Chapter 54
They had been sitting on the ground, just hugging, for some time in silence when Creek moved Branch's arm. The adjustment of Branch's arm hadn't been so Creek could move away, simply to turn the arm and look the limb over.
"When was the last time you put on that ointment I made you?" Creek asked, lightly running his fingers over Branch's scar as if trying to check its healing progress.
"Don't worry about it, Creek," said Branch, wondering how the non-important scar even made its way into Creek's mind.
Still gray, Creek looked up at Branch, raising an eyebrow, "Humor me."
"Alright," said Branch slowly, "I put it on my arm this morning."
"And your back?" asked Creek.
Branch just barely managed to blush only a little on his cheeks instead the full body blush that threatened to consume him, "Just my arm."
"Why, did it run out?" asked Creek.
"Don't worry about it," Branch repeated.
"That's a yes," stated Creek.
Poppy giggled and Branch frowned a little. If Creek hadn't been gray, this felt like a regular conversation. Branch wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.
Humming, Creek looked at Branch's arm again and moved it towards Branch in order to try and stand but Poppy wasn't having any of it, "Poppy, how long do you plan on holding me captive?"
"How much daylight is left?" Poppy grinned at him, tightening her grip.
"I doubt it's even afternoon yet," commented Creek, then seemed to think of something, "Poppy, did any of you ever eat breakfast?"
Instead of answering, Poppy nuzzled Creek again.
Frowning, Creek turned to Smurfette, "Please come retrieve your girlfriend and feed her before I subtract points."
Gasping, Poppy let go of Creek and gave him a scandalized look, "Don't you dare!"
Walking over, Smurfette held out her hand and helped Poppy to her feet, "What's this points thing you're talking about?"
Standing, Creek brushed off his pants, "It's sort of a running joke Poppy and I have where we'd rate the Trolls, now Smurfs, I suppose, that the other would date."
"There's not an actual score," Poppy clarified, "But saying that you're subtracting a point was a way of saying we disapproved of something and adding points was an approval." She hugged Smurfette and kissed her cheek, "You get all the points!"
"She only gets all the points if you plan on marrying her, Poppy," commented Creek.
"All the points," Poppy repeated, snuggling Smurfette further, whom blushed.
Hefty looked between Poppy and Smurfette and frowned, "Seriously?"
Blushing more, Smurfette hugged Poppy back and just smiled.
At that moment, Poppy's stomach growled and she blushed.
"Subtracting-" Creek began.
"No," cried Poppy, dragging Smurfette over to the table and grabbed some food from the basket to started eating.
Branch stood, looking at Poppy in bewilderment, "If there's no score, why is she taking this so seriously?"
"Do you remember Nutmeg?" asked Creek, sighing when Branch gave him a blank look, "She's a Glitter Troll I dated a few years ago."
"I think so," Branch said slowly, "Wasn't she, um, rather snotty?"
"To put it lightly," Creek nodded. "Poppy made the comment that Nutmeg had a negative score and I dumped her on the spot."
"Harsh," commented Branch.
"It wouldn't have lasted anyway," said Creek, "She was rather insulting towards my yoga and my yoga dance class."
"Why did you date her then?" asked Branch.
Creek paused, thinking it over and looked at the ground, "She asked."
Silence filled the mushroom again and Poppy grabbed a Smurfberry and started to put it up to Creek's face.
"No," Creek frowned at her, "Bad Poppy, no force feeding, remember? Besides, I already ate breakfast."
"Does the 'no force feeding' rule extend to Branch?" asked Poppy.
"I'm tempted to say no if only to see how that would go down," said Creek.
"Hey!" protested Branch.
"But," Creek continued, "That was a general 'no force feeding' promise we extracted from you so it extends to everyone, even Branch."
"Spoilsport," Poppy muttered and Smurfette smiled at her adoringly.
Creek looked about the room at all the ingredients stored there, then to Branch, "You should eat too, or I'm subtracting points from your Smurf."
"Hefty," Branch reminded him, rolling his eyes, "And I'm included on the point system now too?"
"I figure you won't take my scoring your Smurf-" Creek began.
"Hefty," said Branch.
"-Seriously so I might as well have fun with it," finished Creek.
"Do you normally do this point thing in front of those you're scoring?" asked Hefty.
Shrugging, Creek went over to the counter where Papa Smurf typically mixed medicine, looking a few things over, "Not typically but how else was I going to get Poppy to eat?"
"By asking nicely?" suggested Poppy, munching on the Smurfberry that she had grabbed earlier.
