Chapter 68

Creek stood so quickly, he knocked over his chair but he didn't even seem to notice it or the room full of Smurfs now watching him as he headed towards the door.

"Woah, woah, woah," Branch leapt to his feet and blocked his path, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Home," Creek stated. "I need to talk to Cinnamon."

"You can't just go off on your own," Branch protested.

"I came here on my own," Creek countered.

"And you got caught by Gargamel," said Branch.

"I wouldn't be having an argument out in the open this time around," stated Creek, frowning at him. "And the last time I checked, I don't need your permission."

Popping up, Poppy raised her arms to separate them a bit, "It's not about permission, it's about being safe, right Branch?" She nodded before Branch could answer, "Right. And you haven't even eaten anything yet. Plus, we got to get your pants from Tailor's and get Therapist Smurf and-"

"I don't care about any of that," Creek shouted, making Poppy and Branch jump back in surprise. He growled and ran a hand through his hair trying to calm himself but he just clutched onto it, needing an anchor to focus on and the dull pain was all he could think of at the moment, "This is Cinnamon we're talking about! Sweet, too good, too pure for this world Cinnamon! If that bastard hurt him and I didn't have a clue-"

"Don't you think we understand that," Branch snapped at him, "How do you think Poppy and I felt about you since we found out?"

Slowly releasing his hair, Creek took a deep breath, "That's hardly the same."

"Knowing your friend was hurting and being clueless about it seems pretty similar," Branch argued.

A rough chuckle escaped Creek, "Cinnamon isn't just some friend. I dated him for two years; I was going to propose. If I was that close and that oblivious, maybe I'm even more self-centered then you always said I was."

Branch hummed, "Well, you are pretty self-centered."

"Branch, this is hardly the time for that," Poppy scolded.

Ignoring her, Branch offered Creek a small smile, "But Cinnamon would have to be a pretty good actor to hide something like that from you since I know you do care about those close to you." He put his hand on Creek's arm, "I could be wrong about the whole thing too and, even if there's something, you're not going to be much help to him rushing in like this. Plus, if it is something serious, he might need Therapist Smurf as well."

Looking down at Branch's hand on his arm, Creek sighed, "I hate it when you're the reasonable one."

"Then you must hate it all the time because I'm always the reasonable one," said Branch.

Creek made a show of rolling his gray eyes, "I'm not touching that one."

Watching the group, Nosey Smurf hummed, "What's going on here?"

Instead of the usual yelling, the room now stared at Nosey.

Coughing, Nosey covered his mouth with his binoculars and spoke in a higher pitched voice, "None of your business Nosey." He lowered the binoculars and spoke normally, "Well, alright," and left Chef's mushroom.

The remaining Smurfs that didn't know what was going on looked over at the group again but then went back to their own breakfasts and conversations.

"If only it was that easy for people to mind their own business back home," commented Branch, turning back to Creek. "You might as well eat because you may have a promise from Poppy not to force feed anyone but you don't have one from me."

As Poppy smiled and squealed in delight, Creek sat back down at the table.

"Giving up that easily?" asked Stormy.

"I'm picking my battles," clarified Creek, "Fighting back now only delays getting home, even if I did win." He ignored Branch's comment that Creek wouldn't have stood a chance against him. "Besides, we need to give Brainy time to finish whatever it is he needed to talk to Handy about. Goodness knows if I tried to leave without him, he'd just follow me again."

Sitting back down, Poppy giggled, "That's because he loves you."

"I know that, love," said Creek, forcing himself to eat some of the oatmeal, "It's the 'why' that baffles me."

"Why would he need a reason?" asked Clumsy.

Creek stared at him, unsure of how to answer.

Grinning, Poppy gave a very confused Clumsy a high five.

"Creek, I'm curious about something, if you don't mind my asking," started Smurfette, waiting for Creek to gesture for her to continue before asking, "Why do you call people 'love'?"

"It's a habit I picked up from my uncle," explained Creek, "Sage was absolutely terrible with names, actually called me River quite a few times before getting it right. So, he called everyone 'love' to avoid getting names wrong. Cybil actually does it too."

"Who's Cybil?" asked Smurfette.

"Sage's daughter," explained Creek.

"So, your cousin?" asked Clumsy.

