Everyone had already woken up and gone, too bored from waiting for the newcomer to wake and introduce himself. He would have left too, but someone had to be there when he woke up; Ms. Ellis had errands while Ms. Stranger chaperoned the others and they were entrusting him to a 'big boy' task. He sat on Tootles' bed and glared at the still sleeping boy.
They were all excited to see a new face but personally, he wasn't. He had initially felt pity for the boy last night during that emotional escapade, but it all evaporated when he couldn't sleep a wink. Rumple's cries had irked him, irritated him, and gave him some sort of sick, twisted feeling at the bottom of his gut for reasons he did not know but it kept him up all the same.
He hadn't wanted to give himself away to Rumple by tossing and turning that night and eventually had quit trying to sleep after dawn's early light penetrated the indigo sky with hues of red and yellow. He waited until someone else had woken up to finally get out of bed but right as he did, Ms. Ellis had caught him and gave him his task: introduce Tiger Lily completely, make sure Rumple has food in his stomach, but most importantly, make sure he doesn't run away. So keep him company basically.
Newcomers who were at least at speaking age, often tried running away during the first few months here but he had a feeling this one wouldn't do the same and thought watching over him would be pointless. Flashes of Rumple just silently standing still as his father ran off circulated through his head and the strange feeling ebbed over him again, but he shook them away. He quickly stood up from the bed, fidgety and moody from his lack of sleep and decided he was going to 'accidentally' wake Rumple up but it seemed he had no need.
"I know you were awake," Rumple said as his eyes fluttered open.
A bit alarmed, Peter took a step back as he observed Rumple and saw the boy miraculously had no trace of tears in his eyes except that they were brighter with a tinge of sadness as he searched them.
"Well? Aren't you going to say anything? Rumple sat up, impatience laced in his voice and beckoned him to come closer.
He didn't comply. A bit cautious and dubious, he went around Tootles bed and stayed there. In front of him was a cool, collected boy that vastly differed from the crying one that lost him his rest and he didn't know quite what to do with himself.
"I don't understand..." he let himself say. He had been all ready to lash out at him but Rumple had looked as if he hadn't a care in the world what he may or may not say in relation to last night.
"Is there anything to eat?" said Rumple as he tossed the blanket to the side and bent down to put on shoes.
"Downstairs. Eggs and toast," said Peter, surprised at the sound of his voice. Just then, his stomach growled from the consideration of food, still empty from Ms. Ellis' orders to keep him company during breakfast.
"I guess I should be lucky then," Rumple stood up. "My favorite on the first day. Let's go then-"
"Look," Peter interjected, his peculiar trance lifted and all his bitterness returned. "I don't get what game you're playing but I want you stop this pretend. At least the other orphans here were true to their feelings. If you're going to play cool, at least play the part better and don't cry the entire night."
Rumple hardened his gaze and held his for a moment before brushing it off. He started heading for the door but stopped within a few footsteps to the threshold.
"What's your name?" he asked quietly.
"Peter. Peter Pan," he said as his face reddened.
There were hardly any children with a last name here as most had forgotten it or never had the chance to receive it. Rumple seemed to know that as he turned around and gave him a strange look.
"Pan's not my real name, but I took it from where I was found," he quickly added.
Rumple burst into laughter.
"What, were you found in the kitchen? Surrounded by pots and pans?" Rumple said in between his snorts of laughter .
"No," Peter said hotly. "I was found under the statue of Pan, the god of nature for your information."
Rumple rolled his eyes at him.
"Well, I did think something was off for only you to have a last name here anyways. But taking a name after an imaginary goat doesn't qualify as one."
"What's yours then? You're old enough to have had one."
Rumple's ears went bright red and mumbled something.
"I'm sorry, what?" Peter walked closer towards Rumple.
"Rumple Stil..." he trailed off and averted his eyes, ears becoming a deeper red.
"Don't tell me, you don't even know?" It was his turn to roar with laughter. "And to think you ridiculed me!"
"Shut it. It's just hard to pronounce is all!"
"Sounds like Stiltskin," Peter said after his laughter died down.
"What?"
