The two girls sat in the hot tub, their troubles practically melting away as the feeling of hot water, soaked them. Barb was the one to initiate conversation between them, asking how Val was doing in Trollstopia.
"It's actually really nice, I didn't like it at first, but the other tribes have really grown on me, I never thought me, and Poppy would end up being friends" Val admitted as Barb put her hands behind her head.
"I see I made the right choice, sending you there" she replied, praising herself on her act as Val chuckled, reflecting on when she was told she would be going to Troll Village. she did not even know Trollstopia was going to be a thing.
She also had no interest in going to Pop Village to meet up with Poppy. She never would have guessed the pink troll would end up being one of her closest friends.
"I must admit I missed being among my own people, as nice as it was being a part of Trollstopia, it's just not home" Val commented as Barb nodded, agreeing it was good to see her.
"You know, I just realized, we've never really talked before" Barb commented, mentioning that since the whole tour event she was trying to be more a friend to her people than a just a leader. taking a note from Poppy's book.
"Especially after that water jet tip, I'm certainly using that in the future" Barb replied. the two spent a good while in the tub before deciding to get out as their bodies would get pruny.
after soaking the two headed back to the changing area as Val stopped, gesturing for Barb to go ahead of her. the redhead simply nodded as walked into the room, closing the door.
On the beach Buddy Sr. was overseeing the assembly of the luau, there were natives preparing the tables, and the snack bar as one of the younger Trolls looked at him, asking which color tablecloths they should use.
"I'd say the blue" Buddy Sr. replied, pointing to the blue cloth as the younger troll nodded, laying it over the long table. Buddy's son walked up, mentioning he got the towels he asked for.
"Good Boy, some of the Trolls will want to lay on the beach so put them near the umbrellas" Buddy ordered as his son nodded, heading to the beach. the turnout was bigger than he expected. he knew that Rock Trolls would be coming to pay respects to Leroy Gold, but he underestimated the number of Trolls on the Mainland.
On top of that not only were the Queen and Former King in attendance but the Pop queen so they could not mess this up. he arranged the towels in a linear manner, made sore the volleyballs were fully pumped, stocked the punch bowl among a list of other chores.
after doing his work, he slumped in one of the beach chairs, laying down to take a breather. doing chores was exhausting but now that he was done. Junior reached into his hair, pulling out a notepad and pen, clicking the top of his writing utensil.
he pondered before scrawling some words down, upon looking at them, he was writing down lyrics as he was the front man of a Leroy Gold cover act. Despite this he also sang some original songs in his time off.
Junior enjoyed songwriting as a few of the locals said that he sounded like Leroy, which helped him with covering the artist. the pen jotted down the ideas on his pad.
He spent a while writing lyrics and only stopped when he was tapped on the shoulder, he put down his pen looking to see the Pink Queen of the Pop Tribe, standing beside a teal Troll who introduced himself as Branch, Poppy's fiancé.
"Buddy Sands Jr. but everyone calls me Junior for short" he replied confused as Branch explained that Poppy had a need to befriend everything, it was one of her quirks. Junior extended his hand for Poppy to shake as she did so.
"Well Junior, I have a feeling you and I are going to be great friends" Poppy replied, leaving with her teal partner in tow as Junior just sat there questioning what happened. The Queen disappeared as quickly as she appeared.
Apparently, she already moved on to introducing herself to another group of Trolls, Junior sighed, looking at the sunset as he brainstormed.
Poppy and Branch were walking around, greeting every Troll they could. Most of the islanders were happy to meet the Pop Queen, donning her and Branch with various flowers necklaces, he tugged the string on his gift, thanking the kid who gave it to him. after this whole Greeting everybody thing Branch looked at Poppy, asking what she wanted to do.
Poppy thought about it, offering to help set up for the luau as Branch advised against it, Micromanaging was another one of Poppy's quirks. every time there was an event going on she always had to oversee it, sometimes it often prevented her from enjoying the party because she always took breaks from the fun to check the punch was full or the angle of the confetti cannons.
"No Poppy, this isn't Trollstopia, we can't just go around telling these Trolls how to organize their event" Branch said, gently pulling her arm. The two walked around the beach, taking in the view.
Branch held Poppy's hand was they made their way along the sandy beach. admiring the golden sun setting. he admired her in the glow. the two were seemingly alone so Branch looked at her, asking if she wanted to kiss under the sunset.
