-O-

Picturebook Romance

A Trolls fanfic

By Dreamsinger

Chapter Seventeen

Tell Me True

Poppy and I played on the boingo fruits for a while longer, but my near-accident had dampened my enjoyment. I hated looking like a fool in front of the other trolls, especially Poppy.

Eventually I ended up sitting alone on my boingo fruit at the edge of the meadow, trying not to get caught up in troubling memories from my past while I watched over the field of gleefully bobbing newly-helmeted trolls, systematically noting that each individual troll had their own preferred style of bouncing.

As I might have expected, Poppy soon noticed my absence, and then when she spotted me, my unhappy frown. She bounced to a stop next to me, her topknot fluttering cutely through the opening in the top of her pink helmet. "Cheer up, Branch. Listen, you achieved a goal today! Everyone will wear helmets after this, probably for more things than just boingo riding."

"Yeah, I know, but no one's laughing at you."

"Oh, come on, no one is-"

Just then a pair of trolls hopped by on either side of us, hooting raucously. "Yeah, and remember the time he knocked over that cake?" one shouted.

"Which time?" the other troll called back, and both of them practically fell off their boingo fruits, they were laughing so hard. Other trolls joined in, and I ducked my head, blushing furiously and glaring at Poppy, who was biting her lip as she tried to suppress a snigger of her own.

"Go ahead. Laugh it up," I said sourly. Am I ever gonna live that down?

"Sorry, Branch, but it was funny," she said through her chuckle, whose sheer adorableness began to pull my attention from my grumpy thoughts without my permission. "Even the time at the funeral. I practically died myself, trying not to laugh."

I suddenly pictured a teenage Princess Poppy, cute and silly and giggly, going cross-eyed trying to keep a straight, respectful face as her father the King officiated the event, and before I knew it I was spluttering with the same kind of wacky crazy laughter we'd shared last night.

I tried to stop, but then Poppy started making funny faces at me. I looked away, trying to get myself under control, but every time I looked back at her, she pulled another one, and I started chuckling despite myself. Then, I don't know how she did it, but all of a sudden she stretched out her face – mong! – and looked exactly like Cooper. Blue dreadlocks and everything. I completely lost it, giggling helplessly and clutching my stomach for support.

I wasn't the only one laughing. The entire field was cracking up with chortles, hoots and guffaws. Then random trolls started dropping off their boingos, too weak from laughing to hold on. Those who landed on their new helmets hardly seemed to notice, I noted with pride, rolling on the grass with their legs in the air.

"All right, all right!" I held up my hands, grinning broadly at Poppy. "I give up! You win, okay? Now stop doing that before somebody gets squashed."

My perky girlfriend settled down and beamed at me, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. The sight of her joyful face was more than enough to remind me why I called her Sunshine.

The other trolls began to recover and remount their boingos fruits, and soon the field was full of hippity-hop happiness again. I reached up and wiped the tears of laughter from my eyes, heaving a big sigh of gladness and relief.

I wanted to hug my girl for cheering me up but settled for reaching across the space between our boingos to twine my hair affectionately with hers. "Thanks, Poppy. I don't know what I'd do without you. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

"Just returning the favor, Branch," Poppy said, her voice soft and husky. I didn't have to ask her what she meant. I was just glad that I had been able to be the positive troll Poppy had needed so much right then in that dark bergen pot to help her recover her confidence in herself.

But I didn't want to think about that now. I was in a good mood. In fact, I was feeling a little frisky now. Quickly I glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to us, then gave her a teasing half-grin.

"So, Poppy…wanna know what distracted me so much I forgot to follow my own safety protocols?"

"What?"

I leaned slowly toward her and she matched me, her expression innocent, expectant. Then when she got as close as our boingo fruits would let her, I lifted a hand to hide what I was doing from the trolls in the field and used the other to blow her a kiss.

"You."

