Picturebook Romance
A Trolls fanfic
By Dreamsinger
Chapter Twelve
Sweet Notions
Note: The dreamy song I borrowed is called Everything, by Michael Buble.
-O-
A few minutes later Poppy watched as Branch popped a slightly-melted chocolate-covered caramel into his mouth and closed his eyes in bliss. "Mmmm."
"I take it you approve?" She grinned at him.
Her boyfriend nodded, rolling the gooey treat around in his mouth. He looked silly and cute and his lips were moving in a way she'd never noticed before and she idly wondered what they would feel like when he pressed his mouth on her bare skin and…
What? She shook her head. He's just eating some candy. Why am I thinking…
Oh. She blinked. Wait, am I fantasizing about him? Poppy closed her eyes, imagining his face near her body, kissing his way across her skin and- Oh my gosh I am!
She dropped her caramel, her face burning. "Oh, let me get that for you, Queen Poppy," said the candy vendor, a cheerful, bright plum-purple troll with a golden-yellow nose and brilliant red-orange hair, whose name was Fizzy Speckles. "Oh, dear, it's got dirt and grass all over it," he said, showing her the mucky caramel. Fizzy held out a tray of delicious-looking chocolates. "Please, have another one."
To hide her embarrassment, she took one, although she wasn't hungry anymore. It sat in her hand, melting and forgotten, as she stood there in a daze musing over these strange yet not unwelcome new thoughts.
It was one thing to hug Branch, or cuddle with him, or share gentle touches of affection. It was another thing to check out the handsome aquamarine troll - from a distance, or tease him about being cute, or even blatantly flirt with him, but this…this was on a whole other level.
Wow. I mean, yeah, I touched him yesterday, but I didn't know what I was doing. It was kind of spontaneous; he got out of the bath and I saw him and got really interested all of a sudden and before I knew it my hands were on him. And he just stood there and let me do it, so I kept going.
I wonder what would have happened if he hadn't stopped me? Do you think we might have-
Her mind sheered away as she blushed. Yeaahh, no. It would've been super awkward. From his reaction, I'm pretty sure he's never done it before, either. I almost wish now that I had; I could've helped ease him into it- Ack! Poppy blushed hotly at her unintentional double entendre, unthinkingly squashing the softening caramel as she clenched her fists. I – I mean, maybe if he'd been ready, we could have, but…
She pulled in a deep breath, blowing it out slowly in an attempt to calm her suddenly racing heart.
Settle down, girl, it's not likely to happen anytime soon. Face it, Poppy. This is Branch. The troll who spent ten years avoiding everyone? It's probably gonna be a while before he'll be ready for something like that, even though I know he's interested. He's the one who mentioned bedroom games, after all.
Actually, I'm kind of surprised at myself. I've been so busy focusing on how he feels about this whole dating thing that I haven't really stopped to think about how I feel. I mean, I don't regret what I did yesterday; in fact I wish I'd done it sooner, but even so, things between us changed so fast. Branch might call me 'the social one', but this…this is kind of a big deal here.
I've never wanted to touch anyone in 'that way' before. I didn't even realize I'd crossed a boundary; it felt so natural with him. But it's just as well I did, because if I'd stopped to think, I might not have. After all, Branch is all about boundaries. At least, he used to be. It's like now that he's finally opening up and letting me in, every day I feel closer to him. It's just finally become physical, that's all.
The pink troll sighed. I guess all I can do is keep doing what I did last night; focus on his needs and do what I can to help him get comfortable just being close to me. And think about all we have to look forward to.
She brightened. At least he promised me a kiss on our date; he even said he's imagined us kissing. I wonder what kind of kiss? Like, a little peck on the cheek, or did he mean one of those sweep-you-off-your-feet super-romantic kisses, like in plays, where the troll who gets kissed gets all steamy and swoony?
In her mind's eye she saw Branch wearing a loose white shirt with ruffles on his chest and sleeves, grandly dipping her toward the ground, his mouth warm on hers as he kissed her, slow and sweet. She giggled and sighed and put her hands to her cheeks, remembering too late about the melted caramel but hardly caring right then.
Maybe I should kiss him like that! Yeah, right, if I want to freak him out again. She grinned, dropping her hands as she turned to study him. Then again…it might be a good way to break the ice…
The young queen contemplated the one who drew her eye in a way no one else did as he stood there enjoying the chocolates; at once innocent and yet so compellingly male that she wondered that she'd never noticed before.
