Once Upon a Time Lord

Chapter Ten

"Illustration" by Moi

Lucy woke up without opening her eyes. All she knew for a few moments was that she was warm, and that she wanted to stay where she was right then forever.  And she could have, would have, at least for a little bit longer, had the Doctor not let out a soft groan in his sleep.  Her eyes fluttered open and for a moment all she could see was skin.  She shifted her head, taking in her surroundings.  The TARDIS looked different from the floor, so she didn't recognize it immediately.  Slowly, her eyes focused on the form next to her.  He looked different sleeping, younger.

A soft rustling from the direction of the door drew Lucy's attention.  She turned her head to see Jane lying in Killian's arms.  Her face was pressed into the crook of his neck and his fingers tangled in her hair.  Jane, Lucy realized, was awake and was carefully trying to slide away from Killian without waking him up.  She took his hand gently in her own and tried to move it away from her.  Killian's fingers curled around her hand and he moaned softly in his sleep, tightening his embrace around her like a sleeping child on a beloved teddy bear.  Jane looked at him in adoration and smiled softly before carefully slipping out of his arms.  Lucy caught her eye as she stood up and Jane lifted a finger to her lips.  Lucy nodded in understanding before her eyes fell shut again and she drifted into a blissful slumber beside the Doctor.

Jane stepped quietly down the metal steps and pulled open the door with a soft creak.  She found herself in the forest with the Hollow nowhere to be seen.  Jane shook her head in annoyance and moved around the TARDIS, searching for any familiar landmarks.  She could distantly see moonlight reflecting off the beach, and so she decided the Hollow was in the opposite direction.

It was hard to tell what time it was.  She knew she had fallen asleep at about 2:00, and the moon was out, clearly, but the forest canopy blocked most of the sky, including the moon's position.

She was just about to head toward the Hollow when she noticed a figure standing on the beach that she would recognize anywhere.

It took her awhile to reach the beach, but Peter didn't move once.  In fact, he only moved after she called his name.

"Peter?" she said quietly, but in the relative silence, her voice was shattering.

Peter looked over his shoulder as she neared. He half-smiled, in a bittersweet way. "Jane," he said softly, as though convincing himself of it.

"What're you doing out here?" she asked.

"It was a pretty sunset," Peter said, staring out into the night sky that had long since drained of color.

"You've been standing out here since the sun set?" Jane said in disbelief. 

"Longer," Peter said, not tearing his gaze from the horizon.

"Why didn't you go back to the Hollow?" Jane asked.  Peter shrugged, and for what could have been an hour he didn't speak a word.

"You know, Jane, I dreamed about you returning for a long time.  I left the Lost Boys for years despite my promises that I never would. Heck, Jane, I grew up for you."

"I know," Jane said softly.

"You know?" Peter said, turning to face her.  "Is it my fault that you left?  Is it my fault that I didn't know where you were, my fault that I wasn't there when you fell in love with that... that... pirate?"

"We're not in love," Jane said.

"Could've fooled me," Peter said.

"Peter," Jane said, putting her hand on his arm.  He jerked away from her, and for the first time Jane saw tears in his eyes.

"I was in love with you, Jane Darling.  I am in love with you."

"You're engaged to Tigerlily," Jane said.

"Only because I thought I would never find you again," he said.  "You say the word and I'll break it off.  I'll marry you on the spot."

Jane shook her head.  "She'd kill us."

"Then we'll leave," Peter said, eyes hopeful.  "I'll take you back home and I'll grow old with you.  What d'you say?"

Jane looked down.  "Peter, I... I can't."

"You are," he said, almost inaudibly.  "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Jane looked at him helplessly.  "I'm not in love.  I just don't know what I want right now."

"But it's not me."

Jane sighed.  "Peter—"

Before she could say anything else, Peter pressed his lips to hers.  For some reason, her mind became foggy and all she could think about was that he tasted like peppermint, and that it was funny that he tasted like peppermint.

The fog didn't leave her mind until he broke the kiss and drew back just far enough that she could feel his breath lightly on her skin.  "I'm sorry it happened this way," he whispered.  "I never wanted to hurt you. But I couldn't live forever never having done that."

And with that, Peter dropped his hands from her face and walked away without looking back.

A/N: Ngl, I remember being super proud of my handwriting on the page posted above ^ and it still weirdly satisfies me idk.