Chapter Text
“Poppy. Poppy. Poppy. Wake up.” Poppy groaned, snuggling Barb closer. “Poppy.”
“Five more minutes…” she mumbled. She was vaguely aware of an exasperated sigh. What she wasn’t vaguely aware of, however, was the feeling of something wet prodding into her cheek. “AH.” Poppy startled awake, sitting up with a hand instinctively going to touch her face. In that moment, Barb had scrambled out of the den. She heard the sound of the bathroom door closing.
A few minutes went by. They were spent in Gross Town, feeling gross.
After those few minutes, Barb had crawled back into the den and flopped onto her side. It seemed as though she had every intention of going back to sleep. Poppy wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep, though. No, no, she had something very important to ask.
“Did you—what did you do?” Barb looked over at her before rolling onto her back.
“I stuck my finger in my mouth and then poked you with it.”
“Why?!”
“Because I couldn’t get you to wake up…?” She said it so matter-of-factly, as though it were the most obvious solution.
“There are better ways to wake me up!”
“Uh, not really?” Barb put her hands behind her bed, crossing one leg over the other. “I tried shaking you, raising my voice, poking you normally, but none of that worked so…” she shrugged, a tooth poking past her lip.
“Eugh.”
“Listen, desperate times call for desperate measures. I had to go, like, wicked bad, but I was stuck in those bear traps you call arms. What else was I supposed to do?”
“...Okay, fair.” Poppy rubbed her cheek. They sat together in silence. A comfortable one. Mostly. On Poppy’s end. There was something she wanted to ask. She opened her mouth to ask it.
“I’m gonna go brush my teeth.” Barb sat up, scooting out of the den.
“I’ll do that too!” weren’t the words she was initially going to say, but they were the ones that came out of her mouth.
Truth be told, it felt a little...weird. Being in the bathroom. Barb nudged the clothes on the floor into a small pile with her foot. She didn’t seem bothered by it. Maybe that was a sign that Poppy shouldn’t be dwelling on it. But...how can I? she thought, rummaging through her hair.
“I can lend you a toothbrush if you need one,” Barb offered, taking her brush out of its cup.
“Nah, I’m good. Thanks though!” She eyed her over, uncertain. “I know it’s in here somewhere…”
“Suit yourself.” Barb pulled out a tube of toothpaste, wet her brush, put a pinch of paste on it, wet it again, and then started brushing.
“Aha!” Poppy pulled a lollipop out of her hair. She was about to start brushing her teeth with it before Barb pulled it out of her hand. “Wh—hey!” Barb rolled her eyes before putting the lollipop down. While watching her through the mirror, she began rummaging through the drawer, pushing things around before pulling out another toothbrush. She held it out.
“Here.” Poppy took it, running her thumb across the brush. “Use tha’.” Barb held out her toothpaste. “An’ use this.” Poppy took that too. She popped the cap off, sniffing it. Minty.
“Ohhh is this is why your breath always smells like mint?” Barb stopped brushing to give her a funny look before completely disregarding her question. Alright then. Poppy mimicked what Barb had done just before and started brushing. Immediately, she did not like how it tasted. “I think I prefer the smell of min’,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“You ge’ used to i’.” Barb spat in the sink before walking out of the bathroom, holding the brush in her mouth. “I wanna take a shower when you’re done, cool?”
“Yeah tha’s cool!”
By the time Poppy had finished, Barb had returned carrying a change of clothes. As it turned out, however, she wasn’t finished.
“You got one more minute, Popsqueak.” Poppy sighed and got back to brushing. “Dental hygiene is important. You’ll thank me later.”
“I neva’ realized tha’ rock trolls cared so much about this stuff.” Barb spat in the sink again.
“Of course we do!” She sounded offended. “Not my fault you pop trolls are weird.” She rinsed off her brush and returned its cup. Poppy did the same. Wait.
“Is it okay if I put it in the cup? You did take it out of the drawer.”
“Yeah yeah that’s fine.”
“Cool!” She confidently put it in the cup. “Well, have fun!”
