Mio knew he was not supposed to go to the human lands. But how could he not? Humans built such marvelous things. Carriages that moved completely on their own, buildings high enough to rival even the tallest trees, boxes with pictures moving inside them...and the list went on and on.

Besides, it was not like they could actually see him. With his tiny form barely taller than a human thumb and rapid movement, he was all but invisible. The little ones sometimes reached for him – he evaded their clumsy hands easily, though -, but the grown-ups didn't seem to be aware of his existence.

It was getting dark. The pathway between their lands only opened at dawn and dusk, so he'd better head back soon while he still could. But something caught his attention.

It was too quiet for the few humans still walking the streets to notice. Weak. Pitiable. Maybe a baby kitten crying in distress?

He followed the faint whimpering to a back alley where humans dumped their garbage. It was really unbelievable how much they could throw away. Still, what he had not expected them to throw away was...a baby of their own.

It was a little boy, surely less than a year old. He had been trapped in a cloth bag, but had somehow pushed the zipper open to free himself.

When he saw Mio, he smiled and reached out his chubby hands.

Mio found his heart melting. The baby was completely adorable, with brown skin and dark, curly hair. There were letters in the overalls he wore that Mio slowly spelled out. He was not very good in reading the human language, but he had learned the basics by watching.

P-E-T-E-R. Peter. So his name was Peter.

Where could his parents be? But...they had thrown him away. Mio was still only a child himself, and in his worldview that meant that he could keep the baby.

He checked once more that no grown-ups were around before morphing into human-sized form. Although he could choose not to have his gossamer wings, his long, pointed ears and sky-blue hair would have surely set him apart from the inhabitants of these lands.

Then he picked up the baby. Up close, he was kind of wet and smelly. But still cute. He'd take good care of him. He'd grow up to be one of the faeries.

"Let's go to Neverland, Peter," he whispered. "You don't need to worry about parents who didn't want you. You'll be happy forever and ever."

~*~*~

Mio's own people weren't too thrilled of the idea of having a human child in their midst at first. But gradually they came around. The animals of the forest were happy to help him nurse and raise the child from the beginning. Peter grew up loved and with lots of friends of all shapes.

But as he grew, he inevitably started noticing that he was different from everybody else. Eventually, soon after his 10th birthday, he would no longer listen to Mio telling him to ignore it.

Mio still tried to avoid the topic by sulking or running from the other boy whenever he asked about where he had come from. If they waited just a little longer, surely Peter would also grow wings and learn fairy magic of his own. He could already fly with the fairy dust sprinkled on him every morning, but with a little time he would also become a real fairy. Surely he would.

Another year passed, and much to Mio's surprise Peter started avoiding -him-. Every time they talked they'd end up yelling at each other over the same thing.

Until Mio couldn't take it anymore.

~*~*~

"Fine! I'll show you if you promise we'll be best friends again!" the fairy all but screamed when he finally tracked Peter down – just like every morning. "I love you! I want everything to be like it was!"

The human boy looked genuinely surprised at first and then hugged him tightly out of the blue. "Of course we're best friends!"

Mio sniffed. "Then why can't you let it be...? Humans will just hurt you again..."

Peter slowly let go of him. "I want to know..."

Mio had been told over and over not to go to the human realm again, and he was certain he'd be yelled at again if they were caught. But still, as dusk came, he took Peter to the same alley where he had found him as a baby.

The alley was empty. Mio quickly showed the exact spot where baby Peter had been and hoped they could still make it back before too much time passed. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, here for them.

"Did you see my parents?" Peter asked quietly.

Did Peter think he was stupid? He would not have shown himself if there had been human adults around. "No, there was no one else here. Can we go back now?"

Peter didn't seem to even hear him, drawn to the light in the window on the second floor of the house next to them. Mio quickly followed, wishing with all his heart that the humans inside would not be able to see them in the dark.

It was a simple room, with only a large bed and a few closets and shelves for furniture. Nothing like the fairy dwellings that were decorated with countless pretty little things.

