Lean On Me

by PriestessOfNox

Based on PhoenixDiamond's Bluetiful on AO3. Hefty Smurf/Branch. Events of the Trolls movie didn't happen and Smurfs take place after The Lost Village movie. 1st bit of the 1st chapter takes place before Bluetiful starts and the 2nd bit takes place after chapter 4 as that was all there was when this story was written. Rest of story is a "branch" off. Posted with permission.

1. Chapter 1

01/04/18

Please read PhoenixDiamond's Bluetiful, on Ao3, chapters 1-4 before reading this. It is amazing and this story probably won't make a lot of sense without it.

Song "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers.

Lean on Me

Chapter 1

The biggest, loudest, craziest party ever went off without a single Bergen and Branch was left hearing about it for days, weeks and into months. Though, to be fair, the conversation rarely ever directly involved Branch. The excited re-living of what seemed like every single moment of the party was the conversation Branch overheard whenever he had the misfortune of being around his fellow troll, whether when he was out and about gathering supplies or the few trips he made into the village for things he couldn't get in the forest.

Encouraged by the success, Poppy tried harder than ever to get Branch to come to a party, using it as an example of how safe the village was. She ignored Branch ignoring her, his protests and his continued insistence that Bergens could still find them, and found any excuse for a party to invite Branch to. As a result, Branch had to dig another shelf into his bunker to keep all the personalized invitations.

Things continued the same for a while until King Peppy got sick. Though old, it was the first time the King had any health problems in his long reign and a sort of heaviness thickened the air and filled every troll with unease.

That is, of course, except for Poppy. Poppy who encouraged everyone to keep their spirits up. Poppy who knew her father would be up and dancing in no time. Poppy who baked cookies for the entire village and lead choregraphed dances as if nothing bad could happen.

Poppy who Branch found in the forest one night, alone and crying.

She wasn't gray, at least not yet, but her colors were dull, even if you excused the harshness of foggy moonlight.

Understandably Poppy did not want to go home. She was too scared to return only to find that her Father was gone. She has never lost someone before, let alone someone so dear to her.

So, Branch, for the first time ever, took someone down into his bunker. He was silent when he leads her down, letting her sniffle and hold his hand as she didn't really look where they were going.

Though Poppy seemed exhausted, the bed seemed inappropriate so Branch grabbed a few blankets, laying one on the ground and one around her shoulders once she sat down on it. Branched drummed his fingers on his thighs, not sure what to do. He had never had to comfort someone before and Poppy was usually the one that talked for both of them. What was he supposed to do? What could he say?

Slowly Branch remembered his Grandma and the time he had gotten sick from playing in puddles for too long. Poppy wasn't physically sick but the treatment wouldn't be too different, would it?

Feet quickly took Branch to his kitchen and he dug out the little amount of chocolate he kept in the bunker, melting it down and adding a bit of milk to make hot chocolate. He remembered a dash of cinnamon before getting his mug, quickly washing it out and wishing he had more then one before pouring the hot chocolate into it and taking it to Poppy.

Poppy stared at the mug for a bit, then looking at Branch and his empty hand not holding the mug. Still she took the mug when Branch kept holding it out to her but didn't drink any.

Branch drummed his fingers again and looked around. There had to be something else. His eyes landed on his curtained shelves and he looked away only to look back again. He really didn't have much else to try at this point.

At last Poppy's eyes widened a bit from her saddened stupor when the cards started to appear on the blanket she was sitting on. She recognized the colorful, carefully crafted cards being laid out before her, recognized recordings of her own voice since childhood and the occasional voice of her friends when she needed male vocals. They were all there, even the very first simple card from the first time Poppy invited Branch to a slumber party when she had barely mastered scissors and the edges were all jaded with glue budging out from under the lumpenly layered paper.

"You kept them," Poppy whispered, delicately touching one, afraid that it would poof away like a dream.

"Yeah," Branch confirmed slowly, not sure if he should admit it even with the evidence sitting between them.

"I thought you smashed this one," Poppy lifted the card from her biggest, loudest, craziest party ever, listening to it sing out its invitation.

"Not badly," Branch rubbed over his arm, not looking at the pile of cards or the princess for a moment. "It was easy enough to fix."

"But you never came," Poppy looked up at Branch, waiting for him to look at her before she continued. "Why did you keep them?"

"You made them," Branch shrugged as if it was enough of an answer but at Poppy's stare, he sighed. "You never gave up on me, even when I gave you no reason to, even when I gave you reasons to avoid me. I guess, well, I guess I really appreciated it."

When Poppy fell back into silence, Branch moved to sit beside her, looking at the cards with her and thinking on what to do next. He licked his lips and drummed his fingers on his knees, trying to remember how he did this before.

"Sometimes in our lives we all have pain," Branch sang slowly, softly, not sure if his voice sounded alright after all this time but when Poppy looked all awestruck at him, he knew he had to continue.

"We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow."

Branch paused, lightly put his arm around Poppy in a sort of half hug and continued, "Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on…"

This was harder then Branch expected, he wasn't sure if he should or if he could continue this. Was it even working?

Branch nearly jumped when Poppy put her head on his shoulder, her hair tickling the back of his neck.

Poppy's voice, as always, was beautiful, even with the echo of the bunker, "For it won't be long,
'Til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on."

Silence returned but that seemed okay for the moment. Poppy lifted her head, put her blanket around both of their shoulders before leaning back in to rest against Branch, sipping her now warm, hot chocolate.

Out of the corner of his eye, Branch could see Poppy's color returning and he felt warmth spread through him that he couldn't understand at the time.

In the morning Branch woke up to Poppy screaming. The resulting attempt to spring to his feet only resulted in him getting tangled in the blanket and falling onto the cards, further resulting in way too many voices this early in the morning.

"Branch," Poppy hovered over him, absolutely beaming and as colorful as ever. "You have color!"

"Huh?" was all Branch could mumble, trying to find his way back upwards without activating any more cards.

With another scream, Poppy lifted Branch up with her hair and grabbed his hand, suddenly pulling him from room to room.

"How can you have twenty-million rooms of junk and no mirrors," Poppy was close to yanking Branch's arm out of his socket at this point.

"It's not junk," Branch protested. "And I don't need a mirror, what would there be for me to look at?"

"You," Poppy turned and scolded him, looking around and grabbed a jar of some sort of liquid and held it up to him. "Look at yourself!"

The moment Branch took the jar, he almost dropped it. His reflection, it wasn't gray. It wasn't the vibrant minty blue he remembered from his childhood either but a pale blue.

Quickly setting down the jar, Branch looked at his pale blue arms, pulled down a bit a hair to see that it was no longer black but a bit of mash between a dull blue and purple. He wasn't gray anymore. He wasn't fully colored but he wasn't gray anymore.

Poppy looked like she could happy cry, "I knew you had it in you."

Branch didn't pull away when Poppy hugged him, in fact he may have even hugged back but it's a bit of a blur now.

When Branch returned Poppy to the village, he wanted to hide in his hair from all the trolls staring at him. He could feel their shock and curiosity brewing, and he needed to get out of there before the questions started flying.

Somehow Branch survived the visit and Poppy kept everyone from harassing him too much, though Creek managed a small half curious, half insulting jab before Poppy hushed him. The newness of his additional color was a bit overwhelming and thankfully Poppy understood, taking all the attention onto herself to keep it off of him.

Soon King Peppy began to recover and the attention shifted, allowing Branch to blend in even in his new state. In all the chaos of it, Poppy had even convinced Branch to move back into the village, practically guilting him into doing it in her cheerful manner of saying Branch was too far away in the bunker if she were to need him.

Though now in the troll tree, Branch made his pod slightly away from the others and closer to the ground. Being high up just made him anxious and the others still made too much noise to be around all the time.

Still, no matter how much Poppy pleaded, Branch would not sing again, not even just for her. He wasn't ready, at least not for an troll audience.

On days Branch maintained his bunker and scouted the area around the village he felt the rusty urge to sing return to him. He started out soft, trying to keep it in but soon, encouraged by fuzzy lightning bugs, he grew confident to really let it out, to sing and dance and be himself without anyone watching.

That is, until his voice lead someone, like he had never met before, to seek him out.

It had been a struggle to get an injured Branch back to Smurf village, completely due to Branch's own stubbornness, but they made it there before midday. The gathering of curious Smurfs did nothing for Branch's resistance to the idea of being there, in fact it only furthered Branch's opinion that being there was a very bad idea.

Poppy had to all but beg Branch to stop struggling and let Hefty carry him the one named Papa Smurf. Then repeatedly say "Branch" like a mother scolding her child whenever Branch tried not to cooperate.

"Really Branch, it's like Hefty said, it's like dealing with a baby," Poppy rolled her eyes but her smile was so fond Hefty found himself… not sure about how he was feeling.

"Don't you two start teaming up against me now," Branch shot glares at the both of them as Papa Smurf examined his arm.

"Too late," Poppy grinned. "We are just the beginning of the Smurf/Troll alliance, ready to defeat your grumpiness at every turn." She swung around to face Hefty. "Give me some skin my new blue brother!"

At Hefty's bewildered look, Poppy walked him through a fist bump, high five and hip bump before giving him two thumbs ups and a wink.

Sighing, Branch half spoke to Papa Smurf, half into the air, "I apologize for Poppy's crazy and I promise it's not contagious."

Poppy just smiled more and Hefty wanders to stand a little closer to Branch, using the excuse of looking over Branch's arm as Papa worked.

Before Hefty could speak, the door of the mushroom opened and Smurf Willow walked in, smiling gently at the group.

"Ah, so rumors of your visitors are true."

"Willow," Papa Smurf almost stood in greeting but quickly kept his place on his stool and gave Branch an apologetic nod before turning back to his fellow leader. "What brings you all the way here form the Grove?"

"Like I said, rumors," Willow moved closer, noting how the pink Troll seemed fine with her presence but the light blue Troll tried to scoot further away from her despite being obviously injured. "Tales of Azrael back in the forest were hard to ignore." She turned her attention to Branch. "I'm relieved Hefty had been there to help you."

Hefty's chest puffed proudly and Poppy giggled.

"Yeah," Branch said slowly, "Poppy is safe thanks to him."

"And you," both Hefty and Poppy protested.

"Yes, but Poppy's life is far more important than mine," Branch stated.

Hefty moved to protest but Poppy jumped in first, "I'm going to give you such a pinch!"

"Young lady please," Papa Smurf blocked her. "No pinching my patient."

"Little pinch?" Poppy pleaded, holding her fingers closely together for emphasis.

Despite chuckling, Papa shook his head.

Sighing over dramatically, Poppy turned her attention back to Branch, "Hurry up and heal so I can pinch you for being so… Branchy."

A tiny huff of laughter would have escaped Hefty if he hadn't noticed the almost undetectable fond smile Branch as looking at Poppy with. It was so small, barely even a smile, but it was there and it wasn't directed at him. For whatever reason, that funny, unnamed feeling grew heavier in his stomach.

Smurf Willow saw to treating Poppy's ankle as Papa Smurf finished with Branch's arm and moved on to look at his back. Brainy assisted Papa with bandages and ointments, watching intently as Papa used a bit of magic to speed up the recovery practice.

"Not much more that can be done better than some good old fashion medicine and rest," Papa stood and searched the shelves before finding the vial he needed. "This will fight off any infection and help you rest."

Branch eyed the vial on shook his head, "No thanks, I'm good."

"Oh, come on," Hefty finally got there before Poppy. "You can't seriously think we'd go through all the trouble of helping you, just to poison you or something now?"

"You tell him, Heft-man," Poppy cheered.

"I don't drink things from Trolls, or Smurfs, I don't trust," Branch frowned at him. That was not the look Hefty was going for.

Hefty took the vial from Papa Smuf and kneeled in front of Branch, "Then take it from me; this will do exactly what Papa says it will."

Again, Branch eyed the vial, looking at Hefty briefly, but shook his head.

"Branch," Hefty tried again but words failed him. Branch had said he trusted Hefty in the woods, what was different now? Was it only because Branch had no other choice at the time? Was he ever going to earn Branch's trust?

Quickly, Poppy snatched the vial from Hefty, swinging it around a bit until Branch looked at her, "Fine, if you won't drink it, then I will."

"Poppy," Branch warned lowly.

"In fact," Poppy ignored him, "I'll drink everything that's in here. I don't know what any of it is. Maybe one will make me grow taller? Maybe there is a vial of unspeakable death in here? It will be like a game." She wiggled the vial in front of Branch. "Wanna play?"

"Give me that," Branch took the vial from Poppy and grumbled. "Of all the stupid things you could threaten me with."

"It worked," Poppy held up her hand to Hefty for a high five, which Hefty half-heartedly returned.

After Branch drank the vial's medicine, Papa lead them to the mushroom's bed for Branch to rest in. Once Branch was in the bed though, Poppy began to hunt down every pillow and blanket the place had to offer and pile it on top of Branch.

"Are you trying to suffocate me," Branch tried to push all the excess pillows off the bed and tossed one at his fellow Troll, which managed to hit her in the stomach.

"Now Branch, no pillow fights until you're recovered," Poppy made a show of picking back up the pillow and putting it back onto the bed.

"This isn't a slumber party Poppy," Branch tried to scowl but it was ruined by a yawn.

"Yes, it is," Poppy hopped onto the bed next to him.

"No, no, no," Branch tried to push her off with his good arm but couldn't get the leverage with the weird angle. "Get off."

"Branch, don't push me, I'm recovering," Poppy delicately put her ankle on top of one of the numerous pillows. "See?"

There was an incoherent mumble from the boy Troll, grumpily admitting defeat. He would have liked to have turned away from Poppy at the very least but with his arm and back, laying on his side facing Poppy as really the only option.

As the medicine began to work, Branch starting to fall into slumber, Poppy stroked over his hair and began to sing softly, "Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you won't let show.

You just call on me, brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on.
I just might have a problem that you'll understand,
We all need somebody to lean on.

Lean on me when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on…"

The other Smurfs left to give them quiet to rest but Hefty stayed behind. When he was sure that Branch was asleep, he grabbed the stool Papa had been using earlier and moved it so he could sit beside Poppy, also allowing him to look at Branch's slumbering face.

Unlike before, there was no unease or pain in Branche's features. He was finally the most relaxed Hefty had ever seen him but it did nothing for the weight in Hefty's stomach.

"So," Hefty began but didn't know where to begin. He had a million question he wanted to ask and Poppy seemed like she would be more willing to answer them than Branch but part of him didn't want to ask Poppy. He still wanted Branch to be the one to tell him more about Trolls. Branch was the one he wanted to hear sing up close, not Poppy, even though her voice was beautiful like Branch's was. It was just different, not what Hefty was yearning for.

"Thank you," Poppy smiled softly at Hefty, hand still stroking Branch's hair, unaware of how it returned the Smurf. "You've done so much for us, for Branch."

"It wasn't much," Hefty rocked in his chair a bit, "I just strong armed him here against his will, you got him to corporate and take the medicine."

"Please," Poppy shook her head, "If it wasn't for you, Branch wouldn't be here for me to scold and guilt him into anything. You're amazing."

Hefty rubbed his nose, looking at the ground. Those words didn't fill him with the same pride as it normally did. He mumbled 'thanks' almost as an afterthought.

Slowly, Poppy reached out and touched Hefty's knee to get his attention again, "You're the one who Branch was meeting in the woods, aren't you?"

"More like following him around against his will," Hefty grumbled.

Poppy and smiled and shook her head, "I'm sure it seemed that way, especially with Branch being, well, Branch, but he would sneak off to go into the woods a lot lately. It wasn't like his normal gathering or patrolling, he was, I could tell, looking forward to something. He wanted to see you."

Branch had said that back in the woods but Branch had also said he trusted Hefty and that was not the case. He was no closer to being Branch's friend then he was when Branch was a voice only he could hear and just as distant.

"Trust me," Poppy squeezed Hefty's knee. "It takes a lot to earn Branch's tolerance, even more to earn his affection; he's shy."

Hefty scoffed, "No way in this smurfing world is Branch shy."

"He just hides it well behind hostility," Poppy released Hefty's knee to dismiss Hefty's protest with a wave of her hand. "You just gotta worm your way in and not let go no matter how much he tries to run away from you; heck, took me twenty years for him to open up to me even a little and start showing color again. You'll be there in no time flat."

Suddenly Poppy stared at Hefty in such a way that actually made Hefty scoot back a bit, "but if you make him go gray again I will find a way to hurt you and there will be no Smurf that can stop me."

Rationally Hefty doubted Poppy could willingly harm a fly or had the bodily means to even scratch him, but that look; Hefty swore to never get on her bad side. Still, something was nagging at him.

"What do you mean by turn gray," Hefty looked at Branch's light blue skin a moment before turning back to Poppy, "And what do you mean by again?"

"Oh," Poppy said slowly, "Branch hasn't told you about Troll colors?"

"Just that you're all differently colors and hair styles and look as different as my brothers and I look the same," said Hefty and sighed. "He probably doesn't trust me enough to tell me."

"I'm sure that wasn't it," Poppy assured him. "Trolls really don't talk about it in general and I'm sure it's painful for him to think about still."

"Painful," Hefty looked at Branch again. "Was he sick?"

"In a way," Poppy looked at Branch as well. "Trolls, in general, we're all very happy creatures."

"Was Branch adopted?" Hefty asked without thinking but shrunk back when Poppy's hair rose up as if to strike him.

