They had crawled under the numerous ferns and leaves to the small clearing at the edge of her village to get away from her tribe and that Wendy girl. While she was nice enough, there was something irritating about the young English girl that Tiger Lily couldn't put her finger on. Ever since she showed up, all soft curls and blue eyes, Peter had been spending all of his time with her and while Tiger Lily was a princess, and had duties of her own to attend to, she missed the evenings and nights when Peter had promised to be hers alone. They would lie every night in this clearing, talking and laughing from the sunset to the sunrise if they were able. Or, she would spend her time wrestling with the other boys if Peter were away. They were like a family to her, and now her family had seemingly abandoned her for the Wendybird. She had felt her heart flutter when Peter grabbed her hand and pulled her away into the inky blue darkness to be alone.
The fireflies and faeries mixed into a beautiful swirling aura of glowing golden hues soft slaps of wings seeming to dance across the lush leaves of the forest. The dew soaked canopy created a private hovel in which the pair of lovers could be alone, here there was no interruptions, no passersby. Here, it was just Peter and his Tiger Lily.
They lay on the softest Earth in all of Neverland, Tiger Lily pillowing her head on Peter's chest, their hands clasping tightly. Tiger Lily took a breath in, all she could smell was Peter's heady, musky scent, mixing with the flora surrounding them. Without warning, Peter shifted, almost dropping her head on the moss before realizing it and catching it gently between his large hands. He floated above her, smirking in his mischievous way. Tiger Lily sat up and watched Peter float over to the large tree, peeking his head into the rather large hole. A yellow glow cast upon his smile, making him even more the handsome boy all of the women and some of the men all loved so much here in Neverland.
He gestured to her with an open hand quickly, turning his head away from the sight inside the tree for a moment giving her his most sincere smile. It did funny things to the Indian princess's heart, things she didn't quite understand yet, and while they frustrated her, they were not unwelcome. A bold smile played on her wide lips as she jumped to her feet, dashing to Peter's side. He took her hand in his and she couldn't help but look down for a moment, admiring how their skin tones contrasted against each other, and how beautiful they looked together. While she was lost in her passing thought, she felt the ground give way beneath her, and there she was, floating with Peter in front of the large NeverOak. She felt slight warmth accompanying the soft glow. Inside the tree, were two faeries dancing with each other closely and sighing contentedly.
Peter couldn't help but wonder if Tiger Lily was feeling the same uneasiness that he was. It wasn't like they hadn't been alone together before, lying in the soft mosses, or having spitting contests off of the old bridge above crocodile creek. This however, this was different there was no competition, no idle chatter to fill the silence between the two of them now. It was just his heart and hers beating in rhythm with the symphony of noises in the faerie forest. He could feel her curious gaze shuffling between himself and the promenade inside the tree. Pan tried to sneak casual quick glances at the princess when she wasn't looking, but something inside him knew it was useless. She was just as good a hunter as he was, if not better, so she was definitely keeping track of where his gaze was landing.
He finally mustered up enough courage and pushed himself from the tree, resting his feet on a soft patch of grass as he waited for her to turn and face him. His heart beat in his chest. Would she think him foolish for this? Or, a more frightening question to be asked, what if she accepted?
Tiger Lily heard the shuffling as Peter almost threw himself away from the tree, his usually fluid movements seemed less graceful than usual, she quirked an eyebrow at him as he turned a perceptible shade of red. She had never seen Peter so nervous before, not even the time Hook and his men attacked and torched the burrow, nearly killing them all. He suddenly bent at the waist slowly, in a shy little bow. She couldn't help but smile, her white teeth glowed in the night around them. Peter stood low, with his hand extended to her. She hesitated Peter knew quite well she couldn't dance, was this a contest, a way for him to mock her? The princess shook the thoughts out of her head, and held one hand up in her people's version of a curtsey before taking Peter's warm hands into her own.
They lifted off of the ground in one fluid motion. Peter held her waist firmly, his right hand holding hers, their fingers knitted tightly together. He began their dance by spinning them slightly and raising them higher into the air. He spun her once and watched with delight as the usually reserved girl opened up and smiled at him. She even offered him a breathy laugh as they danced and almost ran into a tree. This incident actually prompted the faeries to come out of their little hovels to dance alongside the couple, almost mock lighting the way for them. Peter was beside himself with happiness to have her so close to him in this beautiful meadow that they called their own.
However, there was another emotion in his heart swelling as they clung together, one of fear and uncertainty. Everything was perfect the way it was now, but something else was there lurking just under the surface of their innocent dance, a sort of tension the likes of which Peter had never felt before. He worried his lip between his teeth and looked around the sky until his eyes came to rest on the moon and for a brief second he marveled that it was so low and large that it almost looked as if it were pulling the rest of the sky along with it!
Tiger Lily looked at the faeries now, which seemed to be feeling a strange sort of vibration ebbing off of Pan. They began to fly away in clusters and retreat into their small logs to rest after their dancing. Tiger Lily cocked her head at them but merely shrugged it off, she also admired the moon for a while before she could feel them dropping from the luminous sky. Her heart began to drop with them.
"It's only making believe isn't it? You and I are?" He asked setting her gently on the ground, shuffling an inch or so away from her to make the closeness between them more comfortable for him. He was scared to death, but he couldn't show it to someone as strong as Tiger Lily, so Peter thought to reassure himself that this was nothing he needed to worry about between them, that nothing had changed.
Tiger Lily held her breath until the count of 10 trying to make sense of what Peter was asking her. He was closed off to her now; she could feel that much, where before he was open and genuine. She had seen this Peter a few times after he would hold her close, or kiss her. It was the Peter that was afraid to love anyone other than himself and maybe his little bug Tinker Bell. She said nothing of knowing of his fears though, and instead reached out a hand to trace his left forearm soothingly.
He looked at her in surprise that was not the reaction he thought he would get from her. The Indian princess was well known for her curt answers and angry disappearances. However, she smiled shyly at him. His heart was beating wildly again looking at her in the moonlight, her raven hair streaked with silver as it shone down, and she was, dare he say it; beautiful. The fear became so strong in him now, that he began to rise into the air, ready to make his way back to the celebration in order to collect Wendy and the boys and make a beeline for the hideout.
Tiger Lily reached again, and this time held Pan closer to her. He sank down further and she cautiously looked at him. Then, she did something that surprised them both, she kissed him.
Pan was taken aback; Tiger Lily never kissed him first, ever. She never kissed with this much force before either; he decided he liked it very much so. He landed with his feet on the ground a light pink glow engulfed his body for several seconds before he could regain his composure. He suddenly threw his arms around her waist and put his forehead to hers. Battling the fear he's had since he could remember, Peter Pan turned his head to Tiger Lily's ear and whispered those three cursed words.
"I love you Tiger Lily."
