Smurfy Love

Chapter 1: Chapter 3: Somesmurf Special

The crisp morning air of Blossom was filled with the scent of wildflowers and the warm hum of cheerful Smurfs preparing for Valentine’s Day. Everywhere, little red hearts were being placed on doors, and Smurfette was already drowning in cards and flowers.

Brainy Smurf, however, had no time for such frivolous activities. He sat at his desk, scribbling furiously in one of his many self-authored books. Today's topic? The Philosophical Musings of a Superior Smurf Mind, Volume III.

Just as he adjusted his glasses and prepared to continue his writing, a loud thud followed by a startled “Gosh, sorry ‘bout that!” outside his window interrupted him. Brainy sighed and got up. He didn’t even have to look to know who it was.

“Good morning, Clumsy.” Brainy huffed as he opened the door, crossing his arms as Clumsy sheepishly picked himself up off the ground, dusting off his hat.

"Smurfy mornin' tah yah too, Brainy." Clumsy smiled. And then just... kept standing there. Smiling. Not walking away nor telling Brainy why he was there.

"Clumsy, did you have an actual reason for interrupting my very important work, or..?" He trailed off, gesturing to his writing desk.

"Oh, sorry Brainy." Clumsy's smile was replaced by a frown, making something in Brainy clench. Smurf it, he hated when Clumsy made that face, it always made him feel like an overly mean individual (which of course he wasn't). "Ah didn' know yah was workin'."

"What else would I be doing?" Brainy asked, genuinely curious what Clumsy might've thought he'd be up to. This time of day, he was almost always working.

A fact Clumsy should've been well aware of, considering how often he dropped by to remind Brainy to stop working for five seconds and actually eat breakfast...

"It's Valen– Valem– Valley–" Clumsy's face scrunched up, a distressed sound that was barely audible emanating from his chest as he struggled to pronounce the word. After a few more attempts, he gave up. "...a Holiday. Ah thought yah might, yah know... be out wit' somesmurf special?"

Brainy tensed, for just a second thinking he was about to be mocked. Then he remembered who precisely he was talking to, and calmed down. He adjusted his glasses with a sniff, trying to cover up the brief moment of panic reasonable anxiety. "My work is much too important to interrupt with something as silly as a date."

"So yah're jus' spendin' tha day alone?" Clumsy asked. At Brainy's slightly-hesitant nod, he smiled. "Well, so am ah! Maybe we c'n spend it alone together?"

"That isn't how being alone works, Clumsy." Brainy scoffed, hardly for the first time, before picking apart the rest of the other's words. "And what do you mean, you're spending Valentine's Day alone? Surely you have a date?"

"Uh, well..." Clumsy blushed, looking away. "N-not really."

"Clumsy, how many times have we talked about your self-confidence issues?" Brainy tsked, putting an arm around Clumsy's shoulders and leading him inside. "There's no need for you to be hesitant about asking somesmurf out; plenty of Smurfs would consider themselves lucky if you did!"

"Gee, it's okay, Brainy." Clumsy insisted. "Ah don't really wanna–"

"Nonsense, Clumsy." Brainy rolled his eyes. At least now he could guess why Clumsy had been loitering outside his door. "I swear, we really must work on your self esteem. Lucky for you, I'm perfectly willing to offer my matchmaking services and help you find a date. It was a wise decision to seek out my guidance, Clumsy, given my expansive knowledge on the subject of romantic pursuits.”

Brainy paused, considering the fact that most Smurfs avoided him every Valentine's Day. Whatever, it didn't make him any less capable of helping out his best friend; he's always been better at the theoretical than the practical anyways.

Clumsy took advantage of the pause to protest. "That's really kind o' yah, Brainy, but ah really don' need yah tah do that."

“Now, now! No need to feel self-conscious! It’s perfectly natural to feel overwhelmed when faced with such an important endeavor as finding a mate.” Brainy smirked, ignoring something ugly and confusing that rose up in his chest at those words. “But you would hardly be my best friend if you weren't at least somewhat exceptional, Clumsy, and surely somesmurf will see that as easily as I do. Have you considered Firelily? You and her love flying Dragonflies together.”

"Gosh, she's real nice an' all, but ah don' like her like that." Clumsy shook his head, jostling Brainy's arm a bit. Because he'd forgotten to remove it, and it would just be awkward if he did so now. Oops.

"Ah, well, there's plenty of other options." Brainy frowned. He would've bet money that Clumsy had a crush on Firelily. He wasn't lying, was he? No, impossible, Clumsy didn't lie to him. “Smurfette is, of course, in high demand, but perhaps we could smurf you in early for next year. There's always Barista, or maybe Historian — she has a soft spot for natural disasters like you.”

Brainy chuckled fondly, before cutting himself off with the worry that perhaps that has come off a little mockingly? He didn't mean it as such, but he could privately admit that he wasn't always as good as talking to others as he'd like to be.