"As I was saying," Poppy relaxed her hair, "Our color is part of what shows our happiness. When we're not happy, and I mean really not happy, we lose our colors and turn gray. Something happened when Branch was a child and he turned gray and he stayed gray… for twenty years."

Unable to help it, Hefty stared at Branch's peaceful face. He thought of their first meeting, Branch's hostility, surprise at Hefty's compliments on his voice and their later conversation on how Branch didn't know how to smile. Part of him wanted to lay down next to Branch and just hold him for a while, while the rest struggled to imagine it.

"You mean he was," Hefty rubbed over the back of his neck, still trying to wrap his mind around it, "Unhappy for twenty years?"

"Yes," Poppy sighed. "He wouldn't sing, he wouldn't dance. He lived far away from the rest of us in his underground bunker and wouldn't let anyone inside; the bunker or his heart. He still hasn't told me what turned him gray but he's finally let me in a little and his color is starting to return. One day I want to see his colors shine brightly and be really happy again."

Hefty fiddled with his hands, "You must really love him, huh?"

"Of course," Poppy beamed but then saw something in Hefty's expression dampen, looking almost hopeless. "But we're not in love."

It was a secret joy of Poppy's to see Hefty suddenly perk up at that.

"But he's so protective of you and you-" Hefty tried to reason away his hope.

"I'm his friend," Poppy explained. "I helped him start to let his happiness back in and I admit, under different circumstances, I could see the possibility of us being together." She carefully stood and took Hefty's hands into hers, lifting him to his feet and smiling softly. "But I think it's going to be someone else who brings his colors back."

Heat rose to Hefty's face and he found himself unable to speak. Still he barely managed not to shout when Poppy suddenly swung him around and tripped him onto the bed.

"Now lay down and enjoy a peaceful Branch," Poppy carefully made her way to the other side of the bed. "You won't get much of those and if he yells at you, tell him I insisted; wanted you around to keep us safe you big strong Smurf you."

Hefty chucked, watching Poppy carefully lay out her pile of pillows as a barrier to keep her from hitting Branch's back before he laid back down beside him.

"You're crazy," Hefty grinned.

"And it's contagious," Poppy winked.

When Hefty woke up from his nap, the sun was starting to set and he could hear Poppy's light breathing as she slumbered but Branch was oddly quiet. He turned his head to find that the troll was awake and silently staring at him.

What was he supposed to say? You're blue? It's okay? I promise I won't ever let you go gray again? Please, trust me?

"Hey," Hefty fumbled.

"Hey," Branch returned.

"How are you feeling," Hefty ventured.

"Sore," Branch admitted, "But less itchy; your Papa knows how to properly bandage without cutting off circulation."

Hefty chuckled, "Jerk."

Instead of defending himself, Branch just hummed, almost as if in acknowledgement, "How long do you think we'll need to stay here?"

"That eager to get away from me?" Hefty hope it didn't show how much that hurt.

"Not that," Branch mumbled, "I'm just not, I'm not used to this."

Hefty turned more fully towards Branch, "Not used to what?"

"This," Branch gestured around them in general. "So many people hovering around, staring, trying to treat me like I can't take care of myself, not," he hesitated and looked down, "not being able to get away."

"Hey now," Hefty wanted to reach out and squeeze Branch's shoulder but kept it to himself. Branch just said he didn't like people hovering, Hefty doubted Branch would appreciate a violation of his personal space right now. At least any further than he and Poppy already had. "You're not a prisoner here and it's okay to accept help. We just- I just want you to get better."

Branch stayed silent but Hefty could have sworn there as a bit of plum coloring glowing on those cheeks.

"Tell you what, you rest tonight and in the morning, we'll visit Tailor Smurf. Your vest was ruined and Poppy's dress needs mending anyway," Hefty smiled. "I'll even let you walk."

A little huff erupted from Branch, which could almost be an escaped laugh and Hefty felt himself brimming with pride.

"But," Hefty continued, "If you get tired or anything, anything at all, you can always lean on me. Got it?"

Slowly Branch looked up and gave a little nod, "Got it."

Chapter 2

In the morning Poppy woke up first, sitting up as quietly as she could manage to look over at her bed companions.

Both Branch and Hefty were still sleep and neither had moved much from how she last saw them but it was just enough for her to wish she had borrowed Biggie's camera. Hefty was asleep on his back, one arm tucked underneath Branch as a pillow as the other gently cradled Branch's injured arm over his stomach in a protective fashion. Still on his side, Branch's head was on Hefty's arm, almost to his shoulder, Branch's hair having instinctively wrapped around Hefty's head in a sort of blue halo.

Really, those two just made such a sweet picture. She wondered if either of them realized how well they fit together. Well at least Hefty seemed to have an inkling of the potential between them, Branch seemed too stubborn to acknowledge it just yet. Still that was Branch, he yet to consider any Troll outside of Poppy a friend, no matter how much the others tried to include him.

Slowly, so not to disturb them, Poppy hung her legs off the side of the bed and rotated her ankle. The swelling was gone and so was the pain, it was as if it had never been injured to begin with.

Unable to contain it, Poppy leapt to her feet and belted out into song, "I'm walking on sunshine (Wow!)
I'm walking on sunshine (Wow!)
I'm walking on sunshine (Wow!)
And don't it feel good

Hey, alright now
And don't it feel good, hey!"

"Hey," Branch was sitting up and half glaring at her, seeming unaware of the position he had just been in. "Can't you walk on sunshine where people aren't trying to sleep?"

"Sorry Branch," Poppy giggled, watching Hefty also sit up and rotate the arm Branch had been sleeping on in confusion. She hopped back onto the bed beside him. "How are you feeling?"

"Peachy," grumbled Branch.

"Branch," Poppy scolded, crossing her arms.

"I got mauled by a giant creature, how do you think I feel?" asked Branch.

"Azrael is a cat," Hefty stood and stretched. Suddenly he dropped to the floor and started to do pushups, half smiling when he heard Poppy giggle and Branch grumble. "He belongs to Gargamel."

"Garga-what now?" Branch questioned.

"Gargamel," Hefty continued his pushups. "He's a wizard wanna-be that's always trying to find our village."

"Why?" asked Poppy.

"Does he want to eat you?" Branch suddenly seemed very concerned.

Stopping his workout, Hefty sat on the ground and faced the two Trolls now staring at him. "Not exactly. You see, Smurfs have an innate magic in us. Papa is really the only one who knows how to use it, that and Magician Smurf to an extent, but we all have it. Gargamel wants to capture us and drain our magic to make himself into a powerful wizard."

The trolls were silent for a bit, Branch spoke first, voice soft, "Would that kill you?"

That made Hefty pause. He never really considered it before. Could a Smurf survive without their innate magic? Clumsy had described being drained as feeling heavier and lighter at the same time, almost like falling into a half sleep. Had Clumsy been dying before Smurfette saved them?

"I don't know," Hefty admitted. He really didn't want to find out either.

"Well it's not going to happen!" Poppy sprang up to her feet on the bed, raising up her hands in determination. "Gara-smell can kiss your blue butts and fall on a spike. He's never going to find your village just like the Bergan are never going to find our tree, right Branch?"

Both Hefty and Poppy turned to look at Branch, who was no longer looking at them. Instead, Branch was sitting up with knees to his chest, arms around his knees and staring outwards with a sort of blankness Hefty had never seen before on anyone's face.

Wait, was it Hefty's imagination or was Branch's blue a little paler than before? Almost like it had been dulled or… grayed.

"Branch?" Hefty stood and moved closer.

Though there wasn't a response to his name, Branch jumped at the movement from his peripheral vision. He looked at Hefty with wide eyes, still looking lost in some memory but in a blink of an eye it was gone, Branch back to his normal pale blue and looking at Hefty as if Branch's mind hadn't just been miles away.

"Yes?"

Hefty glanced over at Poppy, who was nibbling on her lower lip and fiddling her fingers as she looked at her feet. Apparently, these Bergen were a touchy subject.

"Are you hungry?" Hefty asked instead. "There's really nothing food wise in this mushroom but we can drop by Baker's for something before we go to Tailor's."

"Famished," Poppy answered for both of them before hopping off the bed and onto the floor. "What are your baker and tailor's names?"

"Ah, Baker and Tailor," Hefty scratched over his scalp, looking at Poppy oddly.

The trolls now looked at each other in confusion before Poppy shrugged and started to pull the blankets off of Branch, ignoring Branch trying to shoo her away and insisting he could get out of bed on his own. She then tried to put one of the blankets around Branch's shoulders.

Immediately Branch shrugged it off, "I am not wearing a blanket."

"But you don't have your vest," Poppy put the blanket back onto Branch and tried to tie it on, struggling against Branch's one good hand trying to deter her. "What if you get cold?"

"Hefty isn't wearing a vest and he's just fine," Branch protested.

Though he had been amused by Poppy and Branch's struggle, the smile immediately dropped from Hefty's face when Poppy turned to him, "Oh no, don't you turn this around on me. I'm always shirtless in the warm months."

For a moment Poppy stared at Hefty but then smiled. Not just any smile either, her eyes went big but with a happy little squint in Hefty's direction while her smile was small but struggling against the urge to grow wider every second. She may have even squeaked.

Branch looked between Hefty and Poppy, then made a disgruntled noise, "Please tell me you're not about to make Hefty a vest made of glitter. Do you even have glitter on you? It would be nice to go through a day without a glitter incident."

Poppy huffed and made a dismissive gesture with her hands but rocked back and forth on her feet a moment, still trying to keep her smile from widening, "Don't be silly Branch," she giggled, "How would I even make a vest out of glitter?"

With a hum, Branch turned to Hefty, "Congratulations on your future glitter vest."

Deciding it was best not to ask, Hefty moved over to the bed and offered a hand to help Branch to his feet. Though Branch rolled his eyes, Hefty smiled when Branch accepted the hand and carefully slid off the bed and onto the floor.

Efficiently distracted by her plotting, Poppy skipped out of the mushroom ahead of them, humming and occasionally backtracking to make sure she was going in the right direction.

"Poppy is just full of energy, isn't she," Hefty made sure to match his pace with Branch's slower one. It was obvious that the troll was hurting and a bit tired but he promised he would let Branch walk and would try to wait for him to ask for help.

Sighing, Branch rubbed between his eyes, "That is an understatement. If only there was a way to harness it, she could have lit my bunker for years."

The bunker. Poppy had mentioned it last night but this was the first time Branch shared such information with Hefty. A slip of the tongue, perhaps? Too tired to keep in things that he didn't ant Hefty to know? Or was he finally opening up a little?

Then Hefty noticed Branch's hair; it was moving. There was no wind but it wasn't as controlled as the other times Hefty saw Branch purposefully move his hair. The movement was more like the twitch of a rabbit's nose when it sensed danger.

Following Branch's line of vision, Hefty saw the problem; his fellow Smurfs. Though none had come closer yet, they were still staring at Branch and Poppy with unrestrained wonder and curiosity.

Suddenly Branch was stiffly trying to walk faster, trying to catch up with Poppy. Hefty was one thing, he somewhat knew the Smurf, but all of these look-a-likes were too much. There was no telling what any of these Smurfs wanted or would do if given the chance. And would they just stop staring already? He wouldn't be here if he had a choice!

"Woah," Hefty quickly caught up and cut Branch off, Branch hadn't realized how heavily he was breathing until Hefty had forced him to stop. "Take it easy, you're just going to hurt yourself more if you try to push yourself too much too soon."

"Poppy," was the only word Branch could manage between pants. Split ends, she was getting further away!

Turning, Hefty saw Poppy had managed to get some distance between them but wasn't looking back like she had been previously. Maybe she was too excited looking around at everything or distracted by whatever idea had popped into her head earlier to notice that he and Branch had fallen behind? He was going to have to run a bit to catch up.

Without thinking, Hefty turned back to Branch and tried to pick him back up but froze when Branch stepped back, automatically raising his arms in a self-defensive position. Yesterday it had been fun and a bit urgent to carry Branch against his will but now, if he really wanted Branch's trust, maybe he should try respecting his boundaries?

Quickly looking around, Hefty spotted on of the village bench's and pointed it out to Branch, "Just sit there for a minute. I'll grab Poppy and come right back for you."

As Hefty turned and rushed off, Branch wanted to scoff. He didn't need to sit, he needed to catch up with Poppy before that hyper princess got herself hurt! Just to spite him, Branch's head started to hurt, perhaps miffed at the exertion of energy he was still catching his breath from. Maybe sitting down wasn't a bad idea after all?

More Smurfs were walking around now. At least until they noticed Branch. Then they would stop and gawk at him, making Branch very much aware of the gauze all over his back and his bandaged arm. His hair moved awkwardly, trying to cover his back but stay calm and natural in its natural upright which only made him look less calm. Why didn't he let Poppy tie the blanket on him? He could have just blamed her for walking around looking stupid instead of being this exposed.

Finally sitting, Branch's hair relaxed and he did his best not to look around. He didn't need to see them to know that the staring Smurfs were still there. Maybe he should have let Hefty carry him but he wasn't a child, he could do things on his own. He's done just fine for the last twenty years.

Branch rubbed over his head, trying to ease the headache. All this trouble because Branch couldn't keep his damn mouth shut. If he hadn't been singing Hefty never would have come looking for its source. If Branch never met Hefty then Poppy never would have followed him into the woods and they would never have gotten hurt like this. If they hadn't have gotten hurt they wouldn't be stuck in this strange village, surrounded by strange Hefty-clones, being constantly stared at like some sort of freak.

But that means he never would have met Hefty. Things would have been better that way but the idea didn't sit right with Branch for some reason. The first Smurf Branch met really wasn't all that bad, he didn't seem interested in much besides getting to know Branch better which baffled the troll to no end. Hefty had even saved his and Poppy's lives from that Azrael cat-thing and Branch has yet to even thank him for it.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" a voice rose Branch from his thoughts. Standing beside him was Not-Hefty Smurf, scowling at him. At least it was better than all the gawking.

"Ah, sitting," Branch gestured to his body, currently on top of the bench in a sitting position.

"This is my bench," Not-Hefty sneered. "I come here same time, every day to grouch."

"Not stopping you," Branch looked him over for any defining characteristic. No tattoo, less muscles and the scowl were as far as he got. "Grouchy."

Not-Hefty huffed and sat beside Branch, crossing his arms, "How'd you know my name?"

"Wild guess," grumbled Branch and crossed his own arms. Really who named these Smurfs? The Papa one, right? He was either really patient in waiting for a defining trait to name all these Smurf with or really lazy.

"Aww," Poppy's voice made Branch look up again. She was riding on Hefty's back like a child as she grinned down at Branch. "You made a friend."

"Did not," Branch and Not-Hefty, Grouchy Smurf answered together. Well that didn't help his cause any.

Poppy giggled, sliding off Hefty's back as Branch stood.

"Try not to wander off," Branch half pleaded with the princess. "We don't know our way around here or anyone besides Hefty."

"You met Papa, Brainy and Willow last night," Hefty pointed out.

"And Smurfette," Poppy grinned.

"What am I, chopped liver?' Grouchy grouched.

"Yeah, yeah, nice to sit on a bench with you for half a minute Grouchy," Branch rolled his eyes.

"Grouchy?" Poppy giggled. "It's like he's your friendship soulmate."

Both Grouchy and Branch gave Poppy identical unimpressed looks as Hefty could barely contain his laughter as coughing.

Rolling his eyes, Branch turned back to Poppy, "Poppy, just stay close… please?"

Poppy overdramatically gasped, "You used the magic word! I am compelled to obey."

"Good," Branch sighed.

Spotting something behind Branch, Poppy's eyes sparkled, "Smurfette!"

Branch blinked and Poppy was gone, running off to speak to the blonde Smurf, "Seriously, what did we just finish talking about?!"

"At least she's in visual range?" Hefty waved to get Smurfette's attention and gestured for her to come towards them.

"But for how long?" Branch rubbed his forehead again, he was starting to feel a bit warm as his head continued to feel heavier by the minute. He really shouldn't have tried to run earlier.

Seeing the gesture, Hefty stepped closer and slowly, so not to startle Branch, raised his hand and touches Branch's forehead once Branch lowered his own hand, "You're really warm."

Raising his hand, Branch kept Hefty's hand on his forehead. Before when Hefty had carried him, the Smurf had felt really warm but now his hand felt cool against his burning skin.

"I think," Branch bit his lips, then sighed, "I think I need to lay back down."

Hefty nodded and slowly withdrew his hand, much to Branch's disappointment, "I'm going to pick you up again, okay?"

"I can walk," Branch grumbled but didn't move away.

"I know but you really wanna fall over and scare Poppy?" asked Hefty.

Branch crossed his arms, Hefty just knew that Branch had no idea he was pouting and was very cute at doing just that, "That's fighting dirty."

"I do what I gotta do," Hefty stepped closer, paused to see if Branch was going to fight him on his further, then picked him up.

The moment Branch was off his feet he became aware of just how drained he really as and slumped against Hefty. Though his hands had been cool, the rest of Hefty was still warm and felt nice and oddly familiar in a way Branch couldn't quite place as his eye drifted shut. He could feel Hefty give him a bit of a squeeze but he wasn't sure what for.

"Could you please not do that mushy stuff in font of my bench?" growled Grouchy.

Branch didn't really understand what Grouchy was referring to and could hear Poppy talking to him but couldn't make out the words. He fell asleep to the sound of whatever Hefty said in reply.

When Branch woke up again he was feeling chilled, curling up more onto his side in an attempt to retain some heat. His ears twitched to some movement near him before he felt another of the numerous blankets Poppy put on the bed, pulled over him. Slowly he managed to open his eyes and look at the blurry figure above him. The colors were wrong and what his brain was telling him was impossible but somehow something about his person made him question the possibility anyway.

