Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Enemy of the Stars (A Stars Above Sequel) ❯ Chapter 21: The Journey to Healing ( Chapter 21 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

 

It had been about a week and a half since Rapunzel and the women and children were rescued from Azriel’s prison. Rapunzel was still stuck in a hospital bed considering it takes forever for ribs to heal, plus they needed to make sure that she didn’t even have more internal bleeding so they needed to keep an eye on her for the time being. She didn't exactly agree with that but whatever. 

 

Juniper had come to visit them multiple times and she was a completely different person than the little girl they saved a week prior. Actually, all the women and children were, Serenity included. Their personalities started to shine through now that they weren’t living in a constant state of misery and paranoia, fearful of everything that came their way and fearful of being beaten down or raped.

 

Juniper had also become like an older sister to Nova. When the queen couldn’t watch her, Juniper would and took her to her old favorite shops. And other times, Serenity watched her.

 

 She visited her parents every day but for the time being, she was otherwise staying with the queen and Serenity. Rapunzel needed to focus on healing and she couldn’t do that with a rambunctious toddler in the room, at least according to Cassandra and Serenity. Rapunzel didn’t agree with this placement but she knew that they were right. Besides, Nova needed to get used to staying with the queen anyway. 

 

Besides that, Rapunzel was going absolutely crazy. She had been stuck in a damn bed for almost two weeks and it was really starting to mess with her. She had barely even gotten up in the last two weeks and being stuck in one place was seriously starting to make her antsy and fidgety. She begged both Cassandra and Serenity many times if she could at least get some fresh air but they kept giving her the same answer: That she couldn’t walk just yet and if she did, it could cause more damage than good. 

 

But honestly, Rapunzel was starting to wonder if being in a serious amount of pain was better than being stuck inside in one suffocating room. 

 

When she wasn’t hooked up on medication, her injuries actually hurt like hell. Cassandra was right when she said breaking your ribs is one of the worst injuries you’ll ever have to go through. Plus she’s been having frequent headaches due to her concussion. And then the rest of her body still ached considering she was still covered in bruises and scratches. The scratches were mostly healed but the bruising kept darkening, which Serenity said was normal. So on top of being stuck in a small hospital room with an overprotective warrior, she was exhausted because her pain had been keeping her up at night. Cassandra too. Which did not help either of their moods.

Not to mention, they both had been having frequent nightmares of the days that they were separated when they thought each other were dead. Well, at least, Rapunzel was having them. Cassandra had to shake her awake for some of them because they were so bad that she ended up crying and whimpering in her sleep. Cassandra was having them too but she was much quieter about it so Rapunzel didn't know. Or at least, that's what the warrior thought. 

 

Rapunzel, on the other hand, already knew because the warrior sometimes would talk in her sleep or let out small, quiet whimpers. Considering she was having problems sleeping anyway, sometimes she would listen to the heartbroken sounds coming from the warrior from time to time. When they were especially bad, she wanted nothing more than to shake the poor girl awake but she knew if she did that, she would just make Cassandra go into ‘defensive’ mode and it would end up doing more bad than good. So she had to be stuck listening to whatever arose out of Cass's mouth whenever she was asleep and a lot of the time, it brought the princess to near tears because of all the pained emotions coming out of her mouth; emotions that she would never dare admit out loud in the waking world. 

 

The princess didn't know why the warrior thought that she didn't know, I mean, why wouldn't she? It was her job to watch out for Cassandra just as much as it was Cassandra’s job to look out for her. So of course she would take notice of small things like serious nightmares that attacked her dreams. She guessed that Cassandra was keeping it from her so that she could focus on 'getting better', just as she always did. Rapunzel hated how the warrior always put her before herself; emotional well-being included.

 

Cassandra had basically moved into the room with her. Not that they didn't live together before but she refused to leave her side. Cassandra had barely left the room herself but at least she could go outside every now and then if she wanted too. And just like how it is every time she had gotten hurt, Cassandra had not left her alone since. At all. She has been up her ass with everything, even small things, taking every single bruise, cut, and whatever else was on her way too seriously. She had been riding her ass continuously, nagging up a storm, and treating every. Little. Thing. Like she was dying and honestly, Rapunzel was on the verge of stabbing her in the gut again just so that she could be stuck in a hospital bed too so that she was unable to ride her ass nor nag her anymore. Cassandra was driving her that crazy.

 

But she wasn’t the only one. Both she and Serenity had been on her like they were her guardians. According to Serenity, she was gonna be stuck in the damn bed for another 3 weeks, which she thought was 100% overkill. She didn’t know if she was gonna survive another 3 weeks of this, she was barely hanging on as it was.

 

She was trying so hard not to snap at Cassandra because she understood her concerns and at first, she allowed the warrior to be over-protective and overbearing without commenting or fighting it. She had thought that once she healed a little more, Cassandra would calm down but she still hasn’t. Actually, she’s only gotten worse and Rapunzel wasn’t sure how much longer she could put up with this. It didn’t help that all she wanted to do was get up, leave this damn bed, and go outside which further put her even more on edge. 

 

At the moment, Rapunzel was pretty much tossing and turning as well as fidgeting. Cassandra was sitting in the chair close to the bed sharpening her dagger. After 15 minutes of Rapunzel moving around constantly, Cassandra eventually put her dagger down in annoyance. “Ugh, Rapunzel, could you knock that off? It’s distracting and annoying.” Rapunzel had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. That was another thing that was driving her crazy. Cassandra had also been extra moody lately and was annoyed and angered rather easily. 

 

Which Rapunzel realized was normal considering Cassandra usually became a little more… on edge and harsh when she was worried about her and trying to 'take care of her'.  But what she had been doing lately was… more intense than other times. 

 

Besides that, Rapunzel was also driving the warrior crazy. How could they not drive each other crazy? They had been stuck in the same room for nearly 2 weeks and they had been in more than one argument. 

 

Rapunzel only gave her a frustrated huff. “Well sor-ry you and my so-called ‘doctor’ won’t let me go outside for even a second.” She responded sarcastically, causing the warrior to roll her eyes, who was clearly unfazed by her attitude. 

 

“We already told you-” Cassandra was gonna repeat the same thing that she had been repeating every single time whenever Rapunzel asked if she could go outside but this time, Rapunzel cut her off. She was starting to see the resemblance to Gothel. And although she felt horrible for making that connection, if there was anything that she hated more, it was being stuck inside and even more so being forced to stay there. 

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. “Not healed enough, can’t walk yet, could cause fatal damage, yeah I get it.” She responded sarcastically with a nonchalantly wave of her hand. Rapunzel turned her head towards her and tilted it, her hair falling in front of her face. “If you’re so annoyed, why don’t you just leave? The door is right over there.”

 

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

 

“Yes,” Rapunzel replied honestly with an exasperated sigh.

 

Cassandra didn’t make any effort in getting up. She made a humming sound in the back of her throat before she focused back onto her dagger and continued to sharpen it. “Well, too bad,” Cassandra said without looking up at her. “Cause I’m not leaving.” Rapunzel had to resist the urge to grab Cassandra's sword that was placed directly next to the bed and lunge it forward.

 

Rapunzel had to hold back an aggravated, ticked-off groan. God, couldn’t she just take a hint? Rapunzel realized that yes, she could, but she didn’t care which is what pissed Rapunzel off even more. “You don’t need to constantly watch over me, I’m not gonna stab myself as soon as you leave the room,” Rapunzel responded, clear aggravation and rising anger in her voice as she rested her chin on her hands. Cassandra shot her head up and glared at her. 

 

“That’s not funny.”

 

“It wasn’t supposed to be.” Cassandra merely rolled her eyes again and scoffed before again, focusing on sharpening her dagger; the same dagger that she had been sharpening for the past 45 minutes. Rapunzel fixed her with a deadpan expression. “Cassandra, if you sharpen that dagger anymore, there isn’t gonna be much blade left.” Knowing Cassandra, she knew that the warrior was probably only sharpening it to distract herself from blowing up. Rapunzel also knew that the lack of the outside world was affecting Cassandra as well. Them being both isolated, even though Cassandra was technically isolating herself, was seriously starting to affect both of them. 

 

Cassandra was on edge, cranky, tired, and moody and Rapunzel was antsy, fidgety, bored, and annoyed. It was one thing if one of them was cranky but both of them? There might as well be fire being thrown back and forth between them. And besides that, they were both exhausted on top of that. It wouldn't be long before one of them finally exploded. 

 

The warrior put down the dagger on the table a little too harshly. “Well, there’s nothing else to do in here.” She responded through clenched teeth.

 

Rapunzel, unfazed by her attitude, rolled her eyes and just kept resting her chin on her hand. "I never asked you to stay here. Go outside if you’re so antsy and bored, it’d be doing me a solid.” 

 

Cassandra almost picked up the dagger just to slam it back on the desk. “Ugh, what is with you?? Can’t you just accept help for once?” She hissed. 

 

Rapunzel glared at her. “You’re not ‘helping’ anymore, Cassandra, because there’s nothing you need to help with. Now you’re just up my ass 24/7 and nag me about everything. And don’t give me that ‘I’m just worried about you’ BS because it’s been almost two weeks and you’re even more uptight than you were when I first got here. I let you do your whole ‘overprotective’ and ‘assertive’ thing and I’ve let you take care of me but there comes a point when there’s no need for it anymore. At this point, it's just overkill." Rapunzel said through clenched teeth. “You’re driving me crazy and I can only take so much.”

 

Cassandra just rolled her eyes which further pissed off the princess. “Yeah, the feelings are mutual.” She responded bitterly and looked away from her again. Ugh, this little- 

 

“Ugh, then do us both a favor and just go do something - anything - that’s not in here.”

 

Cassandra crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I already told you, I’m not leaving.”

 

“Why?” Rapunzel asked, her voice laced with near desperation and aggravation. “Because you being in here isn’t helping either of us. Do you want this to end up in a huge fight? Because if you're so worried about me 'healing', that probably wouldn't be the best idea.” 

 

Cassandra just skipped right over the last part. “If you’d just stop being so difficult, maybe this would be easier.”

 

“I’m being difful-?!” Instead of exploding, Rapunzel closed her eyes and took a deep breath because she really did not have the energy to fight before she opened them again. “Look, we’re both cranky, moody, cooped up, and all-in-all exhausted. I don’t care if you leave for an hour or ten minutes, I just need some peace and quiet without someone constantly riding my ass or nagging me about every little thing I do. Or I swear to god, you’re gonna be the one in a hospital bed if you don’t leave right now.” She was seething, her eyes narrowed as she tried to keep her voice as level as possible but the anger and frustration were still evident.

 

Cassandra narrowed her eyes and seemed to search for something in her eyes for a second before letting out a frustrated huff. But then she finally stood up, understanding that Rapunzel was completely serious. She knew her well enough to know when she was pushed too far. It didn't happen often but when it did, even she knew not to mess with her after she was given a warning like that. “Fine,” She responded a bit too harshly. She didn’t say anything more to Rapunzel, she pretty much stormed out, slamming the door behind her. 

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. The air felt so much fresher now that there wasn’t all that tension in the air. She and Cass would talk later but for right now, it was probably best that they were apart until they both calmed down. Now that the room was quiet and peaceful, the princess felt exhaustion creeping in and it wasn’t long before she was out like a light; hopefully, she could get some shut-eye before the warrior came back.

 

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It had been two hours since Cassandra stormed out. Cassandra was a lot more on edge than she thought she was so she went into the forest to shoot some targets with her bow and practiced with her sword to blow off some steam. She felt a lot calmer now, a lot less… nerve-wracked and on-edge. Guess Rapunzel was right when she said all that she needed was just a little fresh air and some time away to collect herself. Now she felt bad for storming out like she did, as well as keeping the princess isolated, so she decided to finally start walking back. 

 

-----------------------

 

The walk back was a lot longer than she remembered it was. Then again, she was seething when she stormed toward the forest, and when she was that pissed, she usually didn't pay much attention to where she was going, she just marched blindly in one direction, muttering and mumbling angry curse words the whole way. It's not the safest thing to do but then again, when she was pissed, whoever decided to unfortunately mess with her would meet a brutal end anyway. 

 

But eventually, she finally made it back. She entered the hospital and made her way towards Rapunzel's room and when she got there, she slowly and gently opened the door, only to find her asleep. Good, at least she was getting some rest finally. Cassandra gently shut the door and walked over to her bed before sitting down in the chair next to it. She ended up placing her hand on top of the princess's head in a comforting manner, whether it was more of a comfort for her or the princess was unknown but the soft pressure caused her to stir. Shit, she didn't mean to wake her up.

