A/n: I was recently introduced to a very interesting au (Malcolm being Rumple's son) and have latched onto it so here's this lol. Head's up, reader is ftm trans and there is a section where he's referred to as a little girl, and using she/her pronouns. I wrote this AS a trans person to heal my inner child and especially the little girl still locked in my chest who cries out when I see female readers with Pan. If that will upset you please don't read. Sorry!

Y/n had been no one. In a world where the main characters were so obviously the royal family, Y/n simply hadn't been apart of it. He had been a village boy - born and raised. He always had been, and always would be. He hadn't even held a conversation with a single one of the royal family. He'd had false memories of Mary Margaret being his teacher when he was much younger, but of course that hadn't been true. he had never been a child in Storybrooke. He wasn't trouble enough to run into the mayor or the sheriff, and now he avoided both whenever he could. He was too far ahead of Henry in school to be in the same building let alone the same grade. He'd never had a run in with Gold either - his parents didn't run anything and he'd never had a need to buy anything from the shop he ran.

He'd struck a deal once with Rumplestilskin, but amongst the potential millions of faces that man had seen Y/n definitely wasn't important enough to be remembered. He had paid his end, the ordeal was over.

The story would have ended and the audience would not have even known his name if it wasn't for Peter.

Peter had been the only stranger in Storybrooke before Emma. He hadn't been a stranger long, staying on everyone's good side and behaving plenty well. It helped he was handsome, and had that accent that was so nice to listen to, it made one a bit distracted. No one in Storybrooke sounded anything like him, and it was a nice way to mix up the conversation. A nice face to look at, a nice voice to listen to. Someone refreshingly different.

He had mostly been a hit at his high school. Very much in the same boat as Y/n, he was also removed from the royal family and all that drama. Before the curse had been broken, the two had never really had a reason to talk much past what was required. Being on a project together or in a club or committee. But after the curse, Peter seemed to... drift. He didn't have a family from the Enchanted Forrest so he had no one here to turn to. He was the same as he had been before the curse broke. He hadn't lost any memories, been someone new. Y/n was surprised the guy didn't laugh in their faces when they told him what was going on to begin with.

It probably helped that magic returned to the town and he got to see the facts for himself.

At the end of the day, Peter stayed in Storybrooke. He had said he had nowhere better to go anyway. He was apart of our world, our community. This was his home.

It felt like a lie to Y/n, but he couldn't prove anything and he didn't want to push so he didn't.

Other than the initial chaos, Y/n had adjusted quite easily to the shift. He hadn't had much to take away from his life in the Enchanted Forrest. He had lost his family but... he didn't particularly count that as a bad thing. They weren't bad people and were supportive parents who wanted the best for him. They hadn't had much, not even the hope of more, and they had long since settled with that feeling. This was better than their old house, so they were even more better off than normal. His fake family, the one who had left him to reconnect to the people they'd had before their memories were changed, stayed in touch but they'd never been a close family to begin with.

Perhaps that was Y/n's curse.

In a plan where everyone had something essential taken from them, perhaps it hadn't been his family or the Enchanted Forrest or even magic. Perhaps it had been that distinct sense of home he had once been able to feel. At least somewhere familiar, he could make a spot that was completely his. He'd had a room, with streets that were familiar to him and a straight forward life that was laid out perfectly clearly. He hadn't had anything special, but he had been sure of himself and had predictability and security. Now he was stuck in a land that was not his, and yet always had been. He had a family that he had never really wanted, one that had always been set on keeping each other no matter the cost - since all they had was each other. Even if it intervened with a relationship, or a better job.

Y/n's older brother had gotten away and now they weren't even allowed to speak his name.

The displacement he felt, the not quite fitting in, was worse when his parents constantly smiled at him and expected him to stick to all of the same unspoken rules he had once kept like vows. Like life blood. Unfortunately, he really wasn't that person anymore. Not really. He was another person now, someone a bit more daring and independent.

