-O-

Picturebook Romance

A Trolls fanfic

By Dreamsinger

Chapter Fifty-Five

Gumdrops

Nestled cozily against someone, Poppy slowly came to awareness. She knew it was a troll by their slightly sugary scent, vaguely wondering who it was but feeling too deliciously languid to even open her eyes. It was still pretty dark out, so it was probably too early to get up anyway. She could enjoy cuddling in bed a while longer.

She lay on her side, her face pressed against the other troll with one arm across their broad back, as it rose and fell in a reassuring rhythm. Warm, steady breaths of sweet-scented air bathed her neck and shoulders, so soothing that she kept slipping back into soft deep comfort, only to eventually rise again when the troll's own arm, draped over her hip, twitched every so often. She breathed in his scent, sweet and spicy, like apple cider, and her memory caught up.

She opened her eyes. Sure enough, she wasn't in her pod before sunup; she was in a dimly-lit underground chamber, looking at the familiar pattern of wide, vertical dark-and-light stripes of someone's pajamas. Pajamas belonging to someone she knew and loved very much.

It was Branch she was cuddling with. Branch, with the caring blue eyes, clever hands, and secretly-tender heart. Branch, who was so sweet, and smart, and trusty. Her Branch, who had waited for her for so very long.

And now I guess it's my turn to wait for him. She had to be patient for as long as it took for him to adjust to their new closeness. She sensed that it wouldn't be much longer before he was ready to take those final, magical steps with her to a brand-new level of togetherness.

But oh, being patient sure is hard! His very nearness is sooo tempting…

Especially when he, unknowingly, kept tempting her even more. As Poppy fully emerged from the land of dreams, she became more aware of how her boyfriend's large hand was resting against her bottom. Every so often he moved it restlessly in his sleep. She remembered his earlier nightmare and wondered if she should wake him or hum to him, but he didn't seem to be in distress. A lot of her friends got restless just before they woke up. And honestly, having his hand there felt…interesting. Every time his hand moved against her bottom, it felt even more interesting.

Poppy grinned to herself and pressed a kiss to his chest. Yeah, it would be a lot easier to be patient if he weren't doing that, she thought in amusement. Of course, she could lift his arm off her or move away, but she didn't really want to. It's nice, cuddling with him. Nice. And interesting.

Closing her eyes, Poppy imagined her boyfriend stroking her bottom, then moving to massage her hip. His warm hand would trail up her ribs and around her shoulder before softly cupping her face. He would lean over her to bring his lips to hers for a kiss, and then…

Her pleasant fantasy was interrupted when Branch suddenly turned over, leaving her missing his touch, and kind of unsatisfied.

Now that he was done distracting her, she realized that she needed to go. The single mushroom he had thoughtfully left uncovered for her last night would give off just enough light for her to find her way to the bathroom without having to use her hair and risk waking him.

As she lifted her head from the pillow, she realized that their hair was still loosely entwined. Not to the point of being knotted together, thankfully, but she had to be gentle about pulling away to avoid disturbing him.

As she slid off the bed and stood gazing down at her boyfriend, a rush of feelings filled her. Love, connectedness, wishing she didn't have to leave. But nature was calling. Before she left, she bent down to bury her face in the luxurious expanse of his soft dark hair. She breathed in his familiar, beloved scent, and sighed contentedly. To Poppy, Branch smelled like…home.

-O-

On the way back, she remembered one of her ideas from yesterday and put together a quick, fun little project for Branch to find later. As she worked, only the concern that she might wake him prevented her from singing her joy to the world.

The source of that joy was still in bed, his tousled hair making him look ten times cuter than normal. As she stood looking down at his adorableness, Branch sniffed the air and a wide, dreamy smile appeared on his face. His eyes opened. "Poppy." His morning voice was low, sleepy, and sensual. She liked the way her name sounded, as if spoken in the afterglow of a beautiful night of lovemaking.

"I thought I smelled something sweet," he added. "What a perfect way to wake up."

"Aww. You're the sweet one," she said happily, leaning down to give him a good-morning hug. She felt his arms go around her as she said affectionately, "Good morning, Cuddle Bug."

