Chapter 42

Hefty managed to escape song boot camp when Tailor asked if he and Poppy would help him deliver raincoats to the girl Smurfs at their tents. He had put on his own raincoat, grabbed a pile and ran for it before Poppy had time to answer.

After the coats were delivered, Hefty ran back Chef's to grab some lunch for him and Branch. He ignored Chef's questions on whether or not Branch has accepted a proposal yet and got out there as quick as he could so not to be found by Poppy.

There was no way in this Smurfing world that Hefty was scared of Poppy. He just knew better then to fight something that he couldn't win against and that was Poppy on a mission. All he wanted to do was get back to Branch and figure out what his ring should be made of.

"Hefty!" Singer Smurf ran to him and grabbed his arm, "I need your help!"

"What is it, trouble?" Hefty looked around for any sign of danger.

"Sort of, it's Troll troubles," said Singer.

Frowning, Hefty wondered what could have possibly happened with any of the Trolls? Branch should still be at his mushroom and Creek was in bed. Poppy definitely could be causing trouble but Hefty hoped she wouldn't have had the time since they separated to cause too much of a mess.

"What happened?" asked Hefty.

"I think I'm in love," said Singer.

"Wait, what?" Hefty stared at Singer and pulled him closer to a mushroom so they wouldn't be in the rain as much. "Branch is off limits."

"Why would I go after Branch when he's with you?" asked Singer.

"Poppy is with Smurfette," Hefty tried to reason this away.

"Again, why would I-" Singer started.

"Wait, Creek? Seriously?" asked Hefty, unable to believe it.

"Yes," Singer sighed dreamily, "Have you ever heard a voice so beautiful?"

"Yes, Branch's," stated Hefty.

Singer nodded, "True Branch does have a beautiful voice but Creek's is just enchanting." He sighed again, "And he's just so lovely."

"Okay," Hefty really did not want to be a part of this. "Just go ask him out and leave me out of this."

"I tried," lamented Singer. "I brought him lunch, thinking he'd like a break from Brainy hanging around and we could talk for a bit, but he yelled at me and I'm pretty sure he threatened me with his hair."

Hefty raised an eyebrow, "He threatened you and you think you're in love with him?"

"The heart wants what the heart wants," said Singer.

"Okay weirdo, why did he yell at you?" asked Hefty.

"He doesn't like the way we treat Brainy," said Singer, "Or at least the way he thinks we treat Brainy. Like who cares what Brainy calls his pet bug?"

"Lab assistant," Hefty corrected, "And Brainy cares."

"Not you too," Singer sighed, "You interrupt and mock Brainy all the time."

"Not all the time," Hefty defended himself. "And not when it matters."

"Uh-huh," said Singer, clearly not convinced. "Just, what did you do to make Branch fall for you?"

"I'm pretty sure you're screwed as far as Creek goes," said Hefty.

"Oh Smurf, you think Creek likes Brainy?" asked Singer.

"No, but I know he has feelings for another Troll," said Hefty, not feeling the need to point out that Troll was Branch and nothing was going to happen there but he didn't need Singer going after Creek just to have his heart broken.

"Oh, Smurf it all," Singer pouted, "Should have known a Troll that lovely couldn't be unattached."

"Uh-huh," Hefty didn't bother to correct him. "Look, you should just forget about Creek, okay? There are lots of available Smurfs and Trolls out there."

Singer sighed, "You're right, but it just seems like a shame."

"Yeah, real shame," muttered Hefty, "And I get the feeling you owe Brainy an apology."

"You first," said Singer.

Rolling his eyes, Hefty gave the top of Singer's raincoat a soft noogie, "Go home." Without waiting for a response, he headed out to take his own advice.

When Hefty got back to his mushroom, he didn't see Branch sleeping by the fire anymore. The blanket and the tea mugs by the fire were still there but that was it.

"Ah, you're back," Branch stood from where he had sitting near some of Hefty's weights. His vest was off and his skin was glistening a little.

Hefty made no attempt to hide his staring, "Were you just working out?"

A slight blush crossed Branch's cheeks, "A little. I started out reorganizing things a bit and just kept going."

Setting down the basket, Hefty made an acknowledging noise but didn't really respond. Instead he walked Branch and moved to wrap his arms around him.

Branch stepped back and raised his arms, "Hold on, I'm all sweaty."

"Don't care," said Hefty, sweeping Branch into his arms. "I like you all sweaty."

"Doofus," Branch rolled his eyes but pulled Hefty in for a kiss. "Where did you disappear to anyway?"

"Chef's but I got abducted by Poppy for a bit," Hefty partly admitted.

Branch nodded in understanding, "Welcome to the club, Poppy will present you with a ribbon later."

At first Hefty chuckled, but then saw Branch's serious face, "Really?"

"I have about a dozen," commented Branch.

"You must be very proud," said Hefty.

"Well, I have been considering building a display case for them," Branch couldn't hide a small smile.

Laughing again, Hefty kissed Branch's cheek, "Make plans or that later, let's eat."

Nodding, Branch tried to pull away, "I'll wash up."

Shaking his head, Hefty kept hold of Branch's hand and pulled him back towards the blanket, re-grabbing the basket along the way, "No washing currently allowed."

"I probably stink," Branch protested, blushing softly.

"I like it," grinned Hefty.

"You're gross," Branch rolled his eyes. "You can't seriously enjoy sweat smell."

"Just your sweat smell," said Hefty.

"How can you make something gross sound sweet," asked Branch, sighing but allowing himself to be pulled down to sit on the blanket in front of the fire. "Are you using Smurf magic?"