Branch was met with a a warm hug and kiss on the lips from his fiancée, poppy smiled looking at him.
"I want a beautiful location like this for our wedding, a golden sunset" Poppy commented as Branch smiled, admitting he was imagining the pink Troll in a beautiful wedding dress as Poppy smiled, admitting the twins were working on designs for their wedding attire.
"Can you say, matching outfits" Poppy added, praising the skill of her friends as Branch had seen some sketches of tuxedos the twins wanted to design. he asked about Poppy's dress, but Satin and Chenille refused to even let him see the sketches, apparently, they did not want them to see each other's outfits before the wedding.
Branch reflected on the exact conversation he had with Satin as they twins told him it was bad luck to see the bride's wedding dress before the ceremony but more importantly, they wanted it to be surprised.
They even forbid Poppy from seeing Branch's Tux, which they rarely did, but they promised they would like the end result, and they both trusted the twins' sense of fashion.
The two laid on the beach towel, as Branch looked over, wishing he brought a picnic, only to be surprised when Poppy pulled a small bag from her hair, which had some candies in it as they laid together, the warm sun basking over them.
"How about a massage?" Branch offered, putting his hands on the Queen's shoulders, gently squeezing her shoulder as it eased the tension, Poppy was practically melting in pleasure. Branch know all the right spots of her body and how to push said buttons.
Poppy picked a candy from her bag plopping it in her mouth, offering one as Branch took it graciously, eating it. on the sandy beach they lounged, Poppy wrapped in his arms, alone from the world.
"If I said I wanted sex on the beach, would you go for it?" Poppy asked, as Branch looked at her, saying she should not have any alcohol as it might damage the baby. she chuckled as the joke flew over his head, snuggling him in this small piece of paradise, leaning in he kissed his soon to be bride.
Branch commented on maybe spending their honeymoon here as this moment was pure romance and they did not want it to stop. it wasn't until another Troll walked by, sitting in one of the beach chairs.
"You two are getting comfy" Brab replied, still wearing her black swimsuit, a can of some sort of beverage was in her hand as she finished the can, slamming it against her head, crumpling as she pitched it through the air, landing in a trash can.
The two stopped their display as Barb looked at Branch, asking if he could leave as she wanted to have a girl talk with Poppy. Branch naturally was startled by Brab making this demand for him to leave when he and his fiancée were getting into it, but he did not want to get on Barb's bad side as he agree to leave walking off.
"I'll get some fruit drinks Poppy, you two talk" Branch said, seemingly leaving the beach as the two Queens were alone. Barb reached into her pocket, pulling out a cigarette, drawing attention to it, asking Poppy is she was okay with her smoking. Poppy herself did not smoke but did not mind as Barb put the stick in her mouth, flicking a lighter as the flame lit the end.
"I want to talk to you about something personal?" Barb explained, taking a drag on her cig as Poppy was interested in their girl talk, assuring Barb that she could tell her anything as Barb looked around.
Not one to beat the bush so explained that she was somewhat envious of the two Pop Trolls, she caught the two talking romance and embracing eachother and felt a bit jealous, basically she wanted to know what that was like as Poppy let out a faint squeal of delight.
"I'm serious Popsqueak, I know I'm a tough rock goddess who says she doesn't care about mushy stuff like feelings but... I really want to know what intimacy feels like, to be someone's arms, to feel loved" Barb admitted, blowing a cloud of smoke, the only Troll she ever had a personal connection to was her father, so Poppy could understand the rocker being uneasy about talking about this.
"This isn't some love confession thing, is it? Poppy asked, explaining that she was with Branch as Barb quickly backed up, saying it was not like that at all, to which Poppy breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry Barb, I'm an expert matchmaker, I was the one who introduced Biggie to Mr. Dinkles, I hair swear I will find you a lover" Poppy replied accepting the challenge of helping Barb find love as the rocker shushed the Pop Troll's mouth.
"Quiet, I don't want people to know about this, I still have a reputation" Barb defended, not wanting her people to know that she was looking for love, as Poppy asked if there was any Rock Trolls she was interested in.
"No Rock Troll from the mainland would ever date me, I'm their queen and unlike you, I'm not approachable, most guys are either scared or think I'm too good for them" Barb explained how they saw her an icon and not as a Troll, let alone a Troll with feelings.
(A/N: so, Poppy is offering to help Barb find someone, how will that turn out)