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all we ask for here is that you give us your heart

They may as well have told her when she first fell into Neverland.

No, what they should have done was carve a really shiny, huge plaque to hang on the door to the tree.

all we ask for here is that you give us your heart

They were so innocent, weren't they? Just boys - forever boys, because it was Neverland, where "never" was possible (wasn't just a hyperbole - only the young can speak in hyperboles, the nevers and always and forevers and LoveJustGiveUsYourHeart only you'llNEVERgetitback...but we'll keep it safe in the treasure chest), and they never grew up and never changed.

It was sacrifice, and they didn't see it that way.

They had no plaque, and they didn't tell her. And when Wendy realizes (when she is home again, with Mother and Father and her own room) it, she feels she should be heart-broken.

But Wendy has no heart to be broken anymore.

Boys, she knows, are selfish. All children are. So when she thinks --But what shall I do without a heart?-- she doesn't have an answer. What she does have is a gaping void in her chest and a ringing silence in her solitary, elegant bedroom.

She opens her window.

And maybe she doesn't know how terrible it will truly be (going through life without a heart, without falling in love) but she has already fallen.

Fallen into Neverland.

And she can't get back to Neverland. She can't get back to her heart.

Never Come Back, do you hear me! You shall be banished from Neverland FOREVER!

NeverForever.

Boys, she knows, are impulsive. And stubborn.

Maybe she is being condescending, but adults are like that to children. Wendy is a Woman now...

-- But what kind of Woman can I be without a heart? --

and she must Grow Up.

Her mother has no answers because Wendy does not bother to create the question outside the bleakness of her mind.

She is not hysterical, no. She does not pine, she does not stop taking tea with her family - all these actions require a heart.

And maybe she doesn't know how terrible it will truly be (going through life without a heart, without falling in love), but she has a vaguely horrible feeling that she will find out SoonerThanSheWantsToKnow exactly what kind of woman she can be without a heart.

A broken one - like a doll that needs to be sent back to the doll maker to be mended.

Only Neverland won't take her back. He won't take her back.

He has probably forgotten her. Her heart is probably gathering dust in the treasure chest.

She would hate the Lost Boys if she remembered how. They never told her.

all we ask for here is that you give us your heart

And they should have. She would be furious with the Lost Boys if she remembered how.

A month passes. Then two three four ten months - and it's three years later when Wendy looks at herself (in beautiful gowns with silk ribbons and Brittany lace) and at the roses and sunflowers and yellow tulips all over her bedroom, gifts from boys who want her to love them... And she knows that This Is It.

This is all she will have: flowers and pretty dresses and not-caring.

So she gives in, quietly and without a fuss, the next time --Thomas? Terrance?-- asks her to marry him.

Wendy hopes he can love enough for the both of them, because all her love is still Neverland and she shall never get it back.

Being a broken woman is so much more terrible than she had thought it would be.

all we ask for here is that you give us your heart

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A/N: Right, I should be writing a paper that's due today, but no. I'm posting this since it has been a while and I love my readers - also, b/c my laptop broke down and I don't have easy access to a computer.

Disclaimer: "All we ask for here is that you give us your heart" is not my creative property. It comes from an awesome-ass website www . despair . com. It's all demotivators and sarcasm and...very pretty. Check out the site. See if you can find a demotivator that inspires you!

Amy, you kick arse for showing me that website. Also, it is now your turn to write one. Mwahaha!

As usual, the first to correctly guess the meaning and language of the title gets a free one-shot. Leave a way for me to contact you, people! If you don't want a fic, don't answer, because then people who do want a fic don't get a chance!