Max Hatter x Rapunzel's daughter
Summary: Max tries to steal from (Y/n) , but he seems to forget who her father is.
A/n: hey guys, it's been a MINUTE since I've posted anything and I would love some feedback on this. Ty 🩷
Max Hatter hated slow dancing.
And whenever he had the chance to avoid the HKs, he took it.
But ballroom dancing classes were mandatory for both the HKs and the VKs, and the dancing partners were chosen randomly at the beginning of the year. He could only blame his bad luck, for he had gotten paired with Y/n, Rapunzel's daughter, an HK. Forever jealous of Hazel, who had gotten paired with Felix.
Truth be told, he didn't have any ill feelings towards Y/n.
She was usually quiet and spoke kindly to everyone, even to VKs. She seemed to be shy, mostly spending her time painting in the art room or reading in the library, but she also had a mischievous glint in her eye that always intrigued him.
He couldn't deny that she was attractive, with long (y/h/c) hair, usually tied in a braid with a cute little bow at the end.
They would usually make very light small talk, and most of the time, it would be them apologizing to each other after stepping on each other's toes,mostly him, though.
After half an hour of following basic slowdancing steps, with the guys twirling the girls around and then the girls making a full turn around the guys, Max decided to have some fun.
As he held her to twirl her around, he slipped her ring off her finger with a smirk. Twirling away from Max, Y/n realized that her favorite ring was missing and chuckled softly, shaking her head.
As she made the turn around him, a hand on his shoulder, once she got directly behind him, she intentionally misstepped, tripping and grabbing him by the waist for support.
Max turned instinctively and grabbed her arms to steady her.
"Careful, princess," he said as she straightened. "You'll wreck us both."
She gave him a sweet smile as she fixed his jacket on his shoulders.
"Apologies, Hatter." She turned to look him in the eyes, stunning him with her sudden closeness. "Lost my footing there for a bit," she shrugged innocently. "You know, slippy heels."
"Just be careful next time," he muttered, fixing his hat, flustered.
The bell rang, catching her attention.
"See you later, Hatter," she said with a wink before exiting the auditorium, leaving him stunned by the peculiar interaction.
What he didn't know was that his wallet was now missing from his left pocket.
The snickering laughter of his friends was heard from behind him, pulling him from his stupor.
"Wow, I've never seen you this quiet... like, ever!" Felix laughed, placing an arm around his friend's shoulders and guiding him towards the exit.
"Wasn't that... strange?" he muttered to his friend.
"Well, big surprise. A peculiar apple falling from a peculiar tree!" Hazel replied, referring to Y/n's mother.
"I don't know. I always liked the stories about Flynn Rider," Felix joked, shrugging his shoulders as they made their way to lunch.
"At least I made something of value from this situation," Max told them, showing them her ring, one with a golden sun in the center and lilies as the band.
"Dude, that looks like a family heirloom..." Felix said, actually shocked. "Don't you think she'll notice?"
"She hasn't yet," Max shrugged, putting the ring in his left pocket, where it would be safe.
"I want to be a fly on the wall when she finds out!" Hazel chuckled.
"Wait...!" Max called, searching around in his pocket, not feeling his wallet. "She took my wallet!" he exclaimed, making his friends lose it with laughter.
"I like her!" Hazel said between breaths.
"Hats off to (Y/n)!" Felix laughed, tapping his friend's top hat.
Max looked around as they rushed to the cafeteria, searching for (Y/n). He quickly located her, sitting with Red and Chloe, nodding along to something Red was saying.
"Nice try, Rider!" Max called, putting his hands on the table next to her food tray.
"It's Fitzherbert," she corrected him, putting her hand out expectantly. "And you first."
"Fine." Max let out a long sigh, taking the ring out of his pocket and placing it inside her open palm.
"Thank you!" she said sweetly before handing him his black leather wallet.
He scoffed, walking back to his friends, embarrassed.
She really wasn't who he thought she was.
It was later that night when he realized his cufflink was missing.
The next time he found her, she was in the library, reading.
She was sitting quietly at one of the tables, completely focused on a small book.
“I think you have something of mine, princess,” he greeted her in a lower voice as he took a seat across from her.
“Hello to you too, Hatter!” She sat up straighter, closing her book. “Didn’t your parents teach you any manners?” she joked.
But Max turned to look at her for the first time since he’d arrived, a broken look crossing his face. (Y/n) instantly felt guilty.
“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors,” he stated sarcastically, giving her a wry smile.
“I don’t know, Max...” she said softly. “I’m not one to judge a person based only on ‘rumors.’” She made air quotes with her fingers.
And it was true, of course. She’d heard the awful things other students seemed to say, but she was never one to take them as fact.
She’d always had a good feeling about Max Hatter.
He seemed broken to her, not mad or mean or evil.
Max stayed silent, although his eyes searched hers for any sign of judgment.
“Anyway!” she said, trying to make the situation a little more cheerful. “How about we play the cufflink in a game of chess?”
She grabbed a chessboard that was sitting on the table beside theirs.
“If you win, I’ll give it back to you. If I win, you give me the other one, so I can have a pair!” she suggested, already setting up the game.
Max rolled his sleeves up to his elbows.
“Get ready to lose, then, princess,” he said, smirking.
(Y/n) chuckled, shaking her head at his cockiness.
He really was handsome when he smiled.
(Y/n) wasn’t the best at chess. She’d only beaten Pascal once back home, and she was pretty sure he’d let her win.
But she was never one to give up easily.
Even when the odds were against her.
After a while, it became evident that she was about to lose. Max was actually very good at chess, and she could tell he’d turned a blind eye to some of her moves because he could have won at least five rounds ago.
Could it be that he was actually enjoying himself?