"Mmm. I did, didn't I? I cuddled with you in bed." He sat up, a sly smile spreading over his face. "And I liked it."

"Mm-hm, and I like you," she replied playfully, leaning back just far enough to nuzzle her nose against his.

His comment made her remember their first night together. Branch, lying stiffly beside her, his breathing fast and shallow. His heart pounding hard from the sheer anxiety of being close to her. She'd almost forgotten. Has it only been a day? So much had happened to them yesterday that the day before seemed like forever ago.

And now look at him. Sitting there smiling sleepily at her in his cute blue-and-white striped pajamas, his hair sticking up all over the place; free for the moment from its careful control. The old Branch would never have allowed anyone to see him like this, which made her love him all the more.

Impulsively she pulled her camera out of her hair and snapped a quick photo. In the darkened room, the flash was blinding. Branch yelped and slapped a hand over his eyes. "Poppy!"

"Oops, sorry," she said contritely. Squinting, she used her hair to untie and tug the covers off the other mushroom glows in the room. She made sure to do it gradually so their eyes could adjust easier. "Better?" she asked.

"Yeah. Thanks." He gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry for snapping at you."

"No, it was my fault." She patted his foot affectionately through the blanket and explained sincerely, "It's just, this is only the second time we've spent the night alone together, and you're really cute when you first wake up. I just had to get a picture of you."

Branch looked down at his feet, his smile so shy and sweet she felt an almost overpowering urge to lift the camera again.

Then he looked up at her, and his smile deepened. "Well, I'm gonna need a picture of you, too. You look totally adorable in those pajamas, my Sunny Bunny."

Poppy giggled and blushed with pleasure. "Thank you."

Branch got out of bed. Poppy held the camera out to him but he moved past it to slide his arms around her body, pulling her close to him. Poppy squeezed him back, loving the feel of him pressed against her. After a minute his hands began to stroke her back through the fuzzy silkfleece; long, sensual caresses from her nape to her bottom. "You feel so good," he murmured into her neck.

"So do you, lover boy." Poppy sighed in delight at the way his hands seemed drawn to her. Aside from hugs, he'd never been the touchy-feely type, but ever since she put on his old pajamas, Branch had been super physically affectionate. Was it because he associated his trollhood pajamas with his beloved foster dads? Or was it just the exquisite softness of the fuzzy silkfleece? She grinned. Just in case, I'm gonna ask the twins to make me more outfits out of silkfleece.

Eventually her boyfriend backed away with obvious reluctance to take the camera she offered. As he lifted it in front of his face she said quickly, "Wait." The pink troll used her hair to grab the bunny-ear headband from the nightstand, settling it into her messy hair.

Branch started snapping pictures. She immediately got into it, showing off for him, loving the attention from her favorite guy. "Awesome!" "Ooo, I love that. Do it again." "Now flip your tail at me. That's it!" "Poppy, you get cuter every day."

Then they did a couple's photo shoot. Poppy was having such a good time she completely forgot about the time. So did Branch, apparently. Poppy jumped when his eyes flicked past her and he suddenly gasped aloud. "Oh, my gosh!"

"What's the matter?"

"It's ten minutes past eight!" he yelped, his voice cracking. He shoved the camera into his hair and started tugging off his pajamas. "We're late for Cleanup Day!" He tossed his pajama top behind him without looking, where it snagged neatly on a hook on the wall. The bottoms came to rest on a second hook. Then, dressed only in his heart-covered white boxer shorts, he hurried to his closet.

Poppy smiled a little as she watched him, admiring the view. Branch's idea of "on time" seems a little…extreme. I mean, as queen, I like to be early too; but not this early. "We're not going to be late, Branch," she said reassuringly, hoping to calm him down. "Cleanup Day doesn't start until nine. We have a little time. It doesn't take nearly an hour to get from your bunker to the village."

"No, but there's stuff I need to do first!" he said almost frantically as he pushed clothes hangers back and forth, obviously trying to decide what to wear. Poppy didn't see why he was finding that a hard choice. Ninety percent of it was leaf-vests. If she looked closely, they had subtle differences, but not enough to make a difference as far as overall appearance was concerned.

"Come on, where is it?" he muttered.

