xiii. such a softie
━ ❝ you're too cute ❞
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fifty votes and thirty comments for next chapter!
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FELIX WAS COMPLETELY oblivious to everything that had happened in the camp concerning Arabella, the boys, and Pan. He was busy waiting for Neal to arrive so he could hold him captive. It was the immortal leader idea because then they could keep Gold occupied. Little did they know that the game was about to shift due to the outcome of this. The two of them were walking through the forest and the second in command was perfectly fine with the silence. Until he decided to have a bit of fun.
"Feels like just yesterday I welcomed you to Neverland the first time, Baelfire. Gotta say, hoped I'd never see you again."
Neal stayed calm. It had been years since he'd been on the island full of nightmares. He remembered all of the things he went through with Pan, hearing the lost boys cry at night, and all he did to escape this disastrous place. Yet here he was, right back in the endless torture realm that is known as Neverland. "Then maybe Pan shouldn't have taken my son."
"Maybe you should've left well enough alone. "
"I'm gonna get him back."
They turned down a path and Felix put his club on his shoulders. He nearly laughed. "You really believe that? You were a lost boy. You know Peter Pan's not to be trifled with." He smirked. "You know how long he's been searching for the heart of the truest believer. Do you really believe he'll just... give him up?"
Unbeknownst to Felix, Neal started to pry the ropes off his wrists. He tried to keep the conversation going so the lost boy didn't notice. "Maybe if I ask nicely."
Felix chuckled that time. In the years he arrived on Neverland, he was always quiet and emotionless, not saying very much about anything. Later it was revealed the reason why: he had been physically and verbally abused through his entire life by his own father. Pan got him out of the shell. He was still awfully quiet at times, but he did have more of an opinion and wasn't afraid to speak his mind if needed. So that's why he did it then. "You may have grown up, Baelfire, but it would appear you have grown up stupid."
"I have grown up. I don't know if I'm stupid or not, but I do know I know how to tie an overhand knot." Neal got free and swung around, punching Felix in the face, making him fall to the ground unconscious. The adult threw off his jacket. "I'm not a boy anymore, Felix. I sure as hell ain't lost." Running off into the woods, he hoped he found Emma before Pan found him.
———
Arabella woke up early in the morning. She didn't open her eyes due to her enjoying her position on the comfy bed. It was nothing like her room at the castle but somehow this was better. Because she wasn't alone. There wasn't much arguing — surprisingly — when Pan announced that they were sharing a bed. She had given him a look but then he gave her a puppy dog pout which she couldn't bring herself to deny.
There were arms wrapped around her waist as someone laid their head on her stomach. Pan was still asleep when she opened her eyes. He was happily sleeping with a content look on his face. Arabella found herself smiling when the memory she received in her dreams came to mind. It was when they had first met. The memory was amazing because she felt as if she was living it all over again. And it was a start to remembering everything and the former princess was grateful.
Pan started to stir as if he was waking up. She moved her hand and put it in his hair and started running her fingers through the brown strands. Instantly, his movements ceased and he relaxed. Arabella smiled again and continued. Her hands were gentle, evoking a soft sigh from him which told her that he was awake. Or perhaps he wasn't. She stopped after a few minutes. When she did, a hand grabbed her wrist putting it back in their hair.
"I liked that," Pan admitted groggily.
Arabella rolled her eyes playfully and started playing with his hair again. Using her other hand, she intertwined it with his. Just something about the connection between the two kept her from running away. Pan wasn't someone she feared. In fact, she had grown to quite like him. They knew each other in the past — they were married and still were. So the bond they had seemed natural to her. Leaning down, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I remembered something."
He perked up and turned his body to the other side so he could look at her. "Really?"
She smiled and nodded slightly. "I remember when we met. I remember how you were so nervous and kept stuttering. You were a total blushing mess, love." Laughing away, he rolled his eyes that time, fighting a smile.
"I was not," he whined.
Arabella smirked and stopped playing with his hair. "Yes, you were."
Pan narrowed his eyes at her. "No, I wasn't." He was always so stubborn even when they were together. She didn't know that but she assumed so. Without her around, he forgot how much he depended on her to make him feel childish. It was odd to outsiders. But Arabella always reminded him that he was a kid at heart, even if he was in his forties. Lost in his thoughts, the immortal boy was brought back when his wife pushed him off of her. "Aria!"
