-O-

Picturebook Romance

A Trolls fanfic

By Dreamsinger

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Mirror Reflections

As we rode the lift to the bunker's lowest level, I was happy to be kissing my pretty queen, despite the flaky glitter coating our lips. That was my own fault, after all. I didn't regret it, though. Her delighted reaction had been exactly what I'd been hoping for, and my reward… Well. I was enjoying it right now. Poppy's lips were so warm and affectionate on mine, my stomach even started to flutter a little. What was it about kissing that was so addictive?

Poppy put her hands on my face and one of her fingers brushed my ear. Instantly my focus switched to her hands and my own hand slipped off the lift's control lever. We jerked to a stop and Poppy stumbled, letting out a yelp as our teeth painfully clacked together. Instinctively I lunged to catch her as she pitched toward the floor, barely getting an arm under her stomach in time.

"Ouch!" she cried.

"Poppy, are you okay?" I lifted her to her feet and pushed her lips apart with my fingers, frantically looking for chipped teeth or blood.

"A'm fiyy," she mumbled around my fingers, the silver glitter on her face sprinkling on my hands.

I let go and she repeated, "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

I ran my tongue around my mouth to check. I winced a little as I touched a sore spot on my lip, but otherwise I couldn't feel any damage. "Yeah, I'm okay. No serious damage."

"Good." She rubbed her middle where I'd grabbed her and I winced, remembering her bruise. So that's why she yelled.

"I'm so sorry," I said. Poppy said it with me. I blinked, then added quickly, "I shouldn't have gotten distracted. I hurt you."

"I hurt you, too. And I shouldn't have distracted you."

I opened my mouth to deny it, then closed it. She was right, and yet, "Well… I let you distract me. On a moving lift, even though I should have known better. It's my fault."

"But it's my fault that-" Suddenly Poppy took a deep breath, closed her eyes and let it out slowly. I guessed she was counting to ten. "Okay. Let's just agree that it was both our faults, okay?"

"Well…okay." That did seem fair.

Oddly, the worry-lines on her forehead didn't go away.

"What?"

She hesitated. "I understand that you're sorry, but this is one of those situations where you seem to go overboard with the self-blame. It's really not healthy, Branch." She put a hand up to gently touch my face, her tone softening. "And it's not necessary. Tell me, instead of excessive self-blame, what would be a better reaction?"

"Um…" On the spot, I scrambled for the right answer. "Uh, learn from the experience?"

The lines smoothed away. Poppy smiled and kissed my nose. "Exactly, sweetie. So…how about we create a new safety protocol? That should cheer you up, right?"

Caught by surprise, I chuckled. "You know me well."

As if she were issuing a royal proclamation, my beautiful queen stood up straight and decreed with a finger pointed high, "Kissing Protocol Number One: No Kissing on a Moving Lift. What do you think?"

"Couldn't have done it better myself."

I was always ready to support good safety procedures, but to my surprise, I discovered that I was actually a little disappointed, too. I guess I'm not used to having my fun cut short. That's usually my job, I thought wryly. I didn't like it any better than any other troll did, but I didn't complain. I really shouldn't have forgotten what I was doing. After all, I was used to my lift's design quirks and its sudden starts and stops, but Poppy wasn't.

Poppy read my mind. "Speaking of learning…"

She reached for the control lever and gently pressed down. The lift began to descend at a much slower speed than before. She pushed down harder and it responded with a rush of speed. She pulled up, and it slowed down. She lifted it above neutral, and we changed directions, surging upward. She let go entirely and again we jolted to a stop as the level snapped back to neutral.

This time she kept her balance. I lightly flexed myself on my toes out of long habit and she shot me a look of concern. "Sorry, Branch. I'm just figuring out how this thing works."

"Yeah, I figured. That's good. Take all the time you need." As she grasped the level again, I commented, "I guess you're not used to a dead man's handle, huh?"

"No, I – A dead what? Eeek!" Her eyes popped and she yanked her hand away. Her hair flashed whiter than Cloud Guy and I burst out laughing before I could stop myself. It wasn't often that Poppy totally lost her cool.

