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“Poke me again and I’ll fucking end you.”

Yoongi wished that his family lived in better conditions so that he wouldn’t have to share a room with these two idiots, also known as his brothers Namjoon and Jungkook.

Yoongi was hoping to have his own room when he entered his last year of high school, but sadly his parents didn’t make enough money to purchase a new home like they had said they would. Yoongi should’ve known his parents wouldn’t stay true to their word because they never did.

Yoongi was waiting for the day he could leave his home in Daegu and become a music producer in Seoul where all the top artists were. He had notebooks full of melodies and lyrics that he thought were worth something, but he lacked the funds to leave this town that held him back.

He thought his parents would see his ambition and perseverance as a child, but it seemed that they were more concerned with other things, such as drugs.

None of the boys were proud to say that they came from a family of drug dealers, selling illegal substances to anyone who paid a high price. Yoongi’s parents were on the other side of the law and he didn’t support it, nor did his younger brothers. They preferred to lock themselves in their room and pretend that their parents weren’t high out of their minds or making new connections to sell to.

Instead, they liked to lose themselves in the land of make believe, specifically Neverland and the boy who never grew up.

When Yoongi was younger, he used to stand tall on his bed and tell his brothers of Peter Pan and his pixie, Tinkerbell. He used to use explosive gestures as he acted out how Peter Pan would battle against his enemy, Captain Hook, successfully evading capture time and time again.

The platinum blonde would tell his brothers about how Peter Pan would come to Daegu in the night in search of his shadow that he had lost when it ran away in fear the day Captain Hook lost his hand to a crocodile.

“You used to be fun, Yoongi hyung.”

“Yeah, well, someone had to grow up in this family.”

There was no malice towards Jungkook when Yoongi said those words. Namjoon and Jungkook knew that their brother was referring to his parents and how they had made the platinum blonde grow up faster than he needed to.

Someone had to provide for the three of them so Yoongi took on that role. Yoongi worked odd jobs, just managing to make enough to put some food on the table for his brothers while their parents ignored their existence.

Despite Yoongi being the bread winner for the brothers, Namjoon was their leader. Namjoon was the middle child and the most level headed of the three. Yoongi was known to have a short fuse sometimes and Jungkook was much shier than he looked, thus leaving Namjoon as the best suited for the role of leader. Yoongi didn’t mind having Namjoon lead, seeing as how that was less weight on his shoulders.

“Tell us the story, Yoongi hyung!”

“What story?”

“The one of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell!”

“Aren’t we a little old for that story, Kook?”

“Oh, come on, hyung,” Jungkook grabbed Yoongi’s arm and pulled him over to Namjoon’s bed, “remember how you used to stand on the bed and tell us the story of Peter Pan and his lost boys? I miss those days! Won’t you tell us the story again just like old times?”

Yoongi crawled onto Namjoon’s bed, grimacing at the squeakiness he heard as he moved to rest his back against the headboard. He stretched his legs out and crossed his arms. He watched as Namjoon and Jungkook sat by his feet near the end of the bed.

They were looking at him with wide eyes. These weren’t puppy dog eyes. These were eyes full of hope and wonder. These were child-like eyes that Yoongi hadn’t looked into for quite some time.

The platinum blonde had to do a double take because one second he was back in his childhood bedroom watching his brothers jump around on the beds. The next second he was back in his current room with his brothers gazing upon him as if he knew all the stories and held all the answers.

The look in his brothers’ eyes hadn’t changed at all. Their eyes still held that child-like innocence, and Yoongi wanted nothing more than to protect that. Yoongi knew the only way to protect that and to keep it in tact was to tell the story one more time.

“Fine, but this is the last time, Kook.”

“Yay! Thank you, hyung!”

Yoongi shook his head with a smile. He couldn’t believe he was going to tell this story again, and he couldn’t believe that his younger brothers hadn’t grown tired of it. He wondered if that was because his brothers simply hadn’t grown up, just like all the characters in the story.

Yoongi hoped that the final telling of this story would lead to his brothers finally growing up, but another part of him hoped that they wouldn’t.

“Alright, here’s the story of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell,” Jungkook grinned and grabbed Namjoon’s hand in excitement as Yoongi began, “and how they defeated Captain Hook and he lost his hand! Stay close to each other or else that nasty croc might go after you instead!”

Yoongi felt happiness bubbling in his chest as he grinned, “Peter Pan and Captain Hook have been sworn enemies for decades but Hook could never get the upper hand on Pan! But this time… this time, Hook wanted to make sure he’d win!”

“What’d he do, hyung, huh?”

“Quiet, Jungkook! I want to hear the story, too!”

The oldest male chuckled at his brothers. He leaned towards them and stated, “Hook knew that the only way he could lure Peter Pan out of hiding was to capture the pretty pixie, Tinkerbell! When she was out playing with the lost boys of Neverland, Hook ambushed them!”

“No! She got away, didn’t she?”

“Come on, Jungkook!”

Yoongi gently shushed Jungkook, causing Namjoon to give a smug smirk. The platinum blonde jumped up, catching the younger males off guard, “Hook captured the lost boys and told Tinkerbell to go with him or else he’d slay her friends!”

Namjoon and Jungkook had heard this story many times, but it had been so long since they heard it so it was easy for them to fall back into it. With Yoongi being so energetic while telling the story it was hard for them to believe that they had heard this story multiple times.

Right now, it felt like the first time.

“Tinkerbell had no choice but to go with Hook,” Jungkook gasped loudly in disbelief at Yoongi’s words, “but when the lost boys got back to Peter Pan he was furious! That mean ole Captain Hook crossed the line by taking Tinkerbell!”

Now, it was the younger brothers’ turn to lean in as Yoongi wailed, “Oh, poor Peter Pan was so upset to know she was captured, but he couldn’t sit around and cry about it! He had to save her! Peter Pan and his lost boys tracked down Hook’s ship in the harbor to rescue their friend!”

“Peter Pan and his lost boys put up a fight,” Yoongi threw his head back and released an exaggerated sigh, “but they were outnumbered! They would surely walk the plank now that Captain Hook had them right where he wanted them!”

“Peter Pan won’t go down without a fight, right?”

“You’re right about that, Kook!”

Namjoon and Jungkook’s breath hitched as Yoongi jumped onto his feet, exclaiming, “Peter Pan made a deal with Hook! He challenged Hook to a duel where he couldn’t fly so it would be an even playing field! How could Hook refuse a challenge like that?”

The younger brothers were bouncing up and down together as Yoongi started acting out the fight scene, “With slashes of blades here and swipes below the belt there, Captain Hook and Peter Pan battled each other all over the ship without either of them getting the upper hand! But then, oh no! Peter Pan was knocked onto his back! His shadow was so scared that it just flew away, too!”

“Get up, Peter Pan!”

“Shhh! He’s getting to the best part, Jungkook!”

“Just when it looks like it’s all over for Peter Pan,” Yoongi jumped up and punched the air for added dramatic effect, “he finds a way to trick that old sea dog! Peter Pan grabs Hook’s hat and yanks it down so he can’t see! With a finishing blow, Captain Hook is defeated and the pixie is saved! But Peter Pan isn’t done yet… what should Peter Pan do to punish Hook?”

“Make him walk the plank!”

“Yeah, what Jungkook said!”

“Peter Pan forces Captain Hook to walk the plank,” Yoongi walked to the end of the bed and jumped off, reenacting the scene, “and Hook falls right into crocodile infested water! He’s just come up for air when he feels a great big chomp!”

“I can’t look!”

“You’re not even watching that happen, Jungkook!”

Yoongi was snickering as he stuffed his hand into his long sleeve. He held up his sleeve for his brothers to see as he yelled, “And when he looked at his hand… it was gone!”

“Oh no! It ate his hand!”

“Jungkook, you already knew that would happen!”

“Shh, hyung! I want to hear the ending!”

The platinum blonde hopped back on the bed and pulled his hand out of his sleeve. His gummy smile was on his face as he finished, “Captain Hook vowed his revenge upon Peter Pan as he replaced his hand with a hook… but Peter Pan would always be ready with his team of lost boys, and the pretty pixie, Tinkerbell.”

“And they all lived happily ever after?”

“Yeah, sure, they all lived happily ever after,” the platinum blonde waited a moment before adding, “except Captain Hook because he lost his hand, but yes, they all lived happily ever after on the magical island of Neverland where you never grow up.”

Namjoon and Jungkook were applauding their older brother for his animated retelling of their favorite childhood story. Yoongi, the slightly arrogant human that he is, grinned and did a little seated bow for his brothers. Under his breath, he was murmuring that he should get an Oscar for his one man show of Peter Pan.

Jungkook sprang to life, leaping off the bed and pretending to engage in a battle of swords with an invisible target. Yoongi and Namjoon could hear him telling Captain Hook that he should’ve thought twice before stealing Tinkerbell. Yoongi and Namjoon watched their younger brother in amusement.

For a moment, it felt like they were all living in the past, like they were reliving a memory.

Yoongi could see young Namjoon and Jungkook battling against one another with sticks that they had brought in from outside. Namjoon was Captain Hook while Jungkook was Peter Pan. Yoongi had been offered the role of Tinkerbell but he immediately turned that down.

Yoongi remembered seeing how happy his brothers were as they imagined they were the people in their brother’s story. He recalled how they had all agreed that they would never grow up, just like Peter Pan and his lost boys.

Yoongi frowned as he was brought out of the memory. His heart ached as he felt like he had let his brothers down by breaking their childhood promise.

Yet, Yoongi remembered that was a time when he believed in faith, trust, and pixie dust. That was a time when Yoongi didn’t understand the world and how ugly it could be. That was a time when Yoongi was young and ignorant.

That time was over.

Yoongi was brought out of his thoughts when Namjoon clasped his shoulder, “That was really nice of you to tell that old story again. You made Jungkook really happy.”

“He deserves to be happy,” Yoongi playfully nudged his brought with his bony elbow, “and you do, too. You both deserve to forget about the world, even if it’s just for tonight.”

“And what about you, hyung?”

“What about me?”

“Did you forget about the world tonight?”

The older male rolled his eyes and huffed, letting Namjoon know that he couldn’t give himself one moment where he forgot about the world. Yoongi was the provider for them, he couldn’t afford to forget about the world because the world was constantly reminding him of his responsibilities.

The world was a painful reminder that he couldn’t live the life he always wanted to when he was a child. The world was a dreadful reminder that he had to grow up so he could let his brothers stay young, so he could let his brothers have the life they deserved.

“I can never forget about the world.”

“Yah, turn off the light, Jungkook!”

“I can’t!”

Yoongi and Namjoon sat up in their beds and shot irritated looks towards their younger brother.

Jungkook was playing with his blanket as he whimpered, “What if Peter Pan comes tonight? If I have the light off then I won’t see him.”

“You won’t see him-“

“But I need to!”

“Kook, why would you need to see him?”

“Because I have his shadow!”

The two older males shared confused expressions. They remembered how Yoongi had said that during Peter Pan’s duel with Captain Hook his shadow was so scared that it decided to fly away to stay safe. They remembered how that all happened in a story. None of it was real. Jungkook didn’t have Peter Pan’s shadow because none of it actually happened.

Sensing that his brothers didn’t believe him, Jungkook continued, “When his shadow flew away I made sure I grabbed it! I wanted to keep it safe so I have it hiding in our room!”

“And where’s the shadow hiding, huh?”

“That’s a secret! Peter Pan has to find it!”

“You’re not turning the lamp off, are you?”

“Nope.”

Yoongi threw himself back onto his bed and groaned as loud as he could while Namjoon let out an exaggerated sigh. It seemed that they would have to wait until Jungkook fell asleep to turn off the lamp.

Jungkook had a smug smile on his face, believing that he had won the battle against his brothers. He was determined to see Peter Pan, and he was determined to return his shadow.

As the night passed, Jungkook felt his eyes drooping closed, only for him to bolt awake when he felt himself succumbing to sleep. He couldn’t lose this battle. Hell, if Peter Pan could win a battle with Captain Hook then he figured he should be able to win this fight with sleep. He would stay awake and he would finally meet the boy that he had only heard about from the mouth of his hyung.

Yoongi and Namjoon were seething with rage underneath their blankets. They couldn’t believe that Jungkook had stayed awake for hours with that stupid fucking lamp still on. Yoongi had never been more tempted in his life to throw a lamp out of the window while Namjoon had never wanted to look the other way to allow that to happen.

It wasn’t until Yoongi’s last bit of patience had dried out that they heard the sound of someone whispering outside their window. Jungkook shot up in his bed, alerting his older brothers, as well.

Yoongi and Namjoon threw back their blankets and got on their feet, the need for sleep pushed far away from them at the moment. They had bigger things to worry about now, like the potential burglar that was trying to break into their room.

Yoongi grabbed a pair of scissors as a weapon while Namjoon grabbed his plant and Jungkook grabbed twenty dollars from Namjoon’s wallet that he left out by his bed.

Clearly, Jungkook was the only one thinking right because this was a wonderful opportunity to swipe money from his unsuspecting brothers.

The three brothers pressed their backs against the wall and out of sight from whoever was lurking outside their window. Yoongi furrowed his brow.

For a second, he thought that he was hearing the sound of bells ringing. It was like a beautiful chime, one that someone would hear ringing in the air around the holidays. Yet, it seemed like whoever was outside was talking to the strange ringing sound.

The brothers held their breath as they heard the sound of the window being opened carefully.

Their eyes widened as they heard an unfamiliar voice whisper, “This is the place! I’m sure of it! The kid in here stole my shadow and we need to find out where it’s hiding!”

There was the sound of ringing once again, as if something was making that noise when it answered him. They heard a soft thump and that’s when they realized the stranger was in their room.

The man was barely able to take one step before Yoongi launched himself at him. Yoongi straddled the man and cranked his arm back, ready to shank the intruder with his trusty pair of scissors.

“Yoongi hyung, wait!”

“Jungkook, don’t look!”

“But that’s Peter Pan!”

Yoongi was an inch away from stabbing the man’s neck when he finally caught a glimpse of him. The man had luscious raven-colored hair with brown eyes that were nearly bulging out of his head because of how terrified he was. He had plump lips that looked like they had filler, but Yoongi could tell it was all natural. His face looked like it was sculpted by the gods, like he was always meant to be a model. Yet, his clothes spoke otherwise.

The intruder was wearing green from head to toe, aside from his brown shoes, of course. In the dim lighting, Yoongi could see that the man was wearing a light green collared shirt with a v-neck in the front to expose some of his chest. He was wearing dark green pants, and that’s when Yoongi noticed the dagger attached to the belt of his pants. On his head was a simple forest green cap with a vibrant red feather sticking up.

