Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You see those stars up there, Nibs?” Slightly had asked as he pointed a finger at the night sky.

“I think so, yeah – why?” Nibs squinted at the vague direction Slightly gestured to.

“Those stars shine the brightest in the middle of fall. We’re getting close to the end of October!” Slightly explained with a smile on his face.

Nibs didn’t share Slightly’s enthusiasm for plotting stars and finding what time of year it was, but he was happy to listen to his friend.

“Oh!” Nibs nodded, then paused. “What does that mean for us?”

“Nothing. Just wanted to show you!” Slightly laughed. He then jumped up, seeming to forget about the sky he’d just been analyzing, and began to run. “Last one to Hangman’s Tree is a codfish!”

“Oh, you are so on!” Nibs sprung up as well, chasing his friend. As he ran, he could hear Slightly’s laughter ahead of him, and he began to chuckle, too.

-

The memory didn’t seem to have much importance. Nibs didn’t even remember who had won the race. Yet, Nibs did remember one thing: which stars shone the brightest in the middle of fall.

He stood now, scanning the inky horizon for those stars again. He found them, and kept his focus firmly upon the glimmering dots. Dots that had not blazed this strongly in a full year.

Dots that had not blazed this strongly since the last time Nibs had seen Slightly.

It had been a year, an entire year, since Slightly had disappeared. No one knew where he went, and Nibs seemed to be the only one who was looking for him. Nibs practically drove himself crazy searching for the fox boy in every corner of Neverland.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Lost Boys couldn’t seem less bothered. Nibs could not count the number of times that he had returned to Hangman’s tree covered in dirt and scratches after spending the day looking for Slightly, only to be greeted by the rest of his friends who acted as though Slightly had never existed.

Even Peter didn’t seem surprised when Nibs frantically asked him if he knew where Slightly was.

“I don’t know where he ran off to, Nibs. But I did hear him say something about wanting to go back to Alwaysland,” Peter had said. “Maybe he found his way back. We’ll miss him.”

Before Nibs could interject, Peter continued by asking the rest of the Lost Boys if they wanted to go skip stones in mermaid lagoon, which was greeted by unanimous cheers. As the four remaining lost boys and Peter clambered out of Hangman’s tree, Nibs stayed behind.

Alwaysland? He had puzzled. Slightly never told me anything about wanting to go back there. We spent so much time together, surely he wouldn’t just leave without telling me? Without a goodbye?

Something felt wrong about this whole situation. Very wrong, but Nibs couldn’t figure out what it was. He didn’t want to accuse Peter of lying, but he felt like Slightly would not just get up and leave Neverland.

And so he had searched. And searched. And searched. There was not a stone left unturned on the entire island – Nibs had made sure to visit each cave, tree, and lake in search of Slightly. He even snuck on to the Jolly Roger in the dead of night to see if perhaps Slightly was being held captive by rotten old Captain Hook – twice!

But no luck. Nibs was starting to give up hope. Maybe Slightly really had left him behind. Nibs sure felt awful lonely as he sat on cold grass, staring at the sky.

“Come on Slightly, where are you?” He whispered. His whisper was barely audible as the wind whipped his voice away. The full moon gleamed down on him, like an enormous eye – watching him as closely as he watched it. A chill fell over Nibs as he sighed deeply, and he knew it was time to head back home.

He padded down the well walked path through the forest to Hangman’s Tree, taking his time to memorize each detail in the dirt. The cool breeze continued to nip at him, and he began to speed up his walk as the howling of the wind grew louder. Climbing into the trapdoor at the top of Hangman’s tree brought instant relief from the weather. Inside, the rest of the Lost boys were lazing about on the floor and in their beds, wooden weapons strewn about.

“Nibs, where have you been?” Cubby sat up from the carpet as Nibs closed the trapdoor behind him. “You missed a great fight with Hook!”

“Yeah!” Topsy chimed in from his hammock. “Peter tore the pants right off Hook using his own rapier!”

“And then he threw Hook overboard – right into the Tick Tock Croc’s mouth!” Turvy agreed, dropping down from his hammock above Topsy’s. “It was awesome!”

“Oh wow-“ Nibs said half-heartedly as he made his way down the spiral stairs from the top of the tree. “I’m sad I missed it.”

“Yeah, what were you doing anyway?” Turvy narrowed his eyes.

Before Nibs could answer, Tootles came hurtling towards him. Nibs only barely managed to catch the skunk boy in his arms, Tootles coming dangerously close to ramming into his face.

“See? Tootles missed you. You should have been there with us,” Topsy said matter-of-factly.

“I’ll be there next time, ok? I just wasn’t feeling it tonight,” Nibs placed Tootles on the ground, and Tootles ran back up to wherever he had been before Nibs came in. This happened to be the bed highest off the ground – Slightly’s old bed.

“Don’t tell me, you were out looking for Slightly again?” Cubby asked, already knowing the answer. Nibs couldn’t tell if Cubby’s tone was sympathetic or annoyed.

“Yep,” Nibs shrugged.

“Nibs, he’s gone. Please just let it go,” Cubby’s head dropped back onto the carpet. “I miss him a lot, too! But it’s been so long since we saw him. He’s not coming back.”

“Yeah, we miss him too,” The Twins said in unison, raccoon ears drooping.

“But he’s probably having a lot of fun in Alwaysland!” Turvy perked up again, and Topsy vigorously nodded.

“I hope so…” Nibs’ gaze returned to focus on Slightly’s old bed. Tootles seemed to meet his eyes, wearing a similar saddened expression.

“Anyway, where’s Peter?” Nibs shook himself. Their leader was uncharacteristically out of their hideout.

“He went to go visit the mermaids,” Cubby balanced a wooden sword on his palm. “Said he’d be back later. But I think we should get some shut eye – Hook said he wants another chance to tear us apart tomorrow, like that’ll ever happen!”

“Yeah!” The Twins cackled, and Tootles launched himself from Slightly’s empty bed onto Cubby’s stomach, causing Cubby to groan.

“Turn out the light, would ya?” Cubby weakly asked Nibs, and Nibs obliged, dousing the candle that illuminated the room. He thought some sleep would do him good, too.

The twins returned to lying in their hammocks, and Tootles curled up on Cubby’s stomach to sleep. It was kind of cute – also kind of weird – but Nibs was glad that their group had stuck so tightly together.

Why are they all handling Slightly’s disappearance so much better than I am?

This question echoed in Nibs’ mind as he crawled into his bed. He replayed his last evening with Slightly over and over again – how Slightly had taught him about the stars, how they had raced, how Slightly made Nibs laugh so hard water came out of his nose during dinner, how Slightly had told a bedtime story to Tootles, and how the very last time he ever saw Slightly was when Peter had asked him if he could step outside for a moment to help him retie a rope to one of Hangman’s Tree’s branches. Nibs had gone to bed, expecting to see Slightly the next morning, only to never see him again.

Did he ask Peter to leave Neverland that night? Why didn’t he tell me he was going to leave? What if he got hurt?

More questions plagued Nibs’ as he attempted to drift off to sleep. Eventually, Nibs’ exhaustion won, and he began to fall asleep.

“Nibs.”

A voice spoke to him. Nibs sat upright in bed.

“Who was that?” He whipped his head around. The only answer he received was a snore from Cubby. There was no one in the room, other than the four other Lost boys.

Must have been a dream or something. Nibs laid back down and closed his eyes.

“Nibs.”

This time, the voice was louder.

Nibs opted to not say anything this time, but he still bolted up the same. Whatever this thing calling his name was, it clearly wanted his attention.

“The cave, Nibs. Go to Cannibal Cave,” The voice whispered. “Go now.”

“Cannibal Cave? Why?” Nibs hissed back, trying to not wake the others.

No response.

Nibs wanted to go back to sleep, he really did, but something in him felt deeply compelled to listen to the voice. Besides, who am I to turn down a potential adventure? Even if it was the dead of night... Almost against his will, he shakily stepped out of bed.

A small, quiet part of himself wanted to believe that this voice may be the key to finding what happened to Slightly. And he was not going to let it pass him by, even against his better judgement.

Well, I’m not getting any sleep tonight anyways, what’s the harm in going? He attempted to reassure himself as he tiptoed through Hangman’s Tree.Surely, it’s not Hook trying to catch me, or a monster throwing its voice. There must be a perfectly normal explanation for all of this. Nibs didn’t believe this feeble self-reassurance and grabbed a wooden sword on his way out of the tree.

Wind tore against him as he fought his way to Cannibal Cave, sending his rabbit ears flailing behind him and threatening to tear his hood off. His wooden sword seemed awfully frail when battered through the wind - Nibs truly hoped that no one was waiting to ambush him as he walked through the woods to the cave.

The howling wind sounded almost like screams, eyes seemed to follow him from each tree, and the dirt beneath him crunched like bones while he raced to the waterfall where Cannibal’s Cave hid.

Whoever this was, they had better have a good explanation for making him drag himself out of bed.

Once he approached the entrance to the cave, Nibs slowed down. Brandishing his sword in front of him, he stepped cautiously inside.

“Alright, I’m here,” Nibs tried to cover up his shaky voice as best he could. “What do you want with me? Who are you?”

Silence answered. Nibs’ eyes shot all around the cave, trying to find even a hint of who called him here.

“I know you’re in here - show yourself!” Nibs yelled. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. Did he even want to see what was calling out to him?

He didn’t have time to entertain that question. An ice-cold wind whipped through the cave and smacked Nibs’ back as it entered.

“Hey!” Nibs shouted, dropping his sword in shock. He bent down to pick up the sword, but when he stood back up, someone - no, something - was in front of him.

“Nibs! It’s really you!” Cheerfully called out the transparent blue blob Nibs’ eyes shot straight through.

Nibs was thankful that none of the other Lost Boys were with him, as the high-pitched shriek he let out was loud enough to shatter glass and de-feather a Neverbird.

“Get back - get away from me!” Nibs screamed as he fell to the ground. Clambering away from whatever it was in front of him, he tossed his sword at it. The sword passed straight through the blob and clattered to the ground.

“Nibs! Calm down, it’s just me! Look at me!” The blob pleaded with him. Nibs, who had clamped his eyes shut, dared to pop one open. What he saw in front of him was in fact not a blob, but instead was shaped like someone familiar.

It looked like Slightly.

It sounded like Slightly.

It hunched over to try to pick up Nibs’ sword the same way Slightly had used to do.

“Are you… no way,” Nibs choked. This must be some kind of cruel trick one of the other boys was pulling on him. The half smile he had promptly fell. “Haha, very funny, Cubby. You got me. Now cut it out.”

“No Nibs, it’s really me! Honest!” The Slightly-thing had given up on trying to lift Nibs’ sword and focused its attention back on Nibs. “I’ve been trying to reach out to you for ages – I know you’ve been looking for me -, but tonight’s the first time you actually heard my voice. I’m so glad to see you again!”

Nibs’ gaze stayed focused on the blue Slightly-thing. It had Slightly’s blonde hair, Slightly’s crooked tooth smile, Slightly’s mysterious tear in one of his fox ears that never seemed to want to stay fixed when it was patched, and Slightly’s twinkling eyes.

Nibs couldn’t believe it.

It really was Slightly.

“Slightly!!” Nibs cried. “It’s you!”

He leapt towards Slightly, Slightly opening his arms to catch him –

And fell right through him onto the ground.

“Uhf,” Nibs grunted, wiping dirt off of his face. “Okay, I don’t remember you being transparent before you left.”

“Ha, yeah,” Slightly averted his eyes.

“I missed you so much! What happened to you? Peter said you went back to Alwaysland. Why are you here … and not really *all* here?” Nibs gestured to Slightly’s translucent body.

“Peter said what?” Slightly’s head snapped up to look at Nibs. “You know I love Neverland! I would never go back to Alwaysland.”

“I knew it!” Nibs snapped his fingers. “But where did you go? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“You’re sure you want to know?” Slightly grimaced. Nibs rolled his eyes.

“Do you think I would have spent the last year of my life turning Neverland upside down to find you if I didn’t want to know?”

“Alright,” Slightly chuckled lightly. After a deep breath in, he spoke again. “Nibs, I was killed.”

“WHAT?” Nibs’ eyes shot open as he yelled. “KILLED? BY WHO?”

“By Peter! Peter Pan!” His own voice growing louder, Slightly threw his arms over his head.

“P – Peter?” Nibs gulped. “Our Peter?”

It couldn’t be true. Peter was a lot of things – loud, stubborn, maybe even just the tiniest bit self-centered – … but a murderer? No way, no way. He loves us all like we’re his brothers! He could never kill a Lost Boy!

“Our Peter,” Slightly nodded slowly. “You remember how he told me to come with him to tie a rope up or something?”

Nibs shakily nodded back. It can’t be true. It can’t be.

“Well, we were out on the top of Hangman’s Tree, and he was acting real funny. I saw he didn’t have a rope, and before I could ask him what he really wanted, he started telling me about how I was gonna turn 12 soon.” Slightly’s breathing became staggered as he spoke, reliving his last night alive.

Peter has been tracking our ages this whole time? I thought we didn’t age! Wait – why was he tracking that?

“It’s a little foggy in my mind, but Peter then said something about how Lost Boys have to actually be boys, and not adults.”

Please don’t let it be true.

“He said I was growing up and that was against the Lost Boy rules,” Slightly spoke more, oblivious to how Nibs’ legs were now shaking.

Please.

“And then he took his dagger and, before I could do anything, he …,” Slightly trailed off.

Peter couldn’t have.

“Stabbed me,” Slightly’s voice pattered out as he ran a hand over his left ribs.

Nibs hadn’t noticed it before, but there was an unmistakable cut in Slightly’s fox suit, right on his ribs. Wounded skin poked out from under it, still raw and looking like it was coated in thick, dried blood.

Peter could.

“I’ve been stuck on Neverland ever since. I don’t know why and I don’t know where I’m supposed to be, but all I know is I’m here and you finally saw me tonight,” Slightly forced himself to stop running a hand over his fatal wound. “So that has to count for something, right?”

Nibs felt sick.