Her face contorted. "You made that handle out of something dead?"

I laughed even harder.

"Ewww! Braaanch!"

Howling, I bent over to clutch my stomach, practically on the floor.

Fists on her hips, Poppy waited impatiently for me to get it all out, glaring at me and shaking her head. Glitter drifted into the air, reflecting the lights from the glowing mushrooms in the lift shaft.

Finally I held up a hand, managing to squeak out, "Sorry. I'm sorry for laughing, but…" I held back a giggle. "It's not what you think. A 'dead man's handle'-" I almost lost it again, holding my breath and clenching my stomach muscles hard until the silly-wave passed, "-is designed to stop all function if the operator lets it go. Like, if they keel over, for whatever reason."

"Oh."

I straightened up, wiping glitter-flecked tears off my face and clearing my throat. "It's a safety feature. Useful if you want to make a quick stop, but if you're not expecting it, it can dump you on your hair."

I was treated to a beautiful sight as the color in her hair gradually returned, blossoming from pure white through light rose to her natural vibrant magenta as she asked, "But if you always have to be holding the lever, how do you operate it if both of your hands are full? Oh, let me guess - you just use your hair to move the lever, right?"

"Yeah. Or my elbow."

Poppy went back to experimenting with the lift. Watching her, I wondered if I should automate the process. Put in simple buttons that slowly take you to each floor in turn, instead of the variable-speed control lever. …Eh, I could, but the way Poppy's taking to it, I don't really think it'll be necessary.

New safety protocols are a good idea, though. Now that there will be two of us using it regularly, it'd probably a good idea to set up some kind of warning when the lift is in use, like a loud beep or bell sound while it's moving, so one of us doesn't accidentally squish the other. I didn't say that out loud. I didn't want to upset her again.

Even so, I was glad to see her getting comfortable with my bunker. It really does seem like she wants to have a better relationship with my home, weird as that sounds.

Poppy played with the lift for a few minutes, bouncing us up and down at different speeds and making silly sound effects like Whoosh! Zzzzzooooom! Err-err-err-err! (when we braked) and Mmmmnyahhhh! I just crossed my arms and smiled, watching her topknot swish up and down. A year ago I would have been groaning with impatience, but these days I was learning to enjoy these precious little moments. One of the most delightful things about trolls in general was their propensity to treat everything like a game.

Of course, it could also be one of the most frustrating things.

It can really get in the way of productivity sometimes. When I first started socializing, the only way to keep from being driven crazy was to allow extra time in my schedules for the inevitable songs and games. Then Poppy showed me that having fun actually helped increase productivity, most of the time.

"Making things fun keeps energy levels high," she'd explained. "Even if a task is important, if it's boring, trolls either don't want to do it at all, or they procrastinate. When they do get started, they're often slow and half-hearted."

I didn't understand that at first, but then I started to see she was right. Keeping as much joy as possible in life, like through singing and dancing, gives people a feeling of empowerment and a willing enthusiasm for necessary tasks that aren't always fun. It's worth the extra time. After all, one of my life's goals is to learn to be a joyful person, and there's a lot of joy to be had in spontaneity. I'm proud to say that I'm a lot better at it than I used to be.

But making work fun would never have occurred to me if I'd been the troll in charge. It's actually a really smart way to run a village. No wonder trolls have such a reputation for being happy. I sighed. I've got a lot to learn.

Finally, a satisfied Poppy began to guide my lift to the bottom level of my bunker, looking pleased with herself.

She looked up to see me still smiling at her. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just, you're cute when you get all techie."

Abruptly we stopped. "Pop-" was all I managed to say before her arms were around me and her glittery lips were on mine. Fortunately, the soreness in my lip was already fading. I wrapped my own arms around her and returned the kiss, enjoying the hot rush of feeling stirring my insides. Mmm… Definitely got to remember to compliment her more.

When she finally drew back, I lazily teased her, "What about Kissing Rule Number One?"

"That's on a moving lift. We're not moving now."

I considered that. "True."

I brushed my lips over hers and then had to jerk my face away to sneeze. A big cloud of glitter went up around us. I rubbed my nose and groaned.

Poppy giggled. "I guess we'd better take that bath now, huh?"

"Yes, please."

As the lift entered the bottom level of my bunker, the refreshing scent of flowing water soothed my itchy nostrils. I pulled in a deep breath. Ahhh.

Even in my gray days, I'd always enjoyed swimming. Nothing else was so invigorating. Nothing else compared to the way the water caressed and supported my body and made me feel so light and free. And I appreciated the efficiency; unlike other activities that got you all sweaty, swimming got you clean at the same time. One of the happiest – well, most satisfying anyway – days of my life was the day I'd completed construction of my expansive bathing pool and no longer had to put up with noisy trolls and their boisterous water sports.

Not to say that I'd hated playing water sports. From the days when Jaunty and Courtley took me in, sports of any kind had always served as a healthy pressure valve for me. I used all kinds of diving and inflatable toys to get a good workout, and I could usually find someone willing to play some kind of water sport with me whenever I was in the rare mood for some company. Usually Poppy. Or Smidge. Occasionally one of our other friends, especially if Poppy urged them to. That was one of the reasons Poppy insisted on calling them "our" friends, even though I told myself they were just exercise partners.

As we passed the bathroom on the way to the pool chamber, I pointed to the door. "If you need to brush your teeth or anything, I keep extra supplies under the sink."

"I know. I found them," she replied. "I brushed my teeth while I was in the other bathroom just now. But thank you."

I wasn't sure if that was proof that my girlfriend knew me well enough to assume I kept my bathrooms well-stocked, or if she just enjoyed nosily poking around my bunker. I smirked. Knowing Poppy, probably both. Playfully, I leaned over to sniff her breath. "Mmm. Minty. I'm surprised I didn't notice. Must've been all that glitter up my nose."

She laughed. "Hey, don't look at me. I didn't tell you to use it." Then her eyes widened and she pointed behind me. "Uh-oh, speaking of glitter…"

The entire lift shaft was twinkling, reflecting the soft light from the glowing mushrooms on the walls, and it kept on sparkling as far up as we could see. My shoulders sagged as I let her go. "Aw, maaan…" I complained.

Poppy giggled. "Hey, it's a big improvement over being dirt-colored, isn't it?"

"We're gonna have to clean that," I grumbled. "Otherwise we'll get covered again on the way up."

"You don't have any muncher bugs?"

"No." I shrugged. "But I didn't grow up in this village for nothing. I've got just the thing."

Maintenance closet C7 was right next to the lift. I brought out the biggest glitter-roller I had. It looked like a giant light-blue cotton candy cone, three times my size, whose fluffy ultra-soft fibers were just the right slightly-tacky texture to easily gather every flake of glitter in no time. Most of the village simply invited glitter-eating muncher bugs in to take care of unwanted glitter, since it was organic and nutritious, or else they simply let it lie. It dissolved into dust in about a week anyway. But I didn't wantglitter or dust messing up my bunker, so I'd done a lot of experimenting to find the best way to get rid of it.

-O-

Poppy shuffled her feet impatiently as Branch, humming cheerfully, twirled the fluff-covered stick around the walls of the tunnel. When he used his hair to lift the stick upward into the lift shaft, she cleared her throat loudly. "Branch. I asked if you wanted to clean the living room earlier and you said no. How much longer is this going to take?"

"Sorry, it's just…" he trailed off, still rolling on.

"Branch." She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, fully aware that if she let him get started, he'd hunt down every last speck of glitter in the entire bunker.

"Couldn't I just…"

"Branch!"

"Okay, okay, you're right. Now's not the time." He sighed. "Listen, why don't you head in and get ready while I just get what's on the floor right here, okay?"

At least he was trying to compromise. "Well, okay…" She took a few backward steps, watching him as he started carefully rolling the fluffy stick on the lift's floor. Then he moved backward into the hallway, working his way backward toward the pool chamber.

