Chapter Text
“What do you mean, ‘you’re pregnant’?!” Storm shouted, still in disbelief after regaining consciousness. She threw a scowling glance toward the crowd that had gathered in front of Papa Smurf’s laboratory, getting real sick of the hushed whispers that sounded way to loud. Her gaze softened as she glanced to Clumsy at her side, who was still looking a bit pale. She sighed and turned back to Leaf. “Why did this happen?”
Leaf, suddenly looking a bit timid, cleared her throat and knelt down to get closer to the Smurf’s level … not that it did much good. “Well, when a male and a female love each other very much, they—”
“No, not that! I know very well ‘how’ it happened! I’m not a naïve Smurfling, for Smurf’s sake! I mean --!” Storm pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. Shouting and getting all worked up wouldn’t do anything to help right now. “I mean … why now? Why not … after the other times? Me and Clumsy have been together for ages now, and … well, you know … we’ve been, uh … ‘active’ with each other for the majority of that time.”
Clumsy coughed nervously into his fist, blushing just a little harder than Smurfstorm, the latter throwing a warning scowl towards some Smurf who snickered in the crowd – most likely Jokey or Childish Smurf.
“And why no-one else?” Storm gestured towards the crowd. “Me and Clumsy are hardly the only couple in this village. How about Brainy and Blossom, Farmer and Honey, Smurfette and Hefty, Dimwitty and Begonia, to name a few?”
“Smurfstorm, calm yourself. We all want answers here. But you’re not going to get any if you don’t allow Leaf to answer, will you now?” Willow instructed with a motherly tone, urging her agitated daughter to sit down. She patted the young Smurf on her shoulder, smiling softly at her. Storm let out an annoyed huff, but visibly relaxed when Clumsy grabbed her hand. She nodded towards Willow, whom then turned to the Nature Fairy. “So, Leaf … you got answers for us?”
“Uhm, well …” Leaf rose to her feet, rubbing the back of her head as she nervously chewed on the inside of her cheek. Letting out a sigh, she tapped her wand in her open palm, seemingly trying to come up with the right words. “In short … nope.”
“WHAT DO YOU—” Storm’s outrage was quickly halted by Papa smurf slapping his hand on her mouth. She pushed the hand away, muttering a silent apology before she turned back to Leaf. “Sorry … but can you give us the long answer instead?”
“I … can’t.” Leaf shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“There must be something.” Papa Smurf insisted. “You were Mother Nature’s apprentice. She must’ve taught you everything she knows, right?”
“Yeah, about that …” Leaf twirled her wand, looking a bit flustered. “It’s more like … she taught me everything that she was allowed to. And when it comes to Smurfs … that’s not much. I doubt that even Mother Nature knows everything there is to know about Smurfs. And those who do … you don’t really just walk up to ‘em for a quick Q&A, you know?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Clumsy asked, finally having found his voice again.
Leaf pursed her lips together and shook her head, clenching her fists around her wand. “I’m sorry, guys, but … all I can say that this is literally quite above my pay grade. I will ask Mother Nature about it, but … I wouldn’t expect much from it. Truly, I wish I could give you these answers, but …”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it …” Storm sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Her head was starting to spin as the reality of the situation really was starting to sink in. She … was … pregnant. A baby Smurf was growing inside her. She was going to be … a mother. Something vile stirred up in her stomach, yet she managed to keep herself from gagging. She took a deep breath, letting out a long sigh. “Okay, I need to clear my head … alone.”
She walked off, cutting through the sea of curious Smurfs that had gathered. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Clumsy with his hand outstretched like he was going to run after her. Instead, he slowly pulled away, his expression mixed with too many different emotions for Storm to figure out. She let out a huff, her pace quickening as she made her way to the forest, leaving the rest of the Smurfs behind her.
Silence followed for a few, quite too long, moments before Clumsy cleared his throat.
“So, uh … what now?” He asked aloud to no-one in particular.
“For starters … congratulations, Clumsy.” Papa Smurf patted the newly-revealed expecting father on the back, his expression a mixture of pride and sympathy. “This is truly … remarkable.”
