Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and any unrecognizable characters.
Thank you for the reviews, some more Peter/Lily action in this chapter
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I am a spark and I am the flame,
I am at fault, but you are to blame.
That sets your world on fire.
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As soon as we were back at the camp, the earlier 'celebration' continued, as if nothing had happened, as if Neal and Rumple hadn't rescued Henry and I for a few precious hours. I ignored the boys as they danced around the fire, whooping and cheering, my gaze focused on Henry as Felix walked over to me and stared at me thoughtfully while chewing on a stick in his mouth.
I tensed as he took in my appearance; messy, unbound hair, rumpled clothes and red rimmed eyes. He sighed, offering me a water-skin silently before he sat next to me, resting his chin on the handle of his club. I hoped he'd simply sit there, as I was in no mood to talk to him or the bloody teenage looking demon that was sitting next to the fire, since they'd dragged Neal off into the jungle just over an hour ago.
"You two really need to get your act together." I ignored him and sipped from the pouch before I handed it back, intent on ignoring him as the normally silent Lost Boy turned into a freaking chatter-box. "It's damaging to both of you, Pan more so than you."
"Not now, Felix." I didn't even want to think about Peter, not after the way he'd looked at me earlier. I shivered, I hadn't seen him look at me like that in a long time, and it made me feel and think things I shouldn't. Especially because I was pissed off at him for a variety of things.
Reigning in the urge to set Felix and his stupid club on fire, I glanced back at Henry when he moaned softly, stirring again.
"He'll be up soon." I nodded, reaching out to stroke his dark hair while he groaned again. I stopped as Felix covered my hand with his and turned to face his expressionless face, the anxiety rolling off him in waves the only clue I had to how he actually felt.
"Talk to Pan, you both need it." He smirked, one corner of his mouth lifting up. "You both look like hell. And you're both horrible when you don't get enough of each other." I slapped his arm, making sure to send out a small park of energy that didn't even make him jump, laughing softly as his smirk widened before he stood up, bowed to me and strolled away, calling over his shoulder.
"And fix your face up, Princess Tiger Lily." I glared mockingly at him before my eyes were caught by Peter, who was staring at me, his brow creased as I looked away, placing my face in my palms and sighing deeply. With a though, my magic coursed through my hands and onto my face, the stinging in my eyes going away as I felt my face cool down as well.
I sat up just as Henry's eyes fluttered open and I reached out, touching his shoulder as he came to, his unfocused eyes landing on me. I smiled encouragingly as he sat up slowly, his movements slow and sluggish from the sleeping spell while he looked around, dazed. With a groan, he rubbed his eyes before looking at me, his voice groggy.
"What happened?" I gave him a tiny smile and kneeled next to him, aware that saying anything about his dad or grandpa would be a very bad idea nor was it the right time to drop that bombshell on him.
"Oh, you fell asleep." I smiled softly as he looked around, clearly startled and, to my surprise, he seemed a little contrite that he'd fallen asleep.
"I-I did?" I nodded, tilting my head as I reached for his shoulder, freezing when Peter kneeled next to me on one knee, his pipe in one hand as he pushed his way into the conversation.
"No, don't worry, it was just a little catnap." Peter gestured to the cheering and dancing boys at the fire, as Felix sat in the middle of them and threw a stick with one hand, is face expressionless as always. "The night's still young." I stared at Henry as Peter shifted closer to me, blinking in surprise when as focused look came onto his pale face.
"Wait I-I remember something." I breathed in sharply, my heart hammering in my chest as I willed Henry to remember that his dad was alive and here on the island. "My dad...When I was asleep, I could've sworn I heard him calling for me."
"Really?" Peter looked encouraging at that, a small smile formed at the corners of his lips as Henry continued.
"It must've been a dream."
"We'll, how can you be sure?" I fought the urge to grab Peter and shake him until his shadow wasn't the only thing missing. Anger coursed through me though I squashed it quickly, it wouldn't do any good for Henry to see my eyes turn red.
Though Henry's next words made me wish that I could set Peter on fire.
"Because... 'Cause my dad's dead." He looked down, his eyes shimmering and I moved closer to him, placing my hand on his shoulder as Peter spoke.
