a/n: hello, everyone! it's just me, putting in my two cents. these are, for the most part, human aus! feel free to request a prompt with these two, just pm me or whatever and i'll do my best to get to it. branch's last name is holloway and poppy's last name is springs. rated m for branch's sailor's mouth...the little bitch...also for some sexual-ish content? talking about butts and some makeouts? thats it though unless something changes. i hope you enjoy!
i. afternoons
Sunlight peeks through the drapes of their apartment, alighting the dust specks twirling in the orange air. Branch likes these afternoons. They're squeezed in between work, school, parties, and impromptu adventures. (Adventures like.. palm-readings from sketchy people in the alleys on the way home from the grocery store. It was Poppy's idea. Branch has five years left, according to an unfortunate freckle on his palm. Five years left until what? They wouldn't say. Branch still thinks about it, it keeps him awake at night-) Anyways. Branch likes these afternoons.
"Your ears twitch," Poppy giggles sleepily, her fingers dragging from their usual thread through his hair to the tips of his ears. Branch frowns, blinking. He squirms uncomfortably from his spot with his head in her lap and the rest of his body lounging on the couch.
"They what?"
"They twitch! Whenever I touch you by surprise or- or! When you listen to something like...really intently," She explains, lightly tracing his ears with her fingertips. He shudders.
Branch's eyes dart up to her twinkling ones, "I think that's fucking weird."
She blushes and rips her gaze from his, doing a God-awful job at studying a stain in the carpet.
"I think it's kind of sexy," His girlfriend mumbles, and Branch's heart leaps into that dizzying flame it always finds around Poppy Springs. His mind goes efficiently blank.
"I-uh...What? Poppy, you are so-!" Branch slips into an ugly laugh, and Poppy snaps her gaze back to his, gasping through her grin.
"I'm so what?"
Branch playfully purses his lips as he stares up at her in thought. "Fucking freaky," He ponders reverently.
"Oh please, you find me attractive in weird ways, too!" Poppy snaps, leaning down, and Branch could count every freckle if she gave him the time. She lowers her voice dangerously, sending a searing heat up Branch's neck.
"Don't lie, dude, I know you have the lamest obsession..no, addiction to all of the freckles on my body," Branch closes his mouth. She was fucking right. "You take forever to give me hickeys, and that's because I put on that signature lotion you like and you sit there for at least ten minutes smelling it! And even if I do so much as peck you on the lips you pop open your mouth for a French sesh. Who's freaky now?"
Branch manages, "S-Still you."
"Oh?" Poppy's voice is laced with something that makes Branch's bones weak, but he does not relent. He will not.
"Exhibit A, my ass."
Poppy narrows her eyes, her breath dancing against his lips. "Exhibit A 2.0. My ass."
"My calves. Hell, my body in general," Branch shoots back, breath uneven.
"My body in general too! You can't keep your hands off me!"
"Shut up," He mutters in a daze, lashes lowering as his eyes meet her mouth, his hand sneaking around the back of her neck.
Poppy smirks hotly, "You can't even handle me being in the same room as you sometimes, my guy, which is why we only stay half the time at parties-"
"Poppy."
"And you make the cutest little noises when we-"
"Shut up," Branch breathes and yanks her down, their lips crashing together like tidal waves, suppressed passion overflowing in the electric contact. Poppy squeaks, grabbing fistfuls of his hair, beaming at her boyfriend's sharp gasp. The kiss lasts until they can't breathe and they break, panting.
"Mm..I love you," Branch sighs, gently nipping her lip. She giggles, and Branch feels like the raging feeling for her in his heart could rival the sun.
"I love you."
Branch smiles as she leans in to capture his lips again, their soft, blissful giggles filling the room.
Yeah. He likes these afternoons.