"Grandma?"

The responding chuckle was warm but the voice definitely wasn't right. Branch blinked a few more times to clear his vision and saw that it was that Smurf Willow person standing above him and immediately felt ridiculous.

"Willow…"

"That's right," Willow nodded, pulling the blanket a little more securely around Branch. "Your fever has gotten worse I'm afraid. Hefty and Poppy are getting some food for you and Papa-thing is making some medicine." She saw Branch make a face and smiled gently, "I promise the medicine might taste nasty but it will help."

"It doesn't taste like Sarsaparilla, does it?" Branch recalled the horrid taste of those leaves Hefty had been so fond of and doubted he could drink anything like that without being sick afterward.

"Oh goodness no," Willow shook her head, "And I don't understand the boy's fondness for those leaves either."

Well at least there's that in his favor, Branch let his eyes close again but felt too cold to sleep. He probably wouldn't either with this unfamiliar Smurf standing watch over him. Then again, she had been there for who knows how long while he had been asleep previously and nothing happened. Maybe he could trust these Smurfs a little, Poppy was off alone with them after all…

"Poppy!" Branch sat up in the bed and immediately regretted it. His head felt so light he almost fell off the bed entirely.

Adding to Branch's humiliation, Willow caught Branch before he fell too far over and helped lay him back down on the bed.

"Relax, Poppy is safe," Willow assured him. "She's with Hefty, remember?"

"Hefty?" Branch relaxed a little. Hefty would definitely be able to keep Poppy out of trouble if Poppy didn't walk them both into trouble.

Willow pulled the blankets back over Branch and left to check on the medicine after Branch dozed back off.

"How's he doing?" Papa asked, smashing some herbs together.

"Still feverish and a bit disoriented," said Willow, glancing back at the bedroom. "And make sure that medicine doesn't taste like Sarsaparilla."

Papa Smurf hummed and looked at his ingredients, "I think we'll be good on that one."

Soon Hefty and Poppy returned, Hefty carrying a small pot of soup while Poppy carried a ladle, bowl and spoon. Hefty set down the pot by the hearth to keep it warm while Poppy put the rest on the counter near the hearth.

"How's Branch?" Hefty asked.

"He woke up briefly but we should let him rest," said Willow. She turned to Poppy, "Now near, I realized you two probably came here with Hefty in a hurry but do your family's have any idea where you are?"

"No," Poppy's ears drooped a little, "My father is probably so worried."

"And Branch's family?" asked Willow.

Poppy stayed silent and it worried Hefty, "Poppy?"

"Branch," Poppy hesitated. "Branch is an orphan."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Papa scratched his beard absently. He had raised so many Smurflings, it was hard to imagine one on their own. "How long ago did they pass?"

Ears drooping more, Poppy shrugged t she looked at her feet, "I don't know. I was only a toddler when we escaped the Bergan and they weren't around when I was older so I think it was before then."

The Bergan, those were those creatures that Poppy mentioned earlier. The ones that made Branch so… haunted.

"Poppy," Hefty glanced back at the bedroom. "What are the Bergen?"

Slowly Poppy reached up into her hair and pulled out a little book, which took the Smurfs by surprise. How did a book stay hidden up there?

Opening the book Poppy began her story of the happiest creatures, living in the happiest forest in the happiest tree when they were discovered by the Bergen. She told them how the Bergen were only happy when they ate Trolls and had a holiday based on the occasion. She explained how the Trolls escaped, led by her father King Peppy, and "no troll left behind" before they came to live at the tree they're at now.

"Branch is a little older than me," Poppy continues, putting away her book. "He remembers what the old Troll Tree at Bergen Town was like. He's always been scared that the Bergen would find us again and eat us all. It hasn't exactly earned him any friends…"

So, Branch has been alone, without a family, for twenty years. He's lived alone, underground, in a bunker to hide from the creatures that probably took his family from him. And there was no one besides Poppy that understood that? No wonder they were close. And it made sense that Branch was used to doing everything on his own. Poppy had been younger then him, why hadn't anyone tried to help Branch?

And no wonder Branch had looked so freaked out when Hefty said Branch's blood had tasted good. Hefty probably made Branch think of the monsters that devoured his parents. Oh Smurf, had Branch seen it happen? That would definitely turn any troll gray.

Unable to stand still, Hefty grabbed the ladle and bowl, filling it up with the soup that they had brought.

"Hefty, please don't try talking to Branch about the Bergen," Poppy pleaded. "At least not while he's sick; it would only upset him."

Taking a deep breath, Hefty rotated his shoulders, trying to ease the tension. After he was calmer, he gave a little nod.

"Thank you," Poppy gave Hefty a gentle hug from behind.

Once Poppy released him, Hefty grabbed the spoon and went to go check on Branch, carefully using his foot to direct the stool back towards the bedside without tripping. He set the bowl on the nightstand for a moment before looking at Branch.

Still asleep, Branch was curled up and eyebrows furrowed, not at all the peaceful sleep of the night before.

Papa had said earlier that Branch should eat before taking any more medicine and Willow said to let him rest so what could Hefty do to help Branch sleep better now? Last night Poppy had sang for Branch and though Hefty had an okay voice he was no Singer Smurf. He especially didn't have Branch's siren voice or Poppy's cheerful elegance.

Let's see, Poppy had also stroked Branch's hair. Could Hefty do that? Troll hair was definitely different from the hair of any other creature Hefty has seen before. Most of the time it seemed normal but could grow and move like a limb at the Troll's will but also move instinctively like when Branch's hair twitched at being watched.

Scooting closer, Hefty reached out and stroked over Branch's hair the way he had seen Poppy do last night, from the scalp up. The hair was definitely softer then Hefty thought, moving with Hefty's hand as he petted it.

When Branch's eyebrows relaxed, Hefty knew he had to be doing something right. Still he was not expecting Branch's hair to start moving.

Bits of Branch's hair near where Hefty was stroking moved around in a lazy sort of wave before wrapping around Hefty's arm near the wrist. The hair didn't really restrict Hefty's movement as long as Hefty kept stroking Branch's hair but made it impossible for Hefty to pull his hand back.

Turning a bit in his seat, Hefty looked towards the other room, wondering if he could get Poppy's attention without waking Branch. Surely, she would know of a way to make Branch's hair let him go.

A soft hum from the bed stopped Hefty from calling out though. He turned back to the bed to see Branch blinking himself awake, hair still holding onto Hefty's arm.

"Hefty?" Branch questioned, not quite sure who he was looking at.

"Yeah, it's me bro," Hefty flexed his hand a bit, glad the hair wasn't holding on very tightly. It was possible he could just pull himself free but he didn't want to accidentally pull any of Branch's hair out. "Do you think you could give me my arm back?"

Branch blinked and looked around, trying to figure out what Hefty meant. He moved his head a bit, feeling his hair pull at Hefty's arm and felt his face turning plum that he couldn't blame on the fever. His hair delicately released Hefty's arm and he covered his face, just what was his hair thinking?

"Thanks," said Hefty, watching Branch refuse to look at him. "Ah, does your hair doing that mean something?"

"Heck if I know," Branch grumbled. "It's never done that before."

"Okay then," Hefty scooted his stool closer and picked up the bowl. "Think you can sit up and eat? I brought you some soup."

"No, I'm just waiting for the Earth to swallow me up, help yourself," Branch still was not looking at him.

"The Earth can swallow you up later," Hefty rolled his eyes and set down the bowl as he stood. "You gotta eat something so you can take the medicine Papa is making."

Grumbling, Branch curled up more.

"Fine," Hefty sighed, "I'll go get Poppy."

Hefty turned around, whistled softly as he walked, smiling when he heard movement behinds him. He turned, smirking triumphantly when he saw Branch slowly sitting up.

"You can't blackmail me with Poppy forever," Branch frowned at him.

Taking his seat back on the stool, Hefty grinned as he picked back up the bowl, "Why not, it's fun."

"So happy my misery brings you joy," Branch reached for the bowl.

Hefty held the bowl out of Branch's reach, "I don't do it to torture you, I'm trying to make you take care of yourself."

"I admit right now isn't the best example but I normally take care of myself just fine," Branch took the bowl when Hefty offered it to him again, "Always have."

Branch ignored the spoon and slowly drank from the bowl, aware that Hefty was watching him but figured it was just him making sure Branch actually drank the soup. It wasn't like he was going to dump it the moment Hefty wasn't looking, he only did that whenever Cooper gave him cupcakes.

"You must really care about Poppy a lot," Hefty said slowly, "To let her into that tough shell of yours."

"She never really gave me a choice," Branch paused, licking his lips. "You're a lot like her in that way." He noticed Hefty practically preening and smiled a little to himself, "You're both as stubborn as they come, unmovable from your mindset like a rock in the mud," he huffed a little laugh behind the soup bowl at Hefty's indignant expression, "but I guess your hearts are in the right place."

"That might be the closest you've never gotten to complimenting me," Hefty smiled.

Again, Branch paused, thinking about it. Had he really never said anything nice to Hefty? Threatening, yelling, name calling; why did Hefty want to be around him again?

"I feel like you'd like me to compliment your muscles but you compliment yourself enough on those," Branch ventured, completely not the direction he should have gone in.

Que Hefty flexing, "Can you blame me?" The Smurf gave his bicep a kiss.

"Doofus," Branch finished off the bowl while Hefty chuckled. "An incredibly patient and brave doofus but a doofus all the same."

Hefty stared at Branch for a long time, Branch almost worried he had broken the muscle head's brain when Hefty raised his hands, putting his pointer fingers to his thumbs to make a frame around Branch, "I want to memorize this moment for all time."

"I'll scrap book it for you," Poppy announced, disappearing from the bedroom's doorway as quickly as she came.

"How long was she standing there for?" asked Hefty.

"No clue," Branch admitted. He fiddled with the empty bowl, the soup had helped him feel warmer but he was still a bit chilled. He set the bowl down and reached for another blanket by his feet but Hefty got there first, standing and lifting it up to cover him. "Um, thanks."

"No problem bro," said Hefty. "But that's your third blanket, are you that cold?"

"I can't help it," Branch mumbled, he was sick and not everyone would be the living embodiment of fire masquerading as a Smurf.

Papa Smurf came in carrying a vial, followed by Willow, "Would you like anymore to eat before you take the medicine Branch?"

Really Branch wanted to protest taking anything the older Smurf made but then Hefty would just Poppy involved and it would just be another display of how Poppy had Branch wrapped around her little finger. He could live without any further humiliation, thanks.

"I'm good," Branch took the vial when it was offered and drank it as quickly as possible. It wasn't as bad as he was expecting but it wasn't going to be the toast of any party any time soon.

Taking back the empty vial, Papa Smurf, to Branch's surprise, patted the top of his head. No one had done that in a really long time, he hadn't even thought to bat the hand away before it retreated on its own.

"Now I've made enough for three more doses," Papa explained. "Hopefully your fever will have broken by then but I can always make more. Try to eat something before you take any of it or it will just upset your stomach. Any questions?"

Still a bit dumb folded by the earlier fatherly gesture, Branch just shook his head.

"Alright, rest well," said Papa.

"And no more overexerting yourself," said Willow.

Branch hummed in acknowledgement and the elder Smurfs headed out of the mushroom with no sign of where Poppy wandered off to, again.

"Is Willow your mother?" Branch asked.

"Huh?" Hefty looked confused.

"Papa Smurf is your father, right?" said Branch. "So, is Willow your mother and if yes, how is she still alive?"

"Oh, you think Smurfs have kids like the rabbits and such where the boy and the girl-" Hefty put two hands together, "And out comes a baby."

"Thank you for the biology lesson Brainy, didn't see you come in," Branch couldn't help the feeling of satisfaction when Hefty gave him a dirty look.

"Don't be an ass," said Hefty. "But to answer your earlier question, Papa Smurf is our Papa but he isn't our father in the biological sense. Baby Smurfs are dropped off by the stork so we're not technically related like rabbit siblings would be. Like if Tailor and Cobbler wanted to date, they could. It's the same for Willow's village; she's not any of the girl's mother but she raised them and any of the two of them could date if they wanted."

"What's a stork?" asked Branch.

"A bird," answered Hefty.

"So, let me get this straight," Branch began slowly. "There's a bird that gets baby Smurfs from unknown origins. Said bird then delivers all the boys to one village, with the exception of Smurfette, and all the girls to another village? Is there one boy Smurf in Willow's village? And was the bird drunk?"

Hefty chuckles, "There's no boys in Willow's village, but she and Papa are talking about maybe the girls moving here. Their village was destroyed by Gargamel and though its fixable he now knows where it is an it's not as safe there as it used to be anymore. As for the drunk question… It is quite possible."

A small huff escaped Branch, but then it broke into a tiny chuckle. Honestly it was the most beautiful thing Hefty has ever heard outside of Branch's singing.

Branch wiped away some moisture that had gathered around his eyes. He really had not expected that, still it felt sort of nice. Maybe his fever made him more easily amused? It was definitely making him more tired.

Careful not to agitate his arm or back, Branch laid back down. He was close to drifting off a bed when he felt the bed shift, opening his eyes to see Hefty beside him, "What are you doing?"

"You're cold, I'm warm, figured I might work better than another blanket," Hefty shrugged.

"It's the middle of the day," Branch protested. "Shouldn't you be out lifting a dumbbell somewhere?'

"I can do that later," said Hefty. "You just sleep and think healing thoughts."

"I don't believe in that healing thoughts stuff," mumbled Branch but he could feel himself dozing off, Hefty really did give off a lot of heat.

"Sweet dreams Branch," Hefty said softly, scooting closer to the slumbering troll.

Chapter 3

Branch was back at the Troll Tree, at least he thought it was the Troll Tree. The branches were bigger and greener then Branch recalled, and there more pods closer together. He was sitting on one of the tree's branches and basking in the warm sunshine and he could smell laundry drying somewhere nearby. Oddly there seemed to be no one around.

"And I need you now tonight," an all too familiar voice rang in Branch's ears and he felt ice fill his entire body.

No, not again, Branch leapt to his feet and started running towards the voice, towards the smell of laundry and the site of impending doom. He could now see the bars of the cage surrounding the old Troll Tree, blocking out bits of light and closing in on him with every step.

"And I need you more than ever," the voice continued and Branch cursed it.

Shut up! Shut up you damn brat, Branch tried to run faster but only seemed to slow down. You have no idea what you're doing.

"And if you only hold me tight," the voice sang and Branch found himself barely able to breath.

"Please stop, please, not again," Branch sobbed, able to see the laundry just ahead of him. He climbed, unable to stretch his hair and arms feeling heavy. Why did this keep happening?

"We'll be holding on forever," the voice taunted Branch just as he managed to get to the top but his Grandmother was already running away, towards the younger him singing obliviously ignorant of the Bergen approaching him.

"Grandma, come back," Branch screamed after her but she couldn't hear him. She never did.

"And we'll only be making it right," younger Branch sang.

"Branch, watch out," Branch's Grandmother cried.

"'Cause we'll never be wrong-" younger Branch finally looked up at his Grandmother just in time for his Grandmother to push him out of the way and be snatched by the Bergan.

Branch saw his younger self fall and rushed forward, being able to hear nothing but her scream. He reached the end of the limb before the Bergan reached the gate but then everything around him disappeared, replaced with nothing but gray.

"No," Branch whimpered, falling to his knees and saw what little blue he reclaimed, wither away from his hands. "Come back…"

"-Together," Poppy's sweet voice called out to him and Branch saw her standing beside him as he knew her now, smiling as she lifted Branch back to his feet and continued to sing, "We can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time (all of the time)
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight."

With a smile Poppy kissed Branch's cheek but then let go of his hands and she was gone.

"Poppy?" Branch called out but he was still alone. He could feel her warmth in the air but it wasn't reaching the chill inside of him and the grey was only getting darker. Against his will he began to sing, "Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I'm only falling apart
And there's nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart."

"It's beautiful!" Hefty's voice happily called out to him.

Branch spotted Hefty standing a short distance away behind him.

All around them the gray is starting to turn a little lighter.

"Hefty?" Branch's feet take him towards the Smurf.

"Ever since I heard it, all I've wanted to do is seek you out," Hefty continued as if not hearing Branch speak.

All around them the ground shakes but Hefty doesn't seem to notice. Suddenly looming above, is a giant cloaked figure but it doesn't seem to be a Bergen. Could this be the wizard Hefty could them about?

The cloaked figure of Gargamel reaches for Hefty and Branch runs towards them butt he short distance between them stretches and Branch only gets further away. All he can do is watch as Gargamel lifts Hefty up and there's a flash of blue light and Hefty is just discarded midair.

Branch is finally at Hefty's side shortly after he hits the ground. Branch checks Hefty's grayed body for warmth, for a pulse, for anything but he finds nothing.

The grey that had been around them was black now and Branch can hardly make Hefty out anymore even though they're so close.

"No," Branch whimpers and he can fell the tears pouring down his face, "Hefty…"

"Thank you," the voice above him looms, sounding like a thousand voices echoing in the nothing, "For leading me to him with your singing."

The ice in Branch cracks but there's no warmth, only a deep pain spreading through his core. He almost wishes he'd go numb just so it would stop. If only he were dead instead of Hefty.

It seems as though Branch will get his wish as he sees Azrael's outline, bigger then he remembered, and practically glowing in the darkness, bounding towards them.

