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A dissatisfied hum rumbled out of Poppy as she stared down her to-do list for the day. Her foot beat against her floorboards, and a finger tapped her cheek. The tasks stretched on, barely fitting at the bottom of the paper.
Poppy took a deep breath, turning her frown upside down. Had to stay positive. Besides — she let out a little giddy giggle as her eyes ran back up to the top of the list — her number one thing to do for the day was visit Branch for a morning coffee. She glanced at the clock to remind her it was half past ten.
Folding up the paper and shoving it in her dress pocket, she did a little twirl towards her coat rack. It was nearing the winter solstice, so she gladly put on the warm, fluffy jacket she was so honorably handcrafted and gifted by her boyfriend.
She exited her pod, a chill immediately hitting her exposed knees. She pulled her legwarmers up a little higher with a shiver.
“Hi, Poppy!” She was immediately greeted by her sister, who was enjoying a nice cup of hot cocoa, watching the morning bustle from her point on the front porch.
Her and Poppy had been living together since the past month they had found each other. Poppy enjoyed sharing her pod. Her hallways no longer empty, her early mornings no longer lonely as Viva was already there up and at it. Her late nights are filled with giggles and warm milk and honey made specially by her older sister. They made up for lost time, acting as if they were teenagers. Nothing matched having a sister, a gal pal till the end.
“Hello!!” Poppy chirped. “Cold morning, huh?”
“Right?” Viva agreed. She sipped from her mug before quickly wiping her mouth as if she remembered something suddenly. “Oh, yeah! Sis, you ready to check out those candy earrings I was talking about the other day?”
Poppy bobbed her head in a nod. “Of course! I just have something I need to do real quick. Gotta make sure the boyfriend eats. Be back in a dash!”
“Got it, Poppyseed,” Viva saluted.
Poppy gave her sister a quick side hug and hopped away, skipping down the steps from her home. She was greeted by the rest of her people on her way, all waves and smiles. Neither did they let her forget the busy schedule ahead of her.
“I remembered! Just one moment, okay?”
“Got it. I’ve just got one thing to do beforehand!”
“Uh-huh!! Noted already. I’ll be right back!”
Poppy let go of a breath she didn’t even realize she had held as her feet finally touched a not-so-welcome mat. She didn’t bother knocking the large rock in front of her anymore; she knew Branch was aware of her coming some mornings when she could.
Poppy hummed a tune as she held onto the lever to bring her down Branch’s bunker, her knees bouncing up and down in an impatient excitement. The platform barely hit the floor when she jumped off it with a small squeal.
“Knock, knock!” Poppy sung, skipping into the main area. No sign of the blue she was searching for. She scurried into the kitchen. “Branch?” A quick look over the room and she noticed glitter dusting the dining table from her last visit, which was over the weekend. Today was Tuesday. Poppy furrowed her brow. That should’ve been cleaned up by now.
Poppy’s exhilaration to see her boyfriend slowed down, and instead creeping worry buzzed into her chest. She shook it off, going around the storage rooms.
“Branch?”
Silence.
Poppy made it to the last resort in the bunker: Branch’s bedroom. She gave it a respectful knock. “Branch? You in here..?” When she was given no answer, she gently turned the knob and poked her head in.
The motionless lump on the bed sent relief into Poppy’s heart.
She quietly shut the door behind her and waddled up to the bed. Branch’s back was to her, his sheets up to his chin. Poppy held her hands behind her back as she peeked over in the bed.
“Branchieee?” she whispered. “You awake?”
A muffled grunt in response.
She sighed, a small smile on her lips. “Hey, sleepyhead. It’s past ten; I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
A two syllable grumble.
“It’s okay. Don’t be sorry.”
Poppy heard him take a deep breath in and out, his exhale shaky. The bed creaked as he flipped over and met her eyes. Dark eyebags hung low on his cheeks and a frown pulled on his lips.
“There’s that cute face I know,” she said, giving him a sad smile. She watched him swallow and look away. She frowned. “What’s going on, baby?”
He shrugged, eyes focused on nothing. “Another one of those days, I guess,” he said softly.
“Hmm…” Poppy moved her mouth around in thought. The to-do list pulled a heavy weight in her pocket. She shook her head. The village and her sister could wait. “ Welllll, good thing my schedule is cleared!”
Branch sighed. “Poppy—“
“Nope! It’s boyfriend cuddles time. Now, scoochy.”
He sighed again, but didn’t put up a debate, sliding over under the blankets to give her room.
“Yay!”
She let Branch’s sheets fall down around her, curling her up like a cocoon. She snuggled further into his bed and looked at his glazed eyes again. Gently, she took a light finger under his chin, lifting his gaze to hers. “Hey, pretty.”
She only got an amused huff of air out of him, but she will take a score for it regardless.
“Any specifics going on in that noggin?”
Branch shrugged again and licked his lips. “Just a lot going on, I guess. Feeling old things. Ugh.”
He was right. Having his brothers back in his life had to be a big step Branch wasn’t ready for, not to mention unprepared for. And if Branch was anything, it was prepared. When he wasn’t for something, it took a lot out of him and left him a big bundle of anxiety. So, Poppy nodded in understanding.