Her jump of surprise was hard enough to lurch her boingo fruit and jolt her feet into the air. "Wh-whoa," she blurted out as she went over backwards.

Grinning, I tightened my grip on her hair and tugged her upright. Ha, just look at her blush! That's almost worth the public embarrassment.

My rosy queen swiped a hand playfully in my direction. "Oh, you," she said, her tone full of affectionate tolerance. She rubbed a hand across her stomach, making a small sound of discomfort.

"Still bothering you?" I asked, tensing my own stomach muscles to test them. Much better, thankfully, but not quite back to normal.

"Just a little," she replied. "The exercise helped."

"Yeah, me too. But between this workout and the battering I got from the boingos, I think I'm really gonna feel this in the morning."

"Well, if you do, tell me. I'll give you a massage," she offered cheerfully.

"Thanks."

"Any time, Branch," she said sweetly.

I glanced down to take hold of the boingo fruit rope and then froze. Wait. A massage in the morning? Is she expecting us to share a bed again tonight?

I felt the first hint of nervousness. Flirting in public was relatively safe, after all; it could only go so far. Also, I'd discovered that I enjoyed the challenge of pushing the boundaries to see just how much we could get away with before everyone caught on. But what's going to happen when we're alone together again? Will she expect us to-

"So, Branch…wanna play with me?" she said invitingly.

I gave her a startled look. "What, here? Poppy…" I couldn't decide whether to be amused, intrigued or scandalized, glancing around quickly to see if anyone had noticed.

"What?" Her eyes widened. "No, no, I - I meant the boingos!" She laughed nervously while doing her own hasty survey of the surrounding trolls, none of whom, thankfully, seemed to have noticed anything.

"Oh." Her delightfully reddened cheeks reassured me. Thank goodness she doesn't expect me to be that blatant. I wondered would happen when the other trolls finally knew about us. Will she expect me to act all lovey-dovey in front of everyone? I don't know if I can!

I put it out of my mind for now, saying in a fake-casual tone, "Well, sure, I'm up for another round. Or do you want to race some more?"

"No, I've got another idea. Come on!"

She began bouncing away on her boingo fruit. I started to follow, then realized something. I'd forgotten to unweave my hair from hers. All this time, we'd been holding hair in front of everyone!

I pulled away from her, my cheeks burning as I reprimanded myself, Why don't you just put up posters announcing who the queen's new boyfriend is?

But then my girl was in front of me, re-threading her hair securely through mine. I gave her a questioning look. "What?"

She gave me a bright-eyed smile. "Pair-boingo-riding!"

"Is that safe?" I said automatically.

"We've got helmets now, right? Besides, if the twins can do it, so can we."

"Well, I suppose… But what if someone guesses-"

"There it is, ladyYyYys-and-geEentletrolls!"

The mellifluous trill of a very well-known, dramatic voice had all heads turning in the direction of the stunning silvery form proudly mounted on a blue-green boingo fruit. Guy Diamond pointed at us, and I reflexively cringed away from the attention as he announced, "Observe! The hippest new way to dance with a partner! Dancing with your partner!"

He gestured grandly toward Smidge, who was seated next to him on a lavender-gray boingo fruit ten times her size as she meshed her long dark-teal hair with his shining white locks. "Try it today! It's fantabuloOoOous!"

The two of them began bouncing in tandem, their joined hair rising and falling like ocean waves and somehow managing to make it all look cool. Maybe it was because they'd chosen boingos that matched each other's colors. Soon other trolls began to join hair and resume playing.

"So what do you say now?" Poppy asked.

I shrugged and smiled. "Well, I guess we don't stand out anymore. Let's bounce!"

Poppy laughed and we were off, jiggling and jouncing in wobbly silly circles, trying to coordinate the irregularly-shaped, downright uncooperative giant fruit globes. Soon both of us were laughing again.

The next thing I knew, we were surround by a colorful rainbow of rippling hair bridges and my inner mayhem alert went off.

