The next day passed very slowly. Wendy dressed for the day while Peter waited outside the door, and Tinkerbell glared at him disapprovingly. But he knew she was still happy to be here, because now Peter would finally be happy. Even if just for a little while.
"Thank you for coming with me Tink," he tells her.
After a reunion with the boys, the question of parents came up. Were they to meet him? How, as he started to think things through, could he take Wendy away forever without leaving an explanation to them? Things seemed so much simpler four years ago, so much easier and carefree. No, he didn't have that luxury anymore. He had to do this the mature way if it was going to happen. Somehow let her parents know that she is in good hands, even if they're powerless to stop her retreat. That is, if she were to agree to go…
Wendy exits her room and nearly runs into Peter in the hallway, who was standing very close to her door.
"Oh!" she gasps, startled.
"I'm sorry for what I said last night," Peter says quietly but rushed. "I know it's hard to even consider leaving your home. I just hope you know how much I want you to be with me, and how much it would mean if you lived in Neverland," he says. It was not often Peter displayed this kind of emotion, but the past few years have been a whirlwind of feelings he's never felt before. It was so mind boggling. He wasn't sure how to put what he felt into words.
Wendy didn't answer; she simply gazed at him and lifted her hand slowly to his face, tracing his features before placing her palm on his cheek. She studies him for a moment and Peter stands there awkwardly, not used to any attention, especially from a female that wasn't four inches high.
"You're beautiful, do you know that Peter?" she says softly. He looks down, unsure how to react. He's never been given this news before.
"I didn't know," he whispers, looking back up at her, unable to avoid her eyes.
"Well," she sighs, wrapping both her arms around his neck, "now you do."
"I'm not sure how to ask you to touch your lips to mine…" he stutters, feeling the urge to hold her in his arms that way again, but not quite sure how to initiate it.
"You want to kiss me," Wendy blushes.
"You called it a thimble, Wendy," he retorts, faces still only inches apart. It was like little flares of energy were connecting them, strands of it only thickening the tension.
"I do believe I have told you a lie then," she answers guiltily, breath faltering from the closeness of him. "A thimble is what I've called a kiss, and a kiss is what I've called a thimble." Peter thinks about this for a moment before answering.
"Then I want to kiss you," he says, placing his hands on her neck and leaning in before she can answer. They fall into each other's embrace and for a moment there is no more worry. Neither of them have been his happy in ages.
He wanted desperately to push her back into the room, close the door, and follow whatever it is he feels that has been bottled up inside for so long. But the thought of doing that scared him, because he knows something could happen. But what? There has always been that unspoken adult thing that Peter knew sprouted from kissing, but he has never really fully come to understand it. All he knew was that it was the most powerful thing you could do. It was something only grownups were supposed to do, because they kept it a secret from children.
"Bloody hell," Michael mumbles disapprovingly. Peter disregards him and continues kissing his lovely so passionately; unable to comprehend why Michael would intrude on such a precious moment.
"Peter," Wendy scolds, nudging him away for her space. "Manners," she says quietly. She turns to Michael and tries to play calmly.
"Breakfast is ready," he says before turning and disappearing down the hall.
"Rude," Peter scuffs the floor with his foot, mumbling.
"Yes, you were," she responds. Peter looks up, hurt at her accusation.
"How was I rude? He's the one who interrupted. I know you were enjoying yourself just as much as I was," he defends, straightening out his leaves from last nights sleep. He looks and feels disheveled.
"It was not a smart decision to engage in physical relations in the middle of the hallway," she says to him, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Next time we ought to stay in the room." She takes off down the hallway in a quick stride, turning a corner and going into another room.
Peter follows her, a wide and smug grin on his face. 'Next time' he thought.
"Here," she says to him as he enters the dimly lit room.
"What are these?" he questions as she places the fabric in his hands.
"Well I won't have you meeting mother and father in vines and leaves," she says, as if he should know that was unacceptable.
"Right," he mumbles as she passes him into the hallway.
"Get dressed, I'll wait for you out here," she says, gesturing to the room behind him. He gives her a very obviously awkward smile before she closes the door. Peter had not the slightest idea of how to put these clothes on.
/
It took him almost fifteen minutes to get everything on correctly, and even then Wendy had to redo the buttons on his vest once he entered the hallway a little tangled.
"You did fine," she assures. He started to panic a little bit at the thought of meeting her parents, but her soft touches reassured him he'd be okay.
"When I get back to Neverland I'll need to travel around naked for a week just to get the feeling of clothes off of me," he mumbles disapprovingly of the clothing as Wendy fixes him up, straightening out his collar. He notices the slight blush on her cheeks and kisses them.
"You're such a boy, Peter," she chuckles as she swats him away. He laughs back and takes her resistance as a challenge, peppering her face with more and more kisses.
"I won't deny that," he says childishly.
"Come," she finally says, "let's eat."
"I'm starving," he admits.