“It’s… it’s really you… Peter Pan!”

“Who the hell are you calling Peter Pan?”

Yoongi was about to answer the intruder when a bright light came flying at him, stopping a few inches from his face. When Yoongi’s eyes came into focus, he stumbled backwards.

The little light was actually a little man with soft brunette locks, fierce brown eyes, and sparkling fluttering wings on his back. This tiny creature was absolutely stunning, and that’s when it hit him.

“And you’re… you’re actually Tinkerbell?!”

“Tinkerbell? Who the hell are you calling that?”

Jungkook was quick to remove Yoongi from the ground. Yoongi could hear the pixie making a noise that sounded like bells chiming every time he opened his mouth. The little brunette was talking to him, but his voice sounded like bells.

Yoongi forgot all about the man he called Peter Pan because all he could focus on was the little pixie who was running his mouth at him. Yoongi had never seen someone so utterly beautiful before in his life. The pixie could yell at him all he wanted if that meant he could look at him a little while longer.

“Yah, that’s enough, Hobi,” the raven-haired male pushed himself to his feet and smiled at the pixie, “they didn’t mean to ambush me, almost stab me with scissors, and then call me Peter Pan.”

“But you are Peter Pan!”

The raven-haired male floated towards Jungkook as he questioned, “Why do you keep calling me Peter Pan? I don’t understand what’s going on here.”

“You’re Peter Pan from Yoongi hyung’s story,” Jungkook nodded his head towards Yoongi, “you came to life and you came here to get your shadow back, just like I knew you would!”

“Listen, kid, I’m not Peter Pan.”

“Then… who are you?”

“I’m Kim Seokjin,” a playful smile etched itself onto his face as he continued, “but everybody likes to call me World Wide Handsome Jin!”

Everyone deadpanned as soon as they realized he wanted them to call him handsome. Everyone shifted their attention to the little pixie who was ringing away, a clear indicator that he was laughing at Jin.

Yoongi leaned in to look at the pixie, noticing how his smile took the shape of a heart. As he continued to look at the pixie, he noticed that he was dressed in the same outfit as Jin, except his shoes were a bright white and he wasn’t wearing a hat.

As Yoongi focused more on the pixie, he noticed that the little creature had an hourglass figure. His eyes were roaming all along the pixie’s body, admiring his physique and wishing he was that small so he could wrap his arms around that tiny waist.

Yoongi was so caught up in admiring the pixie that he hadn’t realized he was staring for quite a while, which had caught someone’s attention.

“Yah, stop ogling my dongsaeng!”

Yoongi felt his face heating up as he stuttered, “I, uh, I wasn’t… I was just, uh, admiring the, um… the view?”

“Yeah, the view of my Hobi!”

No one could see it because of the light that was surrounding the pixie, but he was blushing at Yoongi’s words. The pixie flew towards Jin and stood on his shoulder, whispering something into his ear that only Jin could hear.

Quite frankly, it must have been something only Jin could understand since the pixie still sounded like bells chiming.

“Fine, fine, have it your way,” Jin shook his head and opened his hand for the pixie to stand on, “this is my little pixie and my best friend, Jung Hoseok. I nicknamed him Hobi so you can call him that if you’d like!”

Yoongi and Jungkook stared in wonder as Hoseok waved at the boys with a heart shaped smile plastered on his face. While Yoongi and Jungkook were looking at Hoseok, Namjoon was too busy staring at Jin.

His brothers were amazed at the fact that pixies existed while Namjoon was amazed that there was someone out there as beautiful as Jin. Sure, Hoseok was pretty, but Jin was more his type.

He had just met Jin but there was this charisma he possessed that drew everyone to him. He was captivating from his personality to his appearance. He had this natural ability to make someone want to be near him, and Namjoon was nervous that if he got close then he would say something that would make him lose his chance with the raven-haired male. Namjoon didn’t know if it was in his best interest to stay quiet and wait for his moment, or to jump on the first opportunity he had to get closer to Jin.

“Who might the three of you be?”

“I’m Min Yoongi and these are my younger brothers,” Yoongi motioned toward each brother as he introduced them, “this is Namjoon, but you can call him Joon, if you want. And this is Jungkook, but I call him Kook.”

“I’d love to stick around and chat with all of you,” Hoseok flew out of Jin’s hand and started wandering around the room, “but I’ve lost my shadow and I know it’s in here. If you don’t mind, Hobi and I would like to take a look around for it.”

“We’ll help you find it!”

“Wait a second… you’re the one took my shadow!”

“I, uh… yeah, I was… trying to keep it safe.”

“Well, do you know where you put it?”

Jungkook rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he gulped, “Well, I tried to put it in my nightstand but I’m pretty sure it got loose. But we can all help you look for it!”

Jin’s shoulders sagged as he realized Jungkook lost his shadow, but he raised them when the youngest male promised to assist him in his endeavors.

Jin and Namjoon searched by Yoongi’s bed while Jungkook looked around Namjoon’s bed. Yoongi was going to head off on his own when he noticed Hoseok had floated towards the nightstand by Jungkook’s bed.

Yoongi watched with curious eyes as Hoseok landed on top of a mirror that Jungkook placed on his nightstand. Yoongi had an endearing smile on his face as he saw Hoseok smiling and twirling around on the mirror, entertained by his own reflection.

Yet, Hoseok saw something in the mirror that made him stop in his tracks. Hoseok looked at his reflection, bringing his hands to his chest and running them down his body, feeling his curves and unknowingly making Yoongi go mad.

But it seemed like Hoseok wasn’t admiring himself, rather he was looking like he was self-conscious of his body proportion.

Hoseok jumped in surprise when he heard Yoongi’s soft voice, “Yah, you’re your own worst critic, aren’t you? If you ask me, I think you look beautiful.”

Yoongi couldn’t help but give a gummy smile when he saw Hoseok shyly brush a piece of his hair behind his ear. Yoongi wished that there wasn’t so much light surrounding the pixie so he could see the way he looked when he blushed.

He took it that Hoseok didn’t get told he was beautiful enough, and that was a crime if Yoongi did say so himself. Hoseok shouldn’t have to question himself because he was gorgeous, especially in Yoongi’s eyes.

Yoongi and Hoseok snapped their heads down when the nightstand started to shake. Hoseok flew down towards the drawer of the nightstand, chiming away as he motioned for Yoongi to come closer.

The platinum blonde immediately obeyed the pixie’s silent orders. Hoseok looked to Yoongi and then back to the drawer, pointing at it over and over, as if to tell him that the shadow was in there.

“You want me to open it?”

Hoseok smiled as he vigorously nodded his head. Hoseok flew back enough to give Yoongi the room he needed to open the drawer. As soon as the drawer slid open, a shadow flew out.

Yoongi cried out and stumbled backwards, accidentally swatting Hoseok into the drawer, and kicking the drawer closed as he fell. Yoongi looked above him to see Jin flying after his shadow, attempting to grab it, and failing each time.

Yoongi was completely bewildered as he watched Jin fly around the room trying to retrieve his shadow. Never in his life would he have thought that this would be happening. He rubbed his eyes and pinched his skin, but this wasn’t a dream. The boy and the pixie from his stories were real and both of them were in his home, in his room.

Wait a second, where was the pixie?

The platinum blonde flinched when he heard the sound of bells chiming, followed by something bouncing around within the nightstand’s drawer. Yoongi’s eyes widened as he realized that Hoseok must be trapped in the drawer.

He raced to the nightstand and quickly opened it, carefully grabbing Hoseok from inside. The pixie sat on Yoongi’s hand, his head lolling back and forth from flying at the drawer to try to break free.

“I’m so sorry, Hobi! Are you alright?”

Once the pixie was feeling better, he looked up at Yoongi and smiled. The pixie crawled along Yoongi’s hand until he made it to his thumb. Hoseok grabbed the thumb and gave it a hug, squeezing as hard as he could to try to express his gratitude.

Yoongi resisted the urge to swoon at the tiny act of affection. Yoongi was glad that this wasn’t a dream because he would hate to imagine that he was holding the world in the palm of his hand.

“Yah, thanks for sewing my shadow, Joon!”

“I, uh, yeah, anything for you, Jin.”

“You got a nervous stutter or something?”

“Well, no, uh, not normally, no.”

Yoongi turned around and immediately joined Jungkook in snickering at their brother, who was stumbling over his words like never before. Yoongi and Jungkook had never seen Namjoon turn red like a tomato before, and they credited it all to Jin.

The raven-haired male didn’t even realize he was the one making Namjoon lose his cool. Jin made the smartest person in the room turn into an emotional disaster.

“You’re cute, Joon,” Jin leaned in and placed a kiss to Namjoon’s cheek, “I wish I didn’t have to go but I’ve gotta hit the road before the sun comes up!”

“No! You can’t leave!”

Jin floated over to Jungkook, looking deep into those sad chocolate orbs, “And why can’t I leave, Jungkook? Is there something I can do to help you?”

Yoongi and Namjoon looked at each other, sharing the same thoughts. They had a feeling they knew what Jungkook was going to say, and they didn’t know if they should stop him or if they should see where this would take them.

Yoongi opened his mouth to try to stop his younger brother, but a tiny kiss to his thumb from Hoseok made him freeze. The words he was going to say got stuck in his throat all because of Hoseok.

“Well, the thing is,” Jungkook avoided Jin’s gaze, rubbing his elbow nervously, “our parents… they aren’t really… the best, you know. I know my hyungs do a lot for me but they grew up way too fast to take care of me and-“

“Grew up?!”

Jin and Hoseok’s eyes were as wide as saucers when they heard that Yoongi and Namjoon had to grow up. Hoseok flew out of Yoongi’s hand, much to the platinum blonde’s dismay.

Jin and Hoseok seemed to be talking to each other. They didn’t know what Hoseok was saying, but they could hear Jin saying something about needing to fix this. That’s when the raven-haired male snapped his fingers, as if an idea came to mind.

He reached out and snatched Jungkook and Namjoon’s wrists, dragging them towards the window as he declared, “That’s it! The three of you can’t stay here! Come with us to Neverland where you never have to grow up!”

“Neverland?!”

“Yeah, Neverland, that’s where we’re going!”

“That place is real?”

“Of course, it is! It’s where we live!”

Namjoon pulled his hand away from Jin as he asked, “Hold on a second! Let’s be realistic! How the hell are we even going to get to Neverland?”

“Duh, we’ll fly!”

Now, it was Jungkook’s turn to yank his hand away from Jin. The younger male shook his head, “Jin, we can’t fly! You can fly but we can’t! We can’t go with you to Neverland-“

“Jungkook, we shouldn’t go to Neverland,” Namjoon put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, “we still have our parents here. What will they think if they wake up and find that we’re missing! They’ll be worried!”

Yoongi watched his brothers arguing with each other. He had to admit, they both were bringing up valid points. Jungkook was telling Namjoon that their parents didn’t give a damn about them because they were always focused on drugs. Jungkook went as far as to say that they weren’t a family, but five roommates in this house.

Namjoon disagreed, stating that they were still family, even if they didn’t spend much time together. They were still the children of their parents, so they should stay so they wouldn’t worry.

The platinum blonde hated how their parents were drug dealers who didn’t pay them any mind, but they were still family. He assumed that their parents would be worried if they woke up in the morning and they were gone.

Yet, he also had a thought in his mind that told him that their parents wouldn’t even notice if they weren’t there. As the oldest of the brothers, Yoongi knew he had to be the deciding vote.

“We’re going to Neverland.”

“Yoongi hyung, you can’t be serious!”

“Just for one night, Joon.”

As much as Jungkook wanted to argue with Yoongi that they should stay forever, he knew that would be pushing it. He knew he was lucky that Yoongi even agreed to let them go to Neverland.

Yet, he had a feeling the real reason why he wanted to go to Neverland was because a certain little pixie caught his eye. Whatever the reason, Jungkook was thankful for the chance to go to the place he had only ever heard about.

Jin and Hoseok grinned at each other, pleased to know the brothers would be joining them on their return to Neverland.

Jin threw his hands in the air and cheered, “Let’s get to flying then, boys! We’re off to Neverland!”

“Yah, but we can’t fly!”

“Of course, you can,” Jin flew towards Namjoon and smiled, “all you have to do is think of something that makes you happy and, boom! You’re flying! Simple as that!”

The three brothers looked at one another. Could it really be that simple? Jungkook grabbed his brothers and forced them to jump onto his bed. He figured that the best way to fly would be to jump from the bed to get a little boost. Jungkook was in the middle of his brothers.

He grabbed their hands and counted down from three. He gave a bunny smile as they made it to one, signaling that it was time to jump.

The brothers were expecting to fall right away, but they were surprised that they actually flew for a brief moment before collapsing to the ground.

Jin and Hoseok flew towards the brothers, unsure of what went wrong. Jin was scratching at his head, whispering that the brothers had faith and trust, but there was still one thing that they were missing that would make them fly.

“That’s it!”

“What’s it?”

“You need faith, trust, and pixie dust,” Jin motioned for Hoseok to come closer to him, “they need your help if they’re going to fly! Won’t you give them a little pixie dust, Hobi?”

Hoseok was grinning from ear to ear as he nodded to his friend. Hoseok flew above Jungkook’s head and twirled around like he was dancing, spreading pixie dust all over him. He flew over to Namjoon next and repeated the same beautiful dance to give him a little magic.

When Hoseok came to Yoongi, he fluttered down in front of his face. Hoseok was chiming away, giggling as he blew a kiss to Yoongi. As Hoseok blew a kiss, he also blew some pixie dust onto him.

Hoseok was flying around Yoongi as the platinum blonde slowly started to levitate off the ground. Yoongi held his hands out to try to stabilize himself but there was nothing for him to grab. He gasped when he felt Hoseok grab his index finger, pulling him forward to try to help him fly.

As Yoongi was starting to get the hang of flying, he shifted his attention to his brothers to see how they were doing.

Jungkook was flying circles around everyone, as if he had always known how to fly. Namjoon, on the other hand, was not a natural. Jin was holding both of Namjoon’s hands as he carefully glided around the room with him, no doubt he was whispering sweet nothings in his ear to encourage him to keep trying. Yoongi had a feeling that even after Namjoon got the hang of flying he would still want to hold one of Jin’s hands.

“Here we go! Let’s fly!”

Jin let go of one of Namjoon’s hands but held onto the other one as he guided Namjoon out of the window. Jungkook was speeding after them with Yoongi and Hoseok hot on his trail.

Jin was laughing as he flew off towards the full moon before diving down to maneuver around buildings like they were going through an obstacle course. Jin was having the time of his life while Namjoon was crying out each time he thought they were going to crash into something.

