As soon as they walked through the shield, the brothers all relaxed. Home. They were finally home again. Their stay in Raverra had been far more extended than any of them had anticipated. They didn't regret their adventure, considering how things had turned out so far. But that was the thing that bothered Grumpy. So far. They had been so busy helping Snow with the wedding preparations and the thieves' placement that they hadn't had time to really see how things were between them now. With a long stretch of downtime planned for the near future, they were going to have to find out, and it made Grumpy uneasy.
They barely made it to supper the first night before they slunk up and collapsed into their beds. Grumpy awoke first and could tell by the slant of the sun that it was already midday. He yawned and rolled out of bed then dug around for a pair of trousers and slipped them on before shrugging out of his nightshirt. He made coffee then headed out to the chicken-coop.
Grumpy had promised the brothers that he'd taken care of the chickens, and they had taken him at his word. The truth was that he'd sent them to one of Heinrich's friends in the village, so he pulled out a note he'd scribbled, tucked it, a few coins and several small gems into a pouch, then portaled it out and the chickens in. He settled them with a soothing spell then fed them and watered them. That done, he headed out to trap some game.
He enjoyed the mornings when he surprised the brothers with fresh meat. It was such a treat for them, and it gave him a chance to stretch his legs and strengthen his protection spell. He had managed to get several fat rabbits with his magic when he realized somebody was watching him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he turned and saw Doc standing behind him.
"What in tarnation are you doin'?" he gasped, clutching at his chest.
Doc looked sheepish. "You left," he said softly.
Grumpy sighed and picked up the rabbits. "I ain't goin' nowhere, Doc."
Doc didn't answer. Grumpy looked up to see doubt on Doc's face. He scoffed. "Come on. How about fried rabbit for breakfast?"
"Oh, is that what you were stewing, ah. doing?" Doc asked, noticing the brace of rabbits. "That sounds excellent, actually."
"Thought I'd surprise you," Grumpy said, frowning at Doc.
"Come on. Let's get foam, um, home," Doc insisted, reaching out tentatively.
Grumpy didn't hesitate to wrap an arm across Doc's shoulders as they walked back home. Doc relaxed and looked pleased by the gesture. Grumpy was glad he could help, in some small way at least. He was unsure of where exactly he stood with the brothers now that they knew his secrets. Sure, they said they were fine, but that had been in the thick of an adventure. Now that they were back home and had time to think on it, would they change their minds? He couldn't help but worry.
When they got back, the others hadn't stirred yet, and Grumpy squinted at Doc as he sank into his chair and closed his eyes. "How'd you know I was gone?"
Doc opened his eyes and gestured vaguely at his middle. Grumpy frowned then scoffed. "Adele's spell of course. I should remove that."
"No!"
Grumpy's ears rang as Doc was suddenly wide awake. There was frantic movement upstairs and the door opened.
"What happened?" Sneezy demanded.
Grumpy's heart thundered in his ears as he turned away, too startled by Doc's vehement refusal to explain anything. Without a word, he started breakfast, and Doc went upstairs to talk to his brothers. Grumpy felt left out. He tried not to care. But the look on Doc's face had been just short of outraged at his question, and it reminded him of Calida. A hand touched his, and he didn't need to look to know Bashful was there.
"Caught some rabbit," he mumbled.
"He just doesn't want to lose you," Bashful said.
Grumpy grunted. "Ain't goin' nowhere and I done told him that ten minutes ago."
Bashful stared at him. "That ain't what's wrong then."
"Nope," Grumpy said.
"Then what is?"
"He'd rather a stranger take the spell off him, fine. I'll write to Adele tonight," Grumpy muttered. "Or maybe he'd let Snow do it."
"Is that what's got you riled?" Bashful asked, a relieved smile crossing his face. "Oh, Grumpy, I don't think that's what wrong."
"Then why get mad at me when I offered?" Grumpy snapped.
Bashful stroked his beard and shrugged. "I think he likes being' able to find you in case you run off again."
