Queen's Woes

The wind was blowing harder than usual, but the tornado sign didn't go off. Branch watched his weather radar and concluded that it was going to be a heavy storm, but nothing that required emergency evacuation.

He gladly sipped on his warm coffee and tightened his fuzzy brown robe before sitting down on his chair. Branch was so glad his bunker would be nice and cozy during a storm. He had heard many trolls talking about how sometimes water would leak into their pods if the rain got too heavy.

In the blank canvas of his mind, he painted a picture of pods blowing with the wind. Not that most trolls cared. They were used to the weather. But he pictured a certain pink pod among all the others and his stomach sank.

Even if Poppy wasn't going to ask for his help, he felt like going out there and offering his bunker that night. Last time there was a storm she had been scared of being underground, but when she finally relaxed, she had a blissful night of sleep… by his side… on his bed.

Branch quickly changed and put a towel in his hair. If the storm got him in the middle of the road, he could dry in an instant. Always prepared. What he wasn't prepared for was to meet an empty pod when he got to Poppy's home.

The lights were out and the rain threatened to start pouring down any minute. It was dark and most trolls were already getting ready to sleep. It only increased his worry to think that perhaps she got caught into work.

Hard Rock Hollow was the kind of place that would require late supervision, since most rock trolls enjoyed a jam section during the night, so Branch quickly made his way towards the loud neighborhood. He spotted the Dune Huggy under the tree where Poppy usually parked it and wondered why she would choose to walk under such weather.

A thunder rumbled through the sky and thick raindrops poured mercilessly on him. Turning his hair in an umbrella, Branch quickened his steps to reach his beloved as fast as he could.

The sound of a sniff caught his attention just before he left the Pop neighborhood. Looking to the side, he met only darkness. Another sniff and a quiet whimper made him look up and spot his girlfriend dripping wet, hugging her knees as she sobbed, hidden in between the leaves of a big tree.

"Poppy?" He called her name softly, not to scare her off. Branch saw when she looked down, surprised to see him there. "Are you okay?" She shook her head, obviously still too sad to talk about what had happened.

Branch climbed the tree, keeping an eye on the sobbing girl. She didn't try to stop him, instead, she welcomed his approach. He wanted to hug her, but as soon as he got close, he realized she was completely drenched. It was not good.

"C'mon," He offered a hand to help her stand up, "We're going to the bunker and you're going to warm up."

"I'll be fine," Poppy tried to protest, but the sound of her teeth chattering proved her wrong.

Feeling humiliated, Poppy just allowed Branch to wrap a dry towel over her shoulders and guide her towards the bunker. The last thing she needed that day was for her boyfriend to show up. She loved him dearly and he was welcomed most of the time, but how ridiculous would she sound when the truth came out? That she was a mess because of a snuggle toy?

She didn't want him to think she was childish.

Lost in her thoughts, Poppy felt her body stiffen with cold. Each step seemed to take a big effort. Her knees won't work properly. She barely noticed the way Branch tried to keep her dry until they were already on the elevator and the loud storm was shut outside.

"To the bathroom, now." Branch commanded, guiding her trembling form all the way.

"I just need to dry." She managed to say, gripping the towel that was already wet. But Branch would hear none of her excuses. He was filling up the bathtub by the time she finished her sentence.

"Can you please do as I say?" Frowning, Branch stared sternly at her. Poppy averted her eyes in shame. When her boyfriend got that attitude, he looked so grown up that she felt like a little girl being scorned. "I'll place some dry clothes on your bed. You can use my robe."

Branch closed the door behind him to give her privacy. Once the tea was heating and his shirt and night boxers were neatly folded on her bed, he finally took a breath to try to understand what had happened.

Poppy wasn't the kind of girl who would allow people to see her cry (at least not the sad type), but she would usually hide in her hair and stay close. He never had seen her hiding so far away, not caring if she would catch a cold.

He heard a sudden splash coming from the bathroom and knocked on the door.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah… just tried to get my shampoo and slipped." Poppy said from inside.

Branch mentally kicked himself. Her hair was wet, of course she wanted to wash it, but her shampoo and conditioner were inside the cabinet, under the sink. He could have placed them next to the tub so she wouldn't have to get out.

"Would you mind taking them? My knees feel frozen…"

He was the one frozen once he heard her request. Walk into the bathroom with his naked girlfriend in there? Could he be so bold to…?

"I've got enough bubbles!" She said, as if knowing what he was thinking about.

He pushed the door open and confirmed that she was decently covered with a blanket of white bubbles before he safely walked inside. It didn't help his dirty thoughts, though. Poppy was still naked and within reach. He needed to get her things and vanish from sight.

"Here." He placed the bottles on her side, not looking down at her.

