Bad Mood
The rain fit his mood.
When Branch invited everyone for a harmless game night it was supposed to go smoothly. After waking up by his girlfriend's side a couple of days before he had started wondering how his life would have been if his grandma had met Poppy.
Would she be as overjoyed as he was? Would she see the light that the Queen was to his own darkness?
They say life goes on. Eventually the hole a dear one leaves when they part is filled by other subjects, other interests and… someone else.
Branch was an unusual troll, or so he heard most of his life. Maybe that was the reason he still played puzzles every day. He didn't have many roots to connect with. His grandma was the only troll that made him feel like he belonged somewhere. That he had a family that was part of a loving community.
He wasn't a leaf on the wind when he was playing puzzles. The game grounded him. It made him feel safe and it reminded him that he was someone worthy of love.
But it was a disaster.
Branch groaned and rolled on his stomach. The blanket fell halfway on the ground.
It was a terrible idea after all. He wasn't ready to face eventualities. Not with things he took so seriously as puzzles.
The truth was that he was offended that no one saw how important puzzles were to him. They teared up when he mentioned his grandma, but they didn't care that the missing piece meant his life was crumbling in front of his eyes.
It was just a game for them. For him, it was his soul, bare and exposed to its last strand of hair, sprawled out on the table for them to see. His emotions were raw and he was eager to connect his old life - his dearest grandma - to the new friends he had accomplished to make on his own.
His friends were supposed to be his new family.
But he wasn't ready, was he? Breaking down in front of them like that…
They seemed to accept him, they helped to put things back together, but… they would talk, wouldn't they? He wasn't a normal troll…
"Branch…?" The door cracked open and Poppy stepped inside his bedroom. He fought the urge to push her away by pretending he was asleep. "I hear you turning for hours… Do you want to talk?"
It was nearly two in the morning and she looked like she hadn't grabbed a wink of sleep either. He sighed and turned on his back, with an arm draped over his forehead. He wanted for her to go away. He wanted to crawl in his misery and stay there until he had reasoned his way out.
"No, I don't." He replied, even if internally he wanted to talk, although he had no idea how to start without sounding foolish.
Poppy stood there for a while. It irritated him, but he reminded himself he was the one who had asked her to stay. He had changed his mind and now he couldn't ask her to leave.
"Do you want to cuddle, then? In silence?" She took a step inside because she knew he wouldn't refuse her. Yes, he was that pathetically into her hands and somehow it irritated him more.
His bad mood didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his nose in her lap, though. The familiar warmth and the comforting scent seemed to bring his irritation down a notch.
She was half sitting up, leaning against two pillows that she had arranged against the wall. Poppy tried to pretend she was mindlessly caressing his hair, but he knew better. That Queen knew exactly what she was doing. He wanted to accuse her of tricking into a snuggle, but a light kiss on his forehead neutralized the spiky words that were on the tip of his tongue.
That girl had some magic in her. Branch thinned his lips on a line to avoid making any sounds as she quietly raised his shirt to expose his back and all the tense muscles. He accepted the massage, but he was not showing her that.
The gentle pressure of her fingers was like a soft breeze, blowing away the dark fog of resentment and annoyance, making it clearer for him to perceive another feeling that was hiding under the thicker layers.
Branch was ashamed of being vulnerable.
"Would you mind if I take your shirt off? I wish to work on the muscles on your shoulder." Poppy's voice was so quiet that if she didn't breathe the words right into his ear, he probably wouldn't have heard her.
He quickly sat down, removed his shirt and resumed his position. He was hit by a sudden dizzy spell and cursed having done it all so quickly. Branch noticed his lips were on the hem of her shirt. He could see the pink skin underneath, even if it was just a thin line, it still made him feel like sticking his tongue out to taste her belly.
Of course, he wouldn't do that. He was, after all, in a bad mood.
Since when was he so comfortable without a shirt on while laying on her lap?
The walls he had built to block Poppy's attempts to make him feel better were eroding at a fast pace. The speed was similar to the one she was using to undo the tension knots on his shoulders. Hair… and he was relaxing against his will.