“Uh—okay?” Barb shut the door behind her, locking it. Poppy put her hands on her hips, looking around her room. Hopefully Barb didn’t take long showers; she wasn’t sure what there was to do without her here. Her attention drifted over Debbie’s roost. Wait. Debbie!
She walked over and peeked into Debbie’s roost, bouncing on her toes eagerly. The little bat was still sleeping, her legs kicked up against the wall of the nest. Her little body shook with each snore, her wings flapping occasionally in her sleep. Poppy couldn’t help but wonder what she was dreaming about. Flying, probably. Maybe chasing after snacks? What was the day in the life of Debbie like, anyways?
It was like a firefly had flown in and gone off above her head.
She could make a scrapbook about what Debbie was dreaming about! It was perfect! And when she was done, she could show Barb! It would give them a great conversation topic! Surely that would help distract her from what happened last night, right? Poppy really hated dwelling on that kinda stuff; it made her stomach twist into knots, and not the good kind.
“Hmm…” Poppy tapped her chin. Did she spy with her little eye a perfect spot for scrapbooking? No...no...not there...oh! The den! That way, Barb wouldn’t be able to see what she was working on! She did want to surprise her with it.
Besides, a mattress was a much comfier scrapbooking spot than the floor. She just, had to be extra careful to not get paper bits and glitter anywhere. While Poppy didn’t always mind waking up with bits of paper and glitter stuck to her skin, Barb was a very different case. Being a different case meant having to take precautions. And that precaution was construction paper. Good thing she always had a stack on her!
The world around her faded into the background as she found her groove. Scrapbooking was a song, its beat made of cuts, glues, and pastes. It had her focus yet she didn’t need to think about what she was doing it all, the notes just came naturally to her. There weren’t any words needed to this tune, only a melody that guided her fingers through the keys. Images drifted in and out of her mind’s eye, the story she was composing slowly coming together piece by piece by—
“Poppy?” Poppy flinched, snapping out of her focus. How much time had gone by? “Poppy?!”
“Yeah?” She poked her head out of the den, smiling. There certainly was some kinda emotion on Barb’s face. Was it...fear?
“Oh.” She pulled at the towel around her neck. “Didn’t realize you could be so quiet.”
“Of course I can be quiet!” Poppy’s smile fell. “...Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Psh. Duh. I’m fine.” Barb walked over to the couch and sat down, promptly busying herself with drying off her hair. Barb...did know that she wasn’t stupid, right? Like, it’s pretty obvious when something is bothering her. Like, super obvious.
Poppy pushed her scrapbooking materials to the side and scooted forward, reaching her hand towards the curtain. Should she do this? Yes. Yes she should. She took the risk last night. It was worth taking the risk right now.
Having found her confidence, Poppy got out of the den.
“Hey, Barb?” The rock troll abruptly stopped what she was doing. “Uh...about last night…”
“What about it.”
“Do you...wanna talk about it?”
“Not really.” Poppy sat down next to her. Barb pulled the towel off of her head and leaned back. Oh, how her fingers itched to pull her into a hug right now.
“You don’t have to talk about your nightmare.” She looked over at her and sighed, slumping against the cushions. Her fingers pinched the towel, tugging at the fabric until bits and pieces of it started to come undone. Poppy’s ear twitched; she heard her mumble something. “Hm?”
“Thanks.”
“For what?” Barb sunk lower into the cushions, bunching her shoulders up. Was she bracing herself for something?
“...For helping me.” Poppy inched closer.
“Yeah, of course. Anytime.”
The next few minutes were silent. Well, silent for them. Debbie, having noticed that Barb was out of the shower, had decided to fly over and nest in her hair. Barb barely had a response to it. Did this really happen so often? How had she, Poppy, not seen this before? It was adorable.
Then Barb cleared her throat.
“Sorry you, uh, had to see that. Last night.”
“It’s okay! You don’t need to apologize for that.” Barb looked really unsure about that.
“Did...Did I wake you up?”
“You didn’t, no.”
“No?”
