Chapter 4: Daybreak

CW: dub-con

 

            The first thing that Hook’s brain latched onto when he woke was that he was sore.  Very much so.  But before he could catalog exactly where, which is to say everywhere, he pulled his thoughts away, not wanting to think very deeply on the night prior.

            The second thing he noted was that he was still in the cave, mercifully unrestrained but his hook still missing.

            The third was that Pan was sitting next to him, thankfully fully dressed, looking down at him with a mildly amused expression.

            “Good morning, captain, well it’s actually more like noon,” the boy said.

            Despite the way his muscles protested, Hook forced himself to sit up, fully conscious of the way Pan’s eyes traced over the bite mark he’d left on the captain’s side.

            “Our deal was until sunrise,” the pirate said, narrowing his eyes.

            Pan shrugged.  “I didn’t want to wake you when you were sleeping so soundly.”

            “You ass,” Hook muttered, rubbing his face with his hand.  “You still need to return my hook.”

            “Next time, if you want to keep it, don’t try and kill me,” the boy pouted.

            “Who says there’ll be a next time?” the captain snapped. 

            If he’d still had his hook, he’d be attempting to drive it into the boy’s chest, warning be damned.  Of course, he’d probably fail, again, but it would’ve been worth it to get rid of the bloody smirk.

            “The fact that you still want to kill me,” Pan said.

            Hook didn’t bother wasting his breath with denial.  If anything, his desire to kill the demon king of Neverland had only grown.  But for the moment, he’d settle for getting back to his crew without accruing any more injuries.

            The wrist of his good arm itched and he couldn’t even rub at the chaffed skin, not having the other hand and all that.  The pirate studied the impressions the ropes had dug into his skin for a long moment before turning back to the boy.

            “So what happens now?  You send me back to my ship?”  The last thing he wanted was to trek through the jungle.

            Pan chuckled.  “Like that?  Give your men a surprise, I’m sure.”

            It was only then that it fully registered that he was still naked.  Hook rolled his eyes as he stumbled out of bed, surveying the cave for where his clothes had disappeared off to.  He found them in a neatly folded pile on the table next to the bed, his pistol resting on top of them.  Pan’s eyes bored into his back as he reached for his shirt, realizing that the boy had taken it upon himself to mend the shredded clothes while he’d be sleeping.  The captain supposed he was grateful in a way, but the attack had been the demon’s fault in the first place which cancelled out any sense of gratitude. 

            He pulled his shirt on, though it was a bit of a struggle with only one hand, trying not to grimace at the way it irritated the scratches and bites Pan had littered across his back.  The bloody demon had made it very clear that those marks were staying until they healed naturally.  At least, Hook was hoping they would heal.  Could Pan stop bruises from healing?  He sure as hell hoped not.  Pan had been merciful to leave his neck free of any marks, but that was about it, his chest and back and even his legs covered in cuts and scratches and bites and whatever else the demon had seen fit to give him.  The marks went as high as his collarbones, so he forced shut the stiff upper buttons of his shirt, hoping that his crew would have the fucking decency to not question it.

            It was only once his sword was secured to his side and his pistol back in its pocket that he turned back to the boy.

            “My hook,” he said lowly, but of course the demon couldn’t be intimidated.

            “I’ll return it when you’re back on your precious ship,” Pan said, still sporting that infernal grin.

            “You’re expecting something else?  What?  Another game?”

            Pan sighed, damned smile finally vanishing into a truly displeased expression.  “As much as I’d love to, my darling captain, I really should be checking on the boys.  Wouldn’t want them to get any ideas.  You remember what boys are like at that age, don’t you captain?  Always running off on the next grand adventure.”

            Hook forced down years worth of explanations before they could leave his lips.  He owed Pan nothing.

            But the mention of the Lost Boys, at least, was relieving.  Hopefully they’d keep Pan’s attention for awhile.

            “Right, I’ll leave you to it then,” he said, “Mind sending me back now?”

            Pan’s expression morphed into one of put on surprise.  “Send you back?”

            “Yes.  To my ship,” Hook forced out through gritted teeth.

            The boy chuckled.

            “When did I ever promise such a thing?”

            Hook froze.  Right, the initial deal had only been for time.  They came to the caves after Pan had already won, with no conditions.  Damn it.  He’d been too out of it with blood loss to fully comprehend the consequences of leaving the beach.

            Looks like he didn’t have a choice but to do something stupid yet again.  What else was new?

            “Then let’s make a deal.  What’d it take for you to send me back?”

            The boy put on a pensive look, though Hook couldn’t be sure if it was for real or if the demon was just trying to irritate him.  Could be both honestly, knowing Pan.

            “A kiss,” he said finally.

            Hook raised an eyebrow.  “A kiss?”

            “On the lips,” Pan clarified.

            Hook sighed.  Really, at this rate, he would die within the week if that old wives tale about sighing and lifespans was true.

            “So a kiss, on the lips, and you’ll send me back on the deck of the Jolly Roger as I am, with my hook, not somehow dying or otherwise in trouble and not hurting my crew in anyway.”

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            Maybe he was going overboard, but he wouldn’t put it past the demon to find some way to make the whole situation miserable for him.  Like if he didn’t specify the deck, then the boy was liable to leave him atop the foremast or something.  The less he trusted the little bastard, the better.

