Something changed that day. While she was no longer arrested for attacking Pan, she had been arrested, along with him, for skipping school on multiple accounts and causing chaos for the town's occupants.
Almost all of her free time was spent with him, whether it be sneaking out at night (or him sneaking in), going to Any Given Sundae after school, him picking her up after a therapy session and taking her to Granny's for lunch, or simply sitting together and disrupting classes at school, which earned them many detentions, but they couldn't care less.
For Malcolm, she was a positive influence on him, anytime that she skipped with him, he made up by going the next day when she asked him to. It was out of character, but they worked well together. While both were hotheaded and fought on a daily basis, one always caved in. It was endless cycle, but they wouldn't change it for the world.
Neal and many other citizens had become unsure when the two had begun to hang out, progressively getting more and more public, and had worked hard to keep the two away from each other, but they were failing miserably.
Over the next two weeks after their first date, Snow and David (he seemed to have given in to the charm of having a growing daughter that needed him) had become much more overbearing, practically forbidding her from going out. She had even spent the night in a cell adjacent to Felix, her parents refusing to post bail after so many offenses, claiming that it was time she learned a lesson. She had just rolled her eyes and slumped into the chair in the room.
She had been sleeping a lot better as well, at least when Malcolm was around, chasing away the horrible nightmares that usually plagued her subconscious.
Slowly but surely, despite the pleas of the town to prevent it, the two were falling in love.
She woke up at the sound of something hitting her window, quiet spaced out taps. She yawned as she climbed out of bed, bruise-like bags already forming under her eyes from her two days of nightmares (she had gotten used to sleeping peacefully, making their return much worse). She wrapped her arms around herself, the cold chill of the room meeting her bare arms and legs, slipped on a pair of slippers and made her way to the window, her eyes drooping from fatigue.
Stopping at the sill, she tried to blink rest of the sleep away, prying the glass pane upwards, glad when it didn't make a loud squeaking noise. Rubbing her eyes, she braced herself against the sill with her palms, leaning out the opening and searching the dark street below, ignoring the cold the permeated her v-neck t-shirt.
Three stories below, a few yards away from the building's base, stood Peter, smirking up at her. She couldn't help the grin that spread on her face. "What are you doing here?" she whisper-shouted.
His laugh wafted up towards her, along with his reply. "Catch!"
Before she could even ask what he was talking about, a rope was thrown with immaculate precision, and with equally impeccable speed, she caught the cord, looking down at him confusedly. "What the hell to you want me to do with this?" she hissed as quietly as possible.
She could just barely make out him rolling his green eyes in amusement. "Tie it to something and get down here! I came to break you out; I wanted to talk to you," he called back honestly.
She huffed at his idiocy, but made quick work of tying her end to one of her bed posts, and she slipped on a pair of fuzzy, fluffy pajama pants and her converse. She put her hair into a messy bun on top of her head to make it look more intentionally messy and making her way back to the window.
She easily climbed down the rope, using her feet on the wall and slowly walking backwards. She jumped the last few feet, landing with surprising grace and turning to face Pan. A shiver ran down her spine, and she mentally scolded herself for not grabbing a jacket. Her teeth chattered despite her attempts to control it.
It was always chillier in Maine, but the temperature was steadily decreasing due to the change in seasons. It also didn't help that her body was terrible at temperature regulation and that she had been constantly dropping pounds until she began to spend time with Malcolm, returning her weight to a more stable, healthy number.
Peter clicked his tongue next to her, looking down at her with mock exasperation, though a smirk pulled up the corners of his mouth. "Leave it to you, Nolan," he said, shaking his head, offering her a sweatshirt that she recognized him wearing from time to time. She waved her hand, dismissively. "I-I-I'm f-f-fine. I-I-It's m-my own f-fault."
He rolled his eyes, "So noble, love," he said sarcastically, "I can't have you freeze to death, and besides, I knew you would need it; you aren't exactly the most modest sleeper."
She glared, punching him in the shoulder, all the while taking the sweatshirt and pulling it over her torso. She did usually only sleep in shorts and a t-shirt, but it wasn't that immodest, she was always completely covered.
He nodded his approval, looking her over– he always exploited every opportunity to check her out (even if his sweatshirt did hide a part of her perfectly sculpted curves) – and then grabbed her hand and began pulling her through the deserted town.
They passed all of the shops and houses, most of which had people tucked away in their beds, oblivious to the two teens. She was becoming impatient, wondering where they could possibly be going (she hated surprises) when he pulled her to a stop at the small park, that was currently vacant of any life.
Offering her a smile, he pulled her into the trees and back to the castle that they had sat at on their first date. He led her to the roof, pulling her into his side as he sat down. This was one of Reyna's favorite spots, the quiet ocean currents could be heard in the distance, offering a soothing background noise, and the sky and trees offered the best scenery as they sat at the top.
She rested her head on his shoulder, grasping his hand in hers, allowing the companionable silence to wash over her. "Didn't you want to talk about something?" she asked, suddenly remembering the reason that he woke her up.
