Peter had to push through the crowds gathered around the ambulance and the police cars on the street. He didn't have time to see what was going on, he was late for work. It had been so amazing to finally be able to fly in Neverland again that he had lost track of time. He could see his breath in the cold morning air as he rushed along the sidewalk, and he was glad that he had decided to live in Neverland instead of the park. It meant his nights were much warmer, although it did make his commute to work a bit longer.
Peter didn't technically need to work at the bakery anymore since the reconstruction of Neverland had been financed by Hook's treasure, but he felt a sense of responsibility to the place. Plus, it was fun. He had daily challenges to solve and he was learning new things that he couldn't learn in Neverland.
Peter pushed open the door of the bakery and nearly ran into an irate-looking Susan.
"You're late," she said with ice in her tone. "I had to powder all of the doughnuts myself, and you know how that makes me sneeze."
Peter skirted around her and hung up his coat. "I'm sorry, Susan. What can I do to make it up to you?"
"You can love me forever."
"Nope. Can't do that. Anything else?"
She gave him a hateful glare, then turned and disappeared into the kitchen.
She had been rather cold to him ever since she had kissed him and he rejected her, but he actually preferred this behavior to her previous shameless attempts to win his love. He felt bad for her. Her father was in prison for insurance fraud and she was trying to figure out what to do with herself, but he knew he could never give her what she wanted.
He tidied up the counter and made some adjustments to the displays, called Susan from the kitchen, then opened up the shop. Almost immediately there was a crowd of customers clamoring for pastries and other breakfast foods. Peter served them all quickly and graciously. Even Susan seemed to be enjoying the rush, and she made sure to flirt openly with all the young men.
The bakery had been doing extremely well over the last month. People had really responded to the changes Peter had made to the menu and the way they baked the bread. If they kept growing at this pace, they would soon need more help.
Peter was helping an older woman fill a box of doughnuts when he looked up and saw something that made his breath catch in his throat. Wendy was passing by, and he caught a glimpse of her through the front window. Peter grimaced, wishing that the sight of her didn't make his heart beat so fast. He should be used to it by now. She worked a few streets away and he saw her walk by two or three times a week. She never came in, never looked his way, and sometimes he felt as if she passed by just to make sure he never forgot about her. Cruel, wonderful girl.
"Are you alright?" The woman he was helping asked. "You look as if you've seen a ghost!"
Peter sighed. "Yeah, something like that."
*****
Peter flew down into Neverland, letting the chaos of the day and memories of Wendy fade away as he experienced the complete freedom of soaring through the air. He headed over to the beach where everyone had gathered for dinner. He squinted as he drew nearer. It looked like the Buffalostrich Rex was down there. With some urgency he landed and ran towards the lagoon, only to find when he got there that everyone was laughing and cheering. The twins were making the Buffalostrich Rex do tricks and rewarding him with treats and awkward kisses behind his ears. Peter watched as the twins got the animal to jump, roll over, and shake its huge tail. He walked over to Curly.
"Where's Slightly? He should see this."
Curly frowned, but it was Tink who flew off of Curly's shoulder and answered through her new avatar.
"He's probably sleeping. He's been in a weird mood lately."
"And he was supposed to help with dessert," Smee cut in, "but he didn't show up, and now the cream puffs are a disaster."
Peter furrowed his eyebrows. It just wasn't like Slightly to pass up an opportunity to bake. He grabbed a crab cake and headed to the tree house. When he got there, the house was empty. Maybe he's in the Imagination Tower, he thought. They had been working on developing an underwater laptop for the mermaids, and Slightly had been really anxious to finish it. He figured he'd check there after dinner.
On his way back to the beach, he passed a regenerator in the jungle and doubled back to inspect it. Something seemed off about the device. The ground around it was vibrating, it was clearly gathering the elements from the mainframe, but nothing was growing out of it. It probably wasn't a big deal, but he made a mental note to ask Curly about it.
Peter decided to fly back to the lagoon. He took his time weaving in and out of the trees and it was all such a rush that by the time he got to the beach he had forgotten about the strange regenerator.