, Cassandra missed most of it as she noticed the cuts on her arms that weren't there before. "..A-and I just-"
"H-How long have you been feeling like this?" Rapunzel stopped and turned to her wife, who was staring at her arm, then Cassandra's eyes slowly met hers. Rapunzel hid her arms behind her back and stayed silent. What could she even say in a situation like this? Cassandra rushed forward and this time with a more serious tone, she repeated: "Rapunzel, how long have you been feeling like this?" She still stayed silent. "Rapunzel, I need to know-"
"....Ever since it happened."
"And you didn't even think to tell me?"
"Why does it matter?" Rapunzel responded quietly.
"What do you mean 'why does it-" Cass paused. T-This isn't just some small thing-" Cassandra shook her head. "...That's serious! Why would you keep something like that from me?!"
Rapunzel looked away and once more, hugged herself. "Y-You already blame yourself and..."
"It doesn't matter what I think, Rapunzel! You need to stop putting everyone else's feelings before yours! I would rather you tell me when - when something like that is on your mind then not telling me at all!"
"...I was trying to ignore it."
"Ignoring it isn't gonna solve anything!"
Rapunzel snapped her eyes up. "Oh, you're one to talk miss 'plan evil schemes behind my back - because you were to stubborn to talk to me - for nearly a month then turn your back on me when I need you most then try to murder me along with my kingdom and friends'!" Rapunzel, regretting her words as soon as they left her mouth, winced at the extreme hurt expression that crossed Cassandra's face. Rapunzel ran her hands down her face and groaned before looking back at Cass with a sorrow-filled, guilty expression. "I-I'm sorry Cass.. t-that was uncalled for.."
Cassandra sighed and shook her head. "No, no you're right."
"Cass-"
"You're right. I was in a bad place and I was hurt and I ignored it. I didn't talk to you about how I was feeling or what I found out. But you saw for yourself how that turned out and I've said it many times before, but I'll say it again, you're not invincible." Cassandra walked towards her then stood directly in front of her, looked her in the eye, before saying much quieter: "And you shouldn't keep something like that from me. As you've said before, for us to work, we need to communicate." Cassandra raised her hand and placed it on Rapunzel's cheek, rubbing her thumb across it gently. "...and that's not just one-sided no matter how unbreakable you think you are." Rapunzel looked up into Cassandra's eyes and for once, she could see every emotion coursing through her beautiful teal eyes. Guilt. Worry. Anxiety. Concern. Love. Understanding. Pain. Warmth. Adoration. Devotion. Confliction. But the ones that stood out the most were... fear and anger. Rapunzel knew the anger wasn't directed towards her but to see such immense fear clearly visible in her lover's eyes... a fear that Rapunzel didn't even think Cassandra was capable of having or showing... broke her.
Rapunzel's eyes filled with tears and she launched herself into Cassandra's awaiting arms and - started sobbing so much that her entire body was shaking. Cassandra's eyes softened as she wrapped her arms tightly around the princess then brought them both slowly to the floor. She held Rapunzel's shaking form close to her body, to her heart, to her soul as she rubbed her hands comfortably up and down her back. A lot of time had passed before Rapunzel was able to calm herself enough where she was able to speak. But barely. Her sobs still racked through her entire body and her form was still shaking.
"...I'm sorry." Rapunzel finally said, the syllables broken, the words could barely even be understood.
Cassandra placed a hand on the back of her head and dug it in her hair, pushing her even closer. Cassandra's hand was also shaking. "No, honey, no. Don't apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for."
"B-But I-I.. I-I d-didn't m-mean-"
"...Shh.." Cassandra soothed. "...You have nothing to be sorry for." Cassandra repeated, this time quieter.
"I-I should have to-told you.. I-I just c-couldn't.. b-bring myself to do it."
"The important thing is you told me... before you did anything stupid." Rapunzel was silent for a couple minutes, only her whimpers could be heard, and Cassandra was starting to think she wasn't gonna respond at all.
"...I'm scared, Cass." Rapunzel admitted quietly after nearly 10 minutes.
Cassandra pulled her closer and squeezed her eyes shut. "Me too, love, me too."
"I-I do-don't want.. I don't want this to be the reason... that t-tears us apart."
"What?" Cassandra gently pushed her back and held her at shoulder-length. "Why would you think that?"
Rapunzel looked up at her and sniffled. "Y-You said you d-didn't.. and there's so much going on, so many d-dangerous things a-ahead... a-a-and I-I don't... I don't want to lose you.."
