The First Embarrassing Moment

A week had passed since Poppy and Branch took a big step in their relationship and moved into their own pod. Though they still had things to unpack and put together, the first night had been what the couple dreamed it would be. They were very relieved that no one had come by that evening, it allowed Poppy and Branch to enjoy each other's company. The night consisted of the two trolls enjoying a simple meal and drinking strawberry wine while lying in their bed snuggled up against one another taking in the peace and quiet. Branch took the opportunity to surprise her with his book of poems from his bunker which touched Poppy dearly. He surprised her further by reading a few of them outloud for her. When they fell asleep, they held each other as if it was their last day in this world. Finally, they could do this with each other every morning, afternoon, and evening.

Their first week together was coming to an end and they never once grew tired of each other. They discovered some interesting habits about one other and neither of them were fazed. Branch with his OCD tendencies, fidgeting, and the sounds he made when chewing and Poppy with her usual loads of energy, leaving scrapbook supplies out, and having a ritual vocal warm up before bed. Though Poppy's constant enthusiasm still got on Branch's nerves at times, he would find himself missing her when she went out for her queenly duties and couldn't wait to hear her sweet voice again. It was a great balance in their system.

The couple also discovered living with a partner came with something else, embarrassing moments. During the week, Branch accidentally burped out loud to his horror, but Poppy just laughed with it and burped right back. Then Branch got a stomachache which could only be relieved with using the bathroom, he thought his face would be permanently purple, but Poppy was right there by his side to help and showed no indication of awkwardness. Poppy had some of these moments this week too. One night Poppy had burned their dinner, but Branch still happily ate it stating it added a smoky flavor. Another day, she tripped and when Branch caught her, her underwear was showing. She wouldn't have been too embarrassed given he had helped her undress in the past, but she chose the white cotton panties with little hearts that day. Poppy blushed to her core, but Branch assured her they were adorable. These little moments were laughable looking back on it, however the couple would soon face an embarrassing moment not as laughable as this one.

It had been a normal morning like it had been that week. The sun shined through their pod, waking Poppy first. She stretched her arms out while she yawned. She looked over to see that Branch was still sleeping. Normally he would wake up at the same time as her, but he must have been really tired so Poppy left him be. She went into their bathroom and undressed to jump in the shower. She absorbed all the hot steam and resisted singing a tune, she didn't want to disturb Branch in his slumber. She was analyzing her plan for today. First she'd go over to Satin and Chenille's to look over outfit choices for the blue moon festival. Next, she needed to inspect all of their harvest supply since the cold weather would be coming soon. Then she'd go over the village's party plans with the party committee. She remembered that she couldn't be late for a meeting with all the kingdom's leaders. Depending on how long the meeting went, she could grab lunch with Viva. Poppy knew it was a long day ahead and she was already looking forward to coming home and being with Branch.

Poppy turned off the shower and got out. She towel dried herself and her hair. The bathroom was still a little warm from the steam, so she didn't put on her robe just yet. She brushed her teeth, groomed her eyebrows, and moisturized. She hummed while doing so, then her mind started drifting back to her plans for today so she became oblivious to the fact she was still not dressed. Branch from the other side of the pod was waking up and noticed the bed was empty. Assuming Poppy had left already, he made his way towards the bathroom to take his shower. He started to peel his clothes off as he got closer, his mind was still a little fuzzy from his awakening otherwise he would've thought twice before opening the door. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Poppy in there, but then realized she was naked. Wait a minute, he was naked too!

"Oh my god!" Branch shouted as he tried to cover himself.

Poppy snapped out of her thoughts and screamed when her brain finally registered that Branch had seen her without clothes and she had just seen him the same way. She was scrambling to find her towel to cover herself and Branch stumbled back out of the room and slammed the door. As soon as Poppy covered herself, she felt very hot in the face and like she couldn't breathe. It took a minute to process what had happened…she had seen Branch's very naked body and he had seen hers. The two of them had never seen each other like that. Poppy knew this had been an accident, but this wasn't how she wanted them to see each other that way.

Branch felt like he was frozen, he had managed to find his robe and cover up his body. What the hell was he thinking?! Why did he take off his clothes before going to the bathroom? Why didn't he listen carefully to make sure Poppy wasn't in the bathroom? Why did he say oh my god? He felt the room spinning and needed to sit down. He sat back down on their bed and put his head between his knees. He was trying to block out what he had seen, but his brain would not allow it. Her perky breasts, round butt, and…her very much private part. He felt very sick for thinking of her body when Poppy was probably mortified.

Poppy couldn't bear the thought of leaving the bathroom, but she had to get her day started. Her face still felt very hot when she opened the bathroom door and every step she took was a little shaky. When she reached the bedroom she froze when she saw Branch in there. Then her mind reminded her she had just seen his bare toned body, butt, and his more than average sized shaft. Branch looked over and saw Poppy standing in the doorway and turned away from her. She quietly took some clothes and then left the room. She proceeded to change her clothes in the bathroom and took a few deep breaths before leaving the pod. 10 minutes ago she was thinking about how excited she was to come back home to Branch, now she didn't know what to feel.

