In spite of Gentle Heart's best attempts, Swift Heart and Cheer Bear clung to her all afternoon. She desperately wanted to head back and check up on Bright Heart, but knew that she'd never have another moment's peace from either one of them if she tried.
As it was, a second's peace seemed like a distant, unrealizable, dream. Swift Heart and Cheer interrogated Gentle Heart for hours, digging, prodding, and probing for anything they would consider "juicy." Gentle Heart had the feeling she was disappointing them, but somehow wasn't feeling all that bad about it. As it was, their questions, their suggestions were so invasive, so personal, so—so…mortifying that it was Gentle Heart could do not to keel over from shock and embarrassment.
"Do you think Bright Heart's 'cute'?" Swift Heart asked. "Do you fantasize about him at all?"
"Have you thought about where you'd go on dates?" Cheer added. Gentle Heart moaned silently, still blushing beyond measure. Would it never end?
"Gentle Heart!" She whirled in surprise to see Tenderheart heading their way. "I've been looking all over for you." Spying her red face and her companions, he managed to put two and two together. "All right you two, that's enough. Leave Gentle Heart alone."
"Aww…" Cheer pouted.
"You're no fun at all, Tenderheart." Swift Heart chided. "How often do we get to grill a Cousin in love? You don't know what you're missing!" Gentle Heart surprised Tenderheart by somehow managing to blush even darker, something he would not have thought possible.
"One day it might be you on the grill." Tenderheart warned Swift Heart. "Then maybe you'd be glad if someone came and pulled you off it. Besides," he added with a grin. "I think Grumpy was looking for you over at the Hall of Hearts. He looked a bit put out that you weren't there." Swift Heart didn't blush like Gentle Heart did, but it was clear that the shot hit home.
Cheer unsuccessfully tried to stifle a giggle. Tenderheart turned to her. "And I think Champ Bear was expecting you to help him set up his new exercise room. I don't think you'd want to disappoint him." Cheer's expression was a dead ringer for the one on Swift Heart.
Presented with other places to be, both of them left in a hurry. Tenderheart smiled and turned back to Gentle Heart only to have his next words preempted as Gentle Heart flung her arms around him and hugged him as a drowning man would a lifeline.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She exclaimed jubilantly, her head practically buried in his chest.
"ERK! Gentle Heart as happy as I am to see you, I still need to breathe!" Tenderheart wheezed, his lungs in danger of being crushed.
"Sorry." Gentle Heart said as she released him. "But you saved my life! You're a hero!" She pecked him once on the cheek. Tenderheart regarded her with surprise; she usually wasn't this outgoing.
"You may want to save that for Bright Heart," Tenderheart smiled. It turned into a frown when Gentle Heart flushed. "I didn't mean to embarrass you—"
"It's okay." Gentle Heart said softly. "I guess the whole Kingdom of Caring will know once Cheer and Swift Heart are through." Tenderheart shook his head.
"They know better. But the question is, what are you going to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well if you have these…feelings for Bright Heart maybe you should talk to him about them?"
"I couldn't do that!" Gentle Heart protested, her expression one of shock.
"Why not? Have you ever thought that he might feel the same way?" Gentle Heart shook her head, whether it was in response to the former question or the latter, Tenderheart didn't know.
"Bright Heart wouldn't…I mean he couldn't…"
"You don't think Bright Heart could think of you in the same way that you think of him?" Tenderheart finished, wondering slightly at just how many times he had ended up finishing someone else's thought because they couldn't.
Gentle Heart nodded morosely. "He's so smart and wonderful and special and I'm…not. Why would he possibly see in me?"
"I think you're selling yourself short." Tenderheart admonished her. "And Bright Heart too. You're really special Gentle Heart. I know it and so does Bright Heart. Talk to him. You'll see."
"I-I just can't." She said meekly as she turned away from him. "I have to go. Thanks again." She said again as she walked away leaving Tenderheart alone, shaking his head.
This was going to be harder than he thought.
The next two weeks were a trying time for everybody. Tenderheart divided his time between trying to convince Gentle Heart to talk to Bright Heart (and vice versa) and his regular duties. It was exhausting.
