Chapter 2.

I don't know how long we stayed like that. Probably five or six minutes, but it wasn't long enough. Wendy pulled away from me slowly, but my grip tightened. "Peter," she whispered.

I looked down at her. The moonlight coming through the window danced on her cheeks and brightened her eyes. "What is it?"

"It's late. We should get to bed."

I nodded and she broke our embrace, moving towards her bed. I shivered and looked outside. Snow had begun to fall, coating the window sill with a light sprinkling. That window has definitely got to close. My hand had scarcely touched the sill when she asked quietly, "What are you doing?"

I looked at her like she was stupid. "I'm closing the window."

"Don't." It was more of a plea than a demand.

My brow furrowed. "Why not?"

"I— I always leave it open."

For me. "Wendy, we'll freeze."

She twisted her hands together. "I've gotten used to leaving it open. Please don't close it."

I closed it anyway and walked to her bedside, where I sat down. "You may be used to it," I said, "but I'm not staying in here and freezing my ass off." I smiled and looked at her. The smile was instantly gone. She was frowning at me and tear had made its way down her cheek. "Wendy, what's wrong?"

She took a shuddering breath. "You closed the window," she said simply.

"Yes, I know," I said while looking over my shoulder. I faced her again. "What's the big deal?"

She fell back against her pillows and rubbed her fist against her cheek, wiping her tear away. She turned her back to me. "You don't understand," she mumbled.

I took off my shoes and put my legs underneath the covers. I moved close to her and sat up on my elbow where I could get a better view of her face. "No, I don't. But I would if you told me," I said gently. I moved my hand slowly up and down her arm.

She pulled her shoulder away from me in protest, so I stopped. Very reluctantly. "Tell me," I said again.

She mumbled something I couldn't hear and turned to me. "You closed the window."

Is this all she's going to say? "I know. So why are crying? You should be happy I saved you from freezing to death." Sorry attempt at a joke, and it definitely didn't work on her. She frowned again. "I'm sorry."

"You closed the window I always left open for you. I left it open just in case you'd come back. I didn't know if you would or not, but I still left it open. I haven't closed it once, not since I came back. And you just closed it. What if you leave when I go to sleep? Will you leave the window open when you go? If I wake up and it's closed… You can't come back, Peter, you won't come back." Tears were streaming down her face by the time she finished.

She had waited for me. This beautiful, smart girl had waited months for me to come back to her. I was an idiot not to have come sooner. I wiped her tears away with the pad of my thumb. "Hey, hey, listen to me." She was sobbing now. I couldn't stand to see her like that, so I gathered her in my arms and stroked her hair reassuringly. "I'm here now, Wendy. I won't leave, I promise." I kept repeating those words over and over until her sobs became soft hiccups.

"Peter," she said into my shirt.

I pulled away a bit and looked down at her. "Yes?"

"Why didn't you stay?" She didn't look at me, and I was glad she didn't. My eyes widened and I couldn't find the words to answer. "I—I…"

Her eyes met mine. "Why didn't you stay?" she whispered, her eyes pleading for an answer.

I had come to a realization when I was in Neverland. It was what finalized my plans of coming back to Wendy; it was what had kept me away from her. I pulled her close to me once more and took a deep breath. "I was afraid of growing up, Wendy. I didn't come back because I knew I'd stay then. And that meant that I'd have to grow up. I wasn't happy about it. But then I realized that everyone I truly cared about was here in London and that I was alone in Neverland. Of course, there were the mermaids…" That got a snort out of Wendy. "But they weren't nearly as fun to talk to as you, Wendy," I said quickly. I knew how much she disliked those mermaids. I paused before speaking again. "Even Tink left me." It came out as a pained whisper.

"Why?"

I rested my chin on her head and explained what had happened with Tink and her family. "Then she told me something that helped me out a little, right before she left."

"What'd she say?" Wendy asked sleepily.

"That my place didn't lie in Neverland anymore," I replied gently. "And that's when I figured it out, Wendy."

She looked up at me, confused. "Figured out what, Peter?"

I smiled at her. "That my place is here, with you. Wendy, I don't care about growing up anymore. As long as I'm with you and the Lost Boys, nothing else matters. I know I'll be having fun. And as much as growing up is going to suck," this made her chuckle quietly, "it'll be ok. I can get through it, just because I'm with you."

She gave no reply, just threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. Feeling her in my arms… It gave me a funny feeling in my stomach. My chest began to feel tight, but I ignored it. I buried my face in her hair and inhaled. She smelled like soap and lilies, and it nearly intoxicated me. This girl made me feel things I'd never felt before, and it kind of scared me. I mean, I'd given up being young forever for her! …What exactly did that mean? Wendy meant a lot to me, that much was apparent. But did she feel the same about me? I pushed the doubt into a small corner of my mind and sighed. "You're my best friend, Wendy. The very best friend I've ever had."

"And you're mine, Peter," she said sweetly.

With her still in my arms, I lay down on the bed and started stroking her hair again. A few moments later, I felt her breathing begin to steady. She was asleep. I looked out the window at the moon. It was full, and no clouds dared to cover the bright light it cast down on the earth. It reminded me of home, of how I used to sit on the rocks in the lagoon and watch the clouds pass over the night sky while the stars twinkled happily. I could still hear the black water lapping against the rock faces. I wasn't long before my eyes grew heavy and sleep claimed me.

…

I awoke the next morning to a very hysterical scream. My eyes shot open and I flew out of the bed, ready to defend myself against any attackers. "GEORGE! GEORGE, COME QUICKLY!"

I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision and saw a woman standing in the doorway, waving her arms frantically. On closer inspection, I realized that it was Wendy's mother. Why is she going crazy like that?

