The Red Bathing Suit

Notes: This oneshot takes place after Branch out of Water episode :). Have fun!

Poppy tried for two days straight to wake up at four in the morning to join Branch and the techno trolls for a morning rave, but it was completely useless. While having a party at that time worked wonders for their day, Poppy's routine became a complete mess and she had to rely on coffee to stay awake. Not to mention the headache.

But she still hadn't given up and she came up with a plan to surprise Branch for when he got tired of raving instead of enjoying a relaxing morning swim. It was just a matter of time. She knew him that much.

In three days, Branch awkwardly entered her pod while she was writing thank you cards to the leaders of the other tribes. He had brought her a cup of cappuccino, but he wasn't in the good mood that she would have expected.

"Are you okay, Branch?" She asked, sitting down on her bed and offering him a space to join her. "Do you need to vent anything?"

"I know how I usually come to you for help and you end up supporting me in fixing my own problems…" he blurted out, blinking at her lack of response as she watched him intensely and sipped on her drink, "but this time, I really need your help."

"I'm listening," Poppy sat on the edge of the bed, already knowing what he would say.

"I can't share my Hidden Place Hot Springs anymore. I miss peace and quiet." He avoided her eyes because he thought he would see a reproachful look. "I can't ask the techno trolls to have their days thrown off in a million horrifying ways, so I guess I'll have to learn how to have another morning routine."

"Oh well, I saw that coming," her happy squeal made Branch arch and eyebrow at her. "You persisted for three whole days, which is amazing for you!"

"I'm not following," Branch felt slightly offended that he was that predictable.

Poppy quickly stood up, leaving her empty cup on her scrapbook table and retrieving a piece of paper with several drawings and red marks.

"Well, I had an idea and Fuzzbert helped me map out a way to lead the hot water right next to the bunker!" Branch just blinked at her and Poppy opened the map wider so he could see what she meant, "look, it's a small aqueduct coming from the hot springs. If you allow me, I can have some help to dig your own private sauna. It will be ready in two days."

"Seriously?" Branch blinked at the map, seeing that, indeed, it wasn't difficult to build a duct to the bunker. "Are you willing to change the course of the springs for me? That's a lot of infrastructure management!"

"All the workers are ready," Poppy pointed out in excitement. "All we need is your permission."

Branch was speechless. Not only Poppy had predicted that he wouldn't enjoy raving every day, she also had everything planned out so he wouldn't have his day thrown off.

"How come you made everyone agree to this so quickly?" Branch could barely believe his luck.

"You are an important member of our community," she blinked longingly at him, clasping her hands together with her voice filled with emotion. "We all love you and we understand you need your privacy."

His heart leaped in joy and Branch couldn't help himself but to engulf her in a big hug and spin her around in her pod. The only sound louder than his heart beat were her giggles.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Two days later, as promised, the smell of eucalyptus invaded the corridor he had recently made to connect with the new sauna. There was no need for a secret passageway anymore; so only a door, to prevent the sound of running water from reverating through the bunker, was installed. The new ventilation shaft made the hot air get refreshed constantly.

His small private hot spring was incredible, with a small bank in the middle, long and deep enough to swim a few laps.

It was in the middle of the afternoon when the water sprung from the duct, but Branch couldn't wait until next morning to try it out. So, he untied his bathrobe, hung it on the side and revealed his white shirt and red swim trunks underneath.

Leaping in the air, he jumped head first into the water, feeling the familiar refreshing water relaxing his muscles. Quickly coming up for air, he noticed two pink feet standing right on the edge.

Looking up, he saw Poppy grinning at him, wearing a very revealing red swimsuit with a fluffy towel around her neck.

"Hnn? Poppy…?" Branch choked on his words, seeing his girlfriend looking incredibly gorgeous.

"Since you went all 'Baywatch' on me during your friendship attempt with Synth," she giggled, "I thought we should have matching bathing suits, what do you think?" she spun around, just so he could take a very good look at her from all angles.

Branch looked frozen, trying to control his hormones and hiding the best he could by sinking nose deep underwater.

"To tell you the truth," Poppy said, taking a few steps back before jumping into the hot springs and splashing water everywhere. "I've tried waking up at four in the morning for a couple of days, but I wasn't successful," Poppy swam back to her paralized boyfriend, who couldn't take his eyes off her. "This is nice."

"YES!" Branch yelled without noticing, but then corrected his tone. "This is nice. That's why I do it."

"Well…" Poppy noticed she was making him uncomfortable and swam to the edge, pushing herself up. It was quite stupid of her, really. The whole point of having built the place was so he could have a PRIVATE swim, of course he wanted her to leave. "... glad to help."

"What?" Branch, on the other hand, was very confused that she'd leave so soon. She wrapped herself with her towel and winked at him, trying to look like she was joking, but he knew that look.

He made her feel like she was intruding again!

Quickly bouncing out of sight, Poppy left without another word, leaving Branch to think about a plan to quickly pay her back for such kindness and show her just how much he loved to have her around.