When Y/n had only been who he was in Storybrooke, he had been a quite sort of troublemaker. The kind that would never make it outside of the soft, warm, safe small town he had grown up in. He snuck out, listened to music too loud and ran into the woods constantly and hid there. Had a world of imagination he had built all for himself, imagining the kind of world he could be the king of if he lived in a woods like he was in now, where he knew all the nooks and crannies and secret spots. The woods had always been his domaine.

Well, his and Graham's. That was the closest Y/n had ever been to the royal family. He had once run into Graham looking for a lost dog, and he had helped the then-sheriff look around as he told him all about the world he had created in his mind. Graham had loved to listen, and as a break they would come here weekends and explore the place together. Mapping it out, and playing games and being idiots. They had been like brothers, and it had been weirdly cathartic for both of them.

Y/n liked to think that being with Graham had reminded some part of his soul of being with his older brother, and that for Graham it had been enough to have a friend outside of politics and illicit affairs and drama and Boring Adult Life and that just being out in the woods had been nice for him. Their relationship had reminded them of the lives they had lost... Or so Y/n liked to speak. He couldn't ask Graham.

Obviously.

Peter liked to hear about Y/n's stories too though. He stuck to them, remembering them. he liked who was in Storybrooke a lot more and leaned into it now that he knew all he had left behind. He told Peter about running away in the woods, still in the boarders of the town so nothing bad happened but just... away. Free of the royal family that seemed to use this town like a stage for the inner workings of their family as if it wasn't for anyone else. Away from his own family too. He felt trapped here. Out of control. He liked his little forrest better.

Peter seemed to like the idea.

One day when Y/n was making up adventures he would go on, the journeys he would take and the exploration he would do if he could ever get back to the Enchanted Forrest (there were better woods there and much more to explore, and it was a lot easier to do as a whole without needing money like in this world, which is the only reason he wanted to go back to their old land) Peter tilted his head. he was grinning, but that was usual. However there was a weird look on his face, muted but still sparkling in his eyes.

Y/n rose an eyebrow. "You're doing it again."

Peter's grin widened. "Doing what?" He always pretended he didn't know what Y/n was talking about when he brought it up, but they both know that Peter did know.

Usually Y/n would let it drop but today he didn't. "That... thing. Where you lean forward suddenly, like you're on the edge of your seat. But not because of the story, or the ideas I have. But like... like I'm on the brink of something and you're awaiting for me to completely grasp it. Like when a parents sees their kid stand up for the first time, or about to take their first step, or say their first word." He shrugged. "And then I bring it up and you brush it off, or I come out of my dreams and you deflate." He paused, eyes glued to Peter as he continued, "Or I change the story, and that seems to disappoint you." Y/n didn't know exactly what the last part of his pondering meant. He wasn't changing anything, he was just telling stories. But sometimes...

Something in peter's gaze surfaced again. That something he always pushed down and denied and laughed away. That something that Y/n was speaking about now. "Change the story?"

He wasn't sure why, but Y/n suddenly had to look away from those green eyes of Peter's that seemed to be trying to pull something from the boy looking into them. Like Y/n had a secret even he wasn't aware of. "Maybe that's not the right wording. But... I suppose-" He cut off, realizing how insane he would sound. "You know what, never mind."

Peter launched to his feet, closing the gap between them to grip Y/n's hands in each of his own. "No. What? What were you thinking?"

This time Y/n couldn't stop himself. That thing that Peter had been trying to hide was so obvious now. It was desperation, one that spoke to Y/n's own soul. Called out to him. "Sometimes it feels like my favorite daydreams of this land in my dreams, I don't make them up. They come to me, already formed. Like they've always been there. Like I didn't make them up at all."

The smile on Peter's lips twitched, and as desperation melted into hope Y/n got the sudden feeling that maybe Peter knew more about magic and the Enchanted Forrest and even Y/n than he lead on.