“I’d say!” Brainy stated, adjusting his glasses. He had this excited sparkle in his eyes; the ones he often got when encountered with something new and interesting. “A baby Smurf conceived through natural means. This opens up a whole series of questions, data and hypothesis. Obviously, we’re going to have to document every step over the coming period of Storm’s pregnancy. Oh, we are in uncharted waters here, Clumsy Smurf.”
Papa Smurf glanced over towards Hefty with a look, with the latter immediately walking over, picked up Brainy and removed him from the ever-shrinking Clumsy. He let out a sigh, shaking his head with a hint of amusement. “You’re going to have to forgive him, Clumsy. Brainy’s enthusiasm is … understandable. In fact, I tend to agree with him. This is something we’re going to have to keep watch over … if only so we’re not taken by surprise should this, uh, … change repeat itself.”
Clumsy followed Papa’s gaze, taking note those among his brothers who too had a girlfriend among the Girl Smurfs. He looked at them, wondering why this was happening to him and Storm, and not any of them. Then again, it could just as easily have been otherwise, with him and Storm standing in the crowd watching this thing unfold. With a sense of something that felt eerily close to defeat, he sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, I get it, Papa Smurf, but … this is … a lot. I feel like I’m way over my depth here.”
“I understand, Clumsy. If I were in your shoes, I’d be feeling the same way. But I can assure you, it will be alright.” Papa Smurf placed his hand on his boy’s shoulder, giving him a soft smile. “Don’t forget, you are not alone in this. Me, Willow, Brainy, Hefty, Smurfette, and every other Smurf standing right here. You got the entire village behind you.”
Voiced rang up from the crowd, echoing Papa’s statement. Clumsy had to admit, it felt … good, knowing that.
“Thank you, Papa.” Clumsy sighed, looking over to where Storm had, uh, stormed off to. “What about …?”
“I think it’s best to let her cool down for now. She’ll come back after a good walk.” Willow said, walking over to Clumsy. She noticed the look in the young Smurf’s eyes and gave him a motherly smile as she patted his cheek. “She doesn’t blame you, if that’s what you’re thinking. If anything, I’m betting she’s blaming herself for this.”
“But, she--!”
“I know, I know. For now, give her some time.” Willow held up her hand before Clumsy could object even further. She turned to Papa Smurf, her expression turning slightly worried. “I’m going back to my village, try to figure out what we’re going to do next.”
“As will I.” Papa agreed, taking Willow’s hands in his own, giving them a squeeze. “Exciting times ahead.”
“That’s for sure.” Willow chuckled softly, before blowing a whistle on her fingers. A moment later, a stork called out and landed in front of them. She hopped on, gave the gathered Smurf a final nod and took off, back to her own village.
Clumsy, who had been lost in his own thoughts for the last couple of minutes, flinched when someone tapped his shoulder. He was greeted with Smurfette’s cautious smile.
“How about some tea and some of Baker’s fresh muffins?” She asked softly, already guiding the dazed Smurf towards her house. “After all that, I’m certain you could use it.”
“Y-yeah, sure.” Clumsy answered meekly.
“Of course it would. After all, this is a lot, and you need some time to process all of it.” She briefly slowed her pace, glancing over towards her boyfriend with a look filled with silent instructions. “And I’m really certain that the other Smurfs are all going to be very considerate of this turbulent period to give you and Storm some space.”
Hefty, understanding what Smurfette was telling him, nodded with a grin. He turned to the other Smurfs, cracking his knuckles with a look that practically begged for them to try something.
Papa Smurf shook his head, amused, and made a shooing motion. “Run along, my little Smurfs, I know this has all been all very exciting, and we are all curious about what’s going to happen next, but I think it’s best that you all go on about your day for now.”
“Does this mean I can go back and finish my breakfast?” Greedy asked, licking his hungry lips. He tilted his head, confused, as a collective groan erupted from the crowd of Smurfs. “What? I’m hungry!”
* * * *
How long since she had gone on her walk? Minutes? Hours? Days? Okay, last one was a too big of a stretch. Storm really had no idea how long it had been. She had been too preoccupied … with nothing, really. Her walk didn’t have a direction, no real destination in mind. She just … needed to walk … and climb trees … and jump from branch to branch. Anything that could distract her mind from that one thing she absolutely refused to deal with at the moment.