"What are you looking for?"

"My favorite vest. It has the biggest pockets. Plenty of space to hold lost beads."

"Maybe it's in the laundry?" That happened to her all the time.

His frenzied movements faltered. "Oh. Yeah. I was meaning to do laundry yesterday, but…" He put a hand behind his head and gave her a sheepish smile.

She smiled back. "I distracted you, didn't I? Sorry." She considered what she'd said. "And…not sorry."

His face softened. "Yeah." He sighed, lifted his arms a little, and let them drop to his sides. "Oh, well. It is what it is."

Warmth filled her heart at his mild reaction. It was at times like these that Poppy noticed just how much progress he'd made. Then it occurred to her that she ought to let him know that she noticed. "I'm proud of you, Branch."

His mouth turned down into that thoughtful little frown he got when he was taken off-guard and trying to figure out how to react. "Proud of me? For not doing my laundry?"

"For just rolling with things instead of getting all upset."

To her delight, Branch looked down, then met her eyes and gave her that shy little smile of his. "Thanks."

She wanted to hug him again, but no matter how much progress he'd made, Branch was still Branch, so instead she said helpfully, "Maybe I can save you some time.You said you had stuff to do. Like what?"

"First, make my bed. Then usually I take a swim, but I won't have time now. So I'll just wash my face and hands, and do my hair," he explained as he held up two leaf-vests by the hangers, glancing back and forth between them. Then he looked at her, raising his eyebrows. She shrugged and randomly pointed at one of them. Branch nodded and hung the other one back in the closet.

"Then I need to make breakfast," he continued tersely as he picked out a pair of dark-green shorts from a neat stack in one of his wall cubbies. "I eat, wash the dishes, and put them away. Take the trash to the inferno plant for incineration." As his list grew longer, she could practically see his stress level go up. "Then I need to check my mailbox. Go over any new invitations to decide what I'm doing today. Write up my daily agenda, including any projects or bunker maintenance-"

"Branch. It's Cleanup Day. You already know what you're doing."

He blinked. "Oh. Right."

"The trash can wait until later, and we can just grab something quick from the kitchen on the way out, or get something from one of the food vendors in the village. If we use our hair instead of walking, it'll take half the time to get there. We might even be able to catch a ride on a flyer bug and make it even faster."

"If we do, I'm driving," he said immediately. "My stomach can't handle your freewheeling this early in the morning." The aquamarine troll sounded gruff, but his wry expression made her laugh.

"Okay," she said agreeably, before he could realize she'd talked him out of his impending freak-out. "Since I've already washed up, so why don't I make your bed while you go get ready?"

He glanced at the bed, then eyed her dubiously.

"Don't worry; I won't leave a wrinkle behind." She winked at him.

He lifted an eyebrow, then smirked, gave her a quick hug, and left her to it. Knowing her sweetheart's exacting standards, Poppy took more care over making Branch's bed than she ever did with her own. Recalling a remark he'd made yesterday, she even made sure the blanket was hanging evenly on both sides.

Then she put her hair into its usual topknot, smiling as she remembered that her favorite hairstyle was also Branch's.

Okay, time to get dressed. Which outfit should I choose? She pulled her four remaining new outfits out of her hair and laid them out on Branch's bed. Instantly her attention was captured by the gorgeous sparkly white sundress, beautifully embroidered with pink roses. She picked up the matching sunhat and placed it on her head, then went to look at herself in the mirror.

Aww, I look adorable. Man, I reeeally want to wear this dress, but it's not the best choice for what I'll be doing today. Regretfully she took the sunhat off and placed it gently on top of the dress. Same with the black-and-silver velvet unitard. Today's Cleanup Day. I'll probably be spending it crawling on the ground, chasing stray beads. Ooo, maybe I should wear my hiking outfit? Branch really seemed to like it. Or should I wear the T-shirt and shorts? Branch is wearing green shorts today. If I wear mine, we'll match, kind of.

She thought about Branch's new outfits. Most of them are better for parties, too, or formal occasions. I'll be sure to schedule something like that for next week. I want everybody to see how handsome he is!