He knew she was still watching, and got chatty. "So, remember I told you my pool's hot water comes from the pipes running under the ground between us and the toastybugs' den? Well, by default, I have it set to a 50/50 mix, so normally the water is lukewarm, just right for swimming without getting overheated. But I figured might be using the pool tonight, so while I was down here earlier I changed the mix to make it a little hotter. It might not be hot enough, though. Go try it out, will you? And if you need to adjust the temperature, there's a control panel by the door."

"Are you trying to get rid of me so you can sneak in some more cleaning?"

"Whyever would you say that?" She couldn't decide if he was being playful with her or just trying to sound innocent.

"That was a much longer-winded explanation than it had to be."

"I'm a long-winded kind of guy; everyone knows that."

"Braaanch, come onnn…" she groaned.

"Just go check for me, please? I promise I'll be there in a minute."

She let the silence drag out, then sighed and started walking. "Fine."

He called after her, "Just remember, red is for hot and blue is for cold."

"Yes, Branch," she answered tolerantly, rolling her eyes. "I think I remember how faucets work."

Annoyed as she was, the young queen couldn't help but smile as she entered the pool chamber. Branch's bathing pool really was a marvel of engineering. Her resourceful boyfriend had diverted part of an underground stream to constantly flow into a large stone pool, passing through a series of filters made from gravel, sand, salt and charcoal that cleaned the water as it entered. The water was filtered again as it left at the far end of the chamber.

He'd happened to comment one day that he changed the filtering material regularly, and Poppy had taken the opportunity to get to know him better.

-O-

Ever since he'd gotten his colors back, Poppy had been glad to see her guarded old friend sharing more and more personal details about himself, such as how and why he'd discovered what was to be the site for his future home.

"An indoor pool! What a great idea! Hey, Branch, did you know this pool was here when you built your bunker?"

"Oh, it wasn't here. The hollow stone chamber was already here, yes, but I created the bathing pool itself with some controlled micro-blasting, and then used smooth, round boulders and cement to create the final shape. I'd say it turned out pretty well, eh?"

"It's beautiful, Branch. You're a real artist," she'd said sincerely, and for some reason he'd blushed like crazy and changed the subject. She'd missed so many clues that he'd been in love with her.

"The – the water, uh, it - it - it comes from a cold underground stream," he stuttered. "It hollowed out this entire chamber, probably over thousands of years. In fact, I discovered this chamber by following a trickle of water into a narrow, muddy tunnel on the side of the big hill that overlooks the village."

"A narrow, muddy tunnel? Yuck! Why would you have even gone into such a place?"

"I was looking for somewhere I could feel safe, someplace I could hide from the bergens."

"Oh, right. That makes sense."

Then to her surprise, he'd looked down at his feet and added quietly, "But also…someplace I could be alone. A safe place to hide from the other trolls."

"Oh, Branch," she'd said sympathetically, and hugged him. "Well, I'm glad you changed your mind."

"Yeah. I really like being around you, Poppy," he'd said softly, his face hidden in her hair as he hugged her back.

"Aww. I really like being around you too, Branch."

But she hadn't needed to see his face to hear the love in his voice, or feel his love in the tender way he held her. Her body knew. She'd snuggled deeper into his arms, happy and content to be there.

-O-

At about thirty feet long by fifteen feet wide, Branch's bathing pool was actually big enough to swim in. It was roughly semi-circle in shape, with one straight side for swimming laps. A wide shelf carved into the end of the pool nearest the door allowed a tired troll to enjoy a relaxing full-body soak after a long day of having fun. Or hard work, in Branch's case.

The ceiling was much higher than usual, with patches of earth here and there instead of the pretty, silvery-blue stone that made up the rest of the chamber. The earth had been seeded with white-blue glowgrass and other bioluminescent plants that made the chamber seem bright and airy. They made a very pretty upside-down garden of sorts, a delicate palette of softly glowing pastel colors.

As she turned in a slow circle to admire the ceiling garden, Poppy noticed the sound of water trickling through the filtering system. It was a very gentle, soothing sound. How pretty this all is! You wouldn't even realize we're underground. All it needs is some relaxing music… Then she spotted a cassette tape player and some speakers set into a large, curved niche carved into the wall near the ceiling, well away from the water. She laughed out loud. "Well, well. He's got his own little spa. Nice!"