Jungkook was spinning around and doing loops as he flew through the night. The bunny smile on his face was something that hadn’t been on his face this much in a while.

As soon as Yoongi and Namjoon started to see how much fun their little brother was having, they figured they might as well try to enjoy this as much as he was. Not many people got to say they flew around the city of Daegu like this so they were going to run with this moment.

Yoongi and Hoseok were circling each other as they flew, as if they were engaging in a dance that only they knew. Their eyes were locked onto each other’s, soft brown eyes trained on sparkling caramel orbs.

Yoongi didn’t care about all the stars in the sky tonight because the only star he could focus on was the one he was flying with. None of the stars in the night sky could compare to the stars in Hoseok’s eyes.

“Come on, guys!”

Everyone followed Jin’s lead as he flew across the water. Jin flew along the water, his feet moving as if he was ice skating on top of the ocean. Namjoon was mystified by the way Jin moved. He had never seen someone move with so much elegance and poise, especially since he moved like a bull in a China shop. Namjoon gulped and tried to copy Jin’s movements so that they could skate atop the water together.

As Namjoon drew bold, he dared to wrap his free arm around Jin’s waist, bringing them closer together. At first, Namjoon wondered if he had overstepped, but his nerves were calmed the moment Jin placed his free hand on his shoulder. Together, they danced along the water to the sound of the crickets chirping and the water crashing against the shore. It wasn’t a song one could hear on the radio. No, this was only for Jin and Namjoon. This was their song.

Jungkook was having the time of his life as he laughed into the night sky. He soared along the water and reached his hand into the cool water, giggling as some of the water splashed against his face. He lived for the feeling of the wind blowing through his hair, tousling it all over the place. Within the four walls that he called his house, he felt restricted and trapped. But out here flying through the night sky above the crashing waves, Jungkook felt free.

Now, when Jungkook looked out in front of him all he could see is the wide open world waiting for him to explore it. No longer would he be confined within a small and crowded room with his brothers. No longer would he hope to be seen by his parents. There was a twinkle in Jungkook’s eyes as he thought of how he was flying to a land where there were no walls and no boundaries, nothing to hold him back anymore. Finally, he was going to a world where he could discover who he wanted to be.

Yoongi’s eyes softened as he gazed upon the pixie that was dancing along the water to a tune only he could hear. Yoongi’s eyes followed along to each of Hoseok’s movements, drinking them in like water. Beneath the surface of the water, Yoongi could see the silhouette of a fish. He quickly reached out and grabbed Hoseok just in time to save him from being gobbled up by the hungry fish.

The platinum blonde opened his hand, giving Hoseok a safe stage to dance upon as they followed their friends. Hoseok gave Yoongi a grateful smile before continuing with his dance. Sometimes, if Yoongi listened close enough he could swear he could hear the sound of Hoseok humming instead of the chiming of bells.

Jin soared up from the water, dragging Namjoon with him to the rooftop of a nearby building. The rest of the crew followed them, curious as to why they were stopping. Jin pulled Namjoon towards the edge of the building. Jin’s eyes were narrowing at the night sky, as if he was searching for something.

The raven-haired male pointed into the night sky and exclaimed, “There it is, everyone! Second star to the right and straight on till morning!”

Jungkook surprised everyone when he jumped off the roof and flew straight for the second star to the right, eager to trade his life in Daegu for the life he was going to make in Neverland. Jin was laughing, imitating the sound of windshield wipers moving from side to side, as he took Namjoon and trailed after Jungkook. Yoongi and Hoseok looked at one another and nodded.

“Off to Neverland!”

“Are we there yet?”

“You just asked me that, Jungkook.”

Jin wasn’t kidding when he said straight on till morning. Jungkook felt like they had been flying for hours and there was still no sight of Neverland. Jungkook wouldn’t have minded flying for so long if he had someone to talk to or play with, but he just had himself because his brothers were too busy flirting with Jin and Hoseok. Jungkook sighed as he flew through a cloud. He hoped that once they found Neverland that there would be someone for him to connect with.

It wasn’t like Jungkook was jealous of his brothers for finding people they enjoyed spending time with, but he was awfully lonely. Jungkook didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes by intruding on their moments, but he didn’t want to be alone. He hoped that Neverland was a large island full of all sorts of people and animals so he could find someone, anyone to spend time with.

“Home sweet home! Neverland!”

Those words were like music to Jungkook’s ears. His entire mood changed in the blink of an eye. His solemn and pouty demeanor was long gone and replaced with sheer happiness at the prospect of arriving at Neverland. Jungkook watched as Jin and Namjoon landed safely on a fluffy white cloud. He was quick to join them but he was just as skeptical as Namjoon as he placed his feet on the cloud. Surprisingly enough, they didn’t sink through the cloud.

Jungkook was perplexed because he had just flown through a cloud but here he was standing on top of one. He scratched at his head, maybe that was all a part of the magic of Neverland. Jungkook shrugged and peered out at the island of Neverland. His eyes grew wide as he saw how this wasn’t some little baby island, this was a full grown island with lots of room to roam, and lots of new adventures for him to go on.

Yoongi floated onto the cloud alongside the others, smiling when Hoseok sat upon his shoulder. Jin pointed at each area as he stated, “Over there’s the Mermaid Lagoon! Lots of mermaids, but they can be real bitches sometimes! Then there’s Cannibal’s Cove over here! Don’t go there unless you want to be eaten alive!”

“What’s that smoke over there?”

“Oh, that’s the Neverland natives!”

“Neverland is so cool!”

“There’s so much we can show you,” Jin’s eyes widened as he saw a pirate ship out of the corner of his eye, “but right now I’m going to show you how to duck! Duck now or lose your head from a cannon ball!”

Jin dropped to his knees, yanking Namjoon down with him. Jungkook was quick to belly flop onto the cloud, moving his hands to cover his head just in case. Hoseok was pulling on Yoongi’s shirt to tell him to drop down, too. Yoongi gulped and followed the rest of the gang just in time to miss getting nailed by a cannon ball. Yoongi looked up and that’s when he spotted the pirate ship in the crystal blue waters firing at them. Yoongi’s eyes shifted to Jin, glaring at the raven-haired male.

“You got enemies you didn’t tell us about?”

“Just Captain Hook!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

Yoongi brought his hands to his face, rubbing up and down as he groaned. He should’ve seen this coming and he was annoyed with himself for not knowing that if Peter Pan and Tinkerbell were real, then that means so was Captain Hook. It was all fun and games until Captain Hook came into the picture firing cannonballs at them to knock them out of the sky. He should’ve known that where there are heroes, there are always going to be villains.

“Here’s what we’re gonna do,” Jin released Namjoon’s hand and got into a crouched position, “Hobi, I want you to take them to the island while I stay here and draw Hook’s fire!”

“No, Jin, you can’t-“

“Go with Hobi, now!”

“But, Jin-“

“I can’t see you get hurt, Joon.”

There was a soft smile on Jin’s face as he grabbed Namjoon’s hand and kissed the back of it. Namjoon felt all the air leave his lungs when those pretty little lips were pressed onto his skin. It felt like he had just been kissed by an angel. Namjoon never took his eyes off of Jin as Jungkook hooked his arm with his and flew off the cloud. Jin was shouting insults at Hook and all the while all Namjoon could think was that the raven-haired male was the boy of his dreams, brave and beautiful.

The three brothers stayed close to Hoseok as he led them out of the sky and towards the wilderness of the island. It was while they were flying above the tree tops that Namjoon decided he could fly on his own. He broke free from Jungkook just in time to turn around to see Jin doing a happy little victory dance on top of the clouds. It seemed that Captain Hook ran out of cannonballs. Namjoon sighed in relief. Jin would be safe.

But Namjoon wouldn’t be.

Namjoon too busy paying attention to Jin to see that he would be flying straight into one of the taller trees. Namjoon turned around just in time to collide with the great tree. With one final groan of pain, the brunette started to fall. Hoseok wouldn’t make it in time to throw pixie dust at him to make him float, but he tried his best. The little pixie was flying as fast as he could to try to save Namjoon, but someone beat him to it.

“I’ve got you, Joon!”

“Jin… you saved my life.”

Hoseok’s little chest was heaving up and down as he flew towards Jin to make sure they were alright. Yoongi and Jungkook landed safely on the ground and immediately started laughing when they saw that Jin’s knees were shaking as he attempted to carry Namjoon bridal style. It seemed that their brother had been working out so much lately that he was too heavy for Jin to carry.

Namjoon was too infatuated by Jin to realize that his knight in shining armor was just one second away from dropping him on his ass. Jin felt a bead of sweat roll down his temple as he struggled to hold the other male. He knew Namjoon was a tall and broad man, but he was heavy as all hell with those large muscles. Jin grumbled under his breath that he better get to feel those muscles before they killed him.

“Yah, get down, Namjoon hyung!”

“Yeah, you’re too fucking heavy for Jin!”

Namjoon blinked a few times, bringing himself out of his thoughts. He stretched his neck and gulped when he realized his brothers were right. He needed to get out of Jin’s arms because he was far too heavy. He quickly squirmed out of the raven-haired male’s grasp and gave a nervous smile when he heard Jin wheezing.

When Jin regained his composure, he looked to his best friend and smiled, “We’re back on the island, Hobi, you should be able to change to your normal size, right? Go on, you can do it!”

The brothers watched in awe as Hoseok lifted his arms above his head and slowly brought them back to his sides. As he was lifting his arms, he was sprinkling himself in pixie dust. This wasn’t like the pixie dust the brothers had been drenched in. This pixie dust was different because it allowed him to grow to the size of a human. Hoseok was an inch or two shorter than Yoongi with the same hourglass figure. Yoongi’s eyes trailed up Hoseok’s body and to his wings, which were large and sparkling like the sun on the water.

“How… how did you do that?”

“Magic!”

The brothers took a surprised step backwards as they heard Hoseok’s voice for the first time. Jin threw his head back and laughed at their reactions, “Hobi’s pixie magic is strongest on Neverland so when we leave here he turns into the prettiest little pixie to conserve his magic.”

Yoongi barely registered that he had started to move towards Hoseok. All he could think about was how he could finally have the little brunette in all the ways he thought would be impossible since he was a tiny pixie. Now, he could hold Hoseok’s hand. He could snake his strong arms around that slender waist and kiss his warm honey skin. His eyes widened as he realized that there was a mole sitting pretty above Hoseok’s top lip, and he desperately wanted to know how that would taste when he kissed him.

The platinum blonde shook his head at the thought of kissing Hoseok. He was getting ahead of himself. He needed to spend some time with Hoseok getting to know him before he could even think about being more intimate with him. He had a feeling that Hoseok was interested in him but he wanted to be sure. He needed to get to know Hoseok and test the waters, see what the pixie was comfortable with.

“Yah! Stay away from our Hobi hyung!”

“Yeah, get away from him!”

Yoongi couldn’t move out of the way in time so he was tackled by two males. He looked up and saw one tall blue haired male and another pink haired male. These two looked like cotton candy so Yoongi couldn’t resist the urge to laugh at them. Yoongi closed his eyes and laughed at the two males.

“Yah, get off of him, you idiots!”

“But, Jin hyung, he was going to-“

“Knock it off! Get off of him!”

The two males were slow to get off of Yoongi, but eventually they listened to Jin. The blue haired male walked to Hoseok’s left side and draped an arm around his shoulders while the pinkette moved to the other side to wrap an arm around the pixie’s waist. It was a protective and rather territorial move on their part. It was their way of saying that Hoseok was theirs and anyone who wanted him would have to get through them.

“Yah, I hope you can forgive my maknaes,” Jin shook his head with a bright smile, “they’re really protective of Hobi, aren’t you two?”

The two boys nodded in agreement. Now that Yoongi was back on his feet, he was able to get a better look at his attackers. The tall blue haired male was dressed just like Jin. Come to think of it, so was the pinkette. The only difference in their outfits was that the blue haired male had black shoes and the pinkette had yellow shoes that completely clashed with his outfit, but he didn’t seem to give a fuck about that.

“Wait, so they’re your lost boys?”

“No, they’re my maknaes.”

“So, it’s true,” Jungkook grabbed onto Yoongi’s arm and started shaking it in excitement, “all the stories are true! You really are Peter Pan and you have your little squad of lost boys to go with you on your adventures!”

The boys of Neverland gave each other confused looks. Jin held his hands out as he clarified, “Again, I’m not Peter Pan. I’m Kim Seokjin. This is Jung Hoseok, not Tinkerbell. These two are Park Jimin and Kim Taehyung, they’re not my lost boys.”

Jungkook stared blankly back at Jin and that’s when he realized that the youngest brother wasn’t listening. Instead, it seemed that his eyes were drifting from Jin and onto Jimin and Taehyung. Jungkook’s shy eyes kept falling onto one male and then back to the other, as if he couldn’t decide on which one he wanted so he just decided to choose both.

Jin clasped his hands, gaining everyone’s attention. He smiled as he asked, “Alright, you’re all here on Neverland so what do you want to do? Who wants to come with me to Mermaid Lagoon?”

Namjoon didn’t hesitate to raise his hand. His gulped before stuttering, “I, uh, I would, um, I’d like to go? It would… it would, um, be really nice to go there… with you.”

“Your stutter sure is cute, Joon!”

“It’s not… I don’t have a-“

“And we’re off! The rest of you figure it out!”

And just like that, Jin grabbed Namjoon’s hand and flew towards the Mermaid Lagoon. Hoseok was grinning as he broke free from his maknaes. His wings were fluttering about as he lifted his feet off the ground, opting to fly to Yoongi. He reached out his hands, waiting for Yoongi to take them. Yoongi smiled down at the hands and grabbed them. Gone were the clouds that fogged his mind. He was certain now that Hoseok was more than interested in him, and he wasn’t going to miss a chance with the pixie.

As Yoongi was lifted into the air, he turned to his little brother, “Go off and explore with them, Jungkook! Go out and find who you want to be!”

Jungkook couldn’t believe what just happened. In the span of five minutes, both of his brothers had left him for potential love interests. Jungkook couldn’t really be upset with them, seeing as how he was now left with the two boys who he couldn’t keep his eyes off of. Jungkook was starting to think that his brothers had done him a favor by pairing off with Jin and Hoseok. The once innocent bunny smile turned into a devilish smile as he turned to Jimin and Taehyung.

“So, which one of you can show me around the island?”

“Adventure is out there!”

“Yah, that’s not what we say, Tae!”

“Oh, right… we’re following the leader!”