Branch awoke feeling something trying to restrain him. Instinctively he struggled, fighting and thrashing about as hard as he could despite the pain rippling through his arm and stinging his back so he could get free. He was not going down without a fight!

"Branch," Hefty shouted, scared to let go in case Branch hurt himself in his panic. "Branch calm down, it's me; Hefty."

Shockingly Branch immediately stilled and went partly limp trying to look at Hefty. His eyes were wide, unseeing, not unlike when he first awoke after Azrael's attack.

"Hefty?" Branch said slowly, almost unsure of what he was seeing.

"Yeah, bro, it's me," Hefty assured, loosening his hold on Branch so it wasn't so tight but kept him close.

"What's happening?" Branch's voice was still very soft, uncertain.

"You were having a nightmare," Hefty answered and, at Branch's confused face, reached up a hand to wipe way a few of Branch's tears which only seemed to confuse him more. "I take it that you don't remember?"

There was a pause as Branch thought about it, looking at Hefty as if he had never seen him before. He sighed and shook his head, "Just a vague… feeling."

"Must have been bad to react that way," Hefty recalled Branch struggle even in his sleep, crying and tossing so much Hefty held him in an attempt to calm him. He wanted to ask if it was about the Bergen but Branch said he didn't remember and he promised Poppy he wouldn't bring those monsters up while Branch was sick.

Branch hummed and shifted, looking at the rest of Hefty now, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

A warm chuckle escaped Hefty, "No man, not even a scratch."

"Pretty sure lots of muscles don't equal invulnerability," commented Branch.

"I'm fine," smiled Hefty, "I promise."

Silence stretched out for a bit but it wasn't uncomfortable. They just sat there, Hefty holding Branch close and upright, which confused Branch a bit. He was awake and calm now, why was Hefty till holding him?

"How long have I been asleep?" Branch questioned.

Keeping a hold of Branch, Hefty looked towards the window, trying to gauge the light to tell the time, "A few hours, you should probably eat again and take more medicine."

"Watching me sleep and playing nursemaid must all be so riveting for you," Branch grumbled, "Is Poppy bouncing off the walls yet?"

"She was but Smurfette came back and they went out together," Hefty carefully made sure Branch could sit up on his own before getting off the bed, trying not to think about how empty his arms suddenly felt. "And before you panic, Smurfette won't let anything happen to Poppy and Papa old the others to be on their best behavior."

"They better be," Branch crossed his arms, carefully not to agitate his injured one any further. Plus, he was starting to get chilled again since Hefty left the bed. He better not be becoming dependent on Hefty for warmth or Poppy just might abduct the unsuspecting Smurf when it was time to head home. There was no doubt in Branch's mind that she would do it too.

Hefty grabbed the empty soup bowl and headed back to the other room to retrieve more soup and Branch looked around the room a bit. The mushroom was basically three rooms, the main room where medicine was made, this room with the bed and a side room that Branch didn't know what was.

Curious, Branch extended his hair to open the side door, not surprised to see a washroom. That was good, he'll need to use that sooner or later.

Returning with the soup, Hefty watched as Branch pulled his hair back to himself, "Your hair can be rather useful, huh?"

"Most of the time," Branch brushed his hair back a little once it fully returned to it's relaxed position. He took the offered soul from Hefty and noticed Hefty now had a bowl for himself as well. The poor Smurf had been stuck with him practically non-stop since Hefty saved Branch from Azrael. "You don't have to stay with me all day you know. You can take a break, work out, eat some of that nasty sarsaparilla."

"Hey, just because you don't like it, doesn't mean sarsaparilla is nasty," Hefty used a spoon for his soup as Branch drank his from the bowl again. "And I'm just fine hanging out here with you."

"Are you sure your name isn't Nurse Smurf?" asked Branch.

"Ha ha," Hefty laughed sarcastically and rolled his eyes. He ate for a bit in silence, trying to think of a way to ask Branch what he wanted to ask. "So, Poppy mentioned her father earlier; King Peppy?"

"Yeah?" Branch paused to look at Hefty, feeling like this was leading to another question.

"So, Poppy is a princess?" asked Hefty.

"Yep," Branch drank some more soup, still wandering where this was going.

Though Hefty knew the answer from talking to Poppy, Hefty figured it was the best way to gauge Branch's feelings by asking, "So you're going to be the Troll King one day?"

Branch almost spat out his soup, coughing a bit as he turned to Hefty, "Say what now?"

"Well when you and Poppy get married," Hefty ventured.

"Poppy and I are not getting married," snapped Branch. "What made you think that?"

Oh Smurf, Hefty should have thought this out better. "Well you're so protective of you and, um, she said she loved you?"

Branch stared at Hefty weirdly and Hefty knew he should have kept that last part to himself. Way for this to backfire.

"She doesn't mean it that way," Branch put down the soup and curled up a bit, ear drooping a little like Poppy's had when she told the story of the Bergen.

"You love her?" Hefty really regretted opening up his line of questioning now. His stomach was feeling all knotted and he also put his own soup down.

Silently, Branch fiddled with the blankets over his knees.

"Yes," Branch said slowly but almost like a question, "No?" He sighed and shrugged, "I don't know. It's been so long since," he sighed again, "It's complicated."

This was definitely dangerous territory. Hefty should've waited to bring it up or never brought it up at all. Still he was already one foot in the grave, he might as well keep digging.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hefty scratched the back of his neck. "Talking about things helped before, right?"

Silence was Hefty's initial answer again but he expected it. Branch wasn't the sort to just share things without being pushed or without thinking it over and thinking it over some more.

"While I've been asleep," Branch started, unsure, "Has Poppy told you more about how Troll colors work?"

"A bit," Hefty admitted.

"Did she tell you about me," Branch hesitated. If Hefty didn't already know did he really want to share this? It hadn't been a secret for twenty years and if Branch had met Hefty just a month or so earlier he would have known off the back but somehow, he wanted didn't want Hefty to know. He wanted to keep that secret buried away with so many other things but he also knew that he owed Hefty something about himself after everything even if was just Branch greedily working through his own problems, again.

Branch licked his lips and stared at his knees, "About me being gray?"

"Er, yes," Hefty admitted slowly, hoping Poppy wouldn't try to get even for this later.

Rubbing his eyes, Branch stifled a groan. He should have known Poppy would share something like that without thought. At least it saved him some trouble of explaining the basics.

"I was four when, when we came to where we live now," Branch began. "I was at a home with other children who, who lost their parents but I couldn't stand it there. It was crowded and loud and they were so happy despite everything and I lashed out a lot. After a bit I ran away and made myself a camp outside of the village. I'd still come for school and such but I ran away each time they took me back to the home. After a while they stopped trying."

Despite himself, Hefty thought back to when he was four. Papa wouldn't allow any of them to handle knives and the most they could do to help in the kitchen was stir and help clean up. Back then they all lived in one giant mushroom, where Papa would hug and kiss each one of them good night, before they were older took down the big mushroom to build their own smaller mushrooms. While he was always surrounded by love and family, Branch had been alone.

Not noticing Hefty's thoughts, Branch continued, "I started to build my bunker, a place I would be safe in case, in case anything bad happened. Everyone left me alone except for…"

"Except for Poppy," Hefty reasoned.

"Except for Poppy," Branched nodded. "From the moment she could walk around on her own she followed me around trying to 'brighten me up'. She would sing and dance and invited me to parties, no matter how many times I refused or how mean I was to her. For a long time, I just thought she was annoying, I hadn't realized how much I came to relay on her happiness until she needed me to help her be happy once."

"That's how you started to get your color back," Hefty sighed. It was good leaning more about Branch and he was glad Poppy had helped him but, he wished it didn't make him feel so Smurfing hopeless.

Again, Branch nodded, "I do love Poppy. She means the world to me and I would do anything to protect her." He sighed. "But being in love with her; I don't know. I haven't loved someone since… and I've never been in love. I wouldn't know what it felt like if it tried to eat me like that stupid cat-thing."

"I really hope falling in love doesn't feel like being eaten," Hefty offered a soft smile.

"Have you ever been in love?" asked Branch, wanting more than anything to stop talking about himself for a bit.

Hefty fiddled with his spoon as he thought about how to answer. Honesty was probably the best approach.

"I thought I was once," Hefty admitted.

"You thought you were?" Branch questioned.

"Yeah," Hefty shrugged, "With Smurfette."

Oh, that one girl Smurf Poppy was so flustered by. Why did Branch feel like he had double the reason not to like her now?

"I know I said earlier no one on the village is really related but they've always felt like my brothers," Hefty furthered explained. "Part of why I work out so much is that I wanted to be strong enough to protect them."

"So, it isn't purely ego," Branch couldn't help but tease.

"Eh, ego helps," Hefty admitted, smiling at Branch rolling his eyes. "But Smurfette didn't grow up here. It's not my place to tell you her origins but when she came to live here, I thought she was the one. She's amazing, funny, smart, beautiful; you know, the whole package sort of deal. I flirted with her for a long time but it never really went anywhere.

'When we discovered the lost village of girl Smurfs, we almost lost her and I was devastated. After we got Smurfette back, I was so relieved but after that, I don't know, happiness high faded, I realized the romantic feelings just weren't there anymore. It was the relief of discovering my friend was safe, not the potential of someone I wanted to spend my life with.

'And, believe it or not, we actually grew closer afterward and she's my best friend I go to when I need to talk to someone. I actually went and talked to her before I snuck off to find that siren's voice I kept hearing."

While Hefty spoke, Branch had given the occasional nod to show that he was listening but didn't respond right away when Hefty finished.

"Dude," Branch stared at Hefty. "Did you just call me a siren?"

When Hefty's cheeks turned a darker blue, Branch realized that the Smurf was blushing.

"You should finish your soup," Hefty almost knocked over his stool with how quickly he stood up. "I'll go get your next dose of medicine."

Watching Hefty rush from the room, Branch wondered if he would never understand Smurfs. He guessed he had time to figure it out while he waited for his fever to pass.

This would probably be a good time to use the washroom before that medicine made him sleepy again. He carefully got off the bed and just stood still for a moment to make sure he wouldn't fall over. His head was still a bit off but if he went slow, he didn't foresee any problems for he really didn't want Hefty's help on this one.

Hefty paced in the other room a bit, trying to calm his racing heart. He had not meant to call Branch a siren to his face. What if Branch thought he was weird now? Or at least weirder than Branch already thought he was. He couldn't face himself if that little slip made Branch uncomfortable around him.

Like a pair of angels, Poppy and Smurfette came into the mushroom. They must have gone to tailors for Poppy was wearing a dress identical to Smurfette's. At least the dress used o be identical for while Smurfette's was pristine as always, Poppy's dress had what looked like cake batter, grass stains and mud staining her dress, and it was randomly flaked with something that sparkled in the light.

"How's our patient?" asked Poppy, holding up a basket from bakers. "We brought muffins; I helped make them."

That explained the batter at least. What else had these girls been doing that got Poppy so messy?

"He's awake," Hefty said softly, "But I'm really glad you're here Poppy."

"Thanks," Poppy said softly in return. "Why are we whispering?"

"So Branch doesn't hear," whispered Hefty. "I need you to distract him for a bit, make him forget anything he may have wanted to ask me before you got here."

"Why?" asked Poppy.

"Because."

"Why?"

"Because!"

"Why?"

"Because I accidentally called him a siren to his face and now he's going to think I'm weird and I need him to forget about it, okay?" Hefty said as loudly as he could in a whisper.

"Aww," Poppy cooed. "He's your siren? That's so cute."

Hefty wanted to scream when he saw Poppy had lifted her hands to make the shape of a heart. He barely held back from shaking her to make her focus for he knew Branch would never forgive him if he accidentally hurt her.

"Hefty, do you have a crush on Branch?" asked Smurfette.

"No," snapped Hefty at the same time Poppy said, "Yes."

"I do not," growled Hefty.

"Fine, you love him," grinned Poppy.

"Poppy," Hefty warned.

"You wanna kiss him," Poppy sang.

"Poppy," Hefty tried again.

"You wanna make little Troll/Smurfs if that's even possible," Poppy put a little dance into her singing, which made Smurfette giggle.

"Poppy!" Hefty grabbed Poppy by her shoulders to make her stop.

"Poppy, I don't know what you're doing, but stop tormenting Hefty," Branch called from the other room which made Hefty freeze and look around in a paranoid manner.

"Do," Hefty swallowed. "Do you think he heard?"

"Nah," Poppy shook her head and stepped back from Hefty's hold. "Branch is oblivious to feelings. You could probably profess your undying love to him and he'd still think you were joking or something."

Poppy skipped into the other room and Hefty took a deep breath to calm himself. At least he had a shield from Branch's questions for a while.

"Hey," Smurfette put a hand onto Hefty's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "If you like him, you should tell him. Not right now obviously, but later when he's better and it's a more romantic setting."

"I don't know," Hefty admitted and absolutely hated it. "Things are complicated."

"Maybe but nothing is going to happen if you don't try," Smurfette smiled at him, "He'd be lucky to have you, you know? You're great."

Slowly Hefty smiled, "Thanks Smurfette."

When the Smurfs joined the Trolls in the bedroom, Poppy was sitting on the bed next to Branch, happily munching a muffin while Branch sniffed one and nibbled.

"How long did that dress stay clean," Branched eyed the formally white dress. "Five minutes?"

"Ten minutes, thank you very much," Poppy quipped.

"Ah yes, please forgive me for underestimating you," Branch rolled his eyes.

"You're forgiven, now eat," Poppy poked Branch's muffin.

Branch batted her hand away, "Sorry I'm not an endless vacuum like you."

Poppy put her hand to her chest and gasped in mock hurt, winking at Smurfette when she came over to sit at the foot of the bed near Poppy.

Still Hefty hesitated to join them. He shuffled his feet and went over to stand by Branch, "Um, listen, I need to grab some things from my place but I'll be right back, okay?"

Branch blinked but nodded, "Alright."

"Make sure he takes the medicine when he's done eating," Hefty handed the vial to Smurfette for safe keeping.

"Fear not Hefty, Smurfette and I shall guard Branch with our lives," Poppy saluted him.

"If I'm in danger in bed, there's something seriously wrong here," Branch mumbled but it was easy enough for them to hear.

Chuckling a little, Hefty turned to head out.

"Hefty?" Branch's voice called.

"Yeah?" Hefty turned back.

"Um," Branch hesitated, "See you soon?"

"Yeah," Hefty smiled, "See you soon."

Instead of heading straight home, Hefty walked around a bit trying to clear his mind.

All around him, he could see some of the girl Smurfs milling about with his brothers. There was no clear indication if they were moving in yet but it was a nice distraction from his thoughts, though it didn't last long.

As it stood, Poppy loved Branch but was not in love with Branch. At the same time Branch loved Poppy but wasn't sure what that love exactly was. Where did that leave Hefty?

To be completely honest with himself, Hefty was in love with Branch. He may have not realized it yet, but he was from the moment Branch's song first reached his ears. The love took hold when he first heard the singing up close and finally heard the siren voice crystal clear. Along with agitation at Branch's initial hostility, the love grew with each interaction, loving Branch's stubbornness, his fighting spirit, his protectiveness of his village, and later of Poppy, and those moments of honesty and vulnerability.

There wasn't an exact moment where the love made itself known to Hefty but he felt it as surely as he felt the sun on his skin. Somehow it just felt right but also like he was just setting himself up for disappointment again like he had with Smurfette.

First of all, despite the blue hue of his skin, Branch was not a Smurf. Smurfs and Trolls were vastly different and lived far apart from each other. How would a relationship between them even work?

Would Branch even want a relationship? With Branch's uncertain feelings for Poppy and his general hesitation to trust a relationship seemed like a stretch. Poppy said that Branch would probably think Hefty was joking. Was Branch that convinced that he was so hard to love?

But really, could Hefty blame Branch if that was the case? Branch had been alone for most of his life, no family and other adults who had given up on him for being difficult. Were Trolls so happy that they couldn't handle one troubled child?

No matter what happened Hefty would make sure Branch was not going to be alone anymore. He'd go to the forbidden every day to see Branch if Branch would be willing to meet him somewhere like before. He'd make sure Branch knew Hefty cared about him and, maybe, one day tell him how he feels.

Up ahead, Hefty spotted Papa Smurf talking to Smurf Willow and headed for them.

"Ah, good afternoon Hefty," Papa Smurf smiled warmly when he spotted him. "Taking a break from watching over your friend?"

"Sort of," Hefty scratched the back of his neck. "I just need to get a few things before I head back."

"I see," Papa scratches his beard, watching Hefty shift around awkwardly in a manner very untypical of Hefty. "Is something the matter?"

"No," Hefty said quickly. "I just, that is I just wanted to…"

Stepping forward quickly, Hefty grabbed Papa up into a hug and just held him. When was the last time he just hugged Papa like this? He thinks he was still an apple shorter than the elder Smurf and he regretted not doing this more often.

"Hefty?" Papa hugged Hefty back but couldn't help but be concerned. He always expected protectiveness, bravery and a bit of ego from this particular Smurfling; open affection was not all that common outside of moment of extreme distress or overflowing joy but Hefty didn't seem to be either. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Hefty kept hugging Papa, not caring if the entire village saw. "I love you Papa."

Papa smiled, holding Hefty a little tighter and wondered if he had that blue Troll to thank for amazing gift, "I love you too, my little Smurfling."

