FicWad

At long last, summer was almost coming. With all of the storms having passed and the colder weather going away, it was finally beginning to get a big warmer. While the sun was still out, lots of thick clouds still dotted the sky, occasionally shunning out the sunlight as they passed slowly through the sky. All the rain had mostly gone, and some nice new plants that only grew in the summer were even starting to grow.

It had been a few days, weeks actually - since Tiger Lily had been able to hang around with Peter and the Lost Boys. She had seen them a few times when going out on short hunting trips, but she feared that talking to them would only get her in even more trouble.

Giant and his mother had been especially more strict with Tiger Lily, to the point that even the other villagers were frightened. Whenever Tiger Lily failed to bring back the right meal Giant wanted, Aunt Agda would retrieve a thick leather whip and crack it down over her back, slicing cuts into her back. Giant continued to abuse her physically on a daily basis, usually knocking her to the ground and beating her countless times. It was apparent that even the elders were beginning to become concerned; it would now be a mystery to see if Tiger Lily was even able to live up to her wedding day.

But of course, Tiger Lily did nothing about the pain. She knew better than to fight back against them and she knew better than to give in so quickly. Even when alone in her hut during the nights, she refused to shed a single tear.

While the beatings from her fiance and future mother-in-law were severe and made it more of a pain to move, what pained Tiger Lily the most was that she was far away from Peter. It had been so long since she had been able to speak with him. She hadn't heard a single word from his voice when hearing the Lost Boys going on expeditions together through the Neverwood; it hurt her even more to know that she was probably making him worry.

For the time being, Tiger Lily was powerless to it.

She had thought of escaping and leaving the village many times, wanting so badly to go to the Home Underground and spending time with the Lost Boys. She wondered if she'd ever be able to see them normally again.

But it made things especially difficult with Aunt Agda constantly onto her.

Aunt Agda knew that leaving Tiger Lily in her hut unguarded during the night would lead her to escaping; in fact, ever since the first day they had been married, Aunt Agda had decided it would be best to make certain "sleeping arrangements"; every night, Aunt Agda tied the thickest rope in the village around her ankle, the other end fastened in a heavy knot to a hook on the hut wall, and then confiscated all of her weapons: her tomahawks, her knives, even her bow and arrows, which she used rarely. She then held onto the weapons and only gave them back when Tiger Lily was to go hunting for food.

And when Tiger Lily was outside of the village going hunting, they made another restrictment to guarantee that Tiger Lily wouldn't escape; if she were to stay out longer than a day, she would be followed by search parties until recovered, and would most likely be promised execution. If she stayed out longer than what Giant or Aunt Agda wanted, she would simply be beaten.

Tiger Lily would have been happy to break these rules. She would have broken them weeks ago if she could have. But from being physically abused on a daily basis, she had begun to lose her confidence. She could feel her strength was gradually weakening; simple tasks like walking or carrying had become more and more difficult, and when she would run, she felt a constant jab of pain in her knees. She was starting to become suspicious that the beatings were starting to lead to permanent damage. Her hands were always shaking from their persistant usage, her jaw barely able to tighten from all the slaps she received, her throat always dry when they punished her by giving her no water. Tiger Lily wasn't sure how long she would last now.

And it was on the day of her wedding that she was prepared to break.

The wedding was to be held in the middle of the village. The musicians of the village had been practicing the songs, an enormous feast had been prepared, the land was ready for the big celebration. Aunt Agda went about, making extra preparations to add something more to the wedding.

Tiger Lily knew things were going to go badly when Aunt Agda told her that Giant had requested that she go see him in his hut once she got into her wedding dress. She then handed her a sac with the outfit and ordered her to be there before he got angry, walking off briskly to take care of more plans.

Tiger Lily had already tried on the dress before, and she greatly disliked it; Giant had asked that it be a tight, form-fitting, low cut dress, and when she wore it, she felt humiliated and embarrassed. It was a long-sleeved leather deerskin white wedding dress, the skirt ending short several inches above her knees with a blue and brown hem. Blue embroidery went in a V-neck shape over her chest, and a beaded belt cinched in her waist tautly, a brown medallion stitched to the front. What made the dress stand out, besides its body-hugging fabric and looking rather "suggestive", was the cascading white frilly strings attached to her sleeves, skirt, and body, moving with her as she moved.

Along with it went white and brown leather boots and white and blue frilly earrings, plus a blue and brown headband and white swan feathers. After tying her hair into two braids, Tiger Lily went on to tucking the crow feather on it with the swan ones anyway.