“Nervous?” he teased, moving his bishop.
“Why would I be nervous?” she asked, feigning confusion.
“Oh, I don’t know! Maybe because I’m about to win with one move?”
She hummed in response, leaning back in her chair thoughtfully.
Max turned to look at her as she slowly untied the little bow holding her braid together and began to unravel her hair.
She kept her focus on the board, trying to think of a clever move.
But Max couldn’t keep his eyes off her when she caught her bottom lip between her teeth, deep in thought.
“Big talk...” she said as she picked up her pawn. “For someone who doesn’t have a queen.”
Max snapped out of his trance and looked down at the board.
She had stolen his queen, and her pawn was now in position to threaten his king.
“Checkmate!” she announced, clearly enjoying the shocked look on his face.
“That’s against the rules!” he protested, pointing an accusing finger at her.
“Since when do you care about the rules, Hatter?” she laughed, gathering the pieces and putting the board back in its place.
“I didn’t lose. You cheated,” he corrected, watching as she began gathering her things.
A strange pit formed in his stomach at the thought of her leaving.
“Isn’t there a saying?” she asked. “Something about those who lose, win in love?”
“That’s in cards, and I didn’t lose!” he insisted.
Desperation began to creep in as he became certain she wasn’t going to give his cufflink back.
“Hm. I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Hatter,” she said softly.
She leaned toward him and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before making her way toward the exit.
Max sat there in shock for a second.Then he noticed the cufflink sitting on the table in front of him.
He turned to watch her go, a blush spreading across his cheeks.And that was when he noticed it.
(Y/n) had her hands behind her back.
“Hey!” he called after her.
The librarian immediately shushed him.Max hurried out of the library after her.
But once he stepped into the hallway,
(Y/n) was nowhere to be found.
Max let out a loud sigh as he stepped into the VKs' common room. His friends were already there, lounging on the couches.
"Hey!" Felix called, lifting his head to give him a half-wave from his position sprawled across the couch.
"You look different. Did you do something new to your hair?" he joked.
"She stole my hat," he stated, defeated.
They all knew who he was talking about at this point. He hadn't stopped talking about her for the last few days.
"Damn, she must really like you," Felix said, sitting up to make room for his friend.
"Or you're just very easy to steal from," Hazel added, making the Smee twins burst into a fit of laughter.
Max threw a pillow at them.
"What are you going to do?" Felix asked him.
"I'm going to get my hat back," Max answered, his mind already running through all the ways he could get it back.
"Yeah, well, thanks, Captain Obvious!" Hazel rolled her eyes. "He means, what are you going to do about you two?"
"I don't know," Max said, shrugging. He really didn't have a clue what he was going to do.
The truth was that he couldn't stop thinking about her. He was worried about her losing interest in their little game, and he genuinely enjoyed spending time with her.
"You know, we don't care if you like her, right?" Felix asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We want you to be happy."
"Besides, she seems like a pretty sneaky girl! I like her," she laughed.
Max shook his head, staring down at his hands as he tried to hide a smile.
He was pretty proud of having found this family.
It was Friday, classes were over for the week ,and most of the students had gotten in their cars and carriages to get back home for the weekend.
It was quiet in Auradon Prep, and (Y/n) was walking the schools gardens , her shoes discarded next to a large oak tree. She was standing on the the grass , enjoying the cool feeling of the fresh blades underneath her feet.
She loved the school's garden cause it reminded her of her family's gardens back in Corona..
Max found her there ,pacing . She had her hair down , in a pale pink dress ,with the sleeves falling off her shoulders . She looked aetherial.
He walked up to her , determined to get back the black hat that sits on her head.
"Hello, princess" his voice captured her attention, and she took off the hat, quickly hiding it behind her back.
"Hi, Hatter! What brings you here?" She greeted him innocently , taking steps back as he got closer and closer to her.
Another step and her back suddenly met the thick trunk of the tree.
Max's eyes dropped briefly on the black hat behind her back, before returning to her face.
"I believe that belongs to me" he murmured
"Finders keepers" she swallowed.
Strands of her hair were disheveled ,from their little chase. Without thinking he gently brushed them away, tucking them behind her ear.
Large eyes met his , only then did she seem to realise how close they actually were.
Max's hand lingered on the strand tacked behind her ear, his eyes searching her's for any sign of fear or aversion. He found neither.
The playful teasing that was between the moments ago was now replaced by something quieter.
For once there was no mischievous smirk, no teasing remark , no attempting to steal back his hat .
And the way he was staring at her, almost mesmerized.
"Did you only come for your hat?" She breathed .
Max's eyes flickered for a second towards the hat she was still holding behind her back. Before falling back to her eyes , her lips and back to her eyes.
She felt her heart flutter beneath her chest.
"That's what I told myself" he whispered , making her smile softly. His heart skipped.
He learned closer , close enough for them to share a breath.
"Now I don't really care about the hat."
He paused for a moment, giving her the opportunity to pull away or push him back. She didn't.
Instead she titled her chin upward slightly.
That was all the encouragement he needed.
Max gently cupped her cheek and leaned in, his lips meeting hers in a slow, tender kiss.
For a moment, everything else disappeared.
There was only him and her, beneath the old oak tree.
(Y/n)'s hand slowly found his, her fingers intertwining with his as she kissed him back.
When they finally pulled away, neither of them went very far. Their faces remained inches apart, foreheads nearly touching.
"You're blushing, Princess."
(Y/n) immediately looked away.
She lightly pushed his shoulder, laughing under her breath.
He gently caught her hand before she could pull it away.
She looked back at him, a smile playing on her lips.
"Then I suppose I'll have to make sure you don't regret it."
Before she could answer, he leaned in and kissed her once more.
This time, she was the one who closed the distance.