Chapter 4

After talking to Papa for a bit, Hefty headed back to his house. He grabbed a couple of small dumbbells and the book Brainy had lent him ages ago that he kept putting off reading. Once he had those, he dropped by Tailor's to see if Poppy inquired about a vest for Branch and then to Baker's for some bread and jam that he could make sandwiches with and would be fine at the Recovery Mushroom or a bit.

By the time Hefty returned to the Recovery Mushroom, it was close to dinner time. Of course, he found Poppy and Smurfette still in the bedroom with a sleeping Branch but hadn't expected the scene in front of him.

Sitting pretzel style on the bed, Poppy had moved to the side of the bed Hefty normally was and was braiding Smurfette's hair, who was sitting on the stool next to the bed. That wasn't the odd part though. The off-putting part was Branch, while asleep, apparently put his bad arm around Poppy's waist, the arm resting in her lap, while he sort of curled around her back.

"Hey Hefty," Poppy greeted softly as if she didn't have the Troll Hefty loved wrapped around her. "Got everything you need?"

"Yeah," Hefty quietly put the things he retrieved to the side, trying with all his might not to kick Poppy out of his spot. "What's going on here?"

"I'm braiding Smurfette's hair," Poppy beamed, "Isn't it pretty? Of course, it's always pretty but-"

"Not that," Hefty suggested towards Branch.

Poppy looked at Branch, then Hefty, then back to Branch before getting what he was asking, "Ah that." She shrugged and went back to braiding. "Branch was cold but absolutely refused to snuggle with me, the stubborn Troll, so he agreed to this and I agreed to stop talking so he could sleep."

Smurfette giggled and turned to Hefty, "The way they talk, it's like watching you and Bainy argue. Only Poppy is way more affectionate then either of you combined."

"And proud of it," Poppy finished off the braid and reached into her own hair. She gathered a few loose strands and used them as a ribbon to tie the braid off. "There, perfect."

"You really do use your hair for everything, don't you?" Hefty shook his head at himself for overreacting. Poppy had made her affection for Branch clear and it wasn't her fault that Branch wasn't sure. He needed to learn not to jump to conclusions if he ever wanted to get anywhere with Branch.

"It's a Troll's best friend," Poppy patted her ponytail with a smile. "If you had hair I could do something with yours too."

Hefty frowned, "I have hair, you just can't see it from under my hat." He reached up and pulled his hat off, careful not to let any of the things in it to drop out.

Letting out a tiny gasp, Poppy stared. Before her, Hefty had short dark blue, nearly black hair that was buzzed in an undercut around his ears but then grew thicker higher up and fluffed up adorably by his forehead. She blindly reached out and started to shake Branch's shoulder.

"Don't wake him," Hefty started to put his hat back on.

Snatching away the hat with her hair, Poppy shook Branch more, "Wake up Branch!"

Though he startled a little, Branch didn't spring up, looking around in confusion, "Poppy, what-"

Not listening, Poppy helped Branch sit up and pointed, "Look at Hefty!"

Half asleep, Branch looked at Poppy's pointed hand first and saw the hat she had captured, "Why do you have a Smurf hat?"

Poppy hushed Branch and physically directed Branch's face in the proper direction, "Look!"

Finally, Branch's eyes landed on Hefty. His eyes became wider, more awake, but he remained silent.

So, that's what typical Smurf hair looked like. At least that's what Hefty's hair looked like. Before now, Branch thought male Smurfs were bald until they grew beards in their old age.

Besides Troll newborns, Branch had never seen hair so short but it suited Hefty. The hair was a good color with his cerulean blue skin and surprisingly didn't look greasy from being under a hat all day. In fact, it looked really soft and Branch sort of wanted to touch it.

At the staring, something clicked in Hefty's brain. Of course, Troll's would be attracted to hair. Hair was like one of the most fundamental parts of their lives that they used for everything as far as Hefty could tell. He made his way over to the bed, sitting down in front of Branch and flashed his most charming smile.

"You can touch it, if you want," Hefty offered.

Branch swallowed and looked at the hair, clearly tempted as he fiddled his hands together. Slowly he raised his uninjured hand, glanced at Hefty's face again, before finally touching the Smurf's hair.

The buzzed part was a bit bizarre feeling but interesting and lead the way up to the thicker hair, teasing Branch's hand with its softness. The short strands made it fascinating to run his fingers through and tickled a little each time he pulled his fingers free, so unlike Troll hair that you couldn't touch all of in a single stroke.

At first Hefty watched Branch's rapt expression as the Troll marveled at Hefty's hair but the stroking felt so nice his eyes drifted shut so he could concentrate on the feeling. The hand was curious but gentle and Hefty had to take in a deep breath from making any sort of inappropriate noises.

Ears catching the deep inhale, Branch looked back at Hefty's face to see that the Smurf had closed his eyes. The expression there was of such deep contentment that Branch felt his cheeks burn a bit. Also, this was the closest Branch had ever been to Hefty's face. If circumstances were different, it would have been a perfect position to kiss him.

Now that was an odd thought. It also reminded Branch that Poppy and Smurfette were watching Branch pet Hefty's hair for a longer time that was decent.

"Um, thanks," Branch stammered as he regretfully pulled his hand back to himself. When Hefty open his eyes to look at him, he felt the need to say more. "It's really nice… and soft."

"Thanks man," Hefty smiled warmly and it made Branch feel warmer.

"Oh, I wanna feel," Poppy squealed. "Pretty please?"

Hefty chuckled and leaned a little to give Poppy access.

Poppy squealed again and buried both hands into Hefty's hair, ohing and awing at all the different textures and frustrating Branch to no end.

"Poppy, stop molesting Hefty's head," Branch groaned. "You're really overstepping boundaries here."

"But it's so cute and soft," Poppy actually nuzzled the top of Hefty's head. "Just like a little Trollings."

"Okay, I draw the line at being compared to a baby," Hefty straightened, forcing Poppy to release he hold and ignoring her pout.

After Poppy's crazy exploration Hefty's hair was splayed about wildly at awkward angles. Perfect excuse for Branch to touch it again, trying to tame it with his fingers.

"I don't suppose you have a comb?" Branch ventured.

"Nope," Hefty replied, perfectly fine with Branch's fingers doing the work.

"I have one," Smurfette offered, reaching into her hat to pull out a small pink comb. She pretended not to see Hefty's dirty look and held the comb out to Branch.

Though he wasn't sure why Smurfette would give him the comb and not Hefty, Branch shrugged and took the comb anyway. He carefully tried to style to back to the way it was before, half aware that Hefty was watching him the whole time.

Once Branch was done, Poppy returned Hefty's hat but Hefty didn't put it back on. Instead he served up the bread and jam he brought, along with the rest of the soup.

The blue jam didn't smell familiar, Branch dipped his finger into some of the jam on his bread for closer inspection. It definitely wasn't blueberry; the color was a bit too bright. He licked his finger, then sucked on it a bit to make sure he got it all. The jam was sweeter than he expected but still unidentifiable.

"It's sweet," Branch murmured. "What is it?"

"Smurfberries," Smurfette giggled, but what was so funny about that?

Turning to ask Hefty, Branch found Hefty staring at him, "What?"

"Nothing," Hefty said quickly and stuffed far too much sandwich into his mouth.

Smurfs, Branch shook his head and began to eat.

Soon all the food was gone and the dirty dishes were stacked into the soup pot.

"I'll wash these and return them to chef," said Smurfette, picking up the dishes.

"I'll help," Poppy announced.

"Wait, aren't you staying here?" asked Branch.

"No, I'm sleeping over at Smufette's," said Poppy.

"But-" Branch started.

"You don't need me crowding you and I'll see you in the morning," Poppy promised and kissed his forehead. "Good night Branch."

Branch sighed once the girls were gone, "At least she didn't boop my nose." At Hefty's confused look, he continued. "It's something Creek back home does, super annoying."

"Sounds like it," Hefty closed up the jam. "So, are you ready for some more medicine?"

Looking out the window, Branch shook his head, "It's still early. I rather wait until it's closer to bedtime so I can sleep through the night."

"Good thinking," Hefty ran his hand through his hair, not used to not wearing his hat and liking the way Branch stared each time he did it. "What would you like to do now?"

Branch spotted the dumbbells Hefty brought over, "Why don't you work out?"

"Wouldn't that be rather boring for you?" asked Hefty.

"You've been watching me sleep for most of the day," pointed out Branch. "I think I can handle being bored for a few hours."

"Alright," Hefty began to stretch.

Alright Heft-man, Hefty cheered himself on, time to be impressive. Show this Troll what a fine specimen of Smurf you are.

Watching Hefty stretch was much different then all of Hefty's numerous boastful flexes. Branch could actually see the muscles move, how they worked, fluidity between relaxed and tensed as they worked was a little spell bounding.

Then Hefty began to work out, running in place and doing push-ups. First with both hands, one hand, then a finger? Now he was just showing off.

It didn't take long for Hefty's body to start to glisten with sweat and Branch was starting to feel a little weird watching this. Somehow it seemed… intimate, even though something told Branch that Hefty worked out in public all the time.

Time moved quickly and before Branch knew it, Hefty was doing cool down stretches. Still stretching, Hefty snuck a look at Branch, noting the intense stare and the plum colored blush on the Troll's cheeks. Perhaps Hefty underestimated Branch's interesting in him after all?

"Well," Hefty said casually, "I feel much better." He ran his fingers through his hair again. "I'm going to wash up really quick." With a smile, he headed to the washroom.

Silently watching him go, Branch wondered what the heck was happening to his brain. He said say something right? Like, "good 'cause you stink" and throw in a "muscle head" for good measure but the words did not come out.

The washroom door closed and Branch could fully breath again. Why the split ends was he reacting this way? To Hefty of all creatures?

This was so incredibly stupid. Hefty had only been interested in Branch's voice and the possibility of becoming friends. Heck, the Smurf had thought Branch and Poppy were due to be married just earlier that day and Hefty didn't seem the sort to be interested in breaking up what he thought of as a couple.

Take all these stupid, whatever they are, feelings, put them in a box and bury them below the bunker. They would do nothing but cause trouble.

When Hefty came out of the washroom, Branch was looking at the book Hefty brought.

Putting his towel around his neck and absently holding onto the ends, Hefty walked over and leaned over Branch to look at the book, "Can you read that?"

Branch glanced at Hefty but quickly returned his gaze to the book, determined to not stare so much this round, "Yes. I guess our languages are similar enough that I understand most of this."

"What don't you understand?" Hefty sat on the bed next to him.

"Oh just 'Smurf this' and 'Smurf that' and 'Smurfy' and 'Smurfing'," Branch listed a few. "I hadn't realized you used 'Smurf' as an adjective for so many things and in some instances, I can't tell what it's in place of."

Hefty hummed, not sure how to explain it, "Maybe it would make more sense if read out loud?"

"I'd probably get the inflection wrong," said Branch.

"I meant me reading it to you," Hefty reached for the book.

Branch held the book out of reach, "I'm a little old for a bedtime story."

Hefty rolled his eyes, "It's not a big deal. Look, Brainy leant me that book ages ago and I have yet to start it. Why don't you take your medicine and I can read it out loud until you get tired? That way we can both enjoy it."

"Hmm, fine," Branch relented the book. "But if you try to do stupid voices or anything I am taking this book and hitting you with it."

"Would like to see you try," Hefy dodged a pillow and went to get the medicine.

After the medicine was taken, Hefty propped up some pillows so they could both recline back but be a little upright to read the book. Branch ended up with his head on Hefty's shoulder so he could look at the book while Hefty read. Hefty didn't seem to mind so Branch didn't move.

Before Hefty began, he hesitated, "Hey Branch?"

"Yeah?' Branch half looked at him from the awkward position.

"Did your parents ever read to you?" Hefty asked softly, sure he was breeching a sensitive subject but it didn't feel right not asking as well.

Looking back at the book, Branch didn't seem like he was going to answer, then he shrugged, "I don't know, they were gone before I was old enough to form memories of them. It had just been, just me and Grandma."

Ah, so it was Branch's grandmother that he lost, Hefty surmised. He wanted to ask more but that could break his promise to Poppy and he was a Smurf of his word.

"So maybe they did," Branch continued, unaware of the questions going through Hefty's mind. He hesitated, then added, "But Grandma used to."

"Did your Grandma use voices?" asked Hefty.

"No voices," Branch warned. "Stop yammering and Smurfing read already."

Hefty laughed, shaking Branch a bit but Branch didn't mind. He started out with a silly voice but, at Branch's pinch on his arm, spoke normally, his voice calm and steady.

Mid-third chapter, Branch's eyes begin to droop. He found himself sleepily snuggling up to Hefty's warmth but really too tired to care.

"Want me to stop?" Hefty's voice was soft, it took Branch's mind a groggy minute to figure out what he meant.

"No," Branch shook his head a bit. "Keep going."

Hefty paused, then said, "Lift your head for a second."

Branch lifted his head but kept his eyes closed. He felt Hefty shift and then a hand came up to gently tilt Branch's head back onto Hefty's shoulder. Now he could feel that Hefty's arm was around him, becoming a bit more of a pillow. The arm around him adjusted slightly to reach up and absently play with Branch's hair as Hefty went back to reading.

This was odd. This didn't seem normal for friends to do. But it also felt really nice and Branch drifted off feeling safer than he had for a very long time.

In the morning Branch woke up, feeling calm. He was warm, but comfortably so, and his head felt a lot better.

Slowly Branch became aware of what was around him. He was still on Hefty's shoulder, the Smurf still fast asleep, and most of Branch's hair had curled around Hefty's head. The rest of Branch's hair had stretched out, lightly wrapping around Hefty's arm that Branch could see and Branch could feel more of his hair wrapped around Hefty's arm that was around him.

The hair's hold on Hefty was gentle but possessive and protective. It was the sort of holding lovers would sometimes instinctively do when sleeping beside their mate.

"Stop it," Branch hissed at his hair, watching it carefully release Hefty and return to its rightful place. Thank goodness Hefty hadn't seen, He wasn't sure how he would have explained that to the Smurf.

Carefully getting out of Hefty's hold without waking Hefty, Branch slipped from the bed and just stood still to test the waters. His head was still feeling good and nothing was spinning so that was promising.

Branch used the washroom and cleaned up, feeling a bit better after being in bed for so long. He snuck passed Hefty and to the other room, curious to finally look at all the things there. It didn't take long to find a book about healing herbs and he started to look through it, curious if he could find any of these near the Troll Tree.

Absently Branch began to hum, then, not really paying attention to what he was doing, he sang to sing, "There'll be no strings to bind your hands
Not if my love can't bind your heart
And there's no need to take a stand
For it was I who chose to start
I see no need to take me home
I'm old enough to face the dawn

Just call me angel of the morning, (angel)
Just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby
Just call me angel of the morning, (angel)
Then slowly turn away from me."

Still looking at the book, Branch turned to see if he could find an example of the herb he was looking at but then jumped back, having almost walked into Hefty. "What the heck, Hefty? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

But Hefty didn't answer. He just stood there, with ridiculous bedhead, and stared at Branch as if seeing him for the first time.

"Hefty?" Branch tried again, starting to grow concerned.

"You," Hefty finally found his voice, "you were singing."

Instantly Branch's body stiffened, stumbling back until he hit the counter.

Hefty followed him, lifting a hand to touch Branch's cheek, "You're brighter."

Both quickly and too slowly, Branch raised his hands to look at them. Sure, enough he as a brighter blue. It still wasn't the blue Branch recalled from his youth but still a shade brighter than the dull blue he had been previously.

There was a mirror in the washroom but Branch was so used to not looking in mirrors that he hadn't noticed the change. He pushed passed Hefty and to the washroom for a better look, shocked that the brighter blue indeed covered all of his skin. His hair was even brighter as well as a little bit longer in its relaxed state.

How? Why had this happened? What was different?

"Hey," Hefty called, almost nervously from the bedroom.

Branch half turned to stare at him.

"Does this mean you're happier?" Hefty asked.

Instead of answering, Branch slammed the washroom door shut and locked it.

Chapter 5

That was dumb, Branch realized right after he did it but, even as he could hear Hefty pounding on the door, he couldn't reach up and unlock it. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. How was he supposed to face Hefty now? And Poppy, she was going to go crazy and abduct Hefty against his will for sure now. This was bad. Was really bad. Why did Branch's stupid feelings have to be so stupid?

There was absolutely no way this was going to work. He was just going to have to live in this washroom until he died. No, that was even stupider then locking the door. He was just going to face to Troll up, face the music and beg Poppy not to start a Smurf/Troll war.

"Don't think I won't break this door down," Hefty shouted but he knew it was an empty threat. He didn't want to freak the Troll out any more than Branch had already looked before the door slammed but the Troll hadn't responded to a single thing since and he was really starting to freak out with worry.

An agonizing moment passed, the door knobbed clicked and slowly the door opened.

Standing there, Branch stared at the ground and fiddled with his hands, "I don't know why I did that." Then added, "Sorry."

"Hey don't worry about it," Hefty stepped forward but stopped when Branch stepped back. Oh Smurf, the Troll was jumpy now and after they had made such progress. "But I don't understand, isn't being happier a good thing?"

"Ye-, N-, I-" Branch stammered, trying to figure out how to explain this without freaking Hefty out. "I'm sorry, I don't, this isn't-"

"Hey," Hefty made a 'calm down' gesture as if speaking to an easily spooked animal. "Calm down and just breath alright?"

Easier said than done, Branch felt like his lungs forgot how to function.