"I'm sorry, Henry." I clenched my teeth so I didn't end up screaming as Peter pretended to be sympathetic to Henry, his voice solemn and believable. "It makes sense for us to dream about the things we've lost." He sighed softly, "And the things we hope for; like your father being alive and your mother coming to find you." His voice took on a happier tone as his face became more animated.
"But eventually, you'll find new things to dream about. And when you do, they'll start to come true."
"How do you know?" I looked away, unable to stand looking at Peter as Henry questioned him, his voice lost and seeking answers that I knew Peter was all too happy to give.
"Because that's what I did." Peter leaned off his knee and gestured around. "And now you're here." I bit my lip so hard I could taste blood as Peter continued, my entire body filling with self-loathing at not telling Henry the truth.
"Neverland used to be a place where new dreams were born. You can bring that magic back, Henry." I looked back at Peter as his gaze flitted to me, his eyes filled with the same hunger before he looked back at Henry.
"And we can be your new family." He smiled charmingly at Henry as the younger boy stared up at him, blinking slowly, as if considering Peter's words while Peter stood up, turning to address the others.
"I'd like to play a song." Slowly, I followed Henry's lead as he pulled himself up, a small, barely there smile on his face. "A song for our guest of honor-Henry." He placed an arm around Henry when the boy stood next to him. Letting go and bringing the pipe to his lips, Peter sauntered to the middle of the circle and began to play, the melody causing my head to swim and everything to blur at the edges.
I slowly turned to look at Henry as he gazed around, his eyes glazing over as I bit my bleeding lip, stifling back a cry of horror as blood began to run down my lips and chin. Henry slowly started to bob in place, taking a pair of sticks as Peter continued playing, then as he slowly ended the melody, Henry began to dance with the rest of the circle, as Peter smiled.
"You can hear the music now, can't you Henry?"
"Yeah." I muffled a cry of agony at Henry's enthusiastic response as he began to dance with the others in earnest, laughing and whooping with them as Peter followed him with smug eyes, smiling before he turned his head away from Henry and met my gaze, his own taking in my horrified eyes and my bloodstained, lower face.
Slowly, without looking away from Peter, I slowly backed away, resisting the lure of the music and finally, after my eyes began to well up, I turned around and walked away from the camp, holding back sobs as I realized I'd just failed Neal, Rumple, Emma...everyone.
I'd lost Henry, the same way I'd lost myself to Peter all those years ago.
I winced as I ran my tongue over my lips, tasting the harsh, metallic flavor of my blood and the surprisingly brutal sting of the still bleeding wound on said lip. I ignored it, not bothering to bring my magic and heal myself as I pulled knees to my chest and laid my head on them, breathing heavily as I tried to not break down completely.
It wouldn't help me and it certainly wouldn't help Henry if I was a sobbing, bleeding mess on the floor of the jungle.
As I rested my head against my arms, I caught sight of my necklace swinging from my neck and, grasping the flimsy, silver chain, I ripped it off my neck and threw it in a fit of anger, wishing I could burn it but, like Peter, my magic had no affect on it because of the tie to this land and him.
I glared at the sliver piece of jewelery as it shone in the dim light several feet away and once again, cursed my mother angrily in my head for bargaining my life just so she could live another fifty years. She'd clearly put off having a second child, or children at all, as my brother had been fifteen years older than I was, and she had been in her forties when he'd been born.
Hatred welled up from inside me and I clenched my hands tightly, wanting to rip out a heart, I'd even be okay if it was a deer, just to do something to stop feeling like my insides were attempting to tear themselves apart.
As I returned to my previous position, I stiffened at the soft footsteps that came towards me, already knowing who it was, and not in the mood to deal with him. I waved my hand, a small cloud of purple haze surrounding me before I moved myself to one of the top branches of a nearby tree, still sitting with my face hidden in my arms.
"Go away, Peter." I could still feel his smugness from my perch and it made me feel even sicker, though the blood that still slowly seeped from my lip didn't help either as I could taste it in my mouth.
"You have Henry under your spell, you don't need me to help you manipulate him anymore, so bugger off." I sucked in a sharp breath, suddenly wishing I was with Emma and the others, and that Neal wasn't somewhere being held by Lost Boys.
"I just want to go home." I whispered softly, my heart clenching and twisting as I slowly looked up, unsurprised to see Peter standing in front of me on the thick branch, his head tilted and his arms crossed., an exasperated scowl set onto his face.
