Girls Problems

Branch felt his feet hurt. His heart was full of joy and he held hands with Poppy who had just yawned for the third time that night. His rocker outfit was starting to bother him and he couldn't wait to take a shower and take away those huge shoes he somehow managed to wear. While the hot water washed down the rockfish vibe, he would recall every single song he heard that night. Was that the coolest concert ever or what?

The tree where the royal pod was located came into view as soon as they entered the Pop Trolls neighborhood. The queen involuntarily whimpered by his side and he noticed she had a hand pressed against her navel.

It had been a long night and he checked his Hug Watch to realize they had been walking for more than an hour. He hadn't noticed Hard Rock Hollow was so far away. Perhaps, during the day, while they were full of energy it wouldn't bother him so much, but after a festive night when he couldn't wait to crash… well… the distance was quite bothersome.

"Do you want to go to the bunker tonight?" Branch offered, realizing Poppy was looking slightly paler than normal.

"Oh, no… I'm sort of needing my bed… and my snuggle toy." She replied with a guilty smile.

"Are you feeling well?" He frowned. Not waiting for the answer, Branch put a hand on her forehead to check if she was feverish. She was cold, but her forehead was sweaty.

"I had fun tonight." Poppy answered, avoiding the subject about her health and politely stepping away from his intrusive hands.

"Do you want me to stay over, then?" Branch insisted, turning on his heels to walk to her pod.

"No. I need to stay by myself." Her voice sounded firm and it made him stop to check if the girl standing by his side was still his girlfriend. He had never seen her look or sound like that.

"Did I do something wrong?" Branch suddenly got a wave of nervous thoughts that mentally revised the events of the evening.

Why would Poppy dismiss him? She had a great time with Val; she finally got their firsts bumped and blown off. He had been supportive… even if all he wanted was to enjoy Bad Hair Day's concert, but he did give ger enough attention, right? Then… he accepted their public display of affection. It was a great kiss… he completely melted into it... even if only Val and Petra witnessed it.

… Why - the Hair - was Poppy in a bad mood?

It was the walk, wasn't it? He was sour about it himself… the blister that had just erupted on his toe confirmed the crankiness was building up.

"No, Branch…" She forced a giggle. Branch could have died just then. Poppy NEVER forced a giggle. Not to him. "I'm just worn out. See you tomorrow?"

"Yes!" He nervously nodded, not hiding how insecure he was about leaving her alone. "I'll bring you breakfast, what do you think?"

"Sounds lovely." Stepping on her toes to reach his face, Poppy deliciously pressed her lips against his warm cheek and turned around, leaving him alone on the path to the bunker.

Could he sleep that night? Well, of course not. He showered with his head hot. Branch never wanted to see Poppy that weary again, so he thought about a solution to short the distance between the neighborhoods.

The Dune Huggy had been a great idea, but it couldn't be considered a mass transportation. Poppy wouldn't use the car on daily basis. He needed something that everybody could ride on… not only to take the queen to visit her friends, but to get everyone to visit her as well.

The firebugs had already gone to sleep when he lifted the blankets and got into bed. Branch needed a solution. His feet pumped painfully under the cold sheets when his body fully relaxed. With a heavy heart he knew Poppy was probably feeling the same kind of pain on her own tiny pink toes.

Sighing heavily, Branch wondered if he would ever finish a train of thought before interrupting himself to think about Poppy…

Train…

Holy cupcakes!

Poppy growled painfully and turned to her side when morning light reached her eyes. The day before, she had been so concerned about Val that she completely forgot about her period. She did not take the medicine, which meant she had two choices: either she took painkillers now and spent the day completely drowsy, or she'd have to face a several hours of cramps, but being fully awake.

Tough choice… could she spend the day in bed?

The thought itself bothered her a lot. The Queen wasting precious bounding opportunities to stay in bed? Ha! Not likely! There was so much in Trollstopia to see… and she was dying for a bar of chocolate. Thinking about candies made her want to laugh and at the same time her eyes burned with tears.

It was going to be a bad one.

"Stay positive. Stay positive." She whispered to herself, hugging her pillow like it was everything she needed to survive.