"Not possible, considering I don't know how to tap into it," commented Hefty. "Just Papa does. Well and Magician but that might be his art of illusion and sleight of hand stuff he likes to talk about. And Brainy's been trying to learn but he hasn't even made a flower bloom yet. In fact, Brainy is convinced he made one wilt a few attempts ago."

"What does making a flower bloom have to do with learning magic?" asked Branch.

"It's first step energy manipulation, I guess," shrugged Hefty opening the basket. "If you can make a flower bloom it shows that your magical energy has been tapped into and you can start learning how to control it and do stuff like Papa does."

Branch hummed, refreshing their tea cups, "That healing stuff your papa does seems like it would be pretty useful."

Taking his tea cup once Branch offered it, Hefty looked at Branch curiously, "You don't have to add the "your" in front, you know. Papa would be fine with you calling him Papa; everyone does."

"Just seems weird," Branch shook his head. "Closest thing I've ever had to parents was Grandma and Miss Frizz."

Scooting closer, Hefty smiled at Branch, "Well, Miss Frizz is pretty darn amazing. And considering how much you obviously love her, I just know your Grandma was too."

Smiling softly, Branch scooted a little closer to Hefty in return not quite looking at him as he spoke, "She would have loved you."

Knowing how hard it was for Branch to talk about her, Hefty put an arm around Branch, "I'm sure I would have loved her too. If you can, I'd like to hear more about her sometime."

Staying silent for the moment, Branch fiddled with his teacup.

"There's no rush," Hefty assured him.

Moving closer, Branch laid his head on Hefty's shoulder but kept his eyes on his teacup, "Her name was Rosiepuff."

Hefty gave Branch a gentle squeeze but stayed silent to let Branch go at his own pace.

"She was a purple Troll," Branch continued slowly, "Her hair, eyes and nose were all a beautiful shade of turquoise and she even wore lipstick to match. I don't know how but she always smelled like flowers, even in winter."

A soft smile graced Hefty's lips as he tried to imagine her.

"Her and Miss Frizz were alike in a way," Branch smiled a little, "Grandma was always helping watch over all the little Trollings running around and could sooth any fussy child with her beautiful voice. She had the warmest hugs and loved to knit. I used to have a blanket she made on my bed; it was one of the few things I could take with me when we escaped the old Troll Tree."

A slight frown formed on Hefty's lips, "Used to have? What happened to it?"

"Remember Miss Frizz saying that Brocade used to bully the younger kids?" asked Branch.

"Yeah?" Hefty didn't like where this was going.

"Brocade took it after the second or third time I trapped him under a laundry basket," Branch explained. "Miss Frizz ordered Brocade to give it back but he said that he threw it away and it was long gone. If it was possible, I probably would have gone grayer. I just felt sort of, well, numb I guess. I couldn't respond."

"What happened next?" asked Hefty, worried about young Branch.

"Creek attacked Brocade," said Branch, "Right in front of Miss Frizz. I don't think I've ever seen him so angry, not even all this time later."

Part of Hefty wasn't surprised. He knew how Creek felt about Branch. Still it was amazing that it seemed to run so deeply even when they had been so young.

"Miss Frizz had to pull Creek off of Brocade but Brocade was already pretty scratched up and had a black eye from the scuffle. Creek had a few scratches too but I think he took Brocade by such surprise that he hadn't thought to react right away," Branch continued. "The moment Miss Frizz put Creek down to yell at them both, he just hugged me and didn't let go for a while. I was too numb to care at the time."

Hefty hummed to himself, pulling Branch closer, "You should show me where this Brocade lives the next time we go to the Troll Tree."

"I can't," said Branch.

"I'm not going to do anything," said Hefty. "I just want to talk to him. With my fist."

"No, Hefty," Branch sat up a little to look at him, "I can't show you where he lives because he died six years ago."

"What?" Hefty frowned, Brocade couldn't have been that much older than Branch. "How did he die?"

"Heart attack," Branch sighed, "He was rather young for one but the last thing he said was something about his heart hurting before he just fell over."

"How can he be attacked by an organ he didn't have?" asked Hefty.

"Hefty, Brocade was a jerk his entire life but try to have some respect for the dead," said Branch, rolling his eyes a bit. "And don't talk about him around Miss Frizz if you can avoid it; she was heart broken one of her kids went before her."

"Fine but only out of respect for Miss Frizz; I have none for him," stated Hefty, still frowning to himself.

Smiling slightly, Branch kissed the corner of Hefty's mouth, "Thank you."

Hefty blinked, "What for?"

"Everything," Branch shrugged. "Loving me. Your patience. Your bravery. Your kindness. Your ability to hold a grudge against something a child did twenty years ago because it hurt me. I have no idea what I did to come close to deserving you."

Slowly Hefty smiled, reaching up to cup Branch's cheek, "That's funny, I've been wondering what I've done to deserve you."

"Are you kidding?" Branch raised his hand to hold Hefty's hand on his cheek, "Somebody could write books of epic poetry that couldn't scratch the surface on how wonderful and amazing you are."

"And there will never be enough songs written to portray how spectacular and miraculous you are or how much I love you," Hefty moved closer to Branch, not quite kissing him.

"We're being really corny right now," Branch said softly against his lips.

"I can't say that I mind," Hefty whispered before closing the distance and kissing Branch, wanting nothing more than his moment to last and hold within in until the day he would ask Branch to marry him, again, and hopefully get the answer he's yearning for.