He hummed in reply, squeezing her hand before turning to face. "I missed you these last few days," he muttered, turning to stare into her eyes that reflected the stars.
She chuckled. "Don't get all soft on me, Cassidy," she said jokingly, her own face becoming a little more serious as she leaned towards his, "I missed you too. My parents are acting like arses."
Malcolm chuckled at her words, lightly bumping his nose against hers. Their lips were only centimeters apart. "I love you, Nolan," he whispered, so softly that she barely heard it. Her breathing elevated ever slightly, her wide eyes, scared, meeting his, which shown with honesty and care.
She didn't move away. "I love you too, Cassidy," she murmured, closing the gap between their lips.
A large, powerful wave of magic, more powerful than any other to ever be seen by Storybrooke's residents, swept over the small, sleeping town.
In the sheriff's office, Felix jolted awake, a smirk washing over him as he got his bearings; he would recognize that feeling anywhere.
On the Jolly Roger, which was anchored at the harbor, Killian Jones had fallen from his spot on the deck, rising up with wide eyes as he looked for the source of such magic.
In a room at Granny's Inn, Tinkerbell looked up from her book with a small, sad smile, remembering the same magic washing over Neverland years ago.
In one of the bedrooms on the top floor of the mansion at 108 Mifflin St., Henry Mills was half-asleep as the most powerful form of magic flooded the house, bringing a smile to his face. He knew that with that, someone had found their happy ending. That is what True Loves Kiss is all about.
For Pan, the effect had been instantaneous. As soon as their lips had touched, all of his memories came flying back, and he felt comfortable once again in his own skin. Gone was Malcolm Cassidy, and welcomed back with open arms was Peter Pan.
He still had all the memories leading up to that moment, and it was a relief to be back, all of his memories of Reyna and Neverland where they should be. He would make the heroes pay as promised, he wouldn't get sidetracked again.
He was pulled back to the present as Reyna cried out in pain.
As soon as their lips had touched, she jerked away, her hands moving to clutch her head as it began pounding. Her ears rang loudly, her head splitting as memories fought to take control. She cried out as the pain became unbearable.
Multiple personalities warred, slamming into her skull as each army tried to force the others out. Memories of Killian beating her clashed with those of Pan's torture, memories of Felix wrestled those of Henry and Ruby, memories of growing up with Liam brawled with being raised by the loving Snow White and Prince Charming, and memories of Peter Pan fought with those of Malcolm Cassidy.
She hardly registered her name being called, or having arms wind around her torso, or the feeling of Peter nuzzling her neck, whispering reassurances as he tried to pull her out of the pain.
Tears leaked down her face as she fought to get a hold on something, anything, that was racing around her head. Her mind went up in flames as it fought to return to a stable state, but it remained in shambles for several more minutes.
She released a heart wrenching sob as Pan tried to coax her fingers from where they were all but imbedded in her skull and hair, and if she wrapped them any tighter, he was sure that her hair would be coming out in clumps. Not wanting to let her hurt herself, he carefully intertwined both of their hands, not bothered as she tightened them painfully from whatever pain she was suffering. Her nails bit into the back of his hands, drawing blood, but he ignored it.
Slowly, all the files were organized, and the recollections that the kiss brought back had won the battle with the false ones. Her breathing was shaky as she calmed, her head still throbbing from the force of the aching flow of memories. Her fingers flexed on their own accord, her grip relaxing on him as her shoulders slumped.
"Pe…ter?" she asked after a few beats of her labored breathing, her tone hopeful, her British accent dwindling down to sound more faint.
His relief was palpable as he pulled her into his lap, wrapping her in his arms. "I'm right here, love. I'm back. We're back. We're okay," he whispered assuredly, rocking her small frame slightly.
She released a breath that she had been holding, opening her eyes and meeting his for the first time since they were back to themselves. She hiccupped slightly, tangling a fist into his shirt as the other pulled his mouth to hers in an urgent, needy kiss, ignoring the taste of salty tears.
He obliged her, relieved to feel her with him again, and truly be able to shake the unsettling feeling he had as Malcolm Cassidy. Everything in the moment was perfect for the couple.
Revenge could wait.
Not far from the reunited couple, deep in the forest, a women flying on a broomstick landed on the green ground near the well that had once brought magic to the land without magic. As the sun rose over the horizon, she dropped bottle after bottle in, cackling to herself as she spoke of taking what she deserved and ruining someone.
As the chemicals in the well began to effervesce, she lifted a small parcel that rested on her hip, unwrapping it to reveal a glowing, red beating heart. Taking hold of it, she held it over the curse, crushing it to dust and allowing it to fall through her fingers. She smirked as it began to rise, giving the still sleeping citizens only a few hours to prepare for it to strike them. And she had only one more stop to make, a Dark One to catch.
She gave one more maniacal laugh as she turned away from the well. "I'll see you soon, sis, somewhere over the rainbow. Things are about to get wicked." She disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.
A/N: Sequel posted and complete, called "The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway". Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed!