A/N: So, I wrote this oneshot during my vacation. I was looking at memes and this one picture came up with Disneyland Peter Pan talking to a girl and telling her the story at the end of the fic (I couldn't find the exact picture again online, sorry) and I thought 'Hey, why not a romance fic?' so here we go. I've never actually been to Disneyland so the places are all messed up, but it fits with the story so I just left them like that.
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Everything belongs to their rightful meme creators and Walt Disney.
Bored...so...bored...
'Ah...what to do...what to do..."
Peter sighed and jumped down from the tree branch he was laying on and started pacing around. He really didn't like boredom one bit, so he spontaneously decided to go for a walk around his new home, the infamous Disneyland.
Ahhh...Disneyland. That wonderful, wonderful place. A heaven for all those people that seeked innocence and fun through meeting their favourite Disney characters. Everone was here. Since their tales were told, and they had nothing better to do, they all agreed to transfer to that humonguous theme park and spend their time entertaining excited crouds of people.
Peter was one of the first ones to ever come. Back in Neverland he was bored, and excuse me, people, Peter Pan just didn't do bored. Being bored was physically and psychologically painful, like stabbing Snow White after offering her an apple pie. So he gladly agreed to settle in Disneyland and make his home there. He decorated his given space as a replica of Neverland and stayed there with Tinkerbell.
Generally it was fun. He had made friends out of Pinocchio, Merida (she was still a newbie though) and Captain Jack, but they were very busy during open hours, so he ended up mostly alone. Of course he had his fair share of visitors and fans, and he was very proud of them, but he knew he wasn't even close to the 'Big Ones' like Cinderella or Snow White, or even his friend Pinocchio himself (a fact that kind of bothered him, I mean, the kid was so timid...).
He would be lying if he said he wasn't jealous of them. He felt left out, having different personality and looks from the others. They were all kind, regal and graceful. He knew next to nothing on savoir vivre, and has survived with the help of only his wit and michievousness. They were elegant and beautiful, with extraordinary looks and perfect sense, when he was a kid with bright red messy hair, casual clothes and freckles. He just couldn't fit in, and he knew it all too well.
Peter thought about all that while he strolled through Disneyland (they were currently closed due to new domains being built) towards the Pirates of the Caribbean section, when he knew he would find Captain Jack or, at the very least, Angelica, who would be a fun company.
A commotion at the Sleeping Beauty section threw him out of his thoughts, and with a jump he was there. He could see the usual bunch (Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Aurora herself etc) chatting excitedly with the company of some fairies, dwarves, end even Mulan was there (she was cool, but she didn't go around too much), so he just had to check it out. He went close to Esmeralda, who waved at him with a smile.
"Hello, Peter! What are you doing here?"
"Hey. I was going over to Jack Frost's but I saw you guys all here and I came to find out what this is all about. So, what's up?" He asked her.
"Oh, nothing bad. A newcomer is coming next Saturday, is all." She answered easily.
"A newcomer? Man...why the fuss then? Newcomers are not that big of a deal anymore."
"I know...Anyway, might as well tell you. You were going to find out pretty soon after all, she's going to be in the area across from you."
"Woah! New neighbor! Hope she's fun! But, who is 'she'?" He inquired, now curious, and Esmeralda's expression turned sober.
"She's one of the 'Big Ones'. You know, a Disney Princess. That's what the fuss is about. Apparently there have been some...circumstances with her story and she's coming here kinda late." She explained seriously, watching Peter's face fall.
"A Disney Princess, huh? And she's going to be my neighbor? That is just...peachy..."
Esmeralda smiled and ruffled his hair. "Don't look so crestfallen. I am technically a Disney Princess and we're getting along just fine. Mulan and Megara, too. Maybe she's the same." She tried to reassure him.
"I don't know...I hope you're right, but something tells me this is not going to be the case.." He said, eyeing the glamorous bunch of princesses chattering with a look of distaste. Then he straightened up and turned to Esmeralda.
"Anyway, we'll see. I have to go now, places to go, people to see, the usual stuff, you know. Tink's going to be mad at me if I stay away for long, and I'm not ready to face her wrath again. So, I'll take my leave! Bye!" He waved at Jasmine and flew away as she waved back.
'A new Disney Princess huh...'
[*]
Sure, Peter could see why the arrival of a Disney Princess would be a big deal. They brought a lot of visitors, and with the income from them they could upgrade everything and have even more fun! Besides, Princesses were beautiful and gentle and all kinds of adorable.
Which meant, he would probably be even more ignored.
But he didn't care. Those who would still come to visit him, even with a Miss Perfect Cute Princess around would be his true fans.
