Valentine's day in the Hundred Acre Wood was a lot of things. Chaotic, disorganized, frantic. But for once, Rabbit thought, it wouldn't bother him. While everyone else was sure to be running around the entire forest trading cards, making things for one another, he would be enjoying a perfectly planned day with Tigger. The thought of what he and Tigger had become still made his cheeks warm. It hadn't been long since his confession. Rabbit thumbed the golden locket that hung around his neck, smiling as the warmth spread from his cheeks to his chest. He looked over his schedule once more while on the other side of the wood, a very excited Tigger sat in front of a potted carrot.
Tigger was more excited than ever about this particular Valentine's Day. The gift that he'd given Rabbit before would be blown out of the water when he presented him with this genuine, home grown carrot. One that Tigger had nourished himself from seed to harvest. Gardening had never really tickled Tigger's fancy before; but then, bouncing never tickled Rabbit's fancy either and he'd indulged Tigger more than a few times already. He wanted to prove he could reciprocate as well as prove that growing vegibibbles is yet another thing Tiggers do best. The pot sat on a wooden table in front of his window where it would get the proper sunlight it needed to grow. Tigger smiled down at the massive leaves of the carrot's stem.
"Why, with a head of hair like that it's just gotta be the bestest carrot ol Long Ear'll ever see!" Tigger proclaimed.
Unable to contain his excitement any longer, he grabbed the leaves of the carrot that fanned out even over the sides of the pot and pulled. Out of the soil came… the tiniest carrot that Tigger had seen yet. Almost smaller than a baby carrot, its incredible stem contrasted its miniscule size.
"What the…? What's going on here?!" Tigger shouted.
Tigger dejectedly set the carrot back into the soil and sighed. He couldn't give this dinky little carrot to Rabbit!
Tigger paced around the room, racking his brain for anything that Rabbit might've said helps a plant grow… He remembered… something about feeding it, giving it enough light, talking to it, and "aerating" the soil. Whatever that meant.
"Feedin' it should be easy. But what do carrots like to eat?" Tigger thought aloud.
He looked around his house and found some leftover halloween candies. He unwrapped them and set them into the soil, watching the brightly colored sweets sink into the soil.
"Well, that oughta keep him fed for a little while!" Tigger looked to his window and saw Rabbit walking towards his house from the horizon. Right, he was so caught up on his carrot dilemma that he totally forgot he had a day planned with Rabbit!
Tigger opened his front door and bounced right off his porch, making a beeline right for the unsuspecting Rabbit that trotted closer.
"Good morning, Ra-Ra!" Tigger called out.
Rabbit finally looked up from the schedule he was holding and shrieked before tumbling a good five feet backwards, landing with Tigger perched atop him, nose to nose as he always did.
Rabbit sighed and got to his feet as Tigger gently picked himself up off the poor bunny.
"Tigger, I thought we agreed you need to give me more than a few seconds warning before you bounce me." Rabbit said crossly.
Tigger simply carried on smiling. "Aw, sorry Bunny Boy. I just got excited!" Tigger wrapped an arm around Rabbit and pulled him into a hug.
Rabbit couldn't deny that Tigger's excitement was infectious so he squeezed the tiger tight, smiling to himself as he heard the faintest purr rumble up from Tigger's chest before he pulled away.
"Right, I have a fantastic day planned for us! Now, you'll come with me back to my house and we'll have breakfast. Then after we've rested a bit and let our food properly digest we'll fly kites. Then…"
Tigger had been listening intently at first, but as Rabbit rambled on about the plans he had down to the minute his mind started to wander. Particularly, it wandered back to that tiny carrot that was supposed to be his big surprise he'd been hinting at for months. Here Rabbit was with this grand romantic day and what would Tigger offer in return? A tiny undergrown carrot?
"You got all that?" Rabbit said finally.
Tigger nodded. "Yup! Got it locked and loaded right in here." He said, tapping his head.