She then walked out of the hut, trying to walk quickly, but the sorry excuse for a skirt pressed uncomfortable against her hips, and along with the bruising to her knees, made it harder to walk. She instantly scowled when she saw the eyes of many villagers, especially the male ones her age, get their attention caught by the wedding dress, and her fists tightened but shook as she paced over to Giant's hut furiously.

Tiger Lily went up to Giant's curtain door and knocked against the hut wall, trying to stay as calm as she could; but she had the rising suspicion that something bad was going to happen once she went inside. Breathing out hard, she prepared herself for the oncoming trouble ahead, ignoring the long stares from the other villagers.

Giant's gruff voice then spoke through the door. "Come in."

Tiger Lily moved the curtain away and stepped inside.

As expected, the hut was dark, as the materials for the wall had been doubled in comparison to most huts, to keep Giant from blinding his eyes, as according to his mother, they were extremely sensitive and needed protection. The hut was also enormous, to benefit Giant's large size, an enormous bed of mats placed on the floor for him to sleep on.

Giant sat on the bed, dressed in his white wedding suit. While it was meant to look handsome on him, he looked even uglier than before. He frowned at her arrival initially, but then a crooked smile grew as he looked at her, up and down.

"You're here." He then patted his lap. "Now sit down."

Tiger Lily could already tell where this was going. "Why?" she asked hesitantly.

"Just sit," he ordered.

"Not until I know why," Tiger Lily replied stubbornly.

Giant glowered intensely at her, but Tiger Lily wouldn't move. She never usually acted like this before, but it was the day of their wedding, and she decided to act aggressively for once. Then, he grinned, showing a row of his crooked teeth.

"We're going to /consummate our marriage/," he growled lowly, "and if you don't come here now, I will beat you to near death."

Tiger Lily's face hardened.

"I would rather bleed than go near you," she snapped. A sudden feeling had overcome her and she realized it soon enough; she realized that she had had enough. She was done with the constant torture, she was done with the constant threatening, and she would not allow herself to stop standing up to it any further. She was determined to set her foot down and never move it, rebelling against his orders and against his requests. Because she was so done with this shit.

A low rumble could be heard in Giant's throat as he glared at her. "Would you rather drown in your own blood?" he threatened, snarling angrily.

Tiger Lily felt her body grow hot with rage. "I'd rather die the worst possible death than marry you. I'd rather be cursed and forsaken and sworn as a monster than marry you. I'd rather be treated like my father as a stupid fool than marry you. And I'd rather be imprisoned and executioned by pirates than marry you. That is how much I hate and despise you, loathe you, and how much I want to retch when I see your face!"

Her face met with a sharp slap and she was knocked to the ground. Tiger Lily was prepared to suffer the normal beating but her heart raced when she saw Giant pull a sharp knife from his shirt.

"I'll kill you," he snarled, and before she could dodge he raked the blade across her side. He held onto her by her shoulder and continued to cut into her body, the blood staining the floor rapidly. Tiger Lily was about to scream, but she bit her tongue with every cut; she would not back down yet. As pain sliced down her body, she then gathered all the strength she could muster and shoved Giant off of her, trying her best to run as she sprinted out of the hut and towards the village entrance way.

While the way out was meant to be closed, Tiger Lily ran out, a trail of blood following her, and the villagers shouted out in surprised silence as she escaped. Her worst fear was hearing Giant tearing out of the hut and chase after her, knife in hand.

Tiger Lily ran as fast as she could; she tried to maneuver through thickets and groves of trees as quickly as possible, but with every leap, she could feel her energy draining. The bruises and newly made cuts were too much, and she could even see her vision getting blurry. But she kept running, refusing to let herself be caught.

If she had been at her top form, she would have come up with the fastest and quickest way to escape, as well as the most confusing way for those who hadn't gone down its trail. She would have hid in a tree and drove her fist over Giant's temple when he wasn't looking. She would have been able to get even farther and farther than any known Sky Eater runner. But now, her skills were worthless and she was running in any direction that she could.

Terrified as she heard the heavy stomps of Giant coming after her, Tiger Lily knew that she couldn't run any more.

She stumbled and collapsed, lying in the middle of the ground, panting and wheezing for breath.

It didn't take long for Giant to catch up, standing at her heels, growling more furiously than ever before. He then laughed, cackling through a ridiculous grin, preparing to kill her there. It had been the first time in her life that Tiger Lily had ever been so scared.

But then something happened.

