Picturebook Romance

A Trolls fanfic

By Dreamsinger

Chapter Thirteen

Check Me Out

The fashionista twins had put up an enormous tent crammed at random with racks of clothes. The aisles were too narrow for my taste; someone like Biggie would be hard-pressed to squeeze through them. I'd scolded them about that before, but they pointed out that he mostly made his own clothes anyway, or the twins made clothes especially for him, so he wasn't likely to ever be in their tent anyway. I'd had to yield to their logic; they did know their clientele.

Clashing colors and patterns assaulted my eyes before we even went inside, practically shouting "Look at me!" "No, look at me!"

For a troll who prefers understated colors and camouflage patterns, the idea of wearing most of the things the twins designed was like holding up a huge flashing sign saying 'Come eat me!' But, since we have made peace with our number-one predator, the bergens, even I had to admit there was no harm in dressing up once in a while.

I had insisted on rubbing dirt into Poppy's handprint on the front of my tank top to disguise it, even though Poppy looked at me like I'd gone crazy. I'd shrugged. "What? I have to wash it anyway." Even so, as I followed Poppy through throng of festivalgoers, I could have sworn that a lot of trolls were staring at us as we passed. Mostly at me. Haven't they ever seen dirty clothes before?

But I told myself, Come on, don't let the old paranoid Branch ruin this, and determinedly resisted the urge to dive into the nearest bush to hide.

Before we'd even gotten inside, Poppy's eye was caught by a neon orange, yellow and green zebra-striped feathered-and-beaded cape displayed on the outer wall of the tent. "You know what, you go on ahead. I want to look at this."

I groaned, but obliged her. We'd stopped at one of the public wash-pods to clean our hands and faces, so it was safe to touch the clothes on display as long as we were careful not to brush up against any of them.

There didn't seem to be anyone in the tent, so I took a minute to look around. Overcrowded racks groaned under the weight of heavy bead-laden clothes in every popular style, and then some. Taken individually, many were quite beautiful and/or unique, but altogether it was like being in the middle of an orchestra, fog horns blaring.

Besides the usual cotton, felt, silk, and satin, I spotted feathers, fur and fuzz, glitter, gauze and gilded fabrics, all decorated with beads that were themselves carefully chosen to complement the outfit and make a statement. Whether the statement was something you'd want to hear was another thing.

To be fair, a lot of the outfits looked really fabulous. It was just that for the most part, they were too impractical for me to consider wearing for more than a few hours. No wonder so many trolls, including Poppy, were famous for outfit-swapping during lengthy parties.

My first instinct was to separate the clothes into groups; to work out a system to categorize it all and make charts and graphs and it would take hours and… I tore my eyes away before I could give in to the urge. "Satin? Chenille?" I called out. "I could use some help here!"

"Just a moment, Branch!" one of them responded, and the hair-linked pair came hurrying toward me from the back of the tent, where I now saw they had an open area for trolls to try on clothes while the twins did quick alterations to better fit their customers.

"What happened to you?" Chenille pointed at my filthy tank top.

Avoiding the expected question, I said breezily, "Oh, I just had a bit of a mishap." Then I asked the magic question; the one that I knew would unequivocally divert their attention. "Can you help me pick out something to wear for Beadfest?"

Their eyes lit up the same way mine did when someone said 'Inventory Day'.

"Makeover Opportunity accepted!" they cried gleefully. "But first, what do you think of our Beadfest outfits?" Each of them struck a dramatic pose, wearing matching eye-blinding fashion model smiles. They both wore a multitude of round shapes, but, as I had come to expect, their outfits couldn't be more different.

"Very…spherical," I said wryly. "A globe-changing phenomenon."

"Oh, I get it… Good one!" Chenille laughed.

Satin looked blank. "What?"

Chenille and I traded grins. Trolls in general didn't get my sense of humor, but Chenille was better at it than most.

"What did I miss?" Satin asked.

"Nothing," I reassured her. "I just meant I liked your outfit." With reservations. It looks like it weighs a ton.

The pink troll was moving heavily under the weight of a sleeveless dress entirely covered in small ceramic beads. Mosaic-like, it depicted a scene of a beautiful gold-and-pink sunrise over a lake.