"Tell me, love," he spoke softly. As if he spoke too loud he would ruin it. "What would you do if they weren't just stories? If they weren't made up?"

Y/n swallowed. "That's impossible."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Y/n hesitated. "Peter." He paused, frowning as he tried to make sense of this very new energy to a boy he had been so sure he'd had figured out. "I don't understand."

For a moment, Peter hesitated. Then he launched forward, as if let loose, and met Y/n's lips with his own.

The kiss had been completely unexpected. I mean, before the curse had been broken Y/n had definitely been as easily swayed by that breath taking smile and Peter's way with words. After the curse, he had felt special that Peter had sought him out. That they had somehow formed a relationship. He had felt for a while that they would be in each other's lives forever. They were bound somehow. And he knew that he had been in love with Peter for a while.

But to have that returned?

Peter still being single even after every girl tried everything to be with him made more sense now at least.

Y/n smiled, kissing Peter back, and it was like something suddenly slotted into place. The second he accepted what Peter was offering, opening himself up to their connection and their relationship, something that had once been taken was restored.

He remembered.

The last night had been cold. Jamie had gone weeks ago now. He was only three years older than Y/n, also still in single digits, but he had been speaking about the freedom of the woods for ages now. Had  told Y/n all about the wolves that saved his life when he had been playing a little too far from the house. The special wolf, with eyes that were different colors. One red as blood and one the palest of blues.

Y/n knew he was going to leave for a long time, but his parents had taken it hard,

Of course Y/n stayed behind. He always knew Jamie would get away, that he would be left behind to take care of their parents. He hadn't understood the fullness of his situation yet. How controlling his parents were, and what length they would go to in order to keep their family together. Especially after losing one son, they were not about to lose a second. Y/n lost all of his friends quickly - his parents never let him out of the house. Never let anyone over. It had been only a year and Y/n was more lonely than ever.

That night, the shadow had come. Once, Y/n would have turned its offer down. Would have run away and returned home. But he didn't have a home anymore. He just had two puppet masters, and the stage they played on. Even now he was sneaking to open a window.

Perhaps his parents had been right in this way, in trying to keep him inside at all times and away from everything. The second the shadow was there and calling to him, he answered the call. He was being whisked away and they weren't even awake to call after him. He had no idea how they felt to wake up to him gone.

He was in Neverland by then. His bare feet had landed on sand, and he was wide eyed and clinging to his jacket. He didn't need it, there was no chill in their here like back at home, but there was a lot of things around him that were terrifying and unknown and it was dark so he was clinging to what he knew.

The first night was warm.

The air was humid, like a blanket, and when the sun rose a breeze picked up to be refreshing when they heat got to be too much. The boy with the green eyes had been warm too, his smile wide and his gaze full of wonderful ideas waiting to come to fruition.

His name was Peter Pan.

Y/n was his lost girl back then, not fully realizing who he really was. He went by a different name back then too but Pan never used it. He was Pan's little princess, running wild with Pan as the King. Not family per say, but important to each other. Y/n changed the older boy, softened him into a pool - melted from the stone he used to be.

Felix noticed it first. "What's so special about her?"

Pan smiled, watching Y/n put a poorly made flower crown on a lost boy named Tristan. The boy was laughing, putting his much better made crown on the little girl's head. The lost boys smiled more with Y/n around. She was the youngest by far, and the only girl. Or so they thought at the time. The child had made waves on Neverland. For once there was someone that gave to Neverland rather than just taking. Not just running wild and avoiding growing up, but bringing a level of wonder and imagination and youth that only the truly innocent young could. There was something special that powered the island.

He looked into it, and it turned out that she had a faith that was so powerful it was something that radiated off of her in waves. 

Faith in Peter.

Faith that even when tested, never truly faded. Even when Pan was more cruel than she was used to, usually all the boy had to do was dance with her or apologize or use magic to fix it and it would all be okay. She forgave him every time.