Peter Pan could kill. And Peter Pan had killed.

“I… I..I,” Nibs stammered. His head swam as his eyes met with Slightly’s fatal gash once again.

How many other Lost Boys have died like this? Was Slightly the first? How was he supposed to stop aging? What could he have done? How could Peter have done this? Who’s next in line to get k-

“Nibs, are you alright?” Slightly’s voice brought Nibs out of his thoughts. He hadn’t realized it, but he had slumped against one of the cave walls and slid down in his haze. One of his arms shook as he held it out in front of him.

“Y.. Yeah, I’m okay,” Nibs swallowed. “It’s just … a lot to take in at once.”

Other than Slightly, I am the oldest Lost Boy.

Slightly took a few careful steps over to Nibs. His feet made no sound against the cold cave floors, nor could Nibs hear Slightly breathing.

“I know it’s a lot,” Slightly, too, sat down on the ground next to Nibs. “But it’s okay now. You can see me, and you know what happened to me.”

“But you’re a ghost!” Nibs scoffed. “I finally found you, but how am I supposed to help you now? I’m too late. You’re dead!” He threw his head into his hands.

And I’m next.

Slightly’s face creased into a sad smile. “I think you can still help me, and you can help yourself and the rest of the gang.”

“How’s that?” Nibs lowered his arms and turned to face Slightly.

“For starters, you need to get the others off of the island. Use Tinkerbell, or sneak onto Hook’s ship if you have to – just get yourself and them away from Peter,” Slightly tried to keep his tone level while Nibs nodded. “It’s not going to be easy, but it’s better than getting skewered on Peter’s dagger.”

“Okay, I can do that. I’ll find a way; I still have a little time.”

A little time before Peter realizes I’m getting too old for his game.

“And second – you know I’ve been roaming Neverland for nearly a year now. I’m ready to move on from that, but I can’t do it without you,” Slightly stared through his translucent body before returning to look at Nibs. “I think if you were able to dig a hole and put my body in it, like a grave, I’d be sort of at peace? And then I’d finally be able to move on to whatever’s next, instead of stuck here.”

“Oh yeah, I can totally do that!” Nibs perked up a bit. The thought of moving Slightly’s no longer alive body wasn’t exactly a pretty one, but he’d do it for his best friend.

“Thank you, Nibs!” Slightly seemed to brighten up as well. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Slightly leaned forward to embrace Nibs but went right through him. Nibs felt only a cold gust push into him.

“Right, can’t hug you – sorry,” Slightly laughed nervously and Nibs followed, letting out a phony chuckle.

I wish you could.

“So, where is your body? Can’t do much without it,” Nibs cleared his breath and stood back up.

“Peter dumped it in a cave behind the waterfall in Mermaid’s Lagoon. It’s kind of high up – you’ll have to climb a tree to up into it,” Slightly explained as if watching one’s own dead body being dragged to its final resting place were a normal occurrence on Neverland.

“Okay, how about you go ahead over there, and I’ll meet you? I’ll need to grab a shovel from Hangman’s Tree so we can actually bury you,” Nibs tapped a finger to his chin.

“That sounds good! But won’t Peter notice you coming and leaving?” Slightly sucked air in through his teeth.

“Eh, I’ll handle it,” Nibs dismissed the thought. “He’ll probably be asleep anyway. You just get over to the lagoon, and I’ll be as fast as possible!” He turned to the cave entrance and started to run.

“Okay – be careful!” Slightly called out behind him.

“I will!” Nibs shouted back.

I hope.

Nibs remained true to his word and ran as quickly as his legs would carry him. The full moon cast its watchful eye on the young boy as he wound his way through the densely packed forest. Tripping over roots and rocks, he made it to Hangman’s Tree with more than a few scratches and dirt stains on his rabbit suit. He had wished that Peter was still hanging with the mermaids, which would make the shovel grabbing much easier.

Of course, as Nibs drew closer, he noticed candlelight pouring out of the tree’s windows, and cursed under his breath. As quietly as he possibly could, Nibs climbed to the top of the tree and gingerly lifted the trapdoor to the top. He took small, deliberate steps down the winding stairs to the hub of the hideout, yearning with every fiber of his being that Peter would not be there waiting for him.

“Nibs? What were you doing out so late?”

Peter was there waiting for him, sitting on the edge of a stool. In his hands was a torn off piece of Captain Hook’s jacket, most likely a prize from today’s encounter with him. Nibs had barely made it down a third of the stairs before he’d been spotted.

“Oh, hi Peter!” Nibs tried his best to sound like he had nothing to hide. “I was just out .. stretching my legs for a bit. Uh - The boys told me about the fight you guys had with Hook, and I thought it sounded so exciting that I wanted to go burn off some of my own energy! But boy, I sure am tired now!” He feigned yawning into his hand and continued plodding down the stairs. “Guess I’ll get some shut eye! Goodnight!”

“Wait,” Peter held up a hand. “Is that really all? You’re not usually one to stay up, especially not alone.”

“Ah, well, it’s such lovely weather outside tonight, it would be a shame to let it pass without enjoying it. Right?” Nibs hoped his hap-hazard explanation would work. Peter seemed to buy it and shrugged.

“I suppose,” Peter agreed, clearly now uninterested in Nibs’ excuses. “Just, get some rest. We’ve got another big fight with Hook tomorrow, and we want to be the best shape possible!” His usual chipper demeanor shone through as he spoke.

“You bet!” Nibs attempted to match his energy and Peter stood, beginning to head in the direction of his bedroom.

But there was still a deep pit in Nibs’ stomach, gnawing at him.

He killed Slightly. He’s acting like everything is fine, like how he acted for the entire year before. Does he even feel any remorse?

Against his better judgement, Nibs dared to speak again.

“Um, Peter?” He asked. Peter turned around, and the dagger and hilt that laid comfortably against his side became all too noticeable in the candlelight.

“Do you ever…” Nibs began. He sighed quickly. “Think about Slightly?”

Peter’s expression fell from curious to unreadable. Nibs swore that he saw one of Peter’s eyelids twitch briefly.

“Sure, I think about him,” Peter answered curtly. He forced a smile – a very strained smile – as he spoke. “I miss him too - but I remember the night he left, and how excited he was to go back to Alwaysland.”

You liar.

Nibs nodded. He hoped Peter would not notice the droplets of sweat slowly beading on his forehead.

“Whatever he’s doing right now, I’m sure he’s having a great time. Now, you need to go to sleep. Goodnight,” Peter promptly ended the conversation as quick as it began and extinguished the only candle in the room with his bare fingers.

“R- right! Goodnight, Peter!” Nibs choked out. Once Peter left the room, Nibs felt like he could breathe again - he hadn’t noticed how his entire body had tensed up. Now a new concern entered his mind.

Crap. How am I going to get the shovel now? The tool closet is right next to his bedroom. Not to mention that I think he’s on to me. I’ll just have to do without it and use my hands – I hope Slightly won’t mind.

Nibs sprinted to his bed and climbed back into it, not daring to leave immediately again. He waited for what seemed like an eternity before he could hear Peter’s soft snores, and slowly crept out of bed again and towards a window – rather than walk by Peter’s bedroom to get to the trapdoor again. After worming his way through the window, he slunk away from Hangman’s Tree for a few paces before once again taking off in a running start.

Please still be there, Slightly. I hope I can still see you.

He tore through the woods again, with no shovel. Nibs was so focused on reaching Mermaid Lagoon that he didn’t register that the path to the lagoon ended and nearly fell right into the water. Narrowly stopping himself in time before getting drenched, Nibs continued to run, albeit more carefully, around the large body of water to the waterfall. Just like Slightly had described, a cave sat nestled behind the roaring falls.

After glancing around for a minute, Nibs hoisted himself up into a nearby tree, scrambling to grab onto branches. As he climbed the tree, Nibs noticed just how exhausted he was. The adrenaline from the various running back and forth, as well as the energy from seeing Slightly again, was beginning to wear off. He became acutely aware of how he was scaling an evergreen in the dead of the night, sap sticking to his fingers and the wind once again smacking against his face.

Nibs hoped his sticky fingers would help him grab the tiny ledge that protruded from the entrance of the cave. With a squat and a leap, Nibs threw himself out of the tree and against the cliffside, barely gripping onto the ledge. Ice cold water nipped at the back of his suit and arms, which motivated him to hurry and pull himself up. Panting, he hoisted himself into the cave.

“You’re here!” Cried a voice – Slightly’s voice – as Nibs pulled his torso into the cave. The ghost of Nibs’ best friend sat against a large boulder, although he moved closer to Nibs as he noticed him.

“I sure am,” Nibs coughed and nodded faintly. “But Peter caught me when I went back to Hangman’s Tree. I didn’t want to risk taking the shovel – I think he was suspicious of me.” He squirmed his way forward and managed to pull his entire body into the cave.

“Eh, no biggie,” Slightly waved a hand. “We’ll make do without it. Now comes the ugly part.”

As if any of this hasn’t been ugly? Nibs cocked an eyebrow.

“You’ll need to make a grave for me, which means it has to be big enough for my body. My body is back there,” Slightly winced and pointed towards the back of the cave.

“Oh. Right,” Nibs sucked air in through his teeth. He tried to sound brave, “Let me get a look at it, just a peek – so I know how much to dig.”

He gently made his way to the back of the cave, and the mere thought alone of seeing the body made his head swim, not to mention the notion of having to eventually move it. Nibs kept both eyes closed as much as possible, and when he finally got to the body, he only gave it a quick glance, eyes still nearly shut.

Even just being near the corpse was enough to make Nibs’ stomach churn. Through his pinhole of vision, Nibs could still see the dried blood staining Slightly’s suit. Slightly’s right hand was stuck clutching his side just below the wound, frozen in place. Nibs didn’t want to look at his face, lest Slightly’s dying expression of terror get permanently imprinted in his mind.

“Ok, I know how much I need to dig now,” Nibs shaky, strained voice echoed through the cave. He felt like he was about to throw up, and decided to make his way back to the front of the cave before he lost his dinner.

As he walked, he fully opened his eyes, and his gaze met again with Slightly’s. Slightly’s own eyes looked hollow, and he nearly looked like he was about to cry.

“I’m sorry, Nibs, that you had to see that,” His voice was barely above a whisper. The cave was eerily quiet. “I used to come here a lot to just… look at it, hoping I’d eventually sputter back to life. After a while, it just made me too upset,” Slightly’s voice cracked just a tiny bit in his last line, and he hung his head.

Nibs shook his head, “It’s not your fault. I’m gonna get it buried, and you’ll be able to move on.” Slightly’s head popped back up, and he gave Nibs a faint smile. He rubbed an eye – Nibs wasn’t sure if he was doing it to conceal a tear threatening to fall.

“Thanks, Nibs,” Slightly sniffed. Nibs gave him a nod.

“Of course – I know you’d do the same for me.”

Pleasantries exchanged; it was time to dig. Nibs got down on his knees and began digging fistfuls of dirt out from in front of him. Slightly sat on a nearby rock and watched. The cave was once again silent, save for the noise of dirt being shoveled and the occasional drip of water dropping from a stalactite.

“So, how’s everyone been? The other boys, I mean,” Slightly asked, breaking the silence. “

“Oh, they’ve been good! I mean, for the most part. I got promoted to being second in command after you left, and the others didn’t seem to mind,” Nibs bobbed his head but sighed. “Of course, they all miss you a lot. Tootles keeps sleeping in your old bed, Cubby uses your old Skullbuster when we fight Hook, and the Twins talk about how you used to make the best mud pies in Neverland whenever we have a mud fight.”

Slightly chuckled a bit, “Aw, that’s nice. I miss them a lot, too.”

And you already know how much I missed you.

“Did you ever check in on me? – I mean, us?” Nibs caught himself. “Like, y’know, did you come to Hangman’s Tree to see us?”

“Oh yeah! Tons of times!” Slightly’s face lit up. “After I stopped bumming around in this cave, I would come hang out at Hangman’s Tree a lot. I knew I couldn’t talk to you all, but I wanted to see you guys again.”

“Wait. How much is ‘a lot’?” Nibs froze turned to Slightly. “Does that mean you saw –“

He and Slightly both spoke at the same time: “The thing with the pinecones?”

“You bet I did!” Slightly cackled heartily. “Saw every minute of it. And I saw all the times you got mad at everyone for mentioning the ‘Pinecone incident’.”

“Ack!” Nibs picked up a small mound of dirt and, while laughing, too, threw it at Slightly. The dirt passed through the ghost boy and hit the cave wall instead. “You weren’t supposed to see that!”

Slightly cackled harder and pretended to shield himself when Nibs grabbed another mound of dirt to throw, “Easy, easy! It just showed me how much my leadership is missed.

It’s not easy being second in command,” He pressed a hand to his chest and smirked. Nibs scoffed.

“Yeah, right! Like you would have been able to handle it any better than I did. Remember the time the Twins brought a lion into Hangman’s Tree and you –“ Nibs started, but Slightly covered his ears.

“That was completely different!” Slightly responded indignantly, but still kept his smile.

Nibs chuckled, “Sure it was, your highness,” He stuck out his tongue playfully, which Slightly returned by sticking out his own tongue. He resumed digging again.

“Oh hey, you gotta hear this,” Slightly pointed excitedly at Nibs. “I used to go to the Jolly Roger a lot after visiting you guys, just to see what Hook was doing, and you’ll never believe this.”

“Believe what?” Continuing to dig, Nibs spared a glance at Slightly.

“Hook and Smee are dating,” Slightly turned his head sharply to Nibs, shoulders hunched.

“What?!? No way!” Nibs stopped digging again and stared at Slightly, mouth agape. “How do you know?”

“I snuck into Hook’s quarters on the Jolly Roger one night, and they were both in there, laughing and sitting next to each other. I thought it was weird that Hook wasn’t yelling at Smee like he usually did,” Slightly put his hands on top of his head. “But Smee said something about what a nice night they were having together, and then he leaned over and kissed Hook!”

“Ewww!” Nibs threw his hands over his face and peaked an eye out between his fingers. “That’s gross!”