"If you like this one, I have a similar outfit here." Satin shuffled to a nearby rack and, with difficulty, held up an equally bead-laden shirt-and-slacks set. This one had a mosaic of a pretty aqua-blue waterfall with rainbows rising from the misty clouds at its base.

The lovely scene struck an unexpected cord in me. Rainbows… a waterfall and rainbows…

Satin broke in on my thoughts. "So, what do you think? Would you like to try it on?"

I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Time to use some of my hard-won social skills.

"Wow, Satin, that is a work of art," I said warmly, because it was. "But, honestly, it's the kind of thing I'd prefer to hang on my wall to admire. I think I need something a little lighter and easier to move in. You know, just in case."

"Oh, Branch. You still think the bergens are going to attack us?" Chenille groaned as Satin, mollified at my praise, carefully hung the sunrise outfit back on the rack.

"No, I need to be ready in case I have to join in on a spontaneous song-and-dance number. You know how Poppy is." I wasn't being sarcastic, and judging by their giggles, the twins knew it. I felt compelled to add, "But now that you mention it, maybe… You know, there are other dangers besides bergens. It never hurts to be ready."

They exchanged an indulgent glance. "Of course, Branch," they chorused.

"Then would you like to have this outfit after Beadfest is over, to hang on your wall?" Satin gestured at herself.

"Really?" I asked, pleased. "Well, sure, if you don't think you'll need it again." I gave her a mellow smile. "Thank you, Satin."

Chenille provided an unsolicited interpretation of her sister's motivation. "You need some color in that monotonous earth-toned bunker of yours."

Goodbye smile, hello annoyed frown. Now I was sarcastic. "Uh, it's a bunker…" I shifted my weight to one hip, stretching my eyes wide and gesturing in the air, palm up to emphasize my point. "It's supposed to be earth-toned..."

Like Poppy, the twins had remarkably selective hearing.

"Well, if you want something lightweight, how about an outfit like mine?" Chenille suggested. The periwinkle-blue twin wore a thin body suit entirely covered in large, multicolored balloons, which to my eye made her resemble an unwieldy bunch of grapes.

How did she even get in here? There's no way she could have fit through those clothing racks.

"Well, that's certainly lightweight, and very…unique, but don't the balloons get in your way?"

"I know, right? So impractical!" Satin interrupted before her sister could answer.

Chenille scoffed, "Says the troll who can barely move! You know-"

Satin retorted, "Well, at least I'm dressed for the correct holiday. Balloons are not beads!"

"It's bead-inspired!"

"Guys!" I had to break this up. From experience, I knew this could last for hours. "A little help, please?"

"Oh, right…"

They turned to look me over. "Those aren't your normal clothes."

"Yes, we noticed earlier that you were wearing an…outfit."

That was twin-speak for 'It's so awful we think you should be ashamed to be seen in public in it, but we're being polite.'

"Yeah, well, like Poppy told you earlier, I'm trying something new." A lot of new things, actually. Starting with secretly dating the queen of the village. New hairstyles and clothes actually come pretty far down the list in terms of the impact the last twenty-four hours has made on the entire course of my life.

"Speaking of Poppy, where is she?" asked Satin.

My old friends Secrecy and Suspicion kicked in. "Why would I know where she is?"

Chenille shrugged. "You were with her earlier."

"And you're…best friends, aren't you?" I caught the slight hesitation in Satin's comment and wondered if she'd meant anything by that, but she only gave me the same friendly look as her sister.

Well, they were valid reasons. "She's outside looking at some…outfits." I smirked.

Chenille frowned, but Satin smiled brightly. "I see. So, you want to look especially nice today, do you?"

I didn't answer; just stared at them, trying to put my finger on what felt so off about this conversation. Why do I have the feeling that there's a lot more going on in the subtext here?

Finally I nodded. "Sure." I decided not to mention that Beadfest wasn't my only reason for wanting to look nice.

They began to circle me, chins in hands, glancing back and forth between me and the dozen or more racks of clothing spread haphazardly throughout the long tent. I shifted uncomfortably, still unaccustomed to being the object of so much avid feminine attention. Then something occurred to me.

I tried to sound casual. "Hey, guys, since I'm here, I was wondering…would you consider me attractive?"