Nothing worked, of course.
Because that one thing had been burned in her mind.
“I’m pregnant? Me? Becoming a mother? Me?” Storm scoffed, letting the pebble in her hand roll around before she chucked it at the lake, grunting as it refused to skip across the water’s surface. She sighed, picking up another pebble. Her walk had eventually led her to a little lake that shared its borders between the Enchanted Forest and the Smurf Forest.
She and Clumsy had their first real date here, years ago. A picnic by this very lake, an outing that was just as cliché as in some of Dreamy Smurf’s romance novels. But … it was perfect.
After all, she had planned it.
Smurfs above, she remembered the tingles inside her belly while she was working up the courage to ask him out. And how surprised she was when Clumsy actually beat her to it, in all his two-left-feet, stumbling way. That big smile that formed on his face when she agreed. How she had laughed when that same smile fell when she asked what they were going to do, only for Clumsy to realize he hadn’t prepared anything.
She let her gaze go over this place that had such meaning for them. Their first date, obviously, and many more after that, but … it was a place of many firsts. The first real kiss, the first ‘I love you’, the first time they … you know.
Letting out a heavy sigh, she rubbed the pebble’s surface with her thumb. All the activities in the world wouldn’t be enough to keep her from facing the reality. She just … had to say it aloud. “I’m pregnant. I’m going to have a b-baby. Me and Clumsy are going to be parents. I’m going to be a mom. Clumsy is going to be a dad. We’re going to have a kid to raise.” The words felt … heavy, and they left Storm with an even heavier feeling. She let out a dry chuckle, and threw the pebble, making it skip across the lake. “Talk about a tough draw, kid. What the smurf do we know about raising kids? Last time I had to deal with babies, it … sucked.”
“But I guess we’re stuck with each other.” She looked down to her belly, letting out a heavy sigh. Easier said than done. Her own words felt hollow, like she wasn’t convinced of them. More like she was saying the things that she was supposed to say. “Not that this is any of your fault, or anything. I mean, you didn’t ask for this as much as Clumsy or I have asked for this. But it is what it is, and now we’ll have to tackle this challenge.”
She closed her eyes, letting her gaze go upwards to the sun, letting out a sigh. If only her words didn’t feel forced. Taking a deep breath, she managed to quiet down her raging thoughts. Deep breath in … deep breath out … deep breath in … deep breath ou– was that a shadow?
She opened her eyes, and noticed a bird flying above her, which she recognized as the one the Girls’ village often used for travel. To her dismay, she also recognized the two Smurfs the stork was carrying.
“Lili and, ugh, Blossom …” Storm pinched the bridge of her nose. “Oh, no, not her. I can’t deal with her brand of excitement right now.”
The stork hadn’t even fully landed before Smurfblossom hopped off and ran towards Storm.
“Blossom, please, I’m not in the mood for –!" Storm tried to say, but to her surprise, when Blossom reached her, she just … threw her arms around her sister and hugged her. Not a the overly affectioned bear squeeze Blossom was known for, either. Just … a comforting hug. After a few surprised moments, she wrapped her arms around the pink-dressed Smurf, returning the hug. It didn’t take long for Lili to join into the hug as well.
“So, I’m guessing Willow told everyone?” Storm eventually asked, when the silence was starting to get to her.
“Just me and Blossom.” Lili answered as she broke away from the hug. “And Smurfmint, but because she’s in charge of researching of whatever herbal remedies could help during your … your …”
The word hung heavy in the air, like it was almost too unreal to speak aloud.
“How are you feeling, Storm?” Blossom asked cautiously, with an almost uncharacteristically amount of concern.
“I, uh …” Storm swallowed down a lump. “I … don’t know.”
“Not surprising.” Lili stated, guiding Storm and Blossom toward the edge of the lake, where they sat down. “I wouldn’t know, either.”
“No smurf, even I don’t know how to feel!!” Blossom threw her arms in the air. “If Brainy were here, he’d say this would be ‘unprecedented’ or something like that. I mean, you … you are pregnant!”