“I know!” Slightly grimaced. “Can you imagine anyone actually wanting to kiss Hook? Yuck!”

“That’s crazy. Good for Smee, I guess?” Nibs shook his head and returned his focus to making the dirt hole bigger.
“I guess. He’s got some bad taste in awful men,” Slightly shook his head, too. “After that, I stuck to only visiting the Jolly Roger during the daytime. Then I visited with you guys at night.”

“Good idea,” Nibs agreed.

The dirt hole was nearing completion – it looked to be big enough for Slightly’s body, and there was plenty of dirt left over to cover it up with. As he finished digging, Nibs continued to laugh with Slightly over memories of the past and stories that Slightly had experienced while he was floating around Neverland.

This is really nice, getting to talk to him again, Thought Nibs. He’s always got such funny stories, and never fails to make me laugh.

Stars above, I really missed him.

“Now that you know about Peter killing me, you really need to get off of Neverland,” Slightly broke Nibs’ train of thought. “I don’t know how much longer before Peter decides you’re too old, but you should get out of here as soon as possible.”

Nibs scowled a bit, “You’re right. I can’t just leave everyone, though. Maybe the others and I can sneak onto Hook’s ship and stow away the next time he goes back to Alwaysland? Or we could all steal some pixie dust?” He looked to Slightly, who gave him a sympathetic shrug. “Whatever – I’ll figure out the details later.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you got time,” Slightly nodded thoughtfully.

I hope you’re right. I don’t want to be repeating this process with one of the other boys. Nibs wiped dirt off of his hands. What would that even look like? Cubby would pass out at the mere sight of me as a ghost, the Twins wouldn’t stay focused long enough to hear a word I said, and Tootles is way too small to do anything. I better be able to get us all out of here long before Peter decides I’ve become too old.

“I think I’m just about done with your grave,” Nibs got off his knees and took a step back. For having only one pair of hands, Nibs managed to dig the hole decently deep and large enough to fit Slightly with no problems.

“Looks good!” Slightly’s voice sounded far too enthusiastic, Nibs thought, as the ghost boy stared at what would be his final resting place.

“Great! Then I guess I’ll need to grab your body and-“ Nibs began before Slightly shushed him.

“Shh!” Slightly hissed. “Do you hear that?”

Nibs didn’t hear anything but still pursed his lips. The rustling of leaves and the gentle roar from the waterfall echoed through the cave, yet the noises had been consistent throughout their conversation. He remained motionless as he strained his ears to pick up on what Slightly had heard – evidently, something important, as his entire body had tensed up.

“Uh oh,” Slightly quietly gulped and turned, wide eyed, to Nibs.

Nibs wanted to ask Slightly what he could possibly mean by ‘uh oh’, but he then heard what Slightly had:

The light tingling of a bell - So faint that one could mistake it for the wind.

Pixie dust falling and whistling through the air.

Nibs had barely a second to react before a figure flew right into the cave and stood perched at the ledge.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” The figure said, and Nibs’ fears were confirmed as to who spoke.

Nibs gawked at the figure, the very last person who he wanted to see.

Peter.

“I.. uh,” Nibs murmured. Peter’s eyebrows were knit together in confusion as he took a few more steps into the cave. Nibs stole a quick glance at Slightly, who still remained frozen in place with fear, before returning his gaze to Peter.

Can he see Slightly?

“What are you doing in this cave all alone?” Peter spread out his arms, indicating how peculiar this situation was to him.

I guess not.

“I was just, um,” Nibs stammered. Words failed him as he could feel sweat slowly beginning to form on his forehead. His throat felt dry, and he swallowed loudly.
Peter tilted his head up and looked into the back of the cave. He then noticed the makeshift grave at Nibs feet.

Peter sighed heftily and shut his eyes, “Ah, I think I know what this is about.”

“You do?” Nibs managed to ask. Slightly wore blank eyes and ran his hand over his wound, breathing heavily through his mouth.

“You found Slightly’s body, didn’t you?” Peter scratched the back of his head. Nibs nodded, not meeting Peter’s eyes. “I was hoping you wouldn’t find out. I guess I owe you the truth.”

Every fiber of Nibs’ body wanted to run as Peter made his way closer to Nibs, and his heart felt like it was about to explode as Peter crouched down right in front of him.

“I didn’t want to tell you or the other boys what had happened, since it’s just so tragic,” Peter continued, oblivious to how Nibs trembled. “That night that I said Slightly went to Alwaysland – well, I’d asked him to help me fix up something on Hangman’s tree, I don’t even remember what it was anymore. I thought we were alone, but …”

Peter stopped and took another deep breath, “The pirates were waiting to ambush us. They knocked me out with one of their clubs and kidnapped Slightly.”

“What?” Nibs spat. Peter looked at him and he slapped a hand over his mouth. “I mean – that’s. That’s horrible.”

Pirates? Is he trying to tell me a fake story of what happened?

“I know, I couldn’t believe it myself,” Peter added. “When I came to, I chased after the dirty pirates – flew as fast as I could – but by the time I’d made it to the Jolly Roger, they’d already..”

Peter trailed off and put his head into his hands. Nibs glanced to Slightly, who vigorously shook his head. Peter sniffed and pulled his hands back down. His face was now tinted red, and his eyes were glassy.

Is he.. fake crying?

“I was too late. Slightly was gone,” Peter shook his head. “Oh, how I wanted to tell you boys so that we could get revenge, I really did, but I thought that you all didn’t need to know the horrible truth. I wanted you to have a happy story about Slightly to believe instead of an awful reality. You understand, don’t you?” He sniffed once again.

“I see,” Nibs fiddled with his fingers and continued to stare off to the side.

“I put his body up here so that you all wouldn’t accidentally find it, but I see that I didn’t do a good enough job hiding it,” Peter scoffed lightheartedly.

As if. You just didn’t want us to figure out the real murderer.

“Even though you know now, promise me you won’t tell the other boys? I think it’d be best if this just stayed between us.” Peter put a hand on Nibs shoulder and Nibs shuddered.

“Yeah, for sure, they don’t need to know,” Nibs tried his best to look sympathetic, although he felt like he was about to be sick.

“That’s a good Lost Boy,” Peter smiled, brow still furrowed, and stood up. “Now, let’s head back to Hangman’s Tree. You and I are going to show Hook who’s boss tomorrow, doesn’t that sound good?” He lifted a few inches off of the ground and turned to the cave entrance, looking over his shoulder at Nibs.

Nibs gulped again and looked at Slightly, who looked like he may be sick, too.

“Actually, can I stay and just finish this real quick? I’ll come meet you at the Tree after, promise,” Nibs winced. “I just want to pay my last respects to Slightly.”
Images of Peter taking Slightly’s body and dumping it somewhere Nibs would never reach, like at the bottom of the ocean or at the top of the tallest mountain, circled through Nibs’ mind.

If I don’t bury Slightly tonight, I’ll never get to. He’ll hide the body and hide all proof that he’s the killer.

“C’mon Nibs, you don’t need to do that,” Peter tried to sound empathetic, but Nibs could tell he just wanted to get him out of the cave. “Slightly knew how much you cared about him – let’s just head back.”

“Please?’ Nibs clasped his hands together and tried to pull a face akin to a puppy begging for table scraps.

“Fine, just please make it quick,” Peter leaned against a cave wall. Nibs began to walk towards Slightly’s body, but Peter threw out an arm to stop him. “Just do what you need to do back here. Trust me, bud, you don’t want to see what his body looks like.”

Yeah, right. You just don’t want me to see how his fatal wound suspiciously looks the exact same size as your dagger.

Nibs inhaled sharply and pushed past Peter’s arm, running to Slightly’s body. Slightly floated behind him.

“Hey!” Peter shot into the air after him, landing and hovering between Nibs and Slightly. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Why can’t I just have a moment alone with my best friend before I never see him again?” Nibs dodged the question. Peter huffed, Nibs then lowered his voice, brows furrowed, and head tilted down. “And another thing – which pirate killed Slightly? That wound doesn’t look like a sword or gun did it, and I don’t remember any pirates using daggers.”

“D- do you think I know that?” Peter spat after. He took a deep breath and landed on the ground. “I only found him when he was already dead, remember? You can go ask Hook about it tomorrow.”

Nibs’ heart was still racing. He knew his temper was getting the better of him, and that it was unwise to provoke Peter - so he forced himself to cool off. He focused on leveling his breathing and relaxing his expression. He looked right at Peter, trying to ignore Slightly, who was standing next to him and staring concernedly.

“Look, I get why you’re upset. I’m upset about Slightly’s death, too,” Peter spoke, voice calmer. “Like I said, I miss him. I wish he was still here with us; I really do.”

Peter reached out a hand and again placed it on one of Nibs’ shoulders and warmed his expression. A chill ran up Nibs’ spine.

“And I know it’s hard to hear, but what’s done is done. We can’t change that,” Peter said with the inflection of a mother comforting her child after their pet ran away, not with that of murderer. “Slightly would have wanted us to go on and not stay stuck up on his death. He was taken from us so soon, right before his 12th birthday, but we have so many nice memories of him. Let’s just focus on those, alright?” His mouth formed a sad smile.

“Alright,” Nibs whispered. He looked at Slightly’s ghost, trying to communicate in any way that he could that he was sorry. Slightly, though unable to breathe, seemed to sigh a deep, shaky sigh.

I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you. I’ll find your body and bury it, I promise.

He took one more look at the body, knowing he wouldn’t see it in this cave again after tonight.

“There we go, that’s what Slightly would’ve liked to hear,” Peter clapped his hand on Nibs’ shoulders, causing Nibs to shudder, and turned back to the cave entrance. “Now let’s go, for real this time.”

He begun to float away from Nibs, yet Nibs remained rooted in place. Peter noticed the lack of footsteps from behind him and turned around, waving for Nibs to join him.

“One more question,” Nibs kept his eyes firmly on Slightly’s body. He could hear Peter quietly grumble under his breath, expecting another question about the pirates or something else he didn’t want to hear.

“What did you say? That Slightly was nearly 12 years old?” Nibs continued, voice nearly a mumble, balling his hands into fists. “How did you know Slightly was about to turn 12 when he died?”
“

What?” Peter asked breathily, the question catching him off guard.

“I thought you said you didn’t track our ages. How could you possibly have known if you weren’t keeping track of how old each Lost Boy is getting?” Nibs turned back to face Peter. Peter stood still, eyes wide open. Nibs could almost hear the cogs in his brain turning.

“I - It was a slip of my tongue, that doesn’t mean anything,” Peter stammered, scowling. “What are you trying to imply?”

Nibs said nothing, not taking his eyes off Peter.

“You don’t mean – you couldn’t possibly,” Peter scoffed. His face morphed from frustration to fear. “Nibs, you don’t really think, that I – me, of all people? – could have killed Slightly?” Both hands on his chest and his eyes twinkled with innocence, the façade Peter was performing was almost convincing.

Beside Nibs, Slightly’s ghost sneered. Nibs himself gave one short, firm nod.

“Oh my stars, you do,” Peter ran a hand through his hair and chuckled. “Awe, come on Nibs. It’s me!” He hovered back into the air as his chuckle grew heartier. “Why, I’m almost hurt that you could believe I could do something like that. I think this lack of sleep is getting to you, bud.”

Peter floated over to Nibs once again, suspended only a foot or two from Nibs’ face. Nibs stepped back and Peter’s eyelid twitched.

“Geez, knock it off already. I’m not gonna hurt you or nothing,” Peter rolled his eyes playfully. Out of the corner of his eye, Nibs could see Slightly holding himself back from saying something, fearing that Peter would magically be able to hear him.

“I’ll admit – I do like to mess with Hook and his crew – but kill any of them? Never!” Peter waved the notion away. “That’s not who I am. And you should be ashamed to even suggest I would kill a single soul, much less a Lost Boy! What would the others think if I told them about our chat here?” He raised a stern eyebrow.

Nibs could feel his face turning red, not from shame, but rather exasperation. He’s trying to guilt me so I don’t tell the others? He might as well try to just kill me next if he really wants to cover up his tracks this badly.

“But if you come back with me now, I’ll forget about what happened here tonight, and won’t tell them about your ridiculous claims. Sounds like a deal?” Peter stuck out his hand, expecting Nibs to shake it. Nibs instead inched away again.

“Come on, Nibs!” Peter laughed again. “I’m Peter Pan! You’ve known me for so long – you know I’d never do anything to a Lost Boy. We stick together, it was just those rotten pirates who hurt our friend.” Peter stretched his arm out further to put a hand once again on Nibs’ shoulder, but Nibs flinched.

“Are you sure?” Nibs threw his hands in front of him as he backed away. “It sounds awfully convenient to me – Slightly getting kidnapped while you were the only one around. The other boys and I didn’t hear any screams, wouldn’t Slightly have called out for help?”

“I’m sure they tied a gag around his mouth. I wouldn’t know, I was knocked unconscious,” Peter shrugged, though Nibs swore he saw another twitch of an eyelid.

“But when have the pirates only ever kidnapped a Lost Boy on his own?” Nibs countered. “They only ever try to take all of us at once – they’ve never gone for only one of us. Why would they only bother with kidnapping Slightly, especially if they already took you out of the picture?”

“What are you asking me for?” Peter laughed nervously. “I’m not Hook – take it up with him.”

“And the dagger? What I saw on Slightly looked like a wound that could only have been made by that dagger right there,” Nibs pointed at Peter’s belt, and Peter instinctively covered his weapon with his hands.

“Enough of this!” Peter barked. His words echoed through the cave. “What’s all of this supposed to mean?” His face was now only a few inches away from Nibs’, and Nibs could feel the heat coming off of him.

“I know. I know you killed Slightly. “Slightly’s ghost came back and told me himself,” Nibs said firmly. Peter attempted to suppress a growl in his throat.

“All I want is to bury the body. Then his ghost can move on – that’s all I want. It’s the least I could do for him,” Nibs turned to smile at Slightly, who returned it with a smile of his own.

“I don’t believe that for a minute,” Peter swatted an arm through Slightly’s ghost, which warped around Peter’s hand but did not disappear. Nibs again met Peter’s gaze, realizing how bloodshot Peter’s eyes now looked.