Uh oh!

I groaned and slapped a hand to my forehead. "Poppy, what have you done?"

"Started a trend, apparently."

I flung my hands up in the air. "But it's going to end up a mess! One gigantic hairball!"

"Well, I say it's going to be a great new twist to an old game." She reached out and put a hand on my cheek, turning me to face the crowd. "Just look at them, Branch."

So I did, watching the bobbing sea of bright faces all around us; all beaming at me, inviting me to join in, as my fellow trolls had so often in the past.

But this time I accepted their invitation, with an eye-roll, a sigh, and an indulgent smile. "Oh, all right."

It turned out that, as Poppy was fond of saying, we were both right. It was just as big a mess as I'd predicted, but what I hadn't counted on was how much fun everyone was having. Judging from the uproarious laughter, many of the trolls seemed to take it for granted that getting all tangled up together was just part of the game.

Others, like Poppy and me, managed to stay free, dodging and twirling in a way I dubbed the Defensive Anti-Twist, and to my surprise, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Eventually when a line of trolls started to form, we gave our boingo fruits and helmets to a pair of waiting trolls and went to sit on a tall mushroom nearby. As I looked down at the good-natured web of confusion, I began seeing kaleidoscopic patterns. Greens and blues merged with yellows and reds. An arc of purple burst forth from within, interweaving with a stream of yellow, and a pink ribbon fluttered by, only to be caught in a loop of orange.

Naturally, I couldn't help calling down advice to those trolls who were hopelessly entangled. I never even noticed when Poppy handed me a megaphone, but at some point I realized that the game had become a dance, with me as the caller, the objective being to create gorgeously intricate hair-patterns without getting tangled.

I took a moment to grin at Poppy. "This is fun!"

"You see?" Poppy laughed. "I knew you'd love it. And you're definitely in your element here. It's like a cross between a square dance and a chess game, but all twisty. What should we call it? The Squist?"

"No. Call it the Helix. The Double-Helix!" I sang out, flying high on the wind of my own elation.

"Okay, everyone!" She raised her own voice in song. "If you wanna have a chance, all ya gotta do is listen to Branch…" The whole group got into it, singing and bouncing and swaying in unison, a veritable rainbow river of bright, flowing hair.

-O-

The Double-Helix was a hit. I didn't know it then, but it would become a very popular party game, especially for couples. Poppy would often joke that I had invented the game to encourage our trolls to pair up and add to the population of the village. "DNA, get it?"

I would roll my eyes indulgently. "Yes, dear, I get it, I get it…"

-O-

Poppy swung from the mushroom across to a nearby tree branch, to give the aquamarine troll more room. She wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees so she could relax while she watched her brilliant boyfriend do what he did best. It's a good thing boingo fruits come in so many colors.

She smiled lovingly at him as he skipped nimbly back and forth across the mushroom, sweeping his arm and his hair through the air, a big, toothy grin on his face as he chanted,

Swing your partner by the hair

Now lift them high up in the air

Now, Purple, duck down out of sight

And Orange, three hops to the right

Red, hop forward, one and two (he held two fingers in the air)

And Blue, hop back, then leftward, too- also!

There was a burst of laughter from the trolls as Branch narrowly avoided a hair-snare because of ambiguous language.

Poppy laughed, too. He's so vibrant, so alive. How he's changed from the way he used to be… Where did all that energy come from? Then again, maybe that's why he's always seemed so magnetic, so intense? Because all that energy was bottled up inside?

"How come you're not up there, Queen Poppy?" a little voice asked.

Poppy turned to see a light-orange male trolling, eight years old, with vivid orange hair, plum-colored eyes and a pine-green nose. "Oh, hello, Conifer. Are you having fun at the festival today?"

"Yes, Queen Poppy." He smiled and sat down cross-legged next to her, taking a bite out of the candy apple he was holding. Conifer was in the class she currently taught in trolling school. He was a sweet boy who didn't say much, but when he did, he often surprised her with his astute observations.

