DEEP SECRETS

My last Tinker Bell story (which was, up until now, my only one) was pretty dang sad, so I decided to write another story, this time with a much more uplifting ending. It's still notoriously sad, and full of sweet angst, but it ends on a much happier note this time. No offense to Terrence, but I think Bobble and Tink make a much cuter couple.

I still want to do a full-length TB story, with chapters, but when I'll write it depends on which ideas come to me, and how fast they are coming. If you have any suggestions, feel free to share!

Cookies and candy for the nice reviewers, and any flamers will be promptly escorted to the door. Thank you for dropping by, and happy reading!

Story © unicorn-skydancer08

All rights reserved.

There was an old saying, that love was the very best thing that could ever happen to someone…and the very worst. Bobble, otherwise known as Phineas T. Kettletree, Esquire, could honestly say that certainly applied to him. In the tinker fairy's own words, love was as sweet as the first spring rose, yet as sharp as the bitter sting of an angry bee.

Bobble had never exactly been a hit with women. He was tall, gawky, and gangling, with twig-like limbs, and thick chestnut hair that always stood up in different directions, despite his innumerable efforts to tame it. And he always went around wearing a pair of dewdrop glasses that made his eyes look well over ten times bigger than they were.

As far as love and romance was concerned, he was considered a drip.

Yet the young tinker had a secret love in his life: Tinker Bell, the most beautiful sprite in all of Pixie Hollow, at least in Bobble's eyes. The most beautiful flower, or the most gorgeous sunset, paled in comparison to her, he thought. Her hair was as gold as the brilliant sun, her eyes the deepest blue of the summer sky, and she had a smile that could light up even the darkest night. Aside from her physical attractiveness, Tink was the sweetest, funniest, most charming, most extraordinary girl Bobble had ever known.

There were precious few pixies at the Hollow that Bobble knew of who didn't like her, or think highly of her.

She was the best friend Bobble could ask for. Yet that was all she was—just a friend. And yet, Bobble longed and dreamed and even prayed to be more to Tink than a simple friend.

He wanted her to love him, the way he loved her. He felt he would gladly do anything for her, even give his very life for her. A world without Tink was like a world without air and sunshine.

He needed her, he simply needed her…and he wanted her to need him in return.

Yet for all his love for her, for all his dreams, hopes, and endless prayers, Bobble knew it was not to be. Tink deserved far more than some skinny, scrawny little scrap like him; besides, she already had someone else. Terrence, the official Dust-Keeper of the Hollow's sanctified pixie dust, was the lucky guy. He and Tink went together like bark on a tree, or so everyone said. Bobble had met with Terrence personally on more than one occasion, and while Terrence would never top the list of Bobble's most favorite people, Bobble couldn't very well hate him, either. Terrence was a friendly enough guy, a little on the quiet side, but thoughtful and considerate. He obviously cared for Tink, for he was constantly treating her like royalty, but never in an impertinent or condescending manner. He did pretty much everything Tink asked him to do, without hesitation or a single word of complaint.

Tink seemed to care very much about Terrence, too. At least she looked happy, whenever she was with him.

As much as Bobble yearned to have Tink for his own, he knew he couldn't spoil things for her and Terrence, just to satisfy his own wants and needs. Even when he was alone with Tink, in the Tinker's Nook, and she sat right there next to him, brushing occasionally against him as they worked, Bobble dared not make a move for her. Doing so would be downright selfish, treacherous, disloyal and double-crossing—and betraying Tink was something Bobble would never do for all the gold and jewels and acorn cakes in the world.

Thus, the poor fool was compelled to keep his hands and emotions to himself, to hold his tongue and remain silent, to only admire Tink from a distance.

Even if Terrence wasn't in the picture, what did Bobble have to offer Tink, anyhow? He was nothing special. He wasn't very strong, or swift, or handsome, or clever, or intelligent. He was not a pixie of high position. He was just a simple tinker. Bobble thought it all over, again and again, and he always came to the same conclusion: it just wouldn't work.

As deeply as it wounded his heart to have Tink so close and yet so far from him, he knew he was not the one who mattered.

Therefore, Bobble put forth his most gallant efforts to conceal what he was feeling inside, and he went about his own personal business as always.

Despite his endeavors, however, his staying power was like the sand on the beach, when the tide rolled in—it weakened a bit more with every day. Every time he saw Tink, Bobble's mouth got a little drier, his knees wobbled a little more, his heart beat a little faster. Once, he came dangerously close to spilling his guts to Tink, when she was right there in front of him, and everything would have been ruined had Clank not butted into the scene, as was typical of him. And for once, Bobble was genuinely glad his old mate had interfered.