“Nope! I usually have trouble sleeping because it’s so hot. I don’t know how you put up with it! It always feels like I’m in an oven.” Now Poppy slumped against the couch. “Do gotta say that last night was one of the best sleeps I’ve ever had, though. Here in Volcano Rock City, I mean.” She looked over at her, tapping her fingers against the cushions. “Barb?”
“Hm?” She stopped fiddling with her towel to look at her.
“Do...you want a hug?”
“N—”
Bing!
Her hug time bracelet went off. Barb looked at it. It took all of her willpower to not scoop her up into a hug right then and there.
Barb sighed.
“I guess.” Poppy squeed, reaching over and pulling her into a tight embrace. Barb was stiff. Then, she awkwardly returned it. Said awkwardness gradually loosened up until she finally, finally, eased into it, resting her cheek atop her shoulder as she leaned into her with all her weight. Poppy hummed, rubbing her back. Debbie made Debbie sounds. It was great.
Poppy was about to pull away when she felt Barb squeeze her tighter.
“Wait! Uh—”
“Hm?”
“Can—can we,” she cleared her throat, “um, stay like this? For a bit longer? I just—er...”
“...really needed it?” Poppy finished. Barb’s silence answered that for her. “Well, I’ll never say no to more hug time!” This time, she hugged her with gusto, wrapping her up with the weight of all the love she had to give. Barb didn’t have a lot of practice with hugging, but that didn’t stop them from being good hugs. They had such a nice feel to them. Sure, the fact that Barb felt like a rough, fuzzy furnace helped, but her hugs always had a certain kind of...energy to them. For having such a tough exterior, her hugs were always so...nervous. Gentle. Caring. Like her, Barb had a lot of love to give. It’s just...it was clear that she wasn’t sure how.
Poppy could help with that. Overtime. It. It wasn’t something that could be fixed in a day. BUT she was definitely going to help her with that! Love was a wonderful thing to give.
Her nose twitched. A few strands of hair were tickling her. Barb’s hair was fluffy after her shower...maybe she could…? Poppy glanced down at her. Would she mind? Did she trust her enough for that? Being able to touch another troll’s hair was a huge sign of trust and a significant milestone in a budding relationship.
Slowly, cautiously, she reached a hand up, hovering it just above her head. Then, she brought it down, sinking her fingers into her hair. Barb’s ear flicked. She stopped. Waited. When there was no response, she began running her fingers through it, careful to avoid Debbie. Her hair was so soft; there was hardly any resistance as she combed through it. Poppy’s ears waggled. She heard a quiet sigh.
Barb trusted her. Barb trusted her. Excitement bubbled up in her chest, but Poppy quickly fought it back down; she didn’t want to kill the moment. She’d just have to make a mental note to scream and happy stamp about this later. ...And...noted! Okay! She was good.
Poppy hugged her closer, absently playing with her hair. Barb smelt nice, like spices and cologne. It made her think of mountains and ash. It wasn’t necessary homey but...it was comforting. The kind of comfort you feel when you’re laying on a hill gazing up at the stars. Yeah. Yeah…
“Okay, I think I’m good now.”
“Aww you sure? I could go for a few more minutes.” A pause.
“Yeah, I’m good.” Poppy put on an exaggerated pout as they separated. Then, Barb reached up and grabbed ahold of Debbie, moving the bat to her lap. She scritched the top of her head. “...Thanks. Again.”
“No no, thank you.” Barb rolled her eyes. “A hug from you is always a treat.” She huffed.
Before Poppy could say anything else, Barb stood up.
“Well, I’m gonna go get something to eat.” She started towards the door, pausing for a moment to look back. “You comin’?”
“Duh! I’m starving.” Poppy practically launched herself from the couch, catching up to Barb in an instant. The rock queen shot her a sly smile before opening the door. “Hey, hey Barb?”
“Hm?” Barb stopped what she was doing.
“We’re bondiiiiiiing~” And groaned.
“Shut it.” Poppy couldn’t help but laugh.
“You know you love it.”