I want to straighten out my timeline before I start.
Great Fairy Rescue was obviously in Summer - then Secret of the Wings was in End of Fall/ Early Winter.
So this story is starting in the end of Spring/early Summer - following the events of the Pirate Fairy.
Enjoy!
Tinkerbell smiled confidently as she put the final touches on her latest invention.
"Is it ready Tink?"
"Almost Zarina! The blue pixie dust dropper will be ready for production as soon as I put this last piece on."
Tink adjusted the base of the dropper and added the last piece of twine to hold it together.
"There…finished!" Tink wrote down her last notes on the blueprints, rolled it up, and tucked it inside the dropper.
Zarina turned from her worktable, her red hair flowing wildly behind her.
"It's perfect! Just like the one I made on Pirate Island!"
"But pixie sized of course!" Tink laughed.
Zarina got up and carefully lifted the dropper. She examined it with a smile.
"It's just perfect Tink! Thank you! Now the other fairies will be able to learn a lot faster."
"I'm just happy you're allowed to do this! The other fairies deserve to see your talent."
There was a knock on the door. Many fairies came to visit Zarina's official workroom ever since Fairy Gary made her the official Alchemy teacher, so this was normal during Tink's frequent visits.
"It's open!" Zarina called.
The door opened slowly. Tink's heart fell into her stomach. Except that...that's not normal
"Knock knock…" Terrence the dustkeeper poked his head into the room.
"Hi Terrence!" Zarina beamed. "You have my delivery?"
"Right here." He smiles, holding up a large sack of pixie dust.
"Bring it over here to my supply table."
Tink tried to look busy with her dropper as Terrence passes. They hadn't talked much since Tink had been "kidnapped" by Elizabeth last summer. She didn't spend much time with him in Fall or Winter either. As she pretended to tinker she could feel Terrence staring at her. Zarina was going on about what she was going to do with this new supply of pixie dust.
"Terrence…Terrence!" Zarina snapped her fingers at him.
"Huh what?"
Tink glanced in their direction and noticed Zarina looking back and forth between them curiously.
"Is something going on here?"
"What?! No!" Tink exclaimed.
"N-no what?" Terrence stammered.
"You two didn't even acknowledge each other."
"I've learned not to bother Tink when she's working haha." Terrence laughed dryly.
Tink didn't reply. Thank you? I think?
Zarina raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Alright then…"
"Well I should be going. Lots of other deliveries to make!" Terrence scratched his head and strode towards the door. "See you later Zarina!"
Tink bit her lip as the door slammed shut. She glanced at Zarina, who casually peaked out the window at Terrence then spun back to Tink.
"What was that?!"
"What was what? What?"
Zarina laughed loudly. "He literally couldn't stop looking at you from the second he walked through the door! Did you two break up or something?!"
"What are you talking about?! We were never…together!"
"Are you kidding me?! Most of Pixie Hollow thought you were an item! At leas that's what I heard before I left!"
Tink furiously tried to hide her blush. "That's ridiculous!"
Zarina laughed again and took a seat. She put her chin in her hands.
"Sooooo...what's the deal?"
"What deal? There's no deal!"
"Honestly Tink? You guys are obviously crazy about each other!"
"That's...that's insane. Terrence is my friend! ...was my friend..."
"Why did you guys stop hanging out?"
"Well...I...he and I...just stopped...after I spent time with Lizzie..."
"The human?"
"Ya that one...and I don't know he's under a lot of pressure because he's training to be head dustkeeper after Fairy Gary's...ya know...lights go out..."
"That's a long ways away, and besides we all know you're going to be Head Tinker someday! It'd be cute if you two were together."
"How would it be cute?!"
"Uh helloooooo, have you seen Queen Clarion and Lord Milori? Cutest couple ever!"
"They're different! They fell in love years ago...like...many years ago. Terrence and I aren't like that."
"But you could be like that."
Tink shook her head and stood up. "You've obviously inhaled too much pixie dust. You're losing it Zarina."
"Really? Ask anyone i dare you."
Tink felt her cheeks burning red. She wasn't sure if it was her normal frustration or a blush.
"I will not! I'm going back home for the day."
"Ah Ah Ah..." Zarina lifted up the dropper. "You have to make a delivery to Fairy Gary. He requested we get his approval before turning this over to the Tinkers."
Tink tried to protest but Zarina cut her off.
"Fairy Gary is up at the Pixie Dust tree..." Zarina mused. "Which means his apprentice will probably be there too..."
Tink took the dropper and shot Zarina a defeated look. The alchemist grinned back at her deviously.
"Have funnnnnn."
Tink grumbled under her breath as she left Zarina's workroom and headed to the dreaded pixie dust tree.
"Ah Tinkerbell! So lovely to see you!"
Terrence froze and bit his lip as Fairy Gary greeted Tink. Keep it together Terrence. She's just here to deliver something...besides...you're old friends
Terrence scooped a cup of pixie dust into the sack he was filling and tied it shut. He carefully got to his feet and tried to get away unnoticed.
"TERRENCE!" Fairy Gary boomed. "Look who's here! Tinkerbell! Isn't she a sight for sore eyes?"
Terrence forced a smile and turned in their direction. His smile faltered when he saw Tink staring at him blankly.
"Well aren't ya going to say hi Tink?" Fairy Gary chuckled.
"Hi Terrence." Tink gave a weak smile and turned back to Fairy Gary. "I brought the blue pixie dust dropper for your approval."
"Well let's have a look at it then!"
Terrence watched as Tink held the dropper up to Fairy Gary and showed him the blueprints.
"It's pretty simple to use. Alchemy students will just have an easier time distributing the dust into their experiments..."
Tink's voice began to fade away as Terrence stared at her. This happened to Terrence a lot, at least whenever Tink was around. He always found himself watching the way she moved when she talked. The way she used her hands when she spoke, the way her eyebrows creased when she described her inventions, how quickly her lips moved, how cute she looked in her dress...
"My Terrence! You're red a a beet! Are you alright!"
Terrence looked down at his shoes imediately and scratched behind his ear. "What no I'm just a bit um...toasty that's all. Summer's around the corner haha..." He took his chances and glanced up at Tink. She immediately looked away.
"I should be going then. I want to have tinkers working on these right away. Thank you Fairy Gary!"
She flew away faster than Terrence had ever seen. He shook his head and sighed.
So much for old friends then...
"Is there something I should know about Terrence?" Fairy Gary crossed his arms.
"What? No of course not!"
"Because if she becomes head of the Tinker fairies one day...I would hope there isn't anything bad between you. The Tinkers and the Dustkeepers need each other. They're the key to keeping our workflow prospering."
"Nothing's wrong Fairy Gary...I swear...we've just...grown apart. That's all..."
"Well my boy...if I were you...I'd grow closer again. At least for Pixie Hollow's sake."
Terrence clenched his teeth and nodded.
No pressure...or anything...the entire tinker/dustkeeper fairy relationship is resting on the shoulders of you're crush on Tinkerbell...
Woooooo first chapter! Let me know what you guys think!
I want to try to maintain an even balance between points of view but it may lean more on Tink most of the time.
Thanks for reading!