After fantasizing for a minute about dancing with Dreamboat Branch in his beautiful coral-colored suit, Poppy got back to business. With a pang of wistfulness, the pink troll swapped her bunny pajamas for her new orange T-shirt. She was glad that the decorative heart, made from rows of fuzzy puffball beads, made it impossible to see the bandage wrapped around her chest underneath. Then she put on the pine-green shorts and orange, flowered headband. As she slipped on the coordinating orange-and-green sandals, Branch entered the room.

"Hey, look. Our shorts match today," she said cheerfully, expecting him to say something about not wanting to wear matching outfits. But he only snorted in amusement.

At her questioning look, he gestured at her shirt and said, "If there's any troll in the village who doesn't figure out that you're in love by the end of the day, I'll be surprised."

"Oh." Poppy stared down at the huge heart covering most of her front and laughed. "I guess it is pretty obvious."

Branch's smile faded as he looked down at her belly. "How's your bruise?"

Involuntarily she put a hand up to cover that spot. "It's fine. I didn't even notice it. I'll bet it's already healed, thanks to your arnica salve. And…your tender loving care," she said sweetly.

"I'm glad," he said softly, and held out a hand to her. "Shall we go, my queen?"

She looked at his hand and then up at his expectant face. The young queen sighed internally, resigning herself to a lifetime of being extraordinarily early to everything. Oh, well, better than being late, I suppose. She slipped her little hand inside his big one and said energetically, "You bet!"

It's just as well. We'll get the village cleaned up lickety-split, finish early, then move on to what I've got planned for this afternoon. I think it will really do Branch some good. I hope so; I really do. And then tomorrow I'll get to spend the whoooole day with Branch! Her belly quivered with excitement. Luckily, I didn't have much planned for that day, and what plans I do have, I'm sure my dad will be happy to cover for me. I forgot to ask him to do that yesterday at the doctor's pod, so I need to remember to ask him today.

The young couple picked up some granola bars and fresh fruit from the kitchen, then headed for the lift. Once there, Branch put his hand on the control level and then paused, looking around the room.

"What is it?"

"I know I'm forgetting something…" Branch said with a frown, rubbing his chin. "Ah!" He snapped his fingers and tilted the lever to make the lift move downward.

"Um, Branch? Why are we going down instead of up?"

"I just need to check something. It'll only take a minute."

"What, you need to check to see if you got all the glitter off the walls yesterday?" Poppy asked with an impatient frown. "Come on, Branch; I thought we were in such a hurry." I want him to see my surprise!

"No, I wanted to review that scrapbook chapter on dealing with nightmares. You asked me to come by and talk about that with the trollings in your class, remember?"

"Oh, right! Sorry."

"That's okay. Our friends were nice enough to fill in for me yesterday after I forgot about getting with anyone who wanted to practice hair-gliding, but I don't want to make a habit of that. I'm not the kind of troll who usually blows off his obligations, you know? Not without a very good reason, anyway."

"Oh? You don't count our first 'unofficial date' as a good reason?" she asked as she crossed her arms; a little annoyed, but mostly just to mess with him.

His ears went up a little, advertising his alarm. "Uh, I… Th-th-that's not what I-" He stopped the lift and gave her his full attention. He took a deep breath and took her hands in his. "Poppy. Of course that's a good reason. I wouldn't have traded one moment of the time we spent together yesterday. It was a very special day for us. But the rest of the trolls don't know that we're dating, right?"

He tilted his head down and to the side, and Poppy couldn't help but smile at the way his sincere blue eyes sought hers. "Right. And I know that you're a very reliable troll," she reassured him. "I've always known that. That's why when I need to get stuff done, I come to you."

Poppy loved the way Branch's chest puffed out with pride at that. "And I'm not the only one," she elaborated. "Our friends know it, too. And soon, so will everyone in the village," she said warmly.

The pink troll made another mental note, this time about sending as many trolls as possible to Branch to ask him for help from now on. It would help him connect to the other trolls, and build trust between them all.

It would also help Branch feel good about himself. There was nothing like the feeling you got from being able to help someone else. "There are things that you can do that no one else can, Branch. You're so good at mechanical stuff, and research. Look at the way you're helping me cure my anxiety. You'll be known as the village expert on mental illnesses in no time."

