A/N: Just a bit of a darker fic. Nothing related to Adventures or my Once Upon a Time series or any of the AUs, just a random dark fic inspired by the nightmares I've been plagued with after seeing season 3 of Once Upon a Time. This is pretty much all of the universal portrayals of Peter Pan, though mostly inspired by the show I just mentioned and it's in a modern-day setting. I don't know how many chapters this will have or how often it will be updated, but feel free to read, review, comment, insult, do whatever you want with it.
Once upon a time, it was late at night in the Darling household. The eldest child, Wendy, was entertaining her younger brothers with some stories before helping them get ready for bed as asked of her by their parents as she did every night. She never minded as she loved the company of her younger brothers and they did in return, especially for the adventures she would share with them before they would all go to bed for the night.
"Cinderella flew through the air far from all things ugly and ordinary," Wendy began. "When she landed at the ball, she found herself most impertinently surrounded by pirates. There was Alf Mason, so ugly his mother sold him for a bottle of Muscat. Bill Jukes, every inch of him tattooed. And worst of them all, Hook, with eyes blue as forget-me-nots, save when he clawed your belly with the iron hook he has instead of a right hand, at which time his eyes turn red."
"'Girlie', said Hook, 'We have come for ye glass slippers'." John spoke up, getting into the story as the Darling siblings often told storytime into playtime very quickly most of the time as he brought out a toy sword to "fight" his sister with.
"Who be you to order me about and call me girlie?" Wendy smirked before she took out her own toy sword to play with her brother. "Take that! Take that! Take that!" she then smirked before she continued. "Hook came at her."
"What happened then?" Michael piped up as he giggled and hugged his teddy bear.
"What happened then?" Wendy repeated with a small smile before she continued her story. "The brave Cinderella settled the matter once and for all with her revolver."
"With her revolver?" John and Michael repeated in surprise.
Wendy merely nodded as she smiled at them, using her very exciting and expanded imagination. The night on which the extraordinary adventures of these children may be said to have begun was the night the family dog named Nana barked at the window, but there was nothing there, not a bird or a leaf. So the children forgot about it, for what troubles a grown-up will never trouble a child. It was a very nice evening for all of them.
"Good night, John and Michael." Wendy smiled warmly at her little brothers.
"Good night, Wendy." John and Michael smiled back as they went to get themselves to bed after the exciting story about Cinderella.
Wendy beamed at them as she felt very good about herself then. She then went over and lightly pet the dog who looked up at her before following her out the door and she shut the door behind them to give John and Michael some privacy. She was then on her way to bed until she heard her parents off of the telephone since they made a call earlier that night and she decided to tell them good night before she would get ready for bed herself.
"Mary, don't you think Wendy should learn to grow up and not fill her brothers' heads with silly stories?" George asked his wife, unaware of their daughter sneaking around behind them.
"Oh, George... Wendy is mature enough for her age and there's nothing wrong with having a childish side to you, even when you're all grown up," Mary reassured warmly. "Besides, the boys love Wendy's stories. That's why she shares stories with them every night to excite their imaginations. It's just apart of life."
"Hmm..." George firmly harrumphed as he seemed to think differently. "Well, let's just hope they can behave themselves once Aunt Millicent comes over for dinner next week."
Wendy felt struck as her mother viewed her as a child and grasped her chest and flinched. She was childish? But she was almost a teenager! She just felt emotionally crushed that she wasn't seen as a grown-up in the eyes of her parents and that deeply upset her, especially since she was going through the awkward part life of not a teenager yet, but also not a little kid anymore. She wasn't sure why, but being viewed as a child by her parents seemed to strike her and hurt her on the inside before she turned away and quickly went to go back upstairs.
"...Wendy?" Mary called in concern.
Wendy was heard crying suddenly as she opened her bedroom door and slammed it shut behind her.
"Oh, dear..." Mary frowned.
"...What's gotten into her?" George wondered.
"...I'm not sure," Mary replied. "Maybe I should go check on her."
George nodded as he decided to get some tea as Mary was on her way upstairs. John and Michael suddenly came out of their room as Wendy slamming the door woke them up and they looked over to their sister's room in concern. Wendy sniffled and firmly huffed as she came into her room. John and Michael wondered whether to go after their sister or not, but before they could think independently, Mary spoke up to them as she decided to give Wendy some time to cry and think before she would open up and talk about what happened to get her to behave in such a way suddenly.
"Leave your sister be for a little while," Mary advised her younger sons. "She needs some of personal time."