            Pan chuckled.  “So thorough, captain.  I’m glad you’re learning to play the game.”  He thought it over some more.  “Alright, I’ll accept your terms.  One kiss and I’ll send you back, no tricks.” 

            He shrugged.  “This time, at least.”

            “Deal,” Hook said, stifling a grimace.

            Honestly, after the night prior, a kiss wasn’t anything to be fretting over but this was different.  Because the way the demon was looking at him only confirmed that it would have to be him initiating it.

            Steeling his nerves, he forced himself to approach the bed.  Pan smiled expectantly, only further tempting Hook to pull out his pistol and shoot the bastard.  Had it been any other time, he would’ve.  But as it were, he merely leaned forward, letting his eyes fall closed as their lips touched.  It lasted only a couple seconds, Pan hadn’t specified a time frame, before Hook pulled away, deliberately looking anywhere else.

            “Well I suppose that counts as you holding up your end of the bargain,” Pan said, tone much softer than the captain had been expecting.

            Hook met his eyes in time to see the infernal grin reappear.

            “I’ll see you during our next game, my darling captain.”

            The cave melted away, replaced by open skies and the gentle rocking of waves hitting the Jolly Roger.  Neverland’s sun, blazing at midday, made him have to squint as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness.  For once, Pan had played no tricks.  Even his hook had been returned to its stump.  Hook took a deep breath, the sea air making his shoulders relax instinctively.

            All around him, the deck was bustling.  Scots seemed to be taking the extended break to fix up the ship.  Though she was by no means in bad condition, the seas were rough and constantly being on the run from virtually every navy in existence meant that they rarely docked anywhere long enough to be able to fix the non-essentials.  A number of gunners were assisting him, the rest checking over the cannons. 

            Though the men didn’t pause in their work, they were less than discrete in staring at the captain.  Hook pretended not to notice.

            Only Saw dared approach.

            “Welcome back, cap’n,” the boatswain said, shifting nervously.

            “Morning,” Hook sighed out.  He had said that he’d be back in the morning, which meant it was still morning, damn it.

            “You alright?” Saw asked, falling into step with his captain as he stalked off to his quarters.

            “Just peachy.”  Hook rolled his eyes.  “Go get Morris, it’s about time we put together a proper plan to kill the bloody demon.”

            “Yes cap’n,” the shorter man said, before speeding away.

            Hook retreated to his cabin.  To his delight, someone, that is to say Saw, had cleared away the bottles littering his desk and replaced them with a neat line of unopened ones.  He wasted no time in popping one open, taking a long swig.  The rum burned going down, but that was the point, more about habit than anything else.  Though, seeing as plotting didn’t pair well with rum, he’d save getting properly inebriated for later.

            He plopped down in his chair, discarding his jacket on the back of it.  The captain was only just getting truly settled when his boatswain and quartermaster entered the room, not bothering with knocking seeing as he had summoned them just a minute ago.

            “Morning cap’n,” Morris said by way of greeting.  “So what’s the plan?”

            Hook sighed.  “That’s what I was hoping you’d tell me.  We need to come up with something before he’s ready for the next game.”

            “C-cap’n,” Saw stared at him with wide eyes, “You’re not seriously going to make another deal with him?”

            “It’s the only way.”  He shrugged, trying to affect a casualness he certainly didn’t feel.  “Pan never lets his guard down, but he always honors his promises.”

            “He has to have a weakness,” Morris muttered, furrowing his brows, “What about his boys?”

            Hook shook his head.  “He doesn’t care one wit about the lot of them.”

            “What if we attacked while he was sleeping?” Saw suggested, face screwing up in displeasure over even suggesting something so underhanded.

            “He’s a demon,” Hook said, “He never sleeps.”

            Pan had kept him up until sunrise, at which point the captain had all but passed out, and he was pretty sure that the boy had watched him sleep.  Of course he would.  It wasn’t like the king of Neverland had anything better to do with his time.

            Morris nodded, a dark look in his eyes.  “Right, so the games it is.  But doesn’t mean it has to be you, cap’n.”

            “Actually it does.  Even if Pan would agree to such a game, the cost would be your lives,” Hook said, though he couldn’t quite keep a smile off his face at the sentiment coming from the usually stoic quartermaster.

            “I don’t get why he’s so obsessed with you, cap’n.”  Saw looked genuinely troubled, but there was no way that he would answer.

            “That doesn’t matter,” Morris said, catching Hook’s eye.  He was one of the few crew members who was former military, so he probably thought that he understood.  “What does is that the men are never gonna stand for it.  I’ve never seen a crew so loyal to anything ‘cept money.  After de Soto, they’ll follow you to the ends of the world, cap’n.”

            The look on his and Saw’s faces declared that they would do so as well.  And Hook was flattered, really he was, but that was exactly why he couldn’t give in.

            “I’m trying to keep them from getting themselves killed,” he grumbled.

            “They’re getting restless,” Morris said, “I don’t think I’ll be able to hold ‘em much longer.”

            “We’ll deal with it as it comes.  Killing Pan comes first.”

            His quartermaster nodded.

            “Aye cap’n, that it does.”

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