There were a man and a woman of the same dark complexion as Peter sitting on the bed. Her hands were crossed in front of her, fingers intertwined, and she was speaking quietly with her eyes closed. He just sat by her side in silence, one arm wrapped around her shoulders in a comforting gesture.

"What do you think they're doing?" Mio asked.

"How should I know?" Peter returned the question.

"They're praying," the Fairy King stated.

"Father!" Mio swallowed nervously. He had never imagined that anyone would follow him. "I can explain..."

But the King addressed Peter instead. "She's praying to God every night that her stolen son would return to her."

"Stolen?" Mio felt insulted. "They had thrown him away!"

The King shook his head slowly. "She had only returned inside for a few moments. When she came back, her baby was gone."

Peter looked longingly through the window again. "Mother...Father..."

"No!" Mio protested. "You're a fairy now! You can be happy in Neverland forever!"

A heavy hand gently ruffled his hair. "He is a human, Mio. You must let go if that's what he wants." Then the Fairy King turned to Peter. "If you wish to go to them, they will welcome you. You have always been their child, and Neverland will be nothing more than a pleasant dream."

~*~*~

Mio hated both Peter for leaving him and the Fairy King for allowing it. The human boy had forgotten him. Fine! So what? He'd forget him too!

But as years passed, it became evident that he couldn't. Every single place in his home realm carried their shared memories, and he missed Peter like crazy.

So, one evening he snuck back to the human lands to spy on the house where they had parted ways. He found Peter lying on a bed with a book. The room had two beds, but his former friend was alone. He had grown a lot too. He was almost an adult, while Mio still looked exactly the same as when they had first met.

He sighed and slumped down on the windowsill. A human. Peter was a human and had found his place among his own. He should remember that. But it just hurt so much! He'd even gladly become one of those toys in the room if it meant being able to stay.

Suddenly the window was opened with enough force that the resulting gust of wind pushed his small form off the sill. Before he could even think to move his wings, warm hands captured him in their embrace, and the next thing he found himself staring at Peter's surprised face.

"Mio..." the young man whispered, his voice strained with emotion like he was looking at the most precious thing in the whole world.

"Peter..." Then he snapped out of it like a bucket of cold water had been thrown on him and suddenly felt embarrassed out of his mind. "I...I'm still angry with you! You left me all alone! I...I..."

A big thumb brushed over his entire face. "Please don't cry."

"I'm not crying!" Mio screamed at him. And now he was feeling helplessly small, which only made him more frustrated. "I hate you!"

"I love you."

Mio froze. And then he turned bright red.

"I should have said it back then," Peter continued. "But I was only a kid. I was stupid and assumed that you knew. That you'd come visit me anyway."

Without thinking, Mio grew to his human size. And more. He had expected to reach a little above Peter's waist, but instead they were of equal height. Was this what the King had meant when he had said that he'd grow up once he was ready to leave the world of a child behind? He really, truly wanted to become an adult together with Peter.

Peter watched him in silence for a moment. Then he pulled the fairy close and kissed him on the mouth.

Mio's eyes drifted closed as he savored the closeness. But gradually he became aware of the feeling of being stared at. Reluctantly he broke the kiss and looked at the small boy, like a miniature Peter, standing in the doorway. "...Who are you?"

Instead of replying, the child dashed out of the door, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Peter has a fairy boyfriend!"

That spurred Peter into action. "Damn it, John! Get back here!" he yelled after him.

Mio quickly shrunk to his smaller form. "Uh...I'll just leave now. Before he brings your parents," he muttered. He should remember the rules, no matter how meaningless they felt right now.

Peter grabbed him in one hand and quickly deposited him in a drawer full of socks and underwear. "Just wait there until I silence that brat for a baby brother, okay?"

Then he closed the drawer, leaving the fairy trapped inside.

Mio fell back on the soft cloth, a happy sigh leaving his lips. He didn't even care how much he'd get yelled at when he returned home. Everything was too perfect to worry about that.

Peter had not forgotten him after all.