Back in His Bed!

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

Branch jumped on his bed in a fighting position ready to engage in a battle for his life. It took him a whole five seconds to realize that the intruder was his very excited girlfriend.

"Hair, Poppy. It's past midnight!" He felt his body tingling from the sudden fright and sat back down, waiting for her to tell him what was so important that it couldn't wait until morning.

"Oh, Branch!" She forced her voice to a low and excited growl, going around the room in a stationary run in the kind of outburst that made the survivalist wisely purse his lips on a thin line and wait until the rush of emotions drained her energy. "It's Val! We worked together! Oh my Hair! Oh my Hair! Oh my Hair! It's like we're best friends!"

Catching a quick glimpse at the clock next to his bed, Branch realized she had been in a frenzy for about ten minutes and he was still clueless on what she was talking about. He couldn't help a yawn and hopelessly counted how many hours he could catch of peaceful sleep if he managed to go to dreamland that instant.

"Okay, I'm calm!" Poppy yelped and jumped on the bed right in front of him, crossing her legs and opening her eyes wide. "Val is obsessed with Glitterborn Chronicles and we teamed to find out who the author is!" Branch blinked tiredly at her revelation. Somehow, his much-needed rest became a faraway - but much desired - goal. "And we found him and - Oh my Hair - we're so good together! - Then we talked about the entire story out of chronological order for eight hours!"

"Is that… good?" Branch felt his eyelids way too heavy to share any interest in the glittery fairy tale.

"It's amazing! It was perfect to grow close to her!" Poppy's was overflowing with joy and it made Branch slightly more awake to see her so adorably happy, "I mean, she was the most challenging of all. Even other rock trolls eventually let me in, but Val was a tough girl!"

"Ah!" Her words made Branch recall seeing both girls playing and singing together in Hard Rock Hollow and he immediately blushed at the memory. "You girls are indeed good when you cooperate with each other."

"I know, right!" Poppy squealed loudly. "Rock culture is actually very interesting once we get to understand it."

"I was thinking the same-" Branch started saying, but he got interrupted by a new screech and a hand was placed on his chest, pushing him until he was laying down on his pillow again. Poppy nodded, showing that she was listening, so he could go on, even if the words slipped his mind in surprise. "- I was having a jam section with Demo the other day…" the pink girl adjusted the blankets, slipping by his side and looking at him with full interest in her bright magenta eyes. Branch, gulped and continued, "...and you were right. They can be sensitive, too."

Hair… she was in his bed again. And feeling comfortable.

"They have a deeper philosophical point of view, right?" Snuggling close, Poppy didn't even notice Branch was torn between hugging her and keeping a safe distance.

Then, Demo's questions on their relationship came to surface. The survivalist thought everybody had seen them confessing their love, he imagined everybody knew Poppy was taken and the news that other trolls might be interested in his girlfriend made him question if they should make their status clearer.

… and there was the issue of her position. There she was, being kind, caring and treating him with a sweetness that only sparkled when they were alone. He needed to know if she was holding back in public for a reason.

"You know… I've been talking to some trolls from other tribes and…" Poppy inched as close as possible without touching him. But, hair, Branch could feel the heat of her body. "... nobody knows that we're together."

Her face fell little by little, like a delicious ice cream slowly melting under the sun. Apprehensive, Branch bit his tongue and waited for her to say something about their situation.

"I had my suspicions, but nobody ever said anything…" She finally said, rolling on her back and staring at the ceiling. Admiration for the way she felt so at ease next to him made Branch's heart skip a beat. "I mean… it's like we're just best friends because we're not… close enough."

"What do you mean?" Branch raised an alarmed eyebrow that went unnoticed because the queen kept her eyes focused on the neatly carved ceiling and ventilation shafts. She opened her mouth to say something. He could almost feel the words choking their way up to her throat, just to remain unsaid.

"I just… nah, it's silly. Sometimes I wonder too much." She quickly sat up, nervously trying to brush the subject off. Branch didn't want to let it slip so easily, but for some reason Poppy pulled away.

"I - "

"I just came to tell you about Val and I. You've supported me from the start and I thought you should be the first to know." Poppy was on her feet and half way out of the room. "Anyway, I'm returning to my pod tonight. I'm too excited to sleep and I don't want to keep you awake."

The rush of happiness masked the intriguing way she was trying to dismiss the subject. Branch could only wonder if the reason why she didn't want to talk about it was because there was a deeper reason. Perhaps revealing their relationship would harm her reputation somehow, like Demo had implicitly suggested.

"... I mean, I don't want to bother you in any way," Poppy continued, but he hadn't paid full attention to it, and she kept blabbing all the way out, "not in your sleep, or your swim, or bringing uncomfortable attention to you in any way. Hair knows you're not fond of spotlights. Cya tomorrow!"

He heard the elevator working and her voice trailed off as she distanced herself from the bottom level. Branch was incredibly intrigued by everything she said, in a rush at the end. Turning the wheels on his thoughts, the survivalist laid down once more, blankly staring at the space that she had occupied for mere five minutes.

The sheets were warm.

Poppy was holding back for his sake.

He had never shown her he was prepared to absorb the blows his isolation habits would take once he was officially announced as the queen's boyfriend. It made him greatly nervous that in some way or another, people would see him as some kind of leader as well, as someone they would try to be friends with, or come for his opinions in all inappropriate times.

But he was ready for it. He could make it work.

So, Branch decided that next time Poppy needed him he'd give her all the support and be there throughout it… no matter how crazy her plans would be.

Poppy would know he was very attentive, very caring and - by all that is troll-y - he'd show her he could be her boyfriend publicly.