“His ghost is right th-“ Nibs insisted, yet was cut off.

“Not that part! The part where you just want to bury him – don’t think I don’t know what’ll happen after that,” Peter snarled. “You’ll come back to Hangman’s Tree and tell the other boys about what happened. If they believe you, you’ll probably try to leave the island, or join Hook, or maybe even try to kill me.”

“What?” Nibs whispered.

“Even if they don’t believe you, you’ll plant a seed of doubt within them and eventually, they’ll turn on me. You think I’m gonna let that happen?” Peter gradually began to sink back to the ground. “No, no I’m not.”

Subtly, Peter had been inching a hand closer to his belt, until it rested on the hilt of his dagger. Nibs only noticed once he heard the gentle noise of the dagger sliding out of the belt, and his face grew pale.

He’s going to kill me to cover himself.

Before he could second guess himself, Nibs grabbed dirt from next to his feet and shot it at Peter’s eyes.

“Argh!” Peter howled in pain and instinctively covered his eyes, dropping the dagger. Nibs practically flew into the back of the cave, heart racing, hoping for the cave to lead into an escape he hadn’t previously noticed. He had no such luck, as the path he ran only led to a dark cave wall.

Crap, crap, crap! He’s got me cornered…

Nibs dove behind a stalagmite. He dared not look to the front of the cave for fear of Peter seeing him, but he heard Peter’s grunts as he attempted to rub the last of the dirt out of his eyes.

Peter spoke again, causing Nibs to hold his breath, “Very clever, Nibs. But there’s only one way out of this cave, and I’m afraid I can’t let you leave it alive.”

Peter’s careful footsteps reverberated through the cave as the Boy Who Never Grew Up searched for Nibs.

“I really hate to do this – you were a wonderful Lost Boy and this is always my least favorite part of my job – but you couldn’t trust me, and I can’t trust you,” Peter picked his dagger up and wiped the dirt from it.

“I didn’t want to have to do this any sooner than I had to, either. I would have let you live a few more months, easy – you weren’t going to turn twelve for a little while,” Peter sighed, and Nibs’ mouth suddenly felt incredibly dry.

“Goodness knows the other boys will miss you. They’ll be crushed that they lost another friend so soon after Slightly,” Peter feigned sympathy. His voice grew louder as he made his way to the back of the cave. “You were a great fighter, too – I’ll miss having you on my side when we fight Hook.

“But what’s done is done. I can’t change the fact that you deliberately went behind my back,” Nibs felt the pit in his stomach grow as Peter repeated the same phrase he’d used earlier while lying about Slightly’s death. “I guess you’ll be able to see Slightly again in death, so at least you have that to look forward to.”

Nibs hadn’t realized Slightly’s ghost was behind a stalagmite similar to his own, peering over it, trying to find where Peter was.

“Behind you – he’s right behind you!” Slightly hissed.

It dawned on Nibs that he was so focused on simply keeping his breathing as quiet as possible that he had completely missed the fact that Peter’s footsteps had stopped. At a glacial pace, Nibs turned his head behind him.

And there was Peter, dagger glinting in the moon’s light.

“Goodbye, Nibs.”

His voice was quiet. He plunged the dagger downward, and Nibs barely managed to jump out of its path. Nibs hoisted himself onto a stalactite, adrenaline roaring through his body.

“Come on, already – give up,” Peter growled. “I’ve got you cornered.”

“No!” Nibs leapt from the stalactite onto Peter’s head. The force of the boy sent Peter to the ground, dagger flying out of his hands once more.

Although Nibs had the element of surprise, Peter was bigger, stronger, and able to fly. He quickly wrestled Nibs off his head and pinned him to the ground. Nibs kicked and clawed at Peter’s arms feebly.

“Fine, we can do it this way, too. Whatever finally works,” Peter shifted one hand, leaving the other still firmly planted on Nibs’ chest, the first now wrapping around Nibs’ neck. Nibs gasped for air as he felt Peter’s grip on his neck tightening.

“Stop struggling, you knew this was going to happen,” Peter snorted in anger.

Nibs continued to kick at Peter, each kick growing weaker. He could feel himself losing consciousness as his mind grew foggy.

No, I can’t let it end like this.

I’m sorry Slightly.

“Nibs!” Slightly called from Nibs’ side and Nibs wearily turned his gaze to him. “The dagger! Use it!”

Slightly was right – Peter’s dagger laid just out of reach of Nibs’ fingers. Nibs tried stretching his arm out to it, strength fading. Peter responded by again tightening his grip on Nibs’ neck, and Nibs choked.

“Almost,” Peter sighed with relief. “Say hi to Slightly for me.”

“N – no,” Nibs wheezed. His shaky fingers grasped the dagger’s handle. “You – do it.”

With his last breath, Nibs drove the dagger deep into Peter’s chest. Blood instantly began to drip from Peter’s new injury and he gently loosened his grip on Nibs’ neck in shock. Nibs took the opportunity to drive the dagger even further into Peter, until only the hilt remained visible.

“No, no,” Peter spluttered, blood spraying out of his mouth and onto Nibs’ face. “You can’t kill me – that’s not how this is supposed to go.”

Peter’s eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped down. Nibs quickly crawled out from under him and rolled Peter onto his back. Breath still short, Nibs lifted one of Peter’s arms and checked for a pulse, not finding one. He released the arm and it flopped back to the ground like a ragdoll.

Peter was gone.

“Oh my stars Nibs, are you okay?” Slightly hurried over to Nibs.

“Yes. I mean – no. Yes? Kind of?” Nibs stammered.

Slightly stood over Peter’s once moving body, looking at his new injury. He then reached to touch his own wound – their fatal lacerations looked eerily similar to each other.

“I can’t believe that happened,” Nibs collapsed to the ground, running fingers through his hair. “I – he’s… I killed him.”

“Yes, only because he was about to kill you,” Slightly sat next to Nibs. “I would have never asked you to help me out if I had any idea that Peter was going to do… that. I’m so sorry,” He placed a ghostly hand on one of Nibs’ legs.

“You don’t have to apologize for anything, we both had no idea,” Nibs shook his head and took in a deep breath. “Besides, we’re not done here yet. I promised I was going to bury you, and I’m not about to break that promise.”

“You just took a life and that’s all you can think about?” Slightly laughed.

"Well, it beats sitting around here all night long and thinking about how my own life almost ended,” Nibs mocked Slightly’s tone, which prompted Slightly to stick his tongue out at him. “Now, if no one else is going to try to interrupt me, let’s get your body.”

There was still the issue of Peter’s body still being in the cave. Nibs and Slightly agreed that the man who had tried to kill the both of them probably didn’t deserve to have his own grave. Nibs opted for dragging the body out of the cave and letting it fall down the waterfall into Mermaid’s Lagoon.

As for Slightly’s body, Nibs pinched his nose and squinted his eyes as he dragged it to the front of the cave, attempting to be more delicate with the body than he’d been with Peter’s. He lowered the body into the make-shift grave and began to cover it with dirt, still attempting to not get a good eyeful of the corpse.

Nibs stopped before covering the last piece of Slightly’s face, “I guess this is goodbye then, huh?” He asked Slightly bittersweetly.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Slightly replied quietly. “Thanks again so much for all this, Nibs. I know it wasn’t easy, but I can’t thank you enough.”

“Of course – was I just supposed to let my best friend be stuck as a ghost for the rest of time? I don’t think so,” Nibs chuckled sadly. “Besides, now I get to give you an actual goodbye, instead of never getting to.”

He held out a hand, offering a handshake, “Goodbye, Slightly. I’m gonna miss you a lot-“

His goodbyes were cut off by Slightly throwing himself at him, wrapping his arms around Nibs’ back. The ghost’s hug registered as barely anything more than a cool breeze against Nibs, but he didn’t care - Nibs embraced Slightly’s ghost back.

“I’m gonna miss you, too,” Slightly sighed. “But we’ll meet again someday, and I’m excited for what you and the other boys are going to be able to do now that Peter’s gone.

Slightly slowly drew back from the hug and looked at Nibs, “Take good care of them – and yourself – I know you’re going to be a great leader.”

Nibs found his eyes growing foggy.

“Thanks, Slight. Just as there’s no pinecones involved,” He sniffled as he laughed, Slightly laughed as well. “It won’t be the same without you, but at least I know you’re not hurting anymore.”

With one more deep breath, Nibs sprinkled the last of the dirt. As it settled on Slightly’s body, ghost Slightly began to gently fade away.

“Bye, Nibs,” Slightly said with a wave. A reserved smile painted his face as he grew fainter.

“Bye, Slightly,” Nibs returned the wave.

After just a moment, Slightly had vanished.

Nibs was alone again.

His gaze rested at the empty space where Slightly had been. Nibs stood there for a few minutes, allowing everything that had happened in the last evening to wash over him. He scanned around the cave aimlessly, almost as though he was searching for something, though he didn’t know what.

The hooting of an owl in a nearby tree reminded him that the night would not last forever. He cautiously made his way out of the cave and back down the cliff, wanting to make sure he could at least be in Hangman’s Tree when the other boys woke up – he was sure he wouldn’t be able to sleep after all that had happened, but he didn’t want all of them to be alone.

When the others wake up, I’ll have to tell them about Peter. I can’t tell them the truth – it’ll crush them. I’ll just have to come up with something else to tell them…

Nibs continued through the forest until a small clearing caught his attention. The night sky peered through the trees and seemed to draw Nibs towards it.

I really should be heading back home, thought Nibs as he plodded into the clearing.

But that could wait for a moment more. For now, Nibs found himself looking up to the sky again. The stars seemed to dance in the sky, the moon’s gentle glow helping to illuminate them.

As he smiled wistfully at the tiny shimmering dots in the night sky, Nibs – though he knew it was impossible – swore he felt Slightly’s presence watching the stars with him.

From now on, I think I’ll be watching the stars a lot more.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Slightly?” Nibs looked over his shoulder at his friend. Both boys were crawling through a thicket, searching for rocks, one of their favorite hobbies.

“Yea?” Slightly huffed as he shoved a log with his shoulders before turning to Nibs.

“Do you think we’ll always stick together?” Nibs asked.

“Of course! Duh - what kind of silly question is that?” Slightly grinned and stood up.

“I dunno, just wondering. I guess it was a silly question,” Nibs dusted his knees off as he joined Slightly.

Placing a fist on his chest, with a bold tone, Slightly proclaimed, “We’re Nibs and Slightly, the two bravest Lost Boys on all of Neverland! Whether it’s fighting pirates, or collecting rocks, we’ll always stick together.”

“Right!” Nibs smiled and mimicked Slightly, putting a fist on his chest as well.

“Speaking of that, check out this awesome rock I found!” Slightly reached into the back of his hood and produced a long, thin rock, and dropped it into Nibs’ hands.

“Oh cool!” The rock sat neatly in Nibs’ palms as he inspected it. The rock’s dull orange coloring made it stand out from the usual gray rocks they found, and the smooth surface of the stone made it pleasant to touch. Slightly was right – the unique rock was something to be shared.

“I hope I can find one like th-,“ Nibs started, only to notice Slightly had already crouched back onto the ground and was searching for more rocks.

“Yeah! I bet we can find some more neat ones, but we gotta be quick! Peter’s gonna call us back before it gets too dark,” Slightly nodded, not taking his eyes off the patch of dirt he was inspecting.

The sun was indeed beginning to set, and Nibs wasted no time in rejoining Slightly in the hunt for other rocks. As he began to dig again, he realized he was still holding onto Slightly’s rock.

I’ll just give it back to him in Hangman’s Tree – no time to waste right now! He thought, taking one last look at the rock before shoving it into his hood. The setting sun fell on the two boys as they both dug through the grass, laughing as dirt flew into one another’s faces.
----

The rock had never found its way back to Slightly. The mineral had stayed squarely in the possession of Nibs.

Nibs turned the rock over in his hands, thumbs rubbing against it. A year and a half of rubbing thumbs against the rock meant that the rock now was now ever so gently concave on its surface.

A year and a half had passed since Slightly’s disappearance. Half a year had passed since Nibs had found Slightly’s ghost.

Half a year had passed since Peter Pan had been killed.

No – Half a year had passed since Peter Pan had tried to kill Nibs.

Half a year had passed since Nibs had to kill Peter Pan himself.

It sure feels longer than only half a year, Thought Nibs as he turned the rock in his hands. Especially with the nightmares I have all the time.

Flashes of Peter lunging at him in the dark cave, stabbing him with his dagger, killing him - as well as images of Peter’s lifeless bloodstained body lying on top of him - were frequent guests in Nibs dreams. Most distressing were the nightmares of Peter coming back from the grave to finish off the other Lost Boys.

Nibs closed his eyes and shook his head at merely the thought; Those were the only dreams that would consistently cause him to awaken in a sweat.

Equally unpleasant was the instance of Nibs having to break the news of Peter’s passing to the other boys. Though he detested that Peter had lied about the cause of Slightly’s death, Nibs found himself fibbing to the boys about the circumstances of Peter’s.

He’d been on a nighttime stroll, Nibs had explained, when he found Peter’s body at the bottom of Mermaid’s Lagoon. He hinted that the pirates had done it, attempting to create a believable story. Nibs hated that he used the same flimsy excuse Peter had used about Slightly’s death, but he felt like his excuse would be received a lot better than turning to the only friends he had left and saying: Hey guys, I just killed our leader!

The news of Peter’s untimely demise went over about as well as Nibs expected. The Twins and Tootles broke down into quiet sobs immediately while Cubby, hot tears finding their way down his face, brandished a club, suggesting that they go make Hook pay for what he did. Nibs – overwhelmed with relief that they all believed him, as well as the notion that no one wanted to go find Peter’s body and inspect it themselves – agreed with Cubby, and the small group set out to the Jolly Roger.

Nibs momentarily forgot about the horrors he’d faced as he allowed himself to get swept up in the excitement of storming Hook’s ship and facing off against pirates twice his size. Poor Hook looked rather confused as the boys clambered onto his ship, choruses of “For Peter!” ringing from their mouths. He stayed preoccupied with scanning the skies for Peter, rapier pointed towards the clouds.