"It sounded like what you were trying to pronounce anyways. Rumple Stiltskin. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
"Better than Peter Pots I suppose."
Peter and Rumple both smiled as Peter walked right up to Rumple with his hand extended.
"Let's start again then. I'm Peter Pan."
Rumple took his hand and shook firmly, "And I'm Rumple Stilt-Skin."
Present~
Rumple left the mothers and idiots behind to venture the strange dark island by himself. He had thought he knew where to go but here, his magic was corruptible. He could feel it. There was something here besides the large gloomy trees and plants that hindered his capabilities from being at its peak.
Perhaps it required more focus energy than usual-like Storybrooke had been. However, it proved to be a difficult task when he kept remembering that damned seer's prophecy in his current state. Wait, perhaps he can-
"Neverland has no future so that'd be useless."
Startled, he looked all around him for the body the voice belonged to. A shadowy figure was moving towards him but he could hardly see anything in the dark jungle.
"Can't even recognize me, Rumple?" the figure called out. "Well, I suppose it has been quite a while and I've changed-oh wait, I haven't. At least not physically."
The twigs and rocks crackled under his nearing footsteps and only stopped when he was in clear view, directly under the glow of moonlight. Immediately, Rumple took a step back and cringed.
"Peter?"
Peter chuckled darkly as his expression became fiercer.
"Welcome to Neverland, Rumple. I wanted to be the first to welcome you but I guess Felix beat me to it. Would have thought he'd even score between you two though," said Peter as he traced a nonexistent scar over his face.
"Well," Rumple gritted his teeth, "I guess I should thank him for his 'mercy' after I get my grandson back. What have you done with him anyways?
"I don't intend to tell you but since we have such a history, I'll tell you a snippet: I need him. Was that helpful enough for you?" he asked mockingly.
"If it's just for revenge between you and me-"
"Revenge? Oh, Rumple, it's much more than that."
"If you intend harm for Henry-I'll-"
"You'll do what? You came here to kill him yourself to save your own skin. Don't forget that I know you, Rumple. A lot more than you'd care to imagine."
"I'll kill you if you so much touch a hair on Henry," Rumple hissed. "And don't think you know me because I'm a changed man."
"We both know what would happen if you try to kill me. You found out the hard way and it rather amused me so you're free to do it again."
"I don't care what would happen to me. I am a changed man."
"You keep saying that. What, just because you got that beastly curse off you?" Peter laughed. "Tell you what, I'll give you a chance to save Henry. We'll play a game-your favorite game-and we'll see if you've truly changed or if you're still that sad, whimpering coward that time can never change."
But before Rumple could exchange a few more words, Peter disappeared from the night, leaving Rumple standing in the dark, twisted jungle alone.
Past~
"Peter, I'm bored," Rumple said as he poked his friend in the ribs. It was a beautiful day with the occasional cloud, but bright and sunny nonetheless.
"Stop that. I have to get this done for Ms. Stranger by tomorrow," Peter said as he sat up and eyed Rumple's unopened books. "And maybe you should do the same. I'm not doing your share again."
"What good will learning how to read do for me? I'm probably just going to end up as a soldier fighting for my life in battle. What would I read there? The enemy's hat?" Rumple said as he slashed through the air and pretended to duck from an imaginary enemy, eliciting a snort of laughter from Peter.
"We could go by the creek again," Peter suggested.
"And what? Stare at fish all day? I'm already bored just thinking about it. Let's do something better."
"Like?"
"Well, it's... a game that my papa and me used to play," Rumple said as he began to gaze outside.
Peter became still, concern written in his expression as he stared at his friend. Rumple hardly ever talked about his father and always averted his eyes when he did.
"What kind of game exactly?" Peter asked.
"It's sort of a mixture of 'Hide and Seek' and 'Tag' really."
"Sounds interesting. What's it called?"
"Lost Treasure!" a smile erupted from Rumple's lips and his eyes beamed with excitement as he took Peter's hand and ran outside with him into town. "C'mon, I'll show you how to play."
"How do you play?"
