Thereās blood trickling down Louisā temple, onto his cheek. His head feels woozy, as though itās been stuffed with cotton. His hands are cuffed behind him, legs tied together at the ankles, and he canāt move. Thereās no escape.
Itās not the first time Louis has been in a situation like this. Caught and defenseless with seemingly no way out, but it is the first time he hasnāt thought to die would be an awfully big adventure. This is the first time heās ever felt scared.
For years, heās thought about death fleetingly, in split second intervals. And all the times heās thought about it, he always assumed that it would come at the hands of Captain Hook.
He hasnāt thought about it in months. Years, maybe. And now, here in this dingy little room with SmeeĀ on the other side of the door, itās all Louis can think about. Itās the only thing Louis can think about.
Thereās no escape, and thatās the most terrifying thought Louis has had in his entire life.
Maybe thatās a part of growing up.
The door slamming open comes before Louis is ready for it. Not that Louis will ever really be ready for it. Smee strides in, all of his pot-bellied glory hanging out for the entire world to see, goons hanging out behind him.
āPeter,ā Smee booms, belly jiggling,Ā āHave you come to terms with your predicament yet?ā
Slowly, Louis blinks. Blood drips unnervingly close to his eye, threatening to enter. His hands flex behind his back, trying and failing to find a way out.Ā āGo fuck yourself.ā
Smee laughs.Ā āMy, my, someone has grown up,ā he observes.Ā āSuch foul language from a pretty little lad like yourself.ā He grasps Louisā chin between his fingers, holding it still even as Louis tries to jerk away.
Louisā eyes burn, but itās not with tears. Anger, fury.Ā āGet your hands off me,ā he spits, still struggling to get away.
Smee obliges, making it obvious heās only doing so because heās choosing to do so.Ā āDo you know why youāre here, little Pan?ā he asks, stroking his own chin now.
āBecause youāre a vile, despicable human being who assaults people in their sleep,ā Louis spits, gaining a second wind and struggling to get himself free of his bonds again.
He has even less success this time.
āNo,ā Smee says, eyes suddenly turning cold in a way Louis has never seen before. Smee has always been an annoyance but usually only that - heās always cared more about loot and treasure than defeating Peter Pan and his Lost Boys.Ā āHe cares about you, you know. We could have beaten you hundreds of times over but heās always too busy chasing after you to realize that.ā
Louis goes still before he even realizes heās doing it. He clenches his jaw and looks away, refuses to give in to the bait. Harry - HookĀ doesnāt care about him. Not like that, at least, not to the extent where he canāt see anything else like Smee is claiming.
āStop pretending that you didnāt know!ā Smee shouts suddenly, spittle flying from his mouth and hitting Louisā cheek.Ā āYou distract him with your antics, and your ploys, and Iāve had enough! Itās time to be rid of you for once and for all!ā
He lunges for Louis, sharp glint of a knife playing off the light, and itās only out of that instinctive self-preservation reaction that Louis twists to the side, sending the chair heās sitting in toppling over. Smee falls over, landing on his face against the floor, giving Louis a chance to shove himself as far away as possible.
As far as possible isnāt far enough. Louis is still tied to the chair, immobile, all of his weight on one arm now, and thereās nothing he can do, nowhere he can go.
Death doesnāt seem like a big adventure anymore.
Smee rises ungracefully to his feet, stalking over to where Louis lies, knife still glimmering in his hand. Louisā breath is coming fast and short, heat beating triple time in his chest. He doesnāt want to die. He doesnāt want to die.
āThereās nowhere for you to go,ā Smee snarls, eyes still filled with that cold, unfeeling stare.Ā āYouāre going to die,Ā Pan, and thereās nothing left to do but accept that.ā
Louis closes his eyes. If heās to die then his last image isnāt going to be Smeeās too-small shirt, his belly hanging over his trousers. No, Louis is going to die thinking about Tink and his Lost Boys, Liam and Niall and Zayn, about the green of Harryās eyes and the way he kisses, devout and devouring, all consuming.
Louis had his chance, and he missed it. Now heāll go to his grave regretting not having taken it.
