Metanoia - Peter Pan OUAT

Bonus Chapter

A/N: Because a bunch of you have asked for it, and because I love you guys too much. 🫶🏼☺️
🎉 THANK YOU FOR GETTING METANOIA TO 50K+ READS 🎉

Metanoia's considerably dainty hand fit Peter's calloused rough hand like two puzzle pieces completing each other. His heart was crying desperately, clenching against his chest achingly as it wept in relief. His eyes blinked slowly, almost as though the world around him had slowed down with her arrival. His entire body felt electrified, ignited with an unfathomable intensity of passion suppressed for far too long.

153 years. He spent over a century and a half without her touch. A century and a half without seeing her face. A century and a half without hearing her voice, or receiving her affection and being able to reciprocate it. An eternity without hearing her heavenly laugh, or seeing her heart-warming smile.

And now she was right there, holding onto his hand and allowing him to lead her to their camp. Peter Pan wasn't even quite certain whether he would be able to explain to her what had happened and how long she was gone for. To her, it felt like only yesterday - but to him, and to the Lost Boys, it was years of endless pain and grief.

"Are you okay, Peter?" She asked him quietly, softly, her sultry voice making the hairs at the back of his neck rise against his will, and his heartbeat skyrocketed. He stopped walking for a moment, and turned to look at her with so much love, it made Metanoia breathless just looking back at him.

He dipped his head, and fervently pressed his lips against hers, kissing her with everything his suffering soul had. He hoped it would be enough to reiterate how much he'd missed her. Pulling away, he smiled sincerely, and whispered, "I'm more than okay, love."

Metanoia blinked at him, and laughed. "What's going on with you?"

He mirrored her grin, before turning back around and leading her to camp. "The Boys will want to see you, Metanoia. Come."

He stepped into their territory with Metanoia right behind him, and at first, no one had noticed their presence. They were all here though, tasks all completed, and all of them laying on the ground haphazardly.

"Idris you tasteless whore." Sam's voice sounded from a few feet away, bringing a rush of de ja vu to Metanoia. "How could you prefer boar meat over lamb?"

"Because it's tough ... like me." Idris argued feebly, earning snorts from the Lost Boys around him.

Metanoia stepped a little closer to them curiously, surprised to see even Felix and Denzel laying down with the others and laughing. There was something about their laughs though that sounded different to Metanoia. They didn't seem to be laced with joy in its purest form as they used to.

"Boys." Peter cleared his throat. "Look who I've found wandering around in the forest."

The Lost Boys raised their heads one by one, and it seemed as though everything took a standstill, quite realistic in a place where time stood still, but this? This halt to every move, every blink, every breath, was too much to bear. It was hard for Metanoia to focus on every single face long enough, but from what she could see and couldn't understand, were their astonished faces. Their rapid heartbeats were a testimony to their rush of disbelief as they gazed long and hard at her.

"It can't be." Theodore whispered shakily, and he slowly stood up, the Lost Boys following his lead.

"Pan - how ... how did you ...?" Nate stuttered, at a loss for words, but it was Jacob who had the courage to do what no one else was quite ready for.

He strode forward with deliberation, and in two seconds, he had his arms wrapped around Metanoia, and hugging her as though he were terrified she'd slip right through his fingers. She was startled, but she hugged him regardless, perplexed as to why he was sobbing and clutching onto her desperately. The other boys soon followed after him, rushing to hug her and make sure she was real. That this wasn't some form of twisted joke.

"Is it really you?" Jacob asked her quietly into her ear, and Metanoia frowned.

"Of course it's me. What ...?" Her frantic eyes glanced at Nate next to her, who grinned, tears brimming his eyes.

"Bitch, we thought you were dead!" Sam cried in relief, and Peter face palmed.

"What?!" Metanoia exclaimed, pulling away from them for a moment and gazing at them inquisitively.

"What the hell happened?" She demanded.

Theodore couldn't possibly stop grinning, before he gently tugged onto her arm to lead her to the fire pit.

"Come. We'll explain everything."

~•~

Dead for 153 years. Metanoia couldn't wrap her head around it, and she couldn't believe the tremendous pain she put Peter and the Lost Boys through with her selfish absence. They wouldn't leave her alone for a single moment, all of them huddled around her the entire day, and Peter holding her hand the entire time. It was more than fair. They all thought that there might be a slight chance that this was all their imagination, and that Metanoia would fade at some point.

But as the hours rolled by, and Metanoia was still there, she was slowly proving to them that she was, in fact, very real and very much alive. Her heart never felt as warm as it did in this moment, and it yearned for Jeremy and Charlie. If only they were as lucky as she was to be back.

Metanoia enjoyed the dinner prepared by Nate and his group, and everyone sat together that night, laughing and joking as they slowly filled her in on all the stories and events that had gone by in her absence. They left out the parts of their mourning, anything that would upset her in the slightest, and only spoke of the ridiculous endeavours and the jokes and banter. Metanoia's face hurt by the end of the night because of how much she was smiling, although her mind occasionally drifted to wonder how her father was doing.

No one dared return to their treehouse that night, and they finally came to the conclusion that they'd all sleep outside together, around Metanoia and Peter. He smiled at her, and gently kissed her forehead.

"Thank you for bringing back the light to Neverland, love." He whispered into her ear, and Metanoia blushed easily.

She couldn't believe how lucky she was to be with a family that truly loved her, adored her, and supported her. At Mount Olympus, she never got to make any friends. Her only friend was her father, and she hoped that maybe someday, she could communicate to him that she was indeed alive, and that he need not mourn her anymore. But for now, Metanoia was happy to settle with the comforting fact that she was surrounded by a loving group of guys who would do anything for her, and she'd do anything for them, unconditionally.

Life works in mysterious ways, and Metanoia's redemption was in fact, her key to live the life she'd always dreamt of.

This was her second chance at life, and she vowed to cherish every moment of it, with the people she loves most.

A/N: I couldn't leave you guys without getting proper closure, so here you go. ☺️💚 Thanks for being patient with me and letting me take some time to actually write this little chapter of love and comfort. 💚

With everything chaotic going on in my life and my mental state right now, it's very comforting and reassuring knowing that this story is something constant, permanent, and a product of who I am. It's been a big tool for me to let out my frustrations, emotions and everything negative, to make something beautiful out of it. And I will never, ever get over the fact that you guys actually enjoyed reading it, and that you loved it as much as I do. The way this story brought together an amazing group of readers is something I will always be tremendously grateful for. Each and every one of you have brought me joy in my saddest moments, and for that, I sincerely thank you. 💚

Thank you so much for reading my stories. 💚 I never take that for granted, and I can only hope that you will enjoy my other ones that exist and that are currently being written.

For those of you of who have started reading Shadowed Sins, I will be posting a new chapter as soon as possible! There's a lot going on at the moment in my life, but as soon as I get things together and be a little more okay mentally, I'll publish the chapter once it's finished. 💚

Anyway, thank you for joining me on this journey!!

Love you guys, always!
- lucidreamshade