Public Display of Affection

"Hey, Popsqueak!" Val Thudershock yelled from the dispersing crowd. Petra was right at her side, waving frantically. The Bad Hair Day concert was over and trolls were walking out, with their raging spirits still pumping loudly in their veins. "Wanna hang out with us?"

"Thank you," Poppy replied while making her way toward the hard rock girls. She got bumped a few times by trolls who claimed not to have seen her there, causing the pink queen to frown and turn around to demand an apology. But just as she did, her eyes caught a glimpse of a full blue hair, turning from left to right, searching for someone among the crowd, "... but you guys have a lot of catching up to do and I really must properly thank someone."

"What?" Val crossed her arms and snickered. "You're going to leave us for Branch?"

"Who is Branch?" Petra asked in confusion.

"Poppy's best friend. Cool guy. Nerdy, but cool." Val explained.

The pink queen stared at Val as she described Branch for Petra. The way she spoke sounded a little like mockery, but it was just Val's way not to get emotionally involved in a description. But it still had made Poppy slightly angry.

"Oh, c'mon, mate. You see Branch every day."

"I'm sorry…" Poppy blankly stared at the girls for a while, realizing there was a situation she needed to immediately fix. "I must go to him, but first I need to make a correction here."

Val raised an eyebrow and Petra put her hands on her waist, waiting for the queen to continue.

"Branch isn't my best friend. He's my boyfriend."

"Wait, what?" Val choked out, not believing her ears. Petra didn't seem as shocked. "Dude, is it some kind of secret?"

"No, it was never a secret." Poppy laughed out of embarrassment. "Actually, I thought everybody knew. Apparently, I was wrong," Her magenta eyes quickly scanned the concert hall, finding Branch only a few feet away from them, but still looking for her in the opposite direction. "I must fix this situation."

With an uninterested raise of eyebrow, Val crossed her arms and watched what Poppy would do. She had to admit the full rainbow Pop Queen was difficult to understand sometimes, but the bits and pieces of information and mushy stuff was starting to become clearer.

Branch was almost giving up searching for Poppy. It was a big crowd and even with the huge boots he couldn't have a clear view. There was a sea of hairs of multiple colors. Perhaps it would be smarter to just go back to the bunker and wait for her, because, obviously, she'd drop by to tell him how things developed with Val.

"Hey, Branch!" Just as he turned to leave, her cheerful voice sounded right from behind him. His heart melted as soon as he turned and saw her standing there.

Poppy had a meek smile, almost shy, with her hands clasped behind her and she balanced herself back and forth on her heels. She looked incredibly adorable and her rocker outfit somehow made her look even prettier.

"Hey," He replied as she slowly approached. "Thought I'd never find you here."

"Well… here I am. Thank you for all the support today." She giggled, blushing like a little girl. "I have a question for you." Licking her lips, she straightened her hands so he could take them. For a second, Branch was worried and hesitated before holding hands. He looked from left to right and blinked twice before paying attention to her again. "I'd like to make it clear to everyone that we are together." Blue eyes stared at her completely taken by surprise. His mouth hung open. "Would it make you uncomfortable?"

"Oh…" Branch couldn't look away. The world suddenly faded into a wall of undistinguished noises and blurs. Only Poppy remained brightly in focus, with a hopeful smile and warm supportive hands starting to sweat.

He knew what she was asking. It was something he had feared for a while now. She was asking him to step up and take his place.

"If you're not up for it, I understand." She quickly said, doing her best not to sound disappointed.

"No, no. That's not it." Branch quickly replied before she ended up turning it around and blaming herself for suggesting it in the first place. "I'm just apprehensive about what you have in mind… are you going to step up the stage or…?"

"Oh no." Poppy giggled, "I think we don't have to make it so formal. Maybe a quick public display of affection will do."

Branch gulped and he barely had time to nod before Poppy was on the tip of her toes, with her arms circling around his neck. He figured out what she was going to do a split of second before her lips crashed on his. He barely had time to react.

Funny… he didn't feel exposed at all. Normally, Branch would feel nervous, he'd want to run, hide and sulk in his bunker for days…

… but for some reason, all he could do was to close his eyes, allow himself to take in his girlfriend's delicious strawberry perfume, to feel her soft skin molding against his, to hear her quiet whimper as he firmly pressed his lips back on hers.

It was Poppy who broke the kiss. Timidly, she looked up at him, while biting down her lower lip. She wasn't sure if he had liked the way she 'announced' their relationship, but he was so overwhelmed by the kiss that no words came out.

Hair… their second kiss in less than a week! What a progress!

Their small little world cracked into reality by a couple of paused and uninterested claps. Crickets were heard right before the lights turned out.

Val and Petra stared at them with an obvious annoyance. Poppy, confusedly, looked at Branch who was just checking the perimeter. It was obvious that they were alone. The crowd was long gone and the staff had already packed everything to leave.

Nobody but the two rock troll girls who were sticking their tongues out in disgust had witnessed their kiss. Oh, and Poppy would be teased for it…

"Perhaps next time you want a public display of affection, you should do it while there's still people around." Val said smartly and Branch could only sigh in defeat.

He also noticed that some part of him was relieved that nobody had seen them.

Notes: I will continue this following season two, but it will be in this same fanfic, so expect updates soon :) Also, sorry I haven't updated as frequently as I used to. My routine completely changed and I am still organizing things to get more writing and drawing time back. I am trying to make a living of original works so I can have a mentally healthier life, so I'm focusing more on that :)