"When has that ever worked?" asked Creek.
Rolling her eyes, Poppy looked around, pausing when she spotted Brainy.
Standing off to the side, Brainy stayed silent and as watching Creek with a concerned expression, oblivious to Poppy looking at him.
Poppy smiled, "Well, in any case, I'm giving Brainy bonus points for taking care of you since we got here."
Immediately Brainy blushed and Creek stopped looking over the counter to turn to her.
"Poppy, love, the points are for those we are dating," Creek reminded her.
"Yes, and?" asked Poppy.
"Brainy and I aren't dating," said Creek.
"Yet," grinned Poppy.
"Never," frowned Creek, "Just let it go."
"Nope," Poppy shook her head, "And I'm adding more bonus points for him putting up with all of your denial."
"There's nothing to deny, Poppy," said Creek, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms. "Brainy is too smart to be still be interested after hearing everything."
Blushing further, Brainy swallowed nervously, "Th-that's not true."
Turning to him, Creek raised an eyebrow.
Brainy wrung his hands together, "I mean, not that I'm not smart. Not that intelligence has anything to do with feelings. I mean, being able to solve an equation has nothing to do with the brain chemistry that leads towards attraction and-"
Snapping his fingers to get Brainy's attention, Hefty shook his head once Brainy was looking at him, "Brain-man, you're rambling."
"Oh, right," Brainy nodded and turned back to Creek, nibbling his lower lip before speaking, "I still like you."
A few blinks were all Creek did in response, staring afterward.
Wringing his hands more, Brainy rolled back and forth on his feet with nervous energy, "I, I understand that this isn't the best time for this, there's probably a lot you need to do before you're ready for any sort of relationship, if ever, but my feelings haven't changed. My feelings aren't going to change so I want to be here for you in whatever way you need me, even if its just as a friend."
Not moving, Creek continued to stare at him.
Looking between them, Branch turned to Poppy in silent question but she just smiled at him. He tried turning to Hefty but Hefty just shrugged, not knowing any more than he did.
"Bonus points to Brainy for being absurdly sweet," beamed Poppy.
"And breaking Creek's brain," mumbled Branch.
"Indeed," said Creek slowly, still staring at Brainy. He shook his head to himself and turned to the others, "Now seriously, the lot of you should eat. And, if no Smurf minds, perhaps I could use what's here to make more ointment for Branch?"
"Go for it," grinned Hefty, barely keeping from laughing when Branch blushed and elbowed him.
As the others sat at the table to dig into the food from the basket, Creek slowly turned back to Brainy, "Perhaps you would like to assist?"
Though initially surprised, Brainy absolutely beamed as he nodded, going over to Creek to help make more ointment.
Turning back to the counter, Creek began to gather what he would need.
Eating a muffin now, Poppy watched them with a huge smile on her face.
Absently picking at a muffin, Branch watched them with concern.
Noticing, Hefty put his hand over Branch's, and smiled softly when Branch turned to him. Leaning in, he kissed Branch's cheek and whispered, "I love you."
Though Branch smiled gently in return, his colors only went from gray to pale blue despite the words that normally made his colors instantly bright.
Knowing how hard this situation had to be for Branch, Hefty tried not to dwell on it. Instead, he listed Branch's hand and kissed it, "Eat."
"I need my hand for that, Doofus," pointed out Branch, smiling a little more.
"Use your other one," grinned Hefty, keeping a firm hold on him.
Rolling his eyes, Branch picked up his muffin with his other hand to eat.
As he worked, Creek made sure to keep a distance between himself and Brainy, even as he instructed Brainy on how the ointment was made. He wasn't sure what to think of any of this. Poppy, he somewhat understood, she was rather loving and forgiving in most aspects. Branch, despite their years of animosity, due to Creek's own doing, was still the overly protective, sweet child Creek fell in love with, all those years ago, underneath it all. Hefty had, somehow, became a kindred spirit of sorts and Creek didn't know Smurfette well enough to understand her reasoning behind her reactions.
But Brainy, Brainy was a puzzle. The Smurf had certainly spent enough time around Creek to know that he wasn't worth forgiving but Brainy claimed to still be interested in pursuing a relationship with Creek. That definitely didn't make any sense, Brainy was too smart and too sweet to see himself as compatible with someone like Creek.
That almost had to be it though. Brainy was just too nice to admit that he was no longer interested. If Creek ever got a moment alone with Brainy, he'd have to let Brainy know that it was alright and he didn't have to pretend for Creek's sake.
Almost finished with the ointment, Creek looked around the counter, "Are there any scented oils here?"