Peter stood next to Rumple, both hiding behind the wall of the blacksmith shop, panting a little from their run to town. Rumple scanned the area, taking in the variety of people they saw as he searched for a specific person.
"You look for well off people first-like that one," Rumple pointed at a much older looking lady passing by wearing a purple ensemble decorated in pearls and jewels.
"Oh... then I found one too," said Peter as he pointed at a gentleman donning a top hat.
"Hmm, he looks to fit for my taste," said Rumple. "For the first round, let's just focus on her."
"Alright. So then what do we do?"
"We trick her into giving us goods, basically. What my papa told me was play innocent and take as much as you can. I'll play innocent and you take."
"Take what... exactly?"
"Their riches, of course! Look, she's old and obviously, she doesn't need much of that anymore," Rumple said but as he saw Peter's excitement began to fade, he added, "but Tiger Lily does."
"I don't know, Rumple..."
"It's fun! Trust me! In fact, I'll show you how fun it can be."
But before Peter could protest, Rumple had already set off and all he could do was watch from afar. He tried to hide as much of himself as he could behind the wall as he watched Rumple purposely bump into the elderly lady, resulting in what he could have imagined to be a very drawn out apology topped with false sincerity. Of course, the woman wasn't aware of Rumple's act and ate it all up, giving Rumple a chance to slip off some of her jewelry when she encased him in a hug. As she turned around, Peter tip toed closer, wanting to hear what the interaction of the two sounded like. As he neared, flashes of Rumple's promise to his father to be good ran through his mind but he paid it no mind as he finally heard Rumple's voice.
"M'am, I'm awfully sorry again. Is there anything I can do? You must have been rushing away from your suitors, looking pretty as you do."
Peter stifled his laughter as Rumple winked at him.
The lady beamed, flattered from what seemed like Rumple's honesty, "Oh, it's all right young man. Now where are your parents? I must tell them what a very bright boy they are raising."
Rumple froze for a millisecond before responding, "I'm sorry to say M'am, that they are in the sky now."
Her eyes began to water as she hugged him once again before whispering something in Rumple's ear that Peter could not make out. Rumple automatically reached in her bag and just as he was about to pocket more of her riches, his eyes met Peters and as if he couldn't help himself, he burst into laughter. A mistake, as the lady backed away and wised up.
"I-is that my necklace?" she saw the glint of her golden necklace in Rumple's pocket and immediately grabbed around her neck and gasped. Before she could blink Rumple had backed away, laughter still in his expression, gave the woman a mock cry and ran away. Peter joined him.
"THIEF! THIEF! Come back here! My jewelry, my heirlooms! What can my children have now?!" she cried.
At those words, Peter glanced back at her but kept running. He felt a strange pang in his heart but simply thought it was the side effect for the sudden run and burst of energy. He had never felt so... exhilarated. He picked up his speed to match Rumple's, never slowing down until Tiger Lily came to view and they stopped to rest near the trees, sitting and laying, pants from exhaustion and thrill.
"See," Rumple panted, "seek treasure, hide, and hope not to get caught. Plus you get rewards."
He gave a wide grin as he tossed Peter the glittering necklace. As he held it in his hands, he couldn't help but to smile himself.
"Ellis and Stranger will be happy-this will help with everything!"
He turned to Rumple, and for a split second, he thought he saw Rumple's smile falter but he must have imagined it. Rumple gave a ripple of laughter and patted Peter on the back.
"This will be for us!" he said. "It was only the first round after all and you haven't had your turn yet."
"My turn... I'll try to challenge myself next time. That gentleman we saw early perhaps!"
Excited at the new prospect, Peter forgot all about what the fleeting smile could have meant. He continued to admire the treasure in his hand, head full of whatever possibilities the riches could bring them and what sort of exhilaration he may feel. He was going to have lots of fun.
A/N: So... I wanted to try out the whole OUaT format with the past and present switching. Hopefully, it's not confusing...? I just wanted to make it feel like the show aha. As for Peter's protrayal as a younger kid, I always thought he was a good lil boy til a certain point because, don't they say the purer you are, the darker you'll become? I wanted to give that feeling... Welp, I hope you liked it!