Has that rapier always been that sharp? Nibs had wondered as he bashed the heads of two pirates together, his mind getting the better of him. And have the pirates always had swords this long? Is that dried blood on the floor? Is it from one of them? Or one of us?

The fight didn’t last very long – five children against an entire pirate crew had an almost predictable ending. Before being tied up and thrown off the deck, however, the boys managed to cause one of the ship’s canons to explode backwards onto the ship – Even Nibs wasn’t sure how they’d managed to pull it off. They escaped in a cloud of smoke and sparks, laughing as they clambered back onto shore while Hook cursed behind them.

The laughter was short lived, as, while doing a headcount, Nibs noticed Tootles sported a gash on his chest. It was small, but a small trickle of blood still rolled from it. He’d gotten hurt.

Right where Slightly got stabbed. How I killed Peter.

Bile began to build up in Nibs throat as Tootles signed that a pirate had swiped him with a sword, but that it hadn’t hurt much. The Twins had enthusiastically interjected that Tootles proceeded to bite the leg of the pirate who’d hurt him, so he’d gotten even, and not to worry about it. Nibs had shakily agreed and hurried them back to Hangman’s Tree.

Cubby volunteered to patch up Tootles’ skunk suit, and Nibs watched anxiously as he did. He picked at his fingers as Topsy had cleaned Tootles’ wound and Turvy applied a bandage to it. Tootles emerged from the encounter the same as he’d always been, healthy and happy, as if it had never happened. After all, this was a normal occurrence in pirate fights, and nothing to be worried about.

It’s only a scratch. Why is it freaking me out so badly?

Nibs still loved a good fight with the pirates, but from that moment on, the fear of one of the other boys getting injured was on his mind. He’d witnessed firsthand how fragile each of their lives were – it only took one hearty stab to take one of them out.

Hook preferred theatrics over actual combat, giving the Lost Boys a false sense of security. They’d never really been in danger, Hook was only focused on getting Peter.

Though he wasn’t sure if Hook knew the truth about Peter’s current whereabouts, Nibs feared that Hook would turn his aggression towards extinguishing the remaining Lost Boys the moment it became clear to Hook that Peter wasn’t coming back.

And of course, Peter had skipped all theatricalities and cut right to the chase. If he wanted to – hell, if any adult on the island really wanted to – he could take a life. Nibs still remembered what Peter’s palms felt like, wound around his neck.

Nibs had become painfully aware of his own mortality ever since the events of that October night, many moons before.

He’d become painfully aware of the other Lost Boy’s mortalities.

“Nibs? Nibs!” A gentle shake to his shoulders brought Nibs out of his spiral of thoughts.

“Huh?” Nibs blinked and placed the rock, still in his hands, onto a ledge close to his bed.

“You were doing it again, buddy,” Cubby spoke softly. “Spacing out and just staring. You okay?”

“Yeah … I’m fine,” Nibs ran his hands over his face. “I was just thinking about Peter and Slightly again.”

It wasn’t entirely true, but it wasn’t untrue, either.

"I see,” Cubby sighed gently. “Well, if you feel like it, we’re about to have dinner. You wanna join?”

“Oh yeah! I’ll be there in a minute,” Nibs patted Cubby on the back. The answer satisfied Cubby, and he walked out of the room.

Out of the Lost Boys, Cubby was the one who was most sympathetic to Nibs when he got lost in his thoughts. As the second oldest of the remaining group, Cubby understood Nibs’ grief, although he thought it came mostly from a place of missing Peter.

Of course, Nibs was still the only one who knew that Slightly had been killed – and he intended to keep it that way. There was no use in making everyone more upset than they already were, Nibs figured.

Life without Peter was definitely different – the main difference being less pirate raids and less time spent with the mermaids. Hangman’s Tree itself was still plenty noisy and chaotic, as the amount of fighting between the boys stayed the same.

Nibs made his way to the middle of Hangman’s Tree and was greeted by The Twins and Tootles.

“Hi Nibs!” The Twins spoke in unison as Tootles waved.

“Hey guys!” Nibs waved back, feeling the mood he’d been in moments before beginning to wear off.

“Cubby’s grabbing dinner, the mermaids gave us some fish earlier,” Topsy passed a wooden plate to Nibs.

“And Tinkerbell’s gonna come eat with us, too!” Turvy nodded excitedly.

“Oh nice!” Nibs said, taking a place on the floor.

The other inhabitants of Neverland had taken sympathy on the Lost Boys, knowing how difficult it was for them to be living without their leader. The mermaids in particular had been gifting fish to the boys – they’d previously done the same when Peter was still alive.

Tinkerbell had moved out of Hangman’s Tree after Peter’s death, Nibs figured the grief had been too much for her. She still visited often, which the boys all appreciated.

“Dinner is served!” Cubby entered holding a pile of fish on a platter. Tinkerbell flew in behind him, waving at the boys. Cubby stood steadily as Tinkerbell doused the platter with pixie dust, causing each fish to hover into the air. The Lost Boys brought their wooden plates to the fish eagerly and caught them before settling back onto the carpeted floor.

“Before we dig in, remember, let’s say Grace,” Nibs closed his eyes, and the other boys followed.

“Grace,” They said together.

Then, what was left of dining manners went out the window. Nibs took an enormous bite out of the side of his fish which caused fish juice to go everywhere, Cubby shook a fish in his mouth by its tail, growling, and the Twins fought one another over a particularly large cod. Tootles and Tinkerbell remained somewhat civilized and ate quietly, watching the Twins bean each other in the head with fish bones.

Nibs wiped his hands on his rabbit suit, “So guys, anything new happen today?”

“Tootles and I went with Tinkerbell to help the fairies rebuild the Neverbeast’s cave!” Cubby swallowed what was left of his fish while Tootles and Tinkerbell nodded. “The darn thing woke up again, he wasn’t supposed to do that for another 900 years!”

“Oh, woah!” Nibs replied.

“And we went to Crocodile Creek!” Turvy said, still engaged in a tug-of-war over the cod with Topsy.

“We were looking for that buried treasure again! No luck, though,” Topsy added. Nibs took the opportunity to slide a second fish over to them, and the fighting finally stopped.

“Sounds like you all had busy days!” Nibs stood and collected the wooden plates off the floor.

“What about you?” Topsy asked, mouth full of fish. Tootles burped quietly.

“Just patrolling again – keeping an eye on the Jolly Roger,” Nibs scratched under his chin as he stored the plates on a shelf, back turned to the rest of the group.

To make sure the pirates weren’t planning on ransacking Hangman’s Tree in search of Peter and hurting anyone that got in their way, Nibs didn’t want to add. Hiding in the tops of trees all day long to make sure we’re safe.

“Say, Nibs, why don’t you look for Slightly anymore?” Spoke one of the Twins. Nibs wasn’t sure which one – their voices sounded exactly the same. The abrupt question nearly made him snap a plate in half.

“I – I don’t have as much time to spend looking for him ever since Peter died, remember?” Nibs recited his excuse that he’d used for the last six months. “And I realized I needed to let Slightly go. He’s not here anymore, so I’ve stopped looking. We’ve been over this.”

“Ohh yeah, I forgot,” Said one of the twins – as Nibs turned back to the rest of the boys, he realized it was Turvy. Silence fell over the group, broken only when Tinkerbell gestured that she needed to go back to Pixie Hollow, and the boys exchanged goodbyes with her.

Once Tinkerbell flew out of Hangman’s Tree, Topsy looked to Nibs and asked, “Wait, how come you never look for Peter, either?” Nibs hadn’t a moment to even process the question before an answer presented itself for him.

“Peter’s dead, Dingus!” Turvy groaned and shoved Topsy. “He’s got no reason to look for him cuz he’s gone.”

Topsy responded with a shove of his own, and the two quickly broke into yet another fight.

"Okay, okay, enough!” Cubby hollered as Nibs tore Turvy off of Topsy. Yet he didn’t move quick enough, as Turvy picked up a book from the floor and threw it square into Topsy’s face.

“Can you two please get along for once?!” Nibs sighed, hauling Turvy to the other end of the room while Cubby picked Topsy off the floor. He hated what he was about to say, but he knew it was the only way to get the brawling brothers to stop snarling at each other from across the room: “What would Peter think if he saw the way you two fight over nothing?”

The threat of Peter’s disapproval wasn’t even a decent threat, thought Nibs, as Peter loved a good skirmish with the Lost Boys. Peter probably would have joined in with them, frankly.

But the statement worked, as the two raccoon twins dropped their hostility and mumbled, “Sorry Nibs.”

Nibs released Turvy from his grip, Cubby doing the same with Topsy. Tootles made his way over to the fallen book and handed it to Nibs. Nibs flipped it to the cover, hoping to see which bookshelf it had come from.

“The Beginner’s Guide to Dark Magic,” He read the cover under his breath. It took a moment before the sheer absurdity of the title hit him. “What? Turvy, where did you find this?” Nibs pointed to the book.

“Oh, we made that!” Turvy happily replied.

“Made?” Nibs asked, eyebrow raised.

“Yeah!” Topsy ran to Nibs and began leafing through the pages. “We’re putting together a bunch of different magic spells!”

Indeed, the book appeared to be full of so-called “spells”, although Nibs struggled to read most of the chicken-scratch on the pages – the crude illustrations that littered the margins of each page certainly didn’t help. Nibs managed to read a few of the spell titles out loud to himself.

“Limb regeneration, underwater breathing, hair loss, hair regrowth – where did you guys even get this stuff? Never mind, I don’t want to know,” Nibs answered his own question as the Twins giggled. He continued mulling through the pages until one heading in particular caught his attention.

Resurrection: Bringing a Corpse Back to Life.

Nibs stopped on the page.

Slightly’s face flashed in his mind.

His breathing grew labored.

Wait. Am I really * that * desperate to see him again that I’d try using a made-up spell written by the Twins?

Nibs allowed his eyes to wander from the page to the Twins, who were now both engaged with picking their noses.

No. No I’m not.

Nibs slammed the book shut and snapped to get the Twins’ attention, “Okay, I’m glad you guys are having fun making this, but no more throwing the book at each other.”

“Aww, you’re no fun!” They whined in unison, but they accepted the book back from Nibs and scampered off. Nibs shook his head, but with a smile on his face.

“Have you been thinking about him again?” Cubby asked, causing Nibs to flinch. He’d just about forgotten about the bear boy standing right next to him.

“Him, who?” Nibs questioned.

“Slightly. You’ve been mopey all evening – zoned out and spacey. Is something bothering you?” Cubby dropped his voice as to not alert the other Lost Boys. “You only get like that when you’re thinking about him.”

“Yeah, yeah I have been,” Nibs shrugged lightly.

Cubby seemed to be the most empathetic to Nibs in the last few months. It wasn’t that the Twins and Tootles weren’t there for him, but Cubby was the only one who really seemed to notice when Nibs got lost in thought – which could be a good or bad thing.

"You’re not thinking of starting to go looking for him again, are you?” Cubby said, tone still gentle. “I know it’s been really tough on you, losing Slightly and Peter so soon after each other, but –“

“Oh, stars, no!” Nibs waved his arms in front of him. “No, my days of searching are over.”

“Okay, that’s good,” Cubby added. “Just… please try to focus on the others right now,” He pointed in the vague direction of the other Lost Boys. “They need us right now - they’re just as sad as we are – but we’re the ones in charge now.”

“I know-“ Nibs huffed. Is he seriously trying to get me to get over Slightly’s death? Like this?

Cubby cut him off, “I’m not asking you to forget about Peter and Slightly, just -,” he fumbled with his words. “Just try to be there for the other guys, too. We’ve seen so little of you since Peter died. You’re always scouring for pirates.”

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt!” Nibs snapped. “The only reason I spend so much time at the pirate look-out is because I don’t want us to get ambushed! We’re not as strong as we were before – without Peter and all!”

“Please, I don’t want to fight you on this!” Cubby clasped his hands together. “You’ve started worrying so much about us – you weren’t always like this! What happened to Nibs, the bravest Lost Boy?”

“Am I just supposed to act like what happened to Peter couldn’t happen to one of us? I saw how fragile we are,” Nibs grew defensive. The images of Slightly’s body, Peter’s dagger, and Peter’s corpse all flashed in his mind. “You don’t know what I went through!”

His last line came out louder than intended. The heads of the Twins swirled to look to Nibs and Cubby.

Cubby sighed loudly, “I don’t want to fight you on this, please.”

Nibs’ breathing grew heavier.

“You weren’t the only one who lost someone,” Cubby spoke softly. “Peter was my leader – I still can’t believe he’s gone.

“And Slightly was my friend, too,” Cubby added, even quieter.

“Cubby, I didn’t mean –“ Nibs began, but Cubby raised a hand.

“It’s okay, Nibs. I didn’t mean to upset you either,” Cubby shook his head. “I know you’re mad at me, but please, please, try to focus on the present. What happened, happened. We can’t change it.”

With his last words, Cubby trudged into another room. The Twins and Tootles miraculously hadn’t caught much of the spat, and gleefully joined Cubby as he left, babbling on about something Nibs didn’t hear.

“I know we can’t change what happened!” Nibs called out behind Cubby, though he felt more like he was saying it to no one in particular. No answer came from down the hall.

“Ok, ok, I’m ok,” He ran fingers through his hair, the heat seeming to evaporate from his face. He wasn’t sure why he’d gotten so upset – Cubby was simply trying to help him.

He was just trying to tell me that I shouldn’t worry as much as I am, but… but he doesn’t know what I went through. He didn’t almost die to Peter. He didn’t have to kill Peter. He didn’t see Slightly.

Nibs found himself getting riled up again, the adrenaline in his body still roaring.

“Ok, ok,” Nibs forced himself to breath slowly, whispering under his breath. “I think I need sleep.”

Still taking deep breaths as he blew out the candle in sleeping bunker, Nibs found his way to his bed and climbed into it. He threw his blanket of woven straw over himself and turned against the wall. Chatter and giggles echoed into the bunker and Nibs shoved a pillow over his head.

