Tales of Trollstopia 6

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

Branch walked back to the bunker after a long day enduring Cloud Guy's lame jokes and, by all that is troll-y, he was angry! Not only he had to put up with tasteless jokes now he had to watch his back because Val turned out not to be a trustworthy troll!

Growling quietly to himself, Branch ignored a few 'hello's that were directed to him and took the long way to his underground fortress. A walk usually helped calming down his nerves, although, this time, he needed to run a marathon to chill again.

Or… he needed the one troll that was standing right there in front of the trapdoor, waiting for him with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"I know what you're going to say, Poppy!" Branch said as soon as he was within hearing range. "But I can't like that annoying Cloud!"

"Actually…" Poppy looked down and for the first time Branch noticed she still had the gift in her hands. "I came here to give you this. Even if it turned out to be a big prank, I got this for you."

The frustration quickly melted when she said that and Branch took the gift in his hands. Poppy fidgeted nervously, looking away a few times while he unwrapped it.

Inside were two coffee cups, one was written 'You are my Sunshine,' and the other "On a Cloudy Day," Branch couldn't help but smile, feeling his spirits immediately rising.

"My bad for thinking you'd have coffee with Cloud Guy," she shyly shrugged. "It's the second time he tricked you like this and I didn't believe you."

"I could have coffee with you," Branch gave her one of the cups and pulled the lever so both started descending into his home. "Thanks for the gift, I love it."

"You're welcome." She smiled, still feeling a little guilty for giving Branch a reproachful glance earlier that day.

Branch noticed Poppy was slightly uncomfortable with the whole situation. Cloud Guy wasn't even in her mind as much as Val. He poured them some coffee while watching her with the corner of his eyes.

"I should talk to Demo," Poppy blurted out when he gave her the steaming hot cup. "He is easier to talk to."

"Really?" Branch was surprised at that and sipped his coffee while Poppy sighed and sat on top of the counter, swinging her feet from side to side.

"Yes, you should get to know him, by the way," the pink Queen smiled, "he's incredibly sensitive for a Rock Troll."

"Well, I'll keep that in mind," Branch replied, but he wanted to talk about the one subject that was eating Poppy up, "so… Val is the problem and not… her entire culture."

"She seems to play on both sides, right?" Poppy growled in frustration and Branch couldn't help chuckle discreetly at how like him she looked when she did that. "I did everything you suggested during Girl's Night and she enjoyed herself. I thought she was cool… but…"

"Hey…" Branch was the one to offer some reason, after all, Poppy was the type of girl who would focus only on good things, so when confronted with the dark side of other trolls, she was naturally confused and it wouldn't take long for her to think Val's behavior was her own fault somehow. "Val is Val, the same way that Cloud Guy is Cloud Guy. They are kind of selfish when it comes to making fun of others."

"Yeah…" Poppy smiled at her deeply smart boyfriend. "Perhaps it will take a bigger effort to get to understand her."

"Or…" Branch offered with a smile, "maybe you should enjoy Val's good moments and not try to understand the bad ones." raising the cup, he offered a toast, "see the Sunshine,"

"On a Cloudy Day." Poppy giggled, raising her cup as well.

They spent the rest of the day together. Poppy told him about the interesting trolls that she met and how she organized her schedule to spend an equal amount of time with each tribe so she could have a full immersion experience into their culture. The Pop Queen was mesmerized by the amount of knowledge she was sucking in.

"Is there any culture you're really into?" she asked Branch out of curiosity.

"Well…" Branch scratched the back on his neck, feeling a little awkward. "... I actually like Laguna a lot. As a scientist I appreciate her objective point of view." Poppy blinked a few times and her boyfriend missed the flash of jealousy that her frozen stare showed. "She's easy to understand."

"I think so…" Poppy gave him her empty cup and he put it on the sink. "You've spent a lot of time raving with the techno trolls…"

"I meant to visit Lownote Jones today, until… you know… Cloud Guy happened and ruined my plans." Branch said, finishing his own coffee. "All the knowledge on wormholes and alternative universes really interests me."

"Oh, their spaceship is awesome." Poppy giggled, remembering her own adventure with the funk girls. "You'll love it."

"I've heard you had an alternative universe adventure," Branch pointed out and Poppy smiled guilty at him.

"A quick one, went there and returned in one piece. No harm done," and before her boyfriend had any reason to scold her for her lack of self-preservation instinct, Poppy jumped from the counter, landing on the ground right in front of him. "I have to go, I promised Holly I'd help with the decorations for the rodeo next week."

Stretching, Branch nodded. He wasn't going to ask her to stay this time. She knew she was welcomed anytime she wanted. But he did lean forward and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek, making her heat up and blush a dark shade of red.

"See you tomorrow?" Poppy asked, pretending she wasn't internally squealing.

"Sure, I'll be around."

And as soon as an embarrassed Queen left the bunker, Branch jumped on the couch, blushing as much as she had before. He couldn't believe how bold he was, but it felt incredibly good to know he had the liberty to touch her like that.

Closing his eyes, Branch could only imagine the endless possibilities of their relationship… and he was going to find out. The next day he'd take a trip to alternate realities with the help of the smooth voiced funk troll.