How strange it was, Handy thought, to be this close to another Smurf again. Ironic too, as he had always considered himself something of a hopeless romantic. Being in a long distance relationship for the past 150 years had made him rather more touch starved than he'd anticipated. Mermaid's were aquatic creatures, and as such the only times Handy had been able to get physically close to Marina were through some sort of strange contraption he'd invented, or in the summer months when he didn't mind wading out to the shallow waters of the beach.
Clumsy was warm, and dry too, Handy chuckled to himself as he observed the Smurf dozing peacefully beside him. As much as he'd loved Marina, the mermaid had been well, a very different texture. Sea water wet and sea water cold. He hadn't cared, but it was oddly refreshing to be close to a creature of a similar temperature for once.
Not that Handy was regretting any of that, of course. The past century with Marina had been wonderful, the many differences aside, and he was finally enough at peace with himself to treasure it for what it was; good memories. Even so, it was strange to think about just how different his relationship had been in comparison to those of his friend's. He'd remained loyal to his aquatic lover, claiming her to be his true love, although their visits were brief and the time between long. Until then, he'd never known any different, save for a few months of fooling around with his friend Architect as teens. But even he knew they hadn't considered it the 'L' word. It was just a way of figuring themselves out. Experimentation. First kisses and hand holding under a warm summer sky, and all the cheesy teenage stuff that Poet Smurf had liked to write about. Handy knew it had never been supposed to be a forever thing. But it had been so long since then that he'd all but forgotten how Smurfs felt when at an affectionate proximity.
It was also ironic, then, that his current situation had been a complete accident. Well, he'd intended to spend the evening, which had admittedly turned into night, but he hadn't anticipated his host falling asleep. It was sweet though, Handy thought, as he gently pulled the white cap back from the bridge of Clumsy's nose. In spite of the fact all hats were custom made by the village Tailor, Clumsy's ones always seemed to slip down just a tad. It always made him look rather innocent, which was sweet, especially now as he was resting on Handy's chest, his head following the rise and fall of the mechanic's breathing. Deciding that he'd rather not disturb his partner, Handy blew out the candle that was standing nearby, closed his eyes, and waited for the lull of sleep to take him.
He woke again in the pitch darkness. Squinting up at the cuckoo clock on the wall, he could just about make out the shape of the hands silhouetted against the bright white backdrop. 3:42 am. He looked down. Clumsy was gone. Sitting up in a bit of a panic now, Handy glanced around the silent hut, but couldn't see the shape of the other Smurf anywhere near. Easing himself gently off of the sofa, he made his way to the bedroom, and peered around. The bed was empty. As was the bathroom and kitchen and the twin's room only had its designated occupants inside when Handy cracked the door open. By now he was quite worried, wondering if something had happened to Clumsy whilst he'd been asleep, or if he'd somehow sleepwalked. Deciding he ought to check, the inventor stole to the front door of the house and stepped out into the quiet village.
It was a warm and clear night, and deathly silent save for a couple of crickets in a nearby bush. Above him was a large purple streak in the sky, filled in with hundreds of stars. It was beautiful, but he was too preoccupied for stargazing. Turning to walk around the back of the house, Handy spotted a familiar figure sitting on a bench not too far from him.
"Hey-"
"Woah! Gee uh, you scared me, Handy"
"I scared you? You scared me, you silly Smurf!" Handy laughed, sliding across the bench to sit next to him "What are you doing out here at this time?"
"Oh uh … ah had some thinkin' to do"
"Oh? Such as?"
"Well" Clumsy shifted uneasily on his seat "It'll sound a bit silly said out loud"
"No it won't" Handy smiled reassuringly, reaching over to interlock one of his hands with the other's "Come on, you can tell me"
"W-well" the southern Smurf leant uneasily on his shoulder "Ah know ah'm not the smartest Smurf aroun' an uh, Smurfness knows ah try, but, to be tellin' the truth it's just all been getting' to me with the boys is all – ah mean ah really can't thank you enough fer yer help, truly, but something just seems to go wrong every single day and ah keep feeling like it's mah fault. Like today when the boys fell in the river, an' ah can't swim that well so ah had to get you an' Hefty. An' then last week with the badger incident, and the week before that with the human travellers – it's like no matter what ah do somethin' just keeps croppin' up! An' as their father ah should be the one to help 'em, but ah just can't. I-it was easier with uh, um, before, but well, ah don't know, ah'd just like something to go right fer once"
Handy listened, silent. He knew that Clumsy had been struggling to juggle everything between SmurfStorm leaving for her scouting duties and his own chores in the village, but hadn't realised just how insecure he'd been feeling in himself. What he really needed, Handy thought, was a vacation.