“I am aware, Blossom …” Storm sighed, but a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. This was surprisingly comforting, having someone to talk to about this. Maybe if she hadn’t run off this morning, she could have done this with Clumsy. Then again, maybe he needed his own space right now. Their own talk could wait until she’d return.
“So, uh … how does it feel?” Blossom asked, her words cautious and almost apprehensive, as if she didn’t want to poke a hornet’s nest with them.
Storm scoffed, leaning backwards as she gazed to the sky. “Thus far? Besides finally knowing the reason why I’m having trouble keeping my food down in the morning and why my mood seems to swing from one end to the other … I don’t feel much.”
“Well, it’s been only, what, two-three weeks? It’s not surprising there hasn’t been much change.” Lili said. She smiled sheepishly as both Storm and Blossom gave her these puzzled looks. “It’s been a bit over three weeks since we had that party at our village, right? You and Clumsy were certainly, uh … passionate that night. So, I’m guessing …”
“R-right …” Storm glanced away with a blush, trying to keep an embarrassed grin from forming on her face.
“Stormy, I can see something’s eating you up inside.” Blossom said softly, scooting closer to her sister. Softly bumping her shoulder against Storm’s, she urged her on with a gently smile. “Out with it.”
Sucking on the inside of her cheek as she tried to come up with the words, Storm remained silent for a good while. Eventually, she let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in. she pulled up her knees to her chest, hugging them as she allowed herself to reveal the boulder that was weighing heavy on her chest. “Shouldn’t I … you know, feel … happy, or something? Any woman who hears she’s carrying a child should feel something, right? It’s a joyous occasion, right? Then why … aren’t I feeling it?”
Lily glanced over towards Blossom, giving her sister a worried look, as if asking her to tell her how to react. But the pink-dressed Smurf shrugged helplessly, the same worry mirrored on her face. Lili turned back to Storm, and opened her mouth to comment, but was promptly interrupted by the green-clad archer jumping up to pace around.
“I should feel it, shouldn’t I?!” Storm continued, unaware of her sisters’ silent exchange of helplessness. Every second, her volume got louder, her pacing more erratic, her expression more desperate. “I mean, it’s going to be my kid, right? Mine and Clumsy’s Smurfling. It should be exciting! World-changing! But I don’t feel anything like that. I don’t feel ready for any of this. All I feel is … numb! What if I keep feeling that numbness!? Or even after the kid is born? What kind of monster am I--?!”
At that point, Lily had started to scramble up in an effort to halt Storm downward spiral of despair, but was beaten to it by Blossom, the latter pretty much launching herself into Storm, pinning her to the ground.
“You listen to me, Smurfstorm, you big dummy! If you think I’m just going to smurfing sit here and listen to you spouting a whole bunch of smurfing nonsense, then you are a smurfing idiot!” Blossom sternly shouted, her eyes ablaze with disappointment and seriousness. Storm tried to wriggle out of her grasp, but the usually bubbly Smurf Girl quickly pinned her down again, leaning in so close that their noses were touching. “You. Are. Not. A. Monster! You, Smurfstorm, are going to be a great mother! And Clumsy is going to be a great papa! Your baby is going to be the luckiest Smurfling ever!”
“I think you’ve made your point, Blossom.” Lily stated with a nervous giggle as she gently pulled the fuming Smurf Girl of their sister. She gave Storm a soft look. “You are spouting a lot of nonsense, Storm.”
“Doesn’t make it any less true …” Storm mumbled as she scrambled up, flinching when Blossom looked like she was going to pounce again, were it not for Lily holding the pink rage back.
“Storm, you’ve just heard you are pregnant! Something no Smurf – boy or girl - alive was aware could happen!” Lily said, grabbing her sister by the shoulders. “Of course you’re feeling scared! Of course you’re feeling numb! Insecure! That doesn’t make you a monster. It makes you … a Smurf!”
“Yeah, what she said!” Blossom added, seamlessly having reverted back to her usual bubbly self.
“Girls, you don’t … ugh, you don’t get it!” Storm tore herself free from Lili and turned away from them to sulk.