"Branch," Hefty started slowly, not sure, "I know you're probably going to say this none of my business but it seems like you've gone through a lot of stuff and if you're this panicked about the idea of being happy." He scratched the back of his neck, hoping Branch wouldn't lash out at him for this. "Have you ever considered talking to a therapist?"

Finally, Branch looked up at Hefty, "What is a therapist?"

Waiting in the waiting room was nerve wracking for Poppy. She had heard Branch sing from Smurfette's house but when she got back to the Recovery Mushroom Branch was having what Hefty called a "panic attack". As far of Poppy knew, no Trolls back home ever had "panic attacks", but no Troll Poppy never had ever been gray for as long Branch had been either. There were bound to be some setbacks on the way to happiness.

Still Poppy had loved seeing Branch's colors be brighter but her friend looked so scared that it scared her, especially when Branch wouldn't tell her what he was scared about. She agreed with Hefty that Branch should go to the therapist even though she had no idea what it was. All she needed to know was that Hefty said that he thought it would help and she trusted Hefty to take care of Branch. Hefty loved Branch and, Troll or not, people didn't do things to purposefully hurt those they love.

Before they had come here Papa Smurf came to check on Branch's fever. After checking on Branch's back and arm as well, Papa declared the fever gone and the wounds on Branch's back to be healed without fear of them reopening. The elder Smurf did, however, rebandaged Branch's arm to give it more time to heal with another touch of magic.

The bandages on Branch's back had never been a pleasant sight for Poppy but it was worse without them. Now the wounds on Branch's back were visible as scars, dark, angry and jagged. A visual que that Branch had suffered for Poppy, that Branch had nearly died.

Oh, how she wished Tailor had finished with the vest she and Smurfette had ordered for Branch. Maybe then Branch would have some protection. Wouldn't be so exposed.

Poppy nearly jumped out of her chair when she felt something touch her hand.

"Hey," Smurfette gave Poppy's hand a squeeze. "Branch is going to be fine."

"I know," Poppy squeezed the girl Smurf's hand back. "But thank you."

Keeping hold of Smurfette's hand, Poppy wondered how long it would take Branch to be okay. She looked up at Hefty who was sitting on the other side of her.

Having been silent since they sat down, Hefty stared at Therapist Smurf's door, trying to will the hour to go by faster. He had put his hat back on but rearranged it so his hair would stay visible, especially his hair floof, as Poppy had called it. He knew some of his fellow Smurfs had been staring at him rather than the Trolls today but he couldn't find himself to care. All he could think about was what was going on beyond that door.

After Papa left the Recovery Mushroom, Hefty should have insisted that Branch eat something. It was long after breakfast now and he wasn't sure if Branch would be willing to eat lunch after this. He may have to use Poppy to get Branch to have at least a little something.

When finally, the door opened the trio stood but Poppy squeezed Smurfette's hand again before rushing over and swinging the door the rest of the way open.

Branch didn't react right away, not at all surprised Poppy came charging in. But Poppy gasped and choked back a sob; Branch was back to being a light, dull blue, the earlier brightness from this morning was gone. Before Poppy could properly respond, Branch stepped forward and hugged her.

"I think we had a good first session," Therapist Smurf announced. "I recommend that Branch come back on a weekly basis to-"

"No," Poppy shouted, holding Branch tightly and dragging him away from her least favorite, no, her second least favorite Smurf. "No, no, no! You will not be going anywhere near him again!"

"Poppy," Branch started.

"Don't worry Branch, I won't let him do, whatever it is that he did, ever again," Poppy promised, holding him tighter. She swung around and glared at Hefty. "And you; I trusted you! How could you let this happen?!"

"Poppy, don't yell at Hefty," Branch managed to slip out of her hold and took hold of her hands before she could grab him again. "I know this looks like a step back but… I want to try this. I think it could help with more time, alright?"

Slowly Poppy took in a few deep breaths but nodded, "Alright…"

Branch gently gave Poppy's hands a squeeze, "And I think you owe a couple of Smurfs an apology."

"No," Poppy frowned.

"Poppy," Branch tried again, more sternly.

"Fine, I'm sorry for being completely justified in my anger towards seeing my friend turn paler," Poppy grumbled. She pointed at Therapist Smurf, "And you're still my second least favorite Smurf."

"Miss Poppy, perhaps you would like to talk about this?" asked Therapist Smurf.

"No," snapped Poppy and started out of the office, dragging Branch along. She paused in front of Hefty, "And you're my least favorite Smurf."

Hefty remained silent as Poppy dragged Branch out of the office against the boy Troll's protests.

"Poppy," Branch pulled on Poppy's arm to no avail. "Poppy, where are you going?"

"Home," Poppy declared.

"Poppy, we can't just leave," protested Branch, giving up on trying to free his hand. "I don't know the way home from here, do you?"

Poppy stopped and sighed, "No, I don't."

Branch spotted the stream that ran through the village and pulled Poppy over to it for them to both sit down. "Poppy, I get why you're upset and I appreciate it but you can't take it out on Hefty and Therapist Smurf."

"They made you go paler Branch," Poppy protested. "What would you have done if I went into a room with Therapist Smurf and came out gray."

Not answering, Branch threw a stone into the stream.

"Branch?" Poppy asked again.

"You told me to stop voicing murderous thoughts out loud, remember?" asked Branch.

At last Poppy smiled and scooted closer to Branch, "See? You would never let anything happen to me, and I'm not about to let bad things happen to you if I can help it. I was powerless against that Azrael cat-"

"That cat was huge, I don't expect you to be able to fight against that," Branch protested.

"But I can protect your heart," Poppy put her hand over Branch's. "I want you to be happy Branch. You deserve to be happy. I thought maybe Hefty could help do that but if he isn't, we'll find the Troll that is."

"Poppy," Branch was blushing but he wasn't sure what to say. Really there was only one thing even if he couldn't tell her the full truth. "You know I love you, right?"

Smiling, Poppy rested her head on Branch's shoulder and lightly held onto his arm, "And I love you."

The sound of the stream was the only sound between them for a bit until the sound of footsteps came from behind them.

"Um, hey guys," Hefty's voice called out to them and Poppy held onto Branch's arm tighter. "Ah, Branch, can I talk to Poppy a minute?"

Staying silent, Branch looked down at the princess.

It didn't take long for Poppy to crack, releasing Branch and sitting up, "Fine…"

Branch squeezed Poppy's shoulder before he stood, "Behave."

"I'll try," Poppy murmured.

Briefly, Branch's and Hefty's eyes met before Branch walked passed Hefty to where Smurfette was waiting.

"We'll meet you two at Tailor's," said Smurfette before leading Branch away from the stream.

Cautiously Hefty moved towards the stream and sat next to Poppy, leaving a respectable distance between them.

"You know that I would never hurt Branch, right?" Hefty tired but swallowed at Poppy's huff in response. "Come on, you noticed my feelings even before I did."

"Maybe that's the problem," said Poppy. "I saw something that wasn't there and pushed for something that you hadn't really felt for the off chance that it would make Branch happy."

"Hey now," Hefty lightly touched Poppy's arm to get her to look at him. "I love Branch, I really do. I think I did from the moment I heard him sing."

"This morning?" Poppy asked in confusion.

"Ah no, a bit ago," Hefty admitted. "It's why I left the village and went looking in your forest to find him. He called me in; like a siren."

"So, he was singing in the woods," said Poppy, "And you heard it, all the way out here?"

"Yeah, I was the only one though," said Hefty. "I don't have a clue why but I want him to be happy, whether or not he ever loves me back. And I know it will be rough, but Therapist Smurf will be able to help him."

"I'm still mad at you," said Poppy, giving him a dirty look. "I thought you would never hurt him. I trusted you and he loses the color he just regained." She rocked on her heels, thinking before sighing and looking at him again. "But you're not my least favorite Smurf. You were trying to help and I should forgive you and I will, eventually."

The flower on Poppy's bracelet chimed and opened up with a light glow.

"Branch told me about those," said Hefty. "Hug Time, right?" He turned and opened his arms for the princess.

Slowly Poppy covered the flower and stood, "No Hug Time for you." She turned away and headed for Tailor's.

"So, Smurfs do have clothe that isn't white," commented Branch, looking over the vest Tailor offered to him.

The vest looked remarkably like the one Azrael damaged beyond repair, green and covered with leaves. Only these leaves were all made of fabric, which would make cleaning and maintaining it much easier.

"Not on hand, no," Tailor helped Branch into the vest, careful of his arm. "I dyed this material with some sarsaparilla."

When Tailor wasn't looking, Branch lifted the vest and gave it a sniff. Thank goodness, the stuff didn't smell as bad as it tasted.

Tailor returned with a measuring tape, "Hefty mentioned that your pants were patched up but I needed measurements for those. Stand on the platform please."

Instead, Branch stepped back, "Thanks but my pants are fine. I already don't know how I'm going to repay you for the vest."

"Repay?" Tailor looked confused.

"Branch, Smurfs don't use money," Smurfette explained. "We all work together, as a community, and we all get what we need."

"But I'm not part of your community, I haven't contributed anything," said Branch.

"Nonsense," Tailor directed Branch onto the platform. "You're Hefty's guest and Hefty helps everyone, protests us all and looks out for us. That's good enough for me."

Staying silent, and still at Tailor's instructions, Branch thought that the village must have really missed Hefty when he was off wasting time trying to find and befriend Branch. He definitely couldn't let Poppy take him away from Hefty's family that needed him so much.

Right on que, Poppy came in and smiled when she saw him, "Aww Branch, your new vest looks so nice on you."

"Ah thanks Poppy," Branch looked behind her. "Where's Hefty?"

"Oh, he's coming," Poppy dismissed the question and went over to sit by Smurfette.

"Goodness gracious," said Tailor caught sight of Poppy in the mirror, turning to look at her. "What did you do to that dress?"

"Um," Poppy licked her lips. "Let's see, first there was the baking with Baker-"

"Baker does have aprons you know," Tailor motioned for Branch to wait a bit, heading over to a clothes rack. "I finished repairing your absolutely darling dress anyway if you'd like to change."

Leaping to her feet, Poppy went over to Tailor and got her dress back, "Thank you Tailor, you're so sweet." She headed into one of the changing rooms.

Branch turned to Smurfette, "Is it just me or is she still mad at Hefty?"

"Oh, she's still mad alright," Hefty came him and stretched. "I guess even super happy Trolls can hold a grudge."

"I can't imagine it will last long," Branch looked away and held still for Tailor again. He couldn't believe he was just staring at Hefty again, he really needed to stop this before some Smurf notices. "Surprised it lasted this long, honestly."

"She thinks I hurt you," said Hefty. "I'd want to kick my butt too if I were her."

"But you didn't," Branch mumbled, hating that the two people Branch cared about most were currently on bad terms because of him.

"Ta da," Poppy announced as she came out of the dressing room. She held up the stained white dress, "What would you like me to do with this?'

"Throw it in the scrap pile," said Tailor and gestured for Branch to step down, as he was done taking measurements.

"If you're just going to scrap it anyway, can I keep it? I can dye it a few colors when we get home," said Poppy.

"Oh, please do," said Tailor, "And wear it the next time you visit, I'd love to see what you do with it."

"Sure thing," Poppy gave Tailor a high five. "I can wear it next week… When we come back for Branch's appointment with Therapist Smurf."

Branch gave Poppy a tiny smile and she smiled warmly back.

"Ah, Therapist is a very nice Smurf and a snappy dresser," Tailor walked back over to the clothes rack. "Speaking of which, love what you're doing with your hair Hefty, new fashion statement?"

"Um, sort of," Hefty rubbed over the undercut, noticing Branch trying not to stare out of the corner of his eye.

Grabbing a simple white vest, Tailor brought it over to Hefty. "Perhaps this will help with the new look then? Poppy asked that I make it for you."

Taking the vest, Hefty looked at Poppy in surprise, "You did?"

"Yeah," Poppy reached into her hair and pulled out something from her that looked like an award ribbon. "I made this for you but you had nothing to pin it on…"

With a smile, Hefty slipped on the vest, "Thanks Poppy."

Smiling softly Poppy walked over and moved to pin on the ribbon but paused. "Maybe you should put this on?" She gave him a serious look. "I don't want to stab you."

"Ah, good idea," Hefty delicately took the ribbon and pinned it on his new vest.

Moving closer, Branch peered at what the ribbon was. It looked to be made from some of Poppy's scrapbooking clothe, the main focal point being the golden circle with the words "Our Hero" in glitter and pink and blue ribbons hanging below it. However, on top, were little scrapbooked figures of Poppy and Branch looking like they were jumping for joy.

Branch blushed and shot Poppy a dirty look.

Poppy giggled, "You know you love me."

One of the other girl Smurfs came in. Immediately the Trolls noticed that her hair was a lighter shade of blue than Hefty's and stopped a little above her shoulders. Instead of white, she wore a tan dress with brown vest, a necklace with a few flat stones and a pink flower in her hat.

"Hi Smurfette! Hi Hefty! Hi Tailor! Hi two creatures I've never seen before," the girl Smurf waved eagerly before rushing closer to the Trolls and continued to speak rapidly. "You must be the Trolls Smurf Willow was talking about. I've never seen Trolls before; I thought they were supposed to be big, mean and ugly but you're small, nice and super cute! I mean, I'm assuming you're nice since Hefty brought you here but you can't be that cute and be mean. I love your dress! It's so colorful!"

Slowly Branch inched closer to Poppy, as the girl Smurf continued, and whispered, "Is she breathing?"

"I don't think so," Poppy whispered back.

Smurfette stepped in, "Hi Smurf Blossom, what brings you to Tailor's?"

"Oh, we're going on a picnic," Blossom absolutely beamed. "Tailor's the sweetest Smurf I've ever met. We've been hanging out every time we've come to visit. I hope we move here; long distance relationships sound hard! But I've decided I'm going to kiss him tonight anyway."

Tailor turned dark blue, blushing over all his visible skin, and tripped over nothing as he dropped the roll of clothe he was carrying.

Rushing over Blossom kneeled next to Tailor, "Are you okay, Tailor?"

"Just Smurfy darling, just taken by surprise," Tailor was still blushing, at least just on his face now, and smiling softly as he sat up.

"Oh, I ruined the surprise for later though, didn't I," Blossom grinned sheepishly.

"Don't fret Blossom, I love how full of surprises you always are," Tailor patted her patted her cheek adoringly, "And now I have something to look forward to."

Blossom leaned in and gave Tailor a quick peck on the mouth, "Surprise kiss!"

Tailor full body blushed again and chuckled warmly.

"Well," Smurfette smiled at them, "We won't keep you from your date."

"Oh, yes, um, thank you," Tailor stammered. "I'll try to have the pants done tomorrow afternoon."

"No rush," said Branch and followed the others out.

"Aww, they're so cute," Poppy squealed once they were a safe distance away from Tailor's door.

"Yeah, they've just one of the new couples since the other girls started to come here while seeing if Smurfy Grove is salvageable," Smurfette explained.

"Yeah, like Clumsy and Smurf Storm," said Hefty. "It surprised the heck out of me, honestly, I thought he was scared of her."

"It might be all the new things Stormy is having Clumsy try rather than Stormy herself," commented Smurfette with a smile. "Plus, there's something going on between Papa and Willow."

"Don't start with that again, it's too weird," groaned Hefty, making Poppy giggle.

Branch paused to look around at all the Smurfs distracted by each other to stare at him or Poppy. "I guess romance is really blossoming in the village, huh?"

Hefty smiled a little, watching Branch look around the village, much less wary of everything since he first came there.

Grinning mischievously, Poppy stepped closer to Hefty and began to sing super softly so only Hefty would hear, "There you see him,

Standing there across the way

He's got a lot of things to say

But there's something about him."

Blushing and worried that Branch would hear, Hefty tried silently begged Poppy to stop.

But Poppy continued grin and torment him with her whispered singing, "And you don't know why

But you're dying to try

You wanna kiss the Troll."

Hefty really wished that he could give Poppy a noogie like he would one of his brothers but he couldn't with Poppy's hair or, possibly, annoying Branch. There had to be another way to get even. Slowly he smiled as he came upon an idea.

Eyes going wide, Poppy jumped back as Hefty tried to tickle her, "Oh no you don't!" She ran towards Branch, Hefty giving chase. "Help me Branch!"

Branch turned, ready to spring in, but paused when he saw that it was Hefty chasing her, "Did I miss something?"

"He's trying to tickle me," Poppy ran behind Branch for protection, grinning when Hefty stopped running after her, knowing full well Hefty wouldn't fight Branch to reach his target.

A beat passed and Branch stepped to the side, suggesting to Poppy, "Be my guest."

"Traitor!" Poppy shouted, then squeaked when Hefty grinned.

Smurfette smiled warmly and held open her arms, "I'll protect you Poppy."

Immediately Poppy launched herself into Smurfette's arms and hugged her tightly, "My hero!"

Not able to help herself, Smurfette nuzzled the top of Poppy's head as they hugged and was unaware of the fact that Poppy looked like she was in heaven.

"I definitely missed something," commented Branch.

"Me too Bro," Hefty shrugged, smiling softly he watched Branch out of the corner of his eye. "I'm just happy she has reason to be mad at you, rather than me now."

"I'm pretty sure she'll thank me later," Branch suggested to Poppy and Smurfette practically cuddling in the middle of the street.

"Oh Smurf," Hefty grumbled.

Chapter 6

All around them there were couples. There were, of course, a few of them that were boy Smurfs with girl Smurfs but also boy Smurfs together and an abundant of girl Smurf couples. In a way, it wasn't that different from all the couples back at the Troll Tree.

