Poppy felt dusty, but after three days away from Trollstopia, her heart was dying to see Branch and tell him everything about the fantastic road trip she had with Holly, Val and Gust. Besides - she silently chuckled - she was longing to spend a couple of hours soaking inside the enormous bathtub he had inside the bunker.
She didn't even have to stop at her pod this time. She had enough clothes inside her bedroom and she had placed extra bottles of shampoo and lotions inside the cabinet under the sink so she could always be prepared to have a perfect bathing time.
"Hey, Branch!" She called when she stepped into his lounge room, but just like last time she visited, he was nowhere to be seen. A loud metallic sound came from the ventilation shaft, indicating he was, again, working in the garage.
Indeed, Poppy found her boyfriend putting the last metallic part of the dismantled cuddle bear piñata on a big shelf where he would recycle into other items he would use later. He also looked like he didn't have a decent shower in days.
"What are you doing?" Poppy asked, approaching him carefully, so she wouldn't surprise him.
"Hey, I didn't see you coming inside." Branch grunted some more, pushing the heavy engine towards a box with two others. "Sorry, I've been busy these days."
"Oh…" Poppy realized he had been working since the battle of piñatas. He didn't even notice she was gone for an adventure and spent a considerable amount of time away from him. "It's okay…"
"Ooof, I smell bad!" Branch checked his stained clothes.
"Actually, I came here to use your bathtub." Poppy said almost at the same time.
Both blinked before smiling sideways at each other. Competition was triggered again. Poppy turned around and ran towards the elevator with Branch hot on her heels.
"I'm showering first!" he laughed, trying to take her with his hair.
"Not if I get there first!" Poppy giggled, jumping up to successfully avoid his hair. "Look, Gary is going to fall and crash."
Branch fell for her trick, for a split of second he stopped running to check that his adored remote was perfectly set on the table where he had left it. It was enough time for Poppy to reach the elevator and lift herself up to the lounge room.
The survivalist caught up with her just to see the bathroom's door being shut on his face.
"Ha! I won!" She cheered from inside.
"You cheated!" He accused playfully, after all, he didn't mind her winning. Actually, he sat down by the closed door, feeling happy and fulfilled like never before.
"No, I didn't." Poppy laughed. From outside, Branch heard her unzipping her dress and filling the bathtub. Then he heard her opening the cabinet and placing the cosmetic bottles within reach. "It won't take long."
"Nah, it's okay." Branch leaned against the door, taking a deep breath. "Actually, it's very convenient because I need to tell you what I've been up to." Wow… talking while the other showered felt… intimate. Even through a closed door.
"You mean you weren't busy with the piñata the whole time?" Poppy questioned and he heard the sound of water splashing and a happy, relaxed sigh was heard next, causing Branch to smile. She had just sat down, feeling the hot water on her body.
"I had started taking it apart when your dad showed up." He revealed. A sudden splash made him think she had sat up abruptly, startled by the revelation. "I know we were planning on talking to him together, but I couldn't avoid it. He cornered me."
"By all that is troll-y, Branch. I should have been here!" Poppy sounded a little frightened.
"It wasn't as bad as I thought."
Branch filled two bags of candies from his prize-winning piñata. The first parts had just been set aside when he heard someone knocking on the trapdoor. Proud of Poppy's work to tell the other trolls to knock before barging in, Branch took the elevator to answer the door.
He couldn't be more surprised to see King Peppy standing there with a big smile on his face.
"I came to personally congratulate you on winning the competition, my boy." King Peppy said, taking his hand to shake it with an extra strength that was beyond necessary. "Can this old troll take a look at the champion?"
"Ahhh…" Branch quickly checked on his hand before returning his attention to his sweetheart's dad. "Sure, c'mon inside. Ouch."
"Wow… You've made some improvements." The King said, watching the bunker structure as they descended. Branch couldn't recall a time when the older troll visited by himself. The occasions he had been inside were basically chaotic days when they were hiding from Chef or when climatic catastrophes were about to hit the village. There hadn't been an opportunity for the King to take the place in.