"What do you mean, 'up there'?"

Methodically, he finished chewing and swallowed before answering. "You like to be the leader. Usually you're the one in the middle, and everybody dances around you." He went to take a second bite and then seemed to remember his manners. "Wanna share?" he offered, holding out the shiny candy apple by its stick so the unbitten side was facing her.

"Well, thank you, but no. I'm just about to go get some lunch. I'm just waiting for Branch to finish."

"Okay." He went back to peacefully gnawing on his apple, leaving her to mull over what he'd said.

"You're right. I do like to be in the middle of things," she said slowly, thinking out loud. "But he's having so much fun… I guess I feel like today is Branch's day to shine."

Little Conifer nodded. "My big brother likes him."

Poppy blinked. "He does? How does he know Branch? Wait. By 'likes him' do you mean he's got a crush on Branch?"

"No, he has a crush on Celesta Starchime, only she doesn't know it yet. He asked me not to tell her, on account of he's nervous, so I didn't. Oops…" He put a hand over his mouth. "You won't tell her, will you, Queen Poppy?"

Poppy smiled. "Not if he doesn't want me to. I know something about secret romances…"

She gazed back at Branch, admiring the way his colors shone rich and vivid in the sunlight. She especially adored the lovely aqua-blue of his ears; delicate and translucent and beautiful - and the way his embroidered silk vest blew open as he exuberantly leaped and twirled. She sighed happily and put a hand over her heart, enchanted as always by his vitality; the sheer, effervescent, uninhibited love of life he was finally able to let free after being hidden deep inside for so long. I'll never get tired of seeing this side of him.

She too felt different; more connected, more grounded somehow, but in a way that was comforting, not stifling. It's as if loving Branch is opening up parts of myself that I never knew existed.

"But maybe I'll ask your brother about it, see if there's anything I can do to help him."

Conifer nodded placidly.

I get the feeling that that's why he came up here to talk to me.

She waited a moment in case there was something else he wanted to mention, and then remembered her other mission. "So, your brother likes Branch, Conifer?"

"Yeah. He talks about him sometimes."

"How does he know Branch?"

"He doesn't. But I guess he used to, a long time ago. I think he misses him."

"Oh, really?" Poppy's ears twitched. Anything related to Branch's mysterious past fascinated her. "Conifer, do you know where your brother is?"

-O-

Poppy hurried as fast as she could through the thickening crowd, the desperate jangle of I'm late I'm late I'm late sending jolts of power through her legs. Oh my gosh, I didn't meant to be gone so long! I was just so fascinated by what I heard, I didn't even notice the time passing until the noon Hug Time went off. I hope nobody was upset that I didn't hug; I just ran off. And now I've missed another hug from Branch, and made him wait for me again. I hope he isn't too mad at me.

As she neared the twins' tent, she heard a familiar voice call out, "Poppy!"

She jammed on the brakes so hard the trolls behind her couldn't stop in time and down they all went, hair over heels. Squashed under someone's bottom, the pink troll squinted to make out a pair of husky blue-green legs coming toward her.

"Poppy, are you okay?"

"Yeah," she grunted as he began helping the trolls up off her. "Sorry, people. My bad."

The automatic chorus of friendly forgiveness was unexpectedly soothing to her. Wonderful as he was, Branch just didn't have the typical troll reaction to so many things. She had to always be aware of that and treat him a little differently, with a little more thought, and that took more energy than she was sometimes aware of.

Of course, he was worth it. Definitely worth it.

When the last troll was headed on his way again, Poppy began to push herself up, only to feel two big hands close gently around her waist. To her surprise, instead of being set down on her feet, her strong boyfriend easily lifted her above him, tilting his head back so he could look her in the eye while balancing her weight perfectly on the palms of his oversized hands.