Jimin was leading the three man pack through the thick leaves and trees, sometimes swatting branches so they’d fly back and hit Taehyung. Jungkook was always able to dodge the branches that were flung back at him so he could always enjoy a moment to giggle at Taehyung’s misfortune. Jungkook didn’t know where these two were taking him, but that was alright. The more he traveled the more he could explore the terrain and hopefully, himself, too.

Jungkook was surprised when Jimin brought them to a mountain. Jungkook gulped, were they going to climb the mountain? From up in the clouds the mountain didn’t look that high but now that he was standing at the base looking up, he felt like he was about to climb Mount Everest. Jungkook looked to the two males, silently asking them if they were serious about this.

The pinkette laughed at Jungkook’s shocked expression and began climbing the mountain, “What’s with that face, Jungkook? You wanted to explore, right? So, let’s explore! Get climbing!”

“But isn’t that dangerous?”

“Yeah! That’s what makes it fun!”

The blue haired male flashed Jungkook a precious boxy smile and that’s when he knew he was fucked. He thought he was smitten when he heard the glorious sound of Jimin’s laughter, but now he was being graced with the beauty of Taehyung’s smile. Jungkook reached to pinch himself, desperately trying to convince himself that he wasn’t dreaming. He was really about to climb a mountain with two beautiful boys.

Jungkook was grateful that Taehyung decided to wait for him so they could climb beside each other. He knew that Yoongi and Namjoon would disapprove of him climbing a mountain without any safety precautions, but then he remembered how his older brother told him to explore and to find who he wanted to be. Jungkook grinned as he stretched out his arms and began to climb.

“Yah, you’re a natural, Jungkook!”

“Thanks! I’ve never climbed a mountain before!”

“Stick with us,” Taehyung stopped so he could send another smile to the other male, “and you’ll find that you’re capable of doing a lot of things you didn’t think you could do!”

The raven-haired male smiled and nodded to Taehyung. Jungkook continued on his ascent, smiling as he would readjust where he was going when he would see Jimin changing direction. Jungkook appreciated how Taehyung would stick with him. He knew that the blue haired male was doing it in case he lost his grip. He didn’t think that Taehyung wanted to have to break the news to his brothers that he had fallen off a mountain on his watch.

While Jungkook enjoyed climbing a mountain with his newfound friends, he had to admit that he was sweating his ass off. It was all fun and games at first, but now that he was nearing the top he was sure that his shirt would be damp with sweat. Yet, Taehyung didn’t have a drop of sweat coming off his body. It was like he had done this many times before. It was like he was used to this, like they were both used to this.

Jungkook groaned as he felt Jimin’s hands on him, pulling him onto the ledge. Jungkook didn’t know how the hell he had climbed up a damn mountain, but he did it. He blamed Jimin and Taehyung for it. They were so pretty that Jungkook knew he would do whatever they asked without hesitation. They were so captivating that Jungkook was sure he would rip his heart out of his chest and give it to them if they asked for it. He was starting to see that he could never deny them of anything.

The raven-haired male flopped onto his back and stared up at the open sky. He released a heavy sigh before he looked to Jimin, “Do you two do this often? Are the two of you just natural mountain climbers? Or maybe you’re daredevils or something…”

“Oh, we’ve been climbing this mountain for years!”

“Years?”

“Well, yeah, we’ve been here for years.”

Jungkook took a moment to look over the two males. They looked like they couldn’t have been more than a year or two older than him. They made it sound like they had been climbing this mountain for centuries, like they had been inhabitants of Neverland since the day it was created. Yet, the more Jungkook stared at them, the more he was starting to get the feeling that they looked familiar, like he had seen them somewhere before.

“I know you two.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yeah, I think I learned about you two in school.”

“What? You learned about us in school?”

Jimin and Taehyung gave confused glances towards Jungkook as he sat up. He tilted his head as he answered, “Well, yeah, there was this old story of these two boys who went missing one night. One was from Busan and the other was from Daegu. You two look just like them… are you them?”

Jungkook didn’t miss how Jimin and Taehyung’s facial expressions changed completely. The joy that was present in their eyes vanished and was replaced with confusion and sadness. The smiles that were etched so beautifully on their faces were gone. Instead, they looked at each other, their browns furrowed, and small frowns sneaking their ways on their faces. It was like they were concentrating, trying to remember something that was just out of reach.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s you two,” Jungkook gave a sad smile to the cotton candy crew, “Jin called the two of you Park Jimin and Kim Taehyung. I thought it was a coincidence, but the more I look at you two… the more I see that it really is you. You’re alive.”

Jungkook had a lot of thoughts flying through his head. He had found two males who had gone missing decades ago. He remembered learning about them in one of his classes when he was doing research on unsolved mysteries. He had learned about the two boys standing before him, believing that there was no way that they could be alive after all the time that had passed. He thought they were dead, but they were alive and they hadn’t aged a day since the day they went missing.

He started to wonder if Jimin and Taehyung had come to Neverland willingly, or if Jin had abducted them and never given them the chance to go back home. Jungkook shook his head, immediately forcing that thought from his mind. When Jin took them to Neverland it was because he and his brothers wanted to go. Jin wanted to leave without them after he retrieved his shadow but he insinuated that he wanted to go with him. Jin had no intention of taking them with him until he mentioned growing up. Jungkook assumed that the same must have happened with Jimin and Taehyung. They must have wanted to go with Jin to Neverland.

“I can barely remember who I used to be.”

“Jimin…”

“I like this version of me so much more.”

“What were you like before?”

“I remember I was small and scared,” Jimin leaned against Taehyung for support, physically and emotionally, “I lived in a home where I wasn’t appreciated by many. I saw Jin hyung flying by with Hobi hyung and I called out to them, begging them to take me with them.”

Jimin shook his head and chuckled at the thought, “I didn’t know who they were or where they were going, but I knew if I went with them I would be happier. I left with them that night and I never looked back.”

Jungkook nodded his head, a somber look in his eyes. He knew how Jimin felt. He felt rather unappreciated in his own home. He had two parents who brought him into this world, but did nothing for him while he was living in it. His parents were more like his roommates while his older brothers took care of him. There was a time when Jungkook sought his parents’ approval and then there was a time when he realized he was never going to get it.

They say insanity is trying the same thing but expecting something new. Jungkook realized he must have been insane for trying to earn his parents love. He felt his heart aching in his chest as he thought about how he never heard his parents tell him that they loved him. The only people who told him that they loved him were his older brothers. He would never know what parental love felt like. He wanted to say that he was okay with that, but he knew he wasn’t.

Jungkook was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Taehyung’s voice, “Not long after that I found Hobi hyung. The winds were strong that night and he had gotten separated from Jin hyung. I kept him safe in my hands until Jin hyung found us.”

“I didn’t want to leave Hobi hyung,” Taehyung smiled fondly at his large hands, “I didn’t have a place back home but I felt like I could have a place with Hobi hyung. I just wanted to belong, I guess.”

Jungkook nodded once again. He could understand where Taehyung was coming from. Taehyung wanted to belong, he wanted a place to call home because his home didn’t feel like one. Jungkook could relate to that. A house consists of four walls, but a home consists of a loving family. Jungkook had his brothers, but he didn’t have his parents so he didn’t want to say he had a home. Taehyung must not have had anybody if he didn’t feel like he belonged anywhere.

The three males were more alike than Jungkook thought they would be. He knew Jin didn’t refer to them as lost boys, but that’s what the three of them were. They were three boys who had lost their way. They had lost sight of who they were and what their place was in the world. Jimin and Taehyung ran away to Neverland to find who they were, and Jungkook supposed that he had followed in their footsteps. Jungkook had run away from all of his problems, just like Jimin and Taehyung.

“Why’d you come here, Jungkook?”

“I… I didn’t want to grow up.”

“You’ve picked the right place to come to then,” Jimin plopped down beside Jungkook, “you’ll never grow up as long as you stay here. Neverland is magical! You’ll stay young forever here!”

Taehyung’s boxy smile returned to his face as he took his place on Jungkook’s free side, “Yeah, it’s the best! There’s so much to do in Neverland, too! You’ll never get bored here, especially if you stick with us!”

Jungkook had to admit that it all sounded nice. He liked the aspect of staying young and he wouldn’t mind staying by Jimin and Taehyung’s side. It sounded perfect, as if Neverland was too good to be true. Jungkook had always dreamt of going to Neverland and never going home but now that he was here he didn’t know what he wanted. The kid in him wanted to stay, but there was a voice in the back of his head telling him that his life was back in Korea with his brothers.

“What are you thinking about, Jungkook?”

“Huh?”

“You look so serious. What’s on your mind?”

“It’s just… this is everything I’ve ever dreamed of.”

The raven-haired male grabbed Jimin’s hand and rested his head on Taehyung’s shoulder, “This is where I’ve always wanted to be. I’m happy I actually got the chance to go to Neverland and experience the magic of it all.”

“But?”

Of course, there was a but. Jungkook released an exaggerated sigh, “I just don’t know if I’ll be able to find myself here if I never grow up.”

“I can’t believe I just said that,” Jungkook shook his head against Taehyung’s shoulder, chuckling in disbelief, “I wanted to never grow up but when I look at you two… I realize that’s not what I want.”

“Yah! What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You never grew up and found out who you’re meant to be,” Jungkook squeezed Jimin’s hand to calm him down, “it’s all well and good to have fun, but if there’s no challenges then what are you doing? You’re not growing. You’re just standing still.”

Jimin wanted to be upset with Jungkook for saying that he and Taehyung hadn’t grown up, but he realized that he couldn’t. Jungkook had a point. He and Taehyung had been staying in Neverland for decades doing the same silly things day after day. They would explore the land, make Captain Hook’s life a living hell, and then they would be told a bedtime story and that would be their day. Jimin was content with each of his days being the same until Jungkook came around.

Out of nowhere came this raven-haired male who not only rocked his world with those dashing good looks, but with the way he thought, too. It wasn’t enough to have a pretty face, he had to have a pretty mind, too. Jimin couldn’t help but think that Jungkook might be right. He escaped the challenges in his life and ran away to Neverland where there weren’t many obstacles for him to face. He wondered if he had taken the easy way out. He wondered what his life could’ve been if he never ran away.

“Do you miss it?”

“What? My old life?”

“Yeah, do you miss it?”

“Some of it.”

Jimin shrugged, causing Jungkook’s hand to move with him briefly. Jimin’s eyes looked out on the world he called home, “I miss the sound of my mother’s voice. My life wasn’t all that good… but she was the one good thing I had.”

The pinkette could feel Jungkook’s eyes burning into him, answering his question before he could ask it, “I don’t regret leaving, but I regret leaving her. I know she’s probably gone now. It’s been decades… I wish I could’ve seen her one last time to tell her it was never her I was running away from.”

Jungkook hung his head. He felt sorry for Jimin. He hadn’t meant to reopen an old wound with his questions, but he had a feeling that Jimin needed to talk about this. He was repressing his memories and filling the holes with all the memories he was making in Neverland. Yet, he could tell that the one hole Jimin could never fill was the memory of his mother. Jimin smiled, realizing that he was forgetting about all the negativity from his old life and only remembering the positives.

“I still have an eomma, Jungkook.”

“Just you just said-“

“Hobi hyung acts like our eomma.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened at those words. Jimin had a soft look in his eyes as he continued, “Hobi hyung really looked after us when Jin hyung brought us here. I didn’t realize how much I needed a mother figure in my life until Hobi hyung.”

Jungkook nearly jumped when the silent Taehyung decided to chime in, “Everybody wants an eomma that will last forever, but here… here we have that. We have Hobi hyung.”

“Hobi hyung is our second eomma,” Taehyung’s boxy smile was on full display, “he’s always telling us that he’ll always be there to watch and protect us, so I’m never scared. We haven’t been without an eomma.”

The raven-haired male gave an uneasy nod in return. He felt some comfort in knowing that Hoseok was there to take care of them and love them as a parental figure, but he knew Hoseok could not replace the mother they had both lost. He also knew that this life in Neverland could not replace the life that they had abandoned. This was not everlasting happiness, this was momentary happiness. One of these days, they would get tired of this life. Jungkook was sure of it.

“Would either of you ever go back?”

“There’s not much to go back to.”

There it is. Taehyung wasn’t saying that he hadn’t thought about, but he was saying if he was to go back then there would be nothing for him there. It sounded like Taehyung was saying that he had made his bed and he had to lie in it now. He had decided to run away and now it was too late to go back so he might as well just stay in Neverland. This was his life now so there was no use returning to the life he used to have. There was no use returning to a world that didn’t care for him.

The worst part about all of this is that Jungkook could understand their way of thinking. The three of them were on the same boat, coming from lives that weren’t always kind to them. The three males came to Neverland running away from something, whether it was their lives or the fear of growing up. Yet, it was because Jungkook came to Neverland that he realized this wasn’t what he wanted.

He didn’t want to stay young forever, never facing life’s challenges and growing from them. Jungkook thought that if he went to Neverland he would be happy. He thought that he could explore the island and find where he belonged. He thought he would find his place in Neverland, but all he found was that his place was not here. He was starting to realize his place was back in Daegu with his brothers. He smiled. His place had always been with them but it took coming to Neverland to finally see and accept that.

“The world’s not perfect, but it’s not that bad,” Taehyung and Jimin’s eyes widened at Jungkook’s words, “I think I’d rather walk through hell in Daegu than stay blissfully ignorant in Neverland.”

Jungkook couldn’t believe what he was saying. He couldn’t believe that he was in the land he had dreamt about all his life and here he was saying that it wasn’t what he wanted. Here he was saying that he couldn’t stay here. He had always wanted to meet Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and the lost boys, but now that he was here and he had met everyone he realized that things like this were best to stay as bedtime stories. This life wasn’t his, and he could see now that it never was his.

Jimin and Taehyung might disagree to being Jin’s lost boys, but Jungkook could tell that they were just that. Lost boys. They were so busy chasing stars that they ran off from their old lives and now it was too late to go back. They had their heads stuck in the clouds now, and Jungkook didn’t think he had the strength to pull them down. He realized that they would have to be the ones to make that step, to make that change.

Jungkook’s heart felt heavy just thinking about returning to Daegu without Jimin and Taehyung, but he knew he couldn’t make them come with him. They had been in Neverland for so long that saying goodbye to it would be like saying goodbye to everything they ever knew. He knew that wouldn’t be easy, and maybe it wouldn’t be something that they could do a second time.

Jungkook remembered how Yoongi used to tell stories of Peter Pan, of the boy who never grew up. He used to idolize Peter Pan and his way of thinking, until he started to walk in the shoes of the infamous leader of the lost boys. This wasn’t the life for him. Never growing up and never stepping into the shoes of who one was supposed to be was not in the cards for Jungkook. Peter Pan used to say that growing up is a waste of time. Jungkook shook his head.