The pride on his face gave way to a troubled expression.

"Branch?"

"Uh, Poppy… Thanks for the support, but I'm not really an expert on mental illness. I mean, yes, I'm pretty sure you have a case of generalized anxiety, but most likely, it's only a temporary reaction to a traumatic event. It's not really in the same category as a chronic mental illness. Granted, this being Troll Village, you probably have no idea what that looks like, but there were some examples of trolls in my family's books who struggled with serious mental health issues off and on over their entire lives."

Her eyes widened. "Their entire lives?"

"Yeah. So be careful when you talk about this kind of stuff, okay? It's really not something to make casual assumptions or diagnoses about."

"Okay. Sorry, Branch." She was quiet for a moment. "Hey, Branch? Would you be willing to get with the village doctors and go over your family's scrapbooks on mental health with them? The more I hear about them, the more I feel like they're a valuable resource that really needs to be shared."

Before he could answer she added quickly, "I know you said I could make copies to put in the village library, but it's not the same. I mean, I can talk to the doctors if you're really not comfortable with it, but you've had a chance to really study those books, and put that theory into practice. Please? It might make all the difference to someone someday…"

Branch put a hand on her arm. "Poppy, it's fine with me. If there's even one troll out there who's suffering, someone who could be helped like my family helped me, then there's nothing I want more."

She gave him a smile like a sunbeam. "Thank you, Branch."

It only took him a couple of minutes to find the book he needed in his storage room, while Poppy looked around, remembering everything that had happened here. She'd had an anxiety attack, and Branch had talked her through it. She'd been the reason his family's books got damaged, but maybe that was a good thing, in hindsight. Branch had opened up about so much of his past because of that.

Now she would even have the opportunity to share his family's knowledge with the entire village. This place is like a time capsule. I'm just glad that most of the memories this room contains are good ones.

With the book safely tucked into his hair, Poppy took his hand again and led him back to the lift. She reached for the control lever before he could, and when she started their upward motion, she went extra-slow. She saw Branch looking at her as if he knew something was up, and turned her face away, biting her lip to try to hide her gleeful anticipation.

She could only manage to look away for a few seconds before peeking at him again. His face was a mix of confusion and curiosity as he commented, "Going a little slow there, aren't you?"

"Oh. I'm just…practicing my lift-driving," she said lamely.

One eyebrow went up. From the look on his face, he knew she was up to something, but he let it go. Both of them were silent as they moved slooooowly upward.

Poppy tried to act normal, but every time he looked away from her, her own eyes were drawn to him like a magnet. A squeak of excitement would slip out. Branch's head would whip around and she would look away just before their eyes met.

Finally Branch put a hand on one hip, dropped his head to the side, and demanded, "Okay, what's going on, Poppy? Why are we moving so slowly? What's…"

He trailed off as he noticed a piece of paper stuck to the wall above them. Then his eyes widened as he noticed a spiraling trail of notes above them. "What is this?"

"I don't know," she said innocently, her eyes dancing with good humor. "Why don't you read them and find out?"

Turning in a slow circle, a look of growing wonder on his face, Branch did just that. Each note had a single word on it, surrounded by curlycues, hearts, gumdrops, and other cute doodles.

"Branch…"

"On…"

"…the…"

"…day…"

"…you…"

"…came…"

"…back…"

"…into…"

"…my…"

"…life,…"

"…my…"

"…world…"

"…changed."

"Thank…"

"…you…"

"…for…"

"…choosing…"

"…to…"

"…be…"

"…a…"

"…part…"

"…of…"

"…it."

"Aww." He broke off reading to smile warmly at her, and reached out to take her free hand in his as he continued reading.

"My…"

"…life…"

"…is…"

"…so…"

"…much…"

"…sweeter…"

"…with…"

"…you…"

"…in…"

"…it."

Attached to the wall was a little mesh bag of bright-colored gumdrops, from the emergency stash she always kept in her hair.

"Oh, Sunshine." Branch reached out to lift her hand from the control lever so he could hug her without distracting the driver. Poppy squeezed him tight, grinning so widely her face could hardly contain it.

Branch murmured into her hair, "Thank you for making the choice so easy."

