Peter Pan stood in the hallway. Neatly tailored clothes that fit his muscular frame perfectly rested against his golden skin in dark grey tones. His light hair was pulled back out of his face, slicked back – minus the few naughty strands striking across his crystalized eyes. All in all, the man that stood before her was the opposite of the wild and carefree Peter Pan she’s gotten used to, and the change made it hard for her to breathe. He reached for her, fingers outstretched and emanating an unmistakable warmth.
“Would you like to have dinner with me, Maggie?”
Her eyes trailed over his outfit. “P-Peter,” she breathed, letting out an airy laugh. “You look…well..” her face grew hot.Why did I say that?
“Yes?” He grinned.
Maggie cleared her throat. “L-Let me change if you are –”
“Don’t.” Peter took her hand, letting his fingers graze the inside of her wrist before firmly grasping her. “You look perfect already.”
What was at first a cute surprise threw her off her feet. She grew wobbly in the knees but bit the tremble back as he guided her forward, reaching behind her to gently shut the door. The King of Neverland was more of a gentleman than she first realized. And even though she was dressed in long lounging pants and a simple button down, Maggie realized that she quickly stopped caring. His words, hiseverythingwas more than enough.
Much to her surprise, Peter was quiet as he led her through the treehouse. There wasn’t a soul in sight, which wasn’t too odd. The Lost Boys were probably out on their own that evening, visiting their own girlfriends or catching up on their personal hobbies. Peter walked to the front door and continued still, not even pausing before sweeping her off of her feet, tucked protectively against his chest.
Neverland was dark around them as Peter flew through the quiet treetops. He lowered to a field, where there was a quiet circle amidst a sea of color. A clearing in the middle held a wooden table that was filled to the brim with a romantic dinner. Fluted glasses with bubbling drinks and steaming plates were on display as he set her down on the grassy floor. Despite it being deep into the evening, there wasn’t a need for any flame because of the bright light from the moon.
Flowers surrounded the small clearing, opening up as they entered the area. The more the foliage bloomed and shone their natural colors across the field. They were brighter than any man-made light, warmer than any smoldering flame. Peter led Maggie through the flowers and pulled out a chair for her. When he sat beside her, he rested the glass in her hand, urging her to drink, to eat.
“Peter,” Maggie murmured after taking a few bites of a delectable roast. “W-When did you do all of this?Howdid you –”
He waved his hand in front of her. “Don’t think about that for now, Magpie. It wouldn’t be fun if I revealed all my secrets, would it?”
“I guess not,” she replied with a giggle. “This is just spectacular. And these flowers!”
“We call them Nightlock.”
Her brow shot up.
“Ominous name, I know.” Peter held back his laugh. “They only bloom at night.”
Maggie reached for them from where she sat, her fingers just barely grazing a luminous petal. It reacted quietly to her touch, the light blossoming before settling into a stomachable glow. She turned back to see Peter watching her closely, his attention no longer holding onto his food. Maggie quickly looked away beneath his stare.
“I’ll just have to add it to the list of things I love about Neverland,” Maggie said.
Peter smiled. “What else is on the list?”
“Too many things to count,” she teased. “But there’s the Brownies, of course. They won my heart over very early into my stay here. And if you would’ve asked me if I wanted to fly as a child, I would’ve screamed ‘yes’ louder than you can ever imagine. Sometimes it feels like I’m finding the child I was the longer I stay on the island. Every one of my dreams are slowly coming true.”
That made Peter beam. “Is there more than that?”
“Of course! I haven’t even mentioned the Lost Boys!”
He leaned forward, the proximity pulling a blush out of both of them. “And?”
Maggie started to twist away but Peter was quick to lean back in, quick to tuck one arm around the back of her chair, quick to capture her attention once more. He was like a magnet, he was like a planet with its own cunning orbit. She got caught by him over and over again, and had no intention of doing anything else.
“You know,” she teased, “IthinkPeter Pan might be on the list.”
“You think?”
Maggie smirked. “Not sure though. But, like I told you, I can hardly number it.”
“Sure, sure,” Peter murmured, his eyes narrowing.
Laughter piled out between them in the next second. It was far too easy to be comfortable with him, Maggie quickly realized. She could’ve been easily convinced that she had known him all her life, that they had spent years together, that they had been in a steady relationship for a long time. But that wasn’t the case at all, and it only strung more and more questions throughout her – normally – logical thoughts.
Peter touched her cheek, his thumb grazing her chin. “What about the human lands?”