This secret-keeping and painful pining continued for more days than Bobble cared to number, until one warm night, it came about that Bobble found himself seated alongside Tink on one of the topmost limbs of a tree that overlooked Spring Valley. Bobble had originally intended to be up here alone, where he could meditate in peace, and Tink had simply flown up to him out of the blue and asked if she could join him for a minute, just to get away from everyone and everything else. Bobble couldn't very well refuse her, so he'd dutifully slid to the side, so as to provide a little more room. "Thanks, Bobble," was all Tink said as she took her seat next to him.

"No problem, Tink," was all he could bring himself to say, in his richly accented voice.

Tink had always loved Bobble's accent. She loved the way her friend spoke with such a charming twang, like a set of guitar strings being plucked. While most of Tink's other friends wouldn't consider Bobble the dashing type, he was handsome to her, especially in this light. Just looking at him sent a small shiver crawling down her backbone, and made her stomach flutter, as if a swarm of butterflies were trapped inside it. But it was more than just his outer looks. There was also a feeling of warmth and charisma about him that really drew her attention to him.

He was among the first fairies Tink had ever known when she came to the Hollow, and she felt better around him than anyone else. In some ways, she felt Bobble understood her better than all the other fairies in the Hollow did, including Silvermist, Fawn, Iridessa, even Terrence. Bobble was always there for her when she needed him. He was always there to talk to her, to comfort her when she was feeling down or lonely, and most importantly, he treated her like a perfectly normal pixie, rather than some high-and-mighty queen, or a lowly tinker.

But lately, it seemed to Tink that Bobble had been going out of his way to avoid her, more often.

He would never say anything; he'd simply look at her, with a queer look on his face that Tink couldn't quite distinguish, and he'd take off within the twinkling of an eye, as if anxious to get away from her. He talked to her less frequently, and even on the occasions when she managed to strike up a proper conversation with him, he hardly said more than ten words at a time. And Tink didn't know if it was just her, but she thought Bobble looked slightly thinner than usual, a little paler, as if he were coming down with something unpleasant, or as if he hadn't been eating or sleeping nearly as well as he should.

Bobble tried to pay no mind to the feelings that churned relentlessly within him as they sat there under the moon, but it was like trying to ignore a knife that had been thrust deep into his chest. Every time he looked at his love, the hidden knife was twisted a little deeper.

Having Tink beside him only drove his desire to have her to even greater heights, were such a thing possible.

He felt as if he were trapped.

In a way, he was trapped, with scarcely a way out…and Tink was never even aware of any of this.

That was what truly tormented Bobble, more than anything else.

If only Tink could somehow look right through him, if only she could see for herself the amount of love and the depth of devotion he held for her. Yet even as Bobble wished that, he rebuffed the wish. Oh, why, the young tinker inwardly groaned, resisting the temptation to pull at his unruly hair, why did it have to be like this? How long must he endure this?

How much pain and misery could one fairy take?

Bobble said not a word to Tink, but closed his eyes and dipped his head, so that she would not see his face. However, Tink could clearly see from the droop of his head, the slump of his shoulders, and his uncanny silence that he was deeply distressed about something. "Are you all right, Bobble?" she asked, her voice as soft and gentle as daisy petals.

He did not answer vocally, but when Tink reached out to take his hand, he immediately jerked it away, as though he'd just been burned.

Bobble kept his head bowed, but Tink saw his hand that he'd retracted rake distractedly through his jaunty chestnut locks, and maybe it was just the breeze in the leaves, but Tink could have sworn she heard Bobble release a tremulous sigh, as if he were ready to cry. "Bobble?" she said again, distraught herself to see him like this. "Bobble, what's wrong? Please tell me."

When Bobble did finally look up in the end, he spared Tink a brief sideways glance, and said in a somewhat hoarse voice, "I'm sorry, Tink."

Then, haltingly, he added, "Maybe…you know…just maybe, it would be better for the both of us if we didn't hang around each other anymore."

"What?" Tink gasped, looking as if Bobble had just slapped her face.

Bobble could have throttled himself on the spot for saying such a thing. But he resolutely pressed on.

"Nothing personal, lass, it's just…well…" He faltered, struggling to find the right words. "Well…we'd just be in each other's way," he blurted out miserably. "I mean, you already have Terrence, and you have Silvermist and Iridessa, and all those other bonnie friends of yours. What reason is there for me to stick around?"

"But you're my friend, too, Bobble," said Tink, now sounding hurt. "You and Clank are the first fairies I was able to make friends with. Can't I have my new friends, and still keep my old ones?"

Embarrassed and deeply ashamed, Bobble turned away and covered his face with his hands.

He struggled to hold back the tears that brewed inside his eyes, to suppress the sobs that were gathering force in his throat. He hated himself for what he was doing, but it was the only way out of this. He couldn't go on dodging Tink, as though she were constantly after him, couldn't live a life of lies and suppressed dreams and unfulfilled hopes.

And he certainly couldn't run away—or fly away, in this case—from the Hollow.

