Requested by Broppy_tree_panch. Aight, ik, it's been a while since I updated, procrastination, writer's block, and coronavirus the main cause, and my Chromebook has a habit of shutting off the wifi at any time. I got another request I'll probably be publishing soon, along with another