The two trolls, one blue and one pink, who had just confessed their reciprocated love for each other and shared the most connected high five of their lives, proceeded to laugh in pure delight and excitement.
Poppy had been hoping, waiting for Branch to say something, to confirm to her his feelings, had waited for him to make the first move, knowing he'd be more comfortable that way. She was a good actor when it came to hiding her own romantic feelings for her best friend, who had grown so much in the almost four months since the Trolls befriending of the Bergen's, as she was always good at putting the needs of her people before her own and wearing an aura of complete upbeat confidence --- not to say her euphoric attitude was fake, no, far from it, she just had complex emotions like anyone else and knew when she needed to hide it so her subjects wouldn't worry about her --- they could be overbearing if they thought she was ever the tiniest bit out of sorts.
But now that he had come out and said it, she felt her insides exploding with more joy then she had ever felt before. Just now seeing Branch erupt into a belly laugh that made him swing his head back, she felt the boldest desire fill her, and when he came upright again, arms falling into a loose hold across his stomach and looked her in the eye with his striking blue irises, grinning from ear to ear, she acted without thinking.
Suddenly she had leaped forward, swiftly bringing her lips to press against his. Eyes closed, she couldn't see the way Branch's arms flung out to hover beside her and the shocked look on his face as he instinctively pursed his lips against hers. She felt his face heat up and savored the smooth feeling of the edges of his mouth before breaking away. As soon as her eyes opened, she realized what she'd done and her own face heat up in an uncontrollable blush that painted her cheeks bright red. Embarrassed, she hugged herself and looked away, shocked at herself. She had just been waiting for what seemed like so long.
Branch's face was as lavender as his nose, as were the tips of his translucent aquamarine ears and she watched his large hands come up to his chest, one bypassing to shyly cup his chin and trace his lower lip with his thumb. "P-Poppy." He managed to utter before the action processed on the Trolls nearest to them. Some civilians of Pop Village suddenly looked shocked, but what really drew Poppy and Branch's attention, making them both turn their heads to look, were the chorus of enlightened squeals from the Snack Pack, all of which had managed to congregate in a group around them when they weren't paying attention.
Their wide, staring eyes made Poppy widen her eyes as well and Branch rubbed his arm while looking away, a soft smile returning to his face.
"I knew it!" Biggie exclaimed, fanning himself. "Oh my gah! Oh my gah! Oh my gahhhh!" Smidge was squealing over and over, tears in her eyes and her little hands balled into fists against her cheeks. "Whew, that was unexpected." Legsly said and DJ Suki nodded rapidly in agreement. "I never would have guessed!" She huffed with a confused smile. Satin and Chenille simply squealed like kids on Candy Day, clasping hands with each other. Fuzzbert ran in frantic circles, gibbering. "Was only a matter of time." Guy Diamond said, simply crossing his arms and squinting knowingly while Tiny Diamond gaped at them from half-way inside his father's hair.
"Surprise." Poppy said weakly, giving out jazz-hands. She couldn't believe she had done that. They had only just confessed and she was sure Branch hadn't been quite ready for their first kiss yet, she didn't think she had been ready, but it was hard to scold herself when she remembered all too clearly the blissful feeling of kissing him, in fact she couldn't wait to do it again. But all in good time. This was a moment she would cherish despite her initial embarrassment and inappropriate timing and looking at Branch's lovesick eyes and flustered yet happy state, she knew he would too.
She remembered the first time she had met the once lonely grey recluse, it was a blurry memory that only resurfaced from time to time, but she had been six years old, playing with her friends when she had noticed him at ten, sitting against a tree, watching them from afar; she turned away to participate in her turn in the game, and when she turned back, he had gone as if he were made of mist.