Branch didn't dare leave the room until he knew for sure that Poppy was gone. When it had been quiet for a while and he heard the pod door close he gave it a few more minutes before coming out. He was needed in the village to help with some repairs, but he knew he was going to have a hard time focusing. All he could think about was how stupid he was.

Everyone in the village noticed something was off with Poppy, but they didn't want to pry too much. After the morning song, she didn't stick around like normal instead she quietly snuck away. She could barely pay attention when Satin and Chenille were going over dress ideas. She tried her best to sound as excited as she could, but she was still embarrassed from this morning.

"Are you ok, Poppy? You looked a little flushed." noticed Satin.

"It looks like you've seen a ghost." Chenille added.

"Huh? Oh…I'm just tired I guess." Poppy shrugged.

The twins didn't ask anything more about it and continued to gush over their dresses. Poppy modeled a few of them, but everytime she looked in the mirror all she could see was her naked body. She remembered Branch's eyes widening when he saw her and felt sick to her stomach. She felt relieved when the twins were done, but she didn't know how she was going to get through the rest of the day thinking about this. She didn't have her meeting with the farmers until another hour, so she figured the best thing to do was go back to the pod and try to talk with Branch.

It took Branch a long time to leave the pod, but he headed to the pods where trolls had requested his help. Branch thought he could handle this, but he remembered one of those trolls was Peppy. Branch knew he could pick up if something was wrong. Just fix his sink and get out, he told himself over and over.

"How are you and Poppy getting on? Do you like your new pod?" Peppy asked. When Branch didn't answer, Peppy cleared his throat and tried again.

"Branch?"

"Huh? Oh sorry, did you say something?"

"I was just asking how you and Poppy were liking your new pod."

"Oh it's great. We love it."

"Is everything alright? You seem a little distracted."

"Yeah I'm fine, I'm just…thinking about the other repairs I need to make today."

"You're the one for the job, that's for sure. I appreciate you coming by to help, I know you stay busy."

"I always have time to help you, Peppy."

Luckily for Branch, he was able to get through Peppy's repair without another incident. After he finished his last repair, all he wanted to do was go home. As Branch was walking back, his plan was short-lived when he saw Floyd racing towards him.

"Floyd?"

"Branch…" He paused to catch his breath. "Come quick!"

Branch didn't have time to ask what was going on as Floyd dragged him towards the village. Then he understood when he saw the scene, one of the putt putt trolls was on the ground knees to their chest rocking back and forth sobbing uncontrollably. Viva and Clay were trying to calm the troll down without success. Branch noticed a flash of pink from the corner of his eye. Poppy had come running when she had heard the news as a good Queen would. Both of their eyes met for a second before they looked away. Embarrassment was still fresh on their brains. Suddenly it made sense why Floyd came to find him, Branch had once been in that troll's hair. Feeling afraid to be in a new place, going from a place where it was quiet to loud noises, and recovering from nightmares about bergens. Branch knew what he needed to do, but that would involve getting in Poppy's space too. He gulped and walked towards the putt putt troll and Poppy, kneeling down beside the sobbing troll.

"What's your name?" Branch asked gently.

It caused the troll to stop for a second. "Lily." She managed to say.

"Lily…what's troubling you?"

"I don't like it here, I want to go back home."

Branch nodded. "You may not believe me, but I know how you feel."

"How could you possibly know? You don't even know me."

"You're right. I don't, but I know how hard it can be to adjust to a new environment. It's overwhelming and there's a lot of feelings to process."

Poppy watched as Branch was talking to Lily and temporarily the feeling of embarrassment between them went away. Branch had a way to get through to trolls going through a rough time than she did, it was something she admired greatly. Viva, Clay, Floyd, and the other putt putt trolls looked on in amazement too. Eventually, Lily was moved by Branch's words and almost tackled him in a hug, he didn't mind though and returned her hug.

"Whoa Branch, that was amazing!" Clay exclaimed.

"How did you know what to say?" Viva asked.

Branch shrugged. "It just came to me."

Viva nodded. "Thank you for helping her, I didn't really know what to say because I'm still learning about this myself. I felt so helpless."

"Yeah, me too." Poppy added.

"And sometimes not knowing what to say is ok too. Sometimes someone just wants to be heard, like when Poppy was there for me."

Her head shot up as she heard him say her name and they looked at each other for a moment and shared a small smile. Viva and Clay went over to check on Lily and Floyd patted Branch on the back before leaving himself, leaving the two trolls alone.

"That was really great, Branch. Seriously." Poppy said.

"I was happy to do so." Branch said.

