ex lost girl

Peter lowered himself to the forest floor, and wrinkled his nose in a smile when he spotted the girl. He couldn’t place her, but she seemed to know him, and fondly so. Quite right, he thought, a grin spreading across his face. Pan crossed his arms over his chest, and surveyed her. “You look very clean; did I miss bath day?” He asked, laughing down at his scuffed and mud encrusted toes. 

Fitz snorted a laugh at the notion of pirates procuring a box of mac and cheese, but he did like the idea of having his old favorite foods back. “I would never ask you to share your mac and cheese, but I would have to steal a pop tart from you.” He secretly thrilled at how easy it was to get a reaction out of her, how obvious her disappointment was. Disgust was a lot of people’s natural reaction to him. And though he appreciated that she at least made an effort and did not always acknowledge it, the burned child in him enjoyed the familiarity of being looked at with disappointment. “Of course, if you went to the mainland, you could bring me back a box of my own.”

Peter had thrown the mango pit to the bushes and leaned back again, cracking out another crow to call his boys towards him. His ears perked at the sound of movement approaching and he grinned, floating himself to a low branch and sitting with his legs dangling down. He peered in the direction of the noise, a whip of blond hair moving and he whooped. “Hallo there!” Peter added, unable to see who it was yet.

“Oh my god, I ate so much of that mac and cheese from a box!” Fitz exclaimed, his eyes widening and a rare smile spreading across his face as he thought of it. “I actually miss it sometimes, so I’m glad to know it’s still there. I’ve never tasted anything so artificial since, but sometimes you just want to eat something fake.” The quality of the food was far better on Neverland, but there was something to be said for eating something he knew he shouldn’t. “Yeah, I get that. Obviously, it wasn’t all bad. Even when everything was terrible, there was always boxed mac and cheese and torturing animals.”

Fitz rolled his eyes. It was impossible to be too negative for Charlie. She always found a way to be positive, and he couldn’t wrap his head around it. “It’s strange to think that the whole world has just kept going. Some things we remember might not even be around anymore. I would never go back, but it would be a completely different world if I did. It would be nice to reminisce, as the few who remember the way things were. Even if even I can’t remember everything,” he said.

“Tell that to all of my old ‘families’ on the mainland,” Fitz said with a dark laugh. He appreciated how much she was trying, and thought he might as well make an effort, too. He resolved to try to talk to Delia, no matter how awkward and uncomfortable he was sure to feel. And he would try not to be his usual self, just so he wouldn’t reflect poorly on Charlie and her judgement. “That is true. I definitely wouldn’t mind talking about all that with her. I feel like I’ve forgotten so much of my time. I haven’t talked about it since coming here, so I won’t upset Peter, but I am curious.”

Fitz rolled his eyes and snorted, but he secretly felt like flying at her words. It was a rare thing for someone to see the best in him; Peter and Charlie were the only people who had really taken a chance on him. Her saying that drew out a softer side in him, one that wanted people to like him and see the best in him, though he kept that side as repressed and hidden as possible. “I am a horrible creepy creep,” he said, though he struggled to keep a straight face at the verbiage. “Maybe I will, especially since you’re still friends with Delia. It’s just easier with you, because we’re already friends, so I don’t have to try anymore. I’m not as good at making friends as you are. I feel like I’ll tell her you and I are friends, and then I’ll run out of things to say.” One of the great disadvantages of never being socialized as a child was that he had no clue how to do things that seemed so natural to other people.

