"Branch stop!"
Poppy laughed and struggled to get her hands out of Branch's grip to protect her face but he was much stronger than her and held her powerless as the teal troll smeared the tomato sauce on her cheek. Branch laughed as Poppy pulled away and wiped it off, wiping it in his forehead. His face went completely serious then and he looked at her with mock anger.
"Hey now." The Pop Queen giggled and reached across the counter to grab a paper towel to clean up, his hands settling in her hips.
Branch pressed against her and rested his chin on Poppy's shoulder as he whispered in her ear.
"You made a mess gorgeous."
A sarcastic snort left her nose and Poppy turned around in his arms, wiping the sauce off of his face and hers.
"Me? I would've had dinner done already if you hadn't come in here causing trouble."
Branch leaned forward and kissed Poppy softly before pulling back and nodding.
"Aye. That's fair."
Turning back to the stove, Poppy went back to stirring around the pasta in the water the way She was when he had gotten home and helped her start cooking before distracting her by making a mess, Branch disappearing to the living room. While she complained, The Pop Queen actually loved his playfulness and it was one of her favorite things about him and he knew it. He was 3 years older than her but she made up for that with her wisdom and old soul while he compensated by constantly pulling pranks and being childish with you.
Today however, he'd been excessively happy and playful from the moment he'd come home and what should've been a 30-minute dinner prep was already going on an hour. Suddenly Poppy heard music playing through the house and began nodding to the beat, your husband coming up behind her again.
"I like this song."
"I know you do, my love."
The teal troll wrapped his arms around Poppy again but this time let her continue cooking, simply watching her quietly until Poppy broke the silence.
"How was your day?"
"It was fine. Clay's trying to get to go to his dumb sad book club every week but that's not happening."
The Pop Queen nodded and moved to the sink, dumping the pasta into the strainer before tossing it into the sauce and meatballs in the pot on the stove. As she began stirring it around, Branch reached over and pulled the spoon from her hand, setting it down on the counter and pulling her into his arms as True Colors came on.
Poppy melted into his arms and let him hold her, a warm smile on his face as Branch looked down at her in adoration. Being in the a band with his brothers wasn't easy even for him at times so he could imagine the stress felt and yet she always had nothing but love and support for him, a clean house and a warm meal. The love Poppy and Branch had was real and these moments were his favorite. Being somewhere with only Poppy, the look of pure love in her eyes as she looked up at him, nothing could beat it.
Branch placed one hand on Poppy's lower back and held her hand as he swayed slowly around the kitchen with her, Poppy's head falling forward to rest against his chest. Tranquillity was in the air as they danced. Time seemed to have stopped and they danced in each other's arms, his lips pressed against her hair, leaving kisses every now and then. Poppy's eyes were closed and she breathed in the scent of his cologne, relaxation coming over her. The Pop Queen took another breath and wrinkled her nose at the sudden sour smell, Poppy's eyes widening as Branch's cursed and pulled away from her, running over to the stove where the pasta was smoking, charring in the bottom of the pan.
The teal troll quickly pulled it off the burner on the stove and poured water in it while Poppy grabbed the kitchen towel, waving it at the smoke detector as it went off. Once they got it to turn off, Poppy turned and saw Branch poking around in the pan, trying to see if any of it was salvageable. Not finding any and facing Poppy again, Branch shrugged and frowned.
"Pizza?"
