I got the idea for this story after watching several of the Tinker Bell movies on Netflix. (They're tooth-rottingly sweet and I love them to bits.) After finishing the movies I had some cute scenes stuck in my head of fairy!Peter snuggling Wade and giving him little fairy kisses and I couldn't help myself.

I regret everything.

(Apologies beforehand if the tenses in this fic are weird. I have a problem with sticking to the same word tense throughout a chapter. I need an adult.)

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The crisp morning air brushed through Peter's hair and over his delicate wings as he flew through the forest, his eyelids drooping lazily. He was exhausted and moody, having spent the majority of the night before hunched over his work table, sketching plans for a new contraption onto a large oak leaf. While he'd normally sleep in until well past noon after a long night of inventing, the empty grumbling of his belly had roused him from his bed at dawn's first light.

After stumbling around his hidey hole for a few minutes getting ready, Peter had emerged from his tree den and set off into the forest in search of breakfast. Now he was zipping through the underbrush, mapping out the landscape and heading in the direction of a patch of berry bushes. Glancing at the ground as he flew, Peter smiled tiredly when he spotted several animals who were up and about, milling through the grass. At least he wasn't the only one awake at this hour.

Peter had just spotted a bunch of rowan berries down below when a blast of thunder cut through the forest, startling the fairy and woodland creatures, alike. Heart thumping in his chest, Peter hovered in place and tilted his head up to the sky, confused when he didn't spot any storm clouds. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Peter faced forward and listened carefully for any further sounds.

He didn't have to wait long.

Several smaller booms filtered through the trees moments later, the noises echoing around him. Turning his head toward the source of the sounds, Peter dropped out of the air to land quietly on the limb of a tree. Pressing his body to the tree's trunk, Peter placed his hands on the rough bark and leaned forward, trying to spot the cause of such a ruckus. He couldn't place the sounds which continued to filter through the forest, though now they were much softer in pitch. What could be causing them?

Peter breathed deeply as he stared into the thick brush, his sleepiness forgotten. He debated the merits of flitting over to investigate, his natural curiosity warring with his sense of self preservation. On the one hand, it might be perilous to go searching for the source of such noises, but on the other hand...Well, there wasn't really an 'other hand' in this situation. Loud booms tended to signify danger, like the roar of an angry animal or the harsh clap of thunder. It was highly unlikely that this situation would be any different.

However, despite his brain screaming at him that this was a very bad idea, Peter's curiosity won out. Jumping down from his hiding spot, he flew close to the ground and fluttered over the grass and fallen leaves, silent as a whisper. Heading in the direction of the noise, Peter turned his head side to side, searching the horizon for signs of anything strange.

He traveled for quite some time as he followed the sounds, moving deeper into the woods than he'd ever gone before. A nervous weight settled in his belly as he passed an odd patch of land, the grass and dirt stamped down as though trampled by an animal. Peter bit his lip but continued onward, unsure if he was getting any closer to the source of the booms. He could still hear them, but they were very faint and happening less frequently as time passed.

It wasn't long before human things began popping up around him, huge machines and other odds and ends becoming more pronounced against the backdrop of the forest. Peter bit his lip nervously as he passed them, his gut screaming at him to turn around and go home. He ignored it and continued onward, looking toward the horizon to see more human things settled in a clearing up ahead. A large structure loomed at its center, the darkly painted walls surrounded by wooden boxes and other items Peter couldn't identify.

The fairy's wings fluttered delicately as he came to a stop, perching lightly on a branch. Peter scanned the area for signs of humans, remembering how Uncle Ben had warned him that buildings usually meant people were nearby. He couldn't see any wandering through the trees at the moment, but that didn't necessarily mean that there weren't any around. Just to be sure, he strained his ears to listen for the sounds of voices or footsteps, but the woods were eerily silent. Even the booms had quieted.

Peter's breathing picked up as he anxiously shifted on the branch, his mind racing with possibilities. Something clearly wasn't right here, not to mention how he still couldn't tell where the noises had originated. Curious but wary, Peter decided to play it safe for now and continued forward at a snail's pace.

Ducking back and forth behind leaves and the human things littering the ground, he only paused long enough to pop his head up to scan for incoming people. As he got closer to the compound, his eyes were drawn to an open doorway leading into the building. The door was missing and the wall surrounding the hole was covered in dark soot and scorch marks, the obvious signs of fire giving Peter pause. He could see a soft light spilling out through the doorway, but couldn't make out much of the inside from his vantage point behind the tree line.

Peter glanced around once more to check for humans before gathering his courage and making his way toward the entrance. He was halfway to the building when a bright patch of crimson caught his eye. Glancing down, Peter came to a stop above the puddle, tilting his head as he noticed it leading away toward one of the big human machines nearby.

He followed the trail of red around to the opposite side of the machine, only to jerk back fearfully when he came upon a human lying in the dirt beside it. Peter gasped and fled back the way he'd come, hovering behind a piece of metal that jutted out of the machine's front. The fairy pressed himself close to his cover, listening for movement and hoping that he hadn't been seen.

Seconds passed in heavy silence, no noise coming from the human. Peter swallowed and peeked around the edge of his hiding place, his eyes watching the man carefully. To his surprise the human remained completely still, his limbs resting heavily in the dirt.

