Tink watched with wide eyes from her perch on the deck. She was inches away from the boy who was taunting the pirate. He was clinging to a rope on the side of the ship, his hand to his mouth as he yelled upwards. What a beautiful boy, was her first thought. He had a youthful face, deep brown eyes, and the most mischievous smile she had ever seen. He was lean but muscular and he was clad in a green tunic with green tights. His bright red hair was covered by a pointed green hat with a red feather sewn into the cloth. Tink's hands went to her own hat, which was identical to his. She watched him closely, as he clung to the ship and seemed to be slipping.
"Why on earth is he here?" she asked herself. The pirates were getting closer and Tink gasped and looked quickly at the boy.
"Get away! They're coming for you, get away from here!" But the boy didn't hear her. He continued to climb the rope and reached up for the edge of the ship.
"I'll have that boy in irons, mark me words. After what he did to me," the Captain was saying. The boy chuckled and shook his head. He put his hand to his mouth and turned his face upwards toward the ship.
"I don't know why you're so upset, James. It's only a hand. You have another one."
"Peter Pan, if you don't show yourself this instant, I'll burn down your hide out!"
"That's only if you can find it and you can't!" He laughed but slipped a little more and bit his lip in pain as his palms smarted from the rope. The Captain was now so close that if he looked down, he would definitely see the boy and could easily reach him with that long sharp thing he carried. Tink flew down and rested on the boy's shoulder.
"What the—"
"You need to get away from here! He's too close to you." The boy's brow wrinkled.
"Stop jingling in my ear. What are you, some kind of lightning bug?"
"BUG?!" She cried indignantly. She zoomed around him several times and he tried to swat her but slipped several more inches down the rope. He glanced down at the ocean beneath him and swallowed.
"Would you leave me alone? If I fall, I'm done for. The croc has been following us since we left Dead Man's Cave!"
"But look up! He's right above you!" The boy swatted at her again and shook his head.
"Look—" but a loud "AH HA" from above made him gasp and look up.
"Lookie here, gents. A little bird that never learned to fly." He peered over the edge of the deck and an evil grin crossed over his face. "Should we teach this little bird how to fly?" The boy yanked a dagger out of his tunic just in time to block the blow from the Captain. Struggling to hold on with one hand, he fought the Captain fiercely. But the boy kept slipping and the Captain smiled as he slipped lower and lower toward the sea.
"I'm sure the crocodile will like you just as much as it liked me."
"I don't taste like codfish," he snapped but he glanced down and gulped. The Captain started cutting at the rope on the side of the ship and the boy gasped.
"Jingles! I have to help him," Tink exclaimed to herself. She flew closer to the boy in green and cocked her head.
"Pixie dust helped Lizzie fly…I wonder if it could make him fly as well." Tink flew in front of his pale face and stretched her arms wide.
"You again? What do you want now, bug?" Tink ignored him and started flapping her arms like wings.
"What are you doing?" Tink shook her head and continued to flap her arms. She flew closer to his face and he jerked back, his eyes crossing when he was right in front of him. She patted his face and forced his mouth into a smile.
"Think happy thoughts," she said clearly. The boy shook his head so Tink sighed. She flew around him several times, coating him in dust. She flew in front of him and flapped her arms again. The Captain cut the last strand of the rope and the boy started plummeting toward the sea. He let out a cry and Tink grabbed onto his finger.
"Happy thoughts, Peter! Think happy thoughts!" And for some strange reason, he understood her. He tried, with all his might, to think of the happiest thing he could and his feet barely touched the waves. With a start, he heard the steady ticking of a clock beneath him.
"Oh no," he said, going pale.
"Shoot yourself upwards. Imagine yourself soaring through the air," she said over him. He closed his eyes and tried with all his might. He felt himself drifting upward and he opened his eyes a crack to see the lightning bug or whatever she was smiling at him.
"Whoa." Tink smiled and glanced beneath them. She gently caressed her cheek, which surprised them both.
"You're flying, Peter." Peter blinked several times and did several back flips in the air, letting out another loud crow. He shot upwards and darted back and forth over the ship, making sure the pirates saw him.
"What do you know, James? This little bird learned to fly after all!" Laughing at their shocked faces, he stuck his tongue out at them and flew lower. The pirate shot his hand up in the air and Peter's tunic was caught on something sharp. He let out a cry as he felt something scrape across his side. His eyes widened when he saw the Captain raise his hand, revealing not a bloody stump as Peter had seen the last time he had encountered this pirate but a shining steel hook.
