Wendy couldn't sleep. It had been five days since Tink had summoned her to Neverland. She had lied to Ethan that night and told him she was suddenly ill and had sent him home. Then she had rushed to the manhole, not only worrying about Peter, but about everyone in Neverland. It had been horrifying to see the destruction of the once magical world she had loved, but nothing compared to the terror she felt when the Neverbird suddenly carried her to the gnarled tree whose branches had nearly squeezed the life out of her. She had had nightmares about it every night since then. Eventually the tree had released her and the turmoil in Neverland stopped. She had only seen Peter long enough to make sure he was okay, and then she had borrowed some gloves from Curly to help her climb back up to the manhole and into the Grey World.
Images and emotions and doubts kept running through her mind, and on top of it all, the day before Ethan had asked her to take a weekend trip with him to meet his parents. She enjoyed being with him and he put her at ease, but it seemed a little soon to be vacationing together.
She sighed and buried her face in her pillow, trying to block out all the thoughts that were keeping her awake. She was just starting to drift off to sleep when a crisp breeze blew against her cheek. She rolled over and looked at the window, only slightly surprised to see someone standing just inside of it.
"Peter? Peter!" She sat up in bed and took in the sight of him as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes. He was only wearing the bottom half of his flying suit, and his torso and arms were exposed. Her eyes roved over his broad shoulders and toned pectorals, then lingered a tad too long on his exceptionally well defined abdominal muscles. It was an image that was almost unfair to spring on a girl in the middle of the night.
"Wh-what is this? What are you doing?" Wendy stammered.
Peter must have noticed her staring, because he smiled and puffed his chest out a bit as he walked towards her.
"I took off my shirt."
"Well, yes, clearly. But why?"
"Slightly told me to. He said you'd like it."
Wendy stifled a laugh. His transparency was endearing and she was tempted to welcome him back into her life. But then she recalled all the reasons she had decided against such an action.
"Peter, you can't just come here in the middle of the night."
"I can come in the morning. Or the afternoon."
"Peter..."
"Or, you should come back to Neverland. You're a part of it, Wendy. Your Essentia-"
"My Essentia almost killed me." Wendy cut in, a shiver running through her.
"Well, it's safe now. We need to rebuild a lot of things, but soon it will be back to normal."
"Rebuild with what? Those materials must cost loads of money."
Peter shrugged. "I don't know. Things will all work out."
"But that's just it, Peter. Things don't always just work out. There's a whole system to things that you seem to have bypassed in Neverland. It doesn't make sense."
"Does it have to?"
Wendy hesitated. There was some logic in that answer, but all this was beside the point.
"Peter, I'm sorry, but I cannot go back to Neverland, and I would ask that you stop coming to see me."
Peter's face fell. "It's because of that other boy, isn't it? The blonde one with the big teeth?"
"No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know," Wendy blurted, feeling somewhat violated. "Have you been spying on me?"
"No. I came to apologize the day of the tournament and I saw the two of you together."
Wendy sighed. "I'm sorry about the things I said that day. I was really stressed then."
Peter smiled hopefully and Wendy felt a subtle aching in her heart. Having Peter here in front of her made her realize how much she cared for him, but she was certain that the decisions she had made were for the best.
"Peter, I have loved having these adventures with you. But regardless of our circumstances, the fact remains that I don't belong in your world and you don't belong in mine."
Peter stared at Wendy as if he hadn't heard her correctly. He opened his mouth, then closed it and swallowed hard. He pulled on the top half of his flying suit and walked over to the window. He gave Wendy one last searching look, then flew out into the night. She watched him soar across the city, trying not to think about how wonderful it had been to fly with him.
"Goodbye, Peter," Wendy whispered, and slowly closed the window.