So the next chapter is going to take a little longer, hoping to have it ready for Monday. Have a wonderful weekend.

Chapter 22

Branch woke up a bit confused, not remembering going to sleep. Blinking his eyes a few times, he found himself lying in bed, wrapped in one of his spare blankets. He always stored his blankets with bars of soap so it still smelt nice and he snuggled into the coziness a bit until his brain foggily pointed out that he was in bed alone.

The first attempt to get up was a failure. When Hefty tucked Branch in, because who else would it have been, he wrapped the blanket so snuggly around him, it was like being trapped in a damn burrito. He squirmed around, almost falling off the bed, before managing to free his arms.

Raising up his hands, Branch inspected them. At some point he had gone back to being pale blue, though he didn't have a clue when it happened or if it was due to that delirious laughing fit, Hefty stroking his hair, or the calming effect sleeping had.

Though Branch wouldn't trade Hefty or the happiness the Smurf brought out in him for anything, Branch almost missed how simple life was when he only had to worry about one shade. Now he felt like his emotions were always too close to the surface and he had no way of hiding them from anyone who could see him.

With a bit more squirming, Branch managed to free himself from the blanket burrito and sat up on the bed. He yawned, still feeling a bit out of it from the unexpected nap. Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time he slept during the day if he wasn't sick or injured, he was always busy doing something or being dragged around by Poppy.

Speaking of Poppy, Branch could almost swear he could hear her voice. Slipping out of the bed, he hovered near his bedroom doorway to listen.

"Are you sure you can't tell me what upset Branch so much about that song?" Poppy's voice carried from what sounded like the dining room.

"It's not my place to say," replied Hefty, much to Branch's relief.

"You're a good boyfriend," came Smurfette's voice.

"But a horrible informant," said Poppy.

Hefty chuckled softly, "I'm taking that as a compliment."

"Are you okay Hefty? You seem worried about something," said Smurfette, "More than the obvious that is."

There was a sigh, then Hefty replied, "I think Creek likes Branch."

"Of course Creek likes Branch, they're friends," said Poppy, "Don't listen to anything Branch says against it."

"No, I mean I think Creek likes Branch," Hefty tried again.

There was a moment of silent, then a chorus of "oh"s from the girls.

"Not to invalidate your feelings Hefty but Creek's personality is pretty flirty and he does it with just about everyone," said Poppy.

"Just yesterday he complimented Willow and then winked at Papa," Smurfette giggled, "Their expressions were pretty funny actually."

"Kind of glad I didn't see it," said Hefty, "But the way Creek has talked about Branch to me and then today; it feels more serious."

Poppy hummed, seeming to take a minute to think about it, "Well if Creek does have feelings towards Branch he'll have to get over them; Branch loves you and Creek's intentions either way won't change things."

There was the sound of a sigh from the strong Smurf, "Thanks Poppy, I think I just needed to hear that."

"Do you hate Creek any less?" asked Smurfette.

"Nope," said Hefty.

The girls giggled in response.

Branch stood there a moment, not sure if he should make it known that he overheard the conversation. Poppy said what he would have so maybe he should just let the matter drop for the time being and talk to Hefty about it if it comes up again?

Deciding to let the matter drop for the moment, Branch let another yawn escape him as he left his room. He thought naps were supposed to make you more alert, not less. Maybe stress induced naps didn't count?

"Branch," Poppy cheered, "You're awake."

"Define awake," Branch finally looked at them at the table.

Where there had previously been two chairs, there were now four. Two of the chairs were the cute white ones with hearts of the back from Poppy's pod. It looks like she also brought some of her cups for the princess stole her mug back from Hefty and the Smurfs were drinking out of her floral print tea cups.

Ignoring the open chair, Branch stood behind Hefty and just sort of draped himself over him. His arms loosely wrapped around Hefty as he let his head rest of top of Hefty's, closing his eyes and sighing. This was oddly comfortable.

Again, the girls giggled.

"Aww, Branch, you're turning brighter just from hugging Hefty," Poppy cooed.

Blinking his eyes open again, Branch raised an arm to look at it. He had indeed gone from pale blue back to light blue just from being near Hefty. Smurfs really were magical.

Silently, Hefty took hold of Branch's raised hand and kissed it before putting it back to being around him.

"How are you feeling, Branch?" asked Smurfette.

"A bit tired but better," replied Branch. He hesitated, the added, "Sorry for running off and worrying you all like that."

Poppy smiled, "It's okay, I get that whatever that song means to you must have been painful to make you go gray so quickly. Creek wanted to come and apologize himself but he was scared Hefty would murder him."

In order to avoid responding, Hefty took a drink and Branch chuckled softly.

"He can think that all he wants," said Branch, "I could definitely do with some Creek-free time."

"What about all our time at Smurf Village?" asked Poppy.

"Not long enough," stated Branch, smiling when he could feel Hefty trying to suppress a chuckle but unable to hide the slight shake of his body.

Eventually Branch peeled himself off of Hefty, kissed his cheek, and sat beside him, drinking some coffee to try and wake up a bit. He made a show of humming in delight at his drink at Hefty's disgusted face, smiling when Hefty rolled his eyes.

The four of them chatted a bit and Branch realized this was the first time he really spent any time around Smurfette. Sure, he had been around her a bunch of times but there were other people around or things happening where they hadn't really talked. By the time they all finished their drinks, Branch could see why Hefty had liked her and Poppy loved her; she was sweet, witty, charming, and that whole package thing Hefty had said. He decided it was safer not to voice the concern that liking Branch was a downgrade in comparison.