She could see herself reflected in his beautiful blue eyes as he smiled and said, "Hey."

She let out a pent-up breath, disconcerted at his even tone, which gave her no clue as to what he was feeling. "Hi…"

"You okay?" His eyebrows lifted questioningly. He didn't seem angry.

Poppy began to relax, letting her arms and legs dangle, trusting in his steady support. His stance was utterly stable yet limber, as a good dance partner's should be. "Yeah."

He brought her just low enough to nudge her nose with his. "Missed you."

She smiled lovingly and reached down to caress the sides of his face. "Sorry. It took longer than I thought."

"That's okay." He set her down gently in the grass.

Poppy waited. "Aren't you going to ask where I was?"

"Oh, well, I saw you talking to one of the trollings in your class, um..."

"Conifer, right. He, uh, he wanted to ask me for help for his brother, who has a crush on another troll and needed some advice. I hope I didn't keep you waiting long," she explained awkwardly.

"No problem. I totally get where he's coming from." Branch smiled blandly at her.

A cowbell rang in the back of her mind. "Well, that's surprisingly understanding of you," she said before she thought.

His eyes scrunched in puzzlement. "What do you mean? I'm a very understanding guy."

She stared at him, confused. Was that his sarcasm again? "I mean… You're handling this unexpectedly well, considering this is the second time I've disappeared on you today, and this time I didn't even let you know I was going." She put her arms behind her back and swung a foot through the grass. "We're supposed to be enjoying our ice cream together. You're not mad at all?"

"Well, I – uh, no, of course not. Besides, I was having fun at the time."

She stared at him. Just when I thought I had you figured out… "But I missed Hug Time again!" She stomped a foot, letting her own frustration show, and the corner of his mouth quirked.

"Oh, so that's it." He crossed his arms, then used a hand to gesture toward her. "Okay, if it bothers you that much, you can make it up to me later."

She perked up. Ooo! Is he saying we can have an unscheduled Hug Time tonight?

"Great!" The last of her tension left her as she continued with her usual cheer, "Then how about we go get some lunch?"

"Sounds good."

Surrounded by all manner of food vendors, it didn't take long to gather a collection of yummy treats, and healthier fare, too. Branch nodded approvingly when Poppy picked a cute little treat basket full of crunchy sliced vegetables, and he reached for a juicy fruit salad just the right size for two.

By mutual consent they found a nice shady glade under a large tree, with enough bushes surrounding them to give them some sense of privacy. Sitting on the edge of the picnic cloth she had thought to pick up while in the market square, Poppy enjoyed their food beside her boyfriend in contented silence.

For a while, at least. Poppy thought Branch was content as well, but then she happened to glance up at him when he didn't see her and the troubled frown on his face instantly took the wind out of her happiness sails.

I knew it. He is upset. Or is he just thinking hard about something?

Again, she reminded herself that Branch's reactions weren't always like a typical troll's. He said he didn't mind. But how much of what he said was true, and how much was just what he thought I would want to hear, so as to keep the harmony between us? Dad and I sometimes have this problem with the other trolls, but Branch is usually a lot more…

When did this happen? Branch used to be willing to speak up, like when he lost his cool during that caterbus trip, and when he did, he made me realize that he probably spoke for the others, too. Even if it's negative, if that's really how he feels, I need to hear it.

"Branch, are you sure you're not upset?"

The aquamarine troll finished chewing his mouthful before he answered calmly, "Poppy, it's okay. I figured this kind of thing is going to happen. You're the queen, after all."

His look of kindly resignation, as if he thought he could expect no better treatment from her, made her stomach sink. Oh, no. This is the kind of thing I was worried about when I asked him this morning not to tell anyone about us.

Suddenly she wasn't hungry any more. "You know, even when my dad was the king, he still made time for me every day." She felt the corners of her mouth pull down. "This is wrong. This is not the way I want things to be between us."