Or, at least at first.

After a while, that eternal innocence she had began to fade. She started to see the dangers of the island, and it responded to her. It changed to be a brighter and softer and warmer place. The sunrises became brighter and jagged rocks became more few and far between. Fire could dance and change color and the trees spoke, like voices on a breeze even when one did not blow. The island was more alive than it had ever been and it was all because of this child... Which made Peter a little jealous. He had once run here to escape his father, who had been a man driven to darkness that had consumed him and made him part of it. This island was supposed to be his.

Perhaps that was why every once in a while his bitterness showed. Why everyone once in a while, Y/n's smile dropped and her eyes filled with tears and she realized little by little that there was more danger and darkness here than she realized.

The day she met Hook, it rained for the first time since she had arrived on the island.

The pirate had run into her quite by accident, pants pulled up and jeans discarded. His jacket was with his boots as he waded through the shallow part of the water, collecting shells. She had approached him out of the jungle to offer him a shell she found especially gorgeous.

"Why hello." He knew who this child was. Pan's newest pawn on the board. His fixation. As much as Hook hated Pan, that was not something he would show to a child - especially because if he did it would most assuredly get him killed.

Y/n saw his hesitance in a way she wouldn't have when she had first arrived here. She didn't address it though - she knew better than to do that. Pan got mad at people when they did stuff like this; be hesitant around her. Let Pan's power influence the experiences that Y/n had and the people she met. To distract herself, she focused on the shell she was holding out to the pirate. "You're Killian, right?"

The pirate nodded. "And of course I know who you are." When Y/n frowned the man rushed to add, "I see your fingerprints all over Neverland. Your influence is clear."

That did make her smile, a little. "I've seen people react to the changes." Her smile got more sincere as she wiggles her bare feet in the sand she stood in. "I've never had a whole island react to me before. Be influenced by me."

Hook kneeled down tot he child's line of sight, holding his hand out for the shell. The child grinned when she gave it to him. Hook tucked the shell in his pocket. "It was never this good before you."

"Is that so?" The pair turned to see Pan. Hook immediately put distance between him and the other two, wanting to be as far away from Pan and the rage in his eyes as possible. Y/n didn't budge though, her smile just faded. Of course Pan would never hurt her but... her new friend.

"Of course not," she rushed. "Killian is just being nice to me. I'm a child after all, everyone wants to say the things i want to hear."

He might have been a pirate, but Killian's heart broke for Y/n. No child should ever learn how to protect themself or someone else from the wrath of another person. Yet... she had.

Pan didn't seem to notice. "This is my island, Y/n. You know that right?" There was a darkness in his eyes that scared Y/n, and she nodded. She looked down at the sand and watched it change color as rain drops started to fall from a sky that had never once rained since even Pan had been here. Not once in his dreams, nor even in his darkness moments or deepest sadnesses. The island had never reacted to his heartbreak like it did Y/n's.

And then the boy realized this meant Y/n's heart was breaking. he looked at the child to see her crying. It was obviously not the light rain - the trails of tears were too big and wet too quickly. She blazed past Pan, racing into the woods and Pan closed his eyes.

Damnit.

Killian swallowed, bracing himself. "You'll lose her eventually like this."

Pan would have lashed out, but he couldn't waste time in going after Y/n. If she got back to camp she would turn to another boy for comfort and then she would be that further from him. She had been slipping between his fingers recently, always putting distance between them. not wanting to be around him as much. So, unable to lie to himself and say Killian was even wrong to begin with, pan left after his little princess without another word to the pirate.

He appeared before the girl, who ducked under his arm and tried to get away from him a second time. He grabbed her arm gently, lowering to his knee as Killian had. Y/n turned away from him again, so he could not see her face, standing as far as her little arm would allow. He frowned, then let her arm go. She took a few more steps, sitting down on a rock and crossing her arms over her chest, back to him.

