The No Hug Zone/Part 3

During the afternoon, while Tapper was standing guard outside his own tavern, Empath kept Grouchy company by playing a few games with him. Normally Grouchy didn't like playing any game with anyone, but he felt comfortable playing them with Empath, which made his friend sense that he was less irritable than he normally is.

"I sometimes wish I could be able to express myself like the other Smurfs so I can tell how I honestly feel towards them besides just 'I hate'," Grouchy said.

"This smurf senses that you like Smurfette and that you want to tell her so much that you love her, Grouchy," Empath said.

"Yeah, but I don't know what to say to her besides hello," Grouchy said.

"You can start by asking how she and her garden is doing," Empath said. "You have expressed an interest in flowers one time."

"I like how they look and how they smell, Empath," Grouchy said. "I just never studied up on flowers because I hate studying."

"Maybe you can learn from Smurfette about the various types of flowers that she grows, Grouchy," Empath said.

"I don't know, Empath," Grouchy said. "I feel like less of a Smurf if I have to have a Smurfette teach me anything."

"There's nothing wrong with a male Smurf learning anything from a female Smurf, Grouchy," Empath said. "It just helps us to understand female Smurfs better, even if some of those things we will never personally experience for ourselves just because we're male Smurfs."

"Well, between you and me, I think Smurfette is really smurfy for being a female Smurf," Grouchy said.

"She does have that attractive quality to her, Grouchy," Empath said. "It's just a shame that there's only of her in the village for every adult Smurf our age to be attracted to."

"You think there could be other female Smurfs besides her somewhere beyond the Smurf Village?" Grouchy asked.

"It's only a possibility, Grouchy, nothing more than that," Empath said. "Besides, what would the other Smurfs do if she decides to marry one of us? It would make them feel pretty jealous as it would this smurf."

"How could you feel jealous, Empath?" Grouchy said. "I'm already jealous of you smurfing with Smurfette. She's never smurfed around with any Smurf besides you for about a year."

"This smurf didn't intend for it to be that way, Grouchy," Empath said. "It's just that Smurfette is simply attracted to this smurf in a way that she feels is much different from how she's attracted to you and the other Smurfs."

"I know Hefty's been trying to smurf her heart ever since the two of them met, Empath," Grouchy said.

"This smurf senses that Hefty does try his hardest to attract Smurfette's attention towards him, Grouchy," Empath said. "This smurf doesn't fault him for his goals or his enthusiasm, though some of the ways he goes about trying to get her attention does raise some questions."

"I just don't know what Smurfette even sees in that lug," Grouchy said. "If he marries her, she'll most likely be smurfing her days cleaning up his gym."

"This smurf isn't sure if that would be the case in that scenario, Grouchy," Empath said. "But this smurf wants to make sure that Smurfette is happy with her decision, and this smurf would want to see Hefty be happy as well."

"You want Hefty to be happy?" Grouchy said with some disbelief. "He doesn't even like you enough to want you to be his friend."

"This smurf knows how he feels towards me, Grouchy, but this smurf isn't going to reciprocate his bad feelings toward this smurf with any animosity," Empath said. "This smurf is going to be his friend regardless of his feelings, and even if he never appreciates what this smurf is doing for him, at least being his friend will be its own reward."

"If Hefty has a friend like you and Duncan, why would he ever need an enemy?" Grouchy said.