 

Rapunzel let out an "mmmm" as she felt the pressure of a familiar hand resting on top of her head. "Finally pull the stick out of your ass?" Rapunzel eventually asked quietly without looking up and unlike before where her tone was bitter, this one was teasing. 

 

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Haha, very funny." She responded sarcastically causing a tired, amused smile to appear on Rapunzel's face, her eyes still closed. She could tell by her tone that she was calmer now too. "But yes," Cassandra responded. 

 

"Good," Rapunzel mumbled tiredly, her voice slurred. "Now come here," She reached her hands out and opened and closed them towards her like a baby. Cassandra rolled her eyes but otherwise crawled onto the bed and laid next to her. Rapunzel smiled, her eyes still closed, as she instinctively wrapped her arms around her stomach and pressed her face into her chest. Cassandra pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head before wrapping her arms around her and pulled her closer. 

 

Rapunzel smiled and cuddled closer and before she knew it, she was out like a light again, feeling protected, safe and warm because of Cassandra. 

 

---------------

 

It had been another two days and at this point, Rapunzel really was going crazy. She couldn't stand to be in the room a second longer. 

 

The only upside is that she and Cass have been less at each other's necks. They both realized that at some point, they do need a break from each other otherwise they'll just end up quite literally murdering each other. So, every couple of hours, the warrior would leave the room for an hour or two to recollect herself when things became tense and heated again. 

 

Although they had been better, that didn't mean that they didn't fight. Mostly on Rapunzel's end now but Cassandra could now tell that being isolated from the world was seriously affecting her, especially her temper and patience. She had been more snappy and easily aggravated or annoyed but Cass could hardly blame her. She felt bad, she did, keeping Rapunzel locked up. She knew how much the princess hated that, especially because of her time in the tower. But she didn't really have a choice, Rapunzel was not healed enough to even barely move yet, let alone walk outside. 

 

Rapunzel had been trying her absolute hardest to not rip Cassandra's head off and keep her temper in check but it was proving more difficult than she thought. She felt bad for snapping at the warrior when she was only trying to help her but for some reason, she couldn't stop herself no matter how hard she tried. Cassandra had been a lot nicer than 2 days prior and was also trying to keep her temper in check because she knew that if she didn't, it would just end up really bad for both of them. At least one of them needed to keep themselves under control. And that ‘someone’ apparently had to be Cassandra.

 

But it was proving difficult to keep herself in check as well considering Rapunzel had more moody and on edge than when she was pregnant with Nova and it was starting to have its effect on Cassandra too. She knew that the princess was trying not to snap at her but it still didn't stop her from doing so; it was all she seemed to do nowadays. 

 

Rapunzel also knew that Cassandra was trying to just take her moody behavior and sarcastic comments without edging her on or fighting back and she loved her for that. But sometimes, Cassandra couldn't keep herself from bitterly replying or fighting with her and usually, when that happened, Cassandra just went outside to take a breath or two or take Fidella for a run.

 

When that didn't work, she usually just let it run its course and whatever they said to each other, they would fix it later when they had both calmed down enough. Rapunzel was ansty, frustrated, bored, nerve-wracked and most of all, she was sexually frustrated, which caused her to be horny a lot of the time now. Which wasn't like her all that much at all. 

 

After their first night in the hospital, Cassandra refused to do anything sexual-related until she got a little ‘better’ and honestly, that was probably one of the main reasons why she had been so moody lately. She was so sexually frustrated that she considered either pulling Cassandra down and pretty much seducing her or touching herself. Rapunzel had still yet to do either. She couldn't touch herself when Cass was around otherwise she would notice and seducing her may be harder than she thought considering her warrior was highly stubborn, especially where it considered her health. 

 

Besides, Rapunzel barely ever 'touched' herself growing up, only when teenage hormones became too much and she was curious. But even then, she didn’t do it all that much because she didn’t know how or even what it meant. It wasn't like Gothel owned any sex-ed books nor did she ever give her 'the talk'. 

 

After their first night together having sex, Rapunzel never needed to and it wasn't like she thought of sexual things before that. So she had no idea how to even pleasure herself properly and although it was probably trial and error and she could figure it out easily, she wanted Cassandra, not her own fingers. But the warrior repeatedly refused and she already tried to seduce her. She knew that Cassandra had to be in the same state as her but the warrior's self-will and worry about her health were unfortunately much stronger than her sexual desires. Rapunzel didn't know whether to be touched by that (pun 100% intended) or to be pissed off about it. 

 

If she didn't either go outside or at least have some sort of release, she was quite literally gonna kill someone. And that someone would most likely be Cassandra. She decided that she had no choice but to take the other route. The princess pretended that she was asleep so that Cassandra would leave the room, probably to go get food or something, like she always did when she was 'asleep'.  

 

As soon as she left the room, Rapunzel stuck her hand down her underwear and started trying to help herself release. She let out a small moan or two but it otherwise wasn't working and it wasn't enough. She wasn't as skilled as Cassandra when it came to pleasuring herself, which was quite sad if you asked her. Touching herself only seemed to make things so much worse though because she couldn't get a release from it but it still made her undeniably horny. Probably the horniest she had been in her life. Guess that's what 2 weeks and 2 days of no sexual contact does to you, even to the not-as-dirty princess. 

 

It wasn't long before Cassandra came back out of nowhere, with food just as she thought, and Rapunzel had to quickly gather herself and 'remain' asleep. When she heard the warrior walk into the room, her heart was pounding and her breathing labored as she tried to keep quiet. She was so wet down there, she could feel it on her inner thighs. 

 

Cass eventually put the food down quietly and slowly got into the bed with her before spooning her from behind, which did not help her situation, it made it worse. Rapunzel's heart was most certainly going a million miles a minute and her breathing quickened ever so slightly. At this point, she hoped that Cassandra couldn't feel it. It was times like these that she was thankful for not being a guy. 

 

Cassandra tightened her hold around her stomach and pulled her even tighter against her body until the princess could swear that she could feel the warmth from Cassandra's womanhood pressed against her bottom. But suddenly, Cassandra's hand started to trail upwards. Rapunzel resisted the urge to grab her hand and place it where she needed it. 

 

"Don't pretend that you're asleep, Rapunzel, 'cause I know that you're not." Rapunzel stiffened. Cassandra continued trailing her hand up, stopping just under her breasts. She could feel her smirk as she pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. "Because I heard you out there." Rapunzel's eyes widened. Was she really that loud? She could barely even cause any pleasure. "And I couldn't help but notice..." Cassandra trailed off, finally placing her hands on her breasts. "...that you weren't able to bring yourself to a release."

 

Finally, Rapunzel responded. "A-And who's fault is that?" She mentally cursed herself for stuttering. God, she had never been more turned on in her life. 

 

Cassandra didn't directly respond but she could feel her smirk widen. She suddenly trailed one hand down her body, keeping the other on her breast, and easily slipped her hand into her underwear. Rapunzel tensed, again, lightning bolts spreading throughout her body due to not being touched for two weeks. Cassandra's hand felt like heaven, even when she was just barely touching her. 

 

Cassandra made a humming sound. "You're so wet," She mumbled. "If you needed a release so bad, you could've just told me." 

 

"I-I tried," Rapunzel responded, her face flushed and her body hot. She took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm her pounding heart but it didn’t do much. "But you refused to do anything sexual with me until I 'healed' more." 

 

"I can't take your bad attitude anymore so this is a better option than what I want to do." 

 

"W-What do you want to do?" Rapunzel asked hesitantly. 

 

Cassandra just kissed the back of her neck. "Doesn't matter," She mumbled. So she didn't ask any more questions, the warrior rubbed slightly, causing a deep moan to leave the princess, successfully blocking any question that she still had on her mind. 

 

Cassandra's smirk widened. "I barely touched you," She said hotly. "How horny are you?" God, for some reason, Rapunzel hated that word because usually, she wouldn't use such vulgar language. But at that moment, she didn't really care. 

 

"You have no idea." Rapunzel groaned. 

 

Cassandra kissed her shoulder. "I think I do," She responded. "But in case I'm not around and you need a release then I'm gonna teach you how to do it yourself." 

 

Rapunzel blushed deeply, that was a new territory that they never explored before… "W-What?" She asked in genuine surprise. 

 

Cassandra only smirked and continued pressing soft kisses to the back of her neck and her shoulders. "I've taught you everything else over the years, this time isn't any different." Instead of letting the princess respond, Cassandra grabbed her hand and placed it between her legs before putting her own hand on top of it, much like they did two weeks ago but Cassandra kept her hand there this time. 

 

Rapunzel was blushing madly at this point; her heart was pounding in her ears and her breathing was labored. She didn't know why this was affecting her like it was. She usually wouldn't get this flustered considering they've shared even more… dirtier.. sexual experiences than this. She felt like a shy teenage girl getting touched for the first time by a hot girl; not like she was being touched by her wife who she's done… unspeakable things with over the years. 

 

Maybe it was the fact that she was touched deprived or maybe it was because this is something they've never really done before, either way, Rapunzel couldn't seem to keep her emotions and sexual desires in check. It was then that Cassandra started moving her hand back and forth, causing a surprised moan to leave her. Cassandra kissed her neck from behind and massaged her breast while pushing her hand back and forth with the other. It only made Rapunzel's sexual desire worse and eventually, she couldn't take it anymore as she spun around and caught Cassandra's lips into a deep, steaming kiss, catching the warrior off guard. 

 

Cassandra, once she got over her surprise, kissed her just as feverishly. Rapunzel eventually started to try and literally rip her clothes off by tightly gripping her shirt, so much so, they were turning white. Cass eventually had to pull away even though she most certainly did not want to because god she was just as horny as the princess now. But her fear of hurting her was so much stronger than her sexual desire. Or ranter, her fear of her hurting herself. 

 

"Raps, slow down," Cassandra mumbled, her voice sounding breathless due to Rapunzel's intense kissing. "You're gonna end up hurting yourself." 

 

"I don't care," Rapunzel mumbled and gripped her shirt tighter before trying to kiss her again but Cassandra turned her head to avoid it. 

 

"I care," Cassandra responded. Rapunzel, at this point, was gonna try anything to get her to say yes and continue, even if it meant her dignity falling down the drain. Guess seducing her was gonna have to be the way to go. Like seriously seducing her. She hated seducing Cass like this when she said no because she didn't want to force anything on her; even if she was only saying no for her sake. But it was too late to turn back now and Rapunzel was far too touched-deprived to care. 

 

Rapunzel flattened her hands against her chest and slid them up until they were on her shoulders. "Please, Cass?" She asked, giving her puppy dog eyes. 

 

Miraculously, it didn't work this time as Cassandra slowly shook her head. "We can't. You can barely walk and you're already over-exerting yourself and-" She listened as Cassandra gave her a million reasons why they shouldn't be doing this and Rapunzel resisted the urge to give her a million reasons why they should. It was hard to be mad at Cassandra too because she was only avoiding it for her which was too damn sweet. Guess she was gonna have to try a different approach than the puppy dog route. 

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes after Cassandra was still going after 5 minutes. "Cassandra, I'm injured, but I'm not broken."

 

"You could be if we continue. It's just too risky, Rapunzel, and I'm not gonna risk almost losing you again just because you're worked up." She said maybe a little too harshly. Leave it to her to be sweet and harsh at the same time. 

 

Rapunzel huffed in frustration and pulled away slightly, a frustrated pout plaguing her lips. She still wasn't budging dammit. "In case you forgot, you were the one who got me all 'worked up', and now you're saying that we can't continue? How is that fair?" 

 

"I never said anything was supposed to be fair. The reason why I said no sexual contact is because I knew that this would happen." 

 

"You're the one who started it," Rapunzel repeated through clenched teeth, resisting the urge to yell at her. 

 

"I was hoping that you'd be able to control yourself but since you clearly can't, it's best that we don't continue." 

 

Rapunzel huffed and took the warrior off guard by suddenly gripping her shirt tightly then yanked her towards her, leaving her merely inches away from her face. She then narrowed her eyes. "If we don't do something now, I'm gonna leave this room and find somebody who will screw me." She hissed, surprising Cassandra with her un-Rapunzel-like language. But what surprised her even more was her un-Rapunzel-like aggressiveness.