Grumpy's defensive posture relaxed. "Maybe," he said tightly.
"What's cookin?" Happy asked as he made it downstairs.
"Fried rabbit," Grumpy replied. "And whatever you want to make. Chickens are back and are fine."
"Where'd they end up?" Sneezy asked as he came plodding down.
"With somebody Heinrich knows," Grumpy said. "Paid them good."
"When?" Doc asked, bewildered.
"Before I left to get this," Grumpy said, holding up a piece of rabbit.
"Oh. So you didn't stow, erm, go anywhere?" Doc asked.
"Nope."
"I thought…" Doc frowned and looked embarrassed. "Oh, never mind."
Grumpy eyed him then pursed his lips and waved his hand. Doc yipped in surprise as the magic roiled inside of him. "Mmhm. It was just me usin' the portals. You can sense my magic use. I didn't go nowhere though. Just brought the chickens back and paid them folks for helpin'."
Relief made Doc sag and he smiled a little. "Sorry. I thought you were going somewhere. The bull, ah, pull was awfully far away."
Grumpy shrugged then turned back to making breakfast. Happy and Sleepy joined him and soon they had a table full of food, which they wasted no time in devouring. Afterwards, they unpacked their packs before settling around and resting. Even Dopey lacked his usual energy, and they dozed off and on throughout the day.
The brothers awoke that night to find supper being set on the table. It was dark outside, and they realized that they'd more than dozed for awhile.
"Gosh, thanks for makin' supper," Happy said, fighting back a yawn.
"You're all tuckered out. And I don't mind," Grumpy said. "Gave me somethin' to do."
"You didn't take a trap, erm, nap?" Doc asked in surprise.
"Nope. Couldn't sleep."
"Why not?" Sleepy yawned.
"Just couldn't."
They all stared at him. He was clearly bothered about something if it could keep him up after the last few weeks.
"What's wrong?" Bashful asked.
"Nothin'," Grumpy replied.
"Liar," Sneezy retorted.
"Food's ready. Let's eat."
"I don't drink, ah, think so," Doc said slowly.
"What now?" Grumpy asked.
"We're going to squawk, er, talk first. What's bothering you?"
Grumpy's face turned into a stoic mask, his usual response to probing questions. "Well, I'm hungry for one."
"We'll eat in a minute," Happy said.
Dopey nodded and crossed his arms, gesturing for Grumpy to talk.
"Don't want to."
"And we don't care," Sneezy said. "You've been fine up til now. Why are you acting skittish?"
"Ain't skittish," Grumpy argued.
"Yep. Sure," Sneezy said. "Bashful, take a guess since he ain't talkin'."
Grumpy flushed and crossed his arms defiantly as Bashful studied him. He considered everything he knew about Grumpy, from the first moments he'd gotten there to now. Then he nodded. "Why are you so afraid we don't want you?"
That certainly surprised Grumpy. He hadn't expected that question, and it terrified him because he'd never once mentioned anything about his many doubts about being wanted. "I don't know," he snapped, pinned to the spot by their burning gazes.
"You do too," Bashful argued. "And we want to know. So tell us why."
Grumpy felt trapped. He didn't want to say anything, but as the silence stretched on, he squirmed.
"Just tell us why, Grumpy," Bashful said gently, reaching out.
Grumpy stepped back, unable to take it, and the answer burst out of him. "Cause even my folks didn't want me, so why would anybody else!"
Shocked silence. Grumpy turned away and began pacing, but he continued to talk, hugging himself as he cried.
"And not only that, they were Dwarfs, who think family is the most important thing there is. And they still didn't want me! They left me alone and I was raised by a crazy bitch who didn't care a whit if I lived or died. She laughed when I took her whippin' and left without even seein' if I was okay. She thought Emil brandin' me was a good idea because it made me behave. She didn't want me either, and she made sure I knew it every day of my life. Nobody wants me, and they never have. So why would you?" Grumpy spun to them and threw their question back at them. "Why, huh? Why would you want me? Especially when I clearly ain't worth wantin'!"