"N'aw, that's not your fault" He said at last, wrapping an arm around the freckled Smurf's shoulder and squeezing slightly "It's been tough, you're doing your best. Those kids love you, Clumsy, that's all they need"
"Mm" Clumsy sighed, allowing himself to relax a little against the mechanic. "It'll be easier when they're older too, it's just an awkward age"
"No doubt" Handy chuckled, pleased that some of his words had gotten through "And uh … besides, you've got me now right?"
Clumsy looked up at him with an expression that was so adoring that Handy all at once felt quite warm all over.
"Y-yeah … it'll be better from now" the southern Smurf smiled, feeling like the luckiest Smurf in the village at that moment.
They sat quietly for a period of time, enjoying the sounds of the nearby crickets, and an owl that flew overhead. The moon shone bright and silver, like a large human coin above them, and Clumsy found himself fixated on the purple dash.
"Golly, that sure is pretty"
"Hm?"
"That purple thing"
"Oh that?" Handy chuckled "I heard Papa talking to Dreamy about it a while ago, his theory is that it's the edge of our world, in a manner of speaking, I didn't catch the whole thing, something about galaxies and milks with ways"
"Gosh, the edge of the world, huh? Ah wonder if any Smurf will ever visit it"
"That'd be some engineering" Handy's brain already began to rack through the possibilities of creating a real rocket, but he was too tired to think of specifics. As they continued to gaze at the spectacle, they each caught sight of something dash across the night sky.
"Oo, a shootin' star!" Clumsy suddenly sat up, excitedly squeezing his eyes closed as he crossed the fingers on both hands. Handy smiled to himself, and whilst he didn't make any gesture, thought of his own wish to himself.
"Did ya make a wish too, Handy?"
"Mhmn, but if I told you it might not come true" He grinned, bopping the end of Clumsy's nose with his finger.
"Gee, ah guess ah'd better keep mine to myself too"
"It's special that way" Handy agreed, and then brought a hand to his mouth as he stifled a yawn. "But if there's one thing I will wish out loud it's that we should probably get back to sleep if we want any energy left for looking after the scamps tomorrow"
"Heh, ah agree" Clumsy hopped up off of the bench and began to make his way to the front door. Handy stood awkwardly, wondering for a moment if he should go back to his own place or occupy the settee again. Before he could make up his own mind, Clumsy's pale face popped back into view around the side of the house.
"S-say uh, did ya wanna come back in? It's a bit of a walk back from here and um, well ah don't mind if you wanna uh, y'know- ah might even have a spare pj set though it's probably gonna be a lil short on ya"
Handy smiled gratefully.
"It'll do just fine" He assured him, thinking how nice it was that the simple prospect of a warm bed could make him feel so elated after months of sleepless, lonely nights.
Handy awoke the next morning to the smell of pancakes. Or rather, burnt pancakes. Lifting his head, he noticed that the covers beside him were rumpled and there was a distinct lack of Clumsy where he had been the night before. That, he guessed, was probably the source of the smell. Quickly grabbing and changing into his overalls from the day before, so as not to walk into the kitchen in too-short pyjamas, Handy went to investigate whether the breakfast was salvageable. For the most part it was, once he'd discreetly scraped off the worst of the burns. Really, he could hardly taste the char through the generous amount of honey he'd drizzled over the top.
He was in the middle of another mouthful when he heard a croaky voice excitedly call his name. Turning around, he saw Clumsy's two twin boys standing in the doorway, hair sticking out in odd directions where it hadn't yet been combed. Their excitement at seeing Handy so early was temporary though, as both of the twins looked slightly … off, this morning. Their skin was a little paler than usual, and whereas they'd usually be hyperactive young Smurflings, there was a grogginess about them instead, as if something was weighing them down.