When Branch and Hefty walked Poppy and Smurfette out of the bunker, Branch lightly pinched Poppy's arm.

"What was that for?" demanded Poppy.

"I read one of your," Branch used air quotes, "letters."

Poppy giggled nervously, "What can I say, I know you really well?"

Humming, Branch asked, "Then I suppose you know what I'm going to do next?"

"Ummm," Poppy hesitated.

Stepping forward, Branch quickly gathered Poppy into a hug, "Thank you."

Hugging back, Poppy beamed, "My pleasure."

Hefty whistled when Poppy used her hair to pick up both chairs, "Is there anything that hair can't do?"

"Juggle," said Poppy.

"And she's tried," said Branch.

As the girls walked away, Hefty turned to Branch, "So, is there something you'd like to do now?"

Making a show of thinking about it, Branch thoughtfully tapped his chin, then smiled before pulling Hefty in for a kiss. When he pulled back, he chuckled softly at Hefty's dazed face, "Alright, now we should go in and hang up the bedding to dry."

Hefty hummed, only half hearing him before coming back into focus, "Oh, um, I already did while you were sleeping."

"Oh, I hadn't realized I just kissed Laundry Smurf," teased Branch.

"Haha," Hefty rolled his eyes. "Clothes pins aren't that hard to figure out."

"Uh-huh," said Branch, "Well since the laundry is taken care of, would you mind going somewhere?"

"Anywhere you go, I'll follow," said Hefty, doing a mock bow.

"I know, that's how this relationship started," said Branch, taking hold of Hefty's hand. "Drove me crazy at the time but… I'm glad you persisted."

Smiling, Hefty stepped closer to Branch, kissing him again, "Me too."

Branch didn't tell Hefty where they were going, leading them away from the Troll Tree but not quite in the direction of Smurfy Grove or the wall back towards Smurf Village either. When they reached the clearing, Hefty recognized it instantly.

"This is where I first saw you," said Hefty, smiling widely in memory. "I had been out in the woods for a while, wondering if I was chasing something that didn't exist when I heard your voice. I don't think I ever ran so fast in my life."

"And then you promptly hid in the bushes," commented Branch.

"Hey, you weren't there when we met the girls, they had absolutely no idea what we were or respect for personal space and I didn't want a repeat of that barging in," defended Hefty. "Especially since one asked if we were food."

"Please tell me you're joking?" asked Branch.

"I wish I was," said Hefty. He looked around again, replaying the moment he first saw Branch in his head, "Why did you want to come out here?"

"I don't know," admitted Branch. "Seemed romantic at the time."

Hefty turned to Branch, who blushed at his gaze and the Smurf smiled, "I can see that."

A soft smile graced Branch's lips, reaching over so he could hold Hefty's other hand as well, "There's also something I wanted to say and this seemed like the place for it."

"The romantic place," Hefty grinned when Branch blushed further.

Branch raised Hefty's hands and kissed them, looking up and smiling at the Smurf before he began to sing, "You're a falling star, you're the gold bar
You're the line in the sand when I go too far
You're the swimming pool on an August day
And you're the perfect thing to say."

A light blush spread across Hefty's cheeks but he smiled widely, it again reminding Branch of the warmth of the sun.

Gently, Branch pulled Hefty into a dance, a slower dance similar to a waltz, and continued to sing, "And you play it coy but it's kinda cute
Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do
Baby, don't pretend that you don't know it's true
'Cause you can see it when I look at you."

The dance sped up a little but it was still easy to follow, Hefty finding that he enjoyed dancing with the Troll a lot more without an audience and, especially, with the knowledge that Branch loved him back. He couldn't help but let the smile grow wider on his face a they moved together and he listened to Branch sing.

"And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything," Branch sang, his bright colors returning,

"You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my every day."

With a turn, Branch snuck a kiss onto Hefty's cheek but didn't give the Smurf the chance to do the same, taking them both into a spin.

"And I can't believe, uh, that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you, baby, just because I can," Branch quickly kissed Hefty's hand and winked at him before continuing to dance with him and sing,
"Whatever comes our way, ah, we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do."

Almost instantly, Hefty felt lighter. His concerned over Creek feeling silly, knowing how much Branch loved him. He sprang more into the dance, managing to spin Branch around and shoot him a dazzling grin.

Smiling in returning, Branch sang, "And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything

So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything."

The dance slowed down and Branch took hold of both of Hefty's hands again, standing still with him to look into his eyes, "You're every song,
And I sing along
'Cause you're my everything
Yeah, yeah

So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la…"

As soon as the last note trailed off, Hefty pulled Branch closer, cradling the back of his head to kiss him.

Kissing back, Branch wrapped his arms around Hefty, warmth and adoration filling him in a way that felt wonderful, even though it was a bit scary. He could not imagine the rest of his life without this Smurf by his side.

Slowly Hefty pulled back from the kiss, staying close and pressing their foreheads together as he smiled at Branch, "Marry me?"

A soft chuckle escaped Branch and he gave Hefty a light kiss, "Eventually."

Such a bright smile spread across Hefty's face, Branch almost felt blinded. He could only imagine how Hefty would react the day Branch finally allowed himself to say yes.