John and Michael obeyed their mother, but that didn't cease their worry about Wendy sounded so emotionally crushed.
Wendy was lying down on her bed and was hugging her pillow as she cried her eyes out. "Oh, Nana... I don't mean to be childish... I was just having fun," she said with a sniffle as she looked at the family dog who came up to her. "After all, there's nothing wrong with having a little fun once in a while, right?"
Nana, who could not speak back, just looked at Wendy with innocent brown eyes. Though she couldn't communicate with Wendy in the same language, she did seem to actually be listening and pay attention to what was being said to her. She then let out a small bark in response.
"Right..." Wendy said as she reached out and gently pet the dog as she sniffled emotionally before sitting up on her bed. "There's nothing wrong with that... Even though my parents think otherwise..."
Nana lightly whimpered and whined and lay her head down in Wendy's lap.
"Oh... I just wanna get away from here now..." Wendy pouted as she pet the dog firmly, but mostly gently. "But where would I go? I just wish there was a place I could escape to without worrying about growing up and being childish."
Then suddenly, as though to grant her wish suddenly, there was a tapping heard outside the window. Wendy then jolted and yelped as that startled her before Nana started to bark. Wendy then reached out and shushed her dog and put her finger to her mouth with a nod. Nana lightly whined, but soon stopped barking instantly.
Wendy nodded before she came over to her window and opened the curtains before yelping and jumping back in surprise. In the tree just outside her window, there appeared to be a baby-faced boy right there who looked at her from outside. "Huh?" she then blinked before she came to the window and opened it up. "What...? Who... Who are you...?" she then asked as she saw the boy up close.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to scare you..." The boy spoke as he looked at her innocently. "I was just climbing around... I'm a tree climber, you see..."
"...So I see..." Wendy merely blinked and nodded. "Now please, tell me who you are... You're not going to hurt me, are you?"
"No... I won't hurt you..." The boy said, shaking his head. "My name is Peter. What's yours?"
"Oh... I'm Wendy," Wendy replied calmly. "Wendy Moira Angela Darling-"
"Wendy's enough," Peter said with a nod as she seemed to have a bigger name than he was expecting. "...Sorry, Wendy, am I bothering you? I didn't mean to make you cry."
"You didn't make me cry," Wendy reassured as calmly as possible as she wiped one of her wet eyes. "I was just thinking."
"That sounds boring," Peter replied with a small smirk before he decided to hop into her room and stood in front of her, making her gasp and step back before she sat right back down on her bed. He then took a look around before looking back at her. "This is yours?"
"Y-Yes... It's my room..." Wendy nodded. "You're in my house..."
"But you seem not happy at home..." Peter said to her.
"...It's complicated..." Wendy sighed and turned away from him.
Peter just looked at her thoughtfully. "...You wanna get out of here? Maybe go for a ride?" he then invited. "We could get you out of the house if you're having a tough time."
"Oh... Uh... I couldn't leave my home and family..." Wendy said thoughtfully.
"It would just be for a little bit until you feel better..." Peter said before smirking. "I hate to see a pretty young girl cry."
Wendy flinched before she looked at him and blushed. "...Y-You think that I'm pretty?" she then asked lightly.
Peter soon hopped over right onto her bed and seemed to be sitting on her stomach to look her dead in her chocolate brown eyes, making her blush even more. "I think you're the most amazing girl I've seen in a long time." he then said in a whispery voice, sending chills through her body.
"Oh... T-T-Thank you, Peter..." Wendy trembled and blushed.
Peter smirked before he hopped off of her and began to go back to the window. "I heard about your wish and I happen to know a place where you can forget about your troubles," he then said to her. "I could take you over there if you want..."
"You heard my wish?" Wendy asked before pouting. "Didn't your mother tell you that it's wrong to eavesdrop?"
"Maybe... Once... A long time ago..." Peter replied with a small, nonchalant shrug. "But if you would rather stay here and be sad with your own little pity party... I could leave." he then said as he walked off to the window before he held up five fingers on his hand before putting them down one-by-one and was about to get to his final finger.
"Peter, wait!" Wendy called. "...How would we get to this place?"
Peter seemed to grin a bit before he turned back over at her. "Do you trust me?" he then asked.
Wendy blinked as she seemed unsure at first since she had just met this boy, but... She found herself unable to resist or deny his question as she found him to be rather cute and charming even if she knew nothing about him. "...Yes, I trust you." she then deicded to say.
"That's all I wanted to hear..." Peter said before he seemed to grin with wider eyes, seeming to be hopeful. "Let's play~"