The beautiful, conceited boy looked through the smudged window as the crowd of children and a few adults inside danced and sang and laughed. It was a happy sight, the happiest he had ever seen. It was not the first time he had looked through the window in such a fashion. He had done it a hundred times before to hear the stories told by the wonderful girl with the lilting laugh and the hidden kiss. The same hidden kiss that now belonged to him, and him alone.

He was going to throw that away. Peter Pan was preparing to turn away from that happy scene and fly back to Neverland alone, never looking back. Tinkerbell whispered in his ear like a thousand sins, each more tempting than the last, telling him to turn around and fly back home. The wind blew against him, urging him back to the second star to the right. The stars blinked at him in urgent bursts, telling him to hurry and run away. Peter had never disobeyed the stars before.

However, he found that he could not move his body. He simply could not turn his bright green eyes from the happiness that was taking place inside that house. All the Lost Boys had a family now, and they would be well cared for and loved dearly. Mrs. Darling was embracing each and every one, a bright smile on her kind face. Mr. Darling was playing with the boys, roughhousing them and laughing. Michael and John were joining in as well, guffawing and not caring who heard. Wendy stood by her mother; content to look down upon the hug procession and giggling when a few of the boys came back for a second hug. Peter could not take his eyes off of her glowing face, and absently touched his lips, the place where he now kept her hidden kiss. A memory flooded back to him that made him wince as he remembered his own words.

"Peter, what are your feelings?" Wendy had asked, sounding almost scared. Peter, too, found that he was scared, and had a hard time answering. Finally, he choked out one word, not liking at all where this was headed.

"Feelings?"

"What you feel," she'd clarified. She went on to list some of said feelings, one by one. "Happiness? Sadness? Jealousy?" Here, Peter interrupted with a name to put to a feeling, since that was all he knew.

"Jealousy? Tink." Wendy had paused a moment before going on.

"Anger?" She'd asked, watching Peter closely. This time, Peter did not hesitate in his answer.

"Hook."

"Love?" That stopped the proud boy in his tracks.

"Love?" He'd repeated, face going blank and backing away from Wendy. "I have never heard of it." He denied, quickly, defiantly.

"But I think you have, Peter. I dare-say you've felt it, for something or... Someone?" This time, Peter felt like shaking with rage. She was such a girl, bringing all those feelings into a perfectly fine moment!

"Never. Even the sound of it offends me."

He had been able to put names to the feelings of jealousy and hate, but love? He didn't know what love was. Did he feel it? Was it possible?

Tink was chattering more frantically in his ear, making a continuous buzzing sound that was becoming quite annoying. The wind picked up and pressed hard against his body, making him shiver. But the stars stopped their blinking. They watched with rapt attention as Peter sighed and leaned his head on the window. "To live… Would be an awfully big adventure," he whispered to himself, staring at Wendy with some unreadable expression.

But Tinkerbell pulled on his hair and tugged him away. He smiled, albeit sadly, and turned away. There was a bitter taste in his mouth that he could not spit away and the sadness was crippling his flight already. He had not gone far, for he was not going fast at all, before that sweet voice called to him. "Peter!" He rose just a bit at the sound of her desperate voice, happy to hear that she still wanted to call to him. He turned to face her and hovered in the air, waiting for her to speak. He put on his customary self-satisfied smirk, deflecting and hiding his feelings from her like he always did. But she knew better. She had seen him cry out at night because of nightmares. She had held onto him and shushed him. She had made him feel like he was going to be all right.

Wendy had tears in her eyes. She seemed to be fighting for something to say. Her perfect mouth was moving but no words could be heard. Peter frowned and flew to her, hovering above the ground right before her. The tears spilled in her blueberry colored eyes and made them look crystallized and so beautiful. This made Peter frown even more, and he reached out a hand to wipe away the tears. "People don't cry when they are with me," he said with his cocky air, grinning. As he went to withdraw his hand, Wendy caught it, holding the dirty hand within her own.

"Peter…" She started again, lips trembling. He waited. "S-stay."

It only took two words to convince him. He stared at her, grin fading. The tears came again. "I know you're scared of growing up, but Peter–" Peter clapped a hand over her mouth and looked up at the sky thoughtfully. The stars were blinking again, but only this time they were urging him in the right direction. Tinkerbell was screaming frantically and the wind was swirling around Peter and Wendy, trying to separate them. But the stars urged him on, blinking in a content fashion, telling him that this was right. Instead of answering Wendy with words, he just pulled her close and hugged her. Wendy sobbed happily and clung to him as the children and adults watched from inside with teary eyes.

"Love," Peter mused quietly, so that only Wendy could hear him. His whisper brought her breathing to a standstill, waiting for him to continue. He had been able to put names on jealousy and hate. Now was the time to put the name on love. "Love." He tried the word out on his lips again, and he was still scared of it. He trembled and was not sure if he would be able to go on. He hummed absently into Wendy's mussed hair, and calmed himself. It would be an awfully big adventure, and he wouldn't have to go through it alone. "Love. Wendy." It was a perfect end to a wonderful beginning.

Peter and Wendy were inseparable. He kept his last name Pan instead of changing it to Darling, like all the other Lost Boys did. He loved Wendy, and even though the wind was always challenging him and he always looked out to the brightly burning star on the right, he was happy because Wendy loved him too. They had their great adventure; their life together. Peter asked her to marry him right where he had found his love for her, and their wedding was a happy one. They braved one battle after another together, including the one of childbirth. Wendy had a son first, called James. He was perfect. He was healthy, active, and smart. Their daughter, Elizabeth, or 'Bet', as she was called, took after her father. She was cocky, conceited, and refused to grow up.

She was also sick.

She had been born under less than perfect conditions. She grew into a fourteen-year-old girl with a horrible immune system that eventually caught the Scarlet fever. With her immune system damaged as it was, there was little chance that she would live. She was a beautiful girl, too. She was given wild red hair and bright green eyes that were horrible as they were exotic. Her face was pretty but harsh. She had freckles all over her face. She was her father's pride and joy. Wendy, Peter, and James wept for their daughter and sister. Bet got worse and worse every day, until Peter came up with an idea while staring at the star that haunted his dreams so often.

Neverland healed. Neverland stopped growth, stopped sadness, stopped pain, and stopped sickness. Neverland was Bet's only hope. Neverland, hearing his calls, answered by sending a fairy called Eitri. The concept over Neverland and the story behind it was told to Bet, and she came to realize that she would be saved. The relief tricked over her like a laughing brook, cool and refreshing. She went without a tear, though Peter, Wendy, and James cried long and hard as she flew away from them. Peter stood staring at the direction she was going even when he couldn't see her any more. Wendy stood by him, holding him and shushing him like in the old days. His tears ceased as he watched the Neverland star suddenly grow brighter than the moon in the sky. Neverland was welcoming a Pan home.

Through his tears, Peter smiled and crowed in his old way. "To live will be an awfully big adventure."