A loud burst of sound startles Louisā eyes open. Smee looks towards the door in shock, but itās already too late. Wood splinters, breaks apart, and then thereās Harry standing in the space heās created, dressed in full Captain Hook get-up, sword at the ready.
āMr. Smee,ā he says.Ā āI think youāve taken something that rightfully belongs to me.ā
Louis can only watch with wide eyes, craning his neck, as Harry and Smee clash swords, blocking and parrying and thrusting, dancing around the small room as they fight for the upper hand, drawing small measures of blood from each other.
It was never a fair fight. In a matter of minutes, Harry wins, driving his sword through Smeeās chest, sending him toppling over to the ground, dead before he hits the floor.
Itās a minute before Harry turns around, shoulders heaving in his shirt, back tense and unwelcoming. Louis licks his dry lips and waits, blood starting to dry on his temple.
Harryās shoulders arenāt any less tense as he turns around, expression almost frighteningly blank. He doesnāt say anything as he crosses the room, kneels beside Louis and starts untying him. Heās careful not to touch Louis more than absolutely necessary.
Once heās free, Louis sits up carefully. Harry still hasnāt said anything, shoulders still holding that tightness in them. Itās been a long, trying day and thereās a dead body only a few feet away from them, but Louis doesnāt care. He reaches out and touches Harryās cheek gently, finally drawing his attention.Ā āIām okay,ā he says, promises.Ā āIām okay.ā
Harry draws in a deep, ragged breath.Ā āYou need to go,ā he says finally, meeting Louisā eyes.Ā āI canāt keep doing this with you, Louis, not when itās going to put you in danger. Our lives are incompatible.āĀ
Louis blinks.Ā āFive minutes ago you were announcing to the entire world that I rightfully belong to you,ā he says a little numbly, refusing to let go of Harryās face.
āFive minutes ago I thought you were about to die,ā Harry says, shrugging.Ā āI canāt be held accountable for the things I say when I think youāre about to die.ā
Thatās bullshit.Ā āNo,ā Louis says, pushing himself up onto his knees so theyāre mostly eye level, pinching Harryās shoulder.Ā āYou donāt get to swoop in and save me from your own right hand and then tell me to get lost. You donāt get to do that.ā
āSo tell me what Iām supposed to do, then!ā Harry shouts, pulling back and flinging his hat off his head so he can rake his hand through his hair.Ā āIām a pirate, Louis, and youāre Peter Pan. Thereās no reconciling those two things.ā
Louis blinks again, slower this time. Harryās not a villain. Louis has thought of him that way in the past, but the truth is that Harry is not a villain. And for all of his posturing and imagined self-importance, Louis isnāt the good guy, either. Neither of them are exactly what they pretend to be, and maybe itās time they admit that.
āThe first time you kissed me I panicked and thought I was going to pass out from how much I liked it,ā Louis says abruptly, and just like that he has Harryās fully attention again, has Harryās full intentĀ again.
āYouāre lying to yourself again,ā Harry says, crowding Louis against a wall and holding him there with his body.Ā āThe first time we kissed you kissed me.ā
Thatās something Louis is never going to admit, no matter how this turns out.
Louis isnāt scared of him anymore, hasnāt been for a long time. Scared of his feelings for Harry, maybe, but not of him. He reaches up and tangles his fingers in Harryās hair, pulls him down a little more.Ā āIf I wanted to be rid of you I could have been rid of you ages ago.ā
Against him, Harryās gone still.Ā āWhat are you saying, Louis?ā
This is the turning point. Thereās no coming back from here, and maybe a day ago, a week ago, a month ago Louis wouldnāt have been ready for it, but now? Now Louis is ready to live.
āIām saying,ā Louis starts, finishing the sentence by pushing himself up onto his tip-toes and kissing Harry. He puts his entire heart and soul into it, dragging their mouths together. It takes barely even a second for Harry to start kissing back, deep and wet and dragging. Itās toe-curlingly good, achingly good, and Louis can wait to start the rest of his life.
āSecond star to the right,ā Louis murmurs into Harryās mouth, feeling the curve of Harryās smile.
āAnd straight onĀ ātil morning,ā Harry finishes.