And so the week passed. And it included a lot of Peter Pan flying and jumping around trying to avoid being hit from the props being moved into the area across (somehow he managed to get away with only a bruise on his head).
The Big Day started for Peter pretty calmly. He fell off his hammock, and almost smashed Tinkerbell.
"Sorry, Tink. I'll buy you a hammer. A wrench. Both!" Tinkerbell nodded satisfied.
Peter cracked his neck and knuckles and went out to do his chores in his little Neverland, Tinkerbell resting on his hat.
"...Esme sais it's going to be okay and that she could be cool, but I think she's going to be chic and stuff, like Ella or Aurora or Snow. And it's not that I dislike them,but you gotta admit they're too...princess-y for me."
Tinkerbell nodded in agreement, producing the sound of little bells.
"I'm also probably the only one who didn't bother to do his homework on the newcomer. The only thing I know is that it's a girl, a Disney Princess and one of the 'Big Ones' to boot, and that she had deals with her story, and that's the reason for coming late, even if she's not a newbie like Merida or Elsa or Jack Frost and stuff."
Tinkerbell asked him something in her high-pinched bell-like voice, making Peter look up at her.
"She is? Where did you hear that? Were you hanging aroung with the Tooth Fairy again? I told you not to bother people when they're busy!"
Tinkerbell giggled.
"Ah, well. It doesn't really matter if she's the same age as me. Snow is younger and you know what she's like. But I guess it's a surprise...not a lot of people my age come over."
Tinkerbell hummed in reply and flew off, leaving Peter to finish off his chores. He was done pretty quickly, as he had no visitors today, and decided to check out the new section out of curiosity, hoping that there would be still time before the newcomer's arrival and that he would have time to at least figure out from which story she was.
He was surprised when he saw a crowd of characters and staff formed in front of the new area (which was sea-themed, he hadn't noticed that), making way for a royal-looking carriage to stop.
Peter frowned. 'I knew it.' He flew over and chose to float above the big sign that notified the entrance in the new domain, without bothering to read what was written. He also made sure not to be noticed, as he was pretty sure he would be kicked out for some reason or other.
By that time the carriage had made its way to the entrance and the door was opened by an uptight butler (Peter recognised him, he was a member of the staff).
He held his breath as a foot clad in pink satin and elegant high-heels appeared at the edge, and he could already see some extravagant blonde with porcelain skin and flawless smiley face to appear. Her favorite colour would be of course pink and her favorite pastime would be talking to animals and daydreaming. Maybe singing operetas to birds, too. She would be smart, kind and well-mannered, good sense of fashion and giving life-changing advice. Innocent, a little bit shy and with a gentle sense of humor. Just like all the others.
Peter sighed and dropped his head dejectedly, already picturing his upcoming doom with such a neighbor. He almost stood up to leave, but stayed back at the last minute.
'Since I'm here, might as well see the newbie and get this over with.'
He looked up at the newcomer who had by now gotten out of the carriage, and he almost fell off.
'That...wasn't what I was expecting.'
The newcomer was clad in pink, yes, and had white porcelain skin, yes, but that was about it. Everything else was not what he was expecting. Insead of facing a confident blonde with extreme beauty and strong presence, he was looking at an awkward tomato-faced redhead, with all too big blue (kind of frightened, if Peter would say so) eyes and a forced smile. From the way she was clutching her dress and how long she took to walk over to the entrance, he guessed she was trembling, and he could smell the clumsiness. He bit his lip and swallowed his laughter.
'THAT is the oh-so-great Big Disney Princess? I could do better as a princess than this.'
He decided to stay a bit more and maybe talk to her when everybody else was gone. He just sat there, grinning with his new neighbor's struggle with the attention and with the overwelming presence of the other princesses, and he snorted with her awkward ramblings and stutterings. But he could see that she was loved, be it for her status or some other reason.
'This is going to be FUN!'
Finally after a while she waved to the last person goodbye, and Peter saw her leaving a sigh of relief, being finally alone, so he made his way down, landing behind her. She was currently trying to unlock the door, thus facing the other way. Peter took a step forward, raised his finger and poked her shoulder.
"EEP!" She exclaimed in surpise and jumped around to face him, eyed wide and face white.
They both just stood there silent and she blinked in surprise. Her eyes widened even more (how was that possible?) and he saw a faint blush making its way to her cheeks. She smiled awkwardly and waved at him, hand trembling.
"H-Hello. Nice t-to meet you. H-How can I help y-you?"