 

Cassandra, although taken back and more turned on than ever before, narrowed her eyes back in challenge. "That's called cheating and remember the last time that I thought you were cheating?" 

 

"Oh, I do," The princess responded before making a humming sound in the back of her throat before leaning forward until her lips were brushing against the warriors. "Then you better claim what's yours again, huh?" She whispered hotly. Cassandra narrowed her eyes even more. Oh, that was cold. She used that on purpose knowing what it would do to her. 

 

But Cassandra still stubbornly refused to give in. "That's 100% manipulation, you know that right?" 

 

"Uh-huh, I know," Rapunzel admitted, her lips still brushing against Cassandra's. "Is it working?" Cassandra leaned forward and pressed a soft, but hot, kiss to her lips before pulling back. 

 

"Slightly. But you're gonna have to try better than that." 

 

"Oh, I'm just getting started," Rapunzel responded, her voice hot and sultry, so much so it made Cassandra almost shiver. She didn't think she had ever heard Rapunzel talk or behave like this before. 

 

Rapunzel started to trail her warm hands up her body before resting them on her shoulders again. "I know that you're just as 'worked up' as me," She started with a sultry whisper. "So why don't you do us both a favor and give in?" 

 

Cassandra scoffed and roughly, but gently, pushed her hands away. "Yeah, no. I am not gonna risk hurting you or risk you hurting yourself."

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes and pressed her body firmly against Cassandra's. She wasn't about to give up, she was just as stubborn as her, if not more as Cassandra. The warrior wanted to move away but the bed wasn't very big so she either had to stay put or fall straight onto her ass. She considered both options but decided with the safer one so she didn't move. But she did lean back as far as she could. 

 

"You're not gonna hurt me," Rapunzel mumbled against her lips. 

 

"You can't promise that." 

 

"Maybe not," Rapunzel admitted. "But I can promise that I'm on the verge of getting up and leaving this room so I can at least go outside, injuries be damned. So either you fuck me or we're gonna have a physical battle to get me to stay in this bed because I am going crazy in here. Which do you prefer? Having to fight me to keep me in here or push me into euphoria, which would require less movement and less risk of injury. The second one sounds more promising." 

 

Cassandra didn't respond, not at first. She did have a point - if Rapunzel was gonna fight her, kicking and screaming, then having sex was probably so much safer. Cassandra hated either idea (Not that she didn't want to make steamy love to her. Because she did, a little too much, but she was still scared that she was going to accidentally end up hurting her. but she knew that Rapunzel was 100% serious about her threat so she didn't really have a choice. 

 

Cassandra eventually let out a sigh which immediately caused an eager, triumphant smile to appear on Rapunzel's face. When Cassandra looked back up to meet her eyes, she quickly wiped away the smile. "Fine." She responded harshly, brushing her lips against Rapunzel's. "But if this ends up killing you, I'm gonna bring you back, just to kill you myself." 

 

Rapunzel chuckled. "That wouldn't be a horrible way to go." 

 

"Rapunzel!" The warrior reprimanded, growling.

 

An amused smile started to curl up one side of Rapunzel's mouth. "What? It wouldn't be. Death by sex sounds like a dream." Rapunzel paused before she slipped her hands under Cassandra's shirt. "Especially from you." 

 

Rapunzel's plan was successful, the warrior's eyes darkened as she pressed her lips against hers in a soft manner before pulling before, their lips still brushing against each other. "I thought that you said you were gonna go do this with someone else?" She asked, her tone slightly bitter-filled but also desire coursed through it. 

 

"I only said that to get you to fuck me," Rapunzel admitted. 

 

Cassandra didn't think that she'd ever heard Rapunzel use that word more than once in one day, she barely had used that word every couple of months. The princess trailed her hands up until they were just under her breasts. This time, Cassandra couldn't hold back an involuntary shiver. "As if I'd want to do these things with anyone else. You said it yourself," Rapunzel pressed her lips to Cassandra's before pulling back ever so slightly. "You're the only one who can make me feel good and the only one I'd ever want to feel good with." 

 

"Is that right?" Cassandra mumbled against her lips. And by the tone of her voice, Rapunzel could tell that her plan worked or was working.

 

"Mhm," Rapunzel responded, staring deeply into her eyes. "You said that you were gonna teach me how to pleasure myself, right? Well, why don't you get on that?"

 

Cassandra was about to do just that but then she paused and fixed Rapunzel with a serious expression. "If we do this, you gotta promise me that you'll at least be careful and if I'm hurting you, tell me immediately." 

 

Rapunzel nodded and placed her hand over Cassandra's heart. "I give you my word." She phrased it that way for a reason. Giving someone your word was more than just a promise, it was basically giving someone else your very heart. And in this case, she was giving her word directly to the warrior's heart which meant so much more. 

 

Cassandra slowly nodded, hesitance still in her eyes. "Okay, I trust you," She responded softly and finally, finally caught Rapunzel's lips into a deep kiss. The passion was relit quickly and again, the princess started to pull at Cassandra's shirt. The warrior didn't stop her this time as she helped her lift it over her head before resuming kissing her. The princess greedily ran her hands over Cassandra's exposed skin, rubbing her warm hands up and down her body. 

 

They pulled away for a second to stare each other in the eyes before they resumed kissing once more, this time even more passionately. Cassandra started to remove the princess's clothes, which was only a hospital gown and lifted it over her head. She pulled back for a second and for the first time, finally caught sight of her bruised body. She hadn't really seen Rapunzel naked over the course of the last couple of weeks so she didn't truly know the full damage. She only knew from how Serenity and Rapunzel had described it, which wasn't given in much detail.

 

It was so much worse than she could have ever imagined. It was even worse than the time with Samael and it was really bad then. She was covered in brushing and scratches from head to toe, some darker and bigger than others. Cassandra frowned and traced some of the bruising, her heart aching but anger also coursed throughout her body for the woman that did this to her. She was glad that she killed that witch. 

Rapunzel knew that look. The princess grasped Cassandra's cheeks so that she could avert her eyes from her bruised body and meet her eyes instead. "I'm okay," She said softly, rubbing her thumbs over her cheekbones.

 

"This is not okay." She whispered, her voice full of an emotion Rapunzel had never heard in her voice before. 

 

"Just like with your hand," Rapunzel started, grasping her still very burnt hand gently. "I've survived it once, I can do it again."

 

"Yeah, but it's so much worse this time…"

 

"So is your hand," Rapunzel argued softly, pressing a kiss to the top of it. 

 

But Cassandra kept going, her voice still full of such emotion. "God, so this is why you haven't been able to sleep lately and have been tossing and turning continuously?" She asked softly. She knew that she already had pain from her ribs and her head but the rest of her body? She honestly had no idea. She didn't know how bad it was. Now she felt even more horrible for snapping like she did the other day. "You told me that it wasn't that bad." When Cassandra had asked Rapunzel about it, she had told her that it was just a couple of scratches here and there and a bruise or two not her entire body being covered in them. 

 

"Because they're minor," Rapunzel responded. "And not a big deal. Besides, you were already freaking out about the other, more serious injuries, so I wasn't gonna add to it." 

 

"This is not 'minor', Rapunzel." She said softly, signaling to the rest of her body. But her tone wasn't what Rapunzel thought it would be. Instead of being harsh and assertive, her voice was understanding and soft this time; full of pain, love, and worry. "And when I ask you how bad it is, I'd rather you tell me then than find out weeks later. This isn't just a couple of 'brushes and scratches here and there'. T-This is…" She trailed off, her voice distraught.

 

Rapunzel's eyes softened as she directed Cassandra's eyes back up to meet hers again. She placed her hand on her cheek again and rubbed it in a comforting manner. "I'm sorry," She responded softly. "I just didn't want to worry you any more than I was already worrying you." 

 

Cassandra let out a sigh as she turned her head and pressed a kiss to her palm. "It's okay," She said softly. Rapunzel had no idea where this sudden sweet and soft attitude came from considering the last two weeks she's been a total nightmare but hey, she wasn't complaining. 

 

She loved the times when Cassandra was sweet, caring, and soft; when her 'tough girl act' and walls came down just for her. "Just please tell me the full truth next time instead of trying to move around it because you know I'm gonna find out either way." 

 

Rapunzel nodded. "I will. I promise." She whispered. Cassandra nodded and then leaned forward and pressed a soft, loving kiss to her lips. Rapunzel melted into it before returning the love, wrapping her arms around her neck. The soft kiss lasted a couple of seconds before they started to grow more passionate again. 

 

Cassandra eventually moved above her, kissing her furiously and running her hands up and down her body, being careful not to put too much weight on her. The warrior eventually pulled away, both panting softly. "Lay on your side." She demanded. Rapunzel gave her a confused look but otherwise did what she was told as she moved to lay on her side. 

 

Cassandra moved behind her and wrapped her arms around her stomach, bringing her into her warm body, once more spooning her. Rapunzel could definitely feel the heat coming from her womanhood now. The warrior grabbed her hand and placed it between her legs, her own hand on top of it. Damn, she really was soaked down there. 

 

"You just move your hand like this.." Cassandra's hot voice said from behind her as the warrior started to move her hand up and down, causing an immediate moan to leave Rapunzel. She felt Cassandra smirk. "Sensitive, are we?" 

 

Rapunzel let out a low groan as Cassandra kept moving their hands back and forth in a slow, but steady, rhythm. "I can't help it," She mumbled. "It's been a while." 

 

Cassandra made a humming sound and kissed the back of her neck. "You're not the only one who's, as you say, 'touched-deprived.'".

Rapunzel tried to make a huffing sound but Cassandra pressed her palm tightly against her clit, rubbing slightly, causing a moan to escape her instead. 

 

"Y-You know how to touch yourself."

 

"Doesn't mean that I do," The warrior responded. “When do I even have time for that? I’ve been too busy watching you.” 

 

“Maybe if you did, you wouldn’t be so moody and on edge.”

 

“I’m moody?” Cassandra asked in almost ‘disbelief’. She let out a snort. “Yeah, okay, Ms. I’m gonna threaten my wife.”

 

Rapunzel huffed. “I did not threaten you.”

 

“Like saying ‘If you don’t leave right now, you’re gonna end up in a hospital bed’ isn’t threatening.”

 

“I said that like two days ago,” Rapunzel defended. “And besides, I 100% meant it, you were being a jerk.” 

 

“‘Jerk’ is a little harsh, don’t you think?”

 

“You stormed out and slammed the door on your way out then didn't return for two hours. I think jerk fits perfectly." 

 

“In my defense, you did say that you were trying to get rid of me.”

 

“You said that I was being difficult.” 

 

“After.” Cassandra corrected. 

 

“You try having someone constantly nag you about everything for two weeks on end. Not to mention, being stuck in the same room.”

 

“You literally do it all the time, especially whenever I get hurt.”

 

“At least I’m nice about it,” Rapunzel replied. “Besides, you’re the one who set me off in the first place. You started it.”

 

“What are you? Five?” Cassandra asked sarcastically, making Rapunzel huff in annoyance. “Besides, you wouldn’t stop moving and it was starting to get aggravating.” Cass continued. She didn't mean to say that last part, considering now that she knew about bad… she must've been in pain but it escaped from between her lips anyway. Rapunzel turned around in the warrior's arms again so that she could face her. 

 

“I’ve been stuck in this damn bed for two weeks. At least you get to walk around and go outside.” Rapunzel said a little too bitterly.

 

Instead of fighting back, Cassandra merely sighed and met the princess’s slightly annoyed, aggravated eyes. “Look, I know that you don’t like to be locked up inside but-”

 

“It’s not that I don’t ‘like’ it,” Rapunzel interrupted. “I hate it. I can’t stand being here any longer.” The princess looked down. “...It brings back a lot of bad memories.” She mumbled. 

 

Cassandra’s eyes softened as she hooked her fingers under her chin to raise her head again. “I know,” She said softly. “But you have no choice, Raps. You need time to heal and walking around will only prolong that. There's a high chance that it’ll only make things worse, meaning you’ll be stuck here even longer.” Unlike before, Cassandra’s tone was soft, gentle, understanding, and full of love and worry. 

 

“I know,” Rapunzel agreed solemnly, her voice quieter than usual and even slightly pained. Cassandra frowned. She hated to do this to her lover but she wasn’t gonna risk her getting hurt all over again, her body finally just started to heal.

 

Then Cassandra had an idea. “Tell you what,” She started, causing Rapunzel to look back up to meet her eyes in hope. “Tomorrow, I’ll talk to Serenity and see if there’s anything that we can do to get you outside, even if it’s just for a little while, in a way that won’t risk you for injury.” 