Lily scratched the back of her head, turning to Blossom with a pleading look. Blossom bit her lower lip as she tried to come up with something … and then her eyes sparkled with an idea. Noticing the shimmer in her sister’s eyes, Lily gave her a puzzled look, but Blossom held up her hand, giving her sister a ‘don’t worry, I’ve got this’ grin. Relenting, Lili sighed as she gestured to Blossom to go ahead with whatever mad plan she had come up with.
“Yeah, I guess you are right, Stormy.” Blossom said in a sweet tone, picking up a pebble from the ground. She threw it at the lake … and scowled as it just made a splash instead of a skip. “We obviously don’t know what you’re going through.”
Storm scoffed, but glanced over her shoulder in suspicion. She knew Blossom well enough to know when she was up to something … most of the time, anyway.
“We all would feel numb after shocking news like that. I mean, talk about ‘unwanted change’, right?” Blossom continued, skipping over to a nearby flower to smell it, eyes fluttering. She glanced over with a mischievous glance. “And if you are not feeling ready, that’s fine. I’m sure Willow wouldn’t mind raising the baby while you remain in the boy’s village with Clumsy. I’m sure she’ll understand that you weren’t up for it. And it would be safer, too.”
Storm, who had been trying to ignore Blossom’s speech, froze tensed up instantly and a fire flickered in her eyes. She glanced over toward the pink Smurf, eyes narrow. “What?”
“Do you really trust Clumsy with a baby, given his, uh … absence of handiness?” Blossom giggled mischievously, swaying her hips in a faux-innocent manner. “Probably best to keep him away for a while. You know, so not to subject the baby to any Clumsy-related shenanigans?
“Excuse me?!”
Lily, realizing what her sister was trying to accomplice, took a cautionary step back. A nervous grin tugged at the corner of her lips.‘Bold move, Blossom … but smart …ish.’
“Yeah, raising the baby in our village is definitely the better solution.” Blossom hummed a song as she cheerfully skipped towards the lake, passing Storm with a giggle. “I guess we could just tell the kid that a stork made a ‘late delivery’, like with Baby Smurf back in the day.”
Storm clenched her fists so tightly, they were turning white while glaring daggers at Blossom.
Lily made sure she was standing close to Blossom, ready to interfere should things go south badly.
“I guess that’s decided, then. The baby stays with Willow and the rest of us, while you and Clumsy can keep on living the dream!” Blossom clasped her hands together with a wide smile. “Yessmurfee, this is the best for every-urk!”
Blossom’s feet were suddenly hovering above the ground, having been lifted up by a fuming Storm by the collar of her pink dress.
“You listen to me now, Smurfblossom.” Storm growled through gritted teeth. “You’ve had many stupid, even outrageous ideas over the years, but this … oh, this one is a smurfing new level.”
“Storm, try not to hurt her!” Lily squeaked, but Storm ignored her.
“What makes you think I’m going to just abandon my kid, Clumsy’s kid? Just leave them in a whole ‘nother village, just so I can be living the easy life? You really think I’m going to do that?” the green-clad archer tightened her grip as she pulled her sister closer. “I am going to be the one that raises them! Clumsy is going to raise them! We’re going to give our child the life it deserves! You hear me, Blossom?!”
“I, urk, hear you!” Blossom choked out, pulling on Storm’s fists … and then managed to throw her sister a grin. “Sounds to me you’ve got your mind made up, am I right?”
Instantly, realization hit Storm’s mind as she figured out what Blossom had done … and what she was currently doing to her as well. With a horrified gasp, she released Blossom from her gasp and immediately hugged her the moment she hit the ground. Regret bubbled up from deep inside as she tightened her embrace. “Blossom! Are you alright? I … I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have--!”
“It’s alright, Stormy. No harm done.” Blossom giggled, returning the hug. “Heh, I was actually kinda betting on a black eye, but dangling above the ground like that was kinda exciting too.”
Lily quickly ran up to them, joining in on the hug … and a few moments later, she grabbed both her sisters by their ears. She scowled angrily at them, stomping her feet. “Blossom, that was really reckless! Even if you were trying to help, you were saying some really hurtful things! Storm, never, ever, do that again! What would Willow say if she knew you used violence on your sisters?”