Rabbit beamed a smile at Tigger and extended his hand to him.
Tigger wrapped his hand gently around Rabbit's and the pair walked hand in hand back to Rabbit's house. Rabbit's hand was smaller than Tigger's. Rabbit sheepishly glanced towards Tigger now and then, savoring the soft, comfortable warmth that surrounded his hand. Tigger simply smiled at him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. Both of their cheeks were red as roses.
Rabbit had already prepared the food before bringing Tigger back. Sat on his dining room table were two plates of perfectly fluffy eggs, toast, and a plate of freshly baked cinnamon rolls. Tigger eyed the delicacies, mouth agape.
"This looks incredibibble, Ra-Ra!"
Rabbit waved the compliment off as he took the seat across from Tigger. "Oh, hush. You're just trying to flatter me."
Tigger eagerly took his seat and dug in. Though it was supposed to be more of a romantic breakfast, Tigger was too enamored by the food. Rabbit was pretty hungry as well, so he helped himself to his plate as well. The silence was occasionally broken by another compliment from Tigger who devoured his plate in minutes. Even then, he didn't stop and grabbed one of the gooey, cinnamony rolls from the plate between them.
"I knew you could make a mean soup but all this?" Tigger said, licking the frosting off his fingers.
"Well, it's just a matter of practice really. The cinnamon rolls were the trickiest part." Rabbit said, snatching one of the treats for himself.
As Tigger chewed thoughtfully on the cinnamon roll his mind wandered back to the "big surprise" that he had waiting for Rabbit. He thought hard of a way to somehow manage a way to try and fix it up before he gave it to Rabbit… They'd be flying kites next. That's it! He could conveniently snap his line and fly off with the wind. While Rabbit looks for him he can try and get his carrot Rabbit Ready.
Once they'd finished eating Rabbit stood to collect the dishes. Once they were in the sink, Tigger spoke up.
"Say, you said we were flying kites after this, right?" Tigger asked.
"Yes, that's right. But we have to wait first, we just ate. If we rush out now you could get a stomach ache!" Rabbit said as he began to scrub the dishes.
"Aww, c'mon Ra-Ra. It's just standing around holding kites, plus the wind won't hold forever ya know!" Tigger urged him.
Rabbit sighed and set the last plate to dry. "Oh, fine. I suppose there isn't a lot of activity involved afterall."
Rabbit retrieved the kites from his closet and was all but carried out the door as Tigger pulled him along. Rabbit helped Tigger get his kite into the air, proudly repeating his knowledge of how a kite managed to fly in the air while he wrestled with his own kite until it joined Tigger's side by side. With the wind blowing through his fur and the sun shining down over the green hills of the wood, Tigger felt guilty he was about to ruin such a nice moment with Rabbit. But, he had to do it for the sake of his surprise. Tigger snapped the string of the kite with a quick pull and grasped the separated string tight with both hands.
"Ah, isn't this just relaxing, Tigger?" Rabbit asked, turning to where Tigger should have been standing. Instead the spool of string lay in the grass and Tigger was nowhere to be seen. Rabbit whipped his head around until he saw Tigger floating away on the string of his kite, soaring towards the clouds.
"Tigger?! What hap- how did you get up there!?" Rabbit sputtered.
"It's okay, Long Ears! I'll be back!" Tigger reassured him. Still, Rabbit tore off towards him, keeping his eyes on the sky until slowly the worried bunny faded from his vision.
Tigger started to wonder how he'd get down when he heard a familiar hoot from above. Owl was flying just above him, looking down curiously.
"Why, I say, Tigger! What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be spending the day with Rabbit?" He asked.
"I was! That's just the problem. Rabbit has this whole big wonderful day planned out for us and all I gots for him back home is a lousy tiny carrot I didn't grow right." Tigger sighed.
"Well that is quite a predicament." Owl said. "It reminds me of the time…" He began.