"Just small ones." Branch said sheepishly, stepping in front of the corridor that led to Poppy's spare room to block the view. That was something he wasn't ready to explain. "This way to see the Cuddle Bear, sir."
They went down to the garage. King Peppy put his hands on his side and walked around the piñata, analyzing every part.
"Amazing job, Branch. I wouldn't expect less from you." King Peppy said, grabbing a mouth full of candies from the open bags. "I bet the most challenging part was to work with a team."
"Ah, yes. It was quite a challenge, sir."
The small talk continued for a while. Branch could tell King Peppy was fishing for something and, at the same time, the survivalist was wondering if he should take the opportunity to talk about his relationship with Poppy.
Suddenly a loud beeping noise went off on the level above and Branch excused himself.
"It's the washing machine, sir. I'll just take the clothes out of it before they stain. I'll be right back."
"I think you improved a lot since Poppy brought all the different tribes to live together." King Peppy followed Branch to the laundry room, causing a small discomfort when he realized he was going to be closely watched.
"Trollstopia was a fantastic idea, sir." Branch opened the machine - a big box made of paddles that he came up with after spending hours trying to take away grass stains by the river - and immediately regretted having allowed King Peppy to follow him.
With the clothes that came out first was Poppy's dress, those yellow panties, and the short doll pajamas she wore when the nights were warm. Of course, her dad saw them. It didn't matter how quickly Branch took them away from sight.
"I see Poppy is spending a lot of time here." King Peppy said from the next room. Branch quickly put all the clothes to dry, thinking about the best answer he could give the king. Of course, the older troll was suspicious of their relationship. Which father wouldn't have a sixth sense when it came to boys? There was no way his daughter could grow close to someone without a defloration alert going off in her dad's mind.
"Yes, sir. We enjoy each other's compa… sir?" Branch didn't find King Peppy in the kitchen, nor in the garage or the lounge room. "Sir…?"
Just when Branch was thinking the king had left, he found the lights on inside Poppy's bedroom and his stomach dropped in anticipation. Her father already knew about them, he was just waiting to be officially communicated. He was there to ease the process.
Swallowing painfully, Branch found the king sitting down on his daughter's bed, holding the picture that once had been hidden behind a Nothing Important sign. The most sensible thing the survivalist could do was to sit down next to his future father-in-law and offer a decent amount of explanations.
"I don't really know when it happened," Branch started speaking.
"I do." King Peppy said, patting the younger troll on his back. "I bet my mustache you loved my daughter way before you think." Branch frowned and the king continued, "No other troll made it so fast to her Best Friends Wall than you did. It was just a matter of time before you became the most important troll for her."
"I'm sorry it took a long time to tell you, King Peppy." Branch sighed. Things with Poppy were so fresh and they were working their way around the awkwardness, it never occurred to them that the politest thing to do was to inform the king. "Poppy is the most important troll in the world to me and I should have told you sooner."
"I'm happy it is you." King Peppy stood up, not offering any other word about the relationship. "I'm taking those candy bags to the children."
And just like that, the king left, saying something about going fishing one of these days.
"So, you see… your dad had things figured out already." Branch finished his story. Poppy didn't say anything from inside the bathroom and he turned around, thinking that maybe she had dozed off in the tub. "Are you…?"
Before he could finish his sentence, the door opened and he was pulled inside by two pink hands that grabbed him by his leaf vest.
Poppy pushed Branch against the wall. She had the sweetest smile on her face that almost distracted him from the fact that she was wrapped in a fluffy towel and was dripping wet against him.
"Thank you." She whispered, balancing herself on her toes, Poppy leaned forward giving him a full kiss that made all the questions melt away. "Enjoy your bath." The queen smiled again, reluctantly stepping away from him.
Branch finally saw that she had refilled the tub for him. Scented candles were placed around the bathroom and a heart was drawn on the steamy mirror on top of the sink. The door clicked shut behind him.
It was his turn.