"Good morning, Poppy!" Branch's cheerful voice triggered anger and love at the same time. She knew he was joyfully awake since four in the morning and looking dreamily handsome while she was a mess. The sound of ceramics clacking made her push her blanket away just enough to peek while he carefully set a trail full of goodies on her scrapbook table. "Like I promised, brought you breakfast and a surprise!"

Beside the food, Branch was dying to show her his neatly scrapbooked plan. It didn't look anything like the champion of scrapbooking would describe as 'impressive', but he was proud of his work and he could pitch her into his bright idea.

Only… when he turned to look at the most important troll in the world to him, he saw her still lying down, completely unmoving and staring at him with her eyebrows furrowed.

Poppy was still angry with him!

"Okay… you're acting weird." Branch blurted out. Poppy still didn't move, so he walked closer and he could swear he saw her sinking deeper in the bed. "Are you sick?"

"No…" Exhaling, Poppy pinched her nose, fighting another urge to break down crying from the frustration of having him there being adorable while she didn't want to explain why she was in a bad mood. "I'm sorry. Thanks for being so sweet." She sat up, but didn't throw the blankets away.

Hesitantly, Branch turned around to take a plate with bread and marmalade which she gladly accepted. He had already eaten so he chose to sit down next to her and hold the teacup while she helped herself.

"It was a long walk home, yesterday…" he tried to indulge some conversation and Poppy just hummed in agreement while biting down on the bread. "Trollstopia is a success..." Complimenting was a good strategy to get on her good side, right? "... more trolls seem to show up each day and it's becoming a big city."

Branch handed her the tea as soon as the bread was finished. He didn't miss the way her eyes softened at the warmth in her hands before sipping the sweet taste of lemon balm and honey. The hot ceramic was set down and he noticed how her face slowly melted into bliss as she discreetly pressed the cup against her belly.

Was it time to show her his project?

"Poppy!" Smidge's voice came from outside the pod and Branch turned to see the small helper carefully stepping inside like she was about to be attacked by a furious predator. "I've brought you chocolate and some painkillers. I'll just drop them by the door and be gone in a sec- Branch?"

It was impossible to know who was more confused.

"How come you were able to come inside during her period?"

"Chocolate and painkillers?"

They asked each other at the same time. Smidge did not hear his question, but Branch did hear hers and a chill ran down his spine when he realized he had disturbed Poppy on a very sensitive day.

"I'm sorry…" He immediately stood up. Poppy was blankly staring at him and Smidge took her cue to run for her life. "I didn't know…"

"You couldn't know."

Branch was about to step out of the pod, even if his girlfriend's voice didn't sound as threatening as Smidge made it look like, but a painful wince made him stop where he was.

His shoulders fell when he saw Poppy sitting there, looking small and in pain, still holding the warm cup to sooth the worst of the symptoms. Was he really going to walk out and leave her there?

"The warmth makes you feel better...?" Branch scratched his hair in realization and Poppy smiled for the first time that day. "Can I try something?" And she nodded, watching him suspiciously as he took the empty cup from her hands and put it aside.

He ignored her curious eyes when he lifted the blankets and slipped a hand underneath them. His big hands found hers and she melted when she felt how warm and snuggly he was.

"Is it warm enough for you?" It took Poppy a moment to realize he was talking about the temperature of his hands. He waited until she nodded.

He surprised her by gently placing his palm on her stomach, giving a gentle rub against the thin fabric of her pajamas.

"Branch…" She breathlessly said his name, causing him to feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. Her small pink fingers worked on the buttons of her top, undoing the bottom ones to expose her dreamily pink flesh to him. Without saying a word, she placed his hand lower and he shut his eyes tight to keep from making any noises.

The waistband of her shorts was pushed up and he felt the elastic pressing against his fingers as his hand got lower.

"... it's not the stomach that hurts." Poppy said quietly. Her magenta eyes saw his arm slowly relaxing to the new position. His hand was just where it was supposed to be: under her navel, where the pain caused a throbbing sensation. "It's right here."

"O- okay?" Branch tried not to squeak, but he was touching her in a place he had never touched before and it made him nervous as hair.

"Just stay like this for a while…" Snuggling close, she felt her eyelids getting heavy. She wouldn't complain if she could spend a whole night like that. "What's the surprise you wanted to show me?" Yawning, Poppy felt his breathing tickling her forehead.

"I can wait until you wake up." Yawning, too, Branch felt his own eyes closing.

It was one lazy morning.