Peter just stared at her poker-faced, when inside his head he was having a laughing fit, and took a step closer, making the girl gulp, now a bit frightened. He stayed like that for a moment, and then broke into a grin, making the princess look at him confused.
"Hey there! I'm Peter. I'm your new neighbor. I live in Neverland, over there." He pointed over at his area across the street with a sigh that read 'Neverland' and had the logo of his movie at the corner.
The redhead princess seemed to calm down and her eyes returned to a more normal size, and she smiled, a real smile this time.
"Hi, Peter. Nice to meet you. My name is Ariel and I'm from the tale of the Little Mermaid."
Her smile widened as she introduced herself.
"Well then I'm Peter Pan from the tale of Peter Pan. MY introduction is more fun than yours. And by the way, why don't you get those shoes off?" He asked curiously. Ariel looked at him surpised, her lips forming on 'o'.
"Eh?" She asked, confused.
"The shoes. Why don't you get them off? They look like they're hurting you."
Indeed, that was the case. Her legs seemed to tremble even at that moment when she was not moving, and her knuckles were turning white from the force of holding her dress, indicating she was in pain. Ariel turned a bright red.
"N-No! I'm fine!Really! It's not good to walk around bare-footed, even if wearing shoes is uncomfortable. Sebastian told me so." She answered. Peter rolled his eyes at her.
"Well I don't know who Sebastian is but Peter tells you to don't even think about it. I don't care about manners and stuff like that. If your nose is itchy, scratch it. If your clothes are tight, change them. If your shoes are uncomfortable, remove them. That is what I know."
Ariel looked at him oddly for a moment, and then, without a word or hesitation, she pulled up her dress a bit and removed her chic pink heels, holding them with her fingers. When her bare feet touched the ground she made a content noise and her legs stopped trembling. Peter also noticed that she was actually pretty short, he himself being almost a full head taller than her (he knew that leaving the real Neverland made him start growing again, but it was pretty slow still, so he didn't mind).
He grinned at her.
"See?Much better! Anyway, I'm going now, and if you need some fun or a break from all this princess-y mess, don't hesitate to come over! Let's be friends, Ariel!" He held out his hand for her to shake.
Ariel stared at him in surprise for a moment, but then took his offer with determination, and also grinned at him, her pearl-like white teeth showing and blinding Peter momentarily.
"It was great meeting you, Peter! I'd love a friend! It's true that I don't deal well with all this royalty stuff, and I promise I'll come over, and please do the same! I'd really like some company, and you're always accepted!"
"Great, then! See you soon!" He waved and flew off into his part of Disneyland, Ariel waving at him as he left.
"Bye!" She exclaimed and turned to enter her new home.
[*]
After that first day time passed very quickly and in a very hectic atmosphere. Everyday Ariel had hundreds of visitors everyday, and was quite busy, but the surprising thing was that Peter had too, so he had his hands full. But somehow the both of them managed to hang out, be it small visits to each other's domains or chatting while waving to passing-bys outside of them.
Without realising it, the two neighbors have become inseparable.
One day Ariel intruded Peter's Neverland as usual, but surprisingly there was no hyper flying teenager to welcome her in, instead a perturbed Tinkerbell came to her and accompanied her to Peter's home, a cave/hut made mainly out of an old tree. Ariel was worried, but Tinkerbell threw her a reassuring smile and flew away, leaving a line of golden sparkles and fairydust.
Ariel walked in and found Peter rearranging things and items around the "house" with a bothered look on his face.
"Peter!" Ariel called out. He didn't notice.
"Hey Peter!" She tried again. No answer.
"Peter Pan!" This time he seemed to snap out of his thoughts and turned to her, surprised. Because he was mid-air at the moment, he fell face-first on the ground, and Ariel had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. Peter stod up with a sheepish smile on his red face.
"H-Hey, Ariel. Sorry. Were you waiting for long?" He asked. Ariel smiled.
"No, no I didn't. Tink came and got me." A worried look settled on her face. "Hey, Peter...is everything okay? You seem a bit...well, out of it, I guess." She took a seat over a self-made poof and checked the green ribbon holding her fiery hair out of her face.
Peter looked sheepish, and sat cross-legged on his hammock, facing her.
"Well, it's nothing, really. Just..I met this girl today..." Ariel's face fell, but she let him continue "...she's a fan of me, apparently. She was really nice, and told me she came specifically to see me. I was really honored and happy about it." He looked up and she noticed a pained look in his eyes. "She was harming herself, Ariel. She had all those scars on her arms...so when I noticed I called her princess and that she was hurt from fighting with pirates and stuff. I gave her a hug and told her to stop doing it...But it still worries me, Ariel."