Still it was interesting to watch, trying to figure out what it was Smurfs saw attractive in each other. Blossom said she found Tailor sweet. Tailor seemed to adore Blossom's relentless energy. The rest Branch was still trying to guess at.

Part of it was because Branch was distracted by thinking about his session with Therapist Smurf. Such an odd thing to do nothing but listen to other people's problems all day long. Even those he had absolutely no connection to.

At first Branch just listen to Therapist Smurf explain what therapy was since as Hefty hadn't said much about it, except that it would "help". Things like the office being a "safe place" and "doctor/patient confidentiality" were emphasized several times throughout the explanation before it was Branch's turn to talk.

The whole thing had been rather bizarre, Branch not really used to talking to anyone about his problems. He trusted Poppy with a lot but he still couldn't find it in him to tell her why he had gone gray. There were also a couple of times Branch shared things with Hefty but the first time the Smurf hadn't given him a choice and the second, well, at least he knew Hefty better and that talking to him had helped before but Therapist Smurf was a stranger.

"Would it help if I asked questions?" asked Therapist Smurf.

"Maybe," Branch shrugged, sitting up on the strange long sofa. He absolutely refused to lay down and "relax" as Therapist Smurf suggested.

"Why does Hefty think you should talk to me?" asked Therapist Smurf.

"He's concerned about my colors," tried Branch. "Or rather my reaction to them changing."

"Yes, I noticed your hue was not as bright as it is currently in comparison to when you first arrived," said Therapist Smurf. "Why is that?"

It took a little bit for Branch to explore Troll colors. Mostly due to the fact Therapist Smurf would interrupt and ask questions for further clarification.

Once he was sure he understood, Therapist Smurf asked, "So becoming brighter means that you are happier. And that concerns you?"

Previously, in his explanation of Troll colors, Branch hadn't told Therapist Smurf that he had been gray once. Though he suspected the Smurf knew from how he paused writing notes and paid extra attention while Branch explained that part. He didn't say how he sometimes didn't recognize his own reflection, the few times he would take notice, and there had been a few times it scared him how different he looked from the last twenty years.

In a way, Branch understood that it made sense Poppy brought out his first bit of color. She had been trying for most of their lives to make Branch happy and Branch, secretly, adored her for it even when it made him angry. Saving her from the gray fate that he had suffered with for so long as just a tiny payback for all of her efforts but it sparked something in him that Poppy only encouraged for him to let grow.

But Hefty bringing out more color? That Branch didn't understand. Yes, Hefty had saved his, and more importantly, Poppy's lives but Branch hadn't known Hefty for very long. There was a lot Hefty didn't know about Branch and even more that Branch didn't know about Hefty. Why would Hefty be able to bring color out of Branch?

Maybe because Hefty was bold, seeking out the beautiful, Hefty's words-not Branch's, voice that could have meant him harm in a place that was unfamiliar and dangerous for Hefty to be in? Or maybe because Hefty was so stubborn in his desire to help and befriend Branch that he dealt with Branch's constant lashing out for the chance to succeed? Could be because he was strong and brave, risking his own life for Trolls be barely knew fighting against the cat monster? There was also the chance because Hefty was extremely patient and even more kind in taking care of Branch's injuries, feeling horrible for causing Branch pain in what had to be done to save his life, and then his sickness.

Then Branch has spent a lot of consistent time, one-on-one with Hefty, something Branch hasn't really done with anyone for most of his life. Even Poppy he usually had to share with the Snack Pack, ridiculous group name for Trolls that could be eaten any day by a Bergen, if not the entire population of the Troll Tree.

Admittedly the back and forth banter between them was sort of fun. Learning more about Smurfs and Hefty himself was like opening up a whole new world to him. And telling Hefty about Trolls and himself was, honestly, scary but also weirdly uplifting. It was if some of the weight he's been struggling with for years finally become easier to carry.

Then there were two more things Branch found hard to admit. First of all, he found Hefty to be attractive. Hefty's confidence and well-earned body really reeled Branch in once he got passed the bravado. The attraction only got worse when Branch saw Hefty's hair, felt how soft it was and Hefty couldn't stop messing with it once it was free of that stupid hat. Somehow Branch suspected that Hefty knew Branch liked his hair and was playing with it solely to torment him.

Secondly, and worst of all, Hefty made Branch feel safe.

The feeling had been growing for a while after Hefty saved him from Azrael but it made itself known in the sleepy corners of Branch's mind as he fell asleep to the sound of Hefty's voice. He hadn't really felt safe since he fell from the old Troll Tree and heard his Grandmother screaming as she was taken away, not even when he was locked in his bunker.

Surely it was that feeling that had brightened Branch's hue that morning.

But Branch was not safe. Branch would never be safe as long as the Bergen were out there. Not to mention other predators that would love to feast on Troll.

And Branch was a danger to Hefty. Not only did Branch unintentionally lure Hefty away from the safety of his village with his singing but the Smurf already had fought a cat that nearly killed Branch for foolishly going into an unfamiliar part of the forest to avoid making an easily followed path and not stopping Poppy from running off in time. Then Branch sang without thinking in the middle of the very carefully Smurf Village. If Poppy didn't abduct Hefty and start a war, Branch was likely to lead this Gargamel straight to the village and get Hefty killed. Branch would get all the Smurfs killed and there would be no one to blame but him and his moronic singing, just like what happened to Grandma.

"Branch," Therapist Smurf called.

Branch nearly jumped off the stupid couch. He had forgotten where he was. How stupid could he be?

Silently, Therapist Smurf offered Branch a handkerchief.

Confused, Branch reached out to take the handkerchief but stopped when he saw his hand. The blue he had gotten back that morning was fading. Not only that, he could see the gray starting to bleed through.

"No, no, no, no," cried Branch, tucking his arm between his chest and his knees, trying to keep it hidden, foolishly trying to stop the gray from spreading. He was still oblivious to the fact that he was crying, barely able to keep breathing in his panic. "Not again, please not again."

Slowly Therapist Smurf sat closer but didn't not touch Branch, giving him plenty of space, "Branch I need you to concentrate on breathing right now. Forget the gray and just listen to my instructions. Now, breathe deeply in and hold it."

Though it was a struggle, Branch shakily took a deep breath and held it. He breathes out when Therapist Smurf said so and then deeply again. They did this a few times until Branch was calmer and could breathe normally again.

It was then Branch noticed how wet his face was. He half wiped his face on his shoulders, still unwilling to untuck his arms from between his chest and knees. He didn't think he could handle the sight of gray right now.

"Very good," Therapist Smurf commended him, sitting back in his chair. "I don't want to push you but you were very quiet for a bit there before you reacted that way. Would you be willing to share?"

Carefully, Branch took out his arms and looked at them. The gray had faded and he was back to the pale blue he had been when he went to bed.

"I'm not scared of happiness," Branch said slowly, wrapping his arms around his knees now. "I'm scared of the cost."

Chapter 7

"I like Smurfette," Poppy announced the moment she had a moment alone with Branch when Hefty and Smurfette told them to wait by the stream while they retrieved lunch. "Like I really like her."

"I've noticed," commented Branch.

"No, you don't understand," Poppy insisted. "I want to serenade her under moonlight. And kiss her all over her beautiful face until she laughs that beautiful laugh and make little Troll/Smurfs if that's even possible."

"Considering that Smurfs get their babies via bird, I don't think it's possible," Branch replied.

"Is that all you have to say?" Poppy demanded.

"What do you expect me to say?" asked Branch.

Poppy straightened and did her best-bad Branch impersonation, not smiling one bit, "Oh geeze, that's great Poppy. Smurfette seems like a very nice Smurf. You should marry her."

Branch exaggerated rolling his eyes to make Poppy giggle, "Try dating her first."

"You mean it?" Poppy beamed happily.

"As long as you don't try to abducting her to the Troll Tree then I don't see why not," said Branch, not too assured by Poppy's giggle, "But there are somethings you need to consider before you pursue this."

Groaning, Poppy threw her arms in the air, "I knew there was a catch! Lay it on me Branch, what's the worst-case scenario?"

"Bergens," sad Branch, "But we're not talking about that. I'm referring to the fact that Smurf Village and the Troll Tree are a fair distance apart. Smurfette may not want to leave her people and you, quite frankly, can't move here because you're the future Queen. You don't have any cousins or anything that could take your place and there would be chaos."

Poppy laid back and looked at the sky, "It could be done. I mean, long distance would be hard but not impossible. We could visit each other a lot and they could stay in each other's villages for spurts at a time. It would definitely help Smurf/Troll relations too. But you said "things", you wouldn't have said "things" if there was only one."

Sighing, Branch laid down next to Poppy and looked at the sky as well, "You can't have children with her."

For a while Poppy was silent, twiddling her thumbs, "I sort of have to have at least one, huh?"

"That is sort of the package deal of being a princess," said Branch. "And I'm afraid your options limited. I mean, adoption even among royals, isn't unheard of but there haven't been any orphans since our generation and if one would to become available, as we hope one wouldn't, there would always be trolls that would fight their claim on the thrown because they weren't yours by blood. You can't even have one with a, can't believe I'm talking about this with you, with a one-time lover since Trolls don't have kids like rabbits. The Troll Tree will only grow a pod for Trolls really in love and you can't fake that."

Slowly, Poppy sat up and stared at Branch, "I love you, Branch."

Branch blinked, confused, "Um, okay, I love you too, but isn't that off subject?"

"Branch," Poppy looked at him seriously, "I love you."

Realization dawned on Branch and he bolted upright, "No, no way, not happening! Don't be weird."

"I am weird! Come on Branch, we love each other, we could have a child together," Poppy scooted closer and put her hands into a pleading gesture.

Branched scooted away, "I am not having children, not with anyone, especially not you."

"Now that's just offensive," said Poppy, then groaned. "Why not?"

"Look at me," Branch shook his arms in front of her. "What kind of parent would this make?!"

"An amazing one," Poppy grabbed hold of Branch's hands and held them. "Branch, you might not admit it but you care more deeply than any Troll I've ever met. You are so full of love and caring and protectiveness any child would be so lucky to have you. I wish you could see even a fraction of what I see. And I realize it's a big favor I just asked you but it's not even a for sure if Smurfette likes me back. The whole point might be mute."

Branch sighed, "She likes you."

"Really?" Poppy smiled widely.

"I'm pretty sure," said Branch. "And if she doesn't, she's stupid."

Poppy mock hit Branch's good arm before holding his hands again and squeezing them, "Does that mean you'll consider it?"

Groaning, Branch thought it over a bit more. He really did not like the idea. Not even the slightest. But, if it made Poppy happy… "I'll consider it."

Instantly, Poppy leaped forward, tackling Branch to the ground and laying on top of him while kissing his cheek, "I love you, Branch!"

"Excuse me, are we interrupting something?" Hefty's voice sounded tense.

Standing a short distance away with Smurfette, who looked like she was holding back tears, Hefty had clenched the handle of the picnic basket so hard that it had broken off and was still mangling the remains in his tight grip. Branch had never seen Hefty look like he might actually strangle someone.

Without thinking, Branch shoved Poppy off of him.

Rolling with it, Poppy bounced onto her feet, "No, you have perfect timing. Now I can do what I've been wanting to do for days!"

"Poppy, there's no moon-" Branch tried, staying on the ground and unable to help but think that if Poppy wasn't careful that he might lose his best friend to a tragic accident very soon.

"I can't wait anymore!" shouted Poppy and rushed forward and slide to her knees in front of Smurfette, taking her hand and kissing it.

Dazed, Smurfette blinked away her developing tears, "P-Poppy?"

Standing Poppy began to dance to a music that only she could hear and then started to sing, "I threw a wish in the well
Don't ask me I'll never tell
I looked at you as it fell
And now you're in my way."

All around them Smurfs had stopped their activities to stop and watch but that didn't deter Poppy at all. In fact, it probably spurred her on.

"I trade my soul for a wish
My crown for a kiss
I wasn't looking for this
But now you're in my way," Poppy sang, grinning when she heard music join her.

Saxophone Smurf had heard the commotion and hopped in, playing to compliment Poppy's singing. One of the girl Smurfs joined in with a guitar and two other Smurf girls with their drums.

"Your stare was holding
White dress
Hair was flowing
Hot night
Wind was blowing
I think I love you, baby," Poppy continued and tried to get Branch to join her but Branch shook his head and refused to move so she let him be.

"Hey I just met you
And this is crazy

But please give your love to me

And I'll shower

Your heart with tenderness

Endlessly," Poppy took Smurfette's hand, pulling her into the dance.

"One thing you can be sure of
I'll take good care of your love
If you will let me give you mine," Poppy smiled when she saw Smurfette blush but smile back at her, spurring her on.

"Lady Smurfette, it's now or never
Give your love to me, and I'll shower
Your heart with tenderness

Endlessly," Poppy pulled Smurfette close, sneaking a kiss on her cheek before twirling her.

"I beg and borrow and steal
At first sight and it's real
I didn't know I would feel it
But it's in my way

Your stare was holding
White dress
Hair was flowing
Hot night
Wind was blowing
I think I love you, baby," Poppy snuck another kiss on Smurfette's other cheek before letting go to dance around on her own, gathering some of the watching Smurfs into the fray and dancing them into position.

"Before you came into my life
I missed you so bad
I missed you so bad
I missed you so, so bad
Before you came into my life
I missed you so bad
And you should know that
I missed you so, so bad, bad, bad, bad...," Poppy caught a bouquet of flowers from Florist Smurf, falling to her knees in the middle of a heart she had formed with the participating Smurfs.

"Lady Smurfette, it's now or never
Give your love to me, and I'll shower
Your heart with tenderness

Endlessly," Poppy held out the bouquet to Smurfette, pausing a moment before speaking normally to the blonde Smurf. "So… What do you say Smurfette?"

Heels could not take Smurfette forward fast enough to tackle Poppy, accidentally knocking the bouquet out of her hands in her rush to kiss her.

All around them Smurfs clapped and all Hefty could do was stare, "H-How…"

Branch shrugged, "It's Poppy."

Hefty turned, looking Branch over, "Why are you still laying on the ground?"

"Seemed like the safest course of action," Branch reasoned.

After a few kisses, Poppy and Smurfette came back over to them, now holding hands.

"We're going to have our own date," Poppy announced, grabbing things from the handle-less basket that Smurfette pointed out to her and using her hair to make a make-shift basket to carry it in. "You guys have fun."

As Poppy and Smurfette ran off together, giggling, Branch noticed a few of the Smurfs were staring at him again, "Show's over, go back about your business."

Slowly the Smurfs dispersed and Branch looked up at Hefty who was still staring after where Poppy and Smurfette had been. He hesitated but spoke up, "I thought you were over Smurfette."

"I am," protested Hefty, swinging around the broken handle. "But we met before they did, how the heck are they smooching and running off on a date?!"

Now that was a weird comparison, thought Branch. "We didn't turn into giggling weirdos when we first met."

"You were too busy trying to stab me with a stick," said Hefty.

"You were hiding in the bushes, you creeper," said Branch.

"Paranoid Troll," Hefty rolled his eyes.

"Muscle-headed Smurf," countered Branch.

Finally, Hefty relaxed and smiled.

"Hey Hefty?" Branch slowly sat up.

"Yeah?" Hefty asked, almost hesitantly

"That picnic handle is completely dead," Branch pointed to the mangled piece of wood Hefty was holding. "It's time to let it rest in peace."

Letting out a laugh, Hefty came over and sat by Branch, dragging along the remaining picnic basket "I guess I sort of over did it."

At first Branch was going to ask what upset Hefty so much when he noticed Hefty's hand was dripping a darker blue.

"You idiot," Branch scolded, taking Hefty's hand and opening it up, removing the handle for a better look. "You gave yourself cuts and splinters."

"It's no big deal," said Hefty but made no move to pull back his hand from Branch's hold, watching the Troll intently examine his hand.

"I'm pretty sure you need your hand to form a fist," grumbled Branch and reached into his hair to take out a pair of tweezers.

Hefty stared up at Branch's hair, "How does that work anyway?"

"These are tweezers, little metal things I shall use to remove the splinters," said Branch.

"Oh, thanks Brainy, never would have figured that out without you," Hefty rolled his eyes, wincing at the first splinter Branch removed. "I meant your hair. Poppy took out a whole book out of hers and it looks thin with that ponytail of hers."

"Hefty," Branch paused, removing the next splinter. "I'm a Troll and I don't understand the physics of it. It's useful and I leave it at that."

Hefty hummed, doing his best to stay silent as Branch removed the splinters, also a bit taken back by how careful and gentle Branch was being. He could have lived without the splinters but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying Brainy holding his hand for so long.

"Is the stream water clean?" asked Branch when he was finished.

"Um, yeah, we use it for-" Hefty winced when Branch put his hand into the water, it stinging a bit. He was surprised when he felt something wrap around it that completely smoothed the pain.

When Hefty looked up he saw Branch lifting Hefty's hand out of the water and wrapping some of his hair more securely around it. More surprising was Branch reaching into his hair to take out a pair of scissors to cut his hair so the part wrapped around Hefty's hair would stay in place, somehow wrapped just right so it wouldn't fall off.

"Your hair," Hefty said slowly, watching as Branch straightened it back into place and it wasn't any shorter. He stared at the hair around his hand, awestruck.

"That will work until your Papa can properly treat it," Branch returned the tweezers and scissors to his hair, standing and going to pick up the picnic basket from the bottom.

"What about lunch?" asked Hefty, he knew full well that Branch hasn't eaten anything all day and this was a late lunch as it was.