 

“Really?” Rapunzel asked, slight hope in her voice, and even some excitement. The first Cassandra's heard in weeks.

 

Cassandra smiled and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “Yeah,” She responded. “I can’t promise you anything but I’ll definitely try.”

 

Rapunzel gave her a sweet smile and grasped her hand to press a small kiss to it. “Thanks, Cass.” 

 

Cassandra smiled and nuzzled her. “Uh-huh,” She pulled back and fixed her with a half-amused, half-serious expression. “I don’t enjoy torturing you Rapunzel and I don’t mean to come off as ‘harsh’ or ‘mean’,” The warrior said seriously. “But your health is far more important to me than anything else." 

 

Rapunzel smiled and nuzzled her. "I know," She replied. "And I love you for that. But sometimes, you get on my nerves." She paused before adding: "A lot."

 

Cassandra laughed, making Rapunzel grin as the warrior pressed her forehead to hers. "Likewise but we wouldn’t be married if we didn’t piss each other off the most.” Rapunzel giggled before her eyes narrowed at the realization of something.

 

“Are you trying to distract me?” 

 

Being caught, Cassandra gave her a sheepish smile. “...No?” 

 

“For someone so good at lying on the spot, you’re a crappy liar to me.” 

 

“I can’t lie to you, you know me too well.” 

 

“So you admit that you’re lying?”

 

“More like… moving around the truth.”

 

“That’s literally what lying is.” 

 

“How about avoiding the answer?”

 

“Still lying.” 

 

“...Creative storytelling?”

 

“Cassandra!” The princess huffed in annoyance, gently shoving her. 

 

Cassandra couldn't help but laugh - she loved to tease her - before she rolled her eyes and pulled her in by her hips, their lips brushing against each other. “Fine, fine,” Cassandra said quietly as she stared into Rapunzel’s eyes. “No more stalling.”

 

“Thank you.” Rapunzel sighed in relief. “Finally. I feel like you’ve been ‘stalling’ for two weeks.”

 

“I have,” Cassandra admitted, earning herself an annoyed huff and another meek shove from the princess. Cassandra laughed and Rapunzel couldn’t hold back a small grin even if she tried. And she tried.

 

The warrior leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before pulling back then she nuzzled her, causing Rapunzel to giggle. “Alright love, you win,” Cassandra replied, catching the princess off guard with the pet name. She didn’t use them often but boy, did she love it when she did. Before Rapunzel could respond, Cassandra caught her lips in a fiery kiss; the passion immediately being relit as soon as her lips touched the princess's. 

 

Cassandra grabbed her hand again and once more placed it between her legs under her own. She started rubbing back and forth, causing a moan to leave Rapunzel again. They probably did this for another couple of minutes before Cassandra said 'fuck it' in her mind, pulled her and Rapunzel's hand out of her underwear, and re-took her position above her before re-capturing her lips roughly. 

 

Rapunzel was taken off guard by the sudden pace change considering for the past two weeks she's been 'Doctor Cassandra'. She guessed that even Cassandra could only take so much sexual tension. She could tell that the warrior was being as rough as she possibly could in her state, which wasn't much, but it was enough to satisfy her for now. 

 

Cassandra kissed her with passion and Rapunzel was finding it hard to keep up. She didn't care though, this is what she’s been wanting for the past two weeks. Cassandra eventually pulled back and fixed her with a half-glare, half-heated expression. "You can be a little minx sometimes, you know that?"

 

Rapunzel made a humming sound. "It's your fault for not doing anything with me for weeks. Not only do I have to be stuck in this damn, suffocating room but you took sex away from me too." 

 

Cassandra merely rolled her eyes and leaned forward, her lips brushing against Rapunzel's as she pressed her body against her without putting much weight on her. "You did refuse medical treatment." 

 

"I did not 'refuse' it," Rapunzel defended. 

 

"You literally told Serenity no, that's called refusing." 

 

"I… prolonged it. There's a difference." 

 

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "No, there isn't, actually. You refused medical treatment on the spot when you were asked. Then you tried to refuse it a second time when I dragged your ass to the hospital." 

 

Rapunzel skipped right over that last sentence. "What would she have done anyway? We didn't have any supplies." 

 

"We could've known the extent of your injuries from the beginning and I would have carried you or something."

 

Rapunzel raised an eyebrow. "With Juniper in your arms, plus a hole still in your gut? You almost died the night prior." 

 

"Please, I've picked up Lance before, I think I can carry an underweight princess and a 70-pound kid, even with injuries." 

 

Rapunzel gave her a confused expression. "When did you pick up Lance?" 

 

"Eh, a couple of months before we left. He dared me. Then the rest of the guard tried to tackle me but I took them down too with ease." 

 

Rapunzel gave her an amused smile. "Is that what you do when I'm off on princess duties?" 

 

"Oh, yeah," Cassandra admitted without hesitation. "And then some." 

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow again. "You just love making the people of Corona scared of you, don't you?" 

 

Cassandra smirked. "Correction: I love making everyone scared of me." 

 

"I'm not scared of you." 

 

Cassandra chuckled 'darkly' and leaned forward. "Maybe not yet." She whispered before catching Rapunzel's lips into another kiss. How the hell did they keep getting distracted in conversation? She started to get a little rougher than before but when the warrior went over a particularly sensitive area, Rapunzel couldn’t help but let out a half-moan, half-yelp. The warrior pulled back in concern. “Am I hurting you?” She asked genuinely. 

 

Rapunzel gave her a sweet smile and cupped her cheek, rubbing her thumb over her cheekbone. “I’m okay, Cass. I gave you my word that I would tell you if you were seriously hurting me, right?”

 

Cassandra hesitantly nodded slowly. “Yeah…” She responded, trailing off, but she still sounded hesitant and worried.

 

The princess gave her another reassuring smile. “Then you have nothing to worry about.” She paused and placed her hand over her own heart. “You know that I never go back on my word.” 

 

Thankfully, Cassandra nodded but responded with: “I know but you tend to forget things in the heat of passion.” She said, using almost the same phrasing Rapunzel did to her 2 weeks prior. 

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. “I’m not into the whole ‘pain kink’ so we should be good.” She said with air quotes.

 

Cassandra was surprised that she even knew what that was but then again, she really shouldn’t be. The warrior kept forgetting that the princess was innocent as a saint to anyone else who knew her but with her, she was nowhere near innocent. So when she spoke of stuff like this, it caught her off guard. The warrior gave her an amused smile and leaned forward until their lips met again. “If you say so.” She whispered against the princess’s lips. She didn’t let her respond as she pressed her lips tightly against hers. 

 

Rapunzel wrapped her arms around Cassandra’s neck, pulling herself up ever so slightly. The warrior wouldn’t let her get much closer but she didn’t think that she could sit up all the way anyway. Not yet, anyway. Maybe Cassandra and Serenity were right about her staying put. She pressed herself as close as she could get, digging one of her hands into the back of Cassandra’s curly, messed-up hair. The princess pulled back again and gave her a sheepish smile, her voice breathless. “So I’m guessing we’re not gonna use the thing, huh?” Cassandra gave her a ‘what do you think?’ look and Rapunzel nodded. “Alright, that checks out. But we haven’t used it in so long so when I’m healed, you have to.”

 

Cassandra chuckled and leaned forward, rubbing her nose against her own. “It’s not like I’m not gonna use it again,” She responded with an amused smile. “Buuut… I think it’s time we bought a new one, don’t you think?”

 

Rapunzel tilted her head cutely. “Why? It still works.”

 

“Yes, but we’ve had it since we first started dating. Don't you think it's time for an upgrade?"

 

Rapunzel gave her an amused smile. “An upgrade?”

 

“Yep,” Cassandra responded. “There’s a sex toy shop in this town, we can go there before we leave again.”

 

Rapunzel raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

 

“I went exploring,” Cassandra responded. “And it was on the town map anyway.” 

 

Rapunzel gave her a fake exaggerated gasp. “Without me?” She gave her a slightly fake offended look. “How dare you.”

 

Cassandra laughed and Rapunzel couldn’t help but grin. “I got bored of beating trees with a sword and arrows.”

 

“Why were you ‘beating’ trees?”

 

“I had to get my frustration and aggravation out somehow and beating trees seemed like a better idea than murdering someone.” 

 

“You’re gonna piss off mother nature.”

 

Cassandra rolled her eyes. “I’m sure I did that a long time ago.” She paused before giving her a heated expression. “Are we gonna stop talking now so we can continue? For like the 5th time. You're the one who wanted this.” 

 

Rapunzel huffed. “You were against the idea ten minutes ago.” 

 

“Yeah, well,” Cassandra responded, her voice low as she leaned forward, her lips brushing against hers. “I’m too worked up to turn back now.” She leaned the rest of the way, kissing her deeply. Cassandra ran her hands all over the princess’s bruised, bandaged body, being extra careful not to hurt her. The warrior was trying to think of a way to pleasure her without hurting her or irritating her wounds. She ran her hands over her breasts, massaging ever so slightly, causing a moan to leave Rapunzel. 

 

Deciding on a strategy because there was no other choice, the warrior started to trail kisses down her body; kissing every bruise and scratch that she could find with love. 

 

Rapunzel knew where she was going but she was too worked up to stop her as she watched her with half-dazed, half-heated eyes. She felt the warrior slowly slide her underwear down her legs, in a very hot way if Rapunzel may add, before throwing them somewhere on the floor. She kissed each of Rapunzel’s inner thighs, grabbed her behind, and lifted her ever so slightly without causing any damage. The princess let out a surprised squeak but she wasn't able to respond as the warrior wasted no time as she immediately darted out her tongue and disappeared between her legs. The first wet swipe caused Rapunzel to gasp at the sudden pleasure and her hand flew to dig into Cassandra’s hair as the warrior started to basically ‘eat her out’. 

 

Due to not being touched in a while, Rapunzel was extra sensitive, making the moment even more pleasurable. But it also started to cause a quick release to slowly creep up on her. Her moans started to grow as Cassandra added a finger, pumping ever so slightly. The princess threw her head back, her hand tightly tangled in Cassandra’s already messed up hair, and she had to place a hand over her mouth to silence her moans considering it was late at night and they were still in a hospital, not to mention the walls were incredibly thin. 

 

Even though she tried to silence herself, even behind her hand she couldn’t stop the loud, satisfied moans that left her mouth. She eventually felt herself close and she didn’t even have to tell the warrior cause she already knew by the way her breathing changed and how her moans grew louder and how her voice became more and more incomprehensible.

 

Cassandra added a second finger and wrapped her lips around her clit and sucked and pumped at the same time. Rapunzel’s mouth fell open and her hand tightened its hold on her hair as she arched her back ever so slightly, having the orgasm that she had desperately needed for the last two weeks.

 

She vaguely felt Cassandra returning to lay next to her then press a soft kiss to her lips as the princess came down from her high. She was left panting, her chest heaving, when she finally came back to planet Earth. 

 

“Better?” Cassandra asked with a slight smirk once Rapunzel could tell where the hell she was.

 

Rapunzel nodded, she truly did feel better and less angsty, less on edge, less… trapped. “Yeah,” She responded breathlessly. “But…” She trailed off, pulling the warrior towards her slightly. 

 

“But…?” Cassandra asked hesitantly in confusion. 

 

“I’m gonna take care of you first.” She whispered, leaning forward to press her lips against Casasndra’s again.  

 

“Rapunzel, no-” This wasn't the deal, dammit. 

 

“Shush..” Rapunzel mumbled against her lips before pushing the rest of the way forward to kiss her. Cass could tell that it wasn’t a ‘demand’ but rather an ‘I’m doing this whether you like it or not’ type of ‘shush’. The warrior reluctantly tried to pull back and argue but Rapunzel kept a tight hold on her and pressed her lips more firmly against hers. She pressed her body flushed against the warriors; warm skin touching warm skin. She knew that Cassandra wouldn’t be able to resist now and she was right when she finally gave in and pressed her lips more firmly against hers in response. Cassandra eventually gave in completely and wrapped her arms around her neck, pulling her even closer. 

 

Rapunzel ran her hands down from her shoulders, to her breasts, to her toned stomach, to back up again before stopping them just under her breasts. She trailed them the rest of the up and massaged her breasts with her palms, causing a low groan to leave Cassandra. 