Cassandra pushed her hair from out of her eyes then she cupped her cheek. "I'm not going anywhere. Not now, not ever."
Rapunzel looked downward. "...You say that now."
"Rapunzel," Cassandra hooked her finger under her chin and slowly raised her head. "You're my world. Without you, there is no me. Nothing is ever gonna change that. A-And this kid.. yeah, it's scary.. and god knows that I'm terrified.. but I will still be by your side through it all, no matter what. We'll raise this baby together."
"B-But her father is-"
"DNA isn't everything, Raps. You should know that by now." Cassandra gave her a sweet smile and rubbed her thumb across her cheek lovingly. "...And this child is the living proof of what you survived through. It doesn't matter who the real father is - the only thing that matters is who raises the kid, and how they do it, and we will raise them to be an amazing person in spite of who the father actually was. Everytime we look at them - it will be a reminder of what we survived. Of what you survived." Cassandra paused before adding. "...And prove that something good came out of everything that happened. And we will fight back against the cruelty of this world and bring some light into it. She will be the proof of our love and the greatness that's within both of us. She will be the proof of the unbreakable bond that we share - and the proof of how we beat society's expectations and rose up against the odds and won."
One side of Rapunzel's lip quirked up. "You said 'her'."
Cassandra blushed and looked away. A cute, flustered expression filled her face. "I-I just have a hunch.."
Rapunzel smiled then it dropped as she looked down at her stomach then back up at Cass with an uncertain, fearful expression. "Do you really think we can do this?"
Cassandra looked back at her and gave her a sweet smile before placing a small kiss on her forehead. She then pulled back and looked at her with a confident smile. "I know we can. We have survived a hell of a lot and despite society pinning us against each other time and time again, we still have always come out on top stronger than ever. Nothing can stop us. Nothing has stopped us. And this won't be any different."
Rapunzel looked down and placed her hands on her stomach before looking back up with a loving smile. "Yeah.." She said slowly. "...You... You're right, Cass."
Cassandra chuckled and gave her a cheesy grin. "When am I not?"
Rapunzel let out a small giggle. "I can think of a few times."
Cassandra let out an over-exaggerated gasp. "...You little...!" She gently pushed her, making the princess laugh.
Rapunzel then looked up at Cass and gave her one of the sweetest, most loving, most amazing smiles Cassandra had ever been given by her or anyone and placed her hand on Cass's cheek. "You're amazing, you know that?"
Cassandra blushed deeply and looked away. Rapunzel let out a small giggle. She still always got so flustered with compliments. "I-I'm just doing what any normal good lover would do."
Rapunzel shook her head with a smile. "No, you're doing so much more than that. What you're doing is... going above and beyond. You are the most amazing, most wonderful person I have ever met... and how you weren't swooped up before I came along is still a wonder to me."
Cassandra, although still flustered at the compliments, placed her hand on Rapunzel's cheek and smiled. "It's not a wonder to me. You were the only one that looked past what you see on the outside and... saw what was on the inside."
Rapunzel's eyes softened as she leaned into her touch. "Of course I did," Rapunzel said quietly. "...because I could see the type of person you really were under all that pain, heartache and betrayal.. Anyone who knew you would've seen the same. How no one did... is beyond me."
Cassandra pressed her lips to Rapunzel's forehead for a couple of seconds before saying quietly: "Because you were the only one that cared enough to look. You changed my life, Raps. In more ways than one."
Rapunzel's eyes filled up with tears. She couldn't help it. Rapunzel had always wanted to make a difference in the world and everytime that she tried, she only seemed to make things worse because she kept making many, many mistakes. She had started to give up. But for the first time, she finally understood. She realized that she did make a difference.... to one world. Cassandra's. And she realized that was all she needed.
Rapunzel grasped both of Cassandra's cheeks and crashed her lips to hers. Cassandra immediately melted into the kiss as she wiped Rapunzel's tears away and pressed back. Rapunzel tightened her hold on her face and brought her even closer as she gave her the best, most loving, most amazing kiss that she had ever given her. It was so clear; so filled with love, admiration, appreciation and so much more.. to the point where it brought Cassandra to tears. Cassandra gave her all she had back; tears flowing freely down both of their faces as the kiss continued.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they pulled back as they rested their foreheads against each other, eyes closed, and panting softly; just living in the moment. After a couple of minutes, they both finally opened their eyes. Rapunzel gave Cassandra a sweet smile and wiped the tears still flowing down her face with her thumb. "I love you. I love you so much."