Well, maybe not never, but it had certainly been a long time since she'd looked at him in that way. Her brief puppy-love phase toward him as a young teenager had not been reciprocated.
Gee, that seems so long ago… Things feel so different now. When I look at him now, I kind of feel like I want to kiss him all over. I wonder if he wants to do the same to me?
Just then Branch swallowed the caramel and said, "I'm gonna have to try that."
"What?" Her voice cracked and she squished her caramel so hard it oozed out between her fingers.
"Coating them in chocolate, and warming them until they're soft. My bunker's great for keeping things cool so I don't have to worry much about food spoilage, but cold hard caramels just can't match the smooth, buttery-sweet flavor rush that these have. Fizzy, your chocolates are unbelievably good," he praised the plum-colored troll, who looked pleased and thanked him enthusiastically.
"Please, have as many as you like!" he gushed.
This time Branch chose a cute little piece in the shape of a heart. He held it in his mouth for a long moment, his eyes closed, surrendering to the silky flow of melting chocolate. "Mmm… Sublime. Absolutely sublime."
Poppy couldn't help but grin at the sight of him, his big soft nose swelling and releasing as he sighed lustily, a smile of sheer sensual pleasure on his sticky-sweet mouth. His lavender tongue emerged, gliding over the sugary residue on his lips, carefully securing every last trace of sweetness.
Mesmerized, Poppy unconsciously licked her own lips. I reeaally want to kiss him right now…his lips and his cheeks and his nose and…and those cute little lines near his eyes…and his ears and his chest and…
"Poppy, you're looking a little flushed, and your eyes are glassy. Are you feeling all right?"
She blinked as her boyfriend's face came into focus, his blue eyes full of concern. "I'm fine!" she said abruptly, and fanned herself with her clean hand. "Must be too much sun."
"But we're in the shade. The chocolates would melt otherwise."
She gave him an awkward grin, showing too many teeth. "Oh, right."
"Is something wrong, Queen Poppy?" Fizzy asked. "I notice you haven't eaten any of my chocolates. Are they not chocolatey enough?" He gasped. "Or are they too chocolatey?"
"No, no, they're fine."
"Poppy…" Branch took hold of her wrist, and turned her hand to reveal the golden-brown mess coating her palm. "I know you can go off in a trance sometimes, but you didn't even notice it melting, did you? And why is it all over your face?"
For once, she was the one too embarrassed to speak.
Branch exchanged a worried glance with Fizzy. "Poppy, what's the matter?"
"It's nothing!" she denied, wanting nothing more than to escape. In the back of her mind she suddenly realized that this was probably how Branch felt whenever he did something socially awkward, stirring a pang of sympathy for him. "I'm okay, really."
"Poppy, you're not okay. I can tell when something's bothering you."
A nearby troll asked, "Did you say something is bothering the queen?"
"What is?" another voice asked.
"I don't know, but Branch just said something is wrong with Queen Poppy."
More of the nearby trolls joined in, their voices becoming more and more frantic.
"Oh, no!"
"Is she sick?"
"Is she sad?"
"What should we do?"
She was trapped by dozens of anxious faces all begging her for reassurance.
"I'm fi-" she began automatically, terribly frazzled now, but was shocked into silence at someone's high-pitched cry.
"Is she turning gray again?"
Never! Suddenly she was back in that bleak bergen pot, crushed by guilt and despair as she awaited the slaughter of her people because of her heedless overconfidence. The jolt shot fire through her limbs and before she knew it, she was moving.
"Poppy!" Branch called.
"I'm gonna go wash up!" she cried over her shoulder. "Thank you for the chocolates, Fizzy!"
She darted to the edge of the market square, dodging and twisting around everyone in her path as she raced toward a small stream that flowed through a nearby patch of greenery. As she fled, the surprised faces of her people kept turning toward her; a blurry kaleidoscope of colors and voices. Why couldn't they just leave her alone for once?
Finally she reached the edge and plunged in, desperately hoping that no other trolls were in there enjoying the shady sanctuary. Relief flowed through her as she put some distance between her and the crowd, whose hectic babble faded, muted by the layers of foliage. The cool breeze felt good on her hot, sweaty face. She began to hear the sound of water trickling up ahead.
Almost there.
Then a dark shadow swung down in front of her and she hit something solid and knocked it down, landing on top of it hard enough for the shadow to let out a strangled "Oof!"
