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Until the end of time, Peter Pan would never forget his first and last kiss.
Right on the cusp of boyhood crossing into early manhood, he had been unwittingly granted eternal youth. In order to save the fallen starstuff from falling into the hands of evil, Peter nearly sacrificed himself by making direct contact with the powerful substance. Starstuff, responsible for so many fantastical things in the world, including the very mermaids that lived off the coast of his island, was the reason Peter was no longer mortal.
Forever young.
A dream that most thoughtless people only dreamed of, but it was a bitter pill indeed for Peter. His original “Lost Boys,” James, Thomas, Prentiss, and Ted, were all rapidly aging before his eyes, even in the short time they had together on Mollusk Island. He knew their departures were inevitable, though he cherished the time he had with them.
Not to mention…. Molly.
Molly Aster. The first girl he ever noticed, the first girl who ever made him feel these strange feelings, now forever out of reach. She was growing older and taller, blossoming in ways he scarcely understood. When they first met, her chest was as flat as his. When they parted ways for the last time, he couldn’t help but notice the change, like rosebuds without a stem.
Molly Aster. The girl who irrevocably changed his life. The girl who ironically led him to his destiny as the flying boy who never grew up.
The girl who Peter Pan loved.
“Can’t you come with us? We can stay together,” Molly said through her tears, making her sea-green eyes sparkle all the brighter. “Forever.”
“Forever? You mean like how I have forever to watch you grow up,” Peter said bitterly. “I, watch you fall in love with a man, marry him, make beautiful babies, and then grow old and grey, while I stay like…. This?” He gestured miserably to himself. “You know you don’t want that either, Molly. You don’t want to watch me stay the same and slowly lose any feelings for me, because I’ll stay a kid, and you won’t—”
“I won’t! I swear — I — Peter,” Molly grasped his hands. “Peter, no matter how old I become, no matter who I – oh, I can never marry anyone. Not if they’re not you!” She blushed a deep red, and Peter felt his own cheeks flaming, but he continued on fiercely:
“No, Molly. You have to get married. You have to move on. I …. I can’t. But I will have peace of mind if you’re far away, living your life, and loving someone else.” The last words left a bitter taste in his mouth, but it needed to be said. For both of their sakes.
“Maybe I should touch the starstuff, then, and stay young with you!” Molly said defiantly, her eyes flashing with reckless abandon, but with no true resolve. There was a waver, deep in her soul, small, almost insignificant, but Peter saw it. And even if none existed, he refused to let that happen.
“It’s too risky. I’m lucky I didn’t die. I can’t have you dying in the hope you might be able to stay with me. Don’t do it, Molly. For your family’s sake. For mine. And for….” Peter swallowed hard. “For George.”
“Don’t speak of George,” Molly pleaded. “He doesn’t…. He’s not….” She wrung her hands miserably, tears spilling onto the sand below.
Peter smiled wanly. He didn’t want to bring the words into the world, but he already knew that George Darling was Molly Aster’s future. It was the one thing George won over him. But Peter had Molly’s heart first, a small voice in his mind said loudly, proudly. Molly may have a lifetime with George, but her past would always belong to him, Peter Pan, the immortal orphan.
It was not much of a consolation, but in the face of this terrible day with all the goodbyes, it was better than nothing.
“I can’t ask you to remember me,” Peter said softly, reaching out and rubbing Molly’s tear-stained cheeks. His heart skipped a beat as she leaned into his touch. “But just know one thing: I’ll never forget you, Molly Aster. Until the world grows dark and I’m the last human standing, I will always remember you.” And he knew it, felt it as deep as his bones. Even if the millennium lying before him made him forget her name, their story, he would always, always remember sea-green eyes and the lips that belonged to him….. Those lips that were coming closer….
As they kissed, an explosion of emotions erupted in their souls. Half-joyous, half-heartbroken, they would carry that one kiss for the remainder of their days. The kiss marked them forever, starcrossed lovers on the brink of a beginning that could never be.
Peter would meet many other young people in his eternal years who longed for him, loved him, but whose feelings would never be returned by him, for his soul was locked in this moment. Molly would always have Peter’s kiss on her mouth, and in the years to come, men would see it and covet it, but never, ever touch it.
Not even George Darling, dearest, steadfast George, who knew at once that this battle would forever be lost to him.
.
.
.
He watched them from the ship’s deck, watched as Molly flung her arms about Peter’s neck and kissed him fully on the mouth, and for the first time, felt no jealousy or resentment.
For one, tender, beautifully mature moment, he felt deeply sorry for them both. He knew this was no longer a competition, if indeed it ever was a fair one to begin with. Peter’s immortality, especially trapped in the body of a young boy, forever barred him from true happiness. No matter how many kisses they shared now, Peter could never “win.”
But even so, George knew he had a lot of work cut out for him to win over Molly’s heart. He knew right then and there that he would never have her fully, but he was satisfied with that. Just for her to be by his side would be enough. But he would have to wait a long, long time before she would be ready to give him even that.
Leonard Aster joined him by his side. George Darling’s future father-in-law (though neither of them knew it at the time) clapped a hand on his shoulder in quiet solidarity.
“L-Lord Aster,” George said quietly, stunned to find his words choked with tears. He cleared his throat. “I cannot promise to be anything like Peter, but I can promise to do my best.”
Leonard Aster looked gravely down at George, a swelling of bittersweet tenderness overflowing his heart. “I don’t want you to promise anything yet, George Darling. You still have many years to come. Not like….” He gestured towards the beach and the kissing pair of young lovers. He tried to steer George away. “Come, my lad, you don’t have to—”
“Yes! Yes, I do!” George flushed at his impudence, but remained resolutely staring out at the love of his life kissing the love of hers. “I must. For…. for Molly’s sake. It’s only right. She’s the one suffering now, not me.”
Lord Aster said nothing else, merely squeezed George’s shoulder once more and walked away, casting his eye over his daughter, who was now sobbing on Peter Pan’s shoulder. If only they lived in a better world, a kinder world, one where his daughter did not have to choose, one that did not break three hearts in one fell swoop….
.
.
.
Peter stroked Molly’s hair, savoring the feel of holding her, desperately pretending that she wasn’t already an inch taller, imagining a world where he could always press kisses on top of her head without reaching, a world where partings would be brief and without tears, a world where romantic competition was all sport and no harm, no foul….
He looked upwards and made eye contact with George. They stared at one another, then each nodded curtly. An understanding passed between them, one that could not be explained through words. The war would never be won, not with the cards they were dealt. But an impasse was reached, a quiet surrender on both sides that proclaimed no victory.
No matter the choices made that day, no one walked away unscathed.
“You will always be in my heart, Peter Pan,” Molly whispered in Peter’s ear. “You will always, always be…. my first love.”
The words were finally said. Such a happy confession under normal circumstances! Peter closed his eyes tightly and whispered hoarsely, “And you’re mine.”