"Morning sports – you guys feeling alright?" He asked, trying to sound upbeat.
Crash gave a little sniffle as he reached for his plate of pancakes.
"I feel a bit sick, actually"
"Me too" Bolt agreed, slowly reaching for his own "I'm all tired and shivery"
Handy glanced over at their father, who had been washing up his plate. He looked a little worried, his hand poised over the tea towel he'd been about to pick up. Instead, he set his plate aside and came hurrying over to his sons, pressing the back of his hand against their foreheads in turn, making them squirm.
"G-gee, are you guys alright? Need some water? A hot smurfbottle? Oh golly ah shoulda known not to let you guys play near the river yesterday- you've probably got smurfmonia, ah'll get Papa Smurf to mix you up a potion real quick an-"
"Daaad" Bolt wriggled away from his hand "We don't have smurfmonia, it's just a little cold or something- we're fine, honest"
"All the same, ah think ah better fetch Papa-" Clumsy did stop his fussing for a moment then, choosing instead to sprint out of the front door. He was gone before the other three knew what was happening. The twins turned slowly to face Handy, as if to silently ask if the other adult had any idea why their parent was in such a panic over a couple of sniffles, especially when they'd had far worse.
Handy sighed, but it was more out of bemusement than frustration.
"You two finish your pancakes, I'll be right back" The inventor promised, gathering himself up to follow the panicked Smurf.
He managed to catch up with Clumsy about halfway to the village leader's house, and had to gently grab his shoulder to slow him down.
"Clumsy- Clumsy, calm down, it's probably just a cold-"
The freckled Smurf turned to look at him, and promptly burst into tears. Bewildered, Handy allowed him to lean on his chest, not caring that the Smurf was getting the front of his overalls slightly damp. Once the sobs had turned to sniffles, he leant back, wiping his eyes furiously. Handy placed a reassuring hand on either shoulder, touching the tip of his nose to the other's affectionately. Clumsy smiled gratefully, seemingly a little calmer at least, which had been Handy's intention.
"G-gee uh, sorry about that" He chuckled sheepishly "Ah was just so worked up after yesterday that ah … well those mean ol' thoughts just came floodin' back, ah thought ah was bein' a bad father lettin' them get sick like that"
"Come on now, these things happen – look lets go to Papa anyway, he'll probably have a tea or something for them"
"Yeah, yer right … heh, thanks fer chasin' after me like that, guess ah just needed to see that ah was bein' a bit silly"
"Mm, you know what it sounds like to me? Sounds like you need a day trip somewhere, to get your mind off of things for a while"
"Heh, yeah that'd be nice"
"No I'm being serious"
They'd reached the front of Papa Smurf's laboratory by now, stopping just short of knocking on the door. Handy had a small smile on his face, and he looked excited all of a sudden.
"Why don't we take the day off? No… fixing or firemanning, just for today, we'll go somewhere fun and just enjoy taking a little time for ourselves, it might reset you"
"Mm, but what about the boys? Ah don't wanna drag em around if they're feelin' groggy today"
"Well, we can find someone to just keep an eye on them for one day – to be honest I think the day away from stressing over them is what you need, your wellbeing matters too, and I think they'd appreciate a father that's a bit more like his old self – I mean, have you ever had a day off since St- since you started looking after them full time?"
"Well … not to myself" Clumsy admitted. Handy had been the original babysitter, but that was more out of convenience, in order to allow Clumsy to get chores and work done.
"Precisely, let's have some fun in the sun today" The mechanic beamed, finally rapping on the front door of their village leader.
After explaining the situation, Papa agreed to check over the twins and even offered to sit with them for the day when Handy explained that Clumsy had been feeling the pressure of all of his parental responsibilities for so long. Deep down, a part of the firefighter felt relieved. Not that he didn't love his kids to the moon and back, but he was rather looking forward to a day to himself after so long.
On their way back to the hut, Clumsy heard a familiar voice calling his name. He let Handy and Papa continue on whilst he stayed back to see what Brainy wanted. If Papa was out and about in the village, the spectacled Smurf always wanted to be the first to know.
"What's going on? Where are you taking Papa?"