“Um, are you sure you have nothing going on today?” Branch asked. “I can handle this by my—“
“Up-bup-bup!” Poppy sung, finger to Branch’s lips. “None of that. You’re always on the top of my list, no matter what’s going on. Right now, it’s just you and me… okay?”
Suddenly, Branch sniffled and his face scrunched up. He buried his face into Poppy’s chest right before she could barely see the tears gathering in his eyes.
“It’s okay, shhh ,” she whispered, rubbing circles into his back. “It’s all gonna be alright, baby. Just breathe…”
Branch shook with silent hiccups as he gripped Poppy’s dress.
Poppy started to hum a song, continuing to soothe Branch by scratching him with gentle fingers. She was about to pause and question if the singing was okay before she could feel his muscles relax under her hand. He moved further into her hold. She continued her song, a made up slow melody. The vibrations of her sound washed into Branch, calming his cries. He let go of his death grip on Poppy’s dress, instead wrapping his arms around her so they were properly cuddling. His breaths came slow and even.
The love Poppy had planted in her heart for Branch only glowed brighter, a warm golden feeling. It was a different feeling than the jittery buzzes she gets on the daily, though. This was a loose warmth. A calm, peaceful settlement that wrapped around her. Just her and her Branch in their bubble, the rest of the world unexisting. Poppy closed her eyes, resting her chin on Branch’s head.
Branch mumbled something against Poppy’s dress.
“What was that, sweetie?”
He sniffled. “Please don’t go.” His voice was broken and tight.
Poppy wasn’t sure she’d ever felt such a pain in her chest before. Her heart cracked, and the shards stabbed her insides. She hugged Branch tighter, and he responded to it, diving further into her hold.
“Where could I ever go? You’re the light of my life,” she smiled sadly.
“…really?” Branch deadpanned, exhaustion seeping his breath. “I feel more like the… the rain cloud to your sun.”
“Hey, who told you it was okay to talk about my boyfriend like that?” she teased.
Branch whined, not moving to look at her still.
“Besides… Without rain, who would help my pretty flowers grow?”
“Pssh.”
“And—And! Who would stop us from going into a drought? What if we all perished from dehydration, huh? Didn’t think about that, did you, Branchifer?”
Branch scoffed a laugh. He finally shifted so he could look at his girlfriend, a smile loosely clung to his mouth.
Poppy giggled. “A smile looks good on you, mister.” His smile grew a little, scrunching his eyes a smidge.
As Poppy studied Branch, she could notice the smallest, the tiniest shift in his colors. The hue brightened to a soft teal, away from the previous slate color she had walked in on.
Poppy genuinely loved that about him. He was the only Troll she knew that changed hues. The moodiest Troll she knew, but the most expressive one. Best part of it all is that she knew he glowed the brightest of blues around her, and her only.
A hum of a chuckle escaped Poppy as she pressed a kiss to Branch’s forehead. “I’m not going anywhere. It’s me and you against the world, Branchie.”
Instead of a protest at her use of nicknames, a sigh deflated him, and he fell against her once more, snuggling her.
“As cozy as I am right now…” Poppy started, “you need to eat.”
Branch whined, weighing her down so she couldn’t get up. Poppy laughed.
“Come on, sweets. Up and at ‘em!”
He let out a long groan, but propped himself up as Poppy bounced out of the bed. He gave her a little glare. Poppy responded by helping him the rest of the way, pulling him up into a sitting position.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You of all Trolls should know that, silly.”
Branch only sighed, standing up to slowly follow her out of the bedroom. Poppy sat him down at his dining table. His glare only hardened at the glitter sparkling the wood. Poppy giggled and got out the brush and dustpan from beside the fridge.
“You know you love me,” she said, dumping her mess into the trash.
“Uh-huh,” Branch huffed, folding his arms and laying his head down.
Poppy twirled around to meet his stovetop, starting the coffee pot. She turned to rummage through his pantry, careful to put back everything where it had been before she moved it. She set down on the counter a loaf of bread before spinning towards the stockpile of fruits and veggies. She added an avocado and tomato to the pile.
Poppy hummed a tune to fill the silence. Her hands worked to make an easy breakfast of toast and coffee. She grabbed a mug made of rainbow colored clay (handmade of course by the Queen of Pop herself) and filled it to the brim with black coffee. She stole a green mug from the cupboard, pouring in her own helping of coffee and excessive amounts of creamer and sugar. Branch only kept creamer around for her sweet tooth, after all.
She skipped over to lay the plate and mug down in front of Branch. He awoke with a jerk, lifting his head and glazing his eyes around the meal and then flickering to her warm smile.
“Thank you,” he muttered as he sat up, dragging the plate closer to himself.
“Yuppers!” She brought her own mug over and sat beside him.
“What about you?” Branch asked after taking his first bite.
Poppy wiped away the sweet coffee from her lip. “Already ate. Viva makes a mean batch of muffins. You gotta try them sometime.”
Branch chuckled, taking another bite of his toast.
“I love you, Pops,” he mumbled suddenly.
Poppy blinked in surprise, but grinned all the same. “Love you always.”