 

Rapunzel pressed her tongue into her mouth and Cassandra tilted her head slightly to reach her better, pressing her tongue into her mouth as well. Rapunzel put gentle, but rough, pressure on her breasts, using her fingers to gently knead them, causing another moan to leave Cassandra. She pulled back slightly as they stared each other deeply in the eyes, both panting and saliva running down their chins. 

 

Rapunzel then leaned down and wrapped her mouth around one of the warrior's breasts, kneading the other with her hand. Cassandra groaned as her head fell back, the warmth of the princess’s mouth wrapped around her soft mound, her tongue doing wonders. 

 

Eventually, she trailed one hand down her body while keeping her mouth wrapped around her breast, before pulling her pants down with one hand. Cassandra kicked them off the rest of the way. She had no more energy to resist her at this point. The princess let go of her breast, the cold air hitting the now wet mound as she recaught her lips once more; kissing her with passion and purpose. 

 

She ended up slipping her hand into her underwear, surprising the princess at how wet she was down there, probably the wettest she’s ever felt the warrior. Rapunzel pulled back, her heart skipping a beat at Cassandra’s dazed expression, her chest heaving and small pants coming out. “Looks like I’m not the only one who needed this.” She mumbled. 

 

“Just because I’ve been denying sex does not mean that it was easy to hold myself back,” Cassandra responded, her voice breathless and heated. “Because, trust me, it hasn’t been.” Rapunzel made a humming sound in the back of her throat, like she wasn’t even listening, before catching her lips into a deep kiss again.

 

 With one hand, she massaged her breast and with the other, she worked on her down below. Cassandra let out a moan into her mouth which only caused Rapunzel to move faster. The warrior eventually couldn’t hold onto her lips anymore as her head fell back, her back arching, and her chest heaving, a coat of sweat covering her body. Rapunzel took the opportunity to attack her neck; pressing kisses and nips, making hickeys, and trailing saliva down her neck before she lowered herself again and caught the warrior's other breast into her mouth. 

 

Cassandra groaned as her fingers and tongue worked magic on her. She was trying to keep herself quiet but it was proving more difficult than she thought. Also not being touched in a while, she felt herself dangerously close to the edge rather quickly as well. Rapunzel knew, as always, and sped up her work, pulling the warrior more firmly against her. Rapunzel then added three fingers and pumped while pressing pressure to her clit. That did it. Rapunzel quickly brought herself back up and kissed Cassandra deeply, muffling her cry of release. She removed her hand and wiped it on her body as she waited for the warrior to come down from her high. 

 

After the warrior rode out her orgasm, she was left panting, her chest heaving. Rapunzel let out a half-smirk, half-smile as she kissed her again, this time a much softer and loving kiss. Once Cassandra could focus, she happily returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around the princess and bringing her closer. When they both pulled away, they stared into each other' eyes for a second, panting softly, before Cassandra let out an amused smile.

 

“So you can do that but you can’t pleasure yourself?” She asked, her voice breathless and still slightly heated. 

 

Rapunzel huffed. “It’s different, I know you better than I know myself.”

 

Cassandra leaned forward and rubbed her nose against her own. “That’s kinda sad.” She teased, earning herself another annoyed huff and a meek shove. Cassandra laughed before giving her a true smile, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “I’m kidding,” She rebounded before nuzzling her, causing Rapunzel to giggle in response. 

 

Rapunzel gave her a sweet smile and cupped her cheek, rubbing her cheek with her thumb. “Do you feel better?” She asked with an amused smile.

 

Cassandra chuckled and nuzzled her again. “Yeah, very,” She responded before immediately returning to ‘Doctor Cassandra’ as she fixed her with a half-glare, half-serious look. “But I’ll feel much better when you rest.”

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes at her sudden switch and wrapped her arms around her stomach, pressing her face into her chest. “As promised.” She responded quietly. Honestly, she was exhausted anyway, her voice slurred and eyes already closing. Cassandra’s expression morphed into a soft, sweet look as she wrapped her arms around Rapunzel, running her hand through her hair in a way that she knew that she loved as well as in a way that she knew would make her fall asleep the fastest. 

 

Rapunzel let out a contented sigh, nuzzling her face even closer, and was out like a light within a couple of minutes. Cassandra wasn’t far behind. 

 

-----------------------------------------------------

 

Another two weeks had passed, bringing Rapunzel to being stuck in a small room for a month. But it had been much easier. As the warrior had promised her, Cassandra asked Serenity if there was any way to get the princess outside and Serenity eventually agreed, after Cassandra begging her for over an hour. Ever since then, she’s been able to go outside at least once a day. 

 

But the only way that Serenity would agree was if Cassandra carried her outside. Cassandra readily agreed immediately, she was planning on doing that anyway. But now she was finally healed enough to be able to walk on her own, even though it still hurt like hell. 

 

Cassandra also learned her lesson to not deny the princess sexual contact anymore so they had been taking it easy nightly and it had definitely improved both of their moods. Things were good between them actually, there hasn't been all that many fights for the last two weeks, unlike how it was before. They were just trying to get back to day-to-day life. 

 

Currently, Rapunzel was sitting on a hill looking over the town, her hair blowing in the wind as she watched the people go about their daily lives. It made her miss home but she knew that it was gonna be a while before they could return. After all, they still had to find a way to defeat Azriel and find Rapunzel’s ‘purpose’. 

 

The last couple of days, Serenity finally allowed the princess to leave the hospital on her own. Although for a limited amount of time, it was still better than being watched and fretted over all the damn time. 

 

Cassandra had grown accustomed to the town and Rapunzel could tell that she actually liked it there, although she would never admit it. The people of the town often asked her for favors now so while she was out doing them, Rapunzel decided to get some fresh air. She let out a sigh as she breathed in the fresh air through her nose; the fresh air that she missed so much and had desperately needed. Although she was able to get out more now, once a day still wasn’t enough for her (which was the deal Serenity made if she wanted to be out on her own. Like come on, she was an adult, she didn't need a constant babysitter). She swore, once she was released from that damn hospital room, she was gonna live outside. But she put up with it because Cassandra worked so hard for her to even be able to go outside for an hour.

 

It wasn’t long before she heard the soft crunching of leaves behind her and although she should’ve been startled, she somehow knew who it was without turning around.

 

“You know, you’re not supposed to leave the hospital without me.” Ah yes, Rapunzel was definitely right about who it was.

 

She rolled her eyes as the warrior moved to sit next to her. “Serenity said that I could," She argued. "Besides, what’s gonna happen to me? We’re basically in a magical dome and I can walk on my own now. Besides, you were taking forever.” She tilted her head to the side. “What kind of ‘favors’ did the townspeople ask of you today?”

 

Cassandra groaned. “There was some kind of shipment today of supplies for the stores so I had to help carry heavy boxes from one place to another.” 

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes with an amused smile. “Don’t act like you didn’t like it. You love hard labor, for some weird reason.” Cassandra huffed and shoved her gently, causing a laugh to leave Rapunzel. 

 

“Yeah, well, you love my muscles and hard labor is the way to keep them.” She teased, making Rapunzel blush lightly.  

 

Rapunzel, even though it was ever so slightly, moved a bit so that she was pressed against the warrior, trying to make it ‘nonchalant’. But the warrior definitely noticed. “I’m sure you’d be fine even if you didn’t do any heavy lifting,” Rapunzel said, running her hand greedily over her muscular arm. “You didn’t practice or do any ‘hard labor’ for like 3 full months and you somehow got stronger.”

 

Cassandra grinned as she nuzzled her. “Yeah, but I also had to keep an eye on your ass.” 

 

“Mmmm, yeah, I bet you were.” She teased. It took Cassandra a second to understand what she had just said before she rolled her eyes with a small blush and let out a huff.

 

“Not like that, Ms. ‘I’m so innocent’.” 

 

“Mmm… Okay, yeah, sure. Like you weren’t admiring it and then some before we left the place that we had our anniversary at.” 

 

Cassandra snapped her eyes at her. How the hell did she - “How did you-”

 

“I’m not that oblivious,” Rapunzel interrupted. “Besides, you stood there for a full fifteen minutes in a daze.”

 

Cassandra gave her a confused expression. “I did?” She asked. She only remembered being there a couple of minutes at most…

 

Rapunzel nodded, an amused smile on her face. Honestly, she could care less. She loved when her wife admired her as such, it made her feel… good about herself. But she still loved to tease her. “Yep,” She responded. “See? You didn’t even realize how long your eyes were… wandering.”

 

Cassandra instead made a humming sound in the back of her throat as she pulled Rapunzel closer by grabbing her hips, causing a surprised squeak to leave her. “What can I say?” She started, nuzzling the side of her neck with her nose, causing her to giggle. “You’re just too hot to resist.” 

 

Rapunzel blushed deeply, pushing the warriors' smirking face away. “Stop that,” She said, looking away, a deep blush filling her cheeks as she tried to hide the small smile that appeared with her hand.

 

“Aw, why?” Cassandra asked with a smirk. “Are you flustered because I was only telling the truth?” She asked, nuzzling the princess again, tickling her in the process. Rapunzel giggled but she tried to push her away again, her face still red. 

 

Cassandra didn't budge as she nudged and tickled her sides. “Caaass, stop it!” Rapunzel laughed as the warrior playfully wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into her lap, nuzzling her neck again. “Cassandra!” The princess laughed again as she tried to push her away. 

 

“Oh, we’re using full names now?” Cassandra said with a teasing tone. “Alright, Rapunzel,” Again, she nuzzled her, tickling her again. Boy, she loved when Cassandra got like this. 

 

Rapunzel couldn’t help but laugh again. “Okay, okay, you win!” She said after desperately trying to push her away only to get nowhere. The warrior relented but kept the princess in her lap as she leaned forward to kiss her. Rapunzel smiled and leaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around her neck as she placed either leg on each side of her before finally pulling back and giving her a sweet smile. “I love you,” She said genuinely.

 

Cassandra smiled and nuzzled her nose against hers. “I love you too.” She paused before having an idea. “Hey, why don’t we go to that sex shop today? They just got a new shipment.” She paused again. “I know because I’m the one who delivered it.” She mumbled under her breath. 

 

Rapunzel tilted her head, giving her a confused expression. “I thought that I wasn’t allowed outside for very long? Doctor's orders.”

 

The warrior shrugged. “Serenity will get over it,”

 

“They were your orders too.”

 

“As you said, you can walk on your own now and most of your injuries have healed enough.” She raised an eyebrow, giving her a slightly deadpan expression. “Are you saying no?”

 

Rapunzel quickly shook her head. “No, no, please, I’d love to go.”

 

Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I thought so.”

 

"Can we go now?" The princess asked a little too eagerly. 

 

"How long have you been out here?" 

 

"Only like 15 minutes." She answered. “...I think.” The princess said in her mind. But Cassandra didn't need to know that. 

 

"Then I guess we can go." 

 

"Really?" Rapunzel asked, an eager-like smile filling her voice and a kiddish excitement reflecting in her voice, which was ironic considering where they were going. 

 

Cassandra chuckled and got to her feet. She lent her hand out to the princess and she immediately smiled and took it, allowing the warrior to pull her up, but not without a wince. Cassandra fixed her with a worried expression. "Are you sure you're okay to go?" 

 

Rapunzel merely smiled at her. "I'm fine, Cass," She responded, Cassandra gave her an unsure expression so Rapunzel added: "I broke my ribs and I'm covered in bruises, I'm gonna be hurting whether I'm in the hospital bed or out here." 

 

"I guess," Cassandra responded hesitantly. "But you gotta be careful." 

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes at her constant worrying as she walked past her, with a slight limp. Cassandra followed after her, as she expected.

 

Cassandra wrapped her arm around her hip and pulled her into her body. Rapunzel didn't really need help walking but she knew it was mostly a comfort thing for the warrior so she let it happen. Besides, it made her feel comforted and safe too. "It's not like I'm gonna be doing jumping jacks." The princess responded, linking her arm through Cassandra's and leaning against her.

 

“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Cassandra said with a teasing grin. “Sounds like something you’d do.”

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes again. “I doubt I could even if I tried. Walking is hard enough.”

 

“I could always carry you?” Cassandra offered.

 

Rapunzel just gave her an appreciative smile. “Thanks, Cass, that’s sweet.” She said, earning herself a light blush from the warrior. “But I’m not ever gonna be able to gain any weight again if you keep carrying me everywhere.”