Peter Pan was wrong.

“Yah, why’d you call me Tinkerbell earlier?”

“Oh, uh, well, that’s because, uh…”

Yoongi trailed off with his words as Hoseok lowered him down on the bank of a pond. Hoseok fluttered over to Yoongi, floating in front of him, and staring at him with curious coffee-colored orbs. Yoongi was afraid to look into those eyes for too long. He knew that if he looked into them any longer than he was sure to drown in that sea of molten chocolate. Now he understood why Augustus Gloop dove into that chocolate river because Hoseok’s eyes were just as intoxicating.

“Because what?”

“That’s because… I gave you that name.”

Confusion was swimming in Hoseok’s eyes like the fish in the sea. Yoongi was avoiding Hoseok’s eyes at all cost as he went on nervously, “I gave you that name because I just sort of pictured you as this little pixie that liked to fix everything… you know, like tinkering.”

Yoongi fought the urge to swoon when he heard Hoseok giggle. His eyes crinkled, making them take the faint shape of a fish. Yoongi found it mystifying how the wind started to blow through the trees at the same time Hoseok laughed, as if he was connected to the very nature of the island. Yoongi didn’t know much about pixies and magic so it might be possible for Hoseok to share some sort of connection to the nature of the island. The mere thought of that made Hoseok even more attractive to the platinum blonde.

“Well, I do clean up after my boys,” Hoseok had a cheeky smile on his face as he flew over to a flower struggling to bloom under the shadow of a protective tree, “so, I guess it’s fair that you called me Tinkerbell.”

The platinum blonde gazed in wonder as he saw Hoseok blow some pixie dust onto the flower, smiling as it blossomed into the most beautiful yellow rose. Yoongi would’ve chopped down branches of the tree to free the rose, but Hoseok didn’t. He found a way for the rose and the tree to live together in harmony.

Yoongi couldn’t help but smile as he saw all the plants come alive as Hoseok flew over them. The way Hoseok was moving above the plants reminded Yoongi of the way one would move when they danced. His movements were graceful and drawn out, showcasing his deceivingly long arms. Everything about Hoseok screamed dancer, but there was no music for him to dance to. Hoseok was dancing to the symphony he was creating in his mind and Yoongi wished he could enter his mind to hear that sweet music.

Yoongi was brought out of his thoughts as Hoseok flew towards the pond, hovering just above the water so that his pointed toes could touch the water. Yoongi’s eyes watched as the ripples of the water made their way towards him, forming small waves that gently crashed upon the shore. He looked up at Hoseok, who had begun to hum a song that only he knew. He paired his humming with elegant twirls and leaps, dipping the tip of his toe into the pond each time to create a new ripple, a new moment in time.

Hoseok was putting on a show for Yoongi, even though the platinum blonde knew he was just doing this because it made him happy. Hoseok was just enjoying himself but while he was doing so he didn’t realize he was performing in Yoongi’s eyes. To Yoongi, it was like the pond was the stage and the pixie dust flicking off of Hoseok’s sparkling wings were the lights shining all over the place, trying to capture the pixie’s performance.

Yoongi was absolutely wonderstruck. He had heard many songs on the radio and even developed a few tunes of his own, but none of it could compare to the beautiful song Hoseok was humming. He had seen plenty of choreography videos, but none of them could stand against the excellence of Hoseok. The little brunette was feeling the music that flowed through his heart. Hoseok didn’t need music, he was the music.

“Beautiful.”

“Hm? Did you say something, Yoongi?”

“You… you’re beautiful.”

“Is it because I’m a pixie?”

“No, but that is an added bonus,” Hoseok stopped mid-twirl to giggle at Yoongi’s playful words, “I’m saying you’re beautiful because of the way you move… the way you dance is something special.”

Hoseok bit his lip and gave a shy shrug in return. Yoongi shook his head and laughed, “Yah, don’t tell me you’re embarrassed about what I just said! You’re something special, you know that? You just danced, even when no one told you to!”

There was a light pink blush dusting across Hoseok’s face as he returned with a smile, “Well, we don’t need permission to dance.”

“We?”

“Won’t you dance with me, Yoon?”

Yoongi immediately stiffened when those words flew across the pond and crashed into the shore. Yoongi averted his gaze, “I, uh… I’ve never really been one for dancing. It’s not really my style.”

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Hoseok slowly glided across the pond until he was floating above the edge of the water, “I just don’t think you’ve had the right partner. I can be your partner now.”

Yoongi finally shifted his attention to Hoseok, his eyes widening when he realized that the little brunette had a hand outstretched for him to grab. There was a gentle smile on his face, one that told Yoongi that he wouldn’t force him to dance if he didn’t want to, but he was hoping he would take a chance. Yoongi could tell this wasn’t just Hoseok asking him to take a chance at dancing.

Yoongi took Hoseok’s hand.

The smile that graced Hoseok’s face was stunning, nearly causing Yoongi to trip over his own feet. He cursed under his breath, muttering how he was turning into Namjoon. He shook his head and focused on something happy to help him fly again. He smiled, it wouldn’t be hard to think of something happy when the person who made him happy was holding his hand and asking him to dance.

With newfound flight and confidence, Yoongi placed his free hand on Hoseok’s hip. He savored the way his large hand fit perfectly on Hoseok, as if his hands were always meant to be on his body. He was taken out of his thoughts when he felt a dainty hand rest against his shoulder. He smiled down at Hoseok, holding their intertwined hands off to the side so they could start their dance together.

Dancing with Hoseok was easier than Yoongi thought. Maybe it wasn’t dancing with Hoseok that was easy, maybe it was just being with the pixie that was easy. It felt like second nature to twirl Hoseok around as they floated atop the pond together. It felt like he was always meant to grab Hoseok by his hips and raise him into the air as he spun around, holding the world in his very hands.

He smirked as he saw Hoseok blushing when he brought him down and dipped him low, his breath warming the side of the brunette’s neck. Hoseok was nearly scarlet red as Yoongi helped him back up so they could continue their dance. Yoongi was thankful that there wasn’t that glowing light that surrounded Hoseok so he could see the way his beauty intensified with that precious blush.

“Your eyes look different now.”

“What do you mean, Hobi?”

“Your eyes were different when I met you,” Hoseok leaned in and stared into Yoongi’s dark brown eyes, “they were calm and distant, like you weren’t even present… it was like you were lost in another world.”

“And what about now?”

A small smile etched itself across Hoseok’s face, “Now, they’re soft, but playful. You don’t have this lost or longing look in them anymore. It’s like you went from looking through me to looking at me.”

Hoseok’s breath hitched as Yoongi leaned in, his forehead meeting his own. The platinum blonde whispered to the pixie, “I was always looking at you. I don’t think I could ever take my eyes off of you, Hobi.”

The little brunette was about to close the distance when Yoongi pulled away. Hoseok raised his hand to cup the platinum blonde’s pale cheek, “We’re strangers but I’m sure we should be lovers… I’m sure I’ve always been waiting for you.”

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” Hoseok gasped when he felt Yoongi move his face so he could press a kiss onto the honey toned hand, “I’ve been busy trying to chase my dreams so it took me a while to find you.”

“Tell me about your dreams, Yoongi.”

The platinum blonde nodded, smiling as Hoseok’s hand slipped back down to rest upon his shoulder. Truth be told, Yoongi hadn’t spoken much about his dreams. He had mentioned his dreams and ambitions to his brothers a few times, but he never had the chance to make them a reality. With the odd jobs he had to work, he never had the time to show his notebook full of melodies to anyone to see if they were worth something. He put his dreams on hold so he could take care of his brothers, and he would do it all over again in a heartbeat for them.

Yoongi was swaying with Hoseok back and forth as he answered, “I dream of making music. I dream of writing songs and producing the music people sing to. I dream of spending hours in a recording studio perfecting each and every song.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.”

“You have no idea.”

“Is it worth it?”

“It is. It’s worth it all.”

Yoongi furrowed his brow as he felt Hoseok’s hand grip his shoulder tighten, as if he was trying to tell him something. Yoongi looked down at Hoseok, his eyes widening as he noticed that the little brunette couldn’t meet his gaze. Hoseok was staring off to the side, across the pond towards the flower thriving beneath the tree. Neither of them felt much like dancing anymore.

“Making music means a lot to you,” Yoongi felt his heart aching as Hoseok’s voice started to crack as he spoke, “so, I take it that means you can’t stay here with me.”

Yoongi let out a long and heavy sigh. He nodded to the little brunette but he dared not to speak those words into existence. He couldn’t bring himself to say that he wouldn’t be able to stay in Neverland with the boy of his dreams because he was still chasing his dream. He didn’t want to say it out loud because that would mean he accepted it, and Yoongi wasn’t sure he was ready for that. He wanted to believe that he could have it all, music and Hoseok. He knew that wouldn’t be possible, not with Hoseok unable to stay this size if he followed him back to Daegu.

Yoongi couldn’t ask Hoseok to come back to Daegu with him, anyways. It wouldn’t be right to take him away from the island that he called home. He wouldn’t mind having Hoseok come back to Daegu as his tiny pixie lover, but he couldn’t see that ending well for either of them. He couldn’t ask Hoseok to come to him each night to bring him back to Neverland so they could be together.

Every option Yoongi was coming up with had some sort of flaw in them. His plans would work for a while, but he knew over time they would fail. They wouldn’t be able to continue with those charades for long, and it would be wrong of him to ask either of them to do that. Yoongi hated how he would have to end what he had with Hoseok just as it was beginning.

Hoseok shook his head, tears streaming down his face and dripping into the pond. He tried to pull away from Yoongi, but the platinum blonde refused to let go of his hand. Hoseok refused to look at Yoongi as he tried to yank his hand back, but no avail. It seemed that Yoongi wasn’t ready to let him go, to lose him.

“Please, Hobi, don’t go.”

“I can’t do this, Yoongi.”

“Hobi, let’s just talk-“

“There’s nothing to talk about!”

Hoseok was shaking as he closed his eyes, shouting at the water below, “No matter what you say it won’t change the fact that you’re going to leave me behind!”

“I can’t ask you to stay here,” Hoseok’s shoulders sagged, all the anger he felt leaving his body, “I can’t ask you to throw your dreams away for me. You have a life that’s waiting for you… and you can’t keep it waiting like you did for me.”

Yoongi and Hoseok weren’t even lovers but this sure felt like a breakup, fuck it hurt. Yoongi thought it hurt to hear Hoseok cry, but nothing was more painful than seeing him cry. Those chocolate orbs were flooding with tears and flowing down his cheeks like a water fountain. His cheeks were flushed, and not in a way that Yoongi was proud of. He wasn’t blushing, he was just so upset and frustrated that his cheeks were heating up from everything he was feeling.

“Please, Hobi… this can’t be goodbye.”

“Never say goodbye,” a sad smile found its way on Hoseok’s tear stained face, “because saying goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting… and I’ll never forget you, Min Yoongi.”

Yoongi felt tears prick at his eyes as Hoseok transformed into his tiny pixie form, causing his hand to slip from the platinum blonde’s grasp. Yoongi fell into the water as he watched his happiness fly away in the form of a dazzling light. The platinum blonde was dashing through the water, holding an arm out as if he was desperately reaching for Hoseok. Yoongi darted into the forest, searching for any indication of light to tell him where Hoseok ran off to.

He knew that he should leave Hoseok alone. This was for the best. It was for the best that they go their separate ways so that it wouldn’t hurt as much later when Yoongi left and didn’t come back. For some reason, it didn’t feel like this was for the best. Clearly, both of them didn’t want this, but Hoseok was doing this so that he wouldn’t hold Yoongi back. Hoseok knew Yoongi was destined for the stars and he would never become one if he was keeping his feet on the ground.

Yoongi whipped around in every direction, frustrated tears flying down his face as he lost track of where Hoseok went. He closed his eyes, following his heart and hoping that it would guide him to the little pixie who had become a part of his dream. Yoongi couldn’t let Hoseok slip through his fingers, not when he was the one he was waiting all his life for.

“Hoseok!”

“There’s no way this is real…”

“Should I pinch you so you know you’re not dreaming?”

Namjoon swatted Jin’s hands as the raven-haired male made an attempt to pinch his arm. The brunette shifted his attention to the lagoon that he had only heard about in bedtime stories. Yoongi had once told stories about Peter Pan and Tinkerbell’s adventures to the Mermaid Lagoon, but never in Namjoon’s wildest dreams did he think that he would actually be there to witness the mermaids swimming and lounging about.

His eyes followed the glistening blue-green water, his eyes narrowing from time to time to try to block out the sun’s rays that flashed against the gentle waves. He followed the water out to the rocks where most of the mermaids laid. Some were making shell necklaces while others were gossiping to one another. Namjoon had to admit that the mermaids were beautiful, but they couldn’t compare to Jin.

He had heard about how beautiful the Mermaid Lagoon was, and he was finally seeing it in all its beauty, but all he wanted to look at was Jin. The Mermaid Lagoon was a sight to behold, but Jin was an other worldly kind of beauty. He had raven locks that looked like something out of a shampoo and conditioner commercial. He had plump lips that looked like he was a walking advertisement for lip filler or injections, but they were all natural. He had a dazzling white smile that made Chip Skylark and his shiny teeth take several seats. He had a laugh that sounded like a windshield wiper, but damn, did Namjoon love it.

If Yoongi was here, he would’ve said that Namjoon was whipped, and he wouldn’t disagree. Namjoon had never had someone he instantly connected with like this, despite his nervous stutter making him stumble over his words. Anyone else would’ve heard his nervous stutter and thought it was irritating how it took him a while to get his words out, but Namjoon was starting to see that Jin wasn’t like anyone else because he found his stutter endearing.

Namjoon’s eyes wandered up and down Jin’s body as the raven-haired male flew circles around him, occasionally twisting his body around and unknowingly showing off his slender physique. Namjoon gulped, suddenly feeling like it had just gone up a solid ten degrees. His face was heating up as he thought about the way it would feel to wrap his arms around Jin’s waist, to pull Jin so close to him that it would feel like their bodies were trying to morph into one.

“Yah, take a picture, it’ll last longer!”

“Oh, I, uh… I wasn’t, um, I wasn’t doing anything.”

Jin flew in front of Namjoon, leaning in so that their noses were touching, “Your face looks pretty red, Joon! Either you’re feeling sick or you’re turning into a tomato!”