What’s wrong with me? All I do is worry about the other boys and think about Slightly. Cubby’s right, I haven’t been myself lately. I must be driving them all crazy – I know I’ve been driving myself nuts.

If only Slightly was here.

Happier memories of Slightly managed to bubble to the front of Nibs’ mind as he drifted to sleep, replacing the ones of Nibs having to haul Slightly’s dead body into a makeshift grave.

---

“That was nice of you to tell Tootles a bedtime story,” Nibs stood in the doorway of the sleep bunker, leaning against the wall.

“Oh, yeah,” Slightly threw a look back to Tootles. The skunk boy was sleeping softly in a hammock just under the stairs of Hangman’s Tree – Slightly had been crouched next to it moments before, retelling one of his many encounters with Captain Hook to the younger Lost Boy. “Poor thing had a nightmare, I figured I’d help calm him back down before he kept all of us up the whole night.”

Nibs yawned, “Right, I figure we ought to be headed to bed now, too.”

“I like the sound of that!” Slightly nodded. Nibs turned to go to the sleeping bunker, but stopped when Slightly wrapped his arms around his shoulders behind him.

“Thanks for staying up with me ‘til Tootles fell asleep!” He said cheerfully.

“Of course!” Nibs patted his hands against Slightly’s arms and the two began to walk.

“Oh, Slightly!” Peter’s voice resounded. He flew into the hall and landed before Slightly. “Can you help me tie up a rope on top of the tree? Darn winds been knocking it off a lot, and you look like just the man for the job to help!”

“Sure!” Slightly gave Peter the Lost Boy salute, which Peter mimicked back. “Goodnight, Nibs!”

Peter flew back out of the room, and Slightly bounded after him.

"Wait – no – I know how this ends, you can’t go with him!” Nibs panicked, heart racing. “Don’t go!”

He raced after Slightly, tearing up the winding staircase to the top of Hangman’s Tree. As he popped open the trapdoor, he saw Slightly and Peter standing together. A dagger glinted behind Peter’s back, and, upon seeing Nibs, he drove it into Slightly’s chest in one swift motion.

“No!” Cried Nibs as Slightly’s body fell. He hurried to a branch and stood, seeing Slightly lay flat on the grass.

Peter suddenly appeared before Nibs from out of thin air, tearing into him using the same blood-stained dagger. A gargled scream left Nibs’ mouth as he clutched his new gash, losing his footing on the branch. He, too, toppled to the ground, yelling as he hurled towards it.

---

“No! Slightly!”

The shriek escaped Nibs mouth as he lurched forward in bed.

Nibs panted, eyes darting around. He was back in his bed and, judging by the murmurs he heard from below him, he guessed the other Lost Boys had gone to sleep, too.

He patted against his chest rapidly – his wound was no longer there.

It was a just a nightmare. I’m fine. Peter’s still dead. Slightly’s still gone.

“Whhatwuzthat,” Came a weary voice from the floor. Nibs figured it belonged to Cubby.

“I dunno. Go back to sleep,” Came another voice, this time unmistakably from one of the twins.

His hollers had woken them up, Nibs thought, but snores quickly began to waft from the floor. Nibs’s head flopped back onto his pillow.

Rubbing his hands over his face, Nibs groaned. That’s the third nightmare in the last couple nights. Each one worse than the last.

Almost as a consolation for his dreams, Nibs allowed his mind to wander back to Slightly. When one of the other boys had a night terror, Slightly would be the one to check in on them and put them back to bed. He’d done the same for Nibs, too – though nightmares were far less common back then.

The opposite scenario had happened as well, where Nibs would help Slightly calm down after a distressing dream. Sometimes he’d fish a book off of cluttered pile of papers they called a bookshelf and read a few pages from it with Slightly until he’d fallen asleep again.

The memory made Nibs crack a soft smile, followed by a sigh, knowing he wouldn’t be able to experience that again.

Wait. Books… the book that the Twins made…

Nibs gingerly sat up, glancing at the floor. The twins were splayed out on the ground, sleeping like rocks – their book mere feet away from their hands.

As he focused on the book, the question Nibs had asked himself before entered his mind.

Am I really – REALLY - * that * desperate to see Slightly again? That I’d resort to using a made-up spell?

A quick glint of something behind him caught Nibs’ attention – as he turned, he noticed it was the rock Slightly had given him, reflecting a weak beam of moonlight. Nibs paused, running a few fingers over it. He then slowly turned back to the Twins’ book.

Yes. Yes I am.

Slowly crawling out of bed to not disturb the other sleeping Lost Boys, he whispered under his breath, “This has got to be a new low – me trying an idea made by the twins.”

Well, I’m sorry, but do you have a better idea for bringing Slightly back? Nibs rolled his eyes indignantly. Who knows, maybe it’ll work! Nothing about Slightly being a ghost made sense, but it still happened. So you – I mean, me – can just cram it until I – I mean you? Us? Whatever! – try this book out!

Finished bickering with his inner voice, Nibs crept across the room until he stood beside the Twins. He ever-so-slowly bent to pick up the book, and lifted it in the air with delicate fingers, as if the book were about to explode. His eyes stayed glued to the Twins, watching for any tiny movements from them lest they were stirred by him.

No such movements came, and Nibs backed out of the bunker, choosing to light a candle in the hub of Hangman’s Tree instead. He placed both candle and book onto a stump and sat to read.

“Where did I see that spell before…” Nibs mumbled beneath his breath as he flipped through the book’s tattered pages. For a project that had supposedly just been started, the book bore multiple scratches on the cover and most, if not all, pages featured holes or were bent oddly from improper folding – one even appeared to have a bite taken out of it?

Miraculously, the reanimation spell page was intact, suffering only from dog-earing in both corners. The writings themselves were sparse, with only a few sentences actually under the spell’s title. The rest of the page was decorated with stick figure drawings of what Nibs assumed to be the Twins, though Nibs thought they looked more like dogs than anything.

Focusing on the task at hand, Nibs began to read, softly, “The following is the chant used to describe both the three ingredients you will need, as well as how you will get them.

“Bone from the father will renew. Flesh from one close will revive. Blood from an enemy will resurrect.”

Nibs stared at the book.

“What?” He reread the page, and reread it again, and again, searching for clues – waiting for something to click. “What is any of this supposed to mean?”

The sentences – if they could even be called that – seemed to end before they really begun. The Twins’ limited literacy skills shone through this garbled mess of words.

Nibs held the book close to his face as his gaze danced across the words, groaning, “I knew this was a bad idea. This doesn’t make a lick of sense!”

But I can’t give up yet. I have to try. For Slightly.

Beneath his breath, he muttered headings of each sentence. Bone from the father, flesh from the close, blood from the enemy. Maybe that can help me get somewhere.

‘Flesh from one close’ threw him off the most. Nibs had begun to subconsciously pick at his fingernails as he read. Fingertips growing red in irritation, Nibs brought a hand to his face.

“Flesh .... of one close,” He whispered, wincing.

We were as close as anyone could be. That must be me, then.

Lowering his hand again, Nibs’ shifted his focus to the weapons rack next to him. A knife, glinting, seemed to call out to him. Nibs grabbed it, grimacing at the thought of having to use it on himself.

The knife had only been used for carving in plants before – the last time Nibs had seen it in use was when Peter had carved Jane’s name into a coconut and set it adrift during a trip to Seashell Shore.

Wait – Peter, he could work for blood from the enemy! Nibs’ eyes lit up. Surely there has to be some blood somewhere in the cave where I fought him. Dried or not, I’ll have to use it.

The bone from father was the only ‘ingredient’ that remained. Finding Slightly’s father was naturally out of the question, and the thunder that Nibs thought he had quickly diminished.

I’m not going to be able to find any bones anywhere, and digging some out of Peter is out of the question – I’m already using his blood from the cave anyway, probably can’t use him twice. Nibs shook his head at the thought before reconsidering.

Although, if I were to use him as a ‘father’, would that mean I could use Tinkerbell, too? She helped raise all of us just as much as Peter did… Nibs gently nodded to himself. But stars above, I can’t kill her, too! His stomach churned at the notion.

Maybe I could use something else from her. What could I get easily? Nibs scanned the room, eyes resting on a glowing bag on the top shelf of the weapons rack.
“Pixie dust!” Nibs called out before slapping a hand over his mouth. In his excitement, he’d forgotten that everyone else was still asleep. No one seemed to stir, so he scaled the wall and nabbed the bag.

Pixie dust – and knife – in hand, Nibs looked back at the book again to make sure he wasn’t missing a step. Sure enough, the page offered only the three lines of instruction.

He had all he theoretically needed.

Ingredients in hand, as well as the candle to help him find his way, Nibs quietly hurried to the top of Hangman’s Tree and went out through the trap door, hoping to return with Slightly in tow.

It felt almost as if Neverland didn’t want him to make it to Mermaid’s Lagoon – a bitterly cold breeze smacked into Nibs’ face as he navigated to where he’d seen Slightly last. Howls from wolves and screeches from owls complimented the roar of the wind while Nibs struggled to shield the candle, as well as hold what he needed for the spell.

Great weather for trying to bring back an old friend, Nibs thought as his teeth clattered, the flickering candle threatening to go out at any second.

Taking careful steps to not let the only light he had on him extinguish, Nibs eventually found his way to Mermaid’s Lagoon. Climbing back into the cave where Slightly’s grave was proved impossible with his hands full, and Nibs had to take multiple trips up and down to get everything he needed to the cave.

Though fully aware of what he’d come to do, Nibs still flinched upon taking the candle into the cave, as something instantly caught his attention.

Slightly’s grave.

It looked the same as it had the day Nibs had made it, not a single speck of dirt out of place. Slightly’s eternal rest had gone undisturbed, just as they’d both wanted it to.

And here I am, about to rip him from his dirt bed.

Nibs propped the book against a stone and opened it to the spell he’d poured over before. Eyes rolled over each word, scanning to make sure no crucial steps had been missed, knowing full well there weren’t any.

“Ok, old pal, let’s get this started,” Nibs shook himself before sparing another glance at Slightly’s grave. He really hoped that he could perform the incantation without digging up Slightly’s body – really, really, hoped.

“First step – bone from the father. I don’t have any of that – I hope you won’t mind some pixie dust instead,” Nibs dipped his fingers into the bag and sprinkled a pinch of the dust onto Slightly’s grave. He felt a bit foolish speaking to himself, but a part of him wanted to believe Slightly could hear him from wherever he was. “Y’know, Tinkerbell misses you an awful lot, too, just like the other boys – I’m sure they won’t mind me using this for you.”

And the fact that I’m doing this should be proof of how much I want you back.

The dust slowly fell, a light twinkle reverberating through the air as it glided down. The glowing dots shimmered and provided a weak light. Nibs held his breath as each speck nestled into the grave and disappeared – and the cave was darker again.

I’m sure it’s supposed to do that, Allowing a moment to make sure the grave wouldn’t have a horrific reaction to the innocent pixie dust, Nibs flicked any remaining dust off his fingers. He returned to the book to see what step came next, though he knew in his heart exactly what came.

“Okay … flesh from one close,” He gulped. The confidence he’d had with the pixie dust evaporated instantly as he reached warily for the knife. He stared at his own reflection in the knife’s blade, but for a moment, Peter stared back at him. Nibs flinched and quickly blinked, and his reflection returned to the knife.

Shaking his head with eyes clenched, Nibs muttered, “It’s ok, it’s ok, I’m ok – just a trick of the light – I’m ok.”

Nibs had yet to consider what exactly qualified as flesh from one close – the Twins sure weren’t ones for details in their writing – but he figured whatever it was, it was going to hurt. Attempting to find a part of himself that would be suitable for this spell, while also not landing him in a grave of his own if he cut into it, Nibs settled on his left arm.

Nibs’ stomach started doing backflips as he held his left arm out and pressed the knife to his upper arm. I’m not going to cut my arm off – I won’t die. Come on Nibs, you’re supposed to be the bravest Lost Boy! You’re not afraid of a little blood, are you?

Tootles’ chest wound flashed into his mind. The scraped knees the Twins had given one another while tumbling off of Crocodile’s Cliff followed after. Cubby’s scar that came from an accident in Pixie Hollow even came to mind.

Lost Boys never shy away from danger or injury – now get that stupid flesh already! For Slightly!

With a sharp breath in, Nibs tightened his grip on the hilt and dug the knife into his arm. A gasp of pain escaped his mouth, and he bit down, hard, into his right shoulder to brace for more pain that would come. Teeth sinking into his rabbit suit, Nibs stifled a howl of pain as he agonizingly cut off a chunk of his own arm. He was thankful the knife went through his skin relatively quickly, though each second of the experience felt endlessly long.

Finally done with the knife, Nibs let it clang to the ground and fell to his knees. He held the tiny chunk of flesh in his hand – it couldn’t have been bigger than the nail on his thumb, but his arm seared in pain as though he’d just carved his name into it. His shoulder also cried out in pain, teeth marks bore into his suit. Hot tears fogged Nibs’ vision as he placed the freshly cut flesh onto the grave, hand shaking.

“Thank the stars that’s over,” Nibs sucked in air as he stood up again. He was going to let the Twins have it when he got back to Hangman’s Tree for putting that into their spell. His arm was still bleeding, so Nibs planted himself by where the book was and lifted the freshly wounded arm onto the same rock as the book. The elevation helped the bleeding slow, even just a touch, and Nibs could finally think straight again as the pain lessened.

“Do you see what I’m going through? How much I miss you if I’m willing to do this?” Nibs waved his good arm around the cave before gesturing to Slightly’s grave again.

Chuckling lightly, he added, “But I’ll tell you all about it when you’re back.”

He paused and murmured, “If you do come back.”

The cave became quiet again.

Nibs waited until the scorching pain from his arm faded into a dull ache before resuming with the spell, “I just need the blood from enemy now. Peter’s blood.”