"I don't think so," said Brainy, "I think Karate Smurf has some if you need it."
"It would just make the ointment smell nicer but its not necessary," commented Creek, starting to pour it into a container. "Branch can add some later when he goes home if he wants."
Finishing his food, Branch stood and walked over to them, "Thank you Creek, but you know you don't have to worry about this, my scars aren't going anywhere."
"Good one," laughed Poppy.
"Your scars lightening up and hopefully fading is the whole point of the ointment," Creek closed up the new jar, "Besides, it served as a good distraction for a bit…"
Watching Creek worriedly, Branch slowly reached out, so Creek could pull back if he wanted, and put his hand over Creek's, "Look, you came back rather quickly from Therapist Smurf's mushroom so I'm going to assume it didn't go well."
"An accurate assumption," agreed Creek, looking at their hands.
"But I think you should try again," said Branch, "It does help."
"I can't see how," commented Creek. "It won't change what happened."
"It won't but it can help change how you think about it," said Branch. He paused and took a deep breath, "Talking to Therapist Smurf has helped me with what turned me gray when I was a child."
Slowly, Creek looked up at Branch. He knew that Branch didn't remember that Creek knew the reasoning behind his gray. The fact that Branch even referenced it in an attempt to help Creek was a bit surprising, to say the least, and it touched Creek that Branch was willing to do that for him.
Standing, Hefty walked over to them and stood beside Branch to face Creek, "It does help, you just need to be willing to try and give it time."
Turning to look at Hefty, Creek knew Hefty had to be speaking from experience. The Smurf seemed to have no problems loving Branch and letting himself be loved. In a way, Creek was jealous of that strength.
"Alright," Creek agreed, looking at the ground again, "But I still don't want to go alone."
"That's understandable," said Branch, "One of us can go with you."
"I'm not sure Therapist Smurf will allow Hefty back in with me," said Creek.
Frowning, Branch turned to Hefty, "What did you do?"
"Surprisingly it was nothing bad," said Creek before Hefty could defend himself, "Unless you count being aggressively supportive."
"Yeah, that sounds like something you would do," Branch smiled at Hefty.
Smiling softly, Hefty wished he could kiss Branch but didn't think he should in front of Creek right then.
Swallowing, Creek looked up at Hefty, "I'm sorry for what I said."
Hefty sighed, "It wasn't fun hearing but you did have a point."
Not sure what to think of this, Branch looked between them worriedly.
Looking between them as well, Creek sighed and pulled his hand free from Branch, "Could you two just hug or something? This is a very weird tension to be stuck in the middle of."
"Um, we don't have to," mumbled Hefty.
"Yes, you do," Creek frowned at him. "Don't stop being affectionate with your mate on my account; seeing you two kissing isn't going to repulse me. Well, not any more than it did before my memories returned."
Branch blushed at Creek calling them "mates" and Creek knew it was true when Branch didn't deny it and Hefty smiled at Branch so fondly, Creek would have thought they were already married.
"Oh, are we finally acknowledging Branch's hickeys then?" asked Poppy, who grinned when Branch blushed worse, "Nice work there, Heft-man."
"Thanks," Hefty puffed up proudly, laughing when Branch hit his arm.
Around him the two couples chatted and teased, Creek relieved not to be the center of attention for the time being. He slipped away from Branch and closer to Brainy, very much aware that Brainy had barely taken his eyes off of Creek the whole time.
"You don't have to look so worried," Creek told Brainy softly.
"I can't help it," mumbled Brainy, a slight blush rising in his cheeks at having been caught so easily.
Humming, Creek looked down at Brainy's hands, remembering the glow that came from them that morning to save Creek's life. At the time it had been a relief but now Creek wondered if it was karma making sure he didn't escape punishment, "I feel like you should be telling your Papa about your recently awakened abilities."
"It can wait," said Brainy.
"Are you sure?" asked Creek, "Haven't you been trying to make a flower bloom for some time now?"
"It can wait," Brainy assisted.
"Would you go if I went with you?" asked Creek.
Brainy nibbled his lower lip, "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," Creek nodded, "I'm honestly rather curious how your magic sprang out so suddenly after trying to harness it for so long. Besides," he paused, looking around the mushroom, "I really do feel like I've been in this mushroom for a small eternity."
"What about," Brainy began but stopped, not sure how to ask.
"My gray?" Creek guessed, watching Brainy nod, "Smurfs already saw me going to Therapist Smurf's so its no big secret. It's going back to the Troll Tree that I'm worried about."