Wendy sat up in bed quickly and said, "Mother? Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Her mother rushed to her bedside and quite literally picked her up and carried her to the doorway. "Mother? What's wrong?"

"Wendy, there's a strange boy in your room! How did he get in? GEORGE! COME QUICKLY!"

I walked calmly to the doorway to introduce myself, but Mrs. Darling backed up to the wall saying, "Don't you come any closer, young man!" She turned her head to the hallway. "GEORGE!"

Wendy was protesting and squirming, trying to get out of her mother's arms. "Mother, it's alright!"

Mrs. Darling looked down at her daughter incredulously. "Alright? WENDY IT'S NEVER ALRIGHT WHEN A STRANGE BOY HAS MADE HIS WAY INTO YOUR ROOM! DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT HE COULD'VE DONE TO YOU?"

Wendy finally made her way out of her mom's arms and said, "It's alright because I know him." She came up beside me. "This," she gestured to me, "is Peter Pan. He's from Neverland. He flew in through my window last night."

I smiled my most charming smile, but it didn't work. Seemed to do the opposite, actually, because Mrs. Darling fainted on the spot. I looked at Wendy. "Did I do something wrong?"

The sound of footsteps reached our ear and we turned towards the door. Six or seven young boys made their way through the doorway and into the room, each one excited to see what had happened. They all stopped short when they saw me. Slightly was the first to do something. He walked up to me, held out his hand, and said, "Peter! It's good to see you, mate. Glad you could make it back here!"

This brought the others out of their reverie and they all came flying at me, hugging and grabbing my hands for a shake. I crashed to the ground laughing and threw my arms around them all at once, saying, "It's good to see you all!"

Michael was the last to come up to me. He only came up to the middle of my thigh, but he held out his hand, and with a very serious expression, said, "Peter. It's good to see you again, my friend."

I laughed like never before and picked him up. He protested a bit, but I grasped him tightly to me. "Michael, you've certainly grown up since I've been gone," I joked. Everyone else laughed too, but he took it seriously.

"Thank you, Peter. Means a lot."

I pulled back and looked him in the eye. My brow furrowed. "Michael," I said, "I hope you're not trying to grow up. That would be a truly terrible thing. You've got a long time yet to grow, so make the best of it while you can." I set him down and looked at the rest of them, smiling. They all had on pajamas, their hair was a mess, but they all looked to be in top shape. Slightly had grown taller, and so had John. He reached to my neck now. They were all clean cut and looked like proper gentlemen. It would've sickened me if I'd seen them a few months ago, but I knew this is what I'd look like in about a week. That is, if Mr. and Mrs. Darling would let me stay.

"Boys? Why are you all in Wendy's room?" came a confused man's voice. It had to be Wendy's father. "John, Michael? Why is your mother on the floor?"

"She fainted," Michael said simply.

"Father," Wendy said carefully, "there's someone I'd like you to meet."

The boys stepped away to reveal me to their father. He was a tall man, with dark hair, and wore glasses that made his eyes look a bit too small for his face. He glanced questionably to Wendy when he saw me, but said, "Hello. I'm George Darling. And you are…?"

I walked over to him and held out my hand. "Peter Pan, sir. It's nice to meet you." He shook my hand warmly and smiled.

Wendy hooked her arm in her father's elbow. "Father, Peter's from Neverland. Don't you remember me telling you about him?"

"Yes, I believe I do." He looked down at his daughter. "Let me guess," he said. "He's come to stay with us."

Wendy nodded eagerly. "Can he stay with us, father? Please?"

Mr. Darling looked at me and said, "Well, Peter, what do you have to say about all this?"

I was nervous for some reason. I didn't know why, but I looked down at my feet when I answered him. "Sir, I decided it was high time that I grew up." I heard the boys behind me gasp. Here it comes…

"Peter…," Slightly said. "W—why? You can't grow up. The boy who'd never grow up, that's who you are, mate."

I still looked to the floor. "I know, Slightly. But I figured something out when I went back to Neverland." I turned to face him. "Everyone I cared about was here. I was alone in Neverland. Tink even left me. I thought to myself, 'You know, I'm going to end up just like old Hook did.' And I didn't want that to happen to me. Would you, boys?" I looked over my shoulder at Wendy, and then turned back to Slightly. "And Wendy's here too." I smiled, but didn't explain any further. I couldn't, or the boys would think me sick or crazy, one.

"Well, I think we have room enough for Peter to join the family, don't you think, kids?" Mr. Darling walked over to me and slapped me playfully on the back. "You'll be sleeping in the nursery until we can make another room for you." He checked his watch. "It's still early yet. How about some breakfast? You must be famished."

"Yes, sir, I am. Thank you so much, sir!" Mr. Darling nodded and walked out of the room, ordering for the twins to wake Mrs. Darling and bring her to the dining room.

Everyone shuffled out into the hallway and down the stairs, but I hung around the back until they were gone. I took a deep breath and looked around me. This… This is my new home. I'm going to be a proper kid with a proper family. I wonder how Mrs. Darling's going to take the news…

My thoughts were interrupted by a touch on my arm. I glanced beside me and saw Wendy's beautiful face smiling up at me. Her red lips caught my eye and I had an overwhelming urge to feel them on mine, to feel how soft they were. "What is it?" I asked slowly.

"You're home, Peter, you're finally home." I grinned at her. Tink's words came back to me as we made our way down to the dining room. She was right; my place lied here now. I'm finally home.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed it! :D Please leave a review if you care to. Constructive criticism is very much appreciated! Thanks for reading!

~Atolli.