She did this sometimes. He did what he always did, sighing and opening his arms for a hug. "I'm sorry Y/n. Hook knows I'm sorry too. I can tell him if you'd like."

The little one shrugged, not facing him. "I don't believe that you're sorry."

That stopped Pan short. That was new. "What? You're really mad at me?"

"Maybe," Y/n mumbled. Then she seemed to snap to attention, shooting to her feet and turning to Pan. A fire was in her that Pan had not seen in her yet. An energy that had died down as she had become more and more subservient to Pan, and an anger he had never seen directed at him. She was blazing like she hadn't in a long time, in a way she never had. Pan was too proud to be be anything else. "You know what, yes! I am!"

Pan tilted his head, a small smile on his face. This he could work with. He wanted Y/n to be angry, to be wild. He wanted her to be a blaze that couldn't be controlled. Even if this island preferred her, even if it meant he had no hold over her - it would be okay if it was Y/n. She was special. So he just play pouted, crossing his arms over his own chest, chin pressing against his chest to mimic her body language and energy. "You know what, so am I. I'm absolutely furious."

Y/n's glare deepened. "You're mean! All you know how to do is tease!"

A hum came from the older boy as he tilted his head back and forth - weighing the idea in his mind. "I don't know about that. I taught you to sword fight, and I showed you all the secret places on the island. I made your hut with you. And I play the flute."

The little girl looked at him with something other than anger in that moment. Something more hurt than rage. Regret. It was an old emotion for such a young face. "But do you dance with me and the boys, Peter? Do you play games? Do you have fun? Do you rule us or are you one of us?" She shook her head. "Did you ever think that maybe the island prefers me because I love it as much as it loves me?"

Pan actually considered it. Having been crouching this whole time, he let go his air of coolness and calm and sat properly on the ground. "I suppose you have a point." He pursed his lips. "You make good arguments for someone your age."

Y/n shrugged, sitting in between Pan's leg and resting the side of her head on his chest. "I want a family here. With you. And the boys. But it'll never be a home if you don't let us be a family. I know you want to have fun, and never be out of control, but... sometimes it's more fun to be a peasant than a king. Especially in a place where no such thing exists."

"Impressive." He leaned down, kissing Y/n's forehead. "You know, one day you're going to get to me and then I'm going to go all soft. Then what?"

He was joking, but Y/n knew he was right and it made her smile. "I can't wait to see it." Peter pushed down his panic in favor of letting the moment ride. he wanted Y/n to be in a good mood.

She was right though. As time passed, Peter came to terms with Neverland responding to Y/n more. Until one day, he learned, and it responded to both of them equally. He could speak to the water the way Y/n spoke to trees, and he changed the landscape as Y/n did. The sun shone hotter when he was angry and the wind whipped around when he was full of adrenaline or joy. He still never made it rain. Only Y/n could do that. It was like the island responded to them each in different ways. And honestly, Peter liked it this way. He liked the bond it formed between them. Y/n was much younger than him, but she was smart and adaptable and kind, and ultimately had been the best influence over him. She was his little princess, and he adored her sincerely.

He almost became the man she wanted him to be before she was taken away.

One day the Dark One appeared when Y/n was out picking flowers for crowns. The boys she was with fell unconscious and Y/n was whisked away without even a goodbye. The last time Peter heard her say his name she was screaming it, reaching for help. But he saw the Dark One and...

He froze.

Peter had always frozen when his father was involved.

By the time he had managed to move, it was too late. He had rushed to the Enchanted Forrest, but Y/n was already in the Dark One's castle, in her parents' arms, and her memories of Neverland and the Lost Boys and Peter himself were in a bottle in the Dark One's hand. The crocodile tucked the vile away and Y/n's parents took her away and Peter was left to only watch. He tried to get through to her as the parents journeyed back home, coming to her when the adults were asleep and telling her to come back home. But she had forgotten him, and cried out in pain when he pushed too hard. Her memories were behind a wall.