Cassandra gave her the same smile and placed a small, chaste kiss on her lips. "I love you so much too."
Another couple minutes of innocent silence passed before Rapunzel's smile grew mischievous. "Hey, remember when you said you would make it up to me? Well, now's your chance."
Cassandra was confused at first by what she meant then it clicked as her eyes lip up in realization. Then they darkened. "I did say that, didn't I?"
"Mhm. And you promised."
"Guess I have to uphold my promise now, huh?"
"Mhm~." With that, Cassandra crashed her lips to Rapunzel's and Rapunzel greedily returned the passionate kiss. Cassandra brought them both to their feet then pushed Rapunzel back until she landed on the bed. She climbed on top of her and continued deeply kissing her. Cassandra was about to do what she normally did in this scenario, but then she really thought about it. Tonight... wasn't about her. It was about Rapunzel. She needed to show Rapunzel how much she really loved her and remind her that she was gonna be with her forever; that she wasn't going anywhere.
So tonight needed to be about her. Tonight wasn't a quick, rough sex night; it was a lovey, soft carresses, and slow burn night. Tonight was about showing Rapunzel so much love and adoration... that it would make her never think twice about Cassandra's love for her ever again. Cassandra knew that Rapunzel needed this.
Cassandra pressed her lips more firmly against Rapunzel's before she ran her hands gently and lovingly up and down Rapunzel's body. Rapunzel seemed to sense that tonight was different, that tonight wasn't like their normal sexual interactions as she dug her hands in Cassandra's hair and pushed her even closer. With loving and gentle hands, Cass grasped both of her cheeks and tilted her head slightly so she could better kiss her. Rapunzel let out a small moan when Cass's tongue intertwined with hers.
Cassandra released her face then slowly raised her dress over her head and threw it somewhere on the floor. Rapunzel's hands busied themself as she slipped them under Cassandra's shirt and ran them over her stomach then up her body; making the older woman shiver. Rapunzel smiled into the kiss. She then removed her hands and raised Cassandra's shirt over her head, their lips only leaving each other for a millimeter of a second, before they remet and Rapunzel threw the shirt on the floor to meet with her dress.
Cassandra parted from her when air became necessary as they looked deeply into each other's eyes for a couple seconds, both panting softly, then Cassandra started trailing kisses down her face and all over her neck. She bit softly, licked, kissed all the while running her warm hands up and down the princess's body. Rapunzel moaned and relaxed into the sensation of it all.
Once her face and neck were thoroughly worshiped, Cassandra continued down into other places. She trailed her lips, her tongue, down her body and kissed every single bruise or cut she could find. Which was a lot. She slowly and carefully kissed down her body and when she reached her stomach, she placed a long, loving, lasting kiss on it. She could practically feel Rapunzel's sweet smile.
After a couple seconds, she continued her way down her body before she reached the juncture between her legs. She raised one of her legs and put it over her shoulder then kissed both sides of her inner thighs. She heard Rapunzel whimper a plea and she decided to stop teasing her and finally reached out her tongue and licked the place Rapunzel was aching to be touched. The first contact of her tongue made Rapunzel shoot her hand out and dig it in Cass's hair as she let out a deep moan.
Cassandra started basically eating her out as she hit all the right places she knew pleasured Rapunzel the most. Rapunzel's moans started to grow as Cassandra's tongue entered her and she used her fingers for stimulation. Cass placed one hand on her pelvis to keep her in place and used the other to rub, caress, and do so much more. Rapunzel's head swung back and forth as her grip in Cassandra's hair tightened. "C-Cass.. mm.." She heard the princess moan her name in broken syllables.
Cassandra continued to eat her out until the young woman was practically screaming. Cassandra smiled while doing her work. Even when she was being soft and gentle she could still make the princess scream. "C-Cass.. ergh... p-please, I.." She knew exactly what her love needed. Cassandra focused her mouth on her clit as she gently sucked and added two fingers inside of her. That did it. Rapunzel's body went slack, her mouth opened in a silent scream, and her back arched as she had one of the most amazing releases she's ever had.
Cassandra slowly climbed her way up her body and waited for her lover to catch her breath and come back to her. When she did, the princess's eyes slowly opened to meet hers; they were dazed and awed. Cassandra smiled and placed a lasting, loving kiss on her lips. Once she was able to remember where she was and how she got there, Rapunzel smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around her neck, bringing her closer as she tilted her head slightly up to better kiss Cassandra. Cass eventually parted and they got lost into each other's eyes for nearly 2 minutes before anyone even moved. Cass smiled then moved from off of her as Rapunzel immediately cuddled into her side.
