You had your chance.
Summary: Ten years later, Peter Pan comes back to the Darling's window. But what he finds there is beyond all his expectations. He knew Wendy would be married by now…but why did it have to be HIM? 2003 movie based.
A/N. Hey, guys! This is my second Peter Pan story, though the first one with a twist like that. I wanted to try something different than a Peter/Wendy fic and I've had this idea for quite some time. Hope you like it. Enjoy!
Peter Pan was flying to the Darling's house, as he promised so long ago. Though, he didn't exactly keep his promise, he said he will come back to listen to Wendy's stories…about him. And he wanted to! Oh, there were so many times he was almost ready to take off to London and grant Wendy and the Lost Boys a visit they were all waiting for. But there has always been something that made him stop at the last moment. He was scared that if he saw Wendy now, he would have trouble going back. But no matter what happens, he would never stay in London, nothing could make him stay and grow up! He missed Wendy, but the more time passed, the easier it became for him to distract himself from the thoughts of her and ignore the urge to see her again.
Tonight, he didn't even know what persuaded him to follow the almost-forgotten way to the long-denied window, after all these years… He knew it has been a very, very long time since he last saw Wendy. And tonight the words that Hook had spoken to him so long ago suddenly came ringing in his mind. Wendy…grow up…she can't hear you…husband… No! He couldn't take it anymore! He had to see her, he had to see what has become of her!
Yes, he was practically sure she was already married. She was beautiful, smart, kind, caring…everything a man could ask for. And even if Wendy was still single, what difference would it make? He couldn't stay with her, he couldn't take her to Neverland, so which way is better for her? He decided, it actually would be better if she was married. That way she would definitely be happier than if she sat alone by the window, pointlessly waiting for him for all her life.
After several minutes, finally, there it was! That very same window he used to visit, that very same house. He flew closer to it and…of course…the window was latched. He sighed heavily and looked through it to see what was happening inside. No one was in the room at the moment, but he half-smiled when he saw that it haven't changed for the biggest part. There were still toys lying all over the floor and the walls were painted the same way, just as he remembered it. The only difference was that there was now only one bed and not three, as it used to be. One bed, drawers, a small wardrobe and in the middle of the room…what was that? A cradle? Yes, it was most definitely a cradle. The small blanket in it was all rumpled, which meant…it wasn't empty. Was this Wendy's baby? If so, than she most definitely was married and all grown up. He sadly leaned his head against the window frame and decided to wait for someone to come in, and if it was Wendy, she would let him in and he could ask her…
Then suddenly, he heard a strange noise from the cradle. Oh, right, the baby was crying.
"But that's just perfect!" Peter thought. " If he or she is crying, than someone will certainly come here any minute." And he waited.
And he was right, in less than two minutes the door to the nursery opened, but the person who came in was definitely not Wendy! It was a young man aged 21 or 22. He had long, shaggy brown hair, which reached an inch or two past his shoulders. He was tall, good-looking and slender; he was shirtless so Peter could see he was pretty strong and well-built. Something in his appearance was so familiar…
The man turned on the small night light, leaned over the cradle and spoke barely above a whisper "Hey, little guy, what's wrong? You hungry? Hey, Wendy fed you two hours ago."
Wendy? But then, that must be…yes, that must be her husband. Peter tried to look closer at the man, where had he seen him before?
Meanwhile, the young man took out a pacifier and gave it to the baby, who almost instantly stopped crying. He smiled and straightened up, the light now falling on his face, lighting up every detail. Peter furrowed his eyebrows and looked closer at the features.
Could it be…? Could he possibly be…? Unbelievable…Peter had recognized him. The young handsome man with shaggy hair was none other than Nibs. Peter's eldest Lost Boy and second in command. At that moment Peter lost his balance in the air and almost fell down. He let out a small yelp before he regained it and, of course, the man had heard him. His head instantly shot to the window and his eyes had grown wide at first, and then surprise changed to disbelief and confusion, as his eyebrows furrowed.
"Peter?" he said and went to the window and opened it all the way, coming face-to-face with the one and only Peter Pan, his childhood best friend. For minutes they just looked at each other and then Peter uttered
"Nibs?"
The man nodded his head and Peter suddenly flew in past him and stood already in the room, his hands on his sides-his usual pose. Nibs turned from the window and slowly walked closer to him. Peter Pan, after all these years…
"You came back." He stated the obvious, not knowing how else to start speaking.
Peter looked at him seriously, a very rear thing for him "The window was latched."
Nibs lowered his eyes apologetically for a moment and then looked back up at him "We've given up hope long ago, Peter. You said you'd come back to listen to stories, and we've been waiting for you. Weeks passed, then months…We waited for a long time, but you never showed up. After six months of waiting we've given up, everyone thought that if you didn't come back by now, the chance that you ever would is very weak."
It was Peter's turn to lower his gaze. He knew Nibs was right, they couldn't wait for him forever.
"What happened here, Nibs?"
Nibs looked at him questioningly.
