Fifth Floor Common Room, Tuesday Morning

[doesnotkneel]

After last night's bender, Edward had somehow managed to climb up several flights of stairs - only to forget which exact room he lived in. He'd stumbled into a couple of doors, then given up on the whole thing. The common room couches looked as comfortable as any bed, after all.

He'd somehow managed to procure a small blanket (or maybe it was a towel; towel was more likely) which he had yanked over his head. His coat, he'd dropped on his feet during the night when those had gotten cold.

And there he still laid now, snoring. Oh, sure, he'd woken up once or twice already, but the sheer cracking agony of his skull had made being awake seem very uninviting, and he was intent on avoiding it for as long as possible.

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[doesnotkneel]

"...You could call it that," Edward mumbled. "Drinking. Looooads of drink."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"Edward," she scolded, though she kept her voice soft. Rapunzel padded back into the kitchen, returning with a glass of water that she set down next to the coffee. "You shouldn't do that if it makes you sick the next day."

So said the girl who had never so much as had one drink, ever.

"How're you feeling?" she added, gently. "I...maybe I can help."

It actually wasn't terribly unfamiliar territory; Mother liked to visit taverns sometimes, after all.

[doesnotkneel]

"'ll never drink again, I promise," Edward lied. Though, well, it wasn't strictly a lie, because right now he believed it. "You got some hangover cure, then? I'll try anything."

He would.

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

Rapunzel pursed her lips thoughtfully, eyeing him. "Where's it hurt?" she asked softly, a little hesitant. "I've got something but...you have to promise not to freak out."

She'd shown enough people that she didn't include her standard request not to share what she was going to show him -- and moreover, she trusted Edward not to sell her and her hair to someone -- but that didn't mean she wasn't a little worried about his reaction.

[doesnotkneel]

Oh, don't worry. She'd need the Edward from a decade from now if she wanted someone who'd contemplate selling her hair.

... That probably wasn't that reassuring.

"My head," Edward muttered. "Anders took care of the stomach ache earlier, but my head..."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"Okay, hold still, then," Rapunzel said quietly, looping a bit of her hair over her hand and gently laying it across his forehead. "This...might feel weird? I don't know. But I can fix it as long as you hold still and don't freak out."

And then she piled on a little more hair on him for good measure. Just to make sure. "Ready?"

...not that he would know what he was ready for, of course, because she was always cagey and weird about the explanation. Sorry, Edward.

[doesnotkneel]

"Am I getting a hat?" Edward wondered. He wasn't sure what was going on, except that now he had hair in his face, and potentially in his eyes if he didn't close them right the hell now.

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

Rapunzel opted not to answer, instead just hoping he would do as told and hold still (not that that had stopped her in the past, Barry.) She perched on the arm of the couch, carefully rearranging the hair again, and began to sing, her voice soft and low and crooning.

"Flower, gleam and glow,
Let your power shine.
Make the clock reverse,
Bring back what once was mine...."

And as she sang, from the very first note, light crept down her hair like molten gold -- bright enough that even if his eyes were closed, Edward was probably going to notice. And if the light was bad for his headache -- well, that was probably clearing up there, too.

[doesnotkneel]

The sad thing was that, well, Edward's own gift-- seeing something shining gold for no real reason at all wasn't actually that strange an occurrence for him, and it was only when he noticed his headache lifting that he realized something was actually going on.

"...'s nice."

Thank you, Edward.

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

Rapunzel smiled, but kept on singing.

"Heal what has been hurt,
Change the Fates' design.
Save what has been lost,
Bring back what once was mine,
What once was mine...."

On that last note, her hair faded, and she pushed it off him a little. "How're you feeling?" she asked, a touch shy.

[doesnotkneel]

Edward sat up gingerly, staring up at her with wonder.

"You're like Anders."

Look, just because his hangover was gone didn't mean he was going to be spontaneously well-spoken here.

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

Rapunzel shook her head, blushing a little. "No, Anders can do a lot more than me," she admitted. "But I can heal kind of like he can, yeah. That's why my hair's as long as it is -- if I cut it, it loses its power and turns brown. But it worked? You feel better?"

[doesnotkneel]

"Like someone opened up the curtains and let the sunlight in," Edward said, offering her a smile and being very, very pleased that he actually could. "Your hair does that? That's incredible."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

She shrugged a shoulder, nodding. "It comes in handy," she said modestly. "So if you get hurt again and Anders isn't around, or you're hungover...." That got him another stern look.

[doesnotkneel]

"Not drinkin' like that again, I swear," Edward said, which, again: ahahahaha sure, boy. "How'd... how does it work?"

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"Magic?" Rapunzel ventured. "I mean, I've just always been able to do it." She tilted her head, pulling her hair off her neck to show him the lonely little brown lock she had there. "When I was a baby, someone bad realized its power and tried to steal it, so...that's kinda why I didn't get out much before here, you know?"

[doesnotkneel]

Edward leaned forward and squinted at the lock. He couldn't help it - he slipped into his other Sense to see if there was anything strange about it.

... Well, it sure was gold again, was what it was.

"It goes brown when you cut it?" he guessed. "Seems little use for a thief, then, unless they steal you."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"Hence why I haven't seen a sheep before, and I don't really know where my mother goes all day, and why I lived in a tower by myself until I came here," Rapunzel said, worrying her lower lip. "My hair's pretty priceless. It can keep someone young forever, too, so...please don't tell anyone? Anders and Barry know, and a few others, but it's a secret, okay?"

[doesnotkneel]

"I won't," Edward promised. "Cross my heart."

He looked towards the common room entrance. "Might have to shake down the squirrels if you want to keep that from becoming public knowledge, though, lass."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"Part of why I'm always so nice to them." And because she was Rapunzel, let's be real. "But I also kinda figure that I have all this hair, plenty of people must wonder why, and seems like half the school is magic so I don't worry that much, anymore. But still."

Just because kidnapping sounded like no fun.

[doesnotkneel]

"If someone tries to steal you away, I'll make certain to give them a good thrashing," Edward promised. "Least I can do for making my hangover fade like that."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"I don't think I understand the whole allure of drinking, if it does that," Rapunzel told him skeptically.

[doesnotkneel]

"Then you've never had the right drink," Edward said.

Weren't you pledging never to drink again just a second ago?

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"I've never had any drinks at all," Rapunzel admitted. "Not the kind that make you drunk, anyway. But it doesn't look like any fun, if you end up unable to find your room and headachey."