Post Mini-Mini-Golf
A/N - Welcome to Season 4! This is a small chapter with Branch's feelings after the Mini Golf because I need to give him a little calm before the storm :)
It took Branch a great effort to keep his heart from bursting out of his chest all the walk back to his bunker. He was so immensely happy, that if he told himself five years ago - when he was still gray and locked up underground - that it would come to a day he would feel bubbly and drowning in happiness he would have snorted in disbelief.
Especially because the source of his endless joy was no one other than Poppy.
Branch stepped inside the bunker, removing some purple jelly from his ears. That thing was everywhere, but he didn't mind. He had had an incredible day. Playing golf with Poppy, accepting her methods while she accepted his, without any sort of competition, but actually working together as a team, had raised his concept of fun to the skies.
But the fun the game provided wasn't scratching the surface of such deep happiness. Oh no. The source of the glee in his eyes was the conversation between Poppy and Dante that Branch happened to overhear.
Poppy, the queen of endless joy, the girl who refused to let anyone down, the one who would go to unspeakable lengths to make someone smile, plainly refused to switch partners with the Classical troll.
She masterly hid her real reason behind an excuse of building a strong friendship between Dante and Synth, but Branch knew her like the back of his hand.
She wanted to be his partner and no one would ruin that day for her.
An irrational wave of jubilation crowded his chest like a rave party. Branch played, he surfed in jelly, he hugged Poppy in the spur of the moment.
He might have exaggerated a bit on the jelly part, seeing how it filled the bathroom's floor with a glittery purple color as he showered.
Oh, but who cared? He could clean the tiles later, but at the moment he was beyond words to describe how he felt about Poppy's decision.
Love.
Branch put on his bathrobe and went to the kitchen to brew a perfect chamomile and mint tea. Usually, he saved the soothing ones for his enthusiastic girlfriend, but that day he was the one who needed to calm down.
It was amazing how she still managed to surprise him. He had a feeling that even in forty years she'd still have tricks up her sleeve to take his breath away.
It was one big demonstration of love, even if she didn't know he had seen it.
Branch couldn't help but tease Dante about his hat. It was his way of saying 'I'm hers, man!'
Hair, it felt good to say it.
He was hers. And she was his.
It took him a whole night tossing, turning, staring at her picture and three poems to finally run out of energy and grab a wink of sleep.
Filled with lovely dreams of pink lips and hug times.
Little did he know, it was going to be the last lovely dream in a while.