A couple peaceful, comfortable silent minutes passed before anyone said anything. "...Hey, Raps?" Rapunzel had to tilt her head up to look at her in confusion because of how fearful she suddenly sounded.
Rapunzel grew worried immediately. "...Yeah, Cass?"
Cassandra looked down at her and the expression she gave her could only be described as one thing: complete and utter fear. It surprised Rapunzel so much that she had to pull back. That look... was like none she had ever seen on her before. "....You're not gonna leave me, are you?"
Rapunzel immediately knew what she meant as she slowly raised herself until they were looking at each other face-to-face. Rapunzel was quiet for a minute or two before she looked up to meet Cassandra's fearful eyes. "No," She said then she smiled and pressed a kiss to Cass's forehead. "...I'm not going anywhere."
Cassandra breathed out a sigh of relief as Rapunzel was brought back into her arms as Cassandra tightly held her close. "....You really scared me..."
Immediate guilt filled Rapunzel as she wrapped her arms around Cassandra's stomach. "I know... and I'm sorry. I was just.." Rapunzel wasn't able to finish the sentence. It still hurts too much.
"...I know," Cassandra responded, already knowing what she meant. Cassandra squeezed her eyes shut and held her even closer, even tighter. "....Just promise me that you... that you will never contemplate something like that again." She paused. "...and if you do, you'll tell me much, much sooner."
Rapunzel was quiet for a second or two before she responded quietly: "I promise." Cassandra let out a shaky breath and placed a kiss on the top of her head. Rapunzel's heart clenched. She never meant to scare Cass, her love, like she did... If she was being honest with herself, she didn't think it would scare Cass as bad as she saw it did. "...I'm sorry, Cassandra."
"Shh.." Cassandra soothed. "Don't apologize. Never apologize for... how you are feeling. Like I said, you told me before you did anything stupid." Cassandra paused then gently pushed her back so they were eye-to-eye again and fixed her with a serious expression before she hesitantly asked: "....were you going to do anything stupid?" She knew what she was asking. Rapunzel knew what she was asking.
When Rapunzel looked down and avoided her eye-contact, she knew what that meant as a horror-filled expression crossed Cassandra's face. She was going to... she could've lost Rapunzel and she would have had no idea. "...Yes, I was." She heard Rapunzel say quietly.
"W-When...? How?" Cassandra knew she was cutting in too deep, she didn't even know if she wanted to know the answer, but she just had to know.
Rapunzel met her eye contact briefly before looking back down. "...I was going to do it... later tonight. As for how..." Rapunzel shrugged. "...that part doesn't matter now."
The horrific expression re-filled Cassandra's face as she quickly pulled the princess back into her arms and squeezed her eyes shut; her hand was tangled in her hair while shaking. "God, Rapunzel, if you did that to me... I would have never forgiven you."
Rapunzel buried her face in Cassandra's chest as guilt, pain-filled tears filled her eyes. "I-I know... and I'm sorry.. I-It was selfish..."
"Yeah, it was," Cassandra admitted softly but there was no bite to her tone. She gently pushed her love away again and fixed her with an even more serious expression as she grasped both of her cheeks. "Don't ever do that to me again. Ever."
Rapunzel nodded, fresh tears streaming down her face as she placed her hands on top of Cassandra's. "I promise."
Cassandra took a shaky breath and pulled Rapunzel in for a gentle, loving kiss as she wiped her tears away with her thumbs. Cassandra pulled back and placed her lips on her forehead for nearly 5 seconds before she pulled back and pulled her against her chest, her arms wrapped securely and protectively around her. "I love you, Raps."
Rapunzel cuddled into her warmth and took a deep breath before she placed a small kiss under Cassandra's chin. "I love you too, Cass."
As minutes passed and both of they lay in each other's arms, Rapunzel could hear Cassandra's breathing slowly even out. But her hold never loosened, not one bit, as Cassandra nuzzled her and brought her closer in her sleep. Rapunzel smiled as she cuddled more into her wife. As her eyes slowly closed, she realized something.
She knew that whatever lay ahead of them, they would get through it together.
And come out of it even stronger.
Whoo! That was a long angst-filled chapter with a happy ending! I hope you enjoyed ^-^. Also, props to Cass for being the best waifu ever.