Work Text:
I gazed at Peter from across the fire. His eyes met mine, and he smiled at me before raising his pipes to his lips and continuing to blow. We never broke eye contact. How amazing would it feel to have those lips against mine, or to be able to gaze into his eyes underneath a blanket of stars. Or to feel his arms around me when I went to bed? What would it be like to experience emotions I had never felt before? Would it be as incredible as I expected if he shoved me against a wall and kissed me with everything he had, or maybe if we made out in the forests of Neverland? That sounded spectacular...
"You're doing it again, Rebecca."
The voice of my brother broke me out of my romantic fantasies. I blinked and looked away from Peter, who cast his eyes back to his pipes. Shoot, Felix, my brother, never calls me Rebecca. Unless he's mad at me... "Oh, hey Felix," I mumbled, putting my head in my hands. Truthfully, my overprotective big brother was the last person I wanted to see right now.
"Don't 'hey Felix," me!" My sandy-haired sibling said in an imitation of me. "I told you not to do that! He's-"
"Dangerous, a bad influence, going to break my heart, evil, corrupt, dark, blah blah blah. I know, you've told me a thousand times." I rolled my eyes and slumped down against the log.
He ignored my sarcastic remarks at the end. "Yes, he is. He's horrible! He's constantly in a bad mood, too. Why would you want to be with someone that is always a downer? Plus, he only thinks of himself. When it comes to your safety or his, he'll choose himself. Or when you disagree with him, can you guess who will end up dead in a pile of blood? Oh, I know, it's going to be you!" Felix was fuming at this point. I scooted away a little bit.
"Okay, you've made your point. Pan's bad news: I've got it." I shot my brother an annoyed but also disappointed look and stood up. "I'm heading back to our tent. See you later."
"Becky, wait! I'm sorry, Becky!" Felix called after me, but I didn't listen. He was such an idiot, I swear!
I stormed into my tent and threw my face into my pillow, my ebony, shoulder-length hair getting tangled very ungracefully in the process.
"UGH!" I screamed into my pillow, letting out all my exasperation. God, Felix was such a... a... a foul, loathsome, evil, little cockroach sometimes! But I suppose it's his job to be so terrible since he is my brother. It's kind of his role.
In a klutzy manner that would make anyone cringe, I rolled over and tumbled off the bed. Too tired to move, I just lay there.
Will I ever be with Peter Pan?
Felix's POV
I sighed and put my head in my hands. When was Becky going to get a grip on herself? She's my sister, I love her. But is it so unreasonable to tell her that nothing good can come of my only superior, and my friend? No, it's not. If anyone is unreasonable, it's her.
I was so caught up in my angry thoughts that I hardly noticed it when Pan sat down next to me. When he did, I nearly jumped out of my own skin. "Oh, hello, Peter,"
"Hello, Felix," he greeted, "how are you?"
I sighed. "Cut the small talk. We both know what you're here to discuss."
"Fine, fine. What can I do to get you to let me have Becky?" Peter said, surrendering.
"I've told you," I groaned, "nothing! We've talked about this a million times. She's off-limits! You are-"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm dangerous. I know."
"Bad luck, eh Pan?" crowed a lost boy from nearby. The boy chuckled and turned back to carving something.
Pan flicked his wrist and the boy dropped dead, the carving of a small wooden bear toppling into the flames and being consumed.
Pan sent a devious smile towards the corpse. "Not as bad as yours."
"See? See?" I exclaimed, exasperated. I dramatically motioned towards the body. "This is what I'm talking about. Why would I want my little sister anywhere near you?"
"You're looking at it the wrong way, Felix. You could also look at it this way: I could protect her from whatever came at her."
"And if you came at her?"
Pan went silent for a moment. "You truly think I would do that?"
"I don't know, Peter! You never seem satisfied with one person. You move on and dispose of the people who weren't enough to fulfill what you wanted. It's a wonder I'm still alive, let alone your second in command, and best friend." I shook my head and looked into the flames.
Pan blinked. "Felix, I care about her. And I care about you. In different ways, that's for sure, but I still care for each of you. You are by best friend. And she's the girl I fancy."