He looked alarmed. "Poppy, hey-"

Her voice wobbled. "And I really need you to tell me when something's bothering you."

"Poppy-"

"It's really important to me, Branch!" she cried.

He blew out a gust of air through his teeth and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, then. I admit it. I am upset that you ran off on me again. Was it really so important that it couldn't wait until later?"

She sighed in relief. "Thank you for being honest." Then her smiled faded and she looked down, her eyes darkening to maroon as they moved over the grass, reflecting deep thoughts. "Branch," she said abruptly. "The thing is, I haven't been completely honest with you. You see, the reason I went off wasn't just to help some other troll, it was for you."

"For me?"

"Yes. You know that I've been planning a surprise for you, but I realize now that a surprise is no good if keeping it makes you feel bad, so I'll just tell you. Later-"

"Wait! Don't tell me."

"But I-"

"Poppy." He covered her mouth with his hand and her eyebrows went up. "Thank you, but you don't have to tell me what it is." His expression softened and his thumb stroked her cheek, distracting her. "You don't have to spoil your surprise."

He lifted his hand and she leaned toward him, questing for his touch before she caught herself. Then the meaning of his words sunk in. "Wait. You mean your surprise."

He let out a light laugh through his nose, his eyes twinkling with affection. "Sure."

With things all right between them again, her appetite came back with a rush.

Branch wasn't as hungry. He'd had those caramel chocolates earlier – and never again would she think of chocolate or caramel without being reminded of him – so he finished eating before she did, relaxing back onto the sun-dappled grass with a sigh of pleasure.

Soon he yawned.

"Why don't you take a little nap, Branch? You lost some sleep last night, as I recall," Poppy offered, smiling as she remembered the adorable scrapbook page with the trollings on it that waited for them back at her pod. "I'll wake you when I'm done eating."

"No, that's okay, I'm fine. You're almost done." He lay there quietly for a while, then said, "That goes for you too, Poppy. You know you're more likely than I am to pretend everything's fine and dandy when it's not."

"I don't pretend, Branch," she protested. "Everything usually is fine and dandy."

Normally at this point he'd argue back, but even Branch wasn't immune to the mellowness of a warm day, quiet surroundings, and a full belly. His tone was only mildly reproving. "Poppy…"

She sighed and rolled her eyes indulgently. "Okay, fine. I promise."

Poppy finished eating a few minutes later and looked up to see a rare and beautiful sight. The former fearmonger was sleeping peacefully on his back in the soft grass, his breathing deep and gentle and utterly tranquil. His arms were up beside his head, his palms trustfully open to the sky.

Aw, look at him. She clasped her hands under her chin. He's sleeping like a little baby. How cute!

A year ago, she would never have expected to see him sleep like that. Or let anyone see him sleeping at all. He looks so serene right now, so innocent. Oh, Branch, how I wish I could give that innocence back to you. While I really appreciate it, it's not your job to worry about the village. It never was.

You know, he looks a lot younger when he's asleep. I tend to think of him as much older, but he's really not that much older than me. Not even four years older. And when he's relaxed, like now, you can really see how young and handsome he is.

She got on her hands and knees and moved closer, looking for the familiar marks on his face that she called 'care lines' rather than 'age lines'; lines made because he cared, or worried. Many of them had gradually gone away over the past six months since he'd finally learned how to be happy. She could see only the faintest of creases at the corners of his eyes, the same creases most male trolls naturally developed at some point.

The worry-lines he often had between his eyes were gone, leaving only strong, level, dark-purple eyebrows, so dark they were almost black; a striking contrast to his light-colored skin. It brought to mind the wonderful dream she had awoken from yesterday, the dream that had finally made her realize how much he had come to mean to her and how gorgeous he really was.

Poppy leaned closer, eager to have this chance to admire his beauty.