Slowly Poppy lifted her head, her sticky cheek peeling away from what felt like someone's clothes just as a pair of pained blue eyes opened in front of her.
"Hi," she said in a weak voice.
Branch put up a hand to rub the back of his head and groaned. "Poppy, what's going on?" he grumbled.
She hesitated, not sure how to broach the subject, but then their positions registered and she tried to spring up, but he threw his arms around her and pulled her against him. "Oh, no. You're not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong," he said firmly. Then his gaze softened, and he nudged her nose with his. "I'm really worried about you. I've never seen you act like this."
She shifted uneasily on top of him. "Nothing's wrong, exactly…" She looked to the side, unable to meet his concerned gaze. "I'm just…really embarrassed," she confessed sheepishly.
Branch raised an eyebrow. "Yeaah, no. Poppy, nothing embarrasses you." He rolled his eyes. "Remember that time you dressed up as a blob of phlegm to demonstrate why it's important to cover your face whenever you cough or sneeze?"
"Yeah, but this is different-"
"And I was embarrassed. You made me be the tissue!"
"I told you, I needed somebody to catch me when Biggie and Smidge blew The Nose."
"Ugh, don't remind me! I'm trying to block the entire mess out of my mind."
"Well, you should be glad I didn't ask Guy Diamond to play the part, or you'd have had to catch glitter-phlegm!"
To her surprise, he smiled up at her. "Now you sound more like yourself."
Her eyebrows shot up, one corner of her mouth dropping open as she realized what he'd done. "Sneaky," she said admiringly, and smiled warmly. "Thanks, Branch."
"You okay now?"
"Yeah."
He loosened his hold and she slid her legs to the sides and sat up, straddling his thighs. His yellow tank top clung to her hand before peeling off, revealing a caramel-and-chocolate handprint and a smudge where her face had been. She winced. "Ooo, speaking of messes… Sorry about that."
He glanced down at his tank top and frowned a little, but didn't let her comment distract him. A part of her had been hoping it might, but Branch rarely let anything put him off when his suspicions were roused.
"There's nobody around. Come on, tell me."
She tugged on the hem of her skirt, twisting it self-consciously, getting caramel all over it. "Heh, heh, well, I was watching you enjoying the chocolates and all of a sudden I started thinking about – Well, uh, remember that dream I was telling you about? The one about ice cream?"
"The one that made you want to - oh. Ohh…" Understanding crossed his face, and then his eyes bugged out. "Wait. You're thinking about that? Now?"
He looked down at where she was sitting and flushed a rich deep lavender. Poppy leaped to her feet just as he shoved himself back and up and a moment later two very flustered trolls stood several feet apart, blushing at one another.
She watched him swallow and grimace, stress lines creasing his skin. Once again she was hit by the memory of how he'd blocked her from hugging him yesterday when she got too close too fast and triggered his deep-seated fear of intimacy.
How awful to want it and fear it at the same time! What if he doesn't let me near him after this?
"I'm sorry, Branch! I didn't mean to do it!" She bit her lip and hung her head, staring down at the sun-dappled grass. Her ears weren't as mobile as his, but she could feel them wilting nonetheless.
In the brief silence a stronger gust of wind swept through the clearing, making the taller grass fronds dance and sway, and his soft voice drifted to her ears. "Hey. Hey, don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong," he said soothingly. "You just surprised me. Again." A note of humor entered his tone. "I should be getting used to that by now. But you know, Sunshine…"
His warm fingers lifted her chin as he bent close to smile into her eyes. "That's one of the things I love most about you."
She managed to smile back, but she still felt off. She wasn't used to having to tiptoe around someone else's feelings like this. It unsettled her.
He read her face, and his gaze turned inward for a moment. "You know, I'm not the only one who's sneaky around here."
She gave him a surprised look as he stepped back and gave her a grin. "I see what you're doing, talking about this mysterious dream of yours without sharing any details, miss flirty-flirt. Well, it just so happens I know the perfect song for that."
He began to sway, tilting his head as a dreamy smile grew on his lips. Her spirits began to pick up, delighted as always when Branch chose to express his feelings through song. In a village full of singers, no one else's voice had ever captured her heart so completely.
When Branch sang, she was his, wholeheartedly.