A mysterious figure shot out of the bushes and pushed Giant into a thick bunch of shrubs. While he lay there confused, the person then pounded their fist into Giant's skull, causing his eyes to roll back into his head, and he went unconscious in seconds.

The figure then picked Tiger Lily up in their arms and started running away.

She found herself in the figure's arms, her head against their chest, her legs dangling as they held up her back and the backs of her knees with each arm. While her eyes weren't open too wide, as they were moving so fast, Tiger Lily looked up to see a familiar face.

"Peter," she whispered.

Peter held Tiger Lily, clutching her tightly to his body, racing through the trees to any place that was far away from Giant, in case if he awoke.

Then, just as they arrived at a certain spot in the forest, Peter stopped abruptly and carried Tiger Lily behind a thicket of trees.

Peter walked slowly to a comfortable grassy spot and set her down on the ground, leaning her back against a tree. She felt some bark chips go into the back of her hair and stick to the fabric of her dress, but she wasn't caring about it at the moment.

Peter then grabbed her shoulders, looking her sharply in the eye. Tiger Lily was shocked to see his face look so angry.

"Where were you?!" he demanded. "We went looking all over for you, for four weeks! What has been happening to you that has made us have to search for you and make us have to worry about you?!"

Tiger Lily didn't know what to say. Her eyes widened to see Peter look so furious with her. Peter's expression softened when Tiger Lily's face became ashamed.

"I-I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Peter suddenly looked pained and hurt, as if now angry with himself. "I'm really sorry, Tiger Lily, I didn't mean to yell at you," he apologized. "It's just been a while, that's all, and I started getting really..." He didn't finish his sentence.

"But besides that, you're bleeding really badly," he said as he carefully touched the areas near to where she had been cut. "Let me bandage you up."

Peter pulled a thick role of bandage out of one of the leather waist packs on his belt and started bandaging a cut around her leg. She had to left her knee up a bit, stretching up her skirt, causing her to blush, but Peter paid it no mind and bound the bandage together with a bit of tape. He did the same with her arms and her other calf, but then he looked at the cut along her left side that had slice through her dress. "It would be bad to bandage over your dress, but I can't let you take it off either," he noted.

Tiger Lily winced as the blood continued to flow out of it. Peter sighed, but his breath was shaky and she could tell he was beginning to panic. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to undress you," he told her. Tiger Lily's face went red instantly, but judging from the massive size of the cut and the speed at which it was bleeding, she knew it had to be done.

Peter moved her and himself into the biggest bush nearby and turned her back to him. "I won't be able to see your front," he said," so don't panic once it's off."
Tiger Lily could barely keep calm at what was about to happen but she swallowed down her fear. "Okay," she whimpered.

She unfastened the belt around her waist and pulled the dress up and over her shoulders, exposing her naked back to Peter. Once it was off, her arms instinctively went to cover over her chest, while Peter began to bandage the cut. He wound the roll around her carefully and tried not to make it too bulky or too tight either. He ripped the rest off and secured it.

"Alright, I'm gonna get out of the bush, just put your dress back on," Peter told her, stepping out of the bush awkwardly and turning away so he wouldn't look.

Tiger Lily slowly put her dress on, trying not to pain the cut too much as she stretched her body out, and then fastened the belt back on. She crawled out of the bush, as her legs were hurting a lot. "I'm alright," she said, sitting on her knees quietly on the flat ground.

Peter turned back around and sat down in front of her, pushing her up gently against the tree again. His eyes gazed at her sympathetically as she continued to stare down at the ground.

To tell the truth, Tiger Lily could barely face Peter. He had seen her being chased by her fiance in the woods and was forced to save her, while the entire past few weeks he had been worrying constantly over her well-being and her whereabouts. She had hurt him a great deal with her long disappearance.

"Why do you look so sad?" Peter asked. He slipped his hands into hers and tried to look her in the eyes.

Tiger Lily couldn't make that desired eye contact with the guilt. "I've hurt you," she said under her breath.

"It's fine, alright?" Peter smiled, kind and meaningful. "I'm just so happy to see you." He squeezed her hands reassuringly.

As the two stayed silent, Peter then spoke up again. "I missed you, you know," he murmured.

Tiger Lily remembered her four weeks before the wedding in the village, working hand-to-foot for Giant and Aunt Agda, getting beaten by them both if bringing back something they didn't like or making a mistake in the construction of the hut. She counted back to all the times she could have just escaped and gone to reunite with Peter and the Lost Boys together. All the pain she had endured, which she had declared to never weaken through, couldn't be held back.

