A Delicious Pie

Branch needed to recharge his energy. Holly had managed to suck up all the remains of sociability he had on his body that day. It was a great pie, no doubt, but after she left, Branch felt his body relaxing to the point of nearly falling limp on the floor.

Yep, he was still an in-troll-vert and it wouldn't change; he'd have to accept that on an edgy day like the one he just had; he'd need at least two days of isolation to balance his mood.

Early that evening, when he had returned home right after Holly left, he heard a noise coming from the new tunnels and, to his surprise, he found Minuet throwing a cupcake inside the well.

"I wish for a slice of Branch's pie." She had said.

So, he had to hurry, bake another perfect pie and deliver a slice to Minuet while she was distracted playing two violins at the same time.

When he was finished doing all that, he was physically and emotionally exhausted. At least, he had two thirds of the pie in the bunker and it would be the perfect comfort food after that crazy day.

Thinking about comfort made his mind turn to his girlfriend.

Maybe he should bake a pie for Poppy. It was incredibly good and she deserved to taste it as well - Hair, he wanted to see her eyes sparkling when she tried it.

Some refreshments were in order. His bones felt like they were disintegrating. Branch dragged himself to the kitchen and immediately tensed.

Poppy was sitting on a chair, pillowing her head on her arms. She had her eyes closed and was softly snoring.

The pan with the rest of the pie was on the table and Branch silently face-palmed. He didn't consider that Poppy would come over while he was away.

An empty plate was in front of her. It seemed Poppy couldn't resist and had already eaten a slice.

Well, with his plans ruined, his body begging for rest and a crankiness threatening to make an appearance, Branch still couldn't leave his girlfriend sleeping in that position the whole night or she'd wake up with a stiff neck.

"Poppy…" He whispered gently in her ear. She didn't move and he took a moment to run his finger on her face. Her bangs were partially hiding her eyes and he smiled, brushing her soft hair away.

Her hair was different from his. When he had the chance to touch her without the purpose of getting anything she carried around in her pink locks, he noticed her strands seemed to be thinner than his. His wild hair seemed unruly from time to time and could only be tamed with some gel.

She softly stirred, but didn't fully wake up. Her lips moved, forming disconnected words that he didn't comprehend, but made him smile anyway.

Well… they were alone.

In fairy tales the prince charming would wake the princess up with a kiss, right? He leaned forward, noticing how warm her skin was without even touching her. Her closeness, her perfume, the familiarity of having her there with him all caught up in a moment that made him forget how tired he was.

He delicately touched her lips. He caught a whiff of pie from her mouth. His eyes darkened and the gentleness gave room to a hungry voracity. He forgot she was asleep. His whole body tingled with the blind need to devour her tasty lips.

His mind was gone. He could pinpoint all the ingredients and how they harmonized with her natural flavor. He kneeled next to her, supporting himself on a chair and thinking about nothing but how delicious she was.

Branch only realized she had woken up when she sighed dreamily and placed a hand on his cheek. He stopped for a moment, trying to understand what had happened with his hormone-driven brain.

"That's a nice way to wake up." Poppy whispered, not opening her eyes.

"S-sorry…" Branch was the one to pull apart. Her eyes fluttered open and she stretched, lazily. "I was just going to wake you up, but…"

"You don't have to apologize for kissing me." She blushed. The pie on the table caught her eyes. "I'm the one who should apologize, I didn't know if I could eat the pie, but I did get a slice."

He had missed the sparkle in her eyes, as he had feared. He was also surprised by her self-control. How could she leave another slice untouched? He would have eaten the whole thing by himself during a midnight snack.

"You can eat anything you want." He stated. She could come inside, open the fridge, the storeroom and get whatever pleased her without having to ask. That was how free he wanted her to feel in there.

"Holly was right. That's a really good pie." She purposely changed the subject. As usual, she stood up and started cleaning everything that seemed dirty. The pans, the silverware, the dishes and even the table he had used to place the ingredients while baking. Always multitasking, Branch wondered if she was capable of concentrating on one thing at the time.

"Just please don't spread the word." Branch tried to help her, but she nudged him away from the sink with a playful bump with her hips.

"You look tired. I got these." Poppy winked at him.

Branch noticed that she stole a quick glance at him, then her smile fell a little and she focused her eyes on the dishes.

"I came here to talk to you about Holly…" her voice quivered a little, puzzling him. "But what about you taking a shower while I finish this?"

Did he stink? He controlled the urge to raise his arm and sniff his armpits. He did spend the day hard-core baking, maybe his girlfriend had a point.

But it was only under the hot water that Branch noticed the dirt was the smallest of his problems. It seemed the blackbirds had managed to scratch him quite badly and he had bruises from the violent plants.

The bruises swelled up with the hot water and the cuts started to sting and bleed. So much for relaxing to get a good night of sleep.

Branch put on his pajamas and left the bathroom, almost bumping into his girlfriend who stood there waiting for him. He saw she had his first aid kit in her hands.

So, she had noticed.

"I'll take care of you." Poppy announced, leaving no room for protests

He obediently followed her until he was in his room, sitting on his bed with his hands tightly clasped together on his lap and barely breathing.

Poppy was unreadable. She focused on placing small band-aids on the deeper scratches. She also gave him an ice pack for his bruised cheeks.

"I wanted to ask you if you felt comfortable with the way Holly treated you." Her strawberry scented breath fanned his sensitive cheeks and he felt a chill running down his spine.

"Uh… I didn't like like it. But she understood my point of view in the end so… I guess it's okay now."

Focused on cleaning a cut, Poppy didn't blink, or reacted at all to what he had said. He only noticed she was lost in her thoughts when two minutes passed and she continued rubbing antiseptics on a simple scratch.

"Poppy…" he used a warning tone, which made her snap out of her thoughts and quickly look at him. "You don't have to talk to Holly on my behalf."

The last band-aid was in place and she checked his bruised cheek.

"I saw the blackbirds." Her voice was so small that he hardly heard her. "You are terrified of birds. It was cruel of her."

"She doesn't know I don't like birds." Branch pointed out, suddenly worried about Poppy's friendship with the centaur girl. The last thing he wanted was to have a great friendship ruined because of him.

"Their talons were sharp." Still too quiet, Branch noticed. "And the plants…"

"Let's say I'll think twice before Holly flatters me into another cooking project." There. He ended the tension with a simple solution. Or so he thought.

Poppy accepted his final word with a short nod. All bottles of medicine were back in their box and she carefully placed it on his side table.

It took an effort, Branch noticed, but she smiled at him.

His body seemed to melt down in exhaustion. His eyelids felt heavy like he was run over by the Dune Huggy. He knew he would sleep like the dead and thankfully the day after was a welcomed lazy Sunday.

Poppy quickly smooched his bruised cheek before standing up.

"Well, I'll go then." The bright smile he knew so well was back to its full sincerity. She quietly walked out of his room and started to close the door behind her. She hesitated for a moment and flashed him that pearly grin. "By the way. It was the best pie I ever had."

She closed the door.