Despite his best efforts, Gentle Heart absolutely refused to so much as even broach the subject with Bright Heart and Bright Heart wasn't much better about it. They both danced around the subject with each other, talking about anything and everything else.
Tenderheart felt like screaming in frustration.
Whenever Gentle Heart wasn't on Caring Missions, she was with Bright Heart. She spent the night with him on two separate occasions, twice falling asleep in the chair she had parked next to his bed. Tenderheart was having trouble trying to keep this under wraps. People were starting to talk.
Playful Heart, showing his usual tact and maturity, was planning to ask Harmony Bear to sing "Bright Heart and Gentle Heart Sitting in a Tree…" Playful Heart abandoned that plan after Tenderheart threatened to ban April Fools Day for the next ten years.
Still, he couldn't stop them from speculating. Thankfully, neither Gentle Heart nor Bright Heart were aware from it. Tenderheart was fairly sure they'd have both died from embarrassment and whatever relationship they might have had would've died before it was ever even born.
He couldn't help shake the feeling that Grams, who had so far held aloof from the speculation and gossip, was planning something. Tenderheart didn't know what, but he did know that he didn't want to be in Bright Heart or Gentle Heart's place.
Bright Heart was happy that Gentle Heart continued to visit, but saw that something was bothering Gentle Heart. But whenever he asked about it, she would act evasive and change the subject. It wasn't like her.
He considered talking about what he had discussed with Tenderheart, but couldn't think of the right way to bring it up. Bright Heart felt that he needed to do it at just the right time…if you had asked Tenderheart he would've told you that Bright Heart's idea of the right time was something along the lines of never.
Try as he might, Tenderheart just couldn't get it into their heads that best thing to do would simply be to talk to each other about how they felt. For Care Bear Cousins, you think this would be second nature to them. But in all fairness, Tenderheart conceded, this wasn't quite the same thing as what they did on Earth.
Truth was, he didn't know what to do anymore than Bright Heart or Gentle Heart did. He told Noble Heart and True Heart as much when they had him over for lunch one day.
"I don't know what else to do." Tenderheart admitted. "They both talk to me, but they wont talk to each other."
"That's a shame." Noble Heart sighed. "I can't say I'm surprised though."
"Maybe you should let them come to terms with their feelings on their own." True Heart suggested. Tenderheart just shook his head.
"I don't think so. The two of them are as frustrated with this as I am. They want to talk, to have someone to help them through this but neither one of them wants to talk to Love-a-Lot or anyone else who actually knows what their doing!" True Heart drummed her fingers on the table.
"If that's the case, perhaps Noble Heart and I should talk to them. We've been where they are. We're probably the only ones here who have."
"It's a good idea." Noble Heart agreed. "Should we talk to them together or separately?"
"I think one on one talk is best for now." True Heart answered. "I'll talk to Bright Heart while you have a word with Gentle Heart."
"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" True Heart shook her head at Noble Heart's question.
"Right now I think they need to understand what the other is feeling and why they're having trouble expressing. I think I could help Bright Heart understand what Gentle Heart's going through a little better than you could. This'll be hard enough as it is, we don't need it complicated further by one guy explaining to another guy what a girl's feeling when neither one of them really knows what she's feeling in the first place. The reverse is also true."
"If you say so." Noble Heart said, trying to keep it all straight. "You think I could explain to Gentle Heart what Bright Heart's feeling better than I could explain to Bright Heart what Gentle Heart's feeling?" True Heart nodded.
"Exactly."
"I suppose you may have a point there." Noble Heart turned to Tenderheart. "Maybe you should go lie down for a bit. You look exhausted." Tenderheart nodded, grateful for the reprieve.
"Thanks Noble Heart. Good luck!" You're gonna need it. He added mentally. After he had left, Noble Heart turned back to True Heart.
"Shall we go?"
"Let's. I think you'll find Gentle Heart having lunch in the Hall of Hearts."
"And you'll find Bright Heart…at the same place he's been for the last two weeks." Noble Heart said. "At least you won't have to look far."
The two of them walked to the Hall of Hearts before they spilt up and went their separate ways. Sure enough, Noble Heart found Gentle Heart finishing her lunch. She had been about to head back to Bright Heart's side when Noble Heart laid a paw on her shoulder.
"Can we talk?"