Ariel really could see the problem. She knew Peter was especially tender and loving to his fans, as (he thought, but the rest of the world knew better) that they were fewer than other characters. He stayed with them, talked to them, made jokes and helped them. And then stuff like this occured and he stayed inside worried and sulking for at least the rest of the day, if Ariel or Tink managed to calm him down that is. Ariel sighed.
"Peter, I'm sure she'll be okay. If you're her hero then she's going to listen to you for sure. She'll probably come and visit you sooner or later anyways, even if she was on vacation. You made a girl very happy today, Peter. I'm sure of it. Please stop worrying, or you'll get wrinkles and white hair a lot sooner. We're all here. Both your fans and your friends. And, well, me."
She smiled and shrugged. Peter stared at her with wide eyes.
"Aren't you my friend too, Ariel?" He asked her with a little voice. She blushed and looked away.
"Ah, well...if you want me to be. I mean...you know me for such a short time compared to the others, and sometimes I feel like I'm intruding or something..." 'and even with that, I wouldn't want to be just your friend, Peter' of course she didn't say the last part out loud, rather she kept it to herself. After the whole fiasco with Eric, she didn't know whether it would be wise to try and hit it off with anyone (especially Peter Pan, sixteen year old oblivious cazanova and hero of all ages).
Peter seemed very taken aback and he immediately flew over to her and put an arm over her shoulders, makking her blush even deeper.
"Ariel, don't be an idiot! You're my most important friend, after Tinkerbell. Of course I have firiends like Esme or Jack or Mulan, but aside from people of my tale, you're my most precious out-of-tale friend! Don't you ever think like that again!"
Ariel thought she'd have a heart attack when he pulled her in a hug into his chest, and she momentarily thought if it was healthy to blush so much, but she returned the hug after a moment of shock anyway.
[*]
Ariel returned that evening at her domain with a smile on her face. Sebastian noticed it but didn't make and remarks about it.
Ariel changed into her swimsuit and went towards the huge pool that was decorating a large part of her property, and jumped in.
Even if she had legs now, she would forever love water and swimming, and she greatly regretted giving it up on the first place (especially for something that ended up going so wrong).
She let out a sigh and let herself relax on the surface of the water, facing up towards the sky and the stars. She didn't realise it when she fell asleep.
[*]
Ariel woke up with a start the next morning after Sebabstian almost clipped her fingers off. She opened groggily her eyes and came face to face with a very disorietented crab that was staring at her with wide shocked but mesmerised eyes. She looked at him confused and waved her hand in front of his face.
"Sebastian...is everything okay?"
He snapped out of it but his eyes were still wide opened in shock and disbelief.
"A-Ariel...y-y-your t-tail..." He stuttered, pointing towards her lower half, still in the water.
"What..?" she murmured, confused, and glanced towards her legs.
Only, they weren't there anymore.
In the place of the pair of thin creamy legs, now there was a very familiar green fish tail.
"Holy clown fish..." she gaped towards her new tail, and then instantly snapped her head towards Sebastian.
"Sebastian! Quickly! Go call Peter!" She ordered. Sebastial looked at her doubtfully.
"Isn't it better to call someone else, princess? Perhaps another princess or Mr. Mouse..."
Ariel rolled her eyes. Of course Sebastian would prefer to bring the leader of Disneyland over instead of her best friend.
"Do as I say, Sebastian!" She ordered again, but he shook his head instead.
"Ariel, listen to me. I will go and notify your friend, only after I do so with someone more... responsible."
Ariel stared at him annoyed. "Are you saying that Peter is irresponsible? You know even better than me that he, too, is a Disney veteran, and he is living longer here than us, so just go and do as you're told, Sebastian! Stop questioning and refusing to obey what I tell you!"
Still, it was if he didn't listen to her at all, and just walked off calling that he knew what was better for her and that help would be there soon.
Ariel sighed. "What am I going to do?"
She knew she would be moved away, probably at the far end of Disneyland, where the waterparks and the pools were (her very own was big, but it was considered decorative, even if she used it almost daily). And she didn't want to e moved away from there. Away from Peter.
[*]
Peter Pan had a sense of dejavu a bright morning when he heard commotion from the section across his, reminded of a similar morning quite a few months back, when a redhead ex-mermaid princess moved in and messed his life up.
Because, he would never confine this to anyone except Tinkerbell, but he has found himself head-over-heels in love with his best friend.
He ran outside to go and check on her, afraid of the worst, and almost turned Sebabastian into crab salad after he almost fell on him.