She sat up and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes, you were. You just don't want to admit it because you're this big and bad leader now. Even if you secretly like to cuddle." Arabella tapped his nose and he scrunched it up in reply. "Oh I know, I could just go tell all of the boys how their big and bad leader likes to cuddle!"
The former princess jumped up from the bed. Pan's eyes widened and he tackled her playfully back onto the bed. He put his arms on the sides of her, caging her in. "No, you are not."
Arabella smirked, running a hand down his chest. Biting her lip, she whispered, "And what will you do if I tell them?"
He smirked and put his hands on her waist. Arabella rose an eyebrow and then Pan started tickling her. She laughed loudly, gasping for air. The leader smiled at the sound. "Peter!" He stopped after a few more seconds. "Are you going to tell the boys?"
Bring her lips into a pout, she replied, "No."
"Good."
He got up, sitting up on the bed, and Arabella followed. She suddenly got an idea and sighed dramatically. "Well, I guess you're never going to hear my accent ever again." It was such a silly thing to imagine and yet it was the funniest thing ever. He had an accent himself and yet her's somehow held an effect on him. The boy acted as if he was hearing a goddess speak to him.
Pan's eyes widened again, looking alarmed. "Why not?"
Arabella looked around the room, her hands running over the sheets while she pretended to be innocent. They both knew she wasn't — far from it. Her eyes held a sort of delicacy. But that was only because the fire stirred in the shadows of them. "Because you weren't very nice to me."
"Aria!" he whined. "But I love your accent."
"Guess you should've thought about that then." He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, like a child. Turning around, Pan laid face first into the bed. Arabella couldn't help but laugh at him, shaking her head and smiling wide. "Peter...."
His words were muffled by the bed she could hear them and comprehend what he was saying. "Leave me alone." She called his name again, letting it drag off her tongue. Pan still wouldn't budge. "I'm not talking to you until I hear your accent."
Arabella laid down next to him. Giving her husband a sigh, she rubbed his back. "Malcolm, love." Her accent seeped through every syllable. Maybe he was obsessed with it because of how strong and angelic it was. But he was nonetheless.
Pan looked over at her and smiled. "That's much better." He then wrapped his arms around her waist, setting his head in the crook of her neck. A frown reached his features but she didn't see it. True love's kiss would break this curse on her. If it was even a curse. But he couldn't bring himself to just kiss her out of the blue. Not unless she wanted it. "I love you."
Smiling sadly, she nodded. "I know. I lo..." Her lips closed and no words came out. Pan looked at her again, giving her a sympathetic look. He understood why she couldn't say it just yet. She wasn't too sure if she really did love him. Perhaps she did back then. What about now?
"It's okay," he told her softly. "You don't have to say it."
———
Gold was far into the jungle, continuing his journey to find his grandson and his mother who he found out was also taken by Pan. And it was only a matter of time before she was hurt by his father. Taking some black powder, he crushed it into bits on a rock. Once he was sure it was good enough, he dabbed his fingers in it and then put three lines down his face.
"You always felt more comfortable behind a mask," Belle mused, appearing out of thin air and sitting down next to him.
He turned to her. "You were the only one who could ever see past it, past the mask of the monster." No matter how many times he had let her down or pushed her away, she always did see the good in him. And she always came back.
She smiled. "Then why put it back on now?" Everything about her was normal so he didn't even see that this was clearly not Belle. It was the shadow that took him away when he was only a boy. But Gold was blinded by his desire to see the bookworm.
"I need the monster, Belle," he confessed. "It's the only way I can save them. And that's what I've decided. I'm gonna save Henry and my mother. "
Belle's voice was gentle as she spoke to him. It always was. The way her hand stayed on top of his, it felt like she was there with him. But she was in StoryBrooke, oblivious to all of this because this wasn't her. And even the Dark One couldn't notice. "The prophecy states that Henry will be your undoing. To save him, you ensure your own death."
The way she said it made him question her. "You don't think I can do it?"
Lying through her teeth, the shadow made up something that it felt like Belle would say in a response. "I think your intentions are good. But a lifetime of craven self-interest is a nasty habit that you've never been able to break."
"Things are different now."
"How? What... what's different?"
Gold was silent for a moment. What did he have to live for? His mother? She was better off without a failure like him. After all, while she was off somewhere, suffering, he was killing, torturing, and manipulating to get what he wanted. Other than that, there wasn't anything else. Neal was dead. "Because I have nothing to live for."