“Ow-ow-ow, I’m sorry!” Blossom whined, trying to pull away.
“Yeah, I – ow, stop pulling – I get it!” Storm chuckled, swatting her sister’s grip away, rubbing her painful ear. She took a deep breath and turned to Blossom. “Thank you, Blossom.”
“You’ve got a thick skull, Stormy.” Blossom said, rubbing her ear as she eyed Lily nervously while cautiously stepping away. “And if dating Brainy has taught me anything: sometimes blunt instruments are needed to get the message through thick skulls like that.”
Storm plopped down on the ground, letting herself fall on her back. She had to admit; Blossom’s little scheme had worked. If anything, her outburst was empowered by her true feelings. Sure, she wasn’t really feeling all the emotions she probably should, but … they were there, buried beneath the shock.
“I’m going to be a mama. Clumsy’s going to be a papa. We’re going to be parents!” Storm stated, half a smile forming on her lips. It didn’t feel as forced that time. It still felt a bit … unreal, as if the reality still hadn’t completely settled in yet. But … she guessed it was progress.
She suddenly bolted upright, horrified realization burning in her eyes. “Clumsy! I’ve left him to deal with this alone!”
“Yeah, I believe the two of you have a lot to talk about.” Lily said with a sympathetic smile. She shooed Storm away. “Get going, we’ll see you later, okay?”
“Go talk to your man, girl!” Blossom giggled.
“Right! Okay! I will! See you guys later!” Storm blurted out a string of words while she frantically tried to scramble unto her feet. She finally managed to jump up, running up towards the direction of the village. She spun around, running backwards, and shouted a final instruction to her sisters. “And you can tell Willow she can tell the Village as well!”
“We will!” Blossom shouted back, keeping up her smile while she watched Storm disappear into the forest. When the latter was finally out of sight … she let out a sigh and lost all strength in her legs. If it hadn’t been for Lily catching her, she would’ve flopped face-first on the ground.
“Whoop, got you!” Lily patted her trembling sister on her back. “Are you okay?”
“That … was … so scary!” Blossom let out a nervous giggle. “When she grabbed me like that, I really thought she was going to hit me! I guess my plan worked out a little too well.”
“Serves you right, if I’m being honest.” Lily admitted, giggling when Blossom threw her a look of betrayal. Pulling her sister to her feet, she signaled the stork to fly down. “C’mon, let’s get back to the village.”
“Uh, can we not tell Willow about my little, uh … whoopsie-daisy with Storm?”
“Oh, Blossom …”
* * * * *
“Shhh, there she is…”
“I still can’t believe that—”
“How do you think the baby’s gonna--?”
“You know that I can hear you all whispering, right?!” Storm growled as she stomped through the village towards her house. And sweet Sarsaparilla saplings, was she already getting tired of the whisperings of her fellow Smurfs. She never had the patience for backtalkers, and on any other day, she would’ve gladly plopped an arrow on each of their heads.
But right now, Clumsy was her priority. Now that had calmed down a little, she had fully realized how inconsiderate she had been, practically running out on her boyfriend like that. She had been so occupied with her own feelings that she hadn’t considered his own. He must be freaking out.
Stopping in front of the door to their house, Storm took a brief moment to collect herself and steel herself for the conversation ahead. She reached out for the doorknob … and flinched when she heard a yelp, followed by a crash, inside the house.
Okay, she and Clumsy definitely have been together for long enough that the sound of his chaos was comforting to her. One deep breath … one slow exhale … and Storm opened the door.
“Woah, what happened here?” Storm asked, looking around the room. It looked like Clumsy had been rearranging their furniture. The table was on the other side of the room; their couch stood differently, and her boyfriend was currently buried beneath their entire collection of books, which formerly made their home in the now-empty bookcase. She walked over to the pile, grinning as appreciated the view of Clumsy’s tail sticking out of the pile. She bended over and gave his tail a squeeze, giggling as he yelped. “You alive under there?”
“I’m fine … bruises heal easily.” Was Clumsy’s muffled response. Books flew up as his head popped up from the pile. Accepting his girlfriend’s outstretched hand, he pulled himself out of the pile of books. He rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly smiling. “Thanks.”
