Chapter 3 Move

I'm sure I'm not the only one that was thrown off by the Pan-Rumpelstiltskin-father thing, but I had to take it under serious consideration whether I could continue with this fict (never mind continue to ship DarlingPan.) I prefer to stay somewhat cannon and this was somewhat creepy. However I have since then come to three conclusions.

This is fiction, and all of this is highly improbable and possibly impossible…

Pan was already several hundred years older than Wendy anyways; thirty years one way or the other shouldn't make a difference. It's all in the same creep-infested boat. (I ship Rumbelle under the same pretense.)

And finally (this is just something to gnaw on)Who says I'm going to keep this DarlingPan?!

So yeah on with the fict, I don't own anything (apparently not even my dignity...)

It doesn't take long for him to respond. The sun barely has time to set, rise, and tumble back up to mid-sky before he is storming into the clearing.

"Dodger! Andrew! You can go. I want a word with our Darling friend…" Wendy smiles as Peter throws open the cage and pulls her out, so she's standing in front of him.

"Wendy, I swear you are going to be the death of me!" the normally composed boy shouts as he grasps her shoulders and forces her to look at him.

"Well that's certainly not the plan but I suppose it would be an added benefit." She states looking back into his eyes without fear. She's known him too long to fear him.

"Wendy, what exactly did you mean by this…" he holds up the make shift thimble and her smile only grows.

"I see you got my little gift," she lifts her hand to take it from him and twirls it on her little finger.

"I did." he spits, "and I would like to know exactly what kind of game you believe you are playing."

"Oh are you not having fun? I thought you loved guessing games…" she places the thimble on the top of his head in almost a childish manner and lifts her hands above her own head to stretch.

"I do but not like this." He brushes the thimble off his head and lets it fall to the ground.

She's moved to working out the kinks in her neck letting her head roll back so she can see his face now behind her.

"Well I'm having fun for once and I won't let you spoil it," she rocks forward onto the balls of her feet, arms in the air like wings.

"You're not the only one that was there when we first met, I was too… We used to be friends, Peter? Or was that all a game as well?" she touches her toes and rises back up; only to under estimate how long it's been since she was last let out. Her leg cramps. She stumbles back into him and on some obscure instinct he catches her.

Their eyes meet, calculating the implications, then after a thought she leans forward to kiss him. He sees the move coming and turns so her lips fall to his cheek. Both pull back at the same time, same surprise on their faces. He's finally caught up with her and her little game. This is dangerous territory and she knows it.

She should end this right now, they are on even ground, and she can't win like this.

But she doesn't, she's a second too late to stand and pull away from his embrace. He picks up the thimble and hands it back to her.

His move.

It's her turn again.

So she sends him away.

"I'll expect you'll be longer now…" she says (a promise, not a plea) going back to her cage of her own accord. She attempts to rectify the situation.

"You'll have other things to attend to with him on the island." She doesn't need to clarify, they both know who she means.

He doesn't respond. He knows not to speak when he's ahead. She has no such qualms; she's never ahead.

"No time for games when you have official business to attend to…" she let mirth flow through her words to mask the sting they bring.

"Official, Darling?" he laughs but there is nothing insincere about his. "There is nothing official here, only games,"

She laughs too, this time willing his smile to erase her doubts. Reality exists only as Peter allows it to, and part of her wants to believe it.

But once he leaves, she is flooded with realization of the lie.

There was a world outside of Neverland, another life with her mother and father and brothers. There was life before Peter; she dreams of it at night (on the nights she does dream). She stopped yearning for it long ago and crying even longer. Now she only cries because there is nothing left of that hope and even that seems pointless.

There is nothing to escape to except the game and now he controls that too.

But not for long she promises herself…

It's time for a tie-breaker.

A/N: If you're looking for words and typety type stuff it's at the top. And I will update when I get to it or rather when I should be getting to other things… : /