The young couple hugged for a long moment. If today hadn't been Cleanup Day, Poppy had the feeling that Branch would have been happy to stay in the bunker and hug the day away. In the end, it was with great reluctance that Branch finally let her go and turned to pluck the bag of gumdrops off the wall. He opened the bag and held out a bright green gumdrop.

"Say 'ahh', Poppy," he said teasingly, gazing at her with lowered eyelids.

She perked up. Maybe being early was a good thing, if it meant he felt he could afford to take a little time to flirt with her. Giggling, she let her mouth drop open so he could place the mint-flavored gumdrop inside, closing it on the sugary treat with a happy, "Umph!"

Branch popped an orange one into his own mouth. "Hm. Kind of citrus-y, like an orange. Or maybe a strawberry? I can't decide. But I like it." He winked at her. "Now where have I recently tasted something like this…"

He's talking about me! In his bed, last night… Her imagination vividly filled in the details. His tongue on her throat, all hot and tickly, filling her with electric excitement. The young queen slapped both hands over her mouth, bouncing in place as she let out a high-pitch squeal of sheer giddiness. Branch chuckled at her reaction, making her want to return the favor. My turn to play.

The young queen reached into the bag and pulled out a bright red gumdrop, pressing against her lips as if she were kissing it. Then she licked it, slowly running her tongue across the rough sugar crystals as if to demonstrate what she could do for her man, when he was ready. "Mmm… Cinnamon. Spicy." She winked at him, fighting to keep from giggling at the awed look on his face, his mouth hanging open.

Poppy placed the gumdrop in her mouth as sensually as she could, and his mesmerized gaze followed her every move. She chewed and swallowed, then fluttered her eyelashes at her boyfriend. "So hot. Like a certain handsome aquamarine troll I could name." She let her eyes flick down his body and back to his face, noting with delight the lavender blush spreading across his cheeks. He still wasn't used to having someone compliment his looks yet. Poppy wondered gleefully how many more times she could make him blush today. He was sooo cute when he blushed!

They played the flirty-flirty game for a few more minutes until Poppy noticed that Branch was getting restless again, and moved the lift up to the surface. The short walk to the village was made even shorter by using their hair to swing through the trees, and bouncing on the mushroom springs that grew abundantly on the hill leading down to the village. They met no one on the way.

As they walked into the market square toward the enormous mushroom the village used as a stage, Poppy noted that there were more trolls than usual wandering around. It was at times like these she really missed her Hug Time bracelet. Maybe we are late.

"Branch, what time is it?"

Branch squinted up at the sun. "Eight thirty-six," he reported confidently.

Twenty-four minutes until the next Hug Time, she translated in her head.

"Okay, see?" Poppy said cheerfully. "We made it here with plenty of time to spare. More than enough to get ready for when the other trolls start gathering here at nine. All we need to do is set up some baskets for the loose beads…" she trailed off.

"What is it?" Following her gaze, Branch turned to look up at the mushroom stage.

Poppy pointed at a familiar object that had been placed on a fancy pedestal. "The trophy! Oh my gosh, with everything that happened, I completely forgot about it!" She gazed at it for a moment, then commented, "I left it at home."

Branch looked puzzled. "Then what is it doing here?"

"Oh, someone must have gone to my pod to retrieve it. I think I owe somebody a big thank-you," she said happily.

"Yeah. I wonder who-" Poppy watched a look of horror spread over her boyfriend's face. "Oh, no! No no no!" he moaned.

"Branch, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"My scrapbook page! The one with us kis-" he lowered his voice to an urgent whisper. "The one with us kissing, and the trollings… Oh, man…" He dragged his hands down his face. "If - if someone went into your pod, they must have seen it! They couldn't have missed it. I left it right in the middle of the room." He ducked his head, glancing tensely from side to side, his teeth exposed as he grimaced. "Poppy, the whole village must know about us by now!"

Instinctively copying him, Poppy ducked her head, too. Waiting for the tidal wave to hit them. She met Branch's eyes, surrounded by crinkled skin, and shrugged as if to say, Well, it was good while it lasted.