"Thank you." Poppy replied quietly, slightly blushing. Branch turned to leave, but as soon as he did, he heard the bottles dropping on the ground and turned to see Poppy shaking uncontrollably.

"Poppy!" He turned to fully watch what was going on. Was she close to hypothermia and he hadn't noticed? How cold was she before she got into that water? It was dangerous leaving her like that, she could drown, for Hair's sake!

"The shaking is getting better." She managed to say, "I'll be fine and warm soon."

"Just… just let me do it." Branch picked the bottle from the ground and sat on a small stool behind her. He was not taking his eyes off her. Sighing, Poppy turned so he could wash her hair.

It was the first time she felt Branch caring for her like that. His fingers felt oddly big on her scalp, but they massaged her like a professional. He lightly touched and untangled her locks, building up more bubbles. It felt so deliciously hypnotic…

"Would you mind telling me what happened?" Branch asked, trying to keep his mind off the fact that he was washing his naked girlfriend's hair. His stomach fluttered when he saw a small bubble running down her neck.

"It's nothing serious." Poppy replied, quickly feeling ashamed of all the trouble he was going through because of a toy.

"You were under the rain, nearly frozen with your hair so wet it wouldn't stay up. It was serious to you." Branch pointed out.

"Okay…" Praying he wouldn't laugh; Poppy took a deep breath. "Val lost her snuggle toy, Piney, and I tried to help by giving her one of mine. Only… she found Lord Prickles and fell in love with him." She could feel tears threatening to fall. "So, I gave her my snuggle toy and now I miss him so much. I don't want to make Val sad by asking for it back."

"So… Val's happiness is more important than your own." Branch pointed out, causing Poppy to go quiet. The shameful feeling that he was way wiser than she gave him credit made her gut churn. Once again, she felt childish.

"I just wanted to help her…"

"All done." Branch said after finishing rinsing off the conditioner. He didn't want to question Poppy's reasons to help her friends so he quickly stood up. "There's tea ready."

Poppy waited until her body stopped shaking before leaving the bathtub. She felt oddly stiff and her heart seemed to be beating on her ears. Was she really putting everybody first?

Branch's robe felt deliciously fuzzy. She raised it to her nose to breathe in his scent.

He wasn't in the kitchen, but her tea was ready in a cup next to a few cookies. Poppy didn't want to sit there on her own, so she grabbed the cup and the plate and went to her room. She changed and slipped under the blankets to quietly eat.

She realized she was feeling utterly lonely.

Another thunder was heard, but this time she wouldn't run into Branch's bedroom. She didn't even know if he was there. The bunker was so quiet she felt like she was all by herself.

"Poppy?" Branch knocked on the door before opening it.

Poppy saw that he was freshly showered, his hair was a little damp and he was wearing the white and blue pajamas she loved.

"Would you like to…" he stopped himself when he realized what he would sound like once he finished his question. 'Would you like to sleep with me?' was not going to sound right.

"I want to snuggle you, if you wouldn't mind." She quickly jumped off her bed and hugged her loving and considerate boyfriend, feeling so glad to have him.

She loved his bed, his blankets, his scent all over the pillows and the sight of his favorite books on the walls. Not to mention their pictures that now were side by side decorating his nightstand.

Her place on his chest was already marked. Branch laid down and stretched his arm, welcoming her to snuggle close, with her palm on his opposite shoulder. Feeling homey, she hooked her leg over his. It was her favorite sleeping position now.

"You see…" Branch started saying, staring at the ceiling while playing with her hair. "...I understand how much you love Lord Prickles. I am sensitive about Crocco since you've got it back."

"Oh, right…" Poppy hummed in approval. "Just saw you snuggling it once, though…"

"I'm keeping it safe." Branch thought about his snuggle toy on the shelves in his living room. "But I wanted to say that, if things go bad and you can't get your toy back, then… we can always snuggle each other."

Poppy giggled. Branch felt relieved to hear that glorious sound for the first time that night.

"Even if I get him back, I still want to snuggle you, my cute cuddle bear."

"Good." He answered, despite the blush at the new nickname.

Both drifted off to sleep not long after that.

Branch managed to leave the bed the next morning for his swim, realizing Poppy looked a little troubled, as if she was having a nightmare. Disentangling himself wasn't easy. She managed to have a strong grip on his arm.

The situation with Val had really hurt her.

It didn't come to a surprise, when he returned to his room later, to find a scrapbook note with a Poppy character blowing him a glittery kiss. She had already left, probably still feeling sad, to think about the situation on her own.

Branch really hoped she'd come to him first when she had any kind of problems.

Author's Notes: This chapter goes specially for HellraiserXX, RagingCycloneZorch, CrownePrince, DandelionCares, DeepInBroppy and autodidactic_squirrel. Thank you guys for always commenting, reviewing and supporting this story. Your words are always bringing light to my days.