“You just, uh,” Namjoon took a step back as he avoided Jin’s gaze, “you sort of, uh, well… it’s just that, uh, you make me kinda… kinda nervous.”

Jin’s eyes widened in surprise. He opened his mouth to speak but that’s when Namjoon tripped over a stick on the ground and fell backwards. As he fell backwards, Jin flew towards him to try to grab his hand to keep him up. Yet, Jin wasn’t expecting Namjoon to have the strength to take him down with him. Both males groaned as they landed on the sand.

Namjoon looked up and that’s when he realized that Jin was laying on his chest. He had pulled Jin down with him. He wanted to speak, to ask if Jin was alright, but not a single word escaped his lips. All he could do was stare as he watched Jin lift his head. He shook his head and peered down at Namjoon, a tilt to his head to show that he was confused.

“How come I make you nervous?”

Namjoon couldn’t help but smile at the other male. He wasn’t concerned that they had just landed in sand, or that he was currently laying on top of another man’s chest. All that he was thinking about was how he made Namjoon uncomfortable, not doubt trying to figure out how he could make the brunette more comfortable around him. There was something so beautiful about Jin that extended beyond his outer appearance.

“I just… I can’t believe you’re real.”

“Of course, I’m real!”

“I’ve just, I… It’s just that,” Jin leaned in connecting their noses once more, “I’ve only ever heard of you and now all of a sudden… you’re in my room, we’re flying to Neverland, and…”

“And?”

“And you’re prettier than I imagined.”

“Yah… you didn’t stutter.”

Namjoon didn’t realize it. He was too focused on how close Jin was to him that he didn’t realize he hadn’t stuttered. He didn’t know if it was because he was growing more comfortable around Jin, or if he had always been comfortable and just needed to focus on Jin. Whatever the reason, Namjoon was thankful that he wasn’t stumbling over his words.

With newfound confidence, Namjoon raised a hand to cup Jin’s cheek, using his thumb to brush some sand off the raven-haired male’s cheek. Namjoon was surprised to see a dusty rose colored blush spreading across Jin’s cheeks. He thought that he was the one who was supposed to be blushing at how bold Jin was, but it seemed that even World Wide Handsome Jin could get flustered.

Namjoon blinked a few times, remembering that he had Jin sitting pretty on his chest while he was still lying in sand. He made a move to sit up and that’s when he felt Jin’s weight leave his body. He had to admit that he felt a bit disappointed to not have Jin pressed against him, but he would settle for sitting side by side on the shore. Namjoon didn’t realize he was bigger than Jin until they were sitting next to each other. He smiled at how petite Jin looked compared to him.

“Jin hyung, how long have you been here?”

“Hyung? I’m your hyung now?”

“Oh, I, uh-“

“I’m just playing! I’d love to be your Jin hyung.”

Namjoon felt the roles reverse, seeing as how it was his turn to blush at the other male’s words. Jin looked out at the lagoon as he started, “Anyways, I don’t really know how long I’ve been here for. Maybe a couple centuries, give or take.”

“A couple centuries?!”

“What? I don’t look old, do I?”

Jin threw his head back and laughed as Namjoon went back to stumbling over his words, trying to reassure the raven-haired male that he looked good. Soon enough, Namjoon found himself joining in when he realized Jin would never look old as long as he stayed in Neverland. Still, Namjoon was curious about a few things and he hoped that Jin would be able to answer his questions.

“How did you get here?”

“Same as everyone else,” Jin smiled as the memory played back in his mind, “there was a time when I was alone. I had no one in a little village back in Korea. But then one night I saw a shadow flying high. It was a boy flying. I called to him, begging for him to come back… to not leave me alone.”

Jin chuckled to himself, it seemed that he hadn’t thought of this memory in a long time, “He came to me with the sweetest smile and you wouldn’t believe it… but he said his name was Peter Pan. He promised me that I’d never be lonely if I came with him… and Peter Pan was right.”

Namjoon couldn’t help but feel a little jealous as he saw the soft smile etching across Jin’s face. He was jealous that Jin said that the boy had a sweet smile, and that’s when it hit him. Jin said that the boy referred to himself as Peter Pan. Yoongi was right. There really was a Peter Pan who lived on the island of Neverland.

“What happened to Peter Pan?”

“He left Neverland.”

“How come?”

“It's a long and not so happy story,” Jin shrugged, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them, “but he left to grow old. I think he took me so I could take over for him.”

“What is it that you do here, hyung?”

Jin rested his cheek on his arm as he smiled, his words muffling from time to time, “Hobi and I travel to Korea every now and then searching for anyone who doesn’t want to grow up. We want to give them a chance to see what it’s like to never grow up.”

“How many people stay?”

“Only my maknaes stayed.”

Namjoon nodded in response. It seemed that all the other people Jin and Hobi brought with them to Neverland requested to go home. Namjoon suspected that people wanted to go home because of homesickness or realizing that there’s no point in going through life if you’re never going to face challenges, if you’re never going to ride the roller coaster of life. Life isn’t just the good times, it’s the bad times, too. Jin and his crew probably helped people realize that life’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

“How’d you meet Hobi hyung?”

The brunette made a noise of confusion when he saw Jin stiffen. Jin’s smile vanished from his face, shocking the younger male. Namjoon expected Jin to keep his smile and to change his body language so that he was showing how excited he was to talk about his most cherished friend, but the exact opposite happened. Jin shook his head and brought his hands to his face to attempt to hide from the world.

“Yah, you don’t have to tell me-“

“It’s not a happy story.”

“Jin hyung-“

“I’m not a good person.”

Those words caught Namjoon by surprise. He moved so that he could pull Jin towards him. The two males were sitting across from one another, Namjoon’s hands gently prying Jin’s hands from his face. Nothing broke Namjoon’s heart like the sight before him. Nothing pained him more than seeing tears shining in Jin’s usually bright brown eyes, than seeing him looking utterly defeated.

Namjoon attempted to pull Jin into his arms, but the older male shook his head and moved away, “No, please… you might think I’m a good person, but I’m not. You’ll hate me if I tell you that story.”

“Isn’t that for me to decide?”

“Namjoon-“

“I could never hate you, Jin hyung,” Namjoon crawled forward, reaching a hand out to wipe Jin’s tears away, “you wouldn’t do anything to hurt anyone. I know you’re good.”

Jin grabbed Namjoon’s hand, squeezing it as he whispered, “Promise me, then. Promise me that you won’t hate me when the story’s over.”

“I promise, hyung.”

Those three simple words were enough to put Jin at ease. The raven haired male continued to hold Namjoon’s hand, and the brunette let him. He could tell that Jin needed to hold his hand, to know that he was still there and that he wouldn’t run away when the story was over. No matter what he heard, Namjoon was determined to stay by Jin’s side.

“It all happened centuries ago,” Jin blinked and that’s when the tears made their journeys down his face again, “Peter Pan and I smelt smoke coming from the pixie’s side of the island. We flew over to their forest and that’s when we saw him and what he had done.”

Jin made no effort to wipe his tears away as he whimpered, “Captain Hook set the pixie’s forest on fire to hurt Peter Pan and the only way he knew he could hurt him was to hurt his pixie… Tinkerbell.”

“Jin hyung, he didn’t-“

“He did. They all died.”

Namjoon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Captain Hook had dared to hurt Peter Pan in the most intimate way possible, by setting his partner’s home ablaze and killing all that inhabited the area. This was something that Yoongi had never mentioned in his childhood stories. He never said that Captain Hook did something so heinous as to committing multiple counts of murder. This was a dark twist to such a beloved childhood story.

“Peter Pan got his revenge,” Jin shook his head and snorted, “he battled with Hook and made him walk the plank. He jumped into crocodile infested waters and that’s when one of them bit off his hand. It didn’t make up for losing Tinkerbell, but it was enough to satisfy Peter Pan.”

Jin’s shoulders shook as he squeezed Namjoon’s hand, “We returned to the pixie’s forest when the fire was out and that’s when we found him. Hobi was in his pixie form trapped underneath a barely burning branch. He was the only one that survived somehow.”

“Does Hobi remember that day?”

“No, he was hit on the head by that branch,” the raven-haired male’s grip loosened on Namjoon’s hand, “when he woke up he didn’t remember the life he used to have. He didn’t remember the pixie forest, he didn’t remember Peter Pan, and he didn’t remember me.”

“When did you tell him what happened?”

“That’s the thing… I didn’t.”

“Jin hyung… you can’t be serious.”

Namjoon couldn’t let it show, but he was horrified that Jin didn’t tell Hoseok about what happened to the rest of his species. Namjoon desperately hoped that Jin didn’t do what he was thinking he did after. He didn’t want Jin to tell him that he had manipulated Hoseok to protect him from his past. He didn’t want to hear that Jin had taken advantage of Hoseok’s fragile mental state to rewrite his past to protect him.

“I told you I’m not a good person,” Jin was sobbing at this point, “I didn’t tell him about his past and I’ve been keeping him by my side because I’m afraid of something happening to him.”

“Keeping him by your side?”

“He doesn’t know the extent of his magic.”

“Why? Why didn’t you tell him?”

“Because I don’t want him to leave,” the older male dropped Namjoon’s hand and started to get up, “if he leaves here then I can’t protect him and if I can’t protect him then who will?”

Jin was taking shaky steps away from Namjoon as he continued, “So, I told him that his magic originates from Neverland and that he can only be in his pixie form when we go to Korea… the smaller he is, the less likely he’ll be spotted… you have to believe me… I did this to protect him.”

“Jin hyung… who are you actually protecting?”

The raven-haired male backed into a tree. He looked up and saw that the branches and leaves of the tree was blocking the sunlight from reaching the sea of flowers that were attempting to bloom beneath. Jin wondered if he was the tree, and Hoseok was the flowers hidden in the shade. He wondered if he had been holding Hoseok back all this time, rather than protecting him. Jin sighed.

Jin thought long and hard about the question Namjoon asked him. He was never protecting Hoseok, he was protecting himself. After he and Peter Pan lost all the other pixies in the fire, he vowed never to let Hoseok fall into harm’s way. He refused to feel the same pain that his friend once had, and he felt that the only way he could save himself from that pain was if he withheld the truth from Hoseok.

He knew what he had done wasn’t right, especially because Hoseok blindly followed him. Hoseok didn’t even question Jin when he told him that he couldn’t be in his larger form when they went to Korea. Hoseok trusted Jin, and he had abused that trust to protect himself. Jin rested his back against the tree and let out a heavy sigh. He was holding Hoseok back by keeping him in Neverland.

Yet, maybe Jin was holding himself back, too. He started to think about all those times he wanted to go back to Korea to start over, but he couldn’t because he had Hoseok to take care of. Jin was starting to wonder if he was keeping himself from his destiny all because of the string of lies he told centuries ago to keep Hoseok safe. He was keeping both of them from their destinies, where ever they may lie.

“Me… I was protecting myself.”

“You have to let him make his own decisions.”

“I know… I have to let go.”

“And you have to tell him the truth.”

Jin didn’t realize Namjoon was right in front of him until he felt a large hand on his hip. Jin looked up, expecting to find cold brown eyes glaring down at him. Instead, he found soft, warm caramel orbs staring back at him like he was something wonderful. Namjoon was looking at him like he wasn’t a terrible person for what he had done. Namjoon was looking at him and just seeing him, just seeing Jin.

Namjoon couldn’t be mad at Jin, especially not when he understood where he was coming from. After witnessing something as tragic as almost an entire species being wiped out, Namjoon knew something in Jin had to have changed to try to cope with it. For Jin, he coped with what happened by taking Hoseok under his wing and attempting to protect him by keeping him grounded in Neverland. To Jin, he was doing something good. To Namjoon, he was coping in an unhealthy way and hurting the one person he wanted to protect.

“You have to make things right, hyung.”

“You’re right. I need to tell him the truth.”

Namjoon nodded, pulling the older male into his arms for a warm embrace. Yet, it was during that embrace that Jin heard a sound he never wanted to hear for as long as he lived. He knew that sound anywhere. It was the sound of his best friend’s voice screaming in terror, followed by his maknaes shouting.

Jin quickly pulled away from Namjoon and took off like a rocket, flying in the direction he heard yelling. He could hear Namjoon calling after him, but the brunette would have to wait. Hoseok would always be a priority to him and right now, his pixie needed him. Jin was dodging branches left and right until he made it into a clearing where Jungkook was attempting to hold back Jimin and Taehyung from attacking Yoongi.

Jin flew to his friends and broke them apart, standing in their path to get to Yoongi, “Yah! What the hell is going on here?! Why are you two trying to attack Yoongi and where the hell is Hobi?!”

“It’s all his fault!”

“Jiminie, tell me what’s going on now.”

Jimin crossed his arms in front of his chest, huffing in annoyance. He was glaring daggers at Yoongi as he hissed, “We were coming down from the mountain when we saw Hobi hyung zipping past us!”

“We saw Hobi hyung crying and followed him,” Taehyung took over for the pinkette, “and that’s when we found out he was running away from Yoongi! But then Captain Hook and his crew surrounded us and made Hobi hyung go with him or else he would hurt us!”

Jimin tried to march towards Yoongi, only to be held back by Jungkook. The pinkette was thrashing in Jungkook’s grasp as he growled, “You’re the reason why Hobi hyung got captured! You made him run away, you jackass!”

Jin couldn’t hear the words anyone was saying. It was like the world around him was smeared and all that he could focus on was the fact that Hoseok had been kidnapped by Captain Hook. All he could see was the flames from his past that gobbled up the forest and left only Hoseok in its wake. All he could hear were the sounds of the pixies crying out as they were burned to death. Above all, he could hear Captain Hook’s maniacal laughter as he vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Jin was taken back to painful memories he desperately tried to repress. He was forced to remember how it felt to look at Hoseok after the incident, knowing that he was the last of his kind. He was forced to remember how he vowed to keep the pixie safe from harm, but he had failed. He couldn’t keep the silent promise he made to Hoseok. He failed the pixie on various accounts, and now Hoseok was paying for his mistakes.

The raven-haired male clenched his fists, regretting how he never told Hoseok about his past or the extent of his magic. Right now, Hoseok must have felt so afraid that he was stuck in his pixie form, shaking as he believed there was nothing he could do to save himself. He made Hoseok so dependent on him that he was nearly helpless without him. He hadn’t saved Hoseok, he had crippled him.

“It’s all my fault.”

Everyone stopped moving and shouting when they heard Jin’s broken words. Everyone was in disbelief, unable to understand how any of this could be Jin’s fault when he was nowhere near the scene of the crime. Jin looked up in time to see Namjoon running into the clearing, pausing for a moment to catch his breath.