 

Cassandra nodded. “Fair point,” She responded. “But if you’re hurting too m-”

 

“Cass, love, I’m fine.” Her tone came off a little too harsh, with clear aggravation in her voice. It was sweet that Cassandra was worrying about her like this but it was also highly aggravating because no matter how many times Rapunzel said that she was okay, the warrior didn’t listen.

 

The warrior must’ve heard the frustration in her voice because she eventually let out a sigh. “Okay, okay,” She relented and Rapunzel had to let out a sigh of relief herself.

 

-------------------------------------

 

The shop was farther than Rapunzel thought it was. Since the princess hadn’t been much of anywhere except the hospital and the temporary home that was lent to them (Azriels 'base' doesn't count), she didn’t know how big this place truly was and clearly, it was so much bigger than Corona and had so many more shops. Streets and streets of them that went on for miles. 

 

It also took them a little longer because the princess couldn’t walk very fast yet and Cassandra forced her to take frequent breaks on the way to the shop. She also tried multiple times to carry her but Rapunzel kept refusing.

 

But eventually, they finally made it and entered the shop. Rapunzel blushed deeply at all the sex toys covering the walls and the shelves; various different sizes, colors, and even shapes filled the room. The princess suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable being in a place like this, mostly because she didn’t want to be seen or noticed by anyone they knew. 

 

She would much rather not have her new friends in this town know about her dirty side but she guessed they probably already did considering that Rapunzel couldn't be quiet during the nights she was in the hospital when Cassandra and her did things. But she still would prefer if she stayed oblivious to them knowing.

 

The warrior must’ve read her mind, or probably saw the look on her face that she guessed that she was making because she spoke up: “Don’t worry, not many people come to this part of town, especially people of the main circle.”

 

Rapunzel tilted her head. “Main circle?”

 

“Yeah,” Cassandra responded. “Where we’ve been staying is the center of this place, the main part of town.”

 

Rapunzel raised an amused eyebrow. “What, are you an expert on everything about this town now?”

 

Cassandra just smiled at her. “Pretty much,” She responded. “Except for the name of this place. It’s not on the maps either and no one will tell me.”

 

“Guess it’s a secret,” Rapunzel shrugged. Before Cassandra could respond, a beautiful woman in her 30s popped up in front of them. A bright smile was formed on her face, she had shining ocean blue eyes that reflected off of the light, and freckles covered her face. 

 

“Cassandra, welcome back!” The woman said with a bright smile, a little too bright for someone who owned a shop full of sex toys. The girl's shining eyes then landed on Rapunzel. “And you must be Rapunzel!” She said, lending her hand out to the princess. “I’m Eleanor,”

 

Rapunzel gave her a sweet smile and shook her head. “Nice to meet you, Eleanor.” Eleanor just gave beamed at her before turning back to Cassandra, her hand over her mouth as she whispered:

 

“She’s just as beautiful as you said she was.” She wasn’t making a big effort in silencing herself to make sure Rapunzel didn't hear her which probably meant that she was purposely making sure that she could be heard. 

 

“I told you,” The warrior responded, making Rapunzel blush deeply.

 

“Did she pay you to say that?” Rapunzel asked, teasing the warrior, earning herself a huff and a slight shove. Eleanor giggled. 

 

“Oh, yeah, big bucks,” Eleanor responded, playing along. 

 

Rapunzel gave Cassandra an amused smile. “With what money? You better not have used our savings 'cause we need that for the road.”

 

“Oh, I gave it all to her,” Cassandra responded in a tease. After that, they all shared a laugh before Eleanor's smile brightened again.

 

“What brings you in today?” Rapunzel blushed deeply because she really did not want to say it but thankfully, Cassandra spoke up.

 

“We need a new, uh… strap-on?” The warrior asked, her own blush covering her cheeks. It was an awkward topic even for her.

 

Eleanor's smile didn’t falter nor did her eyes judge them. “Perfect, we just got new ones in!” She paused. “But you carried the boxes in so I’m pretty sure you already knew that.”

 

“That’s the reason why we're even here.”

 

Eleanor nodded and signaled them to follow her and follow they did.

 

----------------------

 

The whole ordeal took about two hours. They went through probably hundreds of different strap-ons before finally deciding on one. It was brand new, only put into the shops just a couple of weeks prior. The princess was actually the one who chose it considering that she was the one that was gonna get… penetrated with it. It was girthier and longer than their previous one since Rapunzel was more ‘experienced’ now. It also had more of a pleasurable effect on the warrior's end than the other one too, according to the description. 

 

The two had finally gotten back to the hospital but not without getting reprimanded and bitched at by Serenity. The warrior took full responsibility, even though Rapunzel tried to put all the blame on her, and Serenity eventually relented and let them go back to their room (mostly because Rapunzel and Cassandra literally argued about who was at fault for 20 minutes). 

 

Rapunzel wanted to plop herself onto the bed because honestly, being stuck in a room for about a month and then suddenly walking for two miles took its toll on her body. Although she just wanted to fall backward onto the bed, she just ended up crawling onto it before carefully lowering herself down with a pained groan.

 

Cassandra frowned and sat in the chair next to the bed and ran a hand through her hair once she laid down all the way in a comforting, but worrisome, way. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you walk.”

 

Rapunzel just smiled and grasped her hand, pressing a small kiss to it before holding it over her heart. “I’m okay, Cass. I haven’t really been anywhere except this bed so I’m just sore.”

 

“Are you sure?” She asked, genuine concern in her eyes and voice. 

 

Rapunzel gave her another reassuring smile. “Positive,”

 

But Cassandra still stayed on it. “...You should’ve let me carry you.” 

 

Rapunzel let out an exasperated sigh. “If I scoot over and let you come into the bed with me, will you stop nagging?”

 

“I’m not nag-”

 

“You are literally doing the definition of nagging.” She cut her off, already scooting over even though Cassandra didn’t give her a direct answer. She patted the spot next to her. “Come on,” Cassandra seemed to consider it for a second, clear aggravation on her face, but otherwise finally crawled into the bed. Rapunzel had to hold back a smile at the fact that she couldn’t resist cuddles, despite her not being the ‘affectionate’ or the ‘mushy’ type; her words, not Rapunzel's. 

 

As soon as she got settled, Rapunzel scooted herself closer until she was pressed against Cassandra, her face pressed into her chest as she breathed in the natural scent that she loved so much, letting out a content smile. She felt Cassandra wrap her arms around her then press a soft kiss to the top of her head. Rapunzel’s eyes closed as she started to doze off, a smile forever placed on her face.

 

-----------------

 

Another three weeks had passed, making Rapunzel’s healing journey now equal to 7 weeks. Serenity had to push forward Rapunzel’s recovery time a little longer because she was nowhere near ready to leave the hospital 2 weeks prior, which was her original release date. Much to Rapunzel’s dismay because she wanted nothing more than to leave the bed, to leave the hospital altogether but Cassandra followed the doctor's orders to a tee, just as she expected. 

 

Rapunzel was definitely doing a lot better now though. Her ribs still hurt like hell but they were practically healed, allowing her to walk freely now without a chaperone or Cassandra carrying her. Or, in other words, she was allowed to finally go places without Cassandra in general for more than a couple hours at a time. Rapunzel would often leave the hospital while Cass was out doing favors and sometimes, Rapunzel even went with Cassandra now. The warrior wouldn’t allow her to be out too much though, giving her a time range every time she went outside like she was some child. Serenity did too. 

 

But when it was just her, she stayed out by herself longer and longer. She loved Cass and her company but sometimes… she really appreciated that alone time. Guess that's what being a mother and a wife does to you. 

 

The good thing was that Cassandra had been less… on her ass and snappy. Now that Rapunzel was healing nicely and she was farther along in the journey, the warrior had been less naggy and pushy. ‘Less’ was the keyword. She was better but that didn’t mean that she still didn’t constantly worry about her and make up new rules every day for her ‘health’. 

 

The scratches that covered the princess's body were practically gone, except for a couple of scars here and there. Cassandra called them ‘battle scars’ and Rapunzel now teased the warrior about how she almost had as many scars as she did, which was 100% not true. Cassandra had a lot of scars.

 

The bruises, on the other hand, hadn’t healed very much. They had gotten worse, actually, much darker and more black and blue but Serenity and Cassandra said that was normal. The princess didn’t know how suddenly Cassandra was an expert on medical stuff but she didn’t question it. Rapunzel remembered the first time that she was covered in bruises like this and how long it took for those to heal. These were so much worse, it was gonna take forever to get rid of them again.

 

The couple still hadn’t used the new toy they had bought three weeks prior, it was still laying in the box, unopened. Cassandra had to read the package on how to use the damn thing cause it was apparently so much more complicated than their previous toy. There were extra straps that wrapped around Cassandra’s legs, her waist, between her legs, and around her back. Like I said, complicated. 

 

Rapunzel begged the warrior to use it cause she was honestly excited, they hadn’t used their prior toy since before their anniversary, which was about a month and a half ago. But Cassandra had refused each time. It was larger than the other one and Rapunzel needed to be in good enough shape to even be able to try it. Cassandra didn’t leave her untouched though and did sexual stuff almost every night, mostly just using fingers and tongues, and sometimes even a vibrator (which the warrior bought when the princess wasn’t looking). 

 

But today was finally the day she was getting discharged. As the warrior finished off some paperwork to have her released, Rapunzel couldn’t help but bounce on her feet, ecstatic to finally get out of there and officially feel the warm sun on her face without having to worry about being back by a 'curfew'. 

 

Serenity had advised them that the princess was practically healed at this point, so much so that if she wanted to run, leap, and frolic, (or have wonderful, rough sex), she could. She told them that she would still be sore and in pain until she healed a little more but they gave them painkillers for that and after that, they were off, heading towards their now permanent house that they were given. Rapunzel was still basically bouncing on her feet.

 

Cassandra chuckled. “Calm down Raps, Serenity said you still had to take it easy.”

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes, her bouncing coming to a stop, but Cassandra could see the way her body still moved up and down in untamed excitement. “You’re such a party pooper sometimes, you know that?” 

 

“Someone has to watch out for your health because you sure as hell don’t do it.” 

 

Rapunzel snapped her head towards her with a slight glare. “I do too!”

 

Cassandra raised an eyebrow, giving her an amused smile. “Really? Because you refused medical service. Twice.” 

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes again. “Right, like you don’t. You basically starved yourself and pushed yourself to exhaustion when trying to ‘look out for me’.”  

 

“We weren’t talking about me,” Cassandra defended in a tease. “We were talking about you.”

 

“You almost got yourself killed,” Rapunzel continued before adding: “Twice.” She couldn’t help but smirk when the warrior huffed. Ah, so the tables have turned.

 

“You did get yourself killed before," She defended. "And you walked around with broken ribs, internal bleeding, and a serious concussion recently.”

 

“You had a literal ten-inch knife shoved through your stomach because you were too 'overprotective' and 'heated' to listen to me.” 

 

“But I got medical treatment.” She responded, completely ignoring the last part. 

 

“Not as long as you should’ve,” The princess argued. “You were up and going within 5 days despite the doctor telling you to stay put.” 

 

Cassandra tilted her head. “How do you even know about that?”

 

Rapunzel gave her a teasing grin. “Do you really think that I wouldn’t ask what my wife was up to while we were separated? As you said about me, someone has to look out for your health. ” She raised an eyebrow before giving her a half-smirk. “Besides, I knew that you were gonna use this against me, so I had to find some common ground to defend myself with.” 

 

“At least I got medical treatment, even if it was only a little.” Cassandra tried to defend herself again, trying to turn this back around on the princess. But Rapunzel came prepared this time.

 

“Only because you were unconscious,” She replied before fixing with a half-glare, half-knowing look. “I know for a fact that if you had woken up any earlier than you did, you would’ve walked out just like you did even if it was only just a couple hours later.” Cassandra opened her mouth to argue and Rapunzel raised an eyebrow, daring her to argue, knowing that she couldn’t because she was right. 

 

Eventually, the warrior closed her mouth and she mumbled a spray of curse words under her breath. Rapunzel couldn’t help but smirk at the fact that she couldn’t even argue. “Touche,” The warrior eventually responded. Rapunzel giggled as she linked her arm through hers, earning herself a smile, even though she could tell that the warrior tried not to.

 

They walked in silence for the rest of the way before finally reaching the home that they were generously given. Although, according to the town, it was a gift 'to them' for 'all that they did'. They tried to refuse it but of course, they didn't have a choice. Rapunzel kinda just looked at it for a second. “It feels like it’s been a century since we’ve been back here,”

 

Cassandra slipped her hand into Rapunzel’s. “Well, a lot has happened in the last two months.”