Where would he go, anyway? The Hollow was his home, the only home he had ever known; it was where he belonged.

This wasn't as simple as running away and hiding. Besides, only a coward would do such a thing.

"Why, Bobble?" Tink protested, her voice cracking noticeably. "Have I done something wrong? Why would you not want to be my friend anymore?"

It broke Bobble's heart to hear her speak this way. It especially wounded him to have her think this might be the result of something she had done.

That last part was simply too much for him to bear. It was the last strand on the spider's web. Without even realizing it, the words "I love you, Tink" burst from his mouth.

"What?" Tink blinked, unsure of whether she'd heard right. Did Bobble just say…?

"I love you, Tink," Bobble blurted again, lifting his face from his hands and looking at the girl in pure anguish. "By all the stars, I love you!"

Then, realizing with utmost horror what he'd just said, he immediately held his tongue and put a hand over his mouth.

But it was already too late.

Tink just sat there, staring, frozen, unable to speak a word. She couldn't have been more stunned than if she had seen Bobble sprout a second head, or discovered Vidia kissing Clank. Bobble felt his heart drop; his already sunken spirits plunged even further, and a horrible pain exploded inside of him.

Oh, dear heaven, what had he done?

"You…you love me?" Tink somehow managed to sputter.

His insides burning with guilt, his heart shattered to splinters, Bobble buried his face in his hands once more and abjectly turned away. "I'm sorry," he groaned into his palms. "But I can't help myself. I know I shouldn't be having these feelings, I know it's wrong—but I can't help it. I just can't help it! I'm so sorry, Tink. Forgive me." Unable to stay there anymore, feeling the desperate need to get away from Tink and from everything else, Bobble forthwith rose up and took off into the night, his wings beating like those of a terrified bird fleeing a predator.

That was when the spell of paralysis broke, and Tink called frantically after him, "Bobble! Bobble, wait!"

But Bobble never stopped, and he never once looked back.

The wretched pixie was too blinded by his own torturous grief to be aware of anyone or anything else around him. All he could do was fly at random, going wherever his wings took him.

After fluttering about for what seemed hours, or even an eternity, Bobble ultimately stopped by one of the ponds, where the clear, still water mirrored the moon, where water lilies bloomed at the deep end. There, he landed and collapsed onto the earth. Rather than get up again, he simply lay there and sobbed freely, letting his emotions flow with his tears.

Now he had done it. He had gone and blabbed his deepest, darkest, most intimate secret to Tink, the one secret he swore to never give voice to…and now everything was ruined. Tink would almost certainly never want to see him again, after an exploit like that. How could he ever face her again? How could he ever show his face around the Hollow again?

How could he bear the shame?

Oh, why, he agonized, why did he have to go and open his big, fat mouth? Clearly, his mouth was too big and too fat to be kept shut.

At a complete loss, all Bobble could truly do was lie there, having neither the will nor the strength to move, weeping harder than he ever had in his life. He wept until his lungs were sore, until his breath emerged from him in ragged hiccups, and his face became a sodden mess. But as he remained in that spot, he ultimately became aware that someone was hovering over him.

Sure enough, he felt a light hand upon his quivering shoulder, and his keen ears heard Tink's solicitous voice say, "Bobble?"

With a sharp gasp, Bobble jerked his head up to find her right there, kneeling at his side, having followed him all the way here. A look of gentle concern filled her eyes.

When Bobble saw her, he promptly hid his face from her, and broke down again.

"Oh, Tink, I'm sorry," he wailed despairingly. "I'm sorry!"

Without a word, Tink reached out and gathered her poor friend into her arms, and held him tightly, lulling him like a child. Bobble did not try to resist her this time, but rather sank against her and clung to her as a drowning man clinging to a rope in a storm-whipped sea. He sobbed repeatedly into her neck, "I'm sorry…forgive me…I'm sorry…forgive me…"

"Shhh," Tink whispered softly to him at length, as she began to stroke and caress him. "It's all right, Bobble. It's all right…"

"I'm sorry…"

"It's all right, Bobble. Really, it's all right. Shhhhh…shhh…"

Tink slowly and gently rocked her friend to and fro, rubbing his back and smoothing his disorderly hair. She even went so far as to kiss him on the crown of the head.

She thought back on all the times when Bobble would hug her and soothe her when she was upset; now, it was the other way around, and it was her turn to comfort him.

When it finally got to the point where Bobble had run out of tears and couldn't cry anymore, he drew back and dared to look directly into Tink's face, barely able to focus through the film of moisture that continued to swim in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Tink," he said, for what must have been the thousandth time. "You must think I'm a complete idiot, a downright nutcase."

"Oh, no," Tink gently contradicted, as she wiped his damp cheek. "I don't think anything of the sort, Bobble."