Tiger Lily began to shiver and Peter looked up, eyes wide, to see tears streaming down her eyes. Peter glided his hands over her cheeks gently, feeling his palms becoming wet as he used his thumbs to brush away the tears.

"Hey, don't cry," he chided softly, smiling at the sight of seeing Tiger Lily, for once in her life, looking so fragile, delicate, and defenseless. She choked back a sob but kept crying, lamenting for being so happy and so scared to finally be able to see Peter again and to get away from the horrors of her village.

Tiger Lily then thrust herself into Peter's arms, holding tightly around his back, her chin resting on his shoulder, weeping, Peter just wrapped his arms tightly around her, one going over her back, the other over her waist, pressing her up against him. He nuzzled her neck gently with his nose, breathing in her scent and kissing her, his lips against her neck softly. Tiger Lily melted at his touch, her tears still wetting his shirt.

She then pulled back, her arms still on his shoulders, his moving towards her sides. Tiger Lily looked to the ground for a moment, letting some of the tears drip off of her face onto the grass, and Peter just stared silently at her, still smiling.

"I'm s-sorry f-for acting this way," she managed to say carefully.

Peter stayed quiet, but then he pulled her towards him, her right side resting against his chest, her head falling onto his shoulder, her legs lying on the ground. He locked his arms around her, one holding up her back and arms and the other going over and around her waist, cuddling her in a comfy embrace.

He turned his head towards her as he gently kissed her forehead, lightly blowing some of her bangs away, before kissing her full on the lips.

Their lips stayed pressed together for several seconds, pulling away for a short moment, before pressing back together again, Peter beginning to get greedy and hungrily kissing widely over her mouth, prompting Tiger Lily as if she was to fight back, their lips fighting for dominance.

It ended with Peter pulling back, smirking at her as she frowned.

"Did you just try to eat my face?" she asked inquisitively.

Peter grinned. "You have a funny way of putting things."

"It felt like you were trying to eat me," Tiger Lily responded innocently.

Peter laughed and leaned in to rub his nose into her face affectionately. "Oh, you..."

Tiger Lily sighed and nudged her head into his chest, smelling the scent of his shirt, a scent she hadn't smelled in a long time, as weird as it sounded.

"We should get married."

Tiger Lily's eyes widened at Peter's statement. When she looked up to see if he was joking, his expression was hard and determined. He was being completely serious.

"Married...?" Tiger Lily narrowed her eyes and gazed curiously into his eyes.

"Come live with us," he told her. "Me and the boys. You can stay in our cave and you won't need to go back to your village. You'll be with me the whole time and we won't need to go find each other. You can hunt as much as you like and make them smile everyday."

What shocked Tiger Lily the most was that she was finding all of this rather appealing. But she had to face the reality of it; was it really possible?

"And besides, you don't always seem your happiest coming back from there," Peter added. He lightly poked the bandaged cut through the newly made hole in her dress.

"And you haven't told me yet why you had to go away."

Tiger Lily frowned, remembering that she still hadn't told him about her engagement yet. He was bound to be angry with her once she was done.

She pulled out of his grasp, sitting in front of him, now picking nervously at the grass.

"Are you sure you want to know?" she asked just in case.

Peter scowled. "Of course I do! Running into you covered in bruises and cuts once is questionable enough, but finding you again getting chased by an enormous oaf trying to kill you is insane!"

Tiger Lily sighed. "Well, then you'll be very cross about the news."

"What?" Peter asked.

"Four weeks ago, I was punished for being too wild and going hunting constantly, so... I was engaged to another man in the village," Tiger Lily explained quietly. "He and his mother were very hard on me, and they beat me every time I made a mistake."

Peter had this shocked look on his face now, his brow furrowing intensely.

"The wedding was going to be held today," she said firmly. "That's why I'm wearing this stupid dress that my fiance wanted me to wear. I got into an argument with him and he started cutting me with a knife. Then I ran away, fell over, and, you know the rest..."

"YOU WERE ENGAGED?!" Peter seemed to be having trouble taking in the information. "This entire time, you were engaged to someone while still seeing me?"

"Well, that's certainly how things turned out," Tiger Lily responded anxiously. "And technically, I still am engaged, unless the wedding is broken off."

"Why didn't you tell me this four weeks ago?!" Peter demanded.

"Because I knew it wouldn't do you any better to tell you four weeks ago than to have told you now." Tiger Lily stared intensely into his gaze, trying to get through to him.