You're a falling star
You're the getaway cart
You're the line in the sand
When I go too far
He mimed drawing a line, then spread his arms out to the sides, palms up, smiling charmingly at her. Then he turned his face to the sky, running his fingers amorously through his hair, giving the impression that he was brushing wet hair away from the beckoning smile he turned toward her as he crooned,
You're the swimming pool
On an August day
And you're the perfect thing to say
Poppy glided up to him, smiling nose-to-nose as she clasped her hands together under her chin and sang,
And you play it coy
But it's kinda cute
He winked and waggled a finger in her direction as he countered,
Oh, when you smile at me
You know exactly what you do
She responded,
Baby, don't pretend
That you don't know it's true
'Cause you can see it when I look at you
Branch took over, gliding and leaping and spinning, his unrestrained passion for her a delight to see.
And in this crazy life
And through these crazy times
It's you, it's you
You make me sing
He bowed gracefully, his hand held out toward her, and her heart flipped as he went on,
You're every line
You're every word
You're everything
Her boyfriend continued to strut and whirl, performing his own special love-dance just for her, and the queen of the trolls blissfully drank it all in.
You're a carousel
You're a wishing well
And you light me up
When you ring my bell
She gestured to him, shaking her head with a lighthearted grin.
You're a mystery
You're from outer space
You're every minute of my every day
Poppy felt a thrill race down her spine as his glorious, sensual voice rang out.
And I can't believe that I'm your man
And I'll get to kiss you, baby, just because I can
She vowed faithfully,
Whatever comes our way
Oh, we'll see it through
And you know that's what our love can do
The young lovers raised their voices in harmony, an effortless blending that never failed to make her quiver with joy.
And in this crazy life
And through these crazy times
It's you, it's you
You make me sing
You're every line
You're every word
You're everything
So laa, laa, laa, la
Laa, la, laa
So laa, laa, laa, la
Laa, la, laa
Branch picked her up and swooped her around, their hair streaming behind them, gazing at her with such jubilant adoration it took her breath away.
And in this crazy life
And through these crazy times
It's you, it's you!
You make me sing!
You're every line
You're every word
You're everythi-i-ing!
You're every song
Can I sing along?
'Cause you're my everything
Yeah, yeah
So la laa laa la, laa la laaa
So la laa laa la, laa la la laa
La la la-ah-a
When he'd given her his heart, he'd given her all of him, too.
He set her on her feet with one hand on the small of her back holding her close to him while the other came up to cup her cheek. She gazed up at him, her entire body tingling with expectation. He began to lean toward her. She closed her eyes, her heart pounding as his breath crossed her lips.
She waited, and waited some more. Finally she looked up to see stress lines deepening around his eyes, his body stiffening against her. Then he kissed her nose and let her go so abruptly that she had to quick-shuffle her feet to keep from tipping over.
"Wh-wha-"
Branch was staring off into the distance, his hands clasped behind his back. "Sorry. I want to kiss you, I really do. I just-I get the feeling that if I do, I'll start something I won't be able to stop. And this isn't the right time or place for - you know."
She gazed at him longingly. "We could go back to my pod. Or even your bunker, if that's-"
"It's not just that. I know you want to…be close to me. I want to be close to you, too. I want things to be perfect, with none of this-" He waved a hand between them, indicating the tension in the air.
She understood. He was afraid that if he tried to make love to her, he'd freak out and ruin it for both of them. Still, as much as she wanted to help him fulfil his dream, his expectations were a little unrealistic. And what about her dreams?
Poppy tried to sound calm and reassuring. "Branch. It doesn't have to be perfect. Besides, I'm sure the first time is a little scary for every troll."
He just shook his head.
"Arrgh!"She resisted the urge to grab her hair and pull. "Branch, you've got to move forward sometime!"
"I know!" His face was full of frustration as they glared at one another.
She huffed. "This isn't easy for me either, you know? I'm new at this, too!"
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I know I'm oversensitive!"
His admission helped to cool her temper. He saw her calm down, and his own expression shifted to one of regret. His ears dipped. "Listen, Poppy, I'll - I'll try to be more assertive. I will try." He sighed deeply, his body slumping. "I just wish I could hold onto the way I feel when I'm singing. If only I were more like the other trolls-"
She stopped him with a finger on his lips. "Okay, first of all, honestly, I think it's sweet that you're so sensitive. And second, I didn't fall in love with any of the other trolls, I fell in love with the most special guy I know." Her voice grew husky. "The special guy who's sensitive enough to know when I'm not okay and who understands exactly how to make me feel better."