“What’s with the Extreme Mushroom Makeover?” Storm asked, gently kicking one of the books that had dared injure her beloved one.
The question seemingly made Clumsy a bit embarrassed, judging by the blush on his cheeks. “I was, uh … seeing where I could make room … you know, for, uh …, for the baby.”
“Oh … yeah … you, eh, certainly took a headstart.” The floor looked so interesting to Storm all of the sudden.
“Smurfette suggested it. She had me over for tea and … I don’t remember much else happening there. I was mostly staring at my tea. Afterwards, I just … kinda felt I needed to stay busy … clear my head, like you did.” Clumsy rubbed his arm, seemingly avoiding Storm’s eyes. “In hindsight, it doesn’t really help if the thing I’m doing to try not to think about the thing has to do with the thing … you know …?”
“I guess not …”
A long, palatable silence fell between them, both of the refusing to look at each other.
Until …
“I’m sorry!” both Smurfs said to each other, grabbing the other’s hand … followed by a confused look.
“Wait, you are sorry?” Storm asked bewildered, tilting her head at her boyfriend’s apology. “What are you sorry for? I’m the one who ran off, remember? I left you alone so I could feel sorry for myself, not even considering how you were feeling, for Smurf’s sake!”
“Sure, but I understood that you needed to clear your head.” Clumsy rebutted. His gaze fell to the floor, eyes filling with guilt. “Meanwhile, it’s because of me that … I’m the one who got you into this mess. Because that night, I …! Maybe if I--!”
“Nope, no more!” Storm pressed a finger against her boyfriend’s lips, whose head promptly turned red when he noticed that fire in his girlfriend’s eyes. “If we’re going to throw blame around, I want my half of it.”
“But if I--!” Clumsy tried to sputter, but Storm casually pinched his lips shut. “Hmmph?”
“Last time I checked, it took both of us for that particular dance.” Storm shushed him, blushing a little as her memories of that night – blurry as they were due to Smurfhoney’s honey mead – tickled her brain. “And if I remember correctly, I was just as eager a dance partner as you were. In fact, I am probably more to blame than you. Just because we didn’t know female Smurfs could get pregnant, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have considered that it could happen … and it did.”
Clumsy tore Storm’s grabby fingers from his lips, letting out a sigh. “Still …”
“I’m going to gag you, if you try to blame yourself again.” Storm warned with a low voice, her eyes flickering with a playful fire. She sighed and flung herself into Clumsy’s arms, burying her head in his chest. “How about we stop playing the blame-game? Call it a tie, hmmm?”
After a moment of silence, Clumsy sighed and chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her closely against him. Moments passed as they stood in silence, swaying slightly on the spot.
“So, … did the walk help?” Clumsy eventually asked, breaking the silence.
“Uh, kinda.” Storm answered meekly. “I went to our spot.”
“I thought you would.”
“Lily and Blossom found me.”
“Oh?”
“We had a talk.”
“Right.”
“Blossom managed to make me really angry.”
“Sounds like her.”
“Oh, she did it on purpose, this time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I was … not in the right space.” Storm pulled away from the embrace, stroking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “She helped me … realize something.”
“Which was?”
“This is going to happen, no matter what.” Storm took a deep breath, wrapping her arms around Clumsy again, this time keeping her eyes locked with his gaze. “Unplanned or not, … we’re going to have a kid, you and I.”
“We … sure are.” Clumsy sighed, resting his head on top of hers. “Still … it feels unreal. Like it hasn’t sunk in yet.”
“I know …” Storm sighed. “Like we’re dreaming, expecting to wake up any time soon.”
“A … good dream?”
“…”
“The, uh … opposite?”
Storm shook her head. “Just … a dream. A weird, smurfing surreal dream.”
“Yeah …”
Storm tightened her grip on Clumsy’s waist. While she felt like she was slowly coming to terms with her unplanned parenthood … she kept feeling that hole in her heart.
But now, there was a weight to it.
A crushing weight on her heart, threatening to make it collapse.
It scared her.
What was she going to do now?