Both of them froze. They exchanged a wide-eyed look before turning back to me. "What makes you ask?" asked Chenille.

"Is there some troll out there you're trying to impress?" Satin queried me.

"What?" My mouth dropped open. How did she jump to that conclusion so fast? "No," I lied, looking away from them and hoping I wasn't blushing. "I'm just…curious," I said awkwardly, engaging in some selective hearing of my own, deliberately ignoring Satin's question. I tried to relax my posture. "I mean, I've always assumed I had a certain rough-and-tumble charm, but nothing that could be classified as…well…"

I couldn't say what I suspected; that Poppy's feelings for me colored me pretty in her eyes. Being good -looking had never been hugely important to me before; but then again, no troll had ever seemed to find me attractive before, so it had been easy to assume I wasn't.

But now, in the presence of two of the most appearance-conscious trolls in the village, suddenly it seemed to be the right time and place to ask the question.

"You want to know if you look hot," Chenille said bluntly.

I recoiled, ready to deny it again, then gave up. "Yeah." I felt my ears wilting, and braced myself for some comment about them.

Satin replied, "Let's just say, if you were a vegetable, you'd be a pepper."

"What?"

Chenille chimed in. "Yeah, and if you were fruit, you'd be a passion fruit."

"And if you were a-"

"Guuys!" I sighed. "Look, I know that as trolls you like to be positive, but you don't have to sugar-coat it. I just want an honest opinion." I reached out and placed a hand on each of theirs, making eye contact, first with Chenille, then Satin. "I don't have a lot of people I feel comfortable asking about stuff like this, and it's really important to me. So please, all metaphors aside, yes or no; am I handsome?"

I didn't realize I was holding my breath until both of them said, "Yes," without hesitation.

"Whew! Thanks, you guys."

Content now, I turned my attention to some of the nearby clothing and behind me I heard a soft intake of breath, hushed murmurs of discovery and a light giggle.

I spun around. "What?"

They grinned at one another, and Satin said playfully, "You didn't ask us about your looks out of idle curiosity, diiid you?"

Chenille teased, "Yeah, you had something else in mind, diiidn't you?"

"Or someone in mind, yeeess?"

"Yes. No. Ye-" I began to sweat. "Wh-what makes you say that?"

"You have caramel handprints on your back."

"What?" I yelped before I could stop myself, my voice cracking. I tore off my tank top and stared in horror. Sure enough, there were several overlapping prints from Poppy's hands, including one that was short one finger, the one I'd 'cleaned' for her. So that's what everyone was staring at. Arggh, half the village probably suspects by now! Why didn't Poppy tell me?

"Oh, heh heh, must've happened at Hug Time. Somebody had sticky hands, I guess," I said halfheartedly, wondering if I was fooling anybody.

To my surprised, the twins merely chorused, "Aww, tough luck, Branch."

Satin began, "Well, why don't you get rid of those things-" and Chenille finished, "-and we'll have you try on some fashion marvels!"

I looked at the sisters for a second, then shrugged. I must be a better actor than I thought.

I turned the tank top inside out to keep the mess contained, removed my shorts and then wrapped the tank top inside them and tucked the package into my hair. I turned to face the twins, expecting them to start issuing orders, but oddly, both of them just stood there and stared at me with wide eyes and open mouths.

It was a little creepy. You'd think they'd never seen a naked troll before. Which is impossible, considering their occupation.

"Uh, guys?" I waved a hand in front of them. "Hello?"

Both of them jumped. "Oh, right," said Chenille, sounding distracted.

"You don't wear underwear?" Satin asked. "Interesting."

"Oh no, I do, usually. I just didn't, uh, have any clean pairs this morning when I got dressed. I'm planning on doing some laundry soon," I babbled.

"We can find you some to wear," Satin reassured me, reaching out to pat my shoulder.

Her touch calmed me, and I smiled. "I'm glad I have friends like you looking after me," I said appreciatively. Sometimes I still forgot I could rely on others for help.

Chenille joined her sister, patting my other shoulder. "Anytime, Branch."

Her hand hesitated, then slid down my arm, squeezing my bicep, then moved back up and across my chest. Satin began to run her hands across my back. Assuming they were estimating my measurements, I held out my arms perpendicular to my body, and waited patiently for them to finish.