After a long pause, Peter just sighed heavily. "But then that was your fiance, huh... He looked like a monster. Also explains," he added, looking up and down over Tiger Lily's body, cheeks turning red, "...why you're dressed like that."

Tiger Lily turned red and threw her arms around her, covering herself. "It wasn't my decision!" she snapped, embarrassed.

"N-No, that's not what I'm saying," Peter said quickly. "You look beautiful, really."

Tiger Lily stiffened, looking away. "D-Don't say that," she muttered. "I look ridiculous."

"You don't, I'm not lying!" Peter put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Sure, it's kinda tight, especially around your-" He stopped himself. "Never mind. But it makes you look really pretty..."

Tiger Lily slowly unwrapped her arms from around herself and tugged at the sleeves. She broke into a smile. "I can barely move in this thing..."

Peter stood up, offering a hand down to her. "Come on. We're going back to the cave."

Surprised, Tiger Lily held her hand back. "The cave? I can't stay there, there'd be no place for me!"

"You'll sleep in my room," Peter said firmly, causing Tiger Lily's cheeks to get hot. "Hey, it'd be easier than making the boys stare at you with that tight get-up!" he added irately.

"Hey!" Tiger Lily barked, standing up abruptly, hands formed into fists.

Peter grasped her hand strongly in his and started leading her off to the cave. "Let's just go," he said decisively. Tiger Lily was still angry with his statement, but she began blushing again as she held his hand harder.

When they arrived at the outside of the cave, Tiger Lily felt nervous now, the dress beginning to bother her even more, especially with such younger boys. But Peter was already entering inside, and gulping to prepare herself, reluctantly followed him in.

The Lost Boys were sitting down around the cave floor, not seeming to be doing anything in particular, but when Peter came in, their eyes lit up.

"I brought Tiger Lily back," he announced. "She'll be staying here for the night."

Peter stepped through the boys, leaving Tiger Lily standing before them awkwardly.

They all turned their heads to her.

"Hey, Tiger Li-" Nibs' words were cut off unexpectedly when he saw her.

"Whoa..." Tootles murmured in awe.

"T-Tiger Lily, w-what are you w-wearing...?" Curly asked as he stuttered on his words.

The Twins sat and gazed at her silently, their mouths gaping down.

Suddenly a load of blood shot out of Slightly's nose, much to his surprise, and he turned his head away hastily, his face turning as red as a tomato. Peter frowned in disapproval. "Really, Slightly?" he asked, exasperated.

"Why is your nose bleeding, Slightly?" Twin 1 asked curiously.

"I think it means he's aroused," Tootles explained.

"IT'S NOT BLEEDING!" Slightly shouted furiously, holding at his nose angrily.

Tiger Lily crossed her arms over her stomach nervously. "U-um, hi, guys," she greeted them uneasily, smiling embarrassingly, as the boys began looking over her and all over her body, especially her torso.

Is it really that tight?/  she wondered in her head, before responding to herself curtly, /Of course it is, you idiot...

"What does 'arouse' mean?" Twin 2 asked.

Once it was nighttime, Peter stood up and looked over the Lost Boys. "Okay guys, it's nighttime, so it's about time to go to sleep."

They all moaned sadly, not wanting to go to sleep yet, despite it being so late.

"But wait, where's Tiger Lily going to sleep?" Nibs asked.

"I think she should sleep with us," Twin 1 said shortly. Twin 2 nodded in agreement.

"We'd have to make a bed for her," Curly pointed out.

"Or she could just share with one of us," Tootles noted.

Slightly quickly held his hands over his face, clamping his nose tightly as if imagining something dirty already.

Nibs, who was sitting next to Tiger Lily, sat up closer to her casually and leaned on her, resting his head against her shoulder. Tiger Lily smiled at the gesture, even touching her head to his affectionately for a moment.

"Wow, she smells good too," Nibs murmured softly.

Then Tootles started heading for her, his arms curling around one of hers and pressing himself against it. "Hey, she does," he agreed.

Twin 2 was already getting interested in what was being implied. He leapt out and thrust himself onto Tiger Lily's front, his hands briefly brushing over her chest, causing her to make a surprised squeak-like noise.

"Stop it, you guys!" Peter snapped at them, causing Nibs, Tootles, and Twin 2 to let go of her instinctively.

"She'll be staying with me," he told them firmly, "so you won't get to sleep with her in the same room."

The boys moaned again. "But we want her too..." the trio groaned.

"Well you won't get to," Peter responded.

"I don't see why you get to have her all to yourself," Slightly muttered briskly.

"Yeah, why can't we see her while she sleeps too?" Twin 1 asked.