Jin flew towards him, a hard look in his eyes as he stated, “Captain Hook took Hobi. I’m going after him so don’t try to stop me.”

“I wasn’t going to. I want to come with you.”

“I knew I liked you for a reason.”

There was a cheeky smile on Jin’s face, which did nothing but turn Namjoon into a little tomato. Before Namjoon could say anything, Jin was grabbing his wrist and flying with him in the direction of Hook’s ship. Jin could hear the four other males bickering amongst each other, but they were right behind him. Jin smiled. That’s good. They were going to need all the help they could get if they were going to give Hook hell and take back what’s theirs.

Jin could almost hear Peter Pan’s voice in his ears, telling him that Hook had gone too far when he brought the pixies into their quarrel. Jin wouldn’t let Hook get away with this, especially not if he killed Hoseok. Jin didn’t think that he was going to kill someone today, but he might consider it if Hoseok wasn’t alive when he got there.

“Whatever happened to forming plans?”

“I plan to beat Hook’s ass.”

“Ah, Hoseok, the one that got away.”

“Let me go, Hook!”

Hoseok was currently trapped in a plugged bottle. He knew it was only a matter of time before he ran out of air in the bottle. He looked up, glaring at the man who had dared to take him from the only family he had ever known. Hoseok wasn’t used to being Hook’s target. He was in unfamiliar waters and he knew he would have to tread carefully if he wanted to make it back to his friends.

Hoseok hated Captain Hook with every fiber of his being. He and Jin had brawled with this man for centuries. It had been fun and games for the most part, but he had a feeling that there was something else that happened in the past, something unforgiveable. There was a reason that Jin continued the feud with Captain Hook, even after Peter Pan left Neverland.

Hoseok hated that old codfish and his stupid ass black mustache that made him look like a wannabe Frenchmen. He hated his long red coat that looked like something not even a runway model would want to showcase. He especially hated that long sharp hook that he was always stabbing into the wooden table his bottle was resting on. Hoseok knew it was a scare tactic and he refused to become frightened by it. He refused to give Hook that satisfaction.

On the outside, Hoseok was glaring at Captain Hook, trying to show the pirate that he wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. On the inside, Hoseok was terrified. He was crying on the inside begging Jin to come and save him. They had never been apart like this before. They had a few close calls throughout the years, but nothing like this. Never before had he been kidnapped and trapped in a bottle, slowly suffocating.

“Where’s your precious Jin hyung now?”

“Don’t you ever say his-“

“It seems he’s late again.”

Hoseok cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Again? The brunette didn’t know what that was supposed to mean. A situation like this had never happened before so how could there be an again? Jin was never late. How could he ever be late when they were always together? Hoseok was starting to wonder if this was a mind game, if Hook was trying to find a way to break him. Hook already knew that Hoseok had a weak spot for Jin so the brunette was starting to think that the pirate was trying to attack him where it would hurt the most.

“Jin hyung is never late!”

“Have you already forgotten?”

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear it,” Hoseok covered his ears with his hands, “you’re just trying to play your little mind games with me but I won’t have it! I won’t listen to you!”

Hoseok cried out when he felt Hook grab the bottle, forcing him onto his hands and knees. The pirate walked towards a map of Neverland, pointing the pixie at it so he could take a look at it. Hoseok had seen maps of Neverland before, but this was the first time he was seeing a map with a location known as Pixie Forest on it. Hoseok had been around for centuries and in that time he had never heard about a Pixie Forest.

There was something strange about the map. It seemed that Pixie Forest was circled in red paint that had lost its bright pigment over the years. Hoseok placed his hands on the bottle as he looked at the circled area. He couldn’t understand why he felt sadness deep within his heart as his eyes locked onto Pixie Forest. The more Hoseok thought about it, the more he had come to realize that Jin never let him play on that side of the island.

Jin had never given him many rules since the time they found each other, but one rule was that he wasn’t allowed on that specific side of the island. Jin always told him that there were monsters over there that would eat a pretty little pixie like him, so Hoseok never ventured over there out of fear of being eaten. Yet, could Jin have been lying to him?

The little brunette shook his head. Jin would never lie to him, but why did he feel such pain when he read over the words Pixie Forest? It was just a name written on a map, but somehow Hoseok felt attached to it, to that location. Hoseok felt like there was a war zone going on in his head. On one side there were thoughts telling him that Jin was lying to hide something from him while on the other side there were thoughts reassuring him that Jin would never do anything to hurt him.

“Why is Pixie Forest circled?”

Hoseok could already tell that he wouldn’t like the answer, but he needed to know. The map was spotless, aside from the faint red circle around Pixie Forest. Captain Hook had been searching for the forest but for what reason? Hoseok had a feeling he knew what the red circle was for, but he needed to hear it. He needed to hear those words leave Hook’s mouth. He needed to know the truth.

“My dear, you really don’t remember,” the pirate whipped his hook down, piercing the map in the middle of Pixie Forest, “centuries ago I invaded Pixie Forest and slaughtered all of your brothers and sisters… including Tinkerbell.”

Hoseok’s shoulders were shaking as he stepped backwards, tears filling his eyes as Hook continued, “Your beloved Peter Pan and Jin hyung were too late to save the pixies from the fire. I thought I burned all the pixies to ash… but you survived.”

“No… you’re lying,” Hoseok sank to his hands and knees, his fingers tangling in his brunette locks, “none of that ever happened. There’s no such thing as the Pixie Forest. You’re making it up. Jin hyung wouldn’t keep something like that from me… Jin hyung wouldn’t lie to me… Jin hyung-“

“Is no better than me!”

Hoseok shook his head, trying to block out Hook’s booming voice, “I might be a villain to you, but at least I’m not a liar! If he lied to you about where you come from and what happened to the Pixie Forest… what else is he lying to you about?”

The pixie hated to admit it, but Hook had a point. There were holes forming in the stories that Jin had told him. Hoseok shook his head once more. Maybe there had always been holes in Jin’s stories but he had turned a blind eye to them. Maybe he ignored the holes in the stories because he didn’t want to lose one of the only people he had in his life. Hoseok couldn’t remember much, but he remembered how Jin was there for him.

Hoseok was combing through his memories at this point, trying to find something that would prove Hook wrong. He remembered he was injured when Jin found him, but the raven-haired male just told him that a branch had fallen on him. Jin never told him where he was when the branch fell on him. Jin never explained why his skin was taking so long to heal after the injury. Jin never told him why Peter Pan had such a difficult time being around him, either.

Peter Pan was someone who didn’t stick around long after Hoseok regained mobility. Peter Pan couldn’t look at him and he could barely speak a word to him. Hoseok had remembered all the efforts he had made towards trying to befriend Peter Pan, but each attempt failed. There was always a painful look in Peter Pan’s eyes when he looked at Hoseok. There was a look of pain, and a glimmer of hope.

Hoseok remembered how Peter Pan left shortly afterwards, claiming that Neverland had nothing to offer him anymore and that it was time for him to leave. Hoseok recalled feeling like he was at fault for Peter Pan leaving, but Jin reassured him that their friend was leaving so he could grow up and grow old. Hoseok wished that he had pressed Jin further on why Peter Pan left, and why their friend flew off smiling, saying he was happy to meet Tinkerbell one day.

Hoseok’s eyes widened. Tinkerbell. Yoongi had called him that. Captain Hook had stated that she died in the fire. Tinkerbell must have been Peter Pan’s pixie partner, just as he is to Jin. If she existed then that must have meant that there were more pixies. If there were more pixies then they would’ve had to have a haven to call their own. They would’ve stayed in Pixie Forest.

“All this time,” Hoseok’s eyes were blank, staring at Pixie Forest on the map, “I thought I was the only pixie… I thought I was the only one… he told me I was the only one.”

It all came down to the terrible fact that Captain Hook was right, Jin lied. Thoughts came flooding into Hoseok’s head, overwhelming him to the point where his breathing started to pick up. If Jin had lied about him being the only pixie and there never being a Pixie Forest, then what else was he hiding? What else had Jin lied about? Hoseok had followed this man without question. He should’ve been asking questions the whole time.

“Oh, don’t cry, Hoseok.”

“He lied to me…”

“You know, I’d never lie to you.”

A flip switched in Hoseok. The brunette stood up and turned around, slamming a fist against the bottle, “No, you wouldn’t lie to me, you’d just burn an entire civilization to the ground! I’m pissed at Jin hyung for lying to me but that doesn’t excuse the multiple counts of murder you’ve committed!”

Anger continued to bubble within Hoseok as he smacked his tiny fists against the bottle with each sentence, “You took everything from me! You took my home! You took my family! You took Peter Pan’s best friend! How could you do something like that?!”

The pirate’s eyes widened in awe as he noticed Hoseok’s fist was starting to crack the glass bottle. Hook had been wondering why Hoseok hadn’t used his magic to escape from the bottle. Tinkerbell had always used her magic to escape his traps. A devilish smirk crawled onto Hook’s face as he realized Jin had crippled Hoseok so badly that he didn’t know the full extent of his magic. Hook would have to thank Jin. It would be easier to wipe out the last of the pixies seeing as how Hoseok couldn’t save himself.

Hook’s original plan was to use Hoseok to lure Jin here to kill him, but now it seemed he could kill two birds with one stone. He could suffocate Hoseok in the bottle while he drove his sword into Jin’s chest, just as he had always wanted to do to Peter Pan. He would never get the satisfaction of killing Peter Pan, but he would take slaughtering Jin and Hoseok. They would be his replacements to killing Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.

“You know, I find you rather adorable,” Hook laughed as he shook the bottle, causing Hoseok to crash into the glass, “it’s cute when you’re mad. It’s like you think your puny little words are going to do something to stop me.”

“Just wait till Jin hyung gets here! He’ll-“

“Do nothing when he sees I have you!”

Hoseok looked up from where he was laying in the bottle, sending a weak glare to the pirate, “If you kill me… you’re going to die. You have no idea who you’re messing with.”

Hook opened his mouth to snap back at the pixie but he wasn’t able to speak because he heard his crew returning, which only meant one thing. Hook grabbed the bottled pixie and marched out of his captain’s cabin. He had a smug smile on his face as he crashed through the door, revealing that his men had captured Jin and his friends as they attempted to storm the ship.

Hook had a feeling Jin would react to the news of Hoseok’s kidnapping hastily. He had a feeling that Jin would come barreling in with no plan because he allowed his emotions to rule over his thought process. What made this all better was the fact that Jin brought Jimin and Taehyung with him, and a few new faces. It seemed that it would be a massacre on his ship today.

The pirate watched as his crew tied the boys up one by one to the mast until Jin was the last one standing. Jin thrashed around in the pirate’s grasp, spewing a string of curses at him in the process. Hook glided over to Jin, savoring how vulnerable the raven-haired male looked in this situation. Jin glared at Hook when they were mere feet apart.

“What have you done with my Hobi, you bastard?!”

“Would you like to see him?”

Everyone’s breath hitched as they saw Hook raise a bottle, revealing Hoseok laying on the bottom. He was running out of time. There wasn’t a way for new oxygen to get into the bottle so Hoseok would surely suffocate soon. Jin’s heart had shattered in his chest as he saw the weakened state his best friend was in. Hoseok’s breathing was shallow and his eyes were barely able to stay open. Jin couldn’t stand the sight of Hoseok’s sparkling wings drooping like a wilted flower.

Jin blinked away the tears that stung at his eyes as he launched forward, growling as he was pulled back, “Hang in there, Hobi! I’ll get you out of there, I promise! Hyung is going to save you, don’t worry!”

“Jin… Jin hyung…”

“It’s me, Hobi, I’m here.”

“You… you lied to me.”

Jin froze as soon as he heard those words. The raven-haired male couldn’t move. It felt like all the air had left his lungs. All he could focus on were those four little words that were echoing in his mind. Hoseok knew. Hoseok knew that he had lied to him for centuries. Hoseok knew that Jin had lied to him, but he didn’t know that it was all in the name of love, or rather what the raven-haired male thought was love.

Namjoon struggled against the rope, desperately fighting to get to Jin. He needed to get to Jin to comfort him, to reassure him that he had learned the error of his ways. He needed to get to Jin before the demons crawling around in his mind overpowered him and turned him into the shell of the man he was. Namjoon didn’t want to look at Jin and find that the light in his eyes had been snuffed. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he couldn’t be there to save him from himself.

“You know, this is just like your story, Yoongi hyung.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Kook?”

“Your story about Peter Pan was just like this,” Jungkook shrugged against his bindings, “you told us that Captain Hook ambushed Tinkerbell and the lost boys. That’s exactly what happened earlier. Hobi ran off and Jimin and Tae followed him. They were ambushed and Hobi went with Hook to save his friends… just like in your story.”

Yoongi and Namjoon couldn’t move, they were too shaken by how accurate Jungkook was, “Peter Pan went off to rescue Tinkerbell, just like how we ran to find Hobi. We were outnumbered so we’ve been captured. We’re going to walk the plank… but if we walk the plank, then that means-“

“I challenge you to a duel, Hook!”

The brothers were crying out for Jin to stop talking, but the raven-haired male refused to listen. Jin’s eyes narrowed at Hook as he spat, “If I win, then you give me back my Hobi. If you win, I walk the plank. You’ll never get a chance like this again so what do you say, you old codfish?”

“I’m tempted, so very tempted,” Hook moved the bottle from side to side, purposefully swishing Hoseok around, “but you’ll just fly away as soon as you’re released. You’re always going to fly away just because you know you can. It wouldn’t be much of a fair fight.”

The three brothers couldn’t believe that they were helpless to stop Yoongi’s bedtime story from coming to life. They knew what was coming next. Jin would accept the duel and he would become grounded. Yet, if the story was unfolding before their very eyes, that should mean that Jin will win in the end… right?

“I won’t fly, Hook.”

“Then I accept your challenge.”

Jin was expecting Hook to hand Hoseok off to another crewmate, but he stuck the bottle in his coat pocket. Hook unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Jin, silently telling him to pull out his own weapon. Jin never liked to use his dagger, but he would put it to good use today if it meant that it would help him save Hoseok.

Jin grit his teeth as he lunged forward, swinging his dagger at Hook to catch him off guard. The pirate grinned as he swiped his sword, deflecting each of Jin’s attacks like they were nothing. All the while, Hoseok was being tossed around in the bottle as Hook moved around during his duel. Jin growled each time he heard a faint clinking sound, knowing well enough that it was the sound of Hoseok crashing into the glass.

While Jin and Hook were swatting their blades at each other all around the ship, the other five males were battling against the ropes. The longer they stayed confined against the mast, the longer Hoseok went without oxygen and the longer Jin had to play the role of a swordsman. Yoongi could feel the rope digging into his skin as he fought against it, failing to break free in the end.