"Ah don'... Ah, uh..." Clumsy stuttered. He breathed deeply for a moment. "Ah don' think I'm all that interested in those girls, Brainy. They're jus' friends."

"Well, why didn't you say so sooner, Clumsy." Brainy tittered, pieces clicking together. "That gives us some more options. Now, let's see..." Brainy tapped his chin with his free hand, thinking.

Clumsy sighed exasperatedly, like Brainy oh so often did around him.

"Scaredy and you are close, right? He might be interested." Brainy pondered. "Maybe Sandy, or Glider, or..." He shuddered as a thought occurred to him. "If Boxer comes anywhere near you I'm smurfing Jokey loose on him, I'm warning you now."

Clumsy laughed, turning his face to press briefly into Brainy. "Ah don' think that's gonna be a problem, Brainy. Gosh, ah'm real grateful fer what yahr tryin' tah do, ah am — but ah don’ wanna spend tha day goin' out wit' anysmurf.”

Brainy hesitated “…You don’t?”

“Nope.”

Brainy blinked, looking at Clumsy with a scrutinizing gaze. “If you don't want to spend Valentine's Day with anysmurf special, then what do you want to smurf today?” and why in the world was he at Brainy's house?

"Gee, yah really wanna know?" Clumsy asked, his blush returning just slightly, giving his freckled face a light dusting of purple. Brainy nodded.

Clumsy shrugged out of his hold, and Brainy lamented the loss of contact, for a second wondering if he'd done something to annoy the other. But Clumsy didn't head for the door, instead going over to one of the many bookshelves in the room.

He tripped once on his way, but was mostly being more careful than usual, trying extra hard to not accidentally damage any of Brainy's books (again). He spent a minute searching, then tugged a large volume off the shelf, holding it up so the title was clearly visible: The Smurfy Wisdom of Brainy Smurf, Volume IX.

“This here’s one ah been tryin’ tah read lately,” Clumsy explained to a bewildered Brainy, “but there’s a lotta big words, an’ ah keep, well, trippin’ over ‘em.” He looked up at Brainy, scuffing his foot against the ground, not laughing at his own joke. Clumsy often struggled to read Brainy's books, he was perhaps one of the Smurfs least capable of understanding them — but he was the only Smurf that actually tried, which more than made up for that fact, at least as far as Brainy was concerned. “So ah was hopin’ that, maybe, yah'd be willin' tah read it tah me?”

Brainy stared. “…You want to spend the day listening to me read?” It was hardly the first time Clumsy had requested such, but surely that couldn't actually be how he wanted to spend Valentine's Day?

Clumsy nodded excitedly. “Yeah! Ah always like tha way ya read, Brainy. Y’got a real smurfy voice, an’ yer always so passi– passion–" the distressed sound again, replaced by a sigh. "...happy ‘bout wha' yah write.” He frowned, glancing at the writing desk. "But ah understand if yah're too busy."

Brainy hesitated a second before slowly answering. “Clumsy, you know I'm always happy to read with you, but we can do that any old day. Surely you'd rather spend Valentine's Day with somesmurf special?"

“...Ah do wanna spend tha day wit' somesmurf special.” Clumsy said quietly, blush growing.

"Who?" Brainy asked, somewhat frustrated. If Clumsy really did have someone then why was he here? Why was he with Brainy?

It was Clumsy's turn to hesitate. He took a deep breath, then smiled. "Gosh, tha most special Smurf ah know; Brainy Smurf."

Brainy froze, mind skittering to a halt. Finally, it rebooted enough for him to squeak out, "C-could you repeat that?"

But Clumsy did not repeat it. Instead, he just gently put the book in Brainy's hands, looking up at him hopefully. Brainy looked down at the book, up at Clumsy, and back to the book. He chuckled.

“W-Well, if that is the case, then I suppose I can oblige you. After all, what better way to spend the day than imparting my superior wisdom to an eager listener?”

Clumsy just kept smiling, plopping down onto one of Brainy's stools and patiently waiting.

Brainy sat down across from him, adjusting the book in his hands, face heating up unusually from an activity they had done so many times. “Ahem. Now, let us begin… ‘The Smurfy Wisdom of Brainy Smurf, Volume IX: A Collection of the Most Brilliant Thoughts Ever Smurfed’…”

And so, as the rest of Smurf Village indulged in grand romantic gestures, fancy dinners, and heartfelt confessions, Brainy Smurf spent the day doing something entirely unexpected: reading his own words out loud to the one Smurf who actually wanted to hear them.

Clumsy, leaning forward and listening intently, hung on to every word, completely smitten.

Brainy found that, for once, he could honestly say he didn't entirely mind being alone on Valentine's Day.

Because he was alone with somesmurf special, and that truly made all the difference.