Branch had thought of everything. Near the door there was an empty dirty-clothes hamper and a clothing rack with hangers. A long wooden bar bolted to the wall held two clean towels, no doubt from when he was down here earlier. Nearby, in a tidy bin, a collection of bright-colored beach toys waited to be played with.

She wondered if the toys were a recent addition to accommodate all his new visitors, or if, despite his long-time scornfulness of fun, he'd played down here all by himself during his gray years. It made her both amused and sad to think about that.

The sight of a small control panel in the wall by the door reminded her of Branch's request, so she went to the pool to stick her toes in. As soon as she did, she wanted to slide in the rest of the way, glittery clothes and all. The heated liquid felt like silk and spice, a tantalizing promise of buoyant luxury without the slightly-cramped feeling of her bathtub at home. "Feels great, Branch!" she called over her shoulder, eagerly getting herself ready.

-O-

"Okay, Poppy. I'm done out here," I called back. I surveyed my surroundings in satisfaction, then ran the glitter-roller over myself, careful not to let my hair get tangled in the tacky fluff. I grabbed a spare piece of glitter-roll fluff from the supply closet, wrapping it around the used roller to prevent re-contamination. We'd take it up with us when we were done bathing, cleaning as we went, and then add the roller to the trash bin that Poppy and I were filling up remarkably fast. The inferno flower I'd befriended would be delighted to have so much stuff to burn.

I leaned the roller against the wall and turned to head to the pool, then paused as I caught sight of myself in the full-length mirror on the inside of the closet door. I looked so different from the way I was used to seeing myself in this mirror.

I studied myself with a critical eye, noting that while they still appeared somewhat muted, my colors seemed a little brighter than usual. The new clothes have definitely helped.

Although according to Poppy, she'd always thought I was good-looking, even when I was gray and unhappy; so focused on life's problems that I didn't dare let myself relax or enjoy myself. I'd never realized how badly I'd needed to hear that. I'd always figured no troll could ever truly find me attractive, so I'd done my best to ignore the whole idea, even during mating season. If I could pretend I wasn't interested, I wouldn't have to worry about being rejected.

But apparently, someone had been interested. In me.

I closed my eyes and sighed dreamily, remembering what had happened after yesterday's bubble bath. Oh, Poppy. Up to now, I'd never been touched like that. Hugged, yes, but never caressed. I wondered how I'd have reacted to Poppy's advances toward me if I hadn't already been in love with her. Probably I'd have thought she was joking, or crazy. I might even have rejected her, even if I did have my colors back.

I smiled. That wouldn't have stopped her, though. If she could find me attractive even when I had gray skin and black hair, now that I had my true colors back, I didn't stand a chance. And I didn't mind that at all.

Idly I turned my dark purple hair to the color I was used to seeing in this mirror, a deep night-black shade that had once meant far more than just being an unusual color for a troll.

With black hair I looked a lot like the grim gray troll I'd left behind, aside from its slightly longer length and flared tips, courtesy of Poppy. It had taken a lot less time to get used to than I would have thought. I turned my head to the side, staring thoughtfully at my new hairstyle and then grinned experimentally, watching my face transform from my ordinary self into someone bold and charismatic. The dramatic contrast to my pale blue-green skin appealed to the showoff in me. Maybe Poppy's right. I do look good. Maybe I'll keep this hairstyle for a while. It does add a bit of flair.

I turned to the side and flexed, pleased at the clear definition of muscle on my biceps and across my chest under the embroidered silk vest. Not bad. I'm so glad I stepped up my workout routine. There's nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel awesome, whether you're trying to catch someone's eye or not. Or want to be in good shape for a certain type of game…

"Looking good, Branch," came Poppy's voice.

"Thanks," I said absently as I noticed a slight snag in the embroidery and made a mental note to fix it soon.

"So, I don't know when the last time you saw me naked was, but if you like hips, I've totally got them."

