“Elizabeth!” My fists slammed against the door, and it sounded like the wood was starting to splinter. No wonder, when I’d been pounding on the door for several minutes, leaving little spots of blood on the wood as I beat my hands raw and screamed my voice hoarse. “Elizabeth! God damn it, Elizabeth, I know you’re in there! Let me in!”

Clint stepped up next to me, adding his voice to mine. “Come on, Elizabeth, please. We just need… Kisten just needs to talk to him, just for a little bit. I swear to god, Elizabeth, we’re not going to hurt him!”

The door flew open, and Clint fell back as Elizabeth punched him in the face. “Holy shit,” I said, wide-eyed, and the petite auburn haired girl stood with her chest heaving and her eyes wild.

“You won’t hurt him? You won’t hurt him? Do you think I’m fucking stupid? I wasn’t born yesterday you flaming asshat! You’ve already hurt him! You’ve hurt him so many fucking times and you just keep doing it. God damn it, Kisten! What the hell is your problem? Does Joe’s life have to be in splinters under your feet before you’re satisfied?”

They’d all shed so many tears; it was a miracle they still had more to give. But Elizabeth managed it, her breathing growing uneven as it hitched in her throat.

“Damn it. Damn it!” She whirled on me, but my hand was up to catch her wrist before her fist could hit my face.

I used my grip on her to reel her in close, putting my face right in front of hers. “Elizabeth.” I had to squeeze it out between gritted teeth. “Knock it off already. You’re putting on a fantastic show. But you and I both know this isn’t going to work for any of us. Least of all Joe.”

“Let me go, bastard,” she hissed, trying to yank her arm out of my grasp.

I only held her tighter, until there were tears swimming in her eyes and my hand ground the bones of her wrist together. “I’ll only let you go if you let me in. Promise me, Elizabeth. Give me five minutes alone with him, just five. And if he’s still screaming and yelling and throwing punches at me by the time those five minutes are up, I’ll leave and I’ll never come back.”

“How do I know you’re actually telling the truth?” She narrowed her green eyes at me, the golden flecks standing out against their dark depths. “How do I know you’re not going to do something terrible to him?”

“Because… because…” I hung my head, dropping her arm. “Because… I love him, Elizabeth.”

“See, I knew you wouldn’t- wait, what did you just say?” Elizabeth stopped rubbing her pained arm to look up at me again, shocked. “Did you just… did you just say… you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

I shook my head slowly. “I’m not lying, Elizabeth. I bet that dumbass who’s still laid out on the floor pretending to be unconscious already fucking told you, since the dipshit decided it was his job to screw around in my love life. And if you don’t believe both of us… then look into my eyes and tell me I’m not more sincere than I’ve ever fucking been.”

She did what I told her. Her eyes searched mine with a burning intensity that made me want to flinch away. I held her gaze instead, focusing my thoughts on nothing but Joe.

My Joe. The one who saw me in the hallway and fled back inside like I was going to eat him alive. Who called me Prince Charming and blushed like mad when I called him Rapunzel. That goddamn yaoi stereotype who was addicted to coffee and could get so involved in his writing that he would forget I was there. I could watch him for hours when he was so deeply involved in his writing. I could only imagine being able to run my fingers through his hair while he focused on Rowen and Rose and all the other beautiful characters he brought to life, seeing him smile up at me. Damn it, but I’d even give anything to even hear him yell at me, call me a son of a mouse with that offended expression, his nose wrinkled up.

I blinked hard, but there was no stopping the tears. Elizabeth’s glare softened, and her hands fell from their defensive position.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Her voice shook, trembling almost as much as her hands.

I dropped my gaze to the carpet, swallowing hard. “If I wasn’t serious, I wouldn’t have bailed out on the most important business meeting of the year to follow him back here. Trust me, they’ll rip me a new asshole for this when I get back.”

Elizabeth laughed slightly, more surprised than amused, and there was the seed of respect in her as she stepped aside. I offered her a grateful smile as I stepped into the hotel room.

“Joe! Joe Taylor!” I shouted his name, and just being able to say it again made me heart start to beat. Beat the way it hadn’t in months, fast in my chest, beating that familiar rhythm against my ribs. God, how I’d missed that.

A slammed door was the response I got.

“Really, Joe, you still haven’t learned that gives away your position?” I asked, grinning at the door that had slammed. It must have been the door to the room Joe was using, if he felt safe enough to hide there. I padded across the door, and rested my palm against it.

It was so familiar; I was pulled right back into my memories. The first time I’d stood outside his door, leaning against it, my forehead resting on the cool wood. Joe had just set fire to the tablecloth at the weekly dinner the tenants were supposed to attend after he tried to steal my name for one of his novels. My skittish pound kitten had hidden behind his door and pretended not to hear me while I talked to him.

Who was I to break tradition?

So I leaned my head against the door, my palms on either side of it, and spoke in low tones.

“Joe. I know you’re in there. And I know you’re listening. You always do, even when you pretend you’re not. So, do me a favor, and keep pretending you’re not listening so I can say everything I need to, okay?”

I waited for his answer; if he told me to go away, it was going to grind what little of my heart remained to dust. But if he didn’t… if he kept quiet… my heart thrashed harder at the thought of it. And when he didn’t say anything, I was breathless, gulping in big gasps of air to keep myself from losing control.

“Joe…” I hesitated, letting his name roll off my tongue like the sweetest honey. “You are the most frustrating, naive, ridiculous person I have ever met in my entire life. I honestly don’t know how the fuck I put up with you for as long as I did. You are the most skittish, terrified little abandoned cat I’ve ever seen left in a box on the side of the street. If I was smart, I’d leave you there. I’d let somebody else pick you up and take you home.

“But I think we’ve already established, several times over, that I’m stupid as shit when it actually counts.” I couldn’t stop my laughter, soft and sweet. “I can’t do that. I fell for that little half drowned pound kitty who tried to set the building on fire. The one who thought he could actually get drunk off those Kahlua K-cups, and always buys the stores out of those sentence building magnets so he can build short stories on his magnet board.

“I fell for that little kitten who wouldn’t let me touch him unless he was asleep. He may have dug his claws into me a few times, but I always came back for more. Because… shit, Joe, I don’t fucking know how to say this. I’m not good at this shit.”

My words trailed off, and I pulled away from the door slightly, staring at the expanse of white wood before me. I took a deep, steadying breath. “I guess… I think what I’m trying to say is… Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. Because if you don’t, if you leave me down here at the bottom of the tower… I’d rather die looking up at you than leave you alone.

“I love you, Rapunzel.”

I heard a soft sound, a choked sob; the door was wrenched open, faster than I expected, and I almost fell over. Joe and I stared at each other. We were both crying by then- god damn the fucking crying, I’d had more than enough of it already. But I think it was a different kind of crying, that time; when he looked up at me, he started to smile.

“Do you… do you really mean it? Do you really think you can be my Prince Charming, Kisten?” he asked. I’d never seen him more vulnerable than he was in that moment, wavering on the edge of a knife that would either send him toppling into the depths of whatever darkness was inside him, or send him reeling into my arms.

I smiled at him, bright through my tears. “Of course I can.I can do anything, as long as I love somebody. And I’ve always loved you, Joe.”

He made a soft sound, and suddenly he was in my arms, sobbing and shaking and a giant mess. But he was my mess, and I was the one who would put his pieces back together.