"Mr. Pan! I was looking for you!" the little crab exclaimed, looking up at Peter, who is turned stared down on him with surprise and worry decorating his features.
"What is going on, Sebastian? Is Ariel alright?" He looked up towards the crowd in front of his best friend's home and was shocked to see not only the usual bunch (meaning mostly princesses and the like) but also the 'leaders' of Disneyland, meaning Walt Disney's original creations being there.
"Psychologically she is perfect. A tad irritated, I could say, but nothing bad. Physically she is not harmed, although she is not...how can I say it...the same."
"What do you mean by that?" Peter exclaimed, now annoyed himself.
"Last night she fell asleep while swimming, an she woke up this morning with her tail."
"She got her tail back?" Peter was dumbfounded. He knew how badly his friend regretted leaving her tail to begin with, and he was happy for her managing to get it back, but he also knew what that meant from the living aspect. She would have to be moved away. And he didn't want that at all.
So he flew like a bullet over the surprised heads of everybody, into her castle and out in her yard, when indeed there was Ariel, sitting on a shell-shaped garden chair, and with the image every single person globally knew her from, her vibrant hair down, a purple shell-bra covering her chest (Peter blushed at that, mind you) and of course...an elegant fish tail with bright green scales.
When she noticed him her eyes brightened, but she held a look of pure despair in them. He moved towards her, ignoring the surprised looks everyone was giving him for being there (for some reason, they haven't realised how close he and Ariel have gotten through time, instead believing he disliked her, as he did for the most part with the rest of the Disney Princesses).
He brought another shell-seat over in front of her and sat close to her, grabbing her hand in the process.
"Are you okay?" He asked, obviously concerned out of his mind. She nodded with a slight smile.
"Yeah, I am. It's not really that bad. Apparently it turns into legs again when I'm dry." She explained with a smile.
"Then, you're not leaving?" Peter asked hopefully with bright eyes as he cletched her hand tighter. Her face fell.
"No, I'm apparently still being moved away. I can't stay dry all the time. If you think about it, I don't stay dry at all."
He knew she was right. She was 90% of the day wet on various levels, as all activities in her domain were water-related. Even under her comfortable dress she almost always wore a swimsuit (for some reason, she avoided wearing one when she visited him though) and she was found mostly swimming when he visited her.
He sighed in desperation.
"Don't worry. I'll still come and visit you, and when you're dry you can come and visit me, okay?" He grinned brightly, and saw her blushing with mesmerised eyes.
And then Peter Pan did something that he never regretted, but that completely shocked every person present at that moment.
He moved, cupped Ariel's cheeks and slammed his lips to hers.
Ariel sat there completely shell-shocked (pun intended) for a moment, and then her eyes close and she kissed him back, bringing a hand behind his neck to push him close and another she left resting on his hip.
They stayed like that for a few moments, but it fell like eternity to them. Then they pulled back and stared into each other's eyes.
"I promise I'll visit you when I'm dry." She whispered.
"I promise I'll do, too." He whispered back, and let her go, igoring te gaping faces of various characters as they stared at him.
[*]
Time passed, and the redhead couple was something usual to the Disneyland community (not to the visitors though).
Peter found himself at various occassions visiting his mermaid girlfriend at her new home, and Ariel found herself dry a lot more often tha she intented to at the beginning.
So now Peter was sitting cross-legged in front of his home, Neverland, with a company of a visitor little girl cosplaying as a princess. They were cracking jokes and she was asking him various questions.
When she asked him who was his favorite princess, he smiled fondly at her.
"My favorite princess is a redhead too, but it's not Merida. You know who it is? Ariel." He answered, glancing at her. "Yeah because she used to hang out with me, she used to stand right over there and we would talk to each other all day" he pointed across the street to Ariel's old place, that had now become an Aquarium. "Then she got her tail back and she had to go somewhere else. Someone said she hangs out in the back where there's a lot of water." He knew exactly where though. After all, he visited her all the time. "Then I said 'Okay so all she needs is water?' So here's what I'm thinking. I'm going to get a hot tub and I'm going to put it on a skateboard and I'm just going to pull her around with me all day." Sounds like a plan, actually. "And then what I was thinking is I could pull her over by Merida and all three of us can spend all day together and we can just be the redhead club." He pointed upwards towards Merida's place."It'll be tons of fun because me and Merida can have combats where she'll shoot her bow and arrow and I'll shoot my slingshot and Ariel can judge them." He nodded, satisfied with himself.
And when the little girl waved him goodbye while giggling he could actually picture himself in the middle of the street pulling behing him a tub with Ariel in there, the two of them laughing and commenting on everything on the whole way.
FIN.