Marching Orders

Pairing: Peter Pevensie x Male!Reader

Requested: Yes

Request(s): “Peter pensive x male reader with the prompt “you look like you’re going to fall asleep on your feet.” And if you can add that he’s an archer I will love you forever ’’ + “Dude the ‘you look like you’re about to fall asleep on your feet’ gives me major peter pevensie vibes” + “Could I request a Peter (chronicle of narnia) where male reader goes to narnia with Peter and his siblings but takes place after defeating the white witch and they are all the kings and queens. Maybe Peter or the reader are having a hard time with all the pressure of ruling and they comfort and encourage each other and regain confidence”

A/N: I had a few similar prompts so I decided to combine them. I ended up going with before the witch’s defeat since it fit a little better for all of the prompts.

—–

Things had been… strange… since you and the Pevensie siblings had arrived in Narnia, and that went beyond the fact that animals had started talking and magic was real. As startling as those things had been, things had changed so quickly that you didn’t know what to do.

Edmond had been kidnapped by the White Witch and Aslan had given his life to get him back and now the five of you were expected to lead a war and eventually rule the country.

You’d excused yourself from the bonfire in the center of Cair Paravel, making the excuse of taking a turn keeping watch, if only to get away from the crowd for a few minutes. You took up post atop a hill a short way from camp, fingers trailing absent-mindedly across the feathers of the arrows in your quiver as you watched the horizon for any sign of the White Witch’s troops making a move before dawn brought the start of the battle between the Narnians and the White Witch’s army.

You sat there for what felt like a long while, though you weren’t sure whether it had been hours or minutes, before a rustling in the brush behind you startled you from your reverie.

Without a second thought, you nocked an arrow into your bow as you whirled to face the threat, tension easing from your shoulders as your best friend emerged from the shadows with his hands raised placatingly.

“Sorry,” Peter said, directing his usual warm grin at you, charming as always without ever even knowing it. “Didn’t mean to startle you; I just wanted to talk to you.”

You huffed, releasing the pressure on your bow string and replacing the arrow into your quiver. “Probably shouldn’t sneak up on someone with a weapon,” you said, turning back to the area you’d been overlooking.

Peter chuckled, moving to sit beside you. “Probably not,” he agreed easily, the setting sun gleaming off his hair and making it look almost like a halo. You shook off the thought, knowing that even if you were planning on telling Peter how you felt about him, now certainly wasn’t the time. Not with everything looming ahead of you.

“It’s kind of strange, isn’t it? It wasn’t so long ago that we were playing hide and seek and croquet and now…” he trailed off, sounding a little wistful at the thought of how easy your lives had been.

You nodded, trailing a finger over the smoothed wood grain of your bow, “I don’t know how to do this,” you said quietly. “I don’t know how to be a general or defeat a witch or rule a country.”

“I don’t either,” Peter agreed, scooting a little closer and resting his head against your shoulder.

As close as the two of you had always been, this was a side of Peter that you’d never seen before. He’d always been confident and brave and smart and kind, but he’d never been very open about his feelings. You suspected that he worried that he wouldn’t be taken seriously if he was, especially by his siblings. You knew that back in the real world, Peter was always straining to be a man that his father would have been proud of, but now as you looked at him, you knew that he was.

You tensed a little as you felt his fingers brush against yours and your breath caught in your throat as he took your hand in his. Heat rose in your cheeks as you felt his eyes on your face, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look down at him, not knowing what you might find in his brilliant blue eyes.

A long moment passed as you let yourself enjoy the closeness before you finally forced yourself to speak. “You should probably go to bed,” you said softly, slowly withdrawing your hand from his and shifting away slightly. “You’ve been looking like you’re going to fall asleep on your feet for days.”

Peter nodded slowly, straightening up with an odd look on his face as he looked at you. He took a deep breath, seemingly hesitating over whether to say something or not. Eventually he seemed to make his decision, “Come with me?”

It took you a moment to realize what your best friend had asked you, but your surprised look must have been enough to have him needing to explain himself.

“I-” Peter stammered, “With everything that’s going on- I just worry about everyone- especially you, and I think I’d feel better having you closer and-”

You chuckled a little at Peter’s increasingly frantic explanations, “Pete?” you interrupted, grinning as he stopped, looking at you. “It’s okay, I’ll come with you.”

Peter smiled at you, ducking his head to hide the light blush coloring his cheeks and leading you back through the camp and into his tent.

Once the flap of the tent fell closed behind the two of you Peter seemed to hesitate, standing frozen in the middle of the space like he was lost in his thoughts. You left him to his thoughts, busying yourself with setting aside your bow, quiver, and armor. Eventually you turned back to look at him once you were down to your tunic and breeches, unsure as to what he would want from you now that he had you here.

Peter shot you a weary grin as he sat down on the edge of his bed, kicking off his boots before moving to lay down the rest of the way. He faltered for a moment before patting the space next to him, clearly nervous.

You moved slowly to lie beside him, like you expected him to change his mind. He didn’t, instead shifting onto his side to face you with a faint smile, blue eyes looking almost electric in the dim lighting.

“I’m glad you’re here with me,” he said softly, reaching out to take your hand in his again. “I don’t know that I’d have been able to do this without you.”

“Yeah you could have,” you replied, lips twisting up fondly as you looked at him. “You’re the strongest person I know.”

Peter let out a disbelieving laugh, tucking his face against the pillow sheepishly, “I’m only strong because I know I’ve got you watching my back.” He trailed off after a moment and the two of you drifted into a comfortable silence. After a few minutes Peter shifted closer to you, resting his head on your chest. “In case tomorrow doesn’t go well, I just want you to know how I feel about you.” He took a deep breath and you could feel his hand shaking slightly in yours, “I love you.” He was quick to backtrack, “Not just as a friend, but as more than that. You’re my best friend, my partner in crime, the one person I can count on no matter what. I’ll understand if this-” he gestured between the two of you slowly, “isn’t something you’re interested in, but-”

You cut him off with a soft huff of laughter, leaning in to kiss him gently. It only lasted a few seconds before you pulled away, tugging your joined hands up to press a kiss to his knuckles. “I love you too, Pete,” you grinned.

A stunned smile crossed his lips as he looked at you, adoring blue eyes tracing over your features like he couldn’t believe you were really here. “I’m not dreaming, right?”

You shook your head, laughing quietly. “No, you’re not dreaming.”

“Good,” he hummed, stealing another quick kiss before helping pull a blanket over the two of you and settling back down with his head on your chest again. “If I was, I wouldn’t want to wake up.”

“No, this is real,” you smiled, bringing a hand up to run gently through his hair, “We’rereal.”

Peter yawned quietly, curling closer to you. “After we beat the witch tomorrow, I’m gonna take you on a date- a real one. Dinner and candles and all of that.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” you replied, smiling as you watched Peter’s breathing slow and him drift off to sleep. Eventually his breathing and warmth coaxed you off to sleep as well, letting you both have a few restful hours of sleep before dawn would bring with it the battle against the White Witch’s army to decide Narnia’s fate.