That got my attention. I spun around, my eyes popping at the flash of bright pink skin. With her back to me, my nude girlfriend posed proudly, her hand on her outthrust hip.

I swallowed hard as it really hit me for the first time what we were about to do. I hadn't really thought much about what bathing together would be like when I'd agreed to it. At the time I'd just been glad to find a reason to get her to agree to go outside. Besides, it wasn't like I hadn't seen Poppy naked plenty of times before - I had, just not for a long time now. The village princess had always had a fondness for cute outfits, and swimsuits were no exception.

My beloved Sunshine was even more beautiful than I remembered.

Then her comment registered and I flushed. The last time I'd seen her naked, she'd been a teenager. And I'd been spying on her.

-O-

Newly in love and despairing that she would ever return my feelings, I'd begun secretly following the pretty village princess everywhere, craving the sight of her, the sound of her voice in my ears. For months I'd been obsessed with her, longing to be close to her, to exist somewhere within her sphere of joy and light.

It got to the point where I'd even stopped refusing invitations, letting myself get dragged into everything from a staring contest (I'd immediately blushed and lost to Poppy. Eye contact was hard for me then, even without the crush) to a Glitter Extravaganza (never again! I'd spent the next two days washing obsessively and I was still finding it in my hair and other embarrassing places weeks later).

I'd done my best to help her with various projects, pretending to be grumbly and sarcastic as always so she wouldn't catch on. Thankfully, she had seemed happy to have my company, awkward though it was, but I never saw even a hint of the crush I'd fooled myself into thinking had once been there.

Eventually I'd given up, deciding that my own crush was hopeless. As gray and miserable as I was, I was sure that no one would ever want me, let alone the princess. Embarrassed and ashamed, I'd retreated even more deeply into my lonely hermit existence.

-O-

Poppy looked over her shoulder and saw my awestruck face. She snerked in amusement, but then her mouth dropped open and her checks turned red. She ducked her head and said shyly, "Branch?"

"What?"

"Oh, um… What do you think?"

Her unexpected insecurity touched my heart. She's so cute.

I gave her a flirtatious wink. "Ooo. Very nice."

And nice she was. Compared to me, my girlfriend was so cute and dainty; a delicate poppy flower to my solid oak tree. I let my eyes travel down the gentle flow of her body from her small shoulders to her soft, round bottom. Her legs were slim but strong, and she had adorable little feet. My extraordinary queen was utterly flawless; the ideal blend of lean, limber grace and curvy comfort. "Pretty as a poem."

"Aww, thanks, Branch." Pleased, she bounced in place and then turned around to face me.

Unexpected guilt punched me in the gut so strongly I lurched back a step, my breath gushing out as I saw the round smear of green defiling her perfect body. She wouldn't have that mark if I'd taken better care of her.

"Branch?" Her shoulders hunched and her hand came up to self-consciously cover the remains of the salve I'd put on her earlier.

I will protect you from now on. I promise you, Poppy.

"Uh, how's your bruise? Does it still hurt?"

"Oh. No, it doesn't hurt. I'd actually forgotten about it for a while there." She looked down and wiped off some of the salve. The rainbow colors of the bruise were lighter than I remembered. "Oh, Branch, look! It's fading already. That salve of yours has worked wonders! At this rate it'll be gone by tomorrow." She beamed at me. "Thank you so much!"

My tight shoulders relaxed. "I'm glad I could help, Poppy. I can put some more on you after we finish bathing, if you like," I offered. I wanted her to heal as fast as possible, so she could put this all behind her.

The last of her self-consciousness disappeared as her face lit up like the sunshine I'd nicknamed her for. "Oh, yes!"

Her arms went wide and she rushed at me. My ears shot up and I used a lifetime's worth of hug-dodging reflexes to twist aside at the last second. She skidded to a stop and gave me a look of bewildered hurt. "Branch? What's wrong?"

"Sorry! Sorry." Awkwardly I held up my palms toward her. "Nothing's wrong. It's just - Pink silk stains really easily. We wouldn't want to ruin all the hard work the twins put into this outfit, right?"

