Chapter Text
While she’d never ever in a million hug times ever admit it outloud, Poppy knew that she really needed to listen to Branch more as the rain pelted against her hair and soaked into her clothes. He’d outright told her it was going to storm that day, pointing out different weather patterns indicated by the plants, the pressure in the air, and even the clouds off in the distance, but she just didn’t want to listen. Yes, the clouds had been there, but they’d looked far enough away that she figured she could do all of her daily tasks and get home before anything ever dropped, so she’d almost completely ignored his warnings. She’d brought an umbrella, but with how awkward it was to carry the now full basket of berries she’d left home to pick, she’d left it in the clearing.
Like an idiot.
She pouted and stared at the ruined basket in her shaking arms, a whine escaping her as she set it down under a leafy tree. Her limbs were shivering too hard for her to carry it properly, so she’d have to see if she could go back for it once the rain stopped. If it ever did. It was coming down in sheets and she could barely see three inches in front of her, much less her way back to Pop Village. She’d probably be stuck outside all night.
A groan ripped its way out of her throat as she trudged on, trying her best to find some form of shelter that wasn’t already flooded. Maybe she should make a card for Branch so she could apologize for her stupidity, something she’d been working on but still struggled with. Being right always felt so good! So it sucked when she ended up being wrong and hated it, numbly wondering why she didn’t listen to Branch more. He was usually right and way more logical. And kinda cute when he had that satisfied smirk…
A sudden pain in her foot stopped her train of thought in its tracks and she swore loudly, for once not having to worry about other ears hearing her. She grunted angrily and sat down to try and take the pressure off of her injured toes, looking around for what she could’ve possibly slammed them into. It just looked like the regular forest around Pop Village, various rocks and trees and moss blankets surrounding her, but there was a certain familiarity about it that she couldn’t quite place.
Until the floor gave out and she was sliding downwards underground.
She couldn’t help but shriek and flail her arms in an attempt to get some sort of feel for her suddenly dark surroundings, mind working frantically to figure out how to escape whatever creature she’d fallen into. But there wasn’t any glow of stomach acid like the last time she’d been swallowed, just a small tapping as she slowed to a stop in the darkness of the unknown. It created a pit in her stomach and she quickly stood up to try and feel her way around, hands barely finding anything, but her feet let her know that at least the floor was empty. Nothing to stub her toes on. Maybe it wasn’t a creature?
The tapping she could hear got closer and it began to sound like something mechanical, kind of like an old clock in Bergen Town that Brigette had shown her. Or like Branch’s elevator-
As soon as she made the realization, her eyes adjusted and the shadowy outlines of the upper level of Branch’s bunker came into view, the lack of traps suddenly causing her heart rate to speed up in relief. If they’d been there when she fell, it would’ve been the straw that broke the camel’s back and she would’ve started crying. It wouldn’t be a pretty sight.
“Branch…?” She called out cautiously as the elevator came closer, a hatch in the floor pushing open and allowing light from below to spill forward. It blinded her for a second and she swore again, hair coming down to shield her eyes out of instinct as she shrieked out the not so nice words.
Said troll she’d been calling for slid into view with his elevator, eyes wide and ears twitching slightly at what he was hearing. “Well…that’s something you don’t hear everyday,” he mumbled as her hair retreated back into its ponytail, “Didn’t know you knew those words,”
She whined and reached up to wring her hair out, scowling tiredly. “I’m not a baby, Branchifer, I’m 22 years old,” she mumbled, feeling the squishing in her dress as she moved. It was becoming really overstimulating and she was starting to lose it.
Branch blinked a little bit at her bluntness and did a once-over of her, eyes mapping out every part of her. The soaking wet hair, the slightly sagging dress, and the tired look in her own bright pink eyes. It gave him every bit of information he needed and he smugly leaned forward on the elevator’s lever, careful not to push it.
“You didn’t listen to me, did you?” He hummed, a teasing note to his voice that had her tensing slightly.
But as much as she didn’t wanna admit it, she sort of enjoyed it when he teased her. The way he smiled ever so slightly and tilted his head as his blue skin fluctuated a little to let her know just how much he was enjoying himself. It warmed her heart to see him enjoying something after all those years of depression and isolation, even if it was at her expense. And besides, he was right.