Suddenly, an idea came to Tigger. "Hey wait! Hold that story. I heard you can make plants grow by talkin' to em, you can tell my carrot a story and it'll grow for sure!"
"That's a brilliant idea, Tigger! You have my word I'll see to it your carrot will be the tastiest of all when I'm through." Owl said, extending his wing to Tigger.
Tigger reached out and shook hands with him, only moments later did he realize what he'd done as he and Owl were sent careening down towards a tree. They shouted as they smacked into branch after branch before they landed on something soft.
Tigger groaned as he rubbed his head and looked down to see he'd landed on Pooh. From beneath Owl he could just barely make out tiny legs before he got up and the poor dazed Piglet was able to get to his feet.
"Well hello there, Tigger and Owl! I wasn't expecting you to drop on me today!" Pooh said excitedly.
"Well heya, Buddy Bear! What were you guys doin'?" Tigger asked.
"W-we were exchanging Valentine's. That is, until we broke your fall." Piglet answered.
"Oh, right. Anyway! I need your guys' help, bad." Tigger said.
"Oh my, what's the matter, Tigger?" Pooh asked.
"There's no time to explain, I'll tell ya once we get to my house!" Tigger exclaimed and lead the group back to his home.
Once they were gathered in his home, Tigger showed them the tiny carrot with its brilliant stem.
"I say, the poor carrot is focusing on growing in all the wrong places!" Owl said.
"Yes, it's certainly on the small side…" Pooh said, looking it over.
"Exactly, that's why I need you guys to help me figure out these tips I remembered from Rabbit. First, he said if you talk to your plants they'll grow bigger. But I talk to this little guy all the time and it didn't seem to help that much. So that's why Owl here is gonna tell it a story!" Tigger said, gesturing to Owl whose feathers fluffed up with pride.
"Well… let's see. Ah! There's that time my dear cousin Archibald got caught hanging from a tree by his tail feathers! Now, it was a bright, sunny day just like this one. Archibald had fancied himself a morning fly but he was also terribly famished. So he gets the idea…"
Owl's story continued on and on. One by one, Pooh, Piglet and Tigger begin to nod off as Owl paces about the room continuing to spin his yarn. They were only awoken by Owl's laughter at the end of the story. "...and he says, 'That's the last time I fly while eating tapioca pudding!'" Owl finished at last, laughing himself to tears.
Tigger studied the carrot, only to sigh as it was totally unchanged.
"I already fed it candy, owl talked its little carrot ears off… What else…" Tigger pondered. "He said to make sure it gets enough light, but it's already got sunlight. What else can we do?"
"M-Maybe a lamp? Those sure shine a lot of light." He suggested.
"Yeah, yeah! You're spot on, Pig-uh-let!" Tigger said triumphantly. He dug around in his closet until he withdrew a lamp and pointed it at the carrot. The bright light shone fiercely on the carrot, slowly drying its soil out until it was little more than compacted dirt.
Tigger looked at it quizzically. "Hmm… it's not workin'. There's one last tip he told me but I dunno what to make of it…"
"What did he say, Tigger?" Pooh asked.
"He said I should 'aerate' the soil. What's that supposed to mean?" Tigger asked.
"Oh! That's easy. It simply means to introduce air to the soil so that nutrients can reach its roots!" Owl said.
"Oh! I see! Only, how do we get the air in there?" Pooh asked.
Tigger retrieved a straw and stuck it into the soil. "Watch and learn, Buddy Bear!"
Tigger blew into the straw as hard as he could and sent the dry soil flying out of the pot until the only thing that remained inside of it was the tiny dwarf of a carrot.
Tigger sighed and lifted it from its pot, tail drooping. "Well, thanks anyways guys."
The door to Tigger's house suddenly swung open and stomping inside was a very furious Rabbit.
"There you all are! I've been searching high and low in this entire forest for you! I couldn't find Tigger so I thought to ask Pooh for help. Then he wasn't home so I went to Piglet's, then Owl's, I only found you because Kanga said she thought she saw you fall out of the sky along with HIM!" Rabbit shouted, pointing at Owl.