"Indeed," Creek mumbled and returned to eating without elaborating.

As they were finishing eating, Snappy flew in through one of Chef's open windows.

"That's odd, you normally don't see Snappy without Brainy," commented Clumsy, then gasped into a smile, "She must have a message for one of us."

Surprising Creek, Snappy landed in front of Smurfette, beating her wings to replay Brainy's voice, "Your assistance is requested."

Smiling, Smurfette nodded and stood, "I guess I'll meet you at Tailor's."

"Miss you already," Poppy grinned, winked and puckered her lips.

With a blush, Smurfette gave Poppy a quick peck, smiling at how it made Poppy beam, "I miss you too."

The group heading out, splitting up as Smurfette followed Snappy to wherever it was Brainy was at.

Creek paused, watching them go and wondering what it was Brainy was up to.

"You coming?" asked Branch.

Turning to him, Creek looked at Branch a moment before turning to the rest of the group, "Could you go ahead? I need to talk to Branch for a moment."

Though he stayed silent, Hefty frowned.

"Go head, we'll be there shortly," Branch assured him.

Looking at Creek, Hefty swallowed back the off feeling and kissed Branch's cheek, "Miss you already."

"Sap," Branch rolled his eyes but have Hefty a kiss in return. He waited until the group was a bit ahead before turning back to Creek, "What is it?"

Reaching up, Creek absently ran his hand through his own hair as he took in a deep breath, "In My Head and Pretty Young Thing."

Branch blinked, "What?"

Hand still in his hair, Creek gripped it a bit, "Those were songs that, that Brocade sang."

Eyes widening, Branch stared at Creek.

His grip on his hair tightening, Creek avoided Branch's stare, "There are others of course but those are the two that," he swallowed, "The two that make me feel ill to remember."

Though Branch suspected, he asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"After last night," Creek sighed, feeling shamed at his actions again, "It's only fair."

Stepping closer, Branch put his hand on Creek's elbow, waiting until Creek looked at him to speak, "I'm not going to sing them, Creek."

Creek frowned, "But I sang that song after I promised not to."

"And that was a shitty thing to do," Branch nodded, but then squeezed Creek's elbow, "People make bad choices when they're mad, scared, or stressed and especially when they're in pain. I'm not saying that I approve, just that I get it."

Releasing his hair, Creek lowered his hand, "I'm sorry."

"You apologized already," Branch reminded him, "And I meant it when I said I wanted to eventually know what else you've been keeping from me."

"That's quite the list," Creek admitted, "I'm not sure if I'm ready to divulge all that yet." He looked down at his feet, "I like having you as my friend."

"Hey, I'm not that easy to get rid of," Branch assured him. "What could be so bad that would make me head for the hills?"

Looking up, Creek evenly met Branch's eyes, "I can think of something."

Branch remained silent, keeping hold of Creek's gaze.

Creek swallowed, "I have a picture of you sucking your thumb when you were four."

Unable to help it, Branch laughed, "That's it, friendship terminated!"

Slowly, Creek smiled a little.

Chuckling, Branch wiped some moisture from his eyes. He really didn't know what to expect from Creek anymore, even though he had the feeling that wasn't the truly horrible thing Creek was hiding. Still, for now, "But seriously, you're going to give me that picture, right?"

"Not in your dreams," stated Creek, heading for Tailor's. "But I may give your Smurf a copy for his birthday, if Smurfs even celebrate their births with how big this not-family, family this village is."

Following, Branch gave Creek a light shove, "Hefty. And if you give him that picture I'll give Brainy one of you."

"That's not a threat," stated Creek, "I look fabulous in all my pictures."

"I'll stage a bad one," Branch threatened.

"Not possible," Creek teased, "And, if by some miracle, you managed to get one I wouldn't care if you gave it to Brainy. I imagine he'd love it no matter what."

Scratching the side of his face, Branch wasn't sure if he should ask or leave it alone. He looked at Tailor's up ahead, then to Creek, "You seem pretty fond of him."

"I am fond of him," stated Creek. "But fondness and love are two different things. If they were the same I would have dated Poppy when she had expressed interest."

"I thought you two were dating for a while," admitted Branch.

"Is that why you seemed to hate me so much?" asked Creek.