“Yeah…” She mumbled sheepishly, head drooping in shame, “I thought I’d have more time before the storm, so I went berry picking so I could bake while it rained…kinda stupid, huh?”
Branch shrugged and leaned back, beckoning her towards him and onto the platform. “Not entirely. The rain started sooner than even I thought, so-” he hummed, the elevator lowering as soon as she joined him, “Plus…gives you an excuse to stay over. At- at least until it stops,”
Poppy didn’t miss the way his face flushed a darker blue at his own words, nor the way his fingers twisted slightly against the palms of his hands. A nervous fidget she’d seen him do over the years that she’d recently learned all of his brothers did, making it slightly cuter in her mind's eye. She liked learning new things about him and had to restrain herself from leaning closer to him, lest she made him uncomfortable.
“You sure that’s okay?” She asked softly, planting her feet to stay steady as the platform slid into its place on the bottom level, “I can just borrow an umbrella and find my own way back home,”
He waved a hand and glanced at her, eyes sliding up and down as he took in how she looked again. “Popcorn, in the nicest way I can say, you’re a complete mess right now and need a shower,” he said, nodding his head towards a door to their left, “I can get you some dry clothes and set up a place for you tonight. Not a bother, I have more than enough space,”
She found herself smiling slightly and gave in to the urge to lean closer, pressing a quick kiss to his flushed cheek. “Are you sure you don’t just want a sleepover with your girlfriend?” She teased, resting her chin against his shoulder, “Casanova~”
Branch’s face somehow turned slightly purple with how flushed he got, but he simply cleared his throat. “It is a perk, but you also do need to clean up. I’ll get everything set up, okay?”
She started to roll her eyes, ready to retort that she felt fine, when a shiver ran up her spine and she shuddered, pressing her face into his neck and wrapping her arms around his to try and get some kind of warmth. “Please tell me you can get hot water down here,” she whined, feeling his hand run through her ponytail and take the hair tie out.
“Yes, Popcorn, have for a while,” he hummed, gently pushing her towards the bathroom, “Go warm up,”
She nodded and turned to give him a quick kiss before making her way into the surprisingly clean bathroom, turning on the shower and tugging off her clothes to crawl in. The warmth made her nearly melt and she sat down in the tub to soak it all in for a moment and just think for a few seconds.
Branch really was a sweetheart for doing this for her. Even if he was her boyfriend, she knew how much he valued his personal space, including his bunker. He could’ve easily just handed her an umbrella or something, or simply helped her home, but he instead nearly insisted that she stay with him and get cleaned up. It made her chest feel fuzzy and she found herself grinning a little bit at the thought of just how wonderful he was. Just how perfectly she scored in the boyfriend department. She really couldn’t have picked better.
A small knock at the door knocked her out of her thoughts and she hummed, making sure the shower curtains kept her hidden from the rest of the world before letting him know it was safe to come in.
He still walked in with his eyes screwed tight, setting a bundle of cloth on the counter. “Just brought you some clothes,” he said, making sure to not even turn in her direction, the gentleman, “I didn’t have any of your clothes- you’d never left any here, so- mine should fit you, at the very least,”
The thought sent a small shiver of happiness up her spine and she peeked out to take a look at her lover. “Your clothes?” She hummed, eyeing the pile of cloth, “Okay! I’m almost done in here,”
She smiled a little bit at the way he all but scrambled out of the bathroom to give her space. Messing with him was so much fun.
His clothes fit her like a glove and she suddenly found a new appreciation for the fact he always made his clothes a tad bigger than they had to be. It was an old shirt that fell slightly off of her shoulder and a pair of his shorts that had to be secured with a rope belt, but she felt even more like a princess than she usually did in her boyfriend’s old clothes. They even smelled like him.
She squealed softly and pressed the collar to her nose as she walked out, her wet hair falling into her face. “I’m stealing these, by the way,” she purred when she spotted Branch by a little couch with a set of pillows and a few blankets.
He glanced up from where he was standing and blinked rapidly before sighing and shaking his head with a smile. “I dunno what else I expected,” he said, standing fully with a stretch.
