"Babe? Babe, what's wrong?"
Branch's heavy footsteps could be heard stomping along the floor as he dashed across the room to Poppy as she sat on the bed, her head in her hands. Branch quickly kneeled in front of the pink girl as his hands grabbed her knees, looking up at her and waiting for Poppy to look at him.
"Baby, what's the matter?"
The Pop Queen finally pulled her hands away and Branch grabbed her face in his hands instead.
"Look at me, tell me what's going on. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."
His heart was thumping in his chest, solely because he was worried about what could have Poppy in tears. He came home after work only to walk in on her crying. He wanted to fix whatever it was and it upset him to feel hopeless. Shaking her head though, Poppy grabbed his hands wiping her eyes and sniffling.
"It's nothing babe. I'm fine."
"You're clearly not. You're crying. Just tell me what's wrong. You know you can tell me anything."
Poppy shook your head, beginning to let everything flow out at once.
"There was this video on the internet about this dog that they found in the streets that was abandoned and they brought him home and he was shaking and so scared and whimpering and he would start screaming every time they tried to touch him and he was just so cute and innocent and- "
"Woah, babe, stop. You're like this over a dog?"
The Pop Queen shook her head feverishly, hiccupping at the tears started again.
"It's not just a dog Branch, he- "
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry."
It took a lot for Branch to keep a straight face, knowing Poppy had started her period a couple days before and had been far more emotional than usual. This was something new altogether though and a snort slipped passed.
"Branch! I'm serious!"
The teal troll couldn't help but laugh fully now, her anger at him very real even through her tears.
"OK, ok. Don't cry. Is the dog ok?"
"Yeah he's fine now. They fixed him up and got him a home."
"Ok well, there you go. No need to cry."
Poppy nodded and wiped at her eyes, Branch still laughing but bringing her in a for a hug.
"What are we gonna do with you."