"Why do you like her anyway? You only like her because she's the only girl on the island, you don't have any other options." I looked at him in a way that clearly said that I was disgusted by him, a look that was probably not safe. Luckily, he didn't seem to notice.
Peter threw his hands up. "What can I do, Felix? What can I do to convince you that I truly do love her?"
"Nothing, Peter, nothing,"
He shook his head. "I'll find something... I'll find something..."
3rd Person
The week that followed was hectic, to say the least.
The first thing that set Neverland's normal schedule into a chaotic state was when Peter Pan granted Felix a treehouse. Previously, Peter Pan was the only boy with a treehouse. Now, he made Felix his own treehouse. Then, later that day, Pan granted Becky her own treehouse, as well. This put the lost boys in a tizzy. They all wanted tree houses, though they were all too afraid to ask. Because of this, they all tried to impress Peter Pan by completing impossible tasks. Keyword: tried. They put themselves in senseless danger to "prove" themselves, and Peter Pan was constantly rescuing lost boys until he had to tell the camp that he was not giving out any more tree houses. This just put the lost boys in a bad mood.
"Good judgment, Peter. I wonder how much could go wrong if you ever used poor judgment where my sister is concerned." Felix growled, then left Peter alone.
Secondly, Peter Pan tried to lead a large-scale siege on the pirates to rid Neverland of them once and for all. It failed miserably and resulted in many injured lost boys. Not to mention that Becky had engaged in battle and had a nasty cut on her thigh.
All Felix had to say was, "You made a ridiculous attempt to defeat the pirates and you got my sister injured. You put her in danger. Why should I hand her off to you?"
Against his better judgment, Pan decided to prove himself by wooing Becky directly instead of pleasing Felix. Constantly, he showered her with compliments. He was a total gentleman towards her, holding the few doors Neverland possessed, pulling out her chair when she sat down (which was rarely), helping her down from the ladders as well as helping her up from the logs around the fire. Sadly, his best friend only saw it as Peter being a player with senseless flirting.
"Quit hitting on her and being such a player. You're not even respecting her!" Felix had shouted. Of course, Peter Pan was respecting Becky completely, but Felix was so blinded by anger that he could not see that.
Finally, Peter Pan was willing to get down on his knees and beg Felix to let him have access to Becky. Felix knew that this was very out of character for Peter Pan and that Peter had serious pride issues. This was big, but he couldn't say anything else to Pan other than, "If you don't have any self-respect, how can you respect my sister?"
Pan was desperate. He was away from his soulmate, and it was up to him to get to her. But how? He had tried being extremely nice to the two of them, he tried being impressive, he tried to prove that he would be a great boyfriend, and he even was willing to show vulnerability if it meant he was able to love Becky. But all of his attempts were for nothing. He was away from his beloved, and there wasn't a single thing he could do.
And so Peter Pan did something he almost never did: he sat down in his treehouse and sobbed. He was out of options, he was destined to be alone. Or so he thought.
Becky's POV
"Rebecca, can I talk to you?" Felix's voice came from outside the door of my new treehouse. Oh no, he called me Rebecca...
"Uh, sure?" I said uncertainly. What could this be about? Actually, I don't need to ask.
I rolled my eyes as he sat down. Annoyed, I joined him. "It's about Peter Pan, isn't it?" He didn't make eye contact, which was plenty of an answer. "Look, Felix, I'm old enough to make my own decisions. I love you, but you have to let me live my life, or it's not my life. You can't just-"
"You can have him."
"Felix, you are so infuriating! I mean- wait... what? D- did you say that I could have-"
Felix took a big breath and began. "Yes. You can have him. But you have to hear me out, because this is important. Rebecca, I am so sorry I kept you from him. But at the same time, I'm not. You and I both know what kind of home we came from, and I will never forget that. You won't either. Our history is complicated and dark, drenched in horrible memories. But I don't need to tell you that. It's just that our past is what held me back. But I remembered something. 'With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.' I guess I have been stuck in one day, over and over again, you could say. I never slept, never rested to let myself move on. And because of that I never got the new strength and thoughts. But now I've slept, figuratively. He does love you, and you love him. Love is often thought of as complicated, but it's not. If you love him and he loves you, truthfully, nothing else matters. If the entire world is against you two, it's still so simple. Be together. How I missed that, I don't know. But, I guess now that I've rambled and thought a lot, you can be with him. You two belong together."