"Um...perhaps we should talk later about…this morning."

Branch nodded. "Yeah, I agree."

"Or we can now."

"I think it's best if we wait until later. I know you have a full day today."

"I know, but I just want to make sure we're ok." She hung her head and he didn't hesitate to lift it back towards him.

"We are ok, Poppy. I promise. We'll talk later, go be the best Queen you can be today."

They shared another soft smile with each other before parting ways. Poppy felt a little better, but she still felt like her stomach had been punched. She did her best to carry on with the rest of her duties, she had no problems until her meeting with the Kingdoms leaders was coming to an end. The meeting itself went very well, but Poppy was feeling nervous about what was to come when she got back home.

"You ok there Popsqueak?" Barb asked.

"Huh? Hey Barb." Poppy replied.

"I repeat, are you ok? Looks like something's bothering you."

"I'm ok. Promise."

Barb smirked. "You can't hide your feelings from me Pops, you wear your heart on your sleeve. What's troubling you?"

"Me and Branch have been living together for a week now…"

"WAIT! You and your boyfriend are living together?! Geez, I've been gone for a few months and I miss all of this?! Sorry…Sorry. You were saying?"

"We had kind of an embarrassing moment this morning…and it'll be embarrassing to talk about it with him."

"Say no more. I've been there, and I'll be real with you. You just have to suck it up and deal with it."

"Barb!"

"What? I'm being for real, communicating is fundamental in a relationship. How many times do you think I've told people I don't like that I don't like them. You got to get your feelings on the table."

"I know, you're right. I've never had an awkward moment with Branch before."

"Be prepared for more, when you live with someone you learn everything about them."

"I didn't realize you were this deep, Barb."

"Yeah, let's keep it between us. I don't want the rock trolls coming to me for advice over cheesy stuff."

"Isn't that kind of your job?"

"We don't talk about relationship problems in my world. We just let it bottle up and fester until we explode."

"Sounds…healthy."

Barb playfully punched her arm. "Good luck, Popcorn."

The walk back to their pod felt like a thousand miles. Finally, Poppy made her way up the tree and with her head held high she opened the door. Branch was sitting on the couch, reading a book and looked over when he heard the door open. He closed it and set it down on the coffee table and motioned for Poppy to come over. Poppy nodded and sat beside him on their couch. The two of them shared a moment of silence.

"So-"

"I-"

They both laughed awkwardly and looked down. Another moment of silence passed before Branch decided to try to talk again.

"Poppy…I'm really sorry for walking in on you this morning. As well as my reaction, I hope I didn't hurt your feelings. You know I think you're beautiful in any shape and form, we just haven't-"

"It's ok Branch…I should have locked the door."

"Well I should have knocked first, I thought you had left this morning."

Poppy chuckled. "Did you always undress before going into the bathroom?"

"Kinda…I haven't done it since we moved in here, until now."

"So…to bring up the elephant in the room. We saw each other naked."

Branch blushed a little. "We did. So where do we go from here?"

"Well, a good friend told me that sometimes with awkward things, you just have to deal with them. I think it's safe to say that this was awkward and embarrassing for both of us."

"It was…but can I say it also feels like a relief?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well think about it, it was bound to happen at some point. Isn't it kind of a relief knowing we got that awkwardness over with? So when the time is right and we want to well…you know. We already know what to expect."

Poppy thought about it for a second. "That's an interesting way to look at it."

"Your wise friend has a point, an embarrassing thing can be taken by how you perceive it. We can either be awkward about this or accept that it happened and move on."

"I choose to move on."

"Me too."

"You have a nice body by the way."

"Right back at you."

"Wanna know something silly? I thought you wouldn't want to live with me anymore after this morning."

"It'll take a lot more than seeing how perky your breasts are for that to happen." Branch said with a sly smile.

"Branch!"

"I love how flustered you get when I tease you. In all seriousness though, I promise I won't think about your body like that, at least not until we're more intimate. Until then, I'll make sure to knock on the door."

"That sounds like a plan. You know, no matter the situation, I'm so happy I get to come home to you."

Poppy was met with a sweet kiss from Branch. "Me too, Poppy. I love you."

"I love you too, toned butt and all."

"Ah so you admit you were looking!"

"So were you!"

They bantered back and forth for a little longer before it resulted in one of their ticket fights until they both fell off the couch. Today was a huge lesson for both of them. It wouldn't be the last embarrassing moment the couple would share, but they knew if they could overcome this they could overcome anything life threw their way.

Hi there! I'm sorry for the long update, work has been hectic. Hopefully once things settle down, I'll have time to update faster. This was another first that turned out different than originally thought, I'm sure we have all experienced something like this before. My favorite part in this is that Poppy and Branch, though embarrassed, come together and push through when there is another troll in need. Hope everyone enjoyed, and stay tuned for the next one!

~Ash