What Peter didn't know was that Rumplestilskin was not particularly fond of this deal. He made plenty of distasteful exchanges, but when that child looked into his eyes as her gaze went blank, mind wiped and the most precious time for her stolen, he saw his own son from a lifetime ago. And he had whispered to her that if she wanted what had been lost, all she needed to do was ask.

Pan had given up on Y/n, trudging home to take care of the place she had left behind while he searched for a cure, trying to figure out what his father had done. In the meantime, Y/n got older. Now much younger than he should be, his brother Jamie now a decade older rather than just two years and his parents ten years older even though he had not aged, Y/n never truly recovered. But he did keep his treasures in his dreams, and one day begged his parents to bring him to Rumplestilskin one last time. He believed it was his first time, but for the second time he visited the Dark One and although many years older the ancient man recognized him. When Y/n asked for the body that he saw in his mind, Rumplestilskin was only too happy to oblige - for a price of course. A favor that the Dark One would call upon from the child one day. Y/n had no inkling what a being like him could want from a nothing like Y/n, but he agreed anyway.

And on his way out, Rumplestilskin said something very important. "Y/n." The boy turned, smiling at his new name. "Remember. Any spell can be broken by true love's kiss. Any single one. Always remember that."

Y/n frowned, thinking this was about the spell he'd just received. "I'll turn back into her?"

The Dark One giggled, shaking his head, and somewhere in his chest his heart seized with regret. He had taken so much of Y/n it had been impossible to even include memories that reminded the boy of his time on Neverland. So of course he didn't remember the first visit to the castle. "No, that was a spell of True Self. True Love's Kiss revives your being and cleanses your soul. Any love would have to accept who you are to be True Love, so it would never undo a spell like that." He booped the teenager's nose, grinning. "It's just a general piece of information you may need one day."

Y/n nodded. He didn't know why everyone was so hesitant around this man, he seemed powerful and a little intimidating but otherwise lovely. "Thank you." He bowed and then turned, coming back to his parents who had been forced to wait outside. His parents didn't full accept him but, at least he was back to them. They could handle this.

Y/n met Peter's eyes. They were the same age physically now, but there was so much time between them. The last time Y/n had recognized Peter they had been incredibly young, Even younger than they were now. And now, after ten years of being eight, they had spent twenty-eight years being nineteen.

He blinked and Peter leaned back, eyes wide with shock. "It worked."

Y/n chuckled breathlessly, not split in personality like with Regina's curse as much as he was scattered, like picking up pieces of a puzzle and slowly placing them correctly. The part of him that had seemed unique to Storybrooke had been the same him that he was in Neverland. This curse had given him so much... How could he be grateful for that?

"You did that one purpose?" Y/n asked, mouth getting dry. Not that it was deniable that Peter was in love with Y/n just as Y/n was in love with Peter. Their kiss breaking Rumple's spell was proof enough.

Peter shrugged. "I needed you back, Y/n."

A grin took over Y/n's face at hearing his proper name coming from pan's mouth. "I suppose I'm not your princess anymore, hm?"

Peter grabbed Y/n's face with his hands, shaking his head adoringly. "That was never important to me. You can be a prince if you like. All I want you to be is mine. My little one."

Tears came to Y/n's eyes. "Can we go home?"

Peter kissed his nose. "Yes." He took Y/n's hands. "Think happy thoughts." he winked and Y/n laughed as their feet lifted from the ground. Y/n started, surprised he was raising into the air... But then, it made sense that while they were touching the magic transferred.

They flew away, heading to the second star and straight on till morning. Y/n didn't even say goodbye. He didn't need to. His brother was dead and his old family didn't love him like Pan and the lost boys did. Neither of them had anything left here anymore. They had so much more to look forward to... And Y/n couldn't wait to get making new memories now that he had even more to gain than before.