She looked relieved. "Oh, right. Of course not. Sorry, Branch," she said cheerfully. "My bad." She approached me slowly and placed her clean hand on my chest over the green-and-purple flower vines flowing along the edges of my vest. "I didn't realize you were such a fan of embroidery."

"Oh, sure. I love embroidery. It's a cool art form." That, and this outfit was carefully chosen to make me handsome in your eyes.

Poppy slowly traced the vines with her fingers. I didn't move, mesmerized by her delicate touch. When she reached the bottom, she set her whole hand on my stomach and began to slide upward. The silk was so thin I could feel the heat of her hand as if I wore nothing. Smiling widely, I closed my eyes to better focus on the tingling trail she left behind. The whole world could disappear and everything would be all right as long as her hand kept touching me.

"The embroidery's not the only thing that's cool. I never thought I'd see it again."

"Hmm?" I asked dreamily. "See what again?"

"Your black hair."

Instantly I froze. My eyes shot up to the tower of black looming over me, a glaring reminder of the negative past I was trying so hard to overcome.

"It surprised me at first - I almost thought you'd gone gray again."

No! Anything but that! I was making a fresh start. Having my true colors return was proof that I wasn't the awful person I'd been for so long. What am I doing? I don't want to turn back!

I jerked away from her and began to change my hair back to my hard-earned purple.

"Wait, Branch!"

I stopped.

"Please, let me see it."

I pressed my lips together, half annoyed, half anxious, but she seemed to be sincere. I couldn't see anything to indicate that she was teasing me, or that seeing me like this had disturbed her, so I strengthened the dark purple strands back to black.

Poppy crossed her arms and lifted a hand to tap her chin. "Something's missing."

"Missing?" Now I was curious. "Like what?"

She snapped her fingers. "I've got it. Give me a little frown."

"What?" Almost positive now that she was teasing me, I gave her a skeptical scowl, my eyes creasing at the edges. "Poppy…"

But she was smiling now, her voice rich with affection. "There you are, my grumpy old friend." She cupped my face gently, squishing my cheeks a little. "I've missed you."

Completely bewildered, I muttered through her hands, "Poppy, what are you talking about? I'm right here."

"Oh, I know." She released me and stood back a little. "But for some reason I felt like I was meeting someone I haven't seen in a long time, and it made me really happy. Sorry if that sounds weird."

"Uh, yeah. It really does," I quipped, but anything that made her happy made me happy, so I just crossed my arms and relaxed into an indulgent smile.

Her jaw dropped.

"What?"

She swallowed. "Remember I said I thought you looked really cool with black hair? I was wrong. You look really…hhhot."

Her gaze slid over my body, so blatantly amorous that I felt my face heat up. I looked down at my feet, grinning foolishly. "S-seriously?"

"Mmm-hmm," she murmured agreeably, her eyes heavy-lidded. "I love your purple hair, too, but your black hair is so different from everyone else's. It's so bold…so unique…so special."

"Really? Well, if - if you want, I could keep it like this for a little while…" I offered bashfully.

Her face lit up. "Cool!" Then she bit her lip. "Um, hey, Branch? Do you want to see something?"

My girlfriend shook her head, and her hair flared out into a wild magenta-and-black storm unlike anything I'd ever seen. My jaw dropped. It was utterly glorious.

"Remember how I told you I used to have fun turning my hair black, like yours? Well, I got inspired by that, and this is what I came up with. Do you like it?"

I couldn't speak. My heart was bursting with feeling. What did I ever do to deserve you?

"Branch? What do you think?" She ducked her head uncertainly.

Blinking hard to clear the wetness from my eyes, I took her face in my hands and kissed her passionately. "I think that every time I can't love you any more, you prove me wrong."

"Aww, Branch…" She leaned up to press her soft lips to my forehead at the hairline. "I love you, too."

Author's Note:

For this particular story, the water is the same as our water, instead of the "water" we see in the Trolls movies, which looks more like a kind of fluid glitter that is drinkable and somehow manages to clean things despite not being what we would call "wet".