He leaned down, his face close to mine and his breath fanning across my face, the cool air causing another round of stinging to go through my lip as I winced, almost biting my lip again before I stopped and covered it with my hand, not wanting it to get any worse than it was.
"You are home, Lily." He leaned closer and raised his eyebrows as he spoke, voice soothing. "I've told you, you belong with me, here." He waved his hand towards the light through the trees. "That is your family. You don't need to be upset about Henry joining it."
I shut my eyes at the reminder that Henry was now fully under Peter's control, feeling them burn before I whimpered as he gently removed my hand from my sore lip, his cool fingers gently probing the split before he sighed in mock annoyance.
"What am I going to do with you, love?" As I stared at him, he suddenly smirked, his eyes filling with heat that made me shiver as he ran his fingers over my lips again. He pulled a small handkerchief out from his belt and gently dabbed at my lip as I trembled against his gentle ministrations, refusing to look at him as he cleaned the blood from my lips and chin.
With a soft, satisfied 'hmm', Peter pulled the bloodstained cloth away and gently touched my still split lip with cool fingers, his magic gently soothing the cut and closing it, my entire body shivered as he did so, aware that while he was very smug about Henry, he was actually trying to comfort me.
Without looking at him, I sighed as he gently cradled my face, his lips resting against my forehead.
"Thank you." He hushed me softly, gently taking my hand and waving it with his, purple mist surrounding us as I transported us to his treehouse, ending up on the hammock.
I finally glanced up at him, my gaze wary as I remembered the heat in his eyes earlier, and quickly backed away as far as the hammock would allow, aware that being alone with him might not have been the best idea now if he intended on looking at me like that.
I sucked in a harsh breath as Peter reached for me, his eyes nearly glowing as his thin fingers gently brushed against my cheek, before he leaned over me and stared down at me through heated eyes. He leaned down, brushing his lips softly against my neck before he moved up and rested his lips centimeters from mine. He kissed me softly, smirking into the kiss.
"Don't make me show you just how much of a 'bloody demon' I can be, Tiger Lily."
As the boys began to dance around the fire, cheering for the newest Lost Boy, I sat silently next to Bae, who was looking miserable as usual while I sat next to him, not wanting to leave him alone.
That plan, however, was dashed when Peter stalked towards me, pulled me up, and took me to the seat that sat near the fire, taking me by the waist and setting me onto the seat.
"Boys! Our Tiger Lily is going to perform a dance for the newest member of our family." He looked at me and bowed as the drums began again and the dancing around the circle resumed. Giving him a dark look, I glanced around until I met Bae's face with a pleading look before Peter's gaze caught mine and he grinned at me as I raised my arms and waved them before I began to spin in a circle, going slow at first and then faster.
As the boys cheered for me, I met Peter's gaze and shivered at the heat that filled them as I continued to dance, aware that his eyes didn't leave me for the rest of the night.
It was only later, when the rest of the boys were asleep, that Peter pulled me to him and kissed me, hard and deep, as he rested against a tree, holding me to him tightly to his lean frame as he kissed me until I was breathless and light-headed.
I shivered as he leaned down, nipping the shell of my ear before he whispered darkly into it and captured my lips again.
"You're mine, Lily."
Curled around me, Peter's breathing was slow and deep as he slept, his eyes closed and his face relaxed as it rested against the top of my head, my own buried in his chest. I sighed, aware that sharing the hammock with him probably wasn't good for me, emotionally and, if Rumple found out, physically as I'm sure Rumple would rip my heart out if he knew the extent of my dealings with Peter Pan.
Neal had an idea, as he'd seen Peter kiss me when we'd both lived on the island, which had almost nearly destroyed my relationship with him as I'd been 'consorting with the enemy'.
I sighed, gently picking at the neck of Peter's tunic, pulling strings from the frayed edges as I occupied my hands, not wanting to go to sleep, as it was rare that Peter was asleep before me.
I used to like trying to stay up later than him, it used to be a game between us, and he usually won more than not, a charming grin of his face as he teased me in the mornings with breathy whispers.
I gently touched his face with trembling fingers as his eyes slid open lazily, green meeting blue, before he smirked down at me and brought his face to mine.
"You win, love."
A/N: Lily's dance is pretty much the same as Tiger Lily's dance from Disney's animated Peter Pan, which I don't own