"What happened through all the time? Where are the other Lost Boys? John and Michael?"
Nibs half-smiled and started speaking "They're all fine. Slightly got married to Wendy's friend a year ago and moved out, but he comes here often. Curly and Cubby entered a university and decided to live in a hostel, they're both still single. The Twins are graduating high school this year, so they're still living here, and they too are single. John is in the same university as Curly and Cubby and has is getting married in several months." He chuckled "The girl he's marrying is the spitting image of TigerLily."
Peter smiled, he remembered the attraction between Wendy's brother and the Indian princess.
Nibs continued "As for Michael, he's the youngest so he' still in grade eleven at school."
"And what about you?" Peter asked. "How does it feel to…grow up?'
Nibs grinned "You don't have to say it with such disgust, Peter. Growing up isn't as bad as you think at all."
Peter looked at him, puzzled "What do you mean? How can it not be "as bad as I think"?"
Nibs chuckled "Easily. When we were all in Neverland, I thought growing up means getting old, boring, serious and never having fun…"
Peter cocked an eyebrow "Isn't it?"
Nibs smiled wider "No, not at all! I was surprised actually when Aunt Millicent came up to me on my eighteenth birthday and said that I'm all grown up. I didn't feel any different from when I was seventeen or sixteen, which is still not considered an adult. And look at me now: I'm twenty-one, Peter! I'm flippin' twenty-one! And so far, growing up had done nothing but good for me. I got taller, stronger and better-looking than ever before! I got access to all the things that kids can't have: I can stay out late if I want too, I can drink some alcohol at parties to help me relax, I can earn my own money and spend it on whatever I want…the list goes on. "
Peter listened to him in dumbfound and Nibs took a breath
"But despite all of that, I'm still the same Lost Boy, Peter. I still love fighting, I do combat practice and I really don't think I became boring and way-too serious, don't you think?" Nibs grinned mischievously and at that moment Peter had to admit: he didn't change…that much. It was still the same Nibs, or should he say, a stronger, tougher, superior version of him.
"So what are you doing now?"
Nibs shrugged for a moment "Well, I'm also in the university with Cubby, Curly and John, but I decided to live here for…various reasons."
Peter looked at him, almost accusingly "Various reasons, is it?
Nibs looked away, he knew where this was heading and he didn't really want to bring it up. But Peter didn't look like he was going to let it go. He glanced at the cradle and bitterly forced the question from his mouth
"Are you and Wendy…" he broke off for a moment "Are you Wendy's husband?"
Nibs didn't say anything for a moment and then replied "Yes. We've been married for two years now."
Peter shook his head in disbelief "But…how? Didn't Wendy's parents adopt you all?"
"No. They wanted to at first, but then Aunt Millicent decided to take me along with Slightly. She thought, at least the Darlings would have one less mouth to feed" he scoffed, but continued seriously "But I could never thank her enough: if she hadn't decided to adopt me too, it would have never been possible for Wendy and me to get married."
Peter closed his eyes in hurt. He had prepared himself to meet Wendy's husband, but somehow, the fact that he turned out to be his best friend made it way harder than he thought. He was sure that if it was any other stranger man, he would have taken it much less painfully.
"Why, Nibs? You knew she was special to me…"
"Peter…" he sighed "Wendy has been waiting for you longer than all of us. For almost two years she hoped you would return, but you didn't. She cried a lot, she thought you have forgotten her, and that's when it began…I was always there to comfort her and cheer her up. I was the one she talked to when she felt lonely…."
"But why did you have to marry her?" he cut him off
"I don't think you're in the position to be angry with me." He said sternly "You had your chance with her, Peter! You had your chance and you let her go. You chose Neverland over Wendy; you chose to always stay a boy, rather than to be with her."
Now it was Nibs' turn to get angry, but he still kept his calm tone "I was always there for her, I helped her to get over the pain and brought her back to life. It wasn't that long before she started to look at me the way she used to look at you…Two years had passed before we seriously fell in love with each other. Now we're married and we have a son. She's happy with me, Peter. All of us are happy." He finished and looked at his friend.
Peter was hurting, but in the back of his mind he knew he just had to learn to live with it. After all, this was what he came here for, right? He wanted to check if Wendy was happy, and she was.
After a minute he gulped silently and looked up at Nibs. "It was still great to see you again, second in command."
Nibs smiled "It was great to see you too, Peter Pan."
"Take care of her." He said and with that Peter flew out of the window, heading the second star on the right and straight on till morning.
Nibs watched him disappear into the sky and walked to the cradle, where his and Wendy's son was sleeping. He looked at the child and smiled lovingly "Sleep well, little Peter." He lightly patted the small boy's head and left the room.
Would he tell Wendy about the visit of the boy who never grows up? Yes, and she would smile and playfully punch Nibs on the side for not waking her. They would talk about it, and then look at the little star they would know anywhere and think of new stories to tell their son. The stories of the one he was named after.
The End.
I really hope you liked it and please, please, please review and tell me what you think. Thank you!