"Huh? O-oh uh, it's nothin' serious Brainy. Mah boys have come down with a little bit of a cold ah think, so Papa's offered to take care of 'em fer the day"
"Clumsy, Clumsy, Clumsy - why didn't you ask me first?" Brainy huffed, sounding rather offended "I am your best friend after all, and quite knowledgeable about these conditions, isn't that what I'm here for?"
"Yeah but uh, Brainy" Clumsy scratched the side of his head with a finger "You told me that you'd rather be eaten alive from the legs up by Gargamel than look after 'em again"
"Oh" Brainy paused, sucking in his breath. He'd always been a little wary of Clumsy's boys, thinking them too uncontrolled and overactive at times, which he'd attributed to getting their boundless energy from their wildcard of a mother. Then he frowned, clearly having thought of something else.
"Well, why is Papa looking after them? Surely he has more important work to be Smurfing with today – can't Handy do that? I thought you two had an agreement"
"Ooh uh… well he was the one that said ah needed the day off, he's gonna take me somewhere fun"
Brainy's lip twitched, and then opened for a second as if he was going to say something, but thought better of it. He wasn't exactly naïve to what had been going on recently, but Clumsy hadn't yet made an announcement, even to him, and seemed to come over quite shy if the subject was even brushed upon. Brainy somewhat expected that it had to do with his reaction to the breakup of Clumsy's last relationship. Which, he had at least tried to tone down. Not even so much as a told you so. At least, not in words. Still, when Clumsy was ready, he reasoned, he'd be told regardless.
Clumsy bid his farewells to his best friend for the time being, and made his way quickly back to the hut in order to check on Papa Smurf's diagnosis. He arrived back at his mushroom just as the leader was putting his medical supplies back in his bag. Both Handy and the twins seemed fairly relaxed, so Clumsy felt instantly relieved. His panic earlier had, it seemed, been irrational after all, and although he knew it had been anyway, was pleased to see his other fears hadn't actually come true. Papa Smurf patted him sympathetically on the shoulder as he approached.
"Don't worry Clumsy, it's just a little Smurf-throat. They should feel right as rain in a couple of days"
"G-gee, ah sure am glad to hear that"
"It's not like we were dying" Crash muttered under his breath, feeling a little embarrassed from all the attention.
Papa chuckled and wagged a finger at the Smurfling in a jovial manner.
"Now, now my little Smurf, you just gave your father a fright is all" The leader turned back to the parent "Go on Clumsy, I'll keep an eye on them between my experiment notes today – you take the day off"
Clumsy closed the front door to his house and leant against it, breathing a sigh of relief. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and yet he also felt somewhat stumped. Truth be told, as tired as he was, Clumsy had become accustomed to his daily routine. Now there was a break, he wasn't even sure himself what he wanted to do with the day. He hoped that Handy would have a good idea. He didn't have to wait long, as the engineer also emerged from the house a couple of minutes later, holding a large woven tote bag.
"G-gee uh, what's that for?" Clumsy asked curiously, trying to peek at the contents.
"Well, the sun is shining" Handy pointed upwards at the clear sky "And it's warm - I thought we could go to the beach"
"Oh! Well uh, yeah! That sounds like fun. Ah just need-"
"I've already got them" Handy grinned, opening the bag to prove he'd thought ahead "sandwiches too, I thought you might wanna spend the afternoon there"
"Ah sure do appreciate this"
"Heh, it's the least I can do" Handy blushed slightly, thinking how strange those words had sounded a couple of centuries ago and how they carried a much different weight now.
The sand was warm under Clumsy's bare feet as he stepped out of the changing hut. It felt like a malleable carpet that had a slight crunch with every step. How long had it been, he wondered, since he'd had a beach day? The last he'd truly remembered had been with the boys as toddlers. He and SmurfStorm had joined some of the others on a playdate, yes, that was it. But Stormy hadn't particularly enjoyed the beach. Relaxation had been boring to her, and the sand, she said, had been coarse. So they always found something else to do, and until now Clumsy had forgotten how nice it actually felt to feel a sea breeze on his skin. The ocean stretched out as far as his eyes could see, until it blurred on the horizon like a great blue blanket. He understood why Smurfs like Dreamy and Marco were so fascinated with it, although he himself had a tendency to fall overboard and tried to be careful when setting sail as a passenger on their ships.
