"I hadn't seen cars in years, and I didn't even know there was such a thing as a double decker bus! It nearly ran me over! I honestly don't know why Peter insisted on putting the entrance right there. At least I convinced him to add a ladder so that we don't have to fly right up into the middle of the street."
Tink laughed as Curly recounted his not so pleasant adventures in the Grey World. He had come to change out her water filters, and for some reason she had let him stay and talk with her. Perhaps because it was nice to have some friendly conversation. Ever since the fiasco with the Essentia shift and the ground opening up the other day, she'd had a constant barrage of visitors accusing her of sabotaging Neverland and making sure there were no bugs in the system. Nibs had even insisted on reviewing the camera footage of her room on that day, which she gladly let him do, as it proved she hadn't done anything suspicious.
"Still," Nibs had said, "I can't be sure that you didn't set it all up the day before." Tink had practically had to throw him out of her room. So it was a welcome change when Curly had shown up with his shy smile.
"And then after I had finally found the bakery, I got chased by some crazy old lady with a stuffed cat."
"I think I've seen her before," Tink commented. "Did she have a beard?"
"I don't know. I was too busy running away!" Exclaimed Curly. "She reminded me a little of my grandmother, before, you know…" Curly's expression suddenly became serious and he looked down at his feet. Tink felt a twinge of sympathy for him. Ever since the lost boys had stopped taking the medicine, their long term memories had come back. They remembered their families and their guardians and where they had been before the Crocodile brought them to Neverland. It hadn't affected them too badly, except for the twins. They had gone silent for three days. It was a little eerie. They had finally pleaded to continue taking the medicine, and everyone had agreed to let them.
Tink looked back at Curly, who was still staring at the floor.
"Do you miss her?" Tink asked quietly.
Curly shrugged. "Of course I do. I mean, she was a really strange lady, but she was all I had after my parents died." Curly was quiet for a moment, and then a small smile tugged at his lips. "One time she insisted that I dust all the fish in her aquarium. I'd have to grab one out and run the duster over it before it slipped out of my fingers. It's a wonder I didn't kill any of them."
"Is she still alive?"
"No. She passed away about five years ago and I had to go to a children's home. Then the Crocodile found me."
"You were probably glad to leave the home."
"Yeah, it was awful there. Everyone made fun of me because of my big hands."
Tink snorted, but quickly tried to look serious again when Curly frowned at her. "I'm sorry. That must have been really hard."
He shrugged. "It's okay. I really did have big hands." He held them up and Tink laughed.
"Well, it looks like you've grown into them," Tink teased. Curly raised his eyebrows at her and she immediately blushed. "I was never in a children's home, you know." She wasn't sure why she was telling him this. She probably was just trying to change the subject.
"Really? Did the Crocodile take you away from your family?"
"No," Tink replied, wrapping her arms around herself, "I ran away. My parents, they... they hurt me. A lot. I still have some scars."
Curly's eyes widened in concern, but he didn't say anything. Tink unwrapped her arms and brushed herself off, as if brushing the memories away.
"Anyway, I lived on the streets for a while. I stole or did odd jobs for food, and when I was lucky I'd sleep in that big library. It was pretty easy for the Crocodile to get me to come here."
Curly took her hand and she let him hold it for a few moments, but then she slipped it out and twirled her hair.
"So did you eat anything from that bakery?" She asked, hoping to again change the subject.
"Bakery?"
"In the Grey World."
"Oh, no." Curly replied, straightening. "I didn't have enough money after buying all those batteries. But it smelled amazing! You should go sometime, you would-" he stopped short, grimacing.
Tink was about to yell at him for his insensitivity to her condition, but something about his expression stopped her. She let out a slow breath.
"You know, for the most part I'm okay with being in here," she said softly. "I generally prefer it. I can see everything through the monitors and with my avatar, but every once in a while, I will crave the smells and the feel of the outside world." Tink continued to twirl her hair around her fingers nervously. What am I doing? She thought. She never opened up like this, she never talked about her past or her weaknesses. But for some reason she told all these things to Curly. Something about his presence put her at ease. She glanced up at him, at his kind brown eyes and his understanding smile. She really didn't know why she had never noticed how good looking he was before. With some mortification she realized she was staring at his full lips, but before she could come up with an excuse, the door burst open and Captain Hook entered, carrying a huge, hideous cake.
"Good evening, Tink!" He exclaimed. "Ah, Curly, you're here too. How wonderful."
"What do you want?" She spat, turning away from him.
"Oh, nothing in particular. I just wanted to give you this delicious cake to thank you for all that you do."
Tink rolled her eyes. "You mean to thank me for what I'm going to do."
"I have no idea what you mean," Hook said, although he stepped towards her eagerly.
"You don't have to bother me or bribe me anymore," Tink sighed. "I'm going to take care of your records. Curly's going to go up there."
"He is?"
"I am?"
Tink raised her eyebrows at Curly and he gulped.
"Yes, I am," he said with mock confidence. "Anything to to help you out, sir."
Hook looked between the two of them, and then, surprisingly, broke into tears. "Thank you so much!" He gushed. "You can't know how much this will put my mind at ease! I might even stop having nightmares!" In his rapture, he ran out the door, taking the awful-looking cake with him.
Tink and Curly looked at each other and then burst out laughing.
"I don't think I've ever seen that man cry," Curly said in amazement.
"Oh, I have. More times than I ever needed to."
She smiled at him for a moment and was overcome with a sudden urge to kiss him. The impulse made her a little euphoric, but mostly angry, so she quickly pushed the feeling away and stood up.
"Well, I'm tired," she announced, crossing her arms over her chest. "I've had people bothering me all day and I just want to be alone."
"Oh. Um, okay."
If Curly was offended, he didn't show it. He simply smiled and gave her a small wave goodbye, then slipped out the door. Tink waited until his footsteps faded away before she turned to her computer and buried her face in her hands.
"No, come back," she moaned, watching him walk down the path on her monitor. "I feel so much better when you're here." She shook her head and pushed herself away from the computer. "Stop it, Tink!" She scolded herself. "He's just hanging around because he feels bad. Besides, you basically told him to go away, what did you expect him to do? Refuse to leave? Wrap his big hands around you and kiss you again?" The last thought brought color to her cheeks. She huffed and shut off her computer, then busied herself with taking inventory of all her medical supplies.