MIDNIGHT IN NEVERLAND
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
part 2 of my mini series! part one is here ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ scenario: y/n sneaks out late at night in neverland to see the giraffes.
warnings: none
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
nighttime shone down on neverland, the moon was bright, lighting the whole sky. you were wide awake in bed, thinking. you knew your daddy wouldnt be happy if you went outside with the animals, but you couldnt help but feel sad that they were alone outside. so you did the unthinkable. you got up, grabbing your blue silk robe that uncle marlon got for you, and slid your feet into your favorite fuzzy pink slippers.
you tiptoed to your bedroom door, opening it just a crack. you peered around the corner and down the long, dimly lit hall where your dads room was. no movement was heard from inside, and the heavy oak door remained shut. you took in a deep breath, your little heart hammering against your ribs, and went downstairs trying to make the steps not creak. but of course, for some reason the universe decided it was funny to make everything louder at night. you groaned to yourself as the stairs creaked beneath your weight, instantly freezing in place to see if your dad had moved. you held your breath, counting to ten. but no, it was silent.
you let out a quiet sigh of relief before rushing across the grand foyer to the massive glass back doors. you struggled with the lock for a second, standing on your tiptoes until it clicked. turning the handle, you pushed the door open and went outside. the cold california night air hit you immediately, making you shiver and pull uncle marlon's robe tighter around your chest.
the gravel crunched a little too loud under your pink slippers as you ran across the lawns, your oversized robe fluttering behind you like a cape. the ranch felt totally different at night. all the giant amusement park rides were shut down, standing like sleeping monsters under the moonlight, and the cheerful music that usually blared from the outdoor speakers was completely turned off. it was a little spooky, but you were on a mission.
you ran past the fountains to where the animals were held, sneaking into the gates of the private zoo. you walked past the sleeping primates and went straight to the giraffes.
the massive wooden barn loomed high over you, but you managed to slip through the heavy side door that the handlers had left unlocked. inside, the air was surprisingly warm and smelled like sweet alfalfa hay. you crept up to the tall wooden fencing of the enclosure, craning your neck all the way back. sitting comfortably in a bed of fresh straw, one of the younger giraffes blinked down at you with huge, sleepy dark eyes. you let out a soft gasp, reaching your small hands through the slats of the fence. "hi," you whispered, completely forgetting you were supposed to be fast asleep in bed. "are you lonely too?"
the giraffe blinked at you slowly, still not getting up from its cozy bed of straw. you sighed, leaning your cheek against the cool wooden slats of the fence. "i get lonely too at night, it gets boring," you said, your voice sounding extra small in the giant, quiet barn. "but tomorrow is a new fun day! i wonder what daddy and i are doing, maybe i can ask him to teach me skateboarding."
the giraffe just twitched its pointy ears, as if it was actually listening to your secret plans. the animal blinked its heavy, fringed eyelids, chewing slowly on a piece of leftover hay. at the sound of your tiny voice, its long ears twitched forward again. slowly and gracefully, the massive animal uncurled its neck, lowering its head down, down, down until its soft, velvety nose was right in front of your face.
meanwhile, inside the main house, michael woke up wanting to get a glass of orange juice. he yawned and rubbed his eyes, shuffling down the dimly lit hallway. as he passed your bedroom door, he glanced inside. he kept walking at first, his brain still foggy from sleep. but then he froze. he quickly walked back, pushing the door open all the way, and realized your bed was completely empty.
panic instantly settled into his heart and his breath quickened. being a highly protective dad, his mind immediately raced to the worst possible scenarios.
he checked in the nearby bathrooms, flicking on the lights. "y/n?" he called out, his voice echoing nervously in the quiet house. he ran downstairs, checking the living rooms and the kitchen, but there was no sight of you anywhere. he ran his hand through his curly hair, his palms sweating as he looked over at the glass back doors. one of them was unlatched, swinging slightly open and letting in a draft of chilly night air. "oh no," he whispered to himself, thinking the absolute worst.
he burst outside, not even caring that he was just in his full silk pajamas and completely barefoot. "y/n?!" he called out loudly, his frantic voice echoing across the massive, dark ranch. michael stopped for a brief moment, forcing himself to think clearly. "the animals," he realized, remembering how much you loved visiting them. without wasting another second, he ran toward the zoo as fast as his bare feet could carry him over the cold grass and gravel.
"i should get going before daddy wakes up," you said to the giraffe, giving its velvety snout one last little pat. the giraffe's ears flickered again. "he will be worri—"
"y/n!" michael's voice shattered the quietness of the barn, the heavy wooden doors swinging open.
you turned around, your little eyes widening in the dim light. "uh oh—"
"there you are!" he rushed straight to you, his bare feet sliding slightly in the loose dirt and straw. "what the heck, applehead? you gave me such a scare!" he scooped you up into his arms, lifting your small body effortlessly. he cradled the back of your head and pulled you into a tight, desperate hug, sighing in pure relief. you could feel his heart hammering wildly against his chest.
"i wanted to say hello to the giraffes, they were lonely!" you mumbled into his shoulder, clinging to his pajama top.
michael sighed and shook his head, pulling back just enough to look down at your face. "no, look at me. hey," he said softly but firmly, waiting until you made eye contact with him. you could see the lingering fear in his gentle brown eyes. "we don't do that, y/n. you gave me a total heart attack. i thought someone took you!"
"im sorry daddy," you mumbled, burying your face into his shoulder.
he sighed, the heavy panic finally leaving his chest, and gently brushed your hair out of your face with his warm hand. "its okay, lets just never do that again okay? if you want to visit the animals, you tell me." you nodded, wrapping your small arms tightly around his neck.
"lets go back inside, my feet are freezing," michael said, shifting your weight as he turned toward the barn doors. you looked down at his bare feet resting in the dirt.
"where are your slippers?" you asked, pointing a small finger downward.
"inside,"
"why are you walking around the house with no slippers?"
"i didnt think i needed them tonight," he chuckled softly, stepping out of the dark barn and back onto the moonlit pathway.
"you always need your slippers," you said, echoing the exact rule he always told you. michael just giggled, carrying you securely on his hip all the way home across the chilly, quiet grounds of the ranch.
michael entered your room, the soft glow of your nightlight illuminating the space. he gently set you down on the edge of the mattress and took your blue robe and pink slippers off, setting them neatly aside. "okay, back to bed with you," he whispered, smoothing down the sheets. "we can play more in the morning."
you settled into bed, pulling the thick, warm covers all the way up to your chin. michael stood by the bedside, staring down at you for a long moment as he sighed. "you really scared me, y/n."
"im sorry," your small voice said, looking up at him with wide, apologetic eyes.
"i know you are," he replied softly, leaning down over your bed. "but please dont do that again." you nodded your head against the pillow, promising him silently. he smiled gently and kissed your forehead, his soft curls brushing against your cheek. "goodnight applehead."
"goodnight daddy," you murmured. he lingered by the doorway for a second, leaving the door cracked open just an inch so he could hear you, before his quiet footsteps faded back down the hall.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
i hope you enjoyed this one! it was a bit shorter and lazier than the first one but i had this idea from a dream i had a while ago x