“Fuck! We’ll never get out of here without a blade!”

“Oh, I have my dagger with me.”

“And you didn’t think to use it earlier, Tae?!”

“Well, I liked how close together the rope brought us.”

Everyone deadpanned and snapped their heads in Taehyung’s direction. The blue haired male shrugged against the ropes, “What? I thought we could all use a little forced-together-by-rope bonding after how we were all at each other’s throats earlier. This seemed like a good opportunity for that.”

“I hate you.”

“As long as your brother likes me, I don’t mind.”

Jungkook felt his cheeks heating up at Taehyung’s words. Leave it to Taehyung to be shamelessly honest about not admitting he had a dagger and not caring if Yoongi hated him because all that mattered was if Jungkook liked him. If they were tied to a wooden pole and watching their friend fight for his and Hoseok’s life, Jungkook would’ve mounted Taehyung while Jimin watched. But now wasn’t the time for that, now was the time for action.

Taehyung felt Jimin elbow him, hissing at the blue haired male to start cutting through the ropes. The others continued to thrash against the rope, trying to jumble it so that the crewmates wouldn’t suspect Taehyung was cutting the ropes enough so that they would be weak for them to break through. He wouldn’t be able to cut clean through them without one of the pirates noticing so he and the others were in silent agreement to cut the ropes just enough to be able to jump through them and catch everyone by surprise.

Everyone’s eyes widened when they felt the ropes start to break. Just a little bit more and… the five males crashed through the ropes, screaming as they launched themselves at the pirates. Namjoon and Yoongi tried to make a bee line path to Jin and Hoseok so they could save their love interests, but they would have to get through a few pirates.

“Leave my hyungs alone!”

Yoongi and Namjoon were dumbfounded when they saw Jungkook leading a charge towards the pirates in their way. Jungkook ducked when a blade was swung at him. While the pirate was caught off balance, Jungkook landed a punch to his face. Another one ran at him, but Jungkook dodged the attack and grabbed the man’s wrist. He twisted the wrist, forcing the sword to drop from the pirate’s hand. Jungkook kicked the man back and picked up the sword. Jungkook shifted his attention to his brothers.

“Go on! I’ll keep them busy!”

There was no time to argue with Jungkook, nor was there time to tell him that he was badass. Yoongi and Namjoon nodded to their brother and jumped over the fallen bodies. Neither of the brothers were ready to see Hook pinning Jin to the ground, his sword pressed against the raven-haired male’s neck. Jin’s dagger was lost along the way so there was nothing that he could do to stop what was about to happen.

“NO!”

Namjoon felt a burst of energy and a wave of rage wash over him as he bolted towards them. Hook was a moment away from delivering the finishing blow. Namjoon couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t let Hook take away the only person he ever cared about outside his brothers. He couldn’t let Hook take away his future.

Namjoon tackled Hook to the ground, his hand knocking against the ship and causing his sword to fall out of his hand. In the process, the bottle had been thrown out of Hook’s coat pocket. The bottle crashed against the ship, breaking in half, and rolling in opposite directions. The half without Hoseok rolled towards Namjoon while the other half with an unconscious pixie rolled towards the plank.

Yoongi was dashing towards the little bottle in seconds. He dove forward, ignoring the pain from the cuts he was sure to get from the wood. His breath hitched as his finger tips touched the bottle just before it fell into the water below. Yoongi scrambled to his hands and knees, squinting his eyes as he desperately searched in the water for any sign of the pixie.

“You’ll pay for that, Hook!”

Yoongi could hear Jin’s voice, but he couldn’t see that the raven-haired male was holding Hook’s sword and pointing it at the pirate, “Hobi was the only thing keeping me from killing you and now that he’s gone…”

Jin didn’t need to finish his words. Everyone knew that he was telling Hook that there was nothing stopping him from killing the pirate now that he didn’t have Hoseok. Those words were heavy, feeling like an anchor crushing one’s chest. Hoseok was the one thing in Jin’s life that gave him hope. Hoseok was the one thing that was keeping him from jumping off the deep end.

There! Yoongi spotted a flash of sunlight reflecting off of glass. That was all he needed to see before he was diving into the water. He could hear the sound of his friends calling after him but he didn’t listen to them. He didn’t care that the water was a little cold and piercing into his skin. He didn’t care that he could be swimming in crocodile infested waters. All that mattered right now was saving Hoseok.

Yoongi could see above the water that Hoseok’s cracked bottle was quickly filling with water. Yoongi took a deep breath as soon as Hoseok went underwater. He dove beneath the surface, opening his eyes to try to find the pixie. His eyes widened as he found the pixie sinking. His lungs were burning in his chest, begging him to go back up for some air, but he couldn’t… not without Hoseok.

The platinum blonde had never felt more relieved in his life when he snatched Hoseok from the water. He swam to the surface and gasped for air, looking up to see his friends and family calling to him. Yoongi opened his hand, his heart breaking when he saw that Hoseok wasn’t moving.

“I’m coming, Yoongi!”

Jin flew to the platinum blonde, hooking his hands under his arms and lifting him up. Yoongi leaned against Jin for support when his feet touched the ship. He held Hoseok out for everyone to see him, but he still wasn’t moving. Jin felt tears prick at his eyes as he gently moved Hoseok so he was laying on his back on the large pale hands, being mindful of his soggy wings. Jin tapped at the pixie’s face, but his head just lolled a few times before going still. Namjoon frantically motioned with his hand to Hoseok.

“CPR! He needs CPR!”

Yoongi quickly nodded and used his index finger to start chest compressions to Hoseok’s small chest, being careful not to hurt him. After thirty chest compressions, Yoongi moved down to give him mouth to mouth but he realized he wouldn’t be able to do that. Hoseok was too small. Without Hoseok shifting back to his human size, Yoongi wouldn’t be able to give mouth to mouth.

Nobody was ready for Taehyung to move forward, poking Hoseok’s face until his mouth opened, and then blowing air at him. As crazy as it seemed, Taehyung actually had a good idea. Since they couldn’t give mouth to mouth, this was the next best option. Everyone’s eyes widened when they saw Hoseok’s chest rising from the breath that was inflating his lungs.

“Keep going, you two!”

Yoongi and Taehyung nodded, determined to do everything they could to save Hoseok. Yoongi continued with the chest compressions and would move his hand out of the way after so that Taehyung could give his version of mouth to mouth. Jin’s vision was starting to blur as Hoseok showed no sign of movement. These two were doing everything they could, but it wouldn’t mean shit unless Hoseok moved.

“We need a defibrillator!”

“Where the hell are we going to get one on Neverland?!”

“Like this!”

Taehyung brought his hands together and started to rub them together, gaining friction. He was trying to become a human defibrillator by creating friction. Yoongi wanted to tell him that was stupid, but he didn’t. At this point, he would let Taehyung do anything if there was a chance that it could help Hoseok.

Just as Taehyung was going to attempt to poke Hoseok with his warm fingers, the pixie started to cough. Everyone nearly fell to the ground in shock as Hoseok coughed out water. Jin used his finger to help the brunette sit up. The pixie continued to cough out all the water until he felt like he had nothing left to expel. Hoseok grabbed Jin’s finger, squeezing it as he gazed upon the raven-haired male.

Hoseok’s eyes looked tired, but his smile was as bright as the sun, “No more secrets, Jin hyung. You can’t protect me from everything. You have to let me experience the good and the bad life has to offer.”

“Hobi, I am so sorry,” Jin gently lifted the pixie from Yoongi’s hand, ignoring the growl from the platinum blonde, “I never meant to hurt you. I only wanted to protect you… but I can see that I went about that the wrong way. I’ll never keep anything from you ever again.”

“I know you won’t.”

With a flew sloppy flaps of Hoseok’s wings, he grew back to his human form. His wings were drooping from soaking up all the water, but he didn’t need to use his wings for what he was about to do. Hoseok turned away from his friends and stormed off towards Captain Hook, who was attempting to sneak back into his cabin. The pixie grabbed him by the back of his coat and threw him to the ground.

Hoseok grabbed his coat and dragged him off towards the plank. He tossed the pirate to the plank, “I might be the one that got away, but I can’t say the same for you, Hook.”

Captain Hook gulped as he pushed himself to his feet. He slowly started to walk along the plank, shuddering when he saw that there were crocodiles circling where he was going to jump, almost like they were waiting for him. Hook looked over his shoulder, holding his hand and hook out like he was begging, pleading for his life.

“Hoseok, you wouldn’t make old Captain Hook-“

“Walk the plank? Yeah, I would.”

“But the crocodiles-“

“Are hungry for more.”

It was clear that Hoseok had no pity for the man who stuffed him in a bottle, shook him around like a rag doll while he was in the bottle, and then nearly suffocated and drowned him. Yoongi was about to reach out to stop Hoseok, but Jungkook stopped him. The platinum blonde squeezed the hand that had grabbed his own.

“This isn’t how my story ended, Kook.”

“No, this isn’t how your story ended,” Jungkook returned the squeeze as he watched Captain Hook look down at the water below, “but this is how their story ends.”

Yoongi felt uneasy, but he nodded back to his younger brother. This was not his story, this was Jin and Hoseok’s story. The one Yoongi told had already happened, but Jin and Hoseok’s was about to end. The two of them were finally going to close the book on their story. They were finally going to get a taste of that happily ever after that they had bene chasing all of their lives.

Captain Hook made one last plea for his life, but it fell on deaf ears. Hoseok jumped onto the plank, causing the board to shift and throw the pirate off. Hoseok poked his head out from the plank to watch as the water changed from a beautiful blue to a filthy red. The pixie smiled at the color, satisfied to finally put the feud with Captain Hook to rest.

Hoseok wanted nothing more than to run into Yoongi’s arms after what happened, but he didn’t. He kept his eyes casted downwards as he walked back to his friends. Jin tiled his head in confusion. He was incredibly happy and was hoping to celebrate this victory with the little brunette, but for some reason he was so glum.

“Hobi, what’s the matter? We won!”

“It doesn’t feel like it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I still have to let Yoongi go.”

The painful reality hit Yoongi and Hoseok like a train. This wouldn’t be much of a victory to them since they would still have to part ways. They didn’t see how they could be happy at the moment when they had to leave the one they loved. Jin nodded his head a few times, but there was a glint in his eyes, something that made Namjoon feel like he knew more than the rest of them.

“You don’t have to let him go,” Jin made his way to his best friend and gave a soft smile, “your magic doesn’t originate from Neverland. You're not strongest when you're on the island. It was always in you.”

“But you said-“

“I lied.”

Jin placed his hands on Hoseok’s face, bringing their foreheads together as he murmured, “I’m so sorry I lied to you, but you need to know that your magic doesn’t stop here. You’re more powerful than you realize.”

“What are you trying to say, Jin hyung?”

“I’ve kept you grounded for too long,” a stray tear streamed down Jin’s face as he smiled, “but now it’s time for you to fly… with Yoongi.”

Yoongi had been looking down this whole time, tuning out what the two males were saying because all he could hear in his head were thoughts telling him that he wasn’t going to get his happily ever after. He was broken out of his thoughts when he felt two arms sling around his shoulders. He looked up and all of a sudden the world lit up, but that was mostly because Hoseok was giving him his beautiful heart shaped smile.

It took Yoongi a moment to register that he was holding the pretty pixie, but once he recollected himself he draped his arms around that tiny waist. Yoongi pulled him in, his hands roaming around Hoseok’s body from his waist to the still-drying wings in his back. He felt a shiver run down Hoseok’s spine when he touched the wings. He smirked, he would have to remember that his wings were sensitive.

While Yoongi was mapping out Hoseok’s body like he was afraid he was going to lose him, Jungkook was surprised to feel two hands grab his own. He looked to his right and noticed Jimin was smiling at him. He turned to his left and saw Taehyung sending him a boxy smile. He looked back and forth at the two males, silently asking them what they were trying to say with this show of affection.

“So, we’ve been thinking-“

“And we think that-“

“We would like to come with you-“

“And grow old with you.”

Jungkook closed his eyes, trying to keep the tears from pouring down his cheeks. He couldn’t believe the words he was hearing. Jimin and Taehyung had gone from never wanting to grow old to wanting to grow old. Not only did they want to grow up and grow old, but they wanted to do it with him. They thought that Jungkook was worth growing old with, they thought that he was worth it.

Jungkook felt the tears making their journeys down his face as he nodded to his newfound lovers, silently telling them that he wanted the same. Jungkook thought that he needed to go to Neverland to never grow up, but he found that wasn’t what he needed. What he really needed was to find the two people in Neverland who could open his eyes and fill his heart. What he really needed were Jimin and Taehyung to open his eyes to the beauty that comes with growing up, and growing old with the ones you love.

Jin was staring out at the island that he had called home for centuries. He had seen so many people come and go, but he was starting to think that it was his time to go. He had served his purpose. He shook his head. Neverland had served its purpose.

He nearly jumped when he felt a strong arm snake around his waist. Gone was the nervousness that surrounded Namjoon like a cloud. Now, Namjoon seemed more confident in the moves he pulled on Jin. The raven-haired male leaned into Namjoon’s embrace. Namjoon joined Jin in staring at Neverland, in staring at the island that used to only exist within the words of a bedtime story.

“I have to go back, Jin hyung.”

“I know, Joon.”

Jin released a heavy sigh, but his sigh was cut off when he heard the sound of someone doing an obnoxious fake cough from behind him. He and Namjoon turned around to see everyone staring at them with all-knowing looks in their eyes. Jin furrowed his brow, confused as to what everyone was trying to say. Hoseok stepped forward and held out his hand.

“It’s time for you to fly with us.”

A dazzling smile graced Jin’s face when he heard those words. He nodded to his friend and grabbed his hand, “Before we take to the skies, there’s just one more thing that we have to do.”

There was one last thing that the boys of Neverland had to do before they departed their long-time home. The five males looked at what they had done and smiled. They gave one last nod to what they had done before they rejoined their friends, their future. Hoseok gave his wings a quick flutter before they were deemed dry enough to fly. Yoongi grabbed Hoseok’s hand, Jin snatched Namjoon’s hand, and Jungkook stood in the middle of his lovers. Together, they soared into the sky, not once looking back.

If they had looked back, they would have had one last look at what they left behind. The last thing they needed to do was to leave behind their shoes. Sitting underneath the shade of a tall tree were Jin’s brown shoes, Hoseok’s white shoes, Jimin’s yellow shoes, and Taehyung’s black shoes. Inscribed in the tree were these words.

All you need is faith, trust, and pixie dust.