Finally, after several hours of singing and dancing and hugging... lots of hugging... the trolls arrived safely back in their village, Poppy and Branch holding hands as they smiled lovingly at one another.
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"So..." Poppy said, smiling wide at Branch as the two of them walked through the now empty village, all the other trolls having already gone inside to rest after their long journey. "Now that we've befriended the Bergens... we could hang out for a bit. We can do anything you want. What do you say? I just can't wait to finally spend some quality time with my best friend!"
She playfully punched Branch's arm, smiling up at him as she awaited his answer, desperately hoping it would finally be 'yes'.
Now that he didn't have the Bergens to worry about and was finally happy... maybe he would actually go to some parties with her. The only one he'd ever been to, was her 14th birthday party, and that one... well... it didn't start out too great for him... she was sure he would have much more fun at the next one...
Branch sighed at Poppy's words, looking away from her as his ears drooped slightly in disappointment.
"Well..." he started softly. "I'd love to hang out with you, but..." He paused, looking back up at her with another sigh. "My... my bunker..."
Oh no... Poppy couldn't help but think he was about to lock himself away from the world again. Away from her... could his survival instincts really be that strong?
A sad tear came to her eye at all the horrible thoughts swirling through her brain. She just wanted to be with him so badly, and actually thought she finally had a chance after this whole adventure. But now... she wasn't too sure... that is... until Branch continued...
"All the trolls destroyed everything down there, and now I have to clean it all up," he continued sadly, looking away from her yet again.
He just wanted to clean! What a relief... He wasn't going back into isolation after all!
When she thought about it... it kinda made sense why Branch would put off doing fun activities until after he cleaned up his bunker. After all... it was his home. She probably wouldn't want to live in a pigsty either...
"Can I help?" the new queen finally asked with a smile, seeing this as a great opportunity to get to know him better.
Branch blinked as he looked back up at her, shocked by the question.
"Really?" he asked in confusion, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "You want to help me clean my bunker?"
He was flattered by the offer, but didn't think she would really enjoy it. Bunker maintenance was a pretty hard job, and it definitely wasn't for everyone...
"Well... yeah," Poppy shrugged. "I love to help my friends."
"Um... ok..." he said reluctantly, knowing she would probably leave the first chance she got once she saw the mess down there, going off on her own to do something more fun. And he certainly wouldn't blame her if she did... "You can help," he continued, making sure she understood he wouldn't keep her there any longer than she wanted to be. "But if at any point you want to just leave..." "Don't worry, Branch," she chuckled, interrupting the blue troll's statement while understanding his concerns. "Nothing is better than spending time with you."
She kissed his cheek, and he blushed, looking away shyly, as a huge smile broke out on his bright blue face.
"Come on, Branch," Poppy said with a soft chuckle, taking his large hand gently in hers, as they both began to walk towards Branch's bunker, leaning their heads against one another lovingly, neither one of them needing to say even a single word to know what the other was thinking. Love... it was pure, undying love...
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In a bush not far away, Creek was stealthily watching the two trolls, a malicious grin on his face, as he cackled evilly to himself.
