and if you are real, please don't leave.

Jack crouched in the window of the tower, grinning with glee at the surprise he had planned.

Time passed differently when you and your kind were ageless, as much as Jack tried to keep track of it. He was almost surprised to find the walls of the room inside covered in paintings, but then this was Rapunzel after all...

Hair ran this way and that, but he hadn't caught sight of the girl yet, instead he just watched and waited, grinning when a familiar purple dress came into view. She had grown, but then everyone did, and that never mattered to him before.

"Rapunzel," he called from his place in the window. "I'm back."

Less and less room was left on the walls each time Rapunzel got the chance to paint. It was getting to the point that she wasn't even sure if she could find anywhere to paint anymore - not without getting rid of some of the old paintings.

Over to the left were paintings of an imaginary friend she had had - Jack Frost, she thought his name had been. But, he had only been imaginary, having disappeared when she grew out of the need for imaginary friends.

Maybe she could paint over that and paint something else there? There wasn't much of a need for it anymore, now that she was older and imaginary friends were a thing of the past.

"Pascal, what do you think?" she asked the chameleon, who seemed to eye her with curiosity, "Get rid of this and make something new?"

Jack frowned, stepping down from the windowsill to follow Rapunzel as she moved round the room.

"Hey, 'Punz..." Jack laughed uneasily, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "I know it's been a while, but you don't need to act like this... I mean, things were busy and I couldn't get away. It's a good painting, why you want to get rid of it?"

Rapunzel's expression didn't so much as flicker, Pascal didn't spare him a glance. As cold as he was, the realisation sent a shiver down his spine... It couldn't have happened, not to Rapunzel...

Rapunzel stared at the painting for a few moments longer before she sighed. "Right, okay, so I'll go mix the paint to cover it," she muttered to herself as she moved away, quickly searching for the right colors to use to match the wall itself.

"I wonder what I should put there instead?" She looked to Pascal, wondering if he had any ideas. The small creature only puffed out its chest proudly and she let out a short laugh. "You, huh?"

Returning her attention to the paints, she grabbed a few and set to mixing the right ones. "Okay, Pascal. A painting of you can go there instead. Just give me a few minutes to prepare this, okay? Then you can... model or something."

Jack stumbled back, shock and disbelief setting in the pit of his stomach and churning sickly. His back collided with the wall, sending a little flock of snowflakes into the air, and he slid down to the floor.

He watched in horror as Rapunzel began mixing the paint, ready to rid her tower of any evidence they'd once been friends.

(I wasn't sure if she was meant to see the snowflakes or not, so if she's not, I'll edit this.)

Rapunzel paused in her work when she felt Pascal tugging at her dress. "What is it, Pascal?" she asked as she looked down, only for Pascal to point somewhere. Following his gaze, she spotted snowflakes falling and blinked with confusion. Snow shouldn't be here, especially on a warm day.

But, then, a small memory flashed of snow falling on her nose while she begged Jack to make more, when she was younger. Brows furrowed, she stood and moved closer to the snowflakes. "Jack?"

Jack straightened, widening his eyes even as they threatened to spill tears of disappointment.

"'Punzel," he whispered, climbing back to his feet. "'Punzel, can you-"

His snowflakes, some proof... the twirled his fingers, summoning miniscule blizzards in his palms. A sharp look had snowflakes frosting on the window glass, and ice crept out along the floor from his feet.

"Can you see this?"

Rapunzel watched the display with surprise and wonder, because it was bringing back so many memories that she thought had just been in her imagination. When she noticed the ice creeping closer, she looked down at it, stepping back to avoid her bare feet meeting the ice.

She looked back up eventually, though, after more memories floated through her mind. And, when she did, she was surprised to see Jack there, her eyes widening as she took in his features. From what she could remember, he hadn't changed at all.

Without much warning, she was quick to rush over and throw her arms around him, her feet cold from the ice on the floor. But, she was happy to see him again and it was obvious. "I thought I just imagined you," she told him quietly.

As soon as Rapunzel threw her arms round him Jack caught her round the waist, holding her close as he lifted her from the floor and spun her round.

Jack buried his face in Rapunzel's neck, strands of her incredible hair sticking to the small damp trails on his cheek. He stayed there for a long moment, collecting himself from the scare he'd had, trying to find a stable place to settle his mind again.

Eventually he calmed, pulling back away to grin widely at Rapunzel.

"I can't believe you'd paint over me!" he scolded playfully.

Rapunzel laughed nervously and pushed her hair behind her ear, though soon rested both back on his shoulders. "Sorry," she told him quietly. "I just..."

She wasn't sure how to explain her actions, really. She'd already told him that she'd thought he had been just part of her imagination, after all.

"There's not much room left on my wall and, well, seeing that painting made me feel a little lonely." Because it reminded her that she was mostly alone in the tower, aside from Pascal.

Besides, she hadn't seen him in a long time. At some point, she must have lost hope and made herself believe a lie.

"It's okay," Jack soothed at her words, already feeling a little bad for his long absence, and then surprising her. "You can still paint over me if you want, I'm here now properly, I think it'll be okay."

He looked around the room, taking in the paintings and how they'd grown since he last saw.

"You've gotten so much better... your paintings, they're incredible, I- I'm sorry I haven't been by in so long, I lost track of time... for... Well, a while I guess from the looks."

"Maybe I could paint over you and paint new paintings of you in that one's place?" Rapunzel suggested, peering up at him for a moment before she offered a small grin.

"If I've gotten that much better, I should put the skill to use and paint a better you, after all."

She paused, though, and dropped her gaze for a moment after hearing his apology. "It's okay, really," she decided after a moment and looked at him. "You're here now, that's what's important. Right?"