I looked down nostalgically. " 'With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.' Who said that?"
"Eleanor Roosevelt."
I laughed softly, fully in the moment. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
We embraced, tears beginning to stream down both of our faces. It was so right. I was here in my brother's arms. We may have fought and we may still bicker, but we love each other in another way entirely. Sometimes I doubted that we had a healthy relationship. And yeah, I smack talk him and say that I hate my brother, but deep inside... I love him. And I love him so much, in a way only siblings could understand. And I think most siblings feel that way. Say what they might, but in a burning building, if they were forced to choose between saving their sibling or themselves, they'd choose their sibling. And that's the kind of relationship Felix and I had. I'm thankful for that.
Because in the here and now, it's okay.
Peter Pan's POV
I begrudgingly left my treehouse to tend to my duties. Being the leader of Neverland was a perilous task, something that slowly drained the life from me. Becky... she gave me life again. But I suppose I am destined to remain dead.
That is until she came running up to me, face shining with a huge smile. I looked up at Felix who had just exited her treehouse. He caught my eye and nodded. His simple nod was all the confirmation I needed.
I could finally tell Becky how much I loved her.
Oh god, but how? I'm so screwed...
Becky's POV
"Hey, Pan." I grinned.
A smile crossed his lips. "Hello, Becky. Oh, and you can call me Peter. Uh, so, how are you?"
"Good, good," I answered, nodding awkwardly.
"That's good," he laughed nervously, "Hey, do you want to go down to the beach with me?"
"Like, swimming?"
"No, not swimming, just talking." He offered, quickly regaining his cool. He offered his hand. His soft, sweet, amazing-looking hand. It finally registered in my brain that I should take his hand and I did so hastily. Oh no, what if my hands are sweaty? What if he's grossed out? His closed around mine firmly and lead me into the woods. Through the trees we went, winding and twisting along the pathway to the sandy shore that I loved.
After what seemed like an eternity of small talk and awkward laughs, we broke through the foliage to the beach.
"Whoa," I breathed, "I've never been to this part of the beach before!"
The area we had emerged in was a shore made of darker sand dotted with seashells and rocks of different colors. It was cooler here, no longer the humid, suffocating heat of the mainland. Here, the water was bound to be cold, but there was a cool breeze and the sights were beautiful. The shore was rocky but in a good way. The rocks had moss patches on them that looked dramatic from a distance. The sky was a grey color, and the water was a dark blue. But somehow, it still seemed like another universe. A better universe.
"You've never been here?" Peter seemed surprised. I shook my head. "Okay, well, I guess I'll show you around. Right here are rocks. Over there is the water. There's the sky, and there are the cliffs. Here's some sand, and here's a hermit crab." He picked up a small crab that retreated into its shell.
"Ha, ha, ha, you're hilarious," I said sarcastically.
He smirked, set the hermit crab down, and did a fake bow. "Why thank you, I try."
This time, I actually laughed as we sat down on a rock and dipped our feet into the swirling waters. "So, why'd you bring me out here?"
"So that I could do this."
Peter pressed his dry but soft lips against mine before I could think. It wasn't rough or controlling like I had imagined that it would be. But somehow, this was better. This kiss wasn't lusty or needy or desperate or heated or steamy or whatever else. It was tender and careful as if we might shatter an infinitely delicate balance.
We broke and my eyes fluttered open. His green orbs were sharp and focused as they met my gaze. "Becky, I love you. I have for a long time now, but I was never able to tell you. And I know that love is a big word, and that it may scare you off. Trust me, I've run every possible outcome of this situation over a thousand times in my head. Becky, I'm not a person who takes risks for anything. But I was willing to take a chance on you. If you would risk everything on me, then I promise I will make it worth your time."
"I love taking risks." And with that, I kissed him once more, even better than before.