Only a few days later did Poppy manage to escape the constant watch her father had on her to go explore the neighboring forest beside the community of Pop Village. She had gotten hopelessly lost and had been on the verge of tears when she encountered the troll made of mist again, this time directly, he having noticed the young pink princess's plight and come to lightly scold her and guide her through the woods. He had made sure she got back to the village safely, lightly brushed off her thanks, and retreated back into the shadows. Poppy had returned home to the elder trolls searching for her, a muddy mess, but intact and filled with excitement over the story she had to tell. As she had took a bath, her worried father washing her hair, she told him about the grey troll boy that had helped her. King Peppy, recalling how the boy hadn't been seen for months and secretly was relieved to hear he was still around, gave her a word of advice but had otherwise been pretty vague, saying how he was troubled and preferred to be left alone, so she shouldn't try to bother him, he seemed to live in the woods now anyway and she wasn't allowed to venture out of the village, especially after today.
Poppy thought through her first encounters with the troll she now loved on the flight home in the Rock Trolls shuttles, sitting blissfully awake on an armchair, watching Branch who was dozing curled on the leather couch beside her.
Branch hadn't liked to be seen much in the days when he first moved into the beginnings of what would soon be classified as his bunker, and so when Poppy glimpsed him next, when she was eight, she had all but forgotten the first encounter with the older troll-ling. Many times she glimpsed his black hair on the edge of a crowd, always when she ventured towards the marketplace and the outer rims of her village, and every time her curiosity grew and grew.
If you asked present day Branch, he knew the next time he saw the pink princess was once he started coming into town more often. Once the demand for finishing the bunker and excitement of doing so and of his new found sense of freedom weared down, he was a teenager, and his loneliness became more prominent. Less distractions meant more free time and pondering, he took up writing and poetry around this time to lessen the effects but soon found himself being less and less discreet about being seen in the marketplace. He still only came when he absolutely had to but he was less and less afraid of the attention walking around in the open brought. He glimpsed Poppy around sometimes, off galavanting with her friends, despite her upbeat attitude completely contrasting with his pessimistic one, he found himself seeking her out to watch her, her antics were amusing and charming somewhat, and though he never approached her he made a regular activity of watching her whenever her and her friends passed by.
Poppy was twelve when she officially met Branch again, and he was fifteen. The princess had more and more freedom as the years went by, when the threat of the Bergans and unknowns of the forest dwindled away, she was allowed to venture farther and farther. The grey troll was good at escaping her whenever she saw his distinct black hair in a crowd and tried to catch up with him, but this time she had managed to catch him off guard. With her freedom finally passing the limits of the village and growing to the stretch of forest beyond, she found him writing something in the crook of a tree while he had thought he was hidden enough to watch her splashing through the creek, discreetly making sure his future Queen and one source of amusement wasn't picked off by a predator. She had settled down on a rock, her cute yellow dress slicked against her and dripping wet, enjoying the natural musical beat of the forest life around her, when she had coincidentally looked up to see the object if her curiosity in his hideout.
Startling him by swinging up beside him, she had properly introduced herself and pestered him with questions. Though most questions remained unanswered, Poppy finally got his name and realized her lifelong resolve and goal to cheer this interestingly grumpy troll up. Though she felt sorry for this clearly unhappy individual, there was something about his drastically different personality type to any other troll she knew and the mystery he was shrouded in that drew her to him. Yup, as an excitable tween she had developed a crush on who she would realize others referred to as the village grump, behind every friendly invitation she gave him and watched him dismiss, there was a center of fluttery cheesy schoolgirl love, and every invitation he dismissed or crushed, only strengthened her resolve to get through to him, even when the feelings of girlish lovestruck dwindled away as she matured. It wasn't until she saw how he looked at her while reciting a poem for Bridget to repeat that those feelings she hadn't realized were still there dormant in the farthest reaches of her mind, began to blossom forth, this time deeper and savoury and real. And they only grew brighter as Branch's endearing side shone through more and more. He had regained his True Colors, and those three little words had been spoken. Poppy was sure of her feelings when that had happened. Though their relationship didn't go beyond friendship for months after and Poppy grew confused on what those words had really meant when he had said them when things didn't escalate, she respected that he might simply not be ready for such things yet and kept her peace. Unknown to each other, both trolls had always hoped things would fall into place. Now they had. There was no doubt in Poppy's mind that they were really starting the next step, that everything would only get better from here. And she couldn't be happier.