Poppy didn’t give him any time to properly get the stretch out before wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face to his chest. “Am I sleeping on the couch tonight?” She asked, propping her chin against him to look him in the face.
Branch turned bright purple and blinked again at how close they were, arms hovering slightly around her while he tried to figure out where they belonged. “Um- I was planning on actually-”
“It’s your home, Branchifer,” she said softly, “You get the bed and I’ll get the couch if that would make you more comfortable. I’m already wearing your clothes and staying the night, I’m not gonna invade your bed, too,”
He sighed softly and nodded, finally settling his arms around her middle. “Okay…you promise you’re okay with the couch?”
She nodded and pecked him on the nose before letting go of him and stepping back, climbing into the nest of blankets with a happy chirp. “I love you, Branch,” she sang, peeking out at him from her burrow of comfort, “Sleep tight,”
“I love you too, Poppy,” he said softly, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before turning on his heel and climbing into bed. He reached up to press a button on the wall and the room went dark around them, bathing them in a comfortable silence that they quickly fell asleep to.
For once, Branch wished he had normal dreams, or even none at all. Anything would be better than the constant nightmares. Hell, the least they could do would be to start out like nightmares so he knew what he was dealing with.
For the past 20 years, they’d started off the same with him gathering supplies in the forest, but more recently, they’d begun to start with him and Poppy singing in the middle of Pop Village, with optional friends joining them. It always felt surreal, to be in love and singing like he always enjoyed as a kid, and feeling happy for the first time in years. To feel her hands in his as they danced around like idiots for an imaginary audience, their voices flowing together like nectar that seemed to simply belong together. They belonged together.
But he knew it couldn’t last. Not when her hands suddenly disappeared and he felt himself collide with the cold forest floor. The world was freezing and he shuddered, curling in on himself and looking around for his girlfriend. He tried calling her name several times, but the words seemed to stick themselves inside of his throat, cutting off his air and making him start to choke. The tears started at some point, but he couldn’t pinpoint when.
As he clawed at his throat in a desperate attempt to try and say anything, she appeared in front of him. Her bubblegum skin and bright pink hair were gone, replaced with the cold gray he remembered her donning so long ago in Bergen Town. Her fuschia eyes were replaced with dark red ones, and they simply regarded him like he was a piece of trash she’d found on the side of the street. His stomach turned just seeing it. Why couldn’t he look away?
He opened his mouth to try and speak, but it felt like his lips were glued shut and more tears spilled out as he tried to scratch at them, trying desperately to free himself from his silent prison.
“I don’t know why I even bothered…” Poppy suddenly mumbled, stepping away from him with disgust when he tried to reach out to her, “You’re just a burden…it is so hard to get along with you, ya know. You make it so difficult to love you,”
She turned with those words and began to walk away, her color reappearing with each step she took away from him. Bright pink sprouted from her hair and her silver freckles returned with the more distance she put between them. His vision had almost completely blurred with how many tears he was trying to hold back.
And suddenly, he was alone again. The world around him seemed to simply flicker out of existence and swallow him up in the darkness. They’d all left him, he had no one anymore. And why wouldn’t they? It’s not like he had anything worth giving. He’d always messed everything up, no matter what he did. Nothing he ever did was good enough to get people to stay, or it managed to hurt them beyond repair or return. Why had Poppy even bothered with him anyway? Hadn’t she seen he was a lost cause? He really should’ve been used to it by then.
But that didn’t mean he wanted to be alone. Tears tickled his chin and cheeks and he sobbed as best he could with no words, hands coming up to fist through his hair. None of his pleas for her or his brothers to come back seemed to come out, just a heavy silence and his shaking as he felt himself rock back and forth where he sat, face tucked into his knees.
The rocking slowly got more violent and he could finally hear something…someone was calling his name? Someone was back for him!
He peeled his eyes open with a shaky whine and tried to get a grip on what he was seeing, but his vision was considerably blurred, he couldn’t see anything but a blob of bright pink in front of him. That seemed to be what was calling his name, too.
“Branch? Branch! Hey! Hey hey- there you are. Are you okay?” The blob asked, soft hands gently cupping his cheeks and wiping away the wetness. He leaned into them without thinking, a rather pitiful whimper ripping from his throat without his permission. The blob seemed to go quiet at that.