Flushing a bit, Branch looked away.

"And here I thought you and Poppy would one day tie the knot," Creek shook his head at himself, "I guess we were both wrong."

"I guess," Branch mumbled. "Have you ever pictured yourself getting married?"

"You mean, besides to you?" Creek ignored the aching in his chest when Branch scoffed, obviously thinking that he was joking again. "I would have proposed to Cinnamon if my secret hadn't gotten in between us. I often wonder what life with him would have been like if I hadn't let him get away."

Pausing, Branch sighed, "Look, I'm not saying that I think you and Brainy have to end up together. I was being truthful when I said that what makes you happy is the important factor."

"But?" Creek asked, crossing his arms and waiting for it.

"But," Branch confirmed, "I just want you to be careful when we talk to Cinnamon since I'm sure Brainy is going to feel, well, threatened by your history with him. I don't think you would use Cinnamon to intentionally hurt Brainy, but," he hesitated.

"But you know I've been trying to push Brainy away," Creek theorized, "Thank you for your concern Branch but I want Brainy to realize that he can do better than me, not purposefully hurt him."

"Well Hefty can do better than me," said Branch.

"He most certainly cannot," Creek, rather loudly, protested.

Branch smiled softly, "Thank you but that's how I feel about it, especially when Hefty first made his interest known. But he makes me happy and, I think, Brainy could make you happy if you gave him the chance."

Looking down, Creek knew that Branch was probably right. Still he couldn't fight off the dark thoughts clawing at him that Brainy didn't deserve to be saddled with him.

Opening Tailor's door, Hefty peeked out, "Is everything okay out here?"

Gaze raising up, Creek frowned at him, "You are lucky to have Branch and don't you, even for a second, forget that."

"Creek," Branch flushed as he scolded the purple Troll, heating further when Hefty laughed.

"Count my lucky stars every day," Hefty grinned.

"You're both impossible," grumbled Branch, slipping pass Hefty to get into Tailor's mushroom.

Moving a little, Hefty blocked Creek from following, "Silly question but, are you okay? As okay as you can be given the circumstances?"

Taking a deep breath, Creek nodded.

"Okay then," Hefty turned to go back inside.

"Thank you," said Creek, softly. He looked at Hefty's tattoo when the Smurf turned back to him before meeting his eyes, "For making Branch happy."

Hefty smiled, "Making him happy, makes me happy."

Unable to resist, Creek rolled his eyes, "You really are a sap."

"And proud of it," Hefty grinned, allowing Creek to go past him, into the mushroom.

Inside Poppy was standing on the pedestal, wearing a new dress and her hair free of her ponytail and normal blue floral headband. The top was blue and sleeveless, divided from the skirt by a white sash. Under the sash, the dress became layered with what looked like a crème colored tulle mesh material. Between each layer were hints of fabric poppies and daisies hidden within the fabric while the outside layer remained smooth so not to catch on anything.

Rushing over from his workbench, Tailor was smiling widely as he handed Smurfette, whom must have snuck back to the group without Brainy while Creek was speaking with Branch, a large bobby pin, decorated with another fabric poppy flower, "The finishing touch."

"This is amazing Tailor," Smurfette smiled, reaching up to carefully put the pin into Poppy's hair just above her ear, "I can't believe you did this since yesterday."

"Did you sleep?" asked Stormy, frowning.

Not answering, Tailor quickly looked away, beaming further when he spotted Creek by the door, "There you are."

"Um, yes," Creek acknowledged, "The dress is beautiful Tailor, you truly are wasting your talents with the typical Smurf ensemble."

"And wasting it on Poppy," Branch chimed in, "That dress will be ruined in five minutes, ten if she's careful."

Twirling on the pedestal, Poppy didn't pause to frown at him, "This is the prettiest thing I've ever worn." She giggled as she lifted the skirt to step down from the pedestal, "I feel like I should be getting married!"

Eyes widening, Smurfette turned a darker blue as she rang her fingers through her hair and smiled at the princess, "You'd be the most beautiful bride, Poppy."

Grinning, Poppy shook her head but kept her eyes on Smurfette, "Nuh-uh, I'm looking at the most beautiful bride ever."

Turning darker blue, Smurfette smiled so widely that she had to hold onto her cheeks to try and contain it, giggling happily.