"Well, you should," said Bobble disconsolately. "We shouldn't be doing this, Tink. I shouldn't be doing this. I have no right to feel this way, no right to want you the way I do."

"But what's wrong with feeling like that, Bobble? I think it's extremely sweet."

"But, Tink, don't you understand? I'm not good enough for you. It would never work between us." Bobble paused, drawing in a rattling breath, and somehow managed to say, "Besides…you already have someone else. You're already involved with Terrence. I can't take that away from you. It would be horribly selfish of me. You deserve to be with the one you truly love."

A knowing smile crossed Tink's face.

"Well," she said, "when you put it that way, Bobble, you are absolutely right. I do deserve to be with the one I truly love." Then, to Bobble's utmost astonishment and disbelief, Tink, instead of flying away from him on the spot and leaving him, only pulled him close and hugged him again, saying, "And he is right here."

Bobble blinked. Did his ears hear right? Did Tink just say…surely she didn't mean…?

"Tink," he said disbelievingly, pushing away from her embrace, "what—what are you saying?"

What Tink said next made his heart stop, made the very world itself stop turning: "I love you, Bobble."

"What?" Now it was Bobble's turn to be utterly flabbergasted, to stare at Tink in pure shock.

Surely the girl had to be joking!

Yet the look in Tink's limpid blue eyes was anything but teasing, or mocking, or humorous in any manner.

Tink slid in a little closer, and repeated earnestly, "I love you, Bobble. I always have…and I've been wanting to tell you all this time, but I kept it quiet because…" She hesitated. "Well…because I was afraid," she admitted quietly. "And I meant to tell you my true feelings tonight, to make a clean breast of it; but of course, you beat me to it."

Bobble was dumbstruck. He wasn't even sure if this were really happening, or if it was all a dream.

When he at last salvaged his tongue and could speak, he protested, "But, what about Terrence? Don't you love him, Tink?"

"I do," said Tink truthfully. And then she added meaningfully, "But as a brother." She slid her hand into Bobble's, twining her fingers with his, as she went on, "You're the one I really want, Bobble."

"M-me?"

"Yes, you."

Bobble was at a loss of what to say, or what to think. While a part of him was ecstatic to hear that Tink loved him, another part of him was skeptical, and another part was genuinely afraid.

"But, lass," he said at length, "why? Why would you want to be with someone like me? I am but a simple tinker. I'm nobody special. Why should you care about me?"

The smile Tink offered him was enough to turn his insides into butter. She reached up with her free hand and laid it very lightly along Bobble's jawline; Bobble tensed up slightly at the contact, but found her touch strangely comforting, and very slowly began to relax. "But you are special, Bobble," said Tink warmly, her hand still on his face. "You are someone special, to me. You're honest, you're a hard worker, you're funny, you're kind, you're sweet, and you are easy to talk to—for the most part, anyway."

Despite himself, Bobble couldn't repress a weak chuckle at that last bit.

"You are always there for me, when I need you," Tink continued. "And most importantly, you love me for who I am. What more could I ask for?"

Bobble could feel her words literally washing through him; they melted something inside him, like the sun melting the snow, and the runoff welled up in his eyes. He could feel his terrible pain that threatened to destroy him before slowly ebbing away. Though he continued to tremble, he found himself trembling for an entirely different reason.

Tink edged even closer to him, until their mouths were only a mere inch part. Bobble was convinced he would pass out there and then, but the soft warmth of Tink's breath on his face felt so good. Almost involuntarily, he reached around her and folded her into his long, lean arms, and he slowly pressed his lips against hers, closing his eyes as he did so. Tink willingly gave in to the pressure, closing her eyes also. Soon the two fairies were caught up in a sweet, passionate kiss. Bobble felt a powerful surge in his blood, a burst of living fire, and was somewhat surprised that the heat didn't consume his very skin. He tightened his hold on Tink and poured his soul into the kiss, as did she; once they'd started, neither of them could very well stop.

They kissed, and they kissed again, every kiss melting into another. Bobble could feel Tink's hands playing with his chestnut hair, and he in return wove his hands into her soft sun-gold hair.

If only this moment could have lasted forever. How Bobble wished to never awaken from this perfect dream, even though a small part of his brain registered this to be the real thing.

When, in the end, the kissing finally ceased, when the spell had broken, Bobble said not a word, but only pulled Tink into his own lap and cradled her in his arms, and Tink readily nestled her head in the warm crook of his neck. "I love you," she whispered fervently to him again, with her face pressed to his neck.

And for the first time that night, for the first time in ages, a true smile spread over Bobble's face, as peace and joy and satisfaction bound up his broken heart, and he found he was no longer ashamed or afraid. "I always imagined you saying those words to me, lass," he crooned into her ear, "but I never believed I would live to hear you actually say them."

He kissed her temple, and concluded with, "I love you, too, Tink…my dear, sweet Tinker Bell."

- END -