Glasses

Poppy had never felt her heart so full. Branch had taken her out to dinner the day before and he held her hand in public. She didn't have to say a word. He just closed his fingers around hers and remained that way until they said goodnight in front of her pod. They both knew they were being watched from every window, which probably stopped him from going inside.

So, of course, the happiest of queens had come up with a plan so her boyfriend and she would spend more days together. It had been a month since they did any kind of research on how trolls found life in Trollstopia to be. Obviously, everybody was happy, but if they could take the survey monthly then she'd require Branch's assistance more often.

"Branchfer!" Poppy said in a sing-song, knocking on the trapdoor before using her key to get inside. "I have this lovely idea - oh…" the bright pink queen stopped in the middle of the hall, completely shocked.

Her boyfriend was napping on his favorite chair, with a book opened on his lap. And wearing glasses! She had absolutely no idea that Branch wore glasses to read! By all that was troll-y, she had to squish him!

Holding back her giggles by biting her lower lip, Poppy tiptoed next to him, noticing how handsome he looked. The glasses looked brand new. Perhaps Branch had just gotten them? The pink girl wondered if she was the first troll to witness such an adorable scene.

Okay, so maybe before squishing her extremely huggable boyfriend, Poppy thought it was better to work on his mood, because - oh boy - he would be mad at her if she just jumped him.

A quick trip to the kitchen to pour some coffee- the best crankiness medicine - and fill up a tray with cupcakes that she had found inside the oven… and of course, she took the liberty to sprinkle more chocolate on top of them.

Her bursting heart then slowly subsided to tenderness. How could it not? When Branch was leaning on the back of the armchair, looking so carefree, sweet, and cute? Poppy wondered if that kind of moments were his special quiet treasures after having a very difficult life, after being edgy for years and worrying about their safety.

He deserved to relax.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. Books, a lullaby, and maybe some blankets were a great reward after all he had worked that week.

Poppy decided to leave him to rest and set the tray on the side table. He would know she had dropped by, so she decided to leave him a note. All she needed was a piece of paper and…

"Poppy…?" Her heart skipped a beat, not because she was caught, but because Branch said her name in the middle of a stretch, a bit confused, but so at ease with her being there that it reminded her of when they shared her pod after she had broken her hair. She blushed at the thought.

"Sorry," She held back the shyness by hiding it behind a grin. "I wanted to leave you a snack and I was just leaving."

"Uh…" Branch smiled broadly. "Fresh coffee…"

"Yes," and this time, she couldn't fight the giggles. Branch looked like he could sleep even more, but she handed him the cup of the steaming nectar of life. "I thought you would like some."

Uncharacteristically patient, Poppy followed Branch's movements. He slowly raised the cup to his face and puckered his lips to take a sip, pausing briefly to take in the smell. And his glasses got steamed up. He looked back at her with a white wall over his eyes that caused Poppy to finally burst out in giggles.

"Yeah… forgot about those." He half laughed, pretending to be in a bad mood, but failing miserably. He set the glasses aside and took another sip of coffee.

"Since when do you wear glasses, anyway?" Poppy walked closer, feeling the need to touch him somehow. She sat on the arm of the chair, snatching a cupcake to have something to busy herself with as she came up with a plan to dig her hands in his hair. It was extremely intimate, but maybe he wouldn't mind.

"Last week," he groaned at the annoying memory. "I couldn't see the screwdriver as I tightened a screw so I went to doctor Moonbloom." He rolled his eyes, "after saying I was doomed a couple of times she announced I'm spending too much time underground. I developed astigmatism and it looks like I'll need glasses to read if I want to avoid a headache."

He put the empty cup on the tray and lazily slid his hand on Poppy's lower back, who melted like butter and hurried to invade his personal space by jumping on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Not that I mind," Branch said before he could question her, "but what are you doing here?"

"Oh…" she wanted to spend time with him? She wanted to cuddle? She felt like flirting her mind off to get a kiss? There were so many possible answers and they were all true that she felt a bit confused if she could voice them all. "I want to make the five pages survey a monthly thing and I wondered if you could help."

Branch blinked a couple of times. Poppy could almost see his brain working. Today Poppy? In the middle of a Sunday? Talking about surveys? Luckily, that was not what he ended up saying.

"Just don't drag me into a song where we dress like paper and pen."

"Oh, I would never!"

"I mean it." His finger poked her side, tickling her. "Why would you want to take monthly surveys, anyway?"

'Because I want you working right next to me every time possible because suddenly I feel like I need more excuses to squeeze you into every activity I come up with because you were so sweet taking me on that beautiful date and I feel like I want to stick with you like bubblegum to your hair!' Those were her hushed and excited thoughts, but of course, I wasn't what Poppy said.

"I want to see if we're improving. After all, I rescheduled all the games to cram in more parties." She squealed and he grunted.

"You want me to do the math part for you." He replied smartly.

"Would you wear those glasses while doing it?"

She knew her eyes were shining in delight and she didn't try to deny it. Branch tried to hide a blush because he loved when she looked at him like that, although he would never voice it. In response, he hugged her tighter and tried to focus on the cupcakes to avoid any more embarrassing moments.

Poppy had loved his glasses.