Belle looked a bit offended though her expression stayed soft and her voice remained kind. "What about me?"
"You're not real. Just a vision."
"But I'm... I'm back in Storybrooke, waiting for you."
He let out an unamused laugh. "You shouldn't be. When I said goodbye to you, Belle, we both know it was for good." He stood up, looking away from her. Didn't she understand that this is what he had to do? Didn't she understand that this was his redemption? She replied by saying that she thinks he'll come back. Turning back to her, he sighed. "Even if I did, eventually you'd leave me because you can see me for what I really am." He pointed to himself. "You think you see a good man, but in time, you'd see the monster. My son is dead. The only way I can redeem myself is by saving his son and his grandmother and giving my life."
———
"I still don't get it," Arabella said as she plopped down on the log next to Pan. "Is there a price of something to Henry saving magic? Because otherwise, I don't understand why Emma and they would be so against it." Her mind hadn't stopped thinking of possible explanations. Could he die? That was only one of many answers. Pan didn't make eye contact with her and Arabella noticed. "So what's the price?".
Pan thought quick, he couldn't tell her the truth. He would lose her for sure. She didn't even remember him and yet she's giving him a chance. And he couldn't let that go to waste. The love he lost was back and if she found out the truth. He'd be forced to gain her trust again. "Henry has to stay here on Neverland."
Arabella sighed in relief, not catching his lie again. If she did remember him, she would've caught on right away. But she didn't. "That's not that bad of a price. I thought he'd die or something."
He forced a smile. "Yeah, it's not us. For his family, it is."
Arabella smiled back at him and Pan wrapped his arm around her waist. If lying to her got her to stay, then he would lie. If keeping her in the dark to protect her kept her with him, then he'd do it. There was no way he was losing her again. Years of not knowing if she was alive, wondering what could've been. Centuries of imagining his wife lying next to him in bed when in reality, there wasn't a single trace of her.
"I'll be back, darling. Stay here," he hummed, rubbing her cheek fondly before letting go of her hand and walking away into the jungle. He needed to clear his head. Arabella didn't know that. She was left sitting there for a bit until someone approached her.
Curly hesitantly, tapped her shoulder. The brunette turned to him and saw him. Her smile returned and she grabbed his arm, pulling him to sit next to her. "What's your name?"
"Curly." He blushed, embarrassed because she was truly beautiful and because he had been the boy to ask her if she would be their mom. And he was too afraid to face her again until now. The former princess was still a princess in their eyes. Her kindness never shortened to others. And it wasn't like she was weak and couldn't fight for herself. What happened between Arabella and Pan during the crossbow initiation was proof.
Arabella laughed, the musical sound filling his ears. "It's very nice to meet you, Curly." She did recognize him as the boy who asked the question all the lost boys wanted to ask. Most of them just watched the female from afar even though she had told them she would be their mother. It was still too good to be true.
"You're really pretty," the lost boy blurted. He covered his mouth with his head, the blush increasing.
She laughed again, grinning widely. "Thank you, that's very kind of you." Arabella ruffled his hair which made him laugh in return. Curly slowly moved closer and laid his head in her lap. She let him and watched as the other boys played. One of the younger boys came close to hurting himself and so she spoke up. She didn't want them to get injured. "Boys." They stopped and looked at her. "Pan might let you guys be play rough, but not with the little ones please."
The older lost boys nodded and the younger lost boys did as well. Nathan was the first to apologize. "Sorry, momma." Simon apologized as well as the other boys. Alex was the last one to do so.
"Just be careful please," she added. The boys nodded again and went back to playing around. Arabella gave Curly a kiss on his head and told him to go play with the other boys. He did as told and joined the game. Here and there would have to remind the boys to be careful and they always apologized. She wasn't trying to be too protective because they could take care of themselves. She just got worried if they got close to majorly hurting themselves. But Aria didn't know that Pan was watching with a proud smile the whole time.
———
Short chapter today! This one was kinda a filler but it was also very important for Arabella and Pan and their development. And you also got to see more of Arabella and the boys! Curly is just so cute so I couldn't resist adding him to the story. But there was some major fluff this chapter.
What did you think about the Pan and Arabella fluff in the treehouse?
What do you think about Arabella not being able to say those three words to Pan?
What do you think about Arabella and her new role as the mother figure for the lost boys?
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