“Don’t leave-” he managed to choke out through his tears, relieved that he could finally speak again, “Ple-ase don’ leave me h’re,”
The hands on his face paused for a moment before they gently wiped his eyes, his vision clearing slightly. He could finally see that it was Poppy in front of him, her hands on his face and her own twisted with worry. She was kneeling at the side of his bed and was still wearing the old shirt he’d pulled from his drawer earlier in the night. She looked beautiful.
She frowned and tilted her head a little bit, seeing something change in his face. “I’m not gonna leave, honey…I promise,” she whispered, one of her hands moving to run through his hair, “Are you there now..? Do you know who I am..?”
He nodded as he finally began to fully wake up, consciousness returning to his body as he remembered all of the events from the night. The heavy rain that had started hours earlier than he’d anticipated, Poppy accidently sliding into his bunker when she couldn’t find her way home, giving her his clothes after the shower, offering her to stay the night, it all came back to him. However, so did the mortifying realization of what had happened just then.
She’d definitely seen him having a nightmare and he had a hundred percent been crying and talking in his sleep, the slight pain around his neck and lips suggesting he’d maybe even been moving. It was absolutely mortifying as he realized and he felt heat rise to his face, tugging the blanket up to try and hide himself. It dislodged the hands holding him and he didn’t particularly like that, but it was what he had to sacrifice in order to get out of this situation. She shouldn’t have had to see him like that.
“Branch?” Poppy said softly, her hand coming up to touch the top of his head, “Honey, come back, it’s okay,”
“M sorry…” He mumbled out, beginning to shake like a leaf, “Sorry- you can go back to bed now,”
He heard a small huff from above him and he internally thanked and cursed his girlfriend’s stubbornness as the bed dipped beside him and a warm body pressed against his. There was almost no time to fully process what she’d done before she slipped under the blanket with him, face pinched with concern. She was in his bed now.
“I’m not going back to sleep until I know you’re okay,” she said softly, reaching over to grab one of his hands, “Baby, you were screaming in your sleep…”
A year ago, he would’ve swatted her hand away and curled up further, telling her to buzz off and that he didn’t need someone looking out for him. That he had been just fine on his own for 20 years, he could survive another nightmare, he didn’t need comfort after a stupid dream.
But now? Being held by his girlfriend, the one person in the entire world he knew he could trust not to leave him, he allowed himself to feel vulnerable. Like the little kid he never got to be.
“Nightmare…” He managed to get out, eyes dropping to the bedsheets between them so he didn’t have to look her in the eyes, “I get ‘em all the time…”
“All the time?” She asked quietly, pushing closer to press her lips to his knuckles, “Like every night?”
He nodded and squeezed his eyes shut. “Yeah- uh- since grandma…” He didn’t want to finish and hoped she’d just drop it there and leave him to process it on his own like he was used to.
But he knew her. And she wasn’t going anywhere.
“About what?” She asked softly, wiggling closer to hold his face in her other hand again, “You were calling for me…to come back. To not leave,”
He curled up tighter to try and escape the embarrassment, more tears sliding off his face and into the palm of her hand. “Yeah- uh…you left,” he said quickly, beginning to shake again, “Like- like my brothers did. You were all gray again and- and when you left, all of the color came back the further away from me you got and you seemed to be so much happier when you weren’t near me and I-”
He didn’t realize how much he’d begun to cry until his chest squeezed with the pain of forgetting to breathe, sobs clawing their way up his throat and into the space between them. His face was suddenly pushed against something soft and strawberry scented and he pressed himself closer, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend like she’d disappear if he let go. Gentle hands carded through his hair and he shook harder.
“Please don’t go..” He sobbed pathetically after a second, burying his face against her chest, “Please don’t leave me alone again…”
Poppy hugged him tighter, her grip on his body grounding. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise I’m not going anywhere,” she said firmly, breath brushing against his ear as she pressed closer to drive her point home, “I’ll always be right here, okay? No matter what,”
He nodded and took a shaky breath, exhaling as slowly as he could to try and get his heart rate under control. It worked after a few minutes and he sniffled, reaching up to rub his eyes roughly to get rid of any remaining tears.