After a minute, when nothing happened, Poppy tentatively glanced around. A few trolls waved at her and called greetings, but that was all. No one mobbed them. No one took pictures or shouted questions. Everyone was acting perfectly normal.

Branch realized it at the same time. Nose to nose, they slowly straightened up. Poppy suggested uncertainly, "Maybe they visited my bunker while was still too dark to see the page very well? Or they didn't notice that the trollings' colors matched ours?"

"They couldn't have missed the two of us kissing. Could they?" he asked, bewildered.

"I've got it." Poppy snapped her fingers. "I'll bet it was one of our friends. They already know about us. And they know that we're hoping to have a little time to ourselves before we go public, so they must have just kept this to themselves."

Immensely relieved, Branch said, "Yeah. That's got to be it. Otherwise they'd be all over us by now."

The two trolls leaped onto the stage and approached the pedestal that held this year's Cleanup Day trophy. Branch looked happy as he studied the little figure. "Man, I look awesome this year."

"You sure do," Poppy agreed. As she gazed at the small golden figure of Branch, something clicked in her mind. "Your chart… Your Cleanup Day chart! No wonder my dad made the prize for Cleanup Day a statue of you!" She laughed delightedly. "And I always thought it was because you love to keep things neat and tidy."

Having Cleanup Day on the day after Beadfest had been a tradition for the last eight years. Cleanup Day had always had the distinction of being one of the few holidays that even the village grump had not only always shown up at, but actively and enthusiastically participated in.

The core group of Cleanup Day participants were the trolls who belonged to whichever team had cleanup duty that week, according to her father's -or rather, Branch's- duty chart. But Branch wasn't the only troll who liked Cleanup Day. All trolls were welcome to volunteer to join the cleanup team, and many did. A combination of a treasure hunt and a village-wide decluttering spree? Who didn't like the idea of living in a cleaner village?

And then, as a bonus, the team member who found the largest number of beads would win the coveted Smilin' Branch trophy.

Poppy remembered how embarrassed Branch had been when approached by the village's best sculptor to pose for the little figure that King Peppy had asked her to craft as the prize, and every year after that. Mainly because during his gray years, he'd never been able to pull off a genuinely happy smile. Poppy had three of the trophies herself; a succession of Branches wearing various adorkable grimaces, usually with his arms self-consciously crossed.

This year, for the first time ever, Smilin' Branch's smile looked one hundred percent natural. He wore a big, happy grin, giving two thumb's-up to show his approval to the hard-working troll who would get to take him home. At the base of the statue it said "Good job!" in fancy script.

She reached out to affectionately trace the curve of his smile. He'd look wonderful standing next to his previous smile-attempts. The perfect way to show how much progress Branch has made in the past year.

"Oh, Branch, he looks fantastic. I really want him-" Then she recalled what else had changed in the past year, and her face fell. "But I can't. I'm the judge this year. I can't participate."

Branch gave her a sympathetic look. "Sorry, Poppy. I'd win him for you, but I'm not officially on the team, remember? I follow after it. Sort of an after-Cleanup cleanup crew, you know?"

Poppy sighed and let go of that particular idea. "Well, is there room on the After-Cleanup Cleanup Crew for one more troll?"

Trying to cheer her up, Branch grinned and said playfully, "Oh, I think I could squeeze you in."

"Great! And speaking of squeezing…"

It wasn't Hug Time yet, so they kept their hug brief, but Poppy appreciated every moment spent in his arms. He rested his warm cheek against hers and gently rubbed her back. "I really am sorry."

"That's okay." Poppy took advantage of their closeness to sneak him a quick kiss on the cheek before stepping back to gaze into his beautiful blue eyes. He took her hands in his, and this time his smile was soft and adoring. Just the sight of it gave Poppy a warm little flutter in her belly as she said contentedly, "I have my own Smilin' Branch."

Author's Note:

Yes, the love notes Poppy wrote for Branch are a reference to Trolls: The Beat Goes On; the Bye Bye Bunker episode, where Poppy tells Branch all the things she and their friends love and appreciate about him.

In the future, Poppy and Branch often leave one another love notes on the walls of the lift shaft, and other places around the bunker. They each save and treasure them, and show them to other trolls, including their four trollings. They accumulate quite a collection over the years…