Another task that was easier said than done. Nibs took the candle and held it against the cave walls, searching for any splatters of blood that may have remained from his fatal fight with Peter. Since Nibs was focused on staying alive in the heat of the moment, he couldn’t remember where exactly he’d killed Peter, so he took his time scanning the walls.

Eyes squinted, Nibs did find a patch of small blood splatters on a rock near to the ground. There was less than he’d hoped – any blood that had been on the floor had long dried up – but he dutifully took the knife to the wall and began scraping off what he could. The candle had to be placed on the top of the rock, as Nibs needed one hand to scratch the stone with and one hand to catch the flakes of blood.

Nibs shuddered as he caught the last chip of dried blood, trying not to think back to how close he was to dying the night this blood flew. The pile of shavings in his palm looked awfully small to him, and he peered through the cave again to make sure he hadn’t overlooked any other splatters. None were to be seen, yet something else showed itself.

The dagger. Peter’s dagger, to be exact.

Still covered in his blood.

He thought it had been pushed to the bottom of Mermaid’s Lagoon, still unceremoniously stuck in Peter’s chest. By some stroke of luck, the weapon must have fallen out of Peter before his body was moved.

Nibs picked up the dagger with his thumb and pointer finger, holding it away from himself as if it were about to explode. He struggled to hold eye contact with the object, goosebumps forming on his arms.

This is absolutely haunted, Nibs swallowed. It has to work, too.

Not wanting to hold it for even a moment longer, Nibs hurried back to Slightly’s grave and placed the dagger in the middle of it. He then flaked the dried blood from the wall over the rest of the grave before taking a few steps back. The grave sat the same as it ever did, only now carrying the weapon to a murder and its victim’s blood above it.

“I did it – I collected everything I needed,” Nibs sighed gently, relieved. He took the spell book back into his hands and cleared his throat.

“Bone from the father, – kind of - you will renew. Flesh from the close, - well, friend - will revive you. Blood from the enemy – Peter - … shall resurrect his foe,” Nibs recited, editing the phrases as he went.

“Now, Slightly Soiled, you will come back to life,” His voice filled with authority as he slammed the book shut. “Please,” He snuck under his breath.

He expected the grave to glow, or to shake, or for something – anything, really – to happen. Slightly was to burst through the ground and look as good as new, not a hair out of place. They could pretend like the death and murders had never happened and go back to life as it was before. Something, just something, had to happen, to show him his spell worked.

But nothing did.

No such sound of dirt crumbling around a breathing body emerged from the ground – the noise of a cricket did worm its way into the cave, almost mocking Nibs. The weak glow from the candle was the only light.

Nibs swallowed. Maybe I didn’t say it loud enough.

“I command you to rise,” His voice was still as bold as before, aside from an unmistakable shake to it.

Again: Nothing.

Maybe I wasn’t supposed to say anything. Or - maybe this spell takes time.

Nibs’ lip twitched as he held his breath, anxiously awaiting a sign that the spell had done its job.

An owl hooted from outside the cave. The water rushing from the waterfall fell as it always had. A mosquito buzzed near Nibs’ ears.

And still nothing came from the grave.

I must be doing something wrong. Not enough of the ingredients? Nibs fought to rationalize.

“Here – take more blood from the foe!” Nibs darted to where he’d found Peter’s blood before and scooped some dirt from the area, tossing it onto the grave. It crumbled weakly as it fell.

“And – and - maybe some more flesh?” Nibs frantically added. His arm wound was still tender – but he began chewing around his fingernails, tearing tiny bits of skin with his teeth and spitting them back out. Less than hygienic, but it was all he had.

As his breathing grew shakier, and the grave grew even more quiet, Nibs choked, “And pixie dust! You need more pixie dust – that must be it!”

In one swift motion, Nibs tore open the bag of pixie dust and dipped into it with his fingers. He threw the twinkling specks at Slighty’s grave – first using only one finger and thumb, before resorting to pinching into the pouch with his whole hand.

“Still not enough?” Nibs felt his nose begin to run as the pixie dust practically melted into the ground, with no response from Slightly’s final resting place. “Just, just,” He stammered as his throat grew tight.

Without a word, he turned the bag upside down and violently dumped the rest of the pixie dust out. The twinkling dust fell softly onto the mound of dirt and threatened to fill Nibs’ ears with memories of happier times, as he vigorously shook each and every last drop of the dust out of the small pouch.

The last speck landed gracefully on the grave and Nibs threw the bag behind him, pleading with the pixie dust, “Please work.”

The shimmering glow from the magic dust faded as it was absorbed.

“Please.”

The cave, as it had been so many times before, was silent again.

“Pl – please.”

Nibs’ heartbeat throbbed in his ears.

Please.

And yet again, as he feared, Slightly’s grave did not reply. No noise, no light, no movement, no nothing.

No Slightly.

Nibs sunk to his knees.

It didn’t work.

The dam broke. Everything he’d been suppressing for the sake of his fellow Lost Boys – the months of grief, night terrors, guilt - came out all at once.

Burning tears stung as they fell. Heavy sobs wracked his chest and he slumped forward. A muffled cry died as he buried his face into his hands.

How foolish it was, he thought, to put faith into that spell. The Twins didn’t know any actual magic – it’s just child’s play. Words on a page and nothing more.

“I just miss him so much,” Nibs whimpered, answering himself. He added, hiccupping through tears, “I wanted him alive so badly I was willing to believe I could bring him back.”

He wept, salty tears slipping from his hands and landing on Slightly’s grave. Insulting chimes sprung from the speckles of absorbed pixie dust in the dirt. As the globs of tears fell, soft whines and wails accompanied them - his chest became sore from shuddering so much.

He cried until he could not cry any more, each and every drop spent.

The cave’s eerie silence had never been as sickening as it was now.

Nose clogged and eyes wet, Nibs wiped his face with his hands. The ache in his chest had begun to fade – leaving as the tears had. Sniffling, he rose to his feet again and took the spell book into his jittery hands. The candle sat abandoned where it had been placed.

Might as well go back home and forget this ever happened. His throat was raw - words failed him – and he figured it best to head back to Hangman’s Tree and sleep. No use in staying here and staring my failure in the face.

Nibs turned to the front of the cave and slogged to it, feet heavier than lead. His vision was still blurry from all the tears, and his heartbeat pounded away in his ears.

His head slowly turned to give one last look at Slightly’s grave – it looked the same as it always had. His mouth quivered as he stared and he sighed heavily as he turned back.

Standing at the edge of the cave, Nibs faced the sky. The roaring waterfall covered the sky from his angle, though the moon still gleamed through the rushing water. The deep purple abyss above him swallowed the stars – the heaven above usually burst with life, but in this moment, it looked agonizingly lonely.

Nibs’ weary eyes stayed fixed on the moon, swimming in the waterfall. He lost himself staring at it – until a star suddenly popped into his view.

A shooting star, to be exact.

The white streak in the sky seemed to appear from behind the moon, and gradually made its way across the sky. It was beautiful – a sight that he rarely ever saw.

Slightly would have loved to see this, Nibs cracked a weak smile thinking at how his astrology-obsessed friend could have enjoyed to observe the comet.

He thought back to a time when Slightly had dragged him out of bed to watch a meteor shower, and how he’d gasped when the sky lit up with all shades of red, white, and yellow. Slightly had been so excited that he hadn’t slept a wink through the entire night. It was a memory he’d thought of after many nightmares had forced him awake.

“Oh, Slight, I wish you were here to see this,” Nibs croaked, voice still hoarse. “You’d have a great joke about the stars, or something fun to say about them.”

Wait – wait – Didn’t he say something during that meteor shower? Nibs’ closed his sore eyes. What was it? …
Slightly’s voice popped into his mind, “Legend has it that if you wish on a shooting star, your wish will come true! It may sound silly, but I swear it’s true!”

Nibs eyes shot back open.

There's no way that’s true – it couldn’t possibly be. It’s a legend. He’d laughed it off when Slightly had told him it before. And yet…

A twang in his chest made him reconsider the thought. He took another look over his shoulder at Slightly’s grave and his heartbeat quickened.

Well, I’ve come this far. I need to give it one more shot – using Slightly’s method.

Spell book still under his arm, Nibs clasped his hands together and focused on the shooting star.

“I wish my friend Slightly would come back to life,” He squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his hands together so tightly that they hurt. He whispered, “Please. I miss him so much.”

Nibs cautiously opened his eyes again. The star was gone. The white streak in the sky was nowhere to be seen.

It didn’t work. Again.

Nibs bit his lip and groaned wearily in his throat. With another sigh, he placed the book on the floor and began to climb out of the cave – one foot in front of the other. He had all but left the cave as he reached for the book again when a sound caught his ear.

A twinkling of pixie dust, as gentle and as true as he’d ever heard it. Nibs gasped and hoisted himself back into the cave, expecting to see the wind whipping the pixie dust away from the grave.

Instead he was greeted with a soft golden glow coming from under the dirt. Nibs held his breath as the twinkling grew louder, and as the glow grew stronger. A cold wind blew from the back of the cave, forcing Nibs to hold tighter to the book with one hand and grab his hood with the other.

What is going on?! Is this cave about to blow? Nibs inched towards the grave.

A sudden burst of white light sent him skyrocketing into a cave wall. A deafening BOOM from the grave shook the cave – along with the entire cliff – as Nibs smacked into the wall.

Ignoring the ringing in his ears, Nibs shook himself back up. As his vision came back to him, he eyed what could have caused the explosion – the storm? The blast? Whatever it was.

Everything still looked perfectly normal, the dark cave as tragic and quiet as it ever was – until something spontaneously burst out of the grave. Nibs flinched and hoisted the book over his head, preparing to attack the ‘something’ that had just presented itself. That was, before he realized what that ‘something’ was.

Slightly.

Nibs’ heart practically jumped out of his chest.

Coated with dirt from head to toe, Slightly was sat upright in his grave. Hair askew and blinking blearily, Slightly coughed – a few small dirt clumps flew out of his mouth.

Nibs had tried to force the image of Slightly’s maimed body out of his mind the last few months – the gruesome sight wasn’t anything he wanted to remember. Now, however, Slightly looked free of any signs that he’d just been dead for over a year. The only hints that he’d been anything other than alive were the tear in his fox suit – the fatal wound he bore had somehow disappeared, replaced only with a scar -, along with some bags under his eyes that were darker than they’d been before.

Slightly gave one last HACK before shaking himself. Dirt scattered off him while Nibs held his breath. Slightly wearily looked to his left and right, missing Nibs completely, before focusing on his hands. He stopped, staring at them.

Flipping his hands and arms over, flexing his fingers as his eyebrows knitted together, he whispered, “What? I’m not… I can’t be. How?”

Slightly dropped his arms down and continued to scan the cave for any clues. His gaze landed smack dab on Nibs, who instantly became paralyzed under his view.

Nibs forgot how to breathe as Slightly’s mouth fell ajar. The fox boy’s gaze was like a beam burning straight into him. The air became heavy – Nibs thought he could likely cut through it with a knife. The outside world seemed to vanish as the two looked at each other.

Years seemed to pass before Slightly spoke.

“Nibs? Is that you?” Came out of Slightly’s mouth, tone cautious, as if he didn’t want to believe his eyes.

Nibs said nothing, eyes firmly glued to Slightly. His breathing finally resumed, heart racing, mouth as dry as cotton.

“Nibs?” Slightly’s voice was even quieter the second time.

The spell book clattered to the floor. Nibs felt tears begin to well in his eyes again, though unlike the ones that preceded them, these were cold, not stinging him.

“Slightly! You’re back!” Nibs launched himself forward in a giant leap. He crashed into Slightly, wrapping his arms around the freshly-alive boy.

“Oof!” Slightly grunted as Nibs flew head-first into his stomach.

“I can’t believe it – you’re alive!” Nibs pulled back, realizing he’d dove right into Slightly’s scar. A tear fell again, gliding down his cheek as he grinned from ear to ear.

“I am? I mean – I am!” Slightly patted his own face. “But, how?”

“It’s a long story,” Nibs wiped his wet cheek with his shoulder. His knife wound immediately cried in pain and Nibs hissed.

“Woah – what happened to you?” Slightly’s face fell as he noticed the cut.

“Again, long story. The short version is I used a spell to bring you back to life, which is where this came from - I might have wished on a shooting star, too,” Nibs shrugged, pretending like this night hadn’t driven him to delirium.

“Oh, you remembered!” Slightly beamed. “You didn’t believe me back then, but I told you they granted wishes!”

Both chuckled before pausing. Nibs looked into Slightly’s dark brown eyes, intense as they’d been the day he lost him.

“I never thought I’d see you again,” He said in a hushed tone, and brought one hand to Slightly’s face, cradling it.

Slightly took Nibs’ hand in both of his own and held it tightly, breathing heavily.

“I never thought I’d see you again, either,” Slightly spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. His chest rose and fell very deliberately, like he’d just learned how to breathe. His eyes drifted to the floor as he held on to Nibs’ palm.

They sat there for a moment, listening to each other’s breaths. Nibs swore he could feel Slightly’s pulse through his hand – stars above, he had a pulse again. This was real.

I brought him back.

He didn’t want this to end – the feeling of quiet relief they both held. But, while the night was still young, it would eventually be replaced by day.

“I think we should get you back to Hangman’s Tree,” Nibs said gently, though Slightly still jolted at the sound of his voice. “The others are going to lose their minds when they see you.”

Slightly refocused his eyes on Nibs and smiled again, releasing Nibs’ hand, “It’ll be nice to see them all again, too. Sure has been a while.”

Nibs stood up and offered a hand to Slightly, who took it as he clambered up, “It has! And remember – they have no clue what really happened. We’ll just pretend you found your way back from Alwaysland because you missed us – or something.”

“What – you don’t want me to tell them all the details of how I got killed?” Slightly chortled.

“You’ve been alive for three minutes and the joking starts again. Unbelievable,” Nibs laughed and elbowed Slightly in the ribs.

“Hey, you knew exactly what you were getting into,” Slightly pretended to be offended, but his grin betrayed him. While Nibs took the previously abandoned candle into his hands, Slightly took it upon himself to open the Twins’ spell book.