Tigger could see tears starting to well up in Rabbit's eyes as he continued. "If you… If you wanted to spend Valentine's Day with everyone else you should've just said so." Rabbit's ears drooped as he finished his sentence.
Tigger shook his head furiously and hopped over to him, carrot in hand. "Nono you got it all wrong! I only had them here to help me try and fix my surprise for ya. I… took some carrot seeds a while ago and I've been trying to grow this carrot to show you I could garden too. So you'd let me help you with yours."
Tigger stretched his hand out and opened it, revealing the tiny carrot. "But, it came out all small. I tried every trick in the book to get it to grow up more but nothing helped…"
Rabbit stared at the carrot. He picked it up by the stem that extended far past Tigger's palm and gingerly held it in his hands. "So, you did all this… for me?"
Tigger nodded slowly. "Sorry I ruined the big day, Ra-Ra. I just wanted this surprise to be perfect for ya."
"No… It's perfect. You went through all this trouble just to make this for me…" Rabbit said with a sniffle. "May I eat it?"
Tigger was taken aback, so convinced he'd have been disappointed by the surprise that he never imagined he'd want to eat the thing. "Well, sure. It's for you."
Rabbit plucked the carrot from its stem and tossed it into his mouth. It was sweet. Very sweet. It tasted almost like a glazed carrot only there was no honey to be found at all. Rabbit smiled and walked towards Tigger. He stood up on his tip toes and pressed his lips against Tigger's. Tigger could taste how sweet the carrot was on his lips. He wrapped his arms around Rabbit's back and pulled him close. When Rabbit finally stepped away, the realization of what he'd just done hit him and his face grew beet red as the others watched them.
"Well, Rabbit. Tigger. We'll leave you two alone." Pooh said with a grin, tugging Piglet along out of the house.
"Yes, yes. It's the day for love after all." Owl said as he stepped out of Tigger's house, leaping off his porch to fly away.
Finally together again, Rabbit looked up to Tigger. "Well… You mind telling me what I missed while you went on your flight?"
Tigger somehow managed to get Rabbit to lay with him in the drawer that he slept in. It was a cramped fit, but being so close to Rabbit was exactly what Tigger wanted at that moment. He recounted the day in great detail. The fall, the various silly things he tried to do to get the carrot to grow that Rabbit was all too eager to debunk and correct as he said them.
"You know, you could've just asked me. I'd love to teach you how to garden." Rabbit said.
"Well, whatadaya know? I'd love to learn from the best gardener in the world." Tigger said.
Rabbit buried his face into Tigger's chest to hide his cheeks as Tigger's arms held him close. Tigger's purrs broke the silence in the otherwise quiet room.
"Tigger, did you really want to spend the day with me?" Rabbit asked.
"'Course I did! Why ya ask?" Tigger looked down at him.
"Well… It's just, I know it can be stifling. The schedules and the planning and all." Rabbit said.
"Pff. Bunny Boy, I wanted to spend this day with you the way you wanted because of all the stuff you had planned. You sat down and scheduled out this perfect day for us full of things both of us would enjoy. It just means you care a whole lot. That's why I love you." Tigger punctuated his sentence with a kiss to Rabbit's forehead.
Rabbit just clutched his arms around Tigger tighter, not daring to let Tigger see the tears in his eyes, though he knew he could feel them. Tigger simply rubbed his back, continuing to pepper his face with kisses where he could.
"Oh, Ra-Ra. Just ooone tiny suggestion for next year." Tigger said.
Rabbit finally looked up at him again. "Oh? What's that?"
Tigger leaned forward and kissed Rabbit one last time. "Next year, bouncing goes on the schedule."
Rabbit rolled his eyes, but he didn't have to deliberate long. "Fine, fine. Bouncing goes on the list next year."