"Smurfette already saw the dress, you can't use it for a wedding anyway," pointed out Branch.

Poppy pouted, "Spoilsport."

"Why does it matter if Smurfette has seen the dress?" asked Clumsy.

"It's considered bad luck for a spouse to see their partners attire before the ceremony," explained Creek.

Humming, Tailor walked around Poppy, looking the dress over, "What if I made a couple of alterations?"

Face lighting up, Poppy swung around to look at Smurf Blossom, who was fiddling with some of Tailor's spools of thread, "Blossom, kisses, STAT!"

"Gladly," Blossom bounced out of her seat and all but pounced Tailor to smother his blushing but smiling face with kisses.

The atmosphere around them was just so lovey dovey, Creek couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "I imagine there are many weddings in this village's future."

Both Tailor and Blossom paused to look at Creek with blushing faces.

Smiling softly, Creek turned to Poppy, "If that's going to be your wedding dress, love, you best change out of it."

"And you," Tailor regained himself, heading over to his workbench to pick up something yellow accompanied by something blue, "Need to change into these."

"You made something to go with the pants," Creek surmised, taking the bundle when Tailor offered it.

"I was inspired," Tailor grinned and hummed, looking at Creek's skin, "Looks like I made it a little dark but it should still look good together I think."

Glancing down at the bundle, Creek wasn't sure what Tailor was referring to, the yellow pants the same shade as his normal pair and the blue article, not much darker than Smurf blue, "I'm sure it's fine," he followed Poppy into the changing area, knowing now that there were multiple rooms back there.

Twirling again, Poppy couldn't stop smiling, "We should introduce Tailor to Satin and Chenille so they can all work together."

"I don't know what Tailor has done to deserve to be punished but I want no part of it," commented Creek, slipping into an individual changing room before Poppy caught on and yelled, "Hey" after him.

Shaking his head fondly, Creek looked at what he was given, the blue article, turning out to be a shirt. He changed into the new outfit before looking at himself in the room's little mirror, avoiding looking at his eyes.

Though the same shade as his usual pair, Creek's new pants were silkier and had a wider waist line that almost looked like thick ribbon. From there the pants went down to his mid-thigh, flared out a bit and curved back to be tight around the ankles, cuffed like the ribbon material at his waist. The shirt was fitted to his torso but still loose enough o be comfortable and had belled sleeves as well as a circular cut for the neck that dipped down a bit in a half oval at the center of his front to highlight his collarbones. All of the edges of the shirt were lined with goldish, yellow trim, darker than the pants but matching nicely.

"Yes, definitely wasting his talents on white shoe/pants and hats," Creek commented, looking away from the mirror before he was tempting to look at the gray again, to see if it had gotten any lighter or gone away, but he was sure if it had Poppy would have tackled him already.

The dress Poppy had been wearing was now on a hanger, hanging on a rack in the little hall of the changing section. Assuming that Poppy had already changed back to her normal clothes, he headed back to the man room.

"What this for?" Brainy's voice asked.

"I was inspired," answered Tailor's voice, "Ah, perfect fit."

Stepping out, Creek's eyes immediately went to Brainy. The glasses wearing Smurf was back to wearing his hat in his normal fashion and was now wearing a purple jacket that looked a little like a stylized lab coat with a raised collar and a synched waist. Along the edges of the jacket was lining of goldish yellow.

Hearing Creek, Brainy looked at him, blushing softly as he took in Creek's new clothes.

Smiling, Creek stopped just short of Brainy to appraise the jacket, "My, don't you look like the perfect little wizard?"

Flushing further, Brainy fiddled with his hands, "I'm having a hard time thinking of an accurate descriptor for you," he nibbled his lower lip, "I'm sure you've heard beautiful more times than you can count."

Though that was true, Creek felt his cheeks heat up a little, and tried to push it back by clearing his throat, "Perhaps, but delivery is important."

Peering up at him, Brainy noted the light blush on Creek's cheeks and smiled shyly but dazingly.

"Is no one going to say it?" asked Poppy, back to her normal dress.

"Let them be Poppy," Branch warned.

"But they're matching," exclaimed Poppy, suggesting to them as if it physically pained her not to.