"You should call me by my new name, boy. Hook."
"Appropriate. I still like codfish better." With another crow, Peter shot into the air and flew away from the ship. Tink followed him closely and Peter noticed she was right behind him.
"Ok bug, let's get to my hideout and you can explain everything."
"My name is Tinkerbell," she chimed. Peter frowned.
"Tinkerbell? Is that what they call you?" Tink nodded.
"Huh. Explains the annoying jingling." Tink stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed. "I'm Peter Pan. Come on, we're not far away. Follow me." He angled his body downward and let out a cry of joy as he felt the wind whip against his face. He absolutely loved this feeling! Flying was incredible and he still couldn't believe it was happening! He landed in front of large dead-looking tree and he looked around.
"Come on inside. There don't seem to be any pirates around." He opened a secret door and Tink started to follow him.
"TINKERBELL!" She gasped and looked up, her heart beating rapidly. She had completely forgotten that she had left Terence behind but he had found her and the look on his face was enough to make anyone hide in this horrible looking tree. He stopped in front of Tink, his hands on his hips and his face screwed up in fury.
"WHAT is wrong with you?! You leave me to go near the pirates, you give a human your pixie dust, and then you just fly off with him! Should I leave the two of you alone to get better acquainted?"
"It's not like that, Terence, it's just—"
"You made him fly. I saw everything. He was being an idiot, taunting that pirate captain."
"He wasn't being an idiot, he was being brave and having fun."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Having fun. And you're not attracted to him in the slightest, huh?"
"Terence of course not! He's a human! And I love you!" She reached out toward him but he jerked away from her, making her eyes widen.
"You touched him Tink. You touched him like…you touch me." His wings fluttered.
"I gotta go."
"Wait! Where are you going?" She had grabbed onto his arm but he shrugged her off.
"I don't know, I just need to get away from here. And you." And with that, he took off in a cloud of pixie dust, leaving Tink all alone, her wings drooping sadly. Peter cleared his throat loudly and Tink whirled around.
"I have no idea what that was about but you look pretty blue. Want to come inside?" She knew she shouldn't have; she should have flown after Terence and begged him to forgive her. But Peter gave her a sympathetic smile and Tink followed him in.
It was a very messy room with all sorts of tunnels. Peter lit some candles and threw himself into a throne-like chair at the end of the room. Groaning, he glanced down at his side and saw it was coated with a generous amount of blood. Rolling his eyes as if it was a nuisance, he jumped to his feet and searched the room, finally straightening up and holding a rag, which he held to his wound. He grimaced but turned back to Tink.
"So, Tinkerbell. What are you exactly?"
"I'm a fairy," she said quietly. "That wound looks sort of deep, are you sure you don't want to clean it?"
"I'm sorry, did you just say fairy?" Tink nodded and Peter looked surprised.
"So you do exist? I'd always heard it was just a myth. That there was no such thing-" Tink was in front of his face and her hands were clapped over his lips before he could finish. His eyes widened.
"Those words are deadly. Every time someone says it, a fairy drops dead. Never say those words." Peter nodded and shook his head, attempting to get Tink off his nose.
"So…how can I understand you? And why did it happen suddenly when you…" he stopped and his eyes widened, his jaw dropping. "You saved me."
"Yeah. You were being an idiot with that pirate."
"I wasn't an idiot," he said indignantly, sprawling out over his chair again and throwing the bloody rag aside. "He hates me though and teasing him is too much fun. Especially since he only has one hand now."
"He has a hook to replace it. You did that?"
"It was an accident," he said nonchalantly as he rolled his hat over his arm. "We were fighting at Dead Man's Cave and he took a swing at me. I dodged it and tried to block him and he didn't stop me in time. I accidentally cut off his hand and before I could pick it up for him, it had fallen off the cliff and right into the crocodile's mouth." Tink looked horrified and Peter scowled. "Quit looking at me like that, I didn't do it on purpose. I'd feel bad about it if he wasn't trying to kill me every five minutes!"
"I don't really blame him," Tink said, her hands going to her hips. Peter jumped to his feet, his hands flying to his own hips.
"Says the fairy who just saved my life! So why'd you stop to save me, huh? You should have just let me handle it on my own." Tink's face was getting redder by the minute.
"You ARE an idiot! You would have been crocodile food if I hadn't saved your scrawny neck! What kind of idiot climbs aboard a pirate ship and has no plan to get away?"
"Stop calling me an idiot," he said crossly. "I'm the best there ever was."