“That’s on you, though. You should have known it would never last, not with some of those absolute gremlins running around,” Fitz said, cracking a smile, which only lasted for a moment before he grew serious again. “It would be so much easier if he didn’t. It would be nice to not have to be so secret, but I don’t want to test it. I don’t think I’d manage half as well as you have, if he kicked me out.” The thought crossed his mind more often than he cared to admit, but he knew that, if he fell out of Peter’s favor, he would be right back in the terrible position he was in before Peter found him. The only difference now was that he had killed far, far too many pirates for them not to hunt him down the moment he wasn’t tied to Peter. He would never be welcomed anywhere near the port, as Charlie had been, and, though he certainly wouldn’t mind taking a few pirates with him on his way out, he knew that the numbers would not be on his side. It was better to be invisible among the Lost Boys, only making his presence known in battle, where he felt he had made himself indispensable at Peter’s side; but there laid the trick of it. Everyone was irreplaceable until they weren’t. His smile returned when she said that she didn’t want anyone to get hurt on their behalf. “You’re getting a little soft, Charlie. I wouldn’t mind it that much, as long as I was the one hurting them. But you’re probably right, if only for our own sakes.”

Fitz grimaced and shook his head. “We’d only destroy it if we did, and we don’t have time for pretty things, not when there are pirates to be fought and adventures to have. Peter would certainly catch onto the fact we’re still meeting if I ever picked a flower, anyway.” There was no way he would ever have such an idea, and, though he knew she was joking, he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering to the deadly consequences. “I can take care of the pirates,” he snorted. “It’s Peter I’m worried about.” 

Fitz doubted her assurances, but said nothing for her sake. He had never known a pirate to be anything other than brutal and cruel, and he couldn’t imagine that they had collectively changed hearts so quickly. Then again, if anyone was to make friends of enemies, it would be Charlie. He returned her smile and said, “That does sound nice. I also do my fair share of wandering, but I don’t pick any flowers.” He had never understood the utility of them, but he didn’t want to say anything disparaging to Charlie. “Not as much has changed for me as it has for you. I hang out with the lost kids for as long as I can bear, but I mostly go hunting. I’m actually often in your neck of the woods; the woods next to the port are always teeming with pirates. Maybe one night I’ll drop by and say hi. It’s unfortunate that we always have to meet in a cave.”

“If any drunk pirates ever bother you, just tell me, and I’ll rip their intestines from their bodies with my bare hands,” Fitz said with a scowl, his fingers itching for his dagger at the mere thought of drunk men bothering his friend. While he knew that she was more than capable of taking care of herself, he also knew that he craved violence more than she did, and would gladly rip any pirate limb from limb, even without provocation. “I’m glad you don’t mind it, though. I’m glad you’re happy,” he said, even though he felt a sharp pang of jealousy and fear that she preferred her new life to the one she had with him. He thanked her when he took his sandwich and took a bite before saying, “It is nice that you get free afternoons, though. What do you do other than work?”

He momentarily considered the idea of stealing pixie dust for Charlie, if only to give her one last chance at doing something she used to love, before fearing retribution from Peter. He did not envy her situation, and, while he wished he could help, he did not want to end up in the same place, cast out once more. Instead, he simply nodded and said, “We miss you, too.” Even though he suspected she already knew, he didn’t want her to forget or think they had forgotten her. “That’s so perfect for you. I can’t believe they’re making you all have jobs, though. That seems so rigid. How do you ever have fun if you spend so much of your day forced into labor?” He shuddered at the thought of being stuck somewhere for hours, unable to leave when he was tired of it and forced to interact with people he didn’t know or care for. “But obviously I’m glad you get free afternoons, even if it’s mainly for selfish reasons.”

the moon will sing || charlie & fitz

Fitz was never not taken aback when touched, even by Charlie, despite the fact that he knew to expect it from her, and thus didn’t sink a knife into her heart. After flinching and a brief second of shock, he returned the hug, his small smile returning. “Oh, you know. I’ve been alright, just killing pirates and running around. You remember the tedium,” he said, sinking back into the rare ease he felt with Charlie. It was nice to be with her again, though he hated that their meetings were so infrequent and secretive. It was difficult enough for Fitz to make friends, and he didn’t understand how he could be expected to drop one of his best friends solely because Peter did. “Thank you, that’s so thoughtful. So what have you been up to?”