Raising his arm, Creek compared his shirt to Brainy's jacket. Creek's shirt was a little darker than Smurf blue. Brainy's jacket was a little darker than Creek's own purple skin tone. Both the jacket and the skirt had the same color and styled lining at the edges. They definitely looked like a matched set.

Turning, Creek eyed Tailor, who just smiled.

Sighing, Creek decided it was better for his sanity not to comment and turned back to Brainy, "So is the thing your little project with Handy and Smurfette completed?"

Brainy nodded, nibbled his lower lip, and offered Creek his hand, "Do you want to see?"

Staying silent, Creek stared at Brainy's hand. He raised his own hand, hesitating a moment longer before caving and accepting Brainy's offer.

Smile widening as if Creek had just given him the moon, Brainy turned to the others, "Meet you at end of the village in an hour?"

"Sure thing, Brain-man," Hefty grinned, giving him a thumbs up.

"We'll grab Therapist and meet you there," Branch nodded.

Nodding back, Brainy squeezed Creek's hand before leading him out of Tailor's mushroom and back towards his own in an excited matter.

Part of Creek wanted to ask what he was so ecstatic about, but he found that he liked watching Brainy's smile grow the closer they got to his mushroom, glancing back at Creek as if to see if he had noticed anything yet.

Up ahead, Creek saw what looked to be a white, wooden fence gate peeking from around the side of Brainy's mushroom, that had a fence that curled around the side of the mushroom not currently visible to them. When they were close enough, Brainy opened the gate and suggested for Creek to walk through.

Letting go of Brainy's hand, Creek walked through the gate and around the mushroom to stop, almost mid-step, at the sight of a rose garden that definitely had not been there that morning. He stared, then turned to Brainy, staring some more.

Chuckling bashfully, Brainy suggested to his own hands, "Once you make a flower bloom it's actually pretty simple to replicate the process."

Turning back to the flowers, Creek cupped one of the rose buds in his hand, trying to make sense of it. He caressed the petals with his thumb and commented, "My song last night wasn't a request."

Another chuckle escaped Brainy as he scratched absently at his forehead, "I know," He swallowed, "I just thought that you would like it, give you an excuse to come visit."

Half turning, Creek stated, "I would much rather come see you, but thank you," he smiled softly at the rose in his hand, "This is lovely."

Again, Brainy smiled as if Creek had given him a gift rather than the other way around.

"Brainy," Creek started, not sure how to ask, "Is this," he released the rose and straightened to fully face Brainy, "Is this your way of giving me a wooing gift?"

Smile becoming nervous, Brainy looked around at the roses as he nibbled his lower lip and rubbed over his arm, "No," slowly he met Creek's eyes, "it's just a gift."

"I don't understand," Creek admitted.

Stepping closer, Brainy took Creek's hands into his and simply held them, "All things considered, you're in a complicated situation right now and I don't want to make things worse by trying to pursue you." He looked into Creek's eyes, "That doesn't mean I'm giving up though. I'm still going to be here with you every step of the way but the decision of if this goes any further is completely in your hands." His face flushed and his arms shook a little as he gave Creek's hands a squeeze, "So we're not going any further unless you give me a wooing gift."

Creek stared at Brainy, unsure what to make of it, "Are you sure about that? I've never given anyone a wooing gift."

"I'm sure," Brainy nodded.

"What if it's a long time before I'm ready for a relationship?" asked Creek.

"I'll wait," stated Brainy.

"What if I'm not ready until I'm old and gray?" asked Creek.

"It will be worth the wait," Brainy assured him.

"What if I'm never ready?" asked Creek.

Brainy smiled gently, "Any chance will be worth waiting for, even if that's the case."

Creek hesitated, "You really love me that much?"

"I do," Brainy blushed as he smiled.

Slowly leaning in, Creek brushed their lips together in a soft, sweet kiss.

Blushing further, Brainy swallowed, "You keep kissing me."

"You keep making me want to kiss you," rebutted Creek. He sighed and rested his forehead against Brainy's, squeezing their hands together and closing his eyes as he breathed in deeply. "I hope you don't come to regret this decision."

"I won't," Brainy promised, closing his eyes and not daring to move to disturb the warmth of this moment, surrounded by the sweet smell of their rose garden.