He really was a fascinating color, a lovely pale aquamarine shading to a delicate lavender on his cheeks, ears, and toes, with a gentle, translucent radiance that she had never noticed with anyone else. Most trolls had colors that were bold and somewhat matte in appearance, but not Branch. No, her boyfriend's colors were special; almost as changeable as his moods. Indoors and on cloudy days he appeared to be a soft, pale blue, or even blue-gray, but when he was in full daylight, like now, it brought out a certain warmth; a light teal-green undertone that was especially apparent when the light shone through his elegantly pointed ears.

His hair was special, too. Depending on the light, his natural hair color ranged from a deep, dark purple to a much brighter shade; generally a magnificent cool-purple, although under reddish light it could look almost plum-colored.

His nose – the one part of him besides his alluring sky-blue eyes that had always had color, even when he was gray – was an attractive medium-lavender that complemented his colors well. As noses went, his was impressive. It was a fine nose, strong and proud, yet soft enough to invite frequent nose-boops.

In contrast, the glitter-freckles on his cheeks were small and delicate, with a subtle, sophisticated sparkle instead of the rather metallic glint seen on some trolls. Then she noticed a tiny dark freckle on his cheek, and then a few more, and then… Ooo! There's some on his ear...

She wondered if his dark freckles felt any different than the rest of his skin. The young queen reached out a curious finger, stroking lightly along his cheek. As far as she could tell, his skin was as smooth there as anywhere.

She liked the way his skin felt under her fingers, downy-soft and warm, inviting her to explore. Maybe the freckles on his ears are different? She grinned to herself as she sat down next to him, happily following the trail of freckles, mapping every one with her scrapbooker's eye for detail.

She was touching him again. She couldn't help it.There was just something about Branch, some sad, wistful quality about him that drew her to him. It always had, from the first day they'd played Bergen Attack together. It had only grown stronger over time, like on the day he'd moved into his bunker, all upset, when he'd hugged her and cried and her heart had come as close as it ever had to breaking. How could she not reach out to him?

She laid her hand tenderly on his cheek. He turned his head slightly toward her and she expected to see his eyes open, but instead he seemed to settle himself against her with a light sigh of contentment. She felt his lips move against her palm as he smiled a little in his sleep, and her heart melted.

Aw, what a sweetie! Now I really want to kiss him…but I won't. The last thing I want to do is freak him out, or break my promise to wait until our first official date. He's trying his best, flirting with me and everything. And I never would have expected him to do that thing with the caramel…

Her thoughts began to gush the way her mouth sometimes did. You know that was seriously good I never would have thought of that, I kinda wonder now what he has in mind for our first date and if it'll be even better? But in the meantime I've gotta be patient with him.

Maybe…maybe I should let him come to me. Maybe I should act a little bit shy and see if it makes him bolder? But he didn't do the caramel thing until I pushed him a little…

The pink troll put both hands over her face, moaning softly. Now I understand why romantic relationships are supposed to be so complicated. Until yesterday he was my best friend, and we were so close and there was none of this weird awkwardness between us. I really need some advice. I wanna talk to my dad. Or Bridget or Biggie or someone, but the more people I talk to about this, the more it's gonna spread until the whole village knows.

She smiled wryly. I'm surprised they don't know already. Cherry Blossom said she wanted to tell Leafe, but I guess the two of them must have been able to keep quiet about us after all. Wait, Cherry Blossom! She already knows. I can ask her for advice!

If I can figure out a way to talk to her without Branch overhearing. I could go right now, but I don't know where she is, and he might wake up before I get back. She bit her lip. I don't want to disappear on him again.

She gazed down at her best-friend-turned-boyfriend. The sight of his adorable sleeping form lifted her spirits immensely, and she felt her normal optimism coming back. Okay, so I have a goal, now I just have to wait for an opportunity to make it happen. And in the meantime, I get to spend the day with someone I love. So, win-win.

