Darling || Five

01

Peter Thomas Pan was born on the first of October in 1989 to a young widow in a small flat above a Chinese takeout in London. The woman hadn't been pregnant until she was suddenly on the floor giving birth to a baby boy. After the initial shock and the realisation, the fact that the crying baby was actually real sinking in, she decided that she would keep him.  For the first ten years of his life, he was subjected to library books and the smells of chow mien from the restaurant below. His mother doing all she could to keep her child hidden in their one bedroom flat. If he was out of the house at all, he was tied to weight laden shoes and wrapped in layers. Anything she could do to keep her child from flying away or glowing. Then, when he was thirteen, he got into an accident and found himself in the apocalyptic future.

"How did you get here?" Five asked the next morning. The sun was shining and Peter had shared his stash of instant noodles that he had found in a partially destroyed supermarket. They were chicken flavoured and the little pot he had in is backpack managed to fit both servings. Peter hovered in the air as he stirred.

"My mum died", he replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry", Five blinked at him, tone not really changing despite the words. Peter didn't feel angry at the obvious lack of sympathy, instead he just shrugged.

"She died. I got sad and angry. People wanted to take me away. When I get emotional, like really emotional. I glow and this energy just exploded and I was in London. But it was destroyed and there was no one there!" His voice cracked and he curled in on himself. "At first I thought I destroyed everything, but then I found a newspaper".  His words drifted off and he stared into the bubbling pot, feet crossed at the ankles. His red converse practically pristine.

"How old are you?" Five was watching him with hazel eyes. Tone slightly gentler than it had been before. He didn't know what to make of the boy with a rats nest of blonde hair currently floating in the air.

"Thirteen. You? How did you end up here?"

"Simple, I grew too ambitious. I tried to time travel, I went too far and now I'm stuck", he let out a massive sigh. "Do you know what you did?"

"Nope", Peter muttered miserably. "I tried. But I think I'm stuck too". A silence as the took the pan off the stove and placed it onto a rock between them. He wordlessly held out a fork that was reasonably clean to Five and the other boy took it. "Can I stay with you?" The question was soft, unsure.

Five dug his fork into the pot and twirled the noodles around the implement. "Well, seeing as we are probably the last two people alive on the whole planet. Might as well stick together".  Peter beamed at him and if his whole body began to glow faintly gold, Five didn't mention it.

"I think this will be a wonderful partnership Five darling".

"Call me darling again with that ridiculous English accent of yours and I'll stick this fork where the sun don't shine", Five grumbled as he stuffed the noodles into his mouth. Peter just grinned.

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"Come on!" Five shouted up at the floating figure high in the sky. Peter had grown. Rosey cheeked thirteen year old now a gangly eighteen year old with blonde hair looking like it had been struck by lightning. He wore a dirty green hoodie over baggy jeans. Below, Five was having his arms in annoyance. The nineteen year old was wearing a mismatched set of suit trousers with a big aviator style jacket he had found a few months before. "Get down here you over grown pixie! You can't hide up there forever!"

"Yes I can Darling!" Peter yelled down where he was cruising around the branches of a some dead trees. They had both tried various times over the five years to leave the apocalypse. Nothing had been successful.