For the second time in as many days I had hands stroking my bare skin; my chest, my stomach, my back, my butt, my arms and legs. But where Poppy's touch was exciting, the twins' touch felt soothing, like a gentle massage; the caring touch of good friends.

Then I felt a squeeze. "Oh!" I said involuntarily. There was another squeeze on the other cheek and I turned my head to see each of them standing with a hand on my butt, grinning at me. "What are you guys doing?"

"Just checking," Satin responded with an enigmatic smile as they let me go.

"Checking what? To see if I've gained weight?"

"Well, you've gained something, but it isn't weight." Chenille slid her periwinkle-blue hand across my chest again.

"Oh, you noticed I've been working out more, huh?" I said, pleased at the recognition.

Impulsively I struck a strong-man pose, throwing out my chest and flexing my biceps. It seemed to mesmerize them, their eyes traveling up and down my body with a kind of awed look. Was I that buff now?

"What do you think?"

"Nice…" they murmured together.

Satin met her sister's eyes. "This is going to be fun."

I was curious. "Do I really look that different?"

"No, not so much," Chenille replied. "But we can tell."

"It's part of our profession to study the body and see what types of clothing work best on each one." Satin smiled at me and patted my side. "Your body is still about the same shape as always, but your muscles are harder, and they have more definition."

Poppy noticed, too. I nearly said it aloud, but I didn't want to be accused of hiding a secret girlfriend again. Because I was.

Chenille ran both hands over my upper arms. "It's not often we see trolls with such nice biceps."

"Very commendable," Satin agreed.

I knew what they meant. Most trolls use their hair for any tasks that require serious power, so their shoulders and upper arms tend to be on the slender side.

"So why did you decide to start working out?" Chenille poked my ribs hard enough to tickle, and I twitched reflexively.

"Okay, technically, I've always worked out," I explained. "You've seen my home gym, right? I've just stepped up my workout a little. See, I wanted to be ready for Poppy – I mean, you know how she has this habit of springing surprises on me, so I wanted to be ready – Although an adventure with Poppy kind of counts as a workout anyway, but still…"

In trying to avoid talking about how much I'd wanted Poppy to notice me, I was getting tangled up in my own logic, but it didn't seem to bother my friends.

"So you started working out more for Poppy?" asked Satin.

"Yeah," I said warily. "You could say that."

"Right answer," they both responded, smiling, and I blinked.

"Huh?"

There was a crash near the front of the long tent. I whipped my head around and didn't see the cute pink form I expected anywhere. Then I noticed one of the racks had collapsed, probably from the combined weight of so many beads.

I started to turn back to the twins, but my instincts made me hesitate. "Poppy?"

A soft moan answered me.

"Poppy!"

Author's Note:

I know in Trolls: The Beat Goes On series that Poppy and her friends seem squeamish about seeing other characters in their underwear, but that may be because as a kids' show, the creators have to promote the standard nudity taboo of our culture. However, since in Trolls Holiday, Biggie graphically demonstrates a holiday called Tearaway Pants Day, I decided to interpret that (and the whole 'glitter trolls don't wear clothes') as a sign that casual nudity is not a big deal in the trolls' culture. As long as people are just going about their business, it's fine.

Physical displays of affection in public are a different matter. Since the trolls have a custom called Hug Time that allows them to express affection in a healthy way in public, I decided that they probably reserve the more intimate types of touching for just their lovers, in private. Unless TBGO turns out to be 100% canon, which I doubt.

That's why Branch didn't mind the twins touching him until they started getting too grabby and began to cross the acceptable boundaries of public touching. In the next chapter we'll see Poppy's view of this scene, as I imagine someone raised in her culture would see it.

The 'Inventory Day' joke is a reference to the day when a business decides to take inventory of the physical contents in its building. It's usually considered hugely boring and yet stressful because it's easy to overlook something or get the count wrong and then end up having to track down errors. Branch, of course, probably does inventory at least monthly, and easily keeps track of everything down to the last acorn. I figure he would enjoy it especially because it would represent how much he'd accomplished, in terms of collecting supplies.

The 'outfit-swapping' comment is based on something mentioned in the extras on the dvd, where Poppy is modeling a multitude of outfits the twins made for her, each meant for a different segment of the same party.