Just then the breeze picked up, a few strands of his hair drifting across his nose, which twitched a few times, and one of his ears flicked. Poppy tried to giggle without making any sound as she reached out to gently brush the fine dark hairs back into place.

Then she paused, her hand hovering over him before giving in to temptation and resting her hand gently on his head. Just for a moment, she let her fingers sink into his thick soft locks, suddenly full of adoration for her wonderful sweet boy.

I'm so lucky. He could have chosen to give his heart to anyone. Or maybe no one. I don't even want to think about how lonely he would be right now...or worse, still gray and unhappy.

She squeezed her eyes closed and gave her head a shake to chase away the gloomy thoughts. But he chose to love me, so he's not unhappy any more. He laughs and plays games and sings and dances and hugs! And our friends all love him. And I love him. I love him so, so much.

Almost of its own accord, her hand began to stroke his head, running her fingers tenderly through the luxurious silky strands. He responded by pulling in a deep breath and lifting his chin a little as if seeking her touch, a dreamy smile showing for a moment before he seemed to settle deeper into sleep. Poppy remembered that he had become incredibly relaxed the last time she had finger-combed his hair.

Was it really just this morning? So much as happened, but it hasn't even been a full day since we said we loved each other. Ooo, there's so many fun things to look forward to! I can't wait!

As she gazed down at him, Poppy was well aware of the silly lovesick grin on her face. Such a cutie. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you like this, Branch.

She heard the soft shuff of feet through grass and looked up and smiled to see what looked like a walking paintbrush moving past the bushes at the edge of the glade. As usual, the resident paint-splattered artist, Harper, was more colorful than her artwork.

Suddenly an idea pinged in the pink troll's brain.

Author's Note:

When the trolls are laughing at him, this is in reference to the scene at the beginning of the first Trolls movie, where Branch has several panic attacks at different events and flips the table holding a cake every time.

Poppy's song advising the trolls to listen to Branch is my response to a scene in the TV series where Poppy sings a song (which is NOT canon as far as my fic is concerned) telling the trolls to not listen to Branch and basically discrediting Branch's character. Later we find out she has a good reason for this and Branch seems okay with it, but she never does take back what she said once the truth behind her song comes out, so most of the trolls would probably still think of him as unreliable, at least at that point in the series.

Conifer's character is based on a blind bag toy figure I have that is probably meant to be the orange trolling in Poppy's class in the movie, but the figure's colors are slightly different. Since I'm using some of the figures as character models I describe them using the actual colors of the figure, which only has black dots for eyes, so I get to choose my own eye color, which may be different from the character in the movie.

I loved writing the metaphor for their future life together, when Branch lifts her up and supports her so tenderly after she falls. He truly is her partner in the dance of life.

Speaking of writing, I choose my adjectives very carefully to take advantage of those that have more than one meaning, like Poppy calling Branch 'vibrant' meaning both 'energetic' and 'bright' – in both his attitude and his colors. So if you aren't sure about which way I meant it, most likely, I meant both.

Look forward to the future: I have several sources of conflict running in the background of my story that will eventually be addressed. For example: Branch's fear of intimacy. He's a healthy young troll and is just as attracted to Poppy as she is to him, but every time they get close he has to fight his automatic rejection /retreat reaction. Plus he worries he's a bad choice for Poppy. He's carefully skirting around the edges of the idea that he might be King someday, trying to look at it practically, as a set of procedures and problems to solve, rather than as having an entire village looking to him for leadership and emotional connection(!) Which scares the heck out of him.

Another thing is that Branch really craves respect and recognition from the other trolls, and now that he's the boyfriend of the Queen, even if most trolls don't know it yet, it puts even more pressure on him.

Poppy, in turn, is losing confidence in her own decisions, since spending time with Branch has shown that there's a lot of things (to help the village) that she's never thought of, but Branch has. We see a bit of this in the sixth season episode where she does everything she can to avoid making a decision and ends up doing just that, and nobody is happy with her. Which is her worst nightmare.