She began to lift her finger from his lips, but he took hold of her wrist. He stared at her extended finger, still coated with sugary caramel/chocolate, and then his blue eyes met hers. Tentatively, he brought her hand to his mouth and his tongue slid out to lick at the caramel.
Her breath caught. He did it again, slowly dragging his softly rough tongue up from the base of her finger, tilting his head as if he were tasting an ice cream cone, his careful gaze never leaving hers. She swallowed, her belly quivering as his tongue caressed her finger again, and again.
Branch began to smile a little, his confidence growing at her spellbound response. He opened his mouth a little wider and then hesitated, his eyes flicking to the sides, signaling his inner indecision. Then he looked into her eyes and lifted his eyebrows a little. She managed to nod and smile at him, a shivery, flustered, giddy smile, and his mouth closed over the tip of her finger.
Fire rushed through her, matching the hot wet heat wrapped around her finger as his tongue swirled and scraped, lifting away the sticky residue. Slowly, he sucked on her finger and she felt it all the way down to her toes. His eyes were so big and dark and hypnotic she felt as if she were floating on a cloud made of glitter and lightning. She needed to open her mouth to get enough air.
Tiny lines appeared in the corners of his eyes. He seemed pleased at her response, or maybe amused, but she was too far gone to care. Slowly he let her finger slide out of his mouth, only to draw her back in, using his soft lips to hold her. For a moment he was still.
Her heart throbbed.
Then he made a silly loud slurping sound, rapidly dabbing at her finger with the tip of his tongue. "Mm, delicious!"
"Ahh, Braanch!" she half-scolded, half-laughed, as his spell over her was broken. She twisted her finger inside his mouth to grab his tongue, capturing it.
His eyes crossed and he let out a funny noise that might have been her name. She giggled. He made eye contact with her and bounced his eyebrows at her a few times and she burst out laughing and let him go, planting her hands on her hips. "And you say I'm the flirt!"
He laughed too, as happy and carefree a sound as she could ever want to hear from him. And then she was in his arms again. Oh, how good it felt to hold him close, letting his warmth soak into her, to bury her face in his neck and enjoy his willing closeness.
"Wanna know a secret?" he whispered in her ear. "There have been times I've caught myself watching the way your hips sway when you walk."
His breath made her ear tingle. His words made the rest of her tingle, too. She smiled against the side of his neck and pressed herself against him, letting him know exactly how she felt about that.
Just like that morning, both of them seemed to need the solace of one another's arms, a brief, sweet respite as they readied themselves to face the world again. Poppy let herself sink into him, focusing on his reassuring heartbeat and the tangy-sweet smell of his skin. One of his hands began stroking her back and she focused on that touch, warm and electric and soothing all at once.
Some troll's voice called out to his friend nearby, and Branch jumped. Poppy loosened her hold but he clung to her, softly moaning in protest. She was touched at how he didn't want to let her go, even though she knew he was afraid that someone would see them. "Come on, lover boy," she chuckled fondly. "We don't want them to send out a search party. Besides, I need to apologize to everyone for worrying them."
"Oh, you're okay on that score," he assured her as he released his hold and stepped back. "I talked to everyone before I followed you. I told them you were fine; that you'd just remembered something you forgot to do. You're covered."
She gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Branch."
He plucked at the smeared handprint on his chest and looked glumly at the water. "You don't happen to have any soap with you, do you? I don't think plain water's going to cut it."
As she shook her head, examining her grubby dress and dirty hands – when had the other hand gotten all sticky? – Branch sighed in resignation. "Well, here's another outfit to add to the wash pile. Listen Poppy, I'm gonna need to head out to my bunker to grab some clothes and pick up some supplies. Like soap. And-"
"I've got a better idea. Instead of going all the way out to your bunker, why don't we drop by the twins' tent and pick up some new outfits? We can choose something super-duper-awesome for the Beadfest. I should have thought of it yesterday, actually, but for some reason," she smiled at him sweetly, "I must've been distracted."
Author's Note:
The dreamy song I borrowed is called Everything, by Michael Buble. I altered a couple of words to make it fit, like 'cart' instead of 'car' and '"I'll" get to kiss you' rather than 'I' since he hasn't yet kissed her.
I hope you enjoyed this musical interlude. I wanted to have our lovely young couple start truly noticing one another, and being more open to the idea of starting a physical relationship, and being honest with one another about it. One of the things I admire most about troll culture is how open they are about, well, everything.