Acceptance… it was a word that popped in his mind out of nowhere. It was a word he didn't use very often. Accepting things made him think of settling for an injustice, or for less than he was worth. It was a word that would bear heaviness to his heart, but this time, when he thought of it, he felt the release of a great weight that he was carrying on an oversized backpack of feelings.
Accepting help, accepting that he could be vulnerable and it took courage to expose his inner secrets.
He wasn't weak for breaking down.
Branch's eyes opened the next morning with a burning feeling. He was disoriented for a few moments. His pillow felt warmer than usual and it seemed to be… breathing.
Fully awake and frozen in place, Branch looked up, managing to move just his eyes to do so.
Could he die of embarrassment? He was sleeping on top of Poppy. He had his arms wrapped around her waist and his cheek was firmly pressed on her bosom. Not to mention that his legs were tangled with hers.
She had a hand on his hair, like she had slept while caressing him.
Branch gulped, realizing he was, again, poking her. He could not stay like that.
He didn't even remember he was in a bad mood the night before. He couldn't recall the feeling if he had to. All he knew was that he carefully lifted himself from her body and awkwardly took his distance, sprawling on his back, by her side, and forcing himself to think about Cooper wearing a bikini.
Poppy didn't make his life easy, though.
She whined when he moved away, but didn't wake up. Instead, she touched around, looking for him in her sleep.
To his utter mortification, she laid down halfway on top of him, like she was shielding him from the world.
Cooper wearing a bikini. Cooper wearing a bikini.
Her lips connected to his neck and a hot puff of air made his toes curl. She moved again and Branch scrunched his eyes close, bracing himself to keep still until she was done torturing him.
Her hips moved and her legs settled on each side of his body.
Branch forced himself to learn how to breathe again.
Her hands slowly moved up to his chest and she reached up to capture his mouth in a lazy kiss.
Cooper in a bikini wasn't helping anymore.
Was she awake? The way she was moving could only indicate that she was more awake than asleep. Maybe sleepwalking? Or… sleep kissing?
She moved her hips against his and all thoughts that remained on his broken brain turned off. One hand slid to her waist and another to the back of her neck.
She lightly moaned. Branch noticed the moment her kiss progressed from hazily dream to firm and real.
"Sorry." Poppy pushed herself away just enough to talk. Breathlessly, Branch could feel how her chest was swelling against his. "I attacked you."
"You're…" his voice failed and he swallowed the lump in his throat to try to sound normal. "... you're forgiven."
Giggling, Poppy rolled off him, staring at the ceiling with a big smile.
"That's a nice way to wake up, though."
"Uh…" he couldn't disagree, but he was still too concentrated on his body to answer her properly.
"Oh my… do I have a morning breath? I'm so sorry!"
"No, you don't." Branch held her arm, feeling that she was about to jump out of the bed. "I liked it as well."
Poppy looked at him. Her eyes trailed down to his naked chest and she blushed, turning her attention to the ceiling one again. That was one snuggly chest.
"You know, you're the perfect cure for insomnia." Branch said after a while.
"I just wanted to relax you." Poppy smiled. He wasn't looking at her, but he felt her smile. It was like the room had turned a little brighter.
Her line recalled the reason why he had been in a bad mood in the first place. Licking his lips, he finally could find some sense in everything he had felt the day before.
"I wish you had met my grandma." He said before he could stop himself.
His girlfriend didn't reply at first. She sighed and quietly sat up, hugging her knees.
"I wish the same." Poppy whispered quietly. "She seemed like a very wise troll."
Branch sat up as well and hugged Poppy, bringing her against him.
His stomach rumbled loudly, making Poppy nearly fall out of the bed laughing.
The playful side of him came out and he moved closer.
"Is it funny now?" He asked, smirking. Poppy yelped and tried to run out of bed, just to be caught and be attacked by unmerciful tickles.
"No, no, no. Stop." She laughed louder.
Branch joined her, in a symphony of joy and touching, shrieks and chuckles. He was determined to laugh until his face hurt and until she became boneless with his tickles.
That was one happy morning and he wished he would have many others like that one.