Peter's gaze travelled over the body, his mind desperate for answers. He noted the man's dark clothing, ashen face, and the splashes of crimson that crisscrossed them in random patterns. Shock flowed through Peter as realization slowly dawned on him, morbid curiosity drawing him out of hiding and over to the human. As he came closer to the body his suspicions were confirmed, the smell of fresh blood surrounding the corpse like a thick blanket.

Peter covered his mouth in horror and flew up and away from the body. From his new vantage point high in the air, Peter turned in place and gazed at the open expanse of land surrounding the structure. Terror gripped his heart as he spotted additional bodies among the scattered human things, all of them twisted into grotesque positions and bathed in blood. Peter gripped his shirt nervously as tears gathered in his eyes. What on Earth had happened here?

Once more, Peter debated on whether he should continue searching or just leave well enough alone and head back into the forest. Whatever had caused the noises earlier had probably killed all of the humans, so it was clearly something he didn't want to meet. But then again, what if some of the people here were still alive? What if they were hurt and couldn't find help?

Peter knew it was dangerous for fairies to approach humans since it put them at risk of capture, but he couldn't just turn his back on living creatures if they were in trouble. The humans here may need his help, and despite his fear, Peter knew it was his duty to do all he could to assist any remaining people.

A quick trip around the outside of the building turned up nothing but corpses, which left Peter no choice but to enter the structure and continue his search inside. He flew over to the building's entrance and hovered near the doorframe, listening for any signs of life. After several tense moments of nothing but the sound of his own breathing and the soft hum of his wings, Peter steeled his resolve and flew over the threshold.

He found himself in a vast open room filled with blood, bodies, and more human trinkets. Peter didn't recognize most of the items thrown about the room and had no idea what they were or how they were used. The desire to inspect and investigate the human things bubbled up inside him, but Peter tamped it down and instead searched the room for life. When he found nothing but grim faces and mangled limbs, he moved along to the next area, solemn and scared.

Room after room, Peter was met with death and destruction. The walls of the compound were peppered with soot and cracks in the concrete, and some even sported a few holes. Small fires burned throughout the building, the smell of charred skin and clothing almost too much to bear. Peter covered his mouth and nose with his hands as he flew from one side of the structure to the other, his hopes of finding anyone alive depleting with each new room.

Once he reached the far corner of the building, Peter noticed a stairwell leading down to another floor. The door was thrown open and sitting at an odd angle, and the light down below was flickering in and out. Peter flew through the doorway and down the stairs, landing silently on the last step before running to the edge and peering around the landing to get a look at the new location.

The room smelled strongly of an odor Peter had never encountered, the acidic stench burning his nose and throat and making his eyes water. His hands weren't enough to save him from the smell, so Peter lifted his shirt to cover his nose instead. It helped, but not by much. The fairy's stomach rolled as he breathed in, making him groan pitifully into the material of his shirt. He'd have to search this floor quickly so he could get back outside and to fresh air.

Hopping off the step and onto the shiny floor below, Peter moved around the corner and into the room proper, his eyes scanning for humans. Though it was difficult with the flickering light above, Peter spotted a few people in bright white coats lying on the floor, their bodies scattered between metal tables and tangled up in strange vines that hung from tall, skinny poles. None of them were moving.

Peter took to the air to get a better view, a splash of red amongst the sea of white instantly catching his attention. He fluttered over to it and landed nearby, studying the strange creature he'd found.

Peter didn't know what he was looking at. The creature was currently splayed out on its back on the floor, its form appearing human with long legs and muscular arms. But unlike humans, it was covered in an oddly textured skin that was bright red with accents of black. The head, too, was abnormal, covered in the same crimson flesh with two patches of black where eyes should be.

He had never seen anything like this before. He wondered what it was doing here among the humans. Was it a friend? A pet? Whatever it was, it was clear from its many injuries and the stillness of its chest that Peter was too late to save it.

Tears spilled over the fairy's cheeks and onto his shirt as he turned away to glare at the floor, the shiny surface reflecting his morose image back up at him. He'd searched the entire building and couldn't find a single human who was still alive. He hadn't seen anything that could have made the loud sounds from earlier, either, so this entire endeavor had been for naught.

Peter sniffled as he watched his reflection, staring at his own tear stained face. He lowered his shirt back into place and wiped his cheeks, the scent in the room spiking unpleasantly. Peter wrinkled his nose and stretched his wings in preparation for flight, eyes still cast downward, when he was startled by a sudden loud inhale beside him.

Jumping back and staring wide-eyed at the red creature's body, Peter watched it take a deep breath, its limbs twitching absently. He backed away as the body continued to move, the head turning slightly in Peter's direction. With a squeak Peter ran to the nearest table and hid behind one of its legs, confusion and shock making his limbs quiver. He watched as the creature rolled onto its stomach with a grunt and climbed to its feet, its large black hands wiping dirt and debris from its front.

Peter's mouth fell open and he stared up at the creature as it stood tall, glancing around the room with eyes that were a stark white against the black and red of its face. As his shock faded into incredulity, Peter realized that he had been wrong.

This thing was alive.