Work Text:
Old Goodbyes;
The last time Gerard sees Wendy, it almost breaks his heart. She's older, so much older than any other time he's seen her. She's in the nursery, the same nursery he's always visited, only it's different. The beds are all empty; there's no John, no Michael, and there's no Jane, Margaret or Moira. There's no toys, no dolls house and the fire isn't burning. The room's so cold, and Gerard's so confused as he stands on the window sill, watching the old lady on the edge of one of the beds just look around the room.
"Wendy?" Gerard croaks, and the old lady looks up. Her face isn't what Gerard remembers; she's so much older now, her hair white.
She looks up and smiles warmly. "Hello Peter," she says, and Gerard swallows.
"You're old." Gerard states in a defiant voice as he jumps to the floor with a thump.
"I grew up Peter, you knew that."
"Yes, but you're much than last time." Gerard scolds. He stares at the bed Wendy is sat on -- her old bed -- then at the other empty beds. "Where's the children?" He asks, and walks forward to prod at the sheets. They're cold and dusty, like they haven't been slept on in years.
"They're all grown up, Peter," Wendy says sadly. "All married with children of their own."
Gerard's head snaps 'round to stare at her. "Even Margaret? Moira?"
Wendy nods. "You've been gone so long, they had to grow up. Every child must grow up sooner or later, Peter."
"I don't!" Gerard yells, and he stomps around to face Wendy Darling. "I refuse to grow up! I won't! I won't I won't I won't!"
Wendy doesn't flinch at the height of Gerard's voice, just smiles. "Even if you find the person you're kiss belongs to?"
Gerard is silent for a few seconds, before he says quietly, "If it didn't belong to you, it doesn't belong to anyone."
Wendy smiles and lifts a hand to stroke Gerard's cheek lightly. "One day, you might. You might find someone who makes you want to grow up."
Gerard shakes his head and steps back. "No one will ever make me grow up, not you, not Hook, not anyone! No one!"
Wendy smiles, and there's some voices from below calling her. Gerard stares at the floor, then back at Wendy. "You're leaving?"
Wendy nods. "I'm an old woman now, Peter. My grandchildren are going to look after me now."
Gerard shakes his head and runs forward, throwing himself at Wendy a little too roughly, and wraps his arms around her. "Please don't go Wendy, don't leave me."
"Oh Peter," Wendy sighs sadly as she hugs him. "I fear I'm not long for this world," she says, and Gerard leans back, a sting in his eyes as he blinks up at her. "But I'll never really leave you."
Gerard steps back and wipes his eyes. "Maybe you'll become a bird again," he says.
Wendy gives a little laugh and nods. "I'd quite like to be a Wendy Bird again." She gets to her feet and shuffles slowly to the door. When she reaches it, she turns to look at Gerard once more and says, "Goodbye Peter."
Gerard nods, and wipes his nose on his arm, and watches at Wendy leaves.
As Gerard climbs up onto the window sill and stares around the room, he feels sad. It's a few minutes before he can fly again, because he feels like he's lost his happy thought. He has lost his happy thought.
Gerard finally settles on a different thought, one that involves the crocodile and Hook, and he lifts slowly into the air. With one final look around the old nursery, Gerard decides he doesn't want to be called Peter Pan anymore.
***
New Beginnings;
The first time Frank's mother tells him about Peter Pan, Frank falls in love. Well, as much in love as a four year old boy can be.
He'd picked out the book himself, at the store when his mother was grocery shopping. The little messy sketch on the front had caught his eye, all greens and reds, pirate ships and pixie dust.
As his mother's lips move, reading the words aloud, Frank's eyes widen, and he grips his blanket tightly. His stomach flips over as all the pictures in his mind slow and spin, and when he wakes up in the morning, Frank can't wait for bedtime again.
*
The first time Frank meets Peter Pan, his little heart stops beating for just a split second. It's about an hour after his mother went to sleep, and Frank's just woken up from dreaming about mermen.
At first he just squints at the dark figure of a boy on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest and sobbing lightly. After a few seconds, Frank finally speaks up.
"Boy, why are you crying?" He says, and the little boy freezes then looks up at Frank with wide eyes, before he jumps to his feet.
With his hands rolled into fists and and pressed against his hips, he shakes his messy dark hair out of his face and says, "I wasn't crying!"
Frank frowns and grabs his teddy, Lou, and holds him to his chest. "It sounded like you were."
The boy scowls and stomps off to the corner of Frank's room, where the train track Frank's grandfather made is, and starts trying to tug at thin air. Only, it isn't thin air -- it's a shadow.
Frank blinks and just watches, before he says, "You're Peter Pan! And you lost your shadow!"
The boy stops tugging on his shadow (which seems to be putting up quite a fight) and looks at Frank. "Some people call me that."
Frank can't help but grin. He squeezes Lou a little tighter and he can't believe his luck -- Peter Pan is in his bedroom! "What do other people call you?" Frank asks.
The boy, Peter Pan, frowns a little, before he lets go of the shadow he's been tugging on and walks back to Frank's bed. He folds his arms and screws up his face, like he's thinking hard.
"Gerard." He says at last. "Someone called me Gerard once. I think."
"Gerard." Frank says. "That's not very exciting."
Gerard looks annoyed and snaps, "What? And Peter Pan is?"
Frank shrugs. "S'in the stories."
At this, Gerard drops his arms and his expression softens. "Do you like the stories? About me?"
Frank grins and nods. "Momma tells them to me every night."
Gerard seems to smile at this, and says, "I heard. That's how my shadow got trapped, stupid dog bit it."
Frank climbs out of his blankets and towards the foot of the bed, dragging Lou with him. "Benji isn't stupid! He's a guard dog!"
"A stupid guard dog who bites boy's shadows!" Gerard counters, and returns to the corner of the room and tugs on the shadow again.
Frank watches for a few minutes before Gerard gives up and falls to the floor, sniffing.
"My momma has a sewing kit..." Frank offers, and Gerard looks up with a sparkle in his eye.