"We'll eat afterward," said Branch. "Now stand up and let's go or am I going to have to try and drag you with an injured arm?"

"That's cheating," Hefty grumbled as he stood.

"Hey, I can't blackmail you with Poppy so using your protection mode is the closest thing I got," Branch gave a little smirk, turned and headed towards the Recovery Mushroom.

Hefty sighed, smiling to himself, "If only you knew how much power you have over me, my Siren."

Chapter 8

With the village double its normal size in occupants, Papa Smurf was hard to track down. They just missed him twice before Hefty grabbed Brainy to look at his hand, insisting Brainy was more than capable of handling it. Even so, under no circumstances, was Branch to tell brainy that Hefty has said that. Once sat

Wearing magnifiers over his glasses, Brainy removed Branch's hair from Hefty's hand and examined it carefully to make sure no splinters were missed. Once satisfied, he got to work on cleaning and bandaging Hefty's hand.

While Brainy worked, Branch looked around the "smart Smurf's" Mushroom curiously. It was only the second one he had been in and the Recovery Mushroom was devoid of any personal effect as it was for anyone to use. He looked over some of the science equipment, not needing to be told not to touch it but being ordered "not touch" by Brainy anyway when he approached the table. Part of him was curious about the wooden protection barrier and the bit of wall that looked newer than the rest but he decided he was better off not knowing.

Next Branch looked at all the books. There were several books on all kinds of subjects including four copies of a "Smurf Manual" for some reason. He asked Brainy for permission before taking one of the shelf for closer inspection.

Not paying attention to Brainy, Hefty's eyes followed Branch as he walked around the room. Part of him was curious what things would catch Branch's interest but he mostly just liked looking at the Troll.

"Don't be weird," Brainy removed the magnifiers from his glasses after he finished fascinating the bandage on Hefty's hand.

"You don't be weird," Hefty grumbled, feeling his face flush. He reached for the bits of Branch's hair on Brainy's table, frowning from Brainy snatched it up first.

Oblivious, Brainy carried the hair as he approached Branch, "Branch would you mind if I kept this?"

Blinking, Branch looked at Brainy and his hair in the Smurf's hand before asking, "Why?"

"Troll hair is fascinating," Brainy exclaimed excitedly. "It moves, grows, shrinks, changes color and can carry things that doesn't make sense in the realm of physics. I would like to study this to see if there's something that explains how it works."

Again, Branch glanced at his hair before answering, "Stay away from Poppy's hair and you can have it."

"Deal," Brainy shook Branch's hand and looked up towards his hat, "What a great opportunity for science, isn't that right Snappy Bug?"

Out from Brainy's hat came an insect like creature that Branch had never seen before. It was relatively small, mostly black with red on its back and big white eyes with black pupils.

"What is that?" Branch suggested to the bug.

"Oh, Snappy Bug?" Brainy gently pulled the bug out of his hat so Branch could have a better look. "She's a Lady Bug and my assistant."

Branch hummed and held his hand up, pausing for Brainy's nod before carefully rubbing what looked like the side of Snappy Bug's face with his finger. A small smile crept on his face as the bug buzzed her wings in contentment, "Cute."

"Cute," Snappy Bug buzzed her wings to echo Branch's voice back to him.

"That's new," commented Branch, giving Snappy Bug a little pet on her head.

"It's part of why she's my assistant," Brainy boasted proudly. "Now, we have a lot of work to do. Why don't you and Hefty go back to your date and we can get started?"

At first Branch was going to agree but then something about what Brainy said caught his attention, "Wait, what-"

"You heard Brain-man," Hefty grabbed the picnic basket and directed Branch out of the mushroom, "Let's go eat."

Maybe dates meant something different to Smurfs than it did to Trolls, Branch reasoned. Instead he asked, "How's your hand?"

"Fine," said Hefty and then smiled at him, "All the pain actually went away after you wrapped your hair around it so, thank you."

Plum colored Branch's cheeks and he tried to shrug it off, "It's the least I could do after everything you've done for me and Poppy."

"It's what I do," Hefty grinned and puffed his chest, noting the way Branch rolled his eyes but remained silent, "Hey Branch?"

"Yeah?" asked Branch.

"Do you like small cute things?" asked Hefty.

Branch wrinkled his nose in confusion, "Huh?"

"Well back in your forest you were surrounded by those fuzzy bugs," said Hefty.

"You mean the fireflies?" asked Branch.

"Fuzzier then any firefly I've ever seen around here but sure," Hefty shrugged. "And back at Brainy's you seemed to take a liking to Snappy Bug."

"Oh, yes, you've discovered my one true weakness," said Branch, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Small, cute things; I am powerless to resist."

Hefty laughed, "Well it would certainly explain Poppy."

Branch groaned, "Split ends; it would, wouldn't it?"

Unable to help it, Hefty laughed more, "Maybe if I had been smaller and cuter you wouldn't have tried to stab me at our first meeting."

"No, I probably still would have," said Branch, knowing full well that cute things could also be dangerous, just like Poppy. He teasingly poked Hefty's bicep, "These sort of prevent you from being in the small category."

"But not the cute?"

"You are definitely not cute," Branch stood his ground even when Hefty pouted. "You're definitely more the handsome type."

It wasn't until Branch realized that Hefty stopped walking to stare at him that Branch realized what had come out of his stupid mouth.

"You think I'm handsome?" Hefty asked softly, a smile threatening to take over his shocked features.

"As if you don't know how good looking you are with that ego of yours," Branch tried to cover up his slip with mockery but couldn't stop the burning of his cheeks.

"So, I'm good looking now?" Hefty quirked and eyebrow and grinned, making Branch's face heat up more for some reason.

Branch groaned and started to walk away, wishing he knew what was wrong with him and how to make it stop.

"Come on Branch," Hefty gave chase, "Tell me how good looking I am."

"Your ego doesn't need any more stroking," Branch snapped.

It took far too long for Hefty to let Branch's comment go. Honestly it could have stretched out all day if Branch hadn't threatened to skip lunch if Hefty didn't shut up about it. Really, using Hefty's protection mode was Branch's only means of defense at time.

"Stop pouting," Branch rolled his eyes, he took a nibble of the Smurfberry and found it to be sweet, though not as sweet as the jam and took a bigger bite. "How many times have you blackmailed me with Poppy?"

"That was for your own good," Hefty grumbled. "Now you're threatening your own good to boss me around."

"Need I point out to you that the first instance was for your own good," said Branch. "This second time was to save my sanity."

Hefty hummed but ate his sandwich, seeming to be thinking about something.

The silence was comfortable so Branch didn't ask, continuing his own meal. Vaguely he wondered how Poppy's date with Smurfette was going.

There was movement and suddenly Hefty was a lot closer to Branch. Oddly, it hadn't startled Branch at all. It was almost as if he expected Hefty to move so close. Even so, he didn't understand why.

"Hey Branch," Hefty was looking at Branch really intensely and Branch was reminded just how mesmerizing Hefty's eyes were. He was surrounded by a village of Smurfs that all had eyes like Hefty's and yet none of their eyes could compare to Hefty's eyes, especially now with the way Hefty's focus was completely on Branch.

"What's going to happened once you're healed?" asked Hefty. "I mean, what would you like to happen?"

Ideally Branch wished there was a way to move Smurf Village and the Troll Tree closer together. There was no way Hefty should leave his village again to seek Branch out, Hefty's village needed him, but Branch had come accustomed to seeing Hefty every day. Life at the Tree would just seem so much duller after this.

"Well," Branch licked his lips, trying to think. "I guess Poppy and I would go home." He noticed Hefty's gaze start to fall downward and quickly added, "But we'd be back to visit. Poppy to see Smurfette and for me to figure out what it is Therapist Smurf does." Hefty was still not looking at him and he softly added, "And to see you."

Now Hefty looked back up, "Really?"

"Really," Branch assured him. There was something Branch wanted to say but even he didn't know what it was. Instead he said, "You're my friend."

Softly, Hefty chuckled, reaching up to cup Branch's cheek, "I was beginning to think that you'd never admit that."

This didn't seem like something friends do but Branch couldn't find his words. They shrunk further inside of them when he noticed Hefty seemed to be getting closer.

There was a shout and one of the male Smurfs Branch hadn't met yet fell from seemingly out of nowhere and landed by their feet. This Smurf had a lightly baggier hat then the others and seemed younger somehow.

Branch was thankful for the distraction, jumping away from Hefty to inspect the fallen Smurf, "Hello?"

"Hello," the male Smurf said, sounding dizzy.

"Hey Clumsy," Hefty sighed. "What happened?"

"Bucky bucked me off," Clumsy murmured as he got back to his feet. He then took a good look at the Troll, "Oh you must be Branch! I've heard so much about you and your singing this morning was beautiful."

"You heard my singing?" Branch took a step back from Hefty as if it would change his answer, absently rubbing over his arm.

"Oh yeah, the whole village did," Clumsy grinned, not noticing Hefty's hand signals to stop. "Singer Smurf really want to do a duet with you."

"No," Branch shook his head, "Not happening."

Clumsy tilted his head to the side, "Why not?"

"It's just no, okay?" Branch didn't want to jeopardize Smurf Village anymore then he may have already had.

The girl Smurf named Smurf Storm rode over on a glow bunny and retrieved Clumsy but his question continued to burn in Hefty's mind as he and Branch finished their lunch. He was considering asking Branch to elaborate his earlier answer to Clumsy but Branch beat him with a question first.

"How do you think it's going to go?" asked Branch, then clarified, "Poppy and Smurfette."

"I think they're going pretty well if all those smooches were any indication," commented Hefty, trying not to sound too bitter about it.

Branch gave a dismissive shake of his head, "That's just the beginning of a new relationship high. Soon enough all the problems are going to make themselves clear."

"Problems?" asked Hefty.

"Yeah," Branch nodded. "I mentioned this to Poppy before but Smurf Village and our Troll Tree are pretty far apart. Poppy has already said that they can visit each other a lot but that can easily strain on a friendship, let alone a romantic relationship."

"Long distance relationships can work," Hefty insisted. "Look at all the Smurfs around us. The girl's live in the same forest as you and Poppy."

"But there's talk of them moving here because their village was wrecked," said Branch. "If it became a for sure that they weren't moving here, things would be different then all lovey-dovey atmosphere around us now."

"If it's important, we-Smurf's put in the effort to make it work," said Hefty.

Branch shrugged, "For a while maybe but, if you loved someone, wouldn't you eventually want to live with them and be with them all the time?"

At that Hefty hesitated. He was already dreading the day Branch's arm was fully healed and the Troll left the village. It would mean the end of seeing him every day, sleeping next to him at night and the possibility of waking up to Branch singing. Would he be able to handle only having that every once in a while, if he managed to tell Branch how he felt and Branch, hopefully, returned his affection?

"Poppy, quite frankly, can't move here," Branch continued when Hefty didn't say anything. "And I can't imagine Smurfette would want to leave all of you. I also have a hard time imagining her being able to handle being surrounded by Trolls all the time. Poppy is one thing but that's a lot of crazy for one sane person to handle."

"You manage," Hefty tried to smile but it didn't quite work.

"Barely," Branch scoffed. "Then there's the issue of Poppy needing an heir to the throne, which we're not discussing further because I don't need the nightmares."

A little Poppy running around sounded cute to Hefty but he figured Branch didn't want to be wrapped around another Troll princess's little finger.

"Poppy and I will be coming back but the travel will probably be dangerous for both us and you," said Branch, then softly added, "What if we lead Gargamel right to you?"

"You wouldn't," said Hefty.

"Not on purpose but you know how subtle Poppy is," argued Branch. "Plus, all the singing could lure him or other predators in."

Realizing that worry must be part of the reason Branch hesitates to sing, Hefty smiles at him, "A little singing isn't going to put the village in danger. Smurfs sing all the time and I think our hundred voices are a bit louder than just yours, or Poppy's."

Branch turned to look at Hefty, "You sing?"

"Sure," nodded Hefty, waved about his hand. "At Christmas and special events and such. Nothing like you though."

"So, you sing but just in a group for special occasions," summed up Branch.

"Yeah, I'm no Singer Smurf," commented Hefty. Honestly, he isn't sure if he can sing that well, having never sung without being surrounded by numerous other voices. Still, he wondered if that's something Branch would like, seeing how important music seemed to be for Trolls. Even so, he couldn't imagine trying to impress Branch, someone with such a beautiful voice, with whatever he had to offer. It might even make Branch completely un-interested if Hefty's voice wasn't up to par.

Humming, Branch looked around at the surrounding Smurfs walking by. He wondered what their singing sounded like. What kind of songs did Smurfs have? Was Hefty's singing voice like his speaking voice or was it softer or deeper? Deep down, Branch really wanted to hear it but he couldn't bring himself to ask.

The rest of the day was uneventful, Hefty walking Branch around the village to see more and introduce him to more Smurfs. So far Branch could find ways to tell some of them apart but some looked so exactly alike, Branch wondered if the Smurfs themselves ever got confused on who was who.

They saw Grouchy at his bench again, not bothering him for too long before moving along. Branch met Handy, Baker, Chef, Winner, Loser, really how did Papa Smurf think that was a good idea, and weirdo Table-Eating Smurf or rather "table chewing" since the Smurf just seemed to stand there with his mouth on it for long periods of time as well as a few girl Smurfs all named for flowers, stones and weather patterns. The girls were all easier to tell apart and their names were actual names that made sense that wouldn't scar the Smurf for life. Branch really couldn't get over the fact that there was a Loser Smurf. Couldn't it at least have been "Sore Loser" or something less confidence shattering?

Oddly enough they never saw Poppy or Smurfette wandering around. Part of Branch hoped it was just that they kept missing each other and not that Branch should have had a conversation to Poppy about rushing into things. Though Branch really had no room to lecture Poppy about relationships. Poppy has at least dated several trolls, of both genders, before coming here where Branch nearly punched the last Troll who tried anything on him.

Frankly, besides Poppy, Branch didn't really trust other Troll's intentions towards him most of the time. Sure, usually they were civil, but none paid Branch any mind when he as gray and suddenly, with a hint of color, Trolls were interested? Or rather, it always just felt like they wanted something from him rather than Branch himself so he avoided it all together.

Even Poppy's Snack Pack, with the exception of Creek who wouldn't stop talking about lightening up Branch's aura, really only ever spoke with him when Poppy was around. Part of him couldn't blame them, he "ruined everything" for years with his warnings about Bergens. Still, Branch had thought having a bit a color would make it easier to make friends, not be stuck in almost the same place as before without Poppy beside him.

Maybe that's why Branch had been so hesitant to trust Hefty and be his friend? He couldn't connect with his own kind, why would a Smurf be different? Even with all the potential for things to go badly, Branch had never been so grateful to be proven wrong.

That night, Hefty grabbed the book and moved to get into bed with Branch like he had the previous night.

"What are you doing?" Branch asked. "I'm not sick anymore, you don't have to be my warm water bottle anymore."

"Maybe I like being your warm water bottle," grinned Hefty and got into the bed anyway.

"You and Poppy should compete on who's weirder sometime," said Branch. "You could actually win."

"That's one competition I wouldn't mind losing," Hefty took off his hat, putting it on the nightstand, and opened up his arm, waiting for Branch to lean on his shoulder like last night but prepared to keep his arm around him the whole time this time.

Branch looked at Hefty, then laid down on the pillows.

"Don't you want to be able to look at the book?" asked Hefty, keeping his arm out for him.

"I'm good," said Branch, "There's not much for me to look at in the book anyway and I don't want to fall asleep on you again."

"I don't mind," Hefty said sincerely, still waiting with his arm out.

It was a bad idea but Branch felt his resolve dissolving. He looked at those eyes, patiently watching him, and gave in. Silently he sat up and moved closer, leaning his head on Hefty's shoulder but was much closer now with Hefty's arm already around him while he was awake. This was definitely too intimate for friends but there really wasn't much else they could be.

Once Branch was settled, Hefty smiled and began to read, skipping the funny voices this time so not to dislodge Branch from his side. It took another three chapters before he felt Branch begin to curl into him more, starting to doze off. Carefully he reached up and started to stroke Branch's hair, smiling when Branch gave him the tiniest little nuzzle.

"You know, you're awfully darn cute when you're half asleep," murmured Hefty, playing a bit with the hair on the back of Branch's neck before burying his hand into the hair there to lightly scratch at his scalp.

In response, Branch hummed and his ear twitched, seeming to hear him but being too deep into his doze to really understand.

Setting aside the book, Hefty turned more to Branch and lightly caressed his cheek, "You know, it's not just your voice I find beautiful. I wish I knew how to tell you this when you're awake but I sort of feel like you would bolt like you did when I almost got to kiss you… Makes me nervous, I'm not used to not charging in for what I want."

Branch's ear twitched more but gave no other response, breath even and relaxed in Hefty's arms.

Moving closer, Hefty wrapped both arms around Branch and simply held him, "Like you said before, I know this will have issues; we live far apart and our people are different but I want to try. Smurf above I want to try. I want to see you as much as possible and make you smile, which I'm sure is beautiful, and make sure you never feel lonely again."

Hefty thought of earlier that day and Poppy's song. He held Branch a little closer and sang softly, "One thing you can be sure of
I'll take good care of your love
If you will let me give you mine."

Branch blinked a few times, listening to the song. Hefty's voice was rich and deep and it vibrated through him pleasantly and made him feel warm throughout his body.

As Branch closed his eyes and fell asleep, he wondered what caused him to have such an odd dream.