"Best what?"
"Just… the best!" Tink rolled her eyes.
"Are all boys like this? You sound a lot like my best friend."
"You mean the fairy that was here a moment ago? Why couldn't I understand him?"
"I don't know," Tink said desperately, her wings drooping. "I don't understand any of it! I don't know why you can suddenly understand me. I thought it may be because I touched you…but I've touched a human before and she still couldn't understand me." Tink fluttered around the room and finally found some bandages that were larger than she was. She carefully covered Peter's wound and Peter grimaced but stared at her.
"You've been around humans before? In Neverland?"
"No, the Mainland. Fairies are responsible for changing the seasons on the Mainland and I met a little girl named Lizzie. That's where you're from, isn't it? You weren't actually born in Neverland, were you?" Peter scratched his head and shrugged.
"I left home when I was very young. I'm not certain how I ended up here to be honest but I've never left. I'll never grow up. Never."
This cocky youth fascinated Tink to no end. Likewise, Peter was fascinated by the creature that had saved his life.
"So…is he your boyfriend?" For some reason neither of them completely understood, Tink blushed.
"Umm, well…yeah, I guess you'd say he is…he's my Mate, you see…we're joined together because we love each other. And Neverland has chosen Terence and I to be its King and Queen—"
"WHAT?" Peter had jumped to his feet again and was wide eyed. "You didn't tell me that!"
"I just did."
"You're the QUEEN of Neverland? How? And why am I not the King?" Tink's jaw dropped.
"Why would you be the King?"
"Because I'm the best there ever was!"
"Of course," she answered, shaking her head. This boy was infuriating. As most twelve year olds are. "It's just for the season. Anyway, since we had never been outside of Pixie Hollow—"
"What's Pixie Hollow?" Tink glared at him, as she hated to be interrupted.
"My home. It's where all fairies live."
"It's in Neverland? I've never heard of it. I don't know anything about it."
"Do you know everything?"
"Pretty much," he said with a smug smile.
"Well apparently you don't because Pixie Hollow is the heart of Neverland. We have a Pixie Dust Tree that produces pixie dust, enabling us all to fly. And fairies have different talents so there are hundreds of different fairies living there."
"What's your talent?"
"I'm a Tinker," she said proudly and Peter snorted.
"Makes sense, with that name. What do Tinkers do?"
"We tinker things. I love to fix machines and find out how things work and make new things. That's what Tinker Talents do."
"Sounds really boring to me," Peter said wrinkling up his nose. Tink went red. No one insulted her talent.
"It's a rare talent! I happen to very good at what I do." Peter cocked his head and smiled.
"You sure do turn red a lot. You get angry very easily, don't you?"
"Only when infuriating little boys insult me." Peter laughed and it sounded like ringing bells. Tink couldn't help but soften at the sound of it.
"You're just too easy to tease. I could use a Tinker around here. The Lost Boys make a mess of everything."
"The Lost Boys? Who are they?"
"They're my boys. My army. They're out hunting right now."
"But who are they?"
"They're children who have fallen out of their prams when their nurse isn't looking. If they aren't claimed in seven days, they're sent here, to Neverland. I teach them to hunt and fish and live life, however they want! No grown-ups, no rules. They look up to me. I'm their Captain."
"I had no idea there were so many humans in Neverland."
"There's all kinds of creatures in Neverland. Different animals, great giant eagles, the pirates, the Indians and the mermaids…I'll introduce you to them if you like."
"Do you know everyone in Neverland?"
"Pretty much," he said again with that same smile.
"And the mermaids and the Indians, they like you?"
"Of course!" Tink glanced at the door and her wings drooped.
"I should try to find Terence. We are King and Queen, so we should meet everyone together." Peter shrugged and lounged in his chair.
"Be careful of the pirates. They're always searching for my hideout and they could be nearby."
"Aren't you scared?"
"Me? Scared? Never!" Tink rolled her eyes.
"Alright, I'll be right back." She started to go but Peter stood up and gazed up at her.
"Thank you, Tinkerbell." She smiled and shook her head.
"Call me Tink."
So I'm moving tomorrow so it may be a few days before I can update again, hence the long chapter. I've always been fascinated by the story of how Peter and Tink met, since we don't really learn it. And yes, I know that Peter was carried by the fairies when he was a baby but he wouldn't necessarily remember that so just go with it, ok? Lol.
Hope you guys are still enjoying and please keep those reviews coming! I love to read your reactions, lol.