One evening, when the two of them were alone, Pooh led Piglet deep into the heart of the 100 Acre Wood. They went much deeper than usual.
"Where are we going, Pooh?" asked Piglet.
"You'll see when we get there," replied Pooh.
As the sun set they reached a clearing by a stream. There was a little bridge leading over it, and as Piglet drew closer he noticed something that made him pull up short.
He gasped. Next to the bridge was a clear patch of grass, and on it Piglet saw a large number of sticks. They were all different shapes and sizes, and some of them looked very sharp.
"Blimey Pooh, what is this place?" he whispered.
Pooh smiled. "This is my playground."
Piglet walked up to inspect the sticks. His face looked pale, and his eyes were wide.
"Is this... is this what you're into?" he asked. "I don't understand."
Pooh placed a paw on his arm. "Just tell me you're open minded," he said.
"I call it 'Pooh Sticks'," said Pooh.
"Right," said Piglet.
"My desires are... unconventional," said Pooh.
"You can say that again," said Piglet.
The two were sitting on the grass beside the sticks. Piglet found it hard to meet Pooh's gaze.
"It's important that you know you can leave any time," said Pooh. He paused and glanced at Piglet. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I suppose," said Piglet. "It's just a bit of a shock, that's all. I always thought you were so... well, boring."
"Boring?"
"No, not boring. Just, well –"
"Hey, it's not just me, you know!" protested Pooh. "Tigger likes to come down here too, and Kanga's here most nights. Sometimes Owl even films it, and –"
"Pooh, Pooh!" Piglet held up a hand. "One step at a time, okay?"
"Sorry."
Pooh reached out a tentative paw towards the nearest stick. "So, do you think you might, er –"
He broke off when they heard a crashing sound in the bushes.
Kanga burst into the clearing.
She stopped a few feet away from Pooh and Piglet, breathing heavily. Her eyes glinted with mischief.
"What did I miss?" she said. "You'd better not have started with out me."
"Kanga, now's not a great time," said Pooh. "If you could come back in –"
"No way," grinned Kanga. "Roo's in bed and I've been waiting for this all day. Have you shown Piglet the handcuffs yet?"
"Jesus Christ, Kanga, we've only just started!" exclaimed Pooh. "We're just playing Pooh Sticks for now, okay?"
"What, you mean you haven't brought out the ball gags yet?"
Pooh clapped a paw over his eyes and groaned. Piglet's mouth fell open.
"See, Piglet's getting the idea already," grinned Kanga.
Pooh waved a paw at her and she hopped away into the bushes, laughing.
The clearing was silent for some time.
Just as Pooh was about to give up hope and suggest they called it a day, he felt Piglet stir beside him.
He opened his eyes and found Piglet looking at him.
"Pooh?" said Piglet. "I think I'm ready."
Pooh took Piglet's hand in his own and guided it to a medium-sized stick.
"You've got to start off small, then work your way up," he whispered. His breath was hot and heavy on Piglet's neck.
Piglet felt sweaty, felt the slippery hardness of Pooh's stick in his hand.
For a moment the evening was completely still.
As the light began to fade from the clearing, the first stick fell in the stream with a wet plopping sound.
Later, Pooh and Piglet sat side by side on the edge of the bridge, their feet dangling over the stream. Pooh was breathing heavily.
"Is that all the sticks?" asked Piglet.
"I think so," said Pooh.
"Wow, we got pretty carried away there, didn't we?" said Piglet. In the dying light of the evening, his eyes sparkled.
Pooh nodded but said nothing, catching his breath.
"Pooh?" said Piglet. "I wanted to tell you something."
"Hm?"
"I've been wanting to tell you for awhile now."
Pooh turned his head to look at Piglet.
"Go on," he said.
"I know I sounded shocked when you showed me the sticks," said Piglet. "But... well, the truth is I couldn't have been happier."
Pooh's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I've been wanting this for years," said Piglet. He turned and looked Pooh steadily in the face.
"You... you have?"
"Oh yes. I've been dreaming about if for ages. In fact if anything, that stuff Kanga was talking about earlier is more my level."
"Huh?"
"You know, the handcuffs and the ball gags. All that stuff."
"Wait, what?"
"Yep, that's right. In fact I can't remember the last time I looked at Eeyore without wanting to see him in a gimp mask."
Pooh felt his fur begin to stiffen. "A gimp mask?"
"Sure," Piglet continued happily. "Maybe some nipple clamps too."
He glanced down at the stream, and when he looked back at Pooh there was some of the old shyness in his face. "What do you think?" he asked.
"What I think," said Pooh, climbing to his feet. "Is that we should go and make that dream a reality."
He took Piglet's arm and helped him up.
They left the bridge and walked back through the clearing together. "You mean the dream about Eeyore and the gimp mask?" said Piglet.
"Oh yes," said Pooh. "That's exactly the one I mean."
The two of them left the clearing arm in arm as the sky darkened to black.