 

Rapunzel groaned as she gently squeezed Cassandra’s hand. “That’s an understatement,” The princess then looked around, realizing a certain rambunctious presence was missing. “Where’s Nova?” 

 

“Playing with Juniper and her new friends,” Cassandra responded. “She’s the most popular kid in town, everyone loves her.” The warrior shook her head. “Definitely your kid.”

 

“Our kid,” The princess corrected. “Besides, she’s more like you than she’s like me.” 

 

“Eh, 50/50. She has characteristics from both of us.” 

 

“She definitely has your bad temper.”

 

“Yeah…” Cassandra agreed at first, half-listening because her mind was focused on… something else (that something else being how much Rapunzel's golden-green eyes glowed in the sunlight) then she realized what she had just agreed to as she snapped her head toward Rapunzel. “Hey!” She narrowed her eyes. “I do not have that bad of a temper,”

 

“Are you kidding?” Rapunzel asked with a disbelieving laugh. “You nearly took my head off 3 weeks ago because you were antsy and pissed off!” 

 

“Don’t piss me off then.” 

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes for like the 5th time that day. “Cassandra, you had every chance to leave whenever, you just chose to stay because you were worried. It’s not my fault that you chose to isolate yourself and lock yourself in that small room with me. We were both pretty damn tired and I don’t just mean because of the injuries. Why did you think putting us in the same room for two weeks on end, tired and aggravated and then some, was a good idea?” 

 

“We literally sleep in the same room and are with each other all day and night.” 

 

“Yes, but we usually aren't forced to stay put in the same small place for a long period of time.” She paused. “Isolation from the outside world does things to people and putting us together while we were both pissed off, exhausted, aggravated, and locked up together probably was not the best idea.” She gave her a teasing smile. “We’ve learned that in the past. Many, many times.”

 

“Well, we didn’t kill each other so no harm, no foul.”

 

“I almost killed you.”

 

“Yeah, that was pretty clear when you threatened to put me in a hospital.”

 

“And I 100% meant it,” Rapunzel replied. “You were driving me insane.”

 

Cassandra snorted. “You could barely move, how the hell were you even gonna reach me?” 

 

“Your sword was right next to the bed,” Rapunzel replied, teasingly, making Cassandra huff. “It doesn’t take much energy to grab and thrust forward a weapon.”

 

Cassandra narrowed her eyes as she let out another huff. “You were gonna strike me with my own weapon?

 

“It was either that or throwing everything in my vicinity at you, heavy hospital supplies included.”

 

“I’d rather have that than another sword shoved through my gut. It wasn’t a very… pleasant feeling, you know.”

 

Rapunzel tilted her head with an ‘innocent’ smile. “Could have fooled me,” She responded with a teasing smile. “You tend to get hurt a lot, I’m starting to think that you have a thing for pain.” 

 

“Haha, very funny,” Cassandra said sarcastically and rolled her eyes. Rapunzel snickered. Cassandra mumbles under her breath as she grabbed the princess's hand without a word and started walking toward the front door of the house due to the realization that they’d been standing outside for the past 15 minutes. 

 

As soon as they both entered the home, the warrior shut the door, and out of nowhere, she was suddenly pushed into a wall (gently, If I may add) and Rapunzel’s lips were on hers. It caught the warrior off guard as the princess stole her breath away; immediate liquid rushing between her legs. She had to gently push the princess back though, as much as she didn’t want to.

 

 “Raps, we can’t.” The warrior said, saying the phrase that Rapunzel hated so damn much. She really needed to stop saying that. 

 

“Why not?” Rapunzel asked with a tilt of her head.

 

“Because you’re still not in any shape to-”

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. “If I’m allowed to ‘run, jump, and frolic’, Serenity’s words, then I can do this.”

 

“But the toy is ne-”

 

“I know but we can’t keep holding back forever.” Rapunzel leaned forward until her lips were brushing against Cassandra’s, her breath fanning over them. “And I know that you can’t either.” She whispered hotly. Much to her satisfaction, Cassandra’s eyes darkened. 

 

“If I let go, I’m not gonna be gentle.”

 

“Then don’t be gentle.”

 

“Rapunzel, you’re not healed enough for that.”

 

“Serenity said I was. I asked her.”

 

Cassandra gave her a deadpan expression and raised an eyebrow “You asked her if you were healed enough for sex?”

 

“Rough sex,” Rapunzel corrected. “And yes. Because I knew that you were gonna do this. If you don’t believe me, go ask her yourself.”

 

“I’m not asking her that and it's weird that you asked her that in the first place.” 

 

"I needed to be prepared because I knew you were gonna say 'Raps, we can't do this' and I really wasn't having that. It's been long enough already, don't you think?" 

 

Cassandra's lips thinned out before she fixed her with a serious, slightly worried, expression. “Are you sure, Rapunzel?” 

 

The princess raised her hand and placed it over Cassandra’s heart before smiling at her. “I promise.” Cassandra stared into her eyes for a second. She believed her, she did, but what was in her eyes always told her the truth so she searched them just in case but she found nothing but pure honesty, love, desperation, and desire.

 

 The warrior decided on an answer because suddenly their positions were switched and she was slammed into the wall, her lips on hers. She could tell that Cass Sandra did it softer than she usually would, which Rapunzel was grateful for because her using her full strength, or at least 50% of it, was too much for her right now. And the warrior understood that as her hands trailed all over her body. As soon as her back hit the wall, a wave of desire coursed through her like never before. 

 

Rapunzel groaned into the kiss and pressed back, wrapping her arms around her neck. Cassandra suddenly picked her up bridal style, causing the princess to let out a surprised squeak as she tightly wrapped her arms around her neck to steady herself. Cassandra’s lips were then on hers again as she walked them to their room. Once she arrived, she kicked the door shut with her leg, locked the door while still kissing and holding Rapunzel with one arm, before plopping them both onto the bed. The warrior took her position above her, now pushing her tongue into Rapunzel’s mouth.

 

Rapunzel let out a small moan into her mouth when Cassandra’s hands brushed over her breasts. Cassandra smirked into the kiss and thrust into her, causing Rapunzel to let go of Cassandra’s lips, her head falling back with a deep moan. “Cass,” Rapunzel said, her voice breathless and ever so heated. Cassandra pulled back to consider her. “No foreplay… Please?” She asked and although she didn’t ask the full question, Cassandra knew what she was asking.

 

The warrior nodded and leaned over to grab Rapunzel’s bag, the one that Cassandra threw onto the floor when they got in the room. She then grabbed the still packaged toy from it. She quickly unboxed it, her hands shaking with anticipation. Rapunzel watched in curiosity with her head tilted until Cassandra finally pulled out the thing from the box. It was so much bigger than either expected.

 

“That… is a lot bigger than I expected,” Rapunzel commented, staring at the genuinely large object.

 

“Yeah,” Cassandra agreed before leaning forward to press a soft kiss to her lips. “We don’t have to use it and can take it back to get a smaller one?" 

 

Rapunzel shook her head. "No, it's okay. Just go slow at first, okay?”

Cassandra smiled and leaned forward to press another soft kiss to her lips. 

 

“Of course,” The warrior started to kiss her deeply again as she lifted her shirt over her head and threw it somewhere on the floor. Both women had their clothes off in a matter of seconds as they kissed each other deeply and passionately, their hands roaming each other's bodies with intent. 

 

Rapunzel suddenly pulled away to take a look at her wife's body, the first time she had seen her naked in nearly a month and yet, she still knew her body like the back of her hand. The princess traced the healing scar lingering on Cassandra's midsection; the scar was a lot bigger than Rapunzel thought. How truly big was that sword’s blade? 

 

"How long did you actually let yourself heal?" The princess asked honestly, staring at the barely healed scar as she continued to gently trace it before she looked back up to meet her eyes; worry and concern hidden in her own. 

 

Cassandra contemplated lying to her but that never made anything any better so she thought against it. Besides, she wasn't a liar and she didn't enjoy lying to her wife. "Only the days that I was unconscious," Cassandra admitted honestly. "I needed to focus on finding you and afterwards, I needed to focus on your health because you were in far worse shape than me." 

 

Rapunzel slowly shook her head with a sigh. She pulled Cassandra down gently to press a loving kiss to her lips before pulling back again. "You need to stop doing that love, you're just as important as I am." 

 

"There was no way that I was gonna leave your side," Cassandra said softly. 

 

“You could’ve used the hospital bed that was right next to me.”

 

Cassandra snorted. “Yeah, good luck with that. I wasn’t gonna be strapped to a bed when you needed me.”

 

Rapunzel couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her wife’s usual response when it came to her health over her own. “Just shut up and kiss me.” The princess said, wrapping her arms around her neck to pull herself up slightly. 

 

Cassandra chuckled but otherwise did just that as she caught her lips into another deep, deep kiss. As she was kissing her, she was somehow able to get the strap-on all set up with one hand despite barely even knowing how to use the thing; other than what she read in the directions. Then again, she was always good with understanding directions enough to get it on the first try. She continued to kiss her deeply as she lined herself up before pulling back to look her in the eyes. “Are you ready, my love?”

 

Rapunzel couldn’t help but smile at the name. She loved when Cassandra used sweet pet names. She didn’t do it often but Rapunzel cherished each time that she did. The princess slowly nodded. “Mhm.” Cassandra nodded and inch by inch, she slowly started to push forward. Rapunzel had to take an intake of breath as the new feeling filled her. It was definitely… tighter and just a… different feeling altogether. She genuinely felt like she and the warrior were… connected as one. She never felt that way when they used the other one. It was a little uncomfortable though due to the princess never being stretched that far before.

 

For Cassandra, the pleasure was immediate, so much so that she almost pulled back out in surprise. It caused a whole different feeling for the warrior too, a better feeling. The farther she inched forward, the more the thing was sending shockwaves of pleasure throughout her body. It wasn't long before she pushed herself to the hilt and stopped. She took a shaky breath to calm her beating heart and the urge to snap her hips forward. She needed to make sure that Rapunzel was okay first. “You okay?” She was able to make out but even Rapunzel could hear the strain in her voice. Rapunzel moved ever so slightly to test it, which caused another shockwave of pleasure to course through Cassandra, unknowing to the princess. 

 

The princess nodded slowly. “Yeah, it’s just… a completely new feeling.”

 

Cassandra nodded in agreement, her control slowly slipping. It was becoming increasingly hard to keep herself still. “Y-Yeah.” 

 

The princess seemed to take notice of her slipping control. “You can move now.” Cassandra gave her a hesitant look so she smiled and rubbed the side of her cheek with her hand. “I’m okay, it doesn’t hurt. Just a little uncomfortable but I'll get used to it.” The warrior seemed to take that for an answer as she nodded and slowly started to move her hips forward. There was a small bit of resistance at first but once she got going at a decent pace, the princess started to loosen up. But it was still far too slow for either of their taste. 

 

“Cass, you can go faster,” The princess eventually said, tired of the slow pace. “I’m not gonna break.”

 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Cassandra mumbled, her control hanging on by a thread. It had never been this difficult to withhold her control. 

 

Rapunzel gave her a sweet smile and cupped her cheeks. “You won’t." Cass still hesitated so she added: "I’m okay.” Cassandra seemed to search her eyes for a second to see if she was being truthful and she found that she was. She saw no deception or pain. 

 

"Alright but don't say that I didn't try to warn you." Cassandra responded before pulling her hips back ever so slightly before snapping them forward, causing a surprised gasp to escape Rapunzel, her back immediately arching. It didn’t hurt, not at all, actually it felt amazing. Cassandra started to quicken her thrusts once she realized that she wasn’t hurting her; eventually reaching an almost inhuman speed. Rapunzel was no doubt moaning loudly at this point and even a couple of pleasurable grunts escaped from the warrior. 

 

Cassandra leaned forward and caught her lips in a passionate kiss. Rapunzel groaned into the kiss and hooked her arms around her neck, pulling herself even closer. The warrior seemed to quicken her speed, if that was even possible, causing the princess’s moans to grow, who was still pressed against her lips. Cassandra smirked into the kiss and shoved her tongue into Rapunzel’s mouth, ravishing what she could. Out of nowhere, the warrior suddenly switched their positions so that she was sitting in Cassandra’s lap, turned away from her, the toy still buried deeply in her womanhood. 

