"No! Let me go!" Poppy screams, kicking and fighting, but to no avail. The strong arms that have wrapped themselves around her are holding her hostage, and she knows that there's no point in trying to escape.
"Please… I beg you…" But Poppy doesn't get an answer. Instead, she feels herself being lifted off the ground and thrown onto the bed, and then Branch's fingers are everywhere.
"Branch, stop, you know how ticklish I am!"
Branch doesn't stop, of course. Ever since he's found out that even the slightest prodding with his fingers is enough to turn Poppy into a mess of giggles, Branch has been using it to his advantage — surprising her when she least expects it until she's begging him for mercy.
What a cruel, cruel man, and even crueller is that this makes her love him even more.
The Pop Queen has tears streaming down her face at this point, trying to turn to her side and curl into a ball to shield her tummy from Branch's attack, but again he's faster, turning her onto her back and pinning her arms above her head. He has a shit-eating grin on his face and Poppy can't help but swoon over this handsome man that holds her heart.
Her chest is heaving and her pulse racing, adrenaline rushing through her body. The tickles have stopped though — Branch is staring at her now, grin not as shit-eating but still just as wide.
"What?" Poppy asks him, scrunching her nose as a strand of her hair tickles it.
"I love you, you know that?"
He's such a charmer.
"I know. I love you, too, you sap. Even when you attack me with tickles three times per day." At that, the teal troll chuckles and leans down to press a kiss to each of her palms before releasing her hands, allowing her to sit up on the mattress.
The Pop Queen grabs his hands and returns the favour, her lips brushing over every tip of his fingers before she intertwines their hands, making them rest on her thighs.
"I'm so glad I married you," Branch says and looks down at her lap where the sun coming through the window is making their wedding bands sparkle.
Poppy smiles at this.