“Hey, no,” she said gently, pulling his hand away from his face and brushing the tears away herself with a soft touch that had him purring, “Be gentle with my boyfriend. He’s very precious to me, ya know…”
He sobbed again, softer this time, and opened his eyes to stare at her quietly. “Sorry…”
She smiled and kissed his nose. “It’s okay, he can take a little bit of being mean, but not when I’m around-”
“No,” he said with a small laugh, shaking his head, “I’m…sorry you had to see all of that. And that I woke you up with all of this. I..I kinda hoped it wouldn’t happen while you were here,”
She frowned and cupped his face in her hand, thumb carefully pressing against the space under his eye. “Don’t apologize for this,” she said firmly, her voice so sure of itself that he fell almost completely silent to listen to her, “You can’t control it and I’m happy to help in any way I can, alright? I’m not gonna leave you alone to deal with this, Branch, you’re my partner and I’m gonna be right here for every nightmare if I have to. You mean so much to me, I hate to hear that you’re in pain for any reason…and if I can help, even if it’s just being here, I’ll be here every night. For as long as you need me,”
He took a shaky breath and leaned into the hand on his face, eyes wide. “And if I’ll always need you..?” He whispered.
She grinned and pressed their foreheads together. “Well then I guess I’ll always be here,” she whispered, like a secret between the two.
More tears welled up in his eyes and he hiccupped softly, gaze dropping from her intense one to look at the bedsheets again. “I- how did I get so lucky?” He whispered to himself.
Poppy lifted his face to look him in the eyes again, her brilliant smile lighting up the dark blanket they were hidden under. “I ask myself that every time I see you,” she said softly, pressing several small kisses all over his face with tender care only she could give to him.
Branch laughed softly and leaned into it, a content purr rising from his throat. “Can I have a real kiss?” He asked quietly as her lips connected with his temple, “Please?”
She gasped softly and pressed their noses together in mock surprise. “You want a kiss from Poppy? Want to kiss her on the lips like girlfriend?” She whispered, grinning at the giggle that earned her.
He nodded and grinned as well, allowing himself to be kissed once his laughter had died down. She’d kissed him a lot over the past few weeks after Mount Rageous, but he thought that every single one of them was special. The way their lips pressed together like perfect pieces of a puzzle, perfect, like they belonged together like that. How he could always smell the faint scent of her strawberry shampoo, even under his soap she’d borrowed during the shower earlier, piercing his nose and invading his thoughts for hours, long after their kiss had ended and they’d parted ways for whatever reason. The vanilla flavored chapstick she always wore seemed to intoxicate him and he pressed closer for more every time, his hands coming up to hold her cheeks like a lifeline. There were little bumps on her skin that she’d confided with him that she thought were weird and gross, but they were some of his favorite things to feel. She was absolutely perfect kissing him and he never wanted it to end.
But all good things had to, eventually. All too soon, she was leaning back to take a breath, tips of her fingers sliding into the edges of his hair as she smiled, nudging his face away when he tried to press closer for more.
“I have to breathe, silly,” she whispered, giggling.
“Breathing is overrated,” he grumbled, but relented and settled for pressing his face into the crook of her neck. He could smell a bit of himself on the shirt she was wearing and he decided right then and there that this was one of his favorite outfits on her. Maybe he should let her steal more of his clothes.
She kissed the tip of his ear and settled into bed with him, gently tugging the blanket off of their heads and tucking it around his shoulders and under his chin. “So sweet…” She said with a yawn, pressing her face into his hair.
He peeled an eye open and stared up at her for a moment, pushing down his own yawn. “You’re- you’re sleeping here tonight?” He whispered, trying to hide the delight in his voice.
She hummed and nodded, hand coming up to gently scratch the base of his skull, an action that sent shivers down his spine and had him purring again. “Gotta fend off the nightmares,” she whispered, figure drooping as exhaustion overtook her, “Besides, you’re the best cuddler,”
A bit of heat bloomed in his chest and face and he felt his cheeks ache as he grinned, face pressing back into her neck. “O-okay-” was all he could get out before sleep began to envelop him and turn his brain to mush.
“I love you, Branchie,” she whispered above him, her own purr vibrating against his ear. What a wonderful sound.
“I love you too, Popcorn,”