"This looks like a good spot"
Handy's voice broke Clumsy from his thoughts, and he quickly sped over to catch up to where the inventor was laying out beach towels from his bag.
"It's nice and warm here but we have these rocks for a windbreak" Handy explained, gesturing around at the jagged stones that were jutting out from beneath the sandy floor.
"Ooh, rocks, gee uh, it's been a while since I added any to my collection – not enough time to go lookin' ah guess"
"Well, you've got the whole afternoon now" Handy laughed, digging through his bag again for something "Why don't you pick a couple to take back?"
Clumsy's eyes lit up with boyish excitement. For a few moments, he felt he wasn't an adult Clumsy Smurf with a row of demanding responsibilities on his shoulder, but Clumsy Smurfling again, the keen and curious kid who had discovered a love for the many colours and textures of small stones. The beach pebbles were curious indeed, worn smooth by years of rough sea water that had buffed them into near perfect ovals. He could feel a little tingle of excitement run down his arms as he examined each one individually, testing their weight and comparing the lines and speckles on their surfaces.
He was in the middle of examining a particularly large stone when he spotted something else lying a couple of feet away. Placing his current rock down beside him, he crawled over to the mystery object and gently brushed the sand from its surface. It was a near perfectly preserved shell, slightly peach coloured with spatterings of white and dark pink around the ridges. Clumsy brought it back to his current collection pile.
"Gee uh, look at this neat shell!" He exclaimed, holding out in front of him.
Handy looked up from where he had been drawing something in a small sketchbook.
"Oh wow, that's a queen scallop – a pretty one too, are you gonna take that back?"
"Yeah" The southern Smurf smiled "Ah think ah will - it's not a rock but it's still purty – say, watcha drawin'?"
He glanced down at the sketchbook in the other's hand, expecting to see some technical plans for a new marvellous invention, but the pencil work didn't look like Handy's usual blueprints. It was sketchier and rougher, and there was something in the middle of the page that caught Clumsy's attention. He blinked.
"Gee uh, that's me!"
The tips of Handy's ears went pink as he surreptitiously tried to cover the page.
"I-I uh well I um – it's not really my thing, heh" He stammered, slowly moving his arm away from the page "You know, machinery and stuff, drawing Smurfs is more Painter's thing, I'm not too good at it myself"
He handed the page over anyway, and Clumsy thought he was being modest. The style was very different to his usual invention plans, or to Painter's realism work, but it was good, and very recognisably Clumsy in a sort of abstract way. Handy had drawn him observing his rocks, and had clearly been about to make a start on filling in background details of the beach.
"Heh, ah like it" Clumsy handed the page back carefully, and Handy looked sort of relieved, as though he'd half been expecting a different reaction.
Clumsy returned to digging through the sand for collectables whilst the mechanic continued his piece. Every so often, Clumsy would unearth a shell, and hold it aloft. Handy seemed to know what most of them were on sight, which the firefighter thought was curious.
"Say uh, Handy? How come you know so much about shells?"
Handy's pencil paused mid-air over his page. He mumbled something incoherent and began scribbling away again. Clumsy blinked, unsure if he should repeat the question as he hadn't heard the answer.
"Uh … what?"
Handy didn't answer for a couple of seconds, so Clumsy was going to let it go. Just as he was turning to continue sorting his pile, he heard the other speak, clearly this time.
"I um, well I spent a lot of time down here with Marina. She used to tell me what the different kinds of shells were, I just remember a lot of them"
"Oh!" Clumsy felt a bit silly for having not guessed it, but he supposed that was a logical answer. He'd actually been burning with curiosity to ask a lot of questions about the mermaid, but sensed perhaps it might be too fresh of a wound still to probe further than the occasional in context question. He always felt kind of the same when talking about Stormy, and Handy in return had been respectful of that grievance too.
"Heh, finished" Handy held out the completed pencil sketch, and Clumsy took it as gently as his name would allow, being careful not to get too much sand on the page. The surrounding rocks and Smurf huts in the distance had been filled in now, as well as some polished shading on the actual figure. Really, Clumsy thought, it was very good. He complimented the pencil work again as he gave it back, and Handy looked pleased. He tucked the book away for the time being and sat back on his elbows, staring off into the horizon line.