 

From behind, Cassandra thrust her hips upwards while forcing Rapunzel’s down all the while kissing her shoulders, the back of her neck, and anywhere else that she could reach. With one hand, she groped her breasts from behind, kneading them with skilled fingers. Rapunzel’s head fell back against her shoulder as she let out a breathless moan and she reached behind her to dig her hand into Cassandra’s messy curly raven locks. 

 

When the princess felt dangerously close to the edge, Cassandra switched their positions again as she pushed Rapunzel down roughly, but still gentle enough so that she didn’t hurt her, to her hands and knees, and entered her womanhood from behind. She didn’t waste a second as she started to pound into her. Rapunzel’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden amazing, but almost painful, pleasure the position brought with the new toy; making Cassandra even deeper than before. Cassandra gripped her behind and used it as leverage to pound into her. She vaguely felt the warrior trace her backside but she was too distracted by pleasure island to barely notice anything else around her.

 

She felt herself close again but this time, Cassandra didn’t pull out, she went faster. “M-Mmmm…. C-Cassa….” The princess tried to get out but it only came out in a breathless moan.

 

Cassandra smirked as she leaned over Rapunzel, making herself deeper. “Yeah, that’s right, that's my girl." Cassandra responded hotly. “Say my name.” 

 

Rapunzel gripped the sheets below her so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. Her body shook from the pleasure and she couldn’t keep herself up anymore as she fell slightly forward. Cassandra had a hand under her to make sure she didn’t fall all the way. She had to squeeze her eyes shut as her moans only grew. She eventually had to push her face into the mattress, her moans now coming out muffled.

 

“No,” She heard Cassandra suddenly say as their positions were switched again. She was back in Cassandra’s lap but this time, she was facing her, her legs on either side of her. “I wanna hear you scream my name when you climax. Do you understand me?” Her voice was rough, demanding, and dominant: just how the princess liked it. Ever since she got hurt, Cassandra hadn’t been her ‘dominant’ self, at least not in the sexual way, and Rapunzel would be lying if she said that she didn't miss it dearly.

 

“U-Uh-huh…” Rapunzel was able to get out, nodding as she pressed her face into the side of Cassandra’s neck. 

 

“Good,” Cassandra responded before pushing her back so that she could kiss her again. Rapunzel returned the kiss wholeheartedly even though it was becoming increasingly hard to focus. The warrior ran her warm hands down her body and back up again, causing an involuntary shiver to leave Rapunzel. Cassandra’s hands eventually stilled themselves when they reached her hips before forcing them down and thrusting upwards at the same time.

 

Rapunzel had to pull back. “A-Ah…!” She panted. “S-Shit…” Cassandra would have pulled back in surprise considering Rapunzel barely even said that cuss word but she was too worked up to care nor even notice. Cass suddenly switched their positions one last time as she pushed her onto her back again. She gave Rapunzel a heated smirk and that smirk usually meant that she was gonna- 

 

Before she could finish that though, Cassandra lifted her legs over her shoulders and entered her, pounding into her from that angle. Rapunzel’s eyes shot open as her head fell back and her back arched as the warrior endlessly pounded into her. “Yeah, you like that, Rapunzel?” She panted, her voice heated and so, so hot. Rapunzel could only nod; a deep moan being her response. Cassandra was satisfied with that response as her smirk widened. She draped herself over Rapunzel’s body, pushing herself as deep as she could go. “Good.” 

 

Rapunzel couldn’t focus at all anymore. Her mind was wrapped up in pleasure island, her breathing labored and chest heaving, her breasts bouncing with each harsh thrust. She was definitely close now. Just a little push… The warrior seemed to sense it as she reached between them and pressed a finger to her clit. “Don’t forget to scream my name, Rapunzel.” And boy, did she. The orgasm immediately hit her like a ton of bricks as her mouth fell open, her back arched, her head thrown back and her eyes squeezed shut. She was able to scream the warrior’s name just as she was told but it was barely incomprehensible. But Cassandra allowed it. 

 

The warrior fell in euphoria soon after as she stilled her hips to the hilt and squeezed her own eyes shut as immense pleasure ripped throughout her body. Once she was able to breathe again, even if it was only slightly, she was able to pull out, causing a groan to leave both of them at the loss, before taking it off and throwing it somewhere in the room. She then plopped down next to Rapunzel, her chest still heaving with pants.

 

“Wow,” She heard Rapunzel say after a few minutes of them trying to catch their breaths. Cassandra turned her tired, satisfied eyes towards the princess and her heart skipped a beat at the look on Rapunzel’s face. She was dazed, almost looking in disbelief and wonder, her eyes stared up blankly at the ceiling as her chest still heaved; there was a beyond satisfied look on her face as well.

 

Cassandra couldn’t help but smirk. “So I take it that you’re satisfied?” 

 

Rapunzel finally turned her head to look at her, a big, satisfied smile on her face. “Hell yeah!” She responded, surprising Cassandra, but the warrior couldn’t help but laugh; which only made Rapunzel’s smile grow. 

 

“So, we made a good purchase?” Cassandra asked with a half-grin, half-goofy smile. Rapunzel loved it when she smiled at her like that. 

 

“Even better than the first one!” She responded, causing another laugh to leave Cassandra. 

 

The warrior pulled her into her body by her hips as she nuzzled her nose, causing Rapunzel to giggle. “Is that so?” She asked, pressing her forehead against hers.

 

Rapunzel closed her eyes and leaned into her, smiling. “Mhm.” She paused before giving Cassandra a suggestive look. “But I think the one who was controlling it was even better~.”

 

Cassandra pulled back to brush her lips against Rapunzel’s. “And I came for free.” Rapunzel laughed, the melody of it causing Cassandra to grin playfully. 

 

“Nothing about you is ‘free’.” Rapunzel teased. “You come with more problems than any amount of money could ever buy,” She nuzzled Cassandra causing the warrior to let out a huff.

 

“You’re one to talk about ‘problems’,” Cassandra responded, her voice still teasing. “You cause me more health problems than living on the road by myself does.”

 

Rapunzel huffed. Ah, so the tables have turned. “You cause yourself health problems,” She replied. “Just because I’m injured or on the verge of suicide, doesn’t mean you get to stop taking care of yourself too.”

 

"Well, it was kinda in our vows. 'Through sickness and through health.'" She teased. 

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "To be there for me, not to die with me." 

 

Cassandra instead went back to the topic prior with a tilt of her head. “That’s the first time that you’ve said that word.” 

 

Rapunzel gave her a confused look. “Which one?” 

 

“Suicide,” She responded. “You’ve never used that word before for… what almost happened.”

 

Rapunzel shrugged. “Well, that’s what it was, right? Attempted suicide.” She asked in confusion. 

 

“Well, yeah, but that’s the first time you’ve ever really admitted that it happened.”

 

“...Well, it did happen.” Rapunzel paused. “...Unfortunately.” She looked down.

 

Cassandra smiled and hooked her fingers under her chin, gently raising her head so that their eyes could meet again. “You’re the one always saying to look on the bright side,” She started. “And if you hadn’t attempted it, we wouldn’t be here now and you’d still be drowning in your own mind.”

 

Rapunzel shrugged. “I guess,” She looked down again. Cassandra’s smile fell as she sighed and pressed a lasting kiss to her forehead.

 

“Everyone gets lost eventually, Raps,” She said softly before remembering something. “Do you remember the night before we left Corona? The first time, when you found me at the Lost Lagoon and you told me that you didn’t want to be queen anymore?”

 

Rapunzel gave her a confused expression. “Of course I do,” She responded. “But what does t-”

 

“Do you remember what I told you that night?” She cut her off.

 

“Uhm,” Rapunzel stopped for a second as she tried to think of that night. “It’s all kinda fuzzy. I remember you telling me that I was an adult and that I needed to make my own choices and not let my father, or anyone else, control me.”

 

“...Do you remember anything else?”

 

Rapunzel thought for a second, picking through her memories. “I remember you telling me that…” She trailed off as a certain memory entered her mind. The memory that she knew Cass was probably getting at. “...that I wasn’t invincible or indestructible and that…” A look of realization suddenly entered her eyes. “...And that everyone has a breaking point, even me.” She said slowly, realization creeping in her voice as well.

 

Cassandra smiled. “Exactly,” She responded. “You’re too hard on yourself, my love,” She said softly. “You got lost and lost your way, it’s okay, it happens. It happened to me, it happened to Varian, it even happened to Eugene and Lance during their life of crime. And just because you’re all about ‘sunshine, rainbows and positivity’ or the fact that you’re a princess doesn’t mean that you aren’t allowed to fall and break just like everyone else. The important thing is: You’re doing better, we’re moving forward, and you’re working on what comes next.” She gave her a sweet smile and cupped her cheek, running her thumb over it. “And I know I’ve said it before but I am so proud of you.” Rapunzel smiled and closed her eyes, leaning into her touch, before reopening them.

 

“Thanks, Cass,” She said softly. “You truly are the best, you know that?”

 

Cassandra blushed lightly at the compliment. “You’re my best friend,” She started softly. “And the love of my life. I’m at my best when I’m with you.”

 

Rapunzel smiled and brushed her messy bangs from out of her eyes before cupping her cheek. “I’m lucky to have found someone like you,” She continued. “Someone to watch out for me and have my back… someone that I can trust and always count on to make me feel better…” She paused, giving Cassandra a playful smile. “...Someone to deliver amazing sex.” Cassandra couldn’t help but laugh at that one as Rapunzel continued. “Seriously, though,” She looked away. “I know I haven’t exactly been the… easiest to take care of, especially while I was in the hospital. Both times. But I really do appreciate you being there for me, despite me constantly snapping at you and pushing you away.”

 

Cassandra shook her head with a smile. “I haven’t been the easiest caretaker.” She sighed. “I’m pretty sure I was the reason why you even snapped at me in the first place.” She looked down. “I wasn’t being the nicest to you and I should’ve taken into consideration how you were probably feeling being stuck inside.... knowing what you had to go through with an abusive parent for 18 years…”

 

Rapunzel smiled and hooked her fingers under her chin to lift her head back up. “Cassandra, sweetheart, we had both just survived a lot of trauma, not to mention that we thought that each other were dead. We were both exhausted, on edge and stuck in the same room for days.”

 

“Yeah, but when I was ‘taking care of you’, I was more… mean than helpful.”

 

“It’s okay,” Rapunzel responded. “I know it came from a good place of heart, you were just worried about me and I kept fighting you every step of the way.”

 

“It’s still no excuse.”

 

“You forget all the good you did for me, too,” Rapunzel argued, making Cass look back up at her. “You were able to convince Serenity to let me go outside, you made sure that everything was in order; made sure that I was fed and safe and protected. You held me when I needed you the most and you never left my side, no matter how many times I tried to push you away. And you took care of Nova full-time when I couldn't." She smiled and pressed her forehead against hers. Cassandra closed her eyes and leaned into it. “You’ve been there for me throughout this entire journey, all things considered. Sure, we’ve had… fights and issues, big fights, but we’re married and aren’t perfect, we’re bound to have fights every now and then and even rough patches. And… it’s been… complicated.” She paused before saying: “Finding you, marrying you, was the best decision that I have ever made and as time goes on, the more I stand by that and the more I fall in love with you every single day.” 

 

Cassandra had to swallow back tears because she refused to let them fall. Rapunzel could see how much those words truly meant to her by the look in her eyes. She sometimes forgot how insecure Cassandra’s could still get sometimes. “Thanks, Raps…” She said softly. “I… feel the same way.” Knowing that she was a woman of few words, Rapunzel merely smiled and caught Cassandra’s lips into a soft, loving kiss. The warrior returned it whole heartily, wrapping her arms around her to pull her even closer.

 

Rapunzel pulled back after a minute or two. “I love you, Cassandra. More than anyone or anything in space and beyond.”

 

Cassandra gave her a sweet smile; one of those smiles that was only meant for her to see (and possibly Nova). “I love you too, Rapunzel. More than anyone or anything in space and beyond.” She repeated. 

 

Rapunzel merely smiled and wrapped her arms around Cassadandra’s midsection before digging her face into her chest. The warrior smiled and pulled her even closer, wrapping her strong, protective arms around her as Rapunzel nuzzled herself into her body.

 

The princess let out a content sigh as she felt exhaustion take her over. No words were shared after that; both women just relished in each other’s company, both slowly falling into a deep slumber, both having sweet, love-sick smiles on their faces. Both filled with happiness and love like no other; connected by their hearts, souls, and minds.