“This is the thing you used to get me back?” Slightly winced and looked at Nibs. “ This thing? ”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Nibs rolled his eyes gently. “Now come on, we have to climb down this cliff and I don’t want you falling to your death. I don’t have the ingredients to bring you back a second time.”

To his credit, Slightly kept the book closed until he and Nibs found safe footing on the ground – though he resumed his gripes the moment they made their way into the forest.

“They didn’t even spell ‘Beginner’s’ right! It’s amazing that this worked with misspellings like that,” Slightly squinted his eyes and analyzed the book as if it were a bomb threatening to go off.

Nibs stifled a snort with his hand. The Twins had written the word correctly, but he didn’t want to rain on Slightly’s parade – At least, not so soon after he’d come back to life.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Nibs said in a faux snooty tone. “I know if you’d been in my shoes, you would have done the same.”

Nibs expected Slightly would agree to his last line, but Slightly instead furrowed his brow and averted his eyes.

“Slight?” Nibs tilted his head to catch Slightly’s eyes, which avoided his own. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m.. fine,” He mumbled. “I would’ve, wouldn’t I..”

“What?”

“Brought you back, I mean. I just…” Trailing off, Slightly tenderly closed the book and stopped walking. Nibs stopped as well and looked at him with concerned.

“Missed you a lot,” Slightly finally added, staring directly into Nibs’ eyes. Something was off in his tone, though Nibs couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Um. I missed you a lot, too. I’m glad you’re back,” Nibs swallowed awkwardly.

I thought we already established this. Did I mess up the spell and now he’s come back with a fried brain or amnesia?

He couldn’t keep his eyes on Slightly’s and coughed as he broke the gaze, “Let’s keep moving. We’re almost back home.”

“Right – right!” Slightly sprung back to life. “Race ya!”

Whatever weird tension that had hung in the air a moment before evaporated instantly as Slightly took off, ducking and weaving between trees.

“Hey!” Nibs galloped after him, sudden movements causing the candle he held to extinguish, but he didn’t care. The feeling of wind in his hair – suit’s hair, to be precise – and smell of grass in his nose coupled with the sight of Slightly’s orange figure disappearing and reappearing in the woods was enough for him.

Slightly saw Nibs chasing him over his shoulder and began to run faster, laughing.

“Oh no you don’t!” Nibs threw himself up into a tree, abandoning the candle once again and shooting to the tree’s branches. He leapt from one tree to another, leaves smacking his face and owls screeching at him - The gap between him and Slightly began to shrink.

The forest came to an abrupt end earlier than Nibs had expected – Hangman’s Tree came into view and Slightly had begun to slow down. In response, Nibs rocketed out of the treetops and threw himself at Slightly. Nibs landed on his back, and, with a yelp, Slightly toppled forward. The momentum from the jump sent them both rolling at Hangman’s Tree like two boulders in a rockslide, careening into it.

The hearty SMASH that echoed through the clearing as they collided with the tree was loud, but the shrieks of laughter the two boys made rivaled it.

“That was awesome!” Slightly unwound himself from the base of Hangman’s Tree, torso now covered in stray pieces of bark and dirt. “Let’s do that again.”

“Tomorrow – for sure!” Nibs cracked his neck back into place, ignoring that it would probably be sore the next day. He rattled his head before taking a good look at Hangman’s Tree and noticing that light poured from its windows.

“That’s weird – everyone was asleep when I left?” He creased his temples.

“Maybe you left a candle on or something?” Slightly added. He produced the spell book from behind his back and placed it in the grass – Nibs had completely forgotten about it and had no idea where Slightly’d been holding it during their race, though he had more important things to think about right now.

“It better not be Hook breaking in – that’s the last thing we need tonight,” Nibs grumbled as he hoisted himself, then Slightly, up to the top of the tree. Loud crashes and yells from inside didn’t inspire confidence that it wasn’t a break in. This of course ignored the fact that the pirates hadn’t broken into Hangman’s Tree once – neither before nor after Peter’s death. The thought still lingered on Nibs mind just the same.

“You stay here, I’ll go in and call if it’s safe,” Nibs spoke as Slightly nodded and scratched his chin aimlessly and Nibs slipped under the trap door. Expecting pirates, he rushed down the stairs, hoping to stop potential harm.

The sight he was greeted with was a fight, but pirate free. Instead, Cubby was busy kicking one Twin and socking the other in the face while they both balled their fists and hammered away at him. Tootles was on one of the Twin’s backs, throttling the neck of the Twin with his tiny hands. Dirt and dust flew as they wailed on each other and yelled.

“Hey! Cut that out!” Nibs tore over to the mangled mass of flying limbs, pushing everyone off of one another.

“Oh there you are!” Said Topsy as he was hauled off of Cubby.

“We were wondering where you’d gone,” Turvy whispered as loud as he could while Tootles tightened his grip. Cubby unceremoniously yanked the skunk boy off of Turvy, who gasped for air.

“That’s why we were fighting – we couldn’t decide on where you were,” Cubby cracked his neck and winced. “They said –“

“Later! Tell me more later, I need to show you someone,” Nibs clapped a hand over Cubby’s mouth and grinned. ”We’re safe! You can come in now,” he called up the stairs.

“Ooh, is it the Darlings?” Turvy asked.

“Jane, maybe?” Topsy added.

Cubby only muttered as Nibs noticed a moment too late that his hand still rested on his mouth, “Nibth, youw hand.”

“Oops – sorry,” Nibs uncovered Cubby’s mouth and Cubby spat at his own feet.

Nibs watched him wipe his face, interrupted by gasps from the Twins. He hadn’t noticed the trapdoor opening, nor did he notice Slightly shyly slinking down the steps. Cubby whirled his head around and Tootles mouth fell open. The usually noisy Hangman’s Tree finally fell silent when Slightly reached the bottom of the stairs and stood before them.

“No way,” The Twins whispered in unison and Cubby rubbed his eyes in shock.

“I’m … back?” Slightly said, though it sounded more like a question than a statement. He took a step towards the other boys, who still stood like statues.

Tootles was the first to initiate contact, grinning and bounding onto Slightly’s torso.

“Woah! I missed you, too, buddy,” Slightly squeezed him tightly.

“You’re back! You’re really back!” The Twins bounced towards him and hugged his sides. They were far too big for Slightly to hold them like he held Tootles, but that didn’t stop them. He wrapped his arms around them just the same.

“I am!” Slightly wheezed a bit from the added weight. He then looked to Cubby and stuck out his remaining hand that wasn’t currently supporting another Lost Boy’s weight. “Cubby! Put her there, pal.”

Cubby stared at Slightly’s hand, then shook his head. He opted to instead rush at Slightly and grab him in a bear hug, lifting Slightly and the other boys into the air.

“Missed you, too,” Slightly choked, air knocked from his lungs and spine popping. He’d barely been alive for a few minutes, and here Cubby was about to send him back to the grave on accident. Despite that, he croaked out, “It’s so good to see you all again.”

Nibs had been watching at a distance, which Slightly noticed.

“That means you, too, Nibs,” He gestured with his head for Nibs to join the group hug.

Nibs smiled softly and jumped over to the others, wedging himself neatly between Cubby’s head and Slightly’s shoulders.

The horrors he’d been through – the horror’s Slightly’d been through, too – melted away for a brief moment as everyone stood, embracing the Lost Boy who’d vanished for over a year.

This is… nice.

I missed this.

Naturally, the silence couldn’t last long.

“Where did you come from, though?” Turvy looked to Slightly with big eyes.

“We thought you went to Alwaysland!” Topsy chimed in while Tootles nodded. Cubby set the group back on the ground.

“Oh, it’s a long, long, long story,” Slightly cracked his back as the three youngest Lost Boys hopped off him. “And I’m awful tired, why don’t I just tell it tomorrow? I need some shut eye after the … long flight here from Alwaysland,” he winked at Nibs.

“Aww, but we wanna hear it now!” The Twins whined together.

“Tomorrow, I promise,” Slightly held a hand over his heart.

“Okay, but only if you tell us about where you got that scar!” Topsy pointed at Slightly’s ripped fox suit and healed wound.

“Oh this old thing?” Slightly fibbed on the spot, though the lie didn’t take him far. “Uh…”

“We’ll tell you about it, but only if you go to bed,” Nibs tried to shove the Twins in the direction of the sleeping bunker.

“You can tell them while I try to patch that nasty rip. I’ve gotten better at sewing since you left,” Cubby furrowed his brow and hooked a finger into the tear and Slightly flinched. “Sorry.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Slightly quickly covered the rip by crossing his arms. His face had grown a touch pale at the reminder of the scar. “But for real – bed. Now. Goodnight,” He shoved the Twins into the sleeping bunker.

“Goodnight!” Came their voices from the bunker. Cubby carried Tootles into the room as well – the poor skunk boy had already fallen asleep again.

“Night,” Cubby murmured as he disappeared into the bunker.

“We should get to bed, too. It’s been a long night,” Nibs yawned and covered his mouth with a hand and began to follow where the others had gone. Slightly, however, gripped his other arm with his own hand.

“Wait – Nibs, I …,” Slightly’s face had become even paler as Nibs looked at him. “I don’t know if I can sleep alone tonight. Please don’t go.”
“What? What’s wrong?” Nibs stopped.

“It’s stupid – but I’m scared I’m going to fall asleep and wake up buried in my grave again,” Slightly ran his free hand through his hair, which had become sweaty. “Covered in dirt, unable to breathe, or something. I – I know it’s dumb, but … I don’t know, I’m just…,” He paused, grip on Nibs’ arm tightening.

“Afraid,” He whispered, looking at the floor.

Nibs swallowed. He’s going through what I went through.

Nibs gently placed his other hand on Slightly’s, “Hey, I worried a lot about everything that happened to you after I buried you. I know how you feel. It’s going to be okay.”
Slightly sighed weakly and nodded.

“But, you’re here now, and I’m not going to let anything take you from me again,” Nibs smiled. Slightly returned the smile and loosened his grip on Nibs.

Wait. Wait. Crap.

“I mean – take you from us! From us Lost Boys!” Nibs stammered and forced a laugh. “Ha! Ha!” He practically pushed Slightly away from him and avoided his eyes.

Why did I say that??

“Nibs.”
He probably thinks I’m weird now and won’t want to talk to me ever again.

“Nibs.”

Great job, Nibs – you brought him back only to mess it all up immediately!

"Hey! Earth to Nibs!”

Nibs found himself being shaken from the shoulders from behind. He whirled around to see Slightly, who was staring at him with an expression he couldn’t quite read.
“

I have to… ask you something,” Slightly said slowly.

“Is this about what I just said? I didn’t mean it! Just a slip of the tongue!” Nibs fake laughed again and refused to catch Slightly’s gaze. Words tumbled out of his mouth. “Just forget about it! We really should get some sleep, it’s so late – my brain isn’t working right! I’m sure tomorrow this’ll just be-“

“Do you like me?”

Slightly’s question made the hairs on Nibs’ arms stand on end. Slightly stared at him so bluntly that Nibs momentarily forgot his own name.

“Uh,” He muttered. “Of course I do! You’re my best friend!”

“No, Nibs, I mean… do you like like me,” Slightly spoke like he was afraid of the words coming from himself.

Nibs again had no answer other than a poignant “Umm,” that trailed off.

Oh my stars, he knows. He knows and he doesn’t like me back.

“Like like?” He played dumb, hoping Slightly would give him an answer he didn’t already know.

“Like… how Peter liked Wendy. Or how Peter liked Jane,” Slightly said tonelessly. His expression remained unreadable. “Or – or – even how Hook likes Smee. But not gross like that.”

Nibs could feel his heart beating so fast that he felt it in the soles of his feet. He felt his face twitching involuntarily.

Slightly looked at his toes for a long moment before looking back to Nibs. His face was like that of a robot.

“Do you like like me?” He repeated the question.

Nibs gulped.

Here goes nothing.

Nibs fought to find his voice again, and wearily concluded, “Yes……?” He sounded like he was asking rather than confessing, though he hoped Slightly didn’t notice.

Expecting a yelling match, or for Slightly to storm off, Nibs was surprised to see Slightly’s blank face instantly melt away into a grin. Even more surprised was Nibs when Slightly grabbed him and lifted him into the air in a hug.

“Thank the stars you do! I was worried I was the only one!” He tilted his head into Nibs’ shoulder.

“What?” Nibs squawked. “You mean – you like like me, too?”

“Of course I do!” Slightly laughed. “You thought I didn’t after I went to you, and only you, to help me after I died?”

“And you thought I didn’t like you after I brought you back from the grave?!” Nibs rolled his eyes before squirming to face Slightly.

Both looked at each other before breaking into giggles.
“

It sure is good you’re back,” Nibs wrapped his arms around Slightly’s neck and dug himself more into the hug.

“It is,” Slightly squished Nibs tighter in his arms. “Now let’s go to bed before anyone catches us.”

Nibs slipped from Slightly’s arms and led Slightly close to the stairs, showing him to a hammock, “Here, this’ll hopefully make you feel better about falling asleep and not being afraid anymore.”

“Oh yeah! Um.. can we share it?” Slightly asked sheepishly, a nervous smile appearing on his face. “I think that would … really help me feel better.”

Nibs rolled his eyes, but nodded, “I think that would help me feel better, too.”

Slightly’s eyes seemed to whisper thank you as he climbed into the hammock. Nibs doused the candle that still lit the room before finding his way to the hammock.

He placed himself opposite to Slightly, heads on each side of the hammock’s ends. They’d slept like this a few times before long ago – so long ago, in fact, that Tootles hadn’t even been a member of their team yet.

Slightly already was fast asleep as Nibs settled himself. His chest rose and fell rhythmically, and Nibs watched for a moment.

He can breathe again.

I can breathe again.

Nibs laid down in the hammock and put his head onto his good shoulder as he glanced again at Slightly. He sighed contentedly.

That quiet moment of relief that he’d felt earlier came back to Nibs – here, with Slightly. As he looked at Slightly one last time before closing his eyes, he knew that he’d be feeling that moment a lot more in the future.