Peter seemed to shiver at the thought.

"Because I don't trust you guys to be able to contain yourselves when there's a pretty girl in the room!" Peter growled.

"Well we don't trust you either!" Nibs bit back.

"STOP IT, YOU GUYS!" Curly's yell quieted down the cave.

Curly sighed in defeat. "Let's just let Tiger Lily stay with Peter," he told the rest of the Lost Boys. "She'd probably be most comfortable there anyway, and in the end, we'd just be a bother to her."

The boys understood what Curly was saying, and seemed to come silently into agreement.

"Sorry, Tiger Lily," Nibs told her quietly.

"Yeah, me too," Tootles added.

"Us four," the Twins sighed dejectedly.

Slightly didn't respond, but he nodded as he blushed as if in reply.

"Well, I think we can at least give her each a goodnight kiss before we go to bed," Twin 2 spoke up.

"That's a good idea," Tootles mumbled, deep in thought now.

"Guys, I don't think you should do that," Peter interrupted, sounding nervous.

"Why not?" Slightly asked bluntly.

"Yeah, I like that idea, good thinking, Twin 2!" Nibs applauded the young boy.

"How about cheek kisses?" Curly suggested.

"It's the thought of you guys giving the kiss that's bothering me!" Peter snapped at him.

"Then how about she gives the kisses instead?" Curly proposed.

Tiger Lily seemed alright with that idea, and she laughed a little to hear the other boys moan again. Once they were all tucked in their makeshift blanket beds, she then went up to each of them; first kissing Nibs, then Tootles, then Curly, then Slightly, and then Twins 1 and 2, each on the kiss. Nibs rubbing the spot where her lips had touched his face, the Twins turned pink in admiration, Curly's cheeks became a bit red, Tootles smiled back at her, and Slightly just turned red all over again.

Tiger Lily then made a little wave. "Goodnight!" she said sweetly, flashing a smile.

"Goodnight, Tiger Lily!" the Lost Boys said in unison.

They then each snuggled up in their beds and closed their eyes, each with a smile on their face.

Tiger Lily felt her heart beat comfortingly through her chest, before following Peter into his room behind a built wooden door.

Peter's room was about half the size of the main room in the cave, but it still provided enough space for at least four people to sleep in. On one side was a large mat covered with blankets, a basket in the corner seeming to contain clothes, and a box in front of the pillow. A candle sat on top of it, but it wasn't lit at the moment.

Peter led her to the bed and began spreading out the blankets. "The mat itself is actually quite big, I just wind up spreading all it over when I sleep," he explained quietly.

He then rolled onto it, raising up the blanket for her to come in with him.

Her cheeks feeling warm, Tiger Lily crawled under the blanket with him once her boots and headband were off and set to the side. The bed was at a nice hot temperature, as if it didn't take long for it to get warm.

Peter looked at her concernedly. "You look a little cold," he whispered, his eyes motioning to the form-fitting outfit, but there was a teasing tone to his voice.

Tiger Lily stubbornly rolled over and turned her back to him. "Shut up," she muttered back.

Peter's hands then snaked around her sides and pulled her in with her back against his chest. Tiger Lily blushed as his voice whispered into her ear. "You just heated up there," he joked.

While she liked his arms around her, Tiger Lily wouldn't give in to his flirting that easily.

She turned around back to him and stared into his gaze, smiling softly. Her hand reached up into his hair and began massaging through his locks. Peter turned a little pink; he always blushed when she stroked his hair. It was adorable.

Tiger Lily kissed his cheek gently. "You really want to marry me, huh?"

Peter smiled. "How can I not? You're always so cute."

She raised her eyebrow curiously. "Why am I so attractive to you in the first place?"

Peter snorted quietly. "Go look at yourself. You're gorgeous."

Tiger Lily blushed furiously and looked away instinctively. "I-I'm not," she whispered sadly. "I was told from the other children in my village when I was young that I was ugly and only ugly. You're just lying."

"Then they were clearly just jealous of you."

Just when she looked up, Peter kissed her, causing Tiger Lily to start to moving her lips against his soft ones sensually. He cradled her head tenderly, pulling her in closer to him, and Tiger Lily put her arms around him, their foreheads now touching.

Then Peter pulled back, grinning at her quietly.

He then took her hand into his, his other hand on her shoulder. "When this is all over, when your marriage is broken off with your fiance and you can leave your village, would you really marry me?"

Tiger Lily already knew her answer. She had been thinking about it for the longest time.

"Yes."