The tide was starting to move out at this time, the waves sloshing lazily against the sand as they retreated into themselves. The sun was hot on their backs, and the gentle breeze that was coming offshore was inviting.
"I'm going in" Handy stated simply, getting to his feet and rolling his shorts at the knees. Clumsy looked up at him, and then to the ocean.
"Ooh uh, it looks kinda cold"
The inventor laughed, holding a hand out towards the other.
"Well that was uh, kind of the idea – the sun's getting a bit oppressive at the moment and it'll help to cool off"
He was right, Clumsy could practically feel his shoulders turning slightly pink even as he sat there. He took the other's hand with some trepidation, allowing himself to be pulled uneasily to his feet.
He'd been right, the sea was pretty chilly. Clumsy shivered a little as the first wave rolled over his ankles, but after another couple had passed, he could see Handy's point too. It was cold in a soothing way.
The engineer took a couple of steps deeper, and Clumsy hung back on the shallows, feeling a bit nervous. He knew how to swim in a … clumsy sort of way. But he didn't fancy his chances with deep open water, even on a day as calm as this one.
Handy suddenly ducked down into the water, so that it covered him up to his neck, before turning around as he floated idly in the shallows.
"It's lovely and cool here!" He called up the beach, but still the southern Smurf didn't venture too deep. He did take another step forwards though, just to prove he wasn't ignoring him.
"A-ah uh, think it'd be better fer me to stay on the shallows – ah don't swim too good in the waves … ah think ah should just stay an' paddle"
"Oh" Handy sounded a little disappointed, but he didn't want to put Clumsy out of his depth on his own. An idea came to him instead, and he grinned, making his way back up to the shoreline where the fireman was looking perplexed.
"G-gee uh, what're you doin'?" He blushed as Handy approached, standing and shaking the excess water droplets from his arms.
For a second, Clumsy was distracted. He'd never put much thought into the appearances of his friends or otherwise, and had never understood why the other's did. But in that moment, he couldn't help himself. Handy was a handsome Smurf, and in the second or two it took for Clumsy to be side-tracked by the droplets sliding down his chest, he'd managed to pick him up.
"H-hey uh, where are we goin'?" Clumsy suddenly felt a little panicked, as Handy had begun to walk further out into the sea, until he was waist deep in the water, but luckily no further. Oh, Clumsy got it. Now he didn't have to swim.
"Better?" The mechanic asked, fluttering his eyelashes playfully.
"W-well it's uh, ah mean as long as ah don't have to swim-" Clumsy hoisted himself a little higher in Handy's arms, trying to feel as safe as possible. Once he felt confident he wasn't going to drop out, he allowed himself to look around properly. The security of the beach seemed a little ways off, but it wasn't too bad out here in the calm water. The ocean certainly was beautiful, and Clumsy could see several shells lying about under their feet, as the ocean was less blue and quite clear up close. He was staring out to the beach again when he felt something brush against his foot, and he yelped, trying to scrabble away from the thing and splashing Handy a fair amount in the process.
"H-hey, what's wrong?"
"S-something touched my foot, it felt like a-"
He looked down. A shoal of tiny fish were swimming about nearby.
"Oh. U-uh golly, Handy ah didn't mean to-"
"Ehe, don't worry about it" Handy shook his head, shaking off some of the rouge sea water droplets. "Those won't hurt you. Maybe nibble at your toes a bit if you stand still but they don't see us as food"
"Nibble?" Clumsy wrapped his arms more securely around the other's shoulders, trying to keep his feet out of the water.
"Pft, I've gotcha, we can go back to shore if you're uncomfortable"
Clumsy thought about it for a second, but now that he was out here he sort of liked the cool water. And, perhaps more importantly, he didn't really want Handy to put him down just yet.
"No, ah'm fine, honest, it's nice an' quiet out here" the firefighter smiled. He turned to face Handy directly, pressing his nose gently against the other's. "Thank you by the way, fer bringin' me out here today, ah didn't know ah needed it"
"Well, you're very welcome" Handy beamed, returning the nuzzle "And I want to keep being able to look out for you now, promise – all of you"
"We'll do just fine" Clumsy giggled, cupping the inventor's face in his hands "One day at a time"
"One day at a time" Handy agreed, feeling his cheeks flush slightly pink at the proximity.
There was a slight pause as something unspoken passed between them. Clumsy wasn't entirely sure which one of them moved forwards first, but before he knew it his head had turned one way, Handy's had turned the other and their lips had met. For a couple of moments, even the sloshing of the waves were drowned out against the thumping sound of Clumsy's heartbeat.
Handy pulled away gently after a while, his left ear flicking slightly as it often did when he was happy about something.
"T-that was uh, ehe-"
"Salty" Clumsy wrinkled his nose, rubbing his lips with the back of his hand "Ah think you still had some seawater on yer face"
He looked down at Handy, who was looking a bit nervous now, wondering if he'd gone too far. The freckled Smurf smiled at him reassuringly, cupping his face "B-but it was good! We can try again – ah mean go again, ah mean-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence before Handy leant in again. This time, Clumsy didn't even care about the sea water, he was too caught up in the moment. Truthfully, he'd anticipated this moment for a while, or at the very least thought hopefully about it. He'd been so nervous about losing Handy if he'd ever confessed he was feeling something stronger, so to know those feelings were returned made him feel like the luckiest Smurf in the world.
Clumsy decided to stay in the water a little longer after that, even managing to swim his own clumsy way, but since they were already mostly submerged, Handy didn't seem to mind the splashing, even joining in on it. When at last their fingers had started to prune, they made their way back up shore to dry off.
"We should probably get going soon, there's a couple of clouds coming" Handy pointed out "Just enough time to eat the picnic, I think"
"Then there's plenty of time" Clumsy grinned, sitting down on his beach towel as he took his share "Like Brainy always says, if there's time to Smurf it, there's time to do it"
"Yeah … what was he asking you about earlier anyway?"
"Oh uh, he was just checkin' everything was alright, don't mind him"
"I try not to" Handy chuckled, biting into the corner of his sandwich.
"Heh, he just likes to make sure he knows where I am, in case somethin' goes wrong, has done since we were Smurflin's, ah think it's just his way of sayin' he cares without having to use words"
"How ironic, considering he always seems full of them"
Clumsy's lip twitched into a brief smile as he sat forwards, brushing some of the sand from his leg.
"Naw, he's good with them big words, but he doesn't like to use em to express emotions too well. Ah remember this one time, we were about 45 ah think, an' ah'd smurfed mah leg on a tree root, so Papa had me stay at his house fer the day, an' Brainy came and gave me a book to keep me busy but he didn't wanna stay cause he said my leg looked funny in the cast" Clumsy grinned as the memory came back "''Cept, ah couldn't read then, so ah still don't know what that story was all about"
Handy laughed and had to be patted on the back after almost choking on the mouthful of sandwich he'd just bitten into. Clumsy was a card sometimes, even if he didn't know it.
With the picnic finished and grey clouds threatening to come overhead, Handy suggested that they pack up for the day and head elsewhere.
"It's still light out, I reckon we could head to the stepping stones. Or hey, we could just go back to the workshop and chill if you'd prefer"
"Hm, the workshop one sounds good" Clumsy beamed "Oh! Wait, ah'd picked out some rocks to take back-" He scurried over to where his pile was lying in wait. He'd selected a couple of the more polished stones that he'd found, as well as the queen scallop that he found quite pretty. "Ah think these'll make a good addition"
"Good choice" The engineer smiled "If you've got enough room on your shelf"
"Ah'll make room" The other replied determinedly, carefully slipping his rocks into one pocket and his shell into the other "Only uh, ah reckon ah should have a bath first when we get back, ah still smell like sea water"
"I don't know, I think it has its appeal" Handy joked, leaning forwards to peck him quickly on the lips.
Clumsy beamed, unable to hide a small tail wag. He'd woken up that morning feeling as though the weight of the world was on him, and now he was feeling some very different things. He was going to get through this, one day at a time.
"Oh, an' uh, Handy? If it's not too much trouble … maybe we could bring the boys here one of the days they're feelin' better, y'know, as a uh, like a family thing"
Handy's cheeks went slightly pink, but he looked pleased.
"Clumsy, Clumsy, Clumsy" He said, in a jovial impersonation of the fireman's best friend, before reaching to interlock their fingers "It's the least I can do"