Grumpy couldn't take their staring, so he turned away and shivered. Bashful reached out and took his hand. "Gosh, when you put it that way, it makes sense why you're so afraid of us."
"I ain't afraid," Grumpy muttered.
"Are too," Sneezy retorted, but he wrapped him in a hug. "It's okay, though. We ain't goin' nowhere any more than you."
Grumpy hid his face as hot tears streaked down his cheeks. "What if you change your minds?" he asked softly, hugging Sneezy back.
"How could we do that?" Doc asked. "You can't change who your kin is."
Grumpy peeked over to see Doc's solemn, warm eyes gazing at him with such compassion that it made his heart ache.
"I ain't your kin though."
There was a burst of laughter from around the room, but it was friendly.
"We say you are," Happy said.
"Yeah, and there's six of us and one of you," Sneezy said, pulling back to grin at Grumpy. "So you're gonna believe it or else."
Grumpy snorted and ducked his head to scrub at his eyes. "I got magic and you don't, so that evens things out."
"In some ways," Sleepy said. "But magic can't fight against everythin'."
"How do you figure that?" Grumpy asked.
"Because kin is stronger than magic," Sleepy explained. "All Dwarfs know not to mess with kin. Love is deeper than magic in general. It's somethin' they teach, and it's so important we know it now, even if magic is rarer. And I'd say we proved it by breakin' your curse."
Grumpy thought about that then nodded. Doc walked over and embraced him. "If you're really that worried about it, we'll let you stow, ah, know if we change our minds. But we won't."
"How do you know?" Grumpy asked.
"How do you know magic?" Doc asked. "How do you know a gem is flawed without touching it? How do you know how to tripe, uh, swipe a purse?"
"Those are all different," Grumpy said.
"Not really," Doc said. "Because I know we won't change our minds for the same reasons. And we will sell, er, tell you this as much as you need us to. Because we love you, brother."
Grumpy liked the sound of that. "Brother?" he asked. "You're sure?"
"Might as well be," Sneezy said. "Can't get rid of you."
"I've helped raise thirteen girls with the same excuse," Grumpy said, his eyes shining. "You ain't foolin' me with that. If you wanted me gone, you'd make it clear. You did for a few months anyhow."
Sneezy grinned. "Now you're gettin' it."
"For now," Grumpy said.
Dopey sprang over and embraced him, gesturing that they'd remind him if he ever needed it. Grumpy smiled and tugged Dopey's hat over his eyes.
"Thanks," Grumpy said. "Now let's eat. I need to sleep."
He scrubbed his eyes then sat down at the table. The others followed suit, and Grumpy watched the brothers as they piled their plates with food and started talking over each other. It was chaos, but it was home, and he loved them with a fierceness that could only come from being a Dwarf. He knew he'd found his kin, and he would never let them go.
Later that night, Grumpy awoke, his mind buzzing with an idea. He snuck downstairs and knelt down by the trunk that contained the brothers' designs for jewelry. He dug down to the very bottom before he found what he was looking for. It was the last thing the brothers' father had designed, and it had been for Dopey. Nobody had ever made it, not even Doc, because they didn't know what kinds of gems to use. They had talked off and on of their options but had never settled on anything.
Standing up, Grumpy hurried to the other side of the room where the keepsake chest was. He pulled it open and searched for the rare, odd gems that he had gifted to Dopey. Pulling the pouch out, he dumped them into his hand and studied them then looked back at the design. It would work with a few tweaks. He had time to work on it. The brothers were going to be working on Snow's request all throughout the summer and autumn. He could work around their time in the forge and use his magic to make Dopey the treasure his father never got the chance to give him. With that decided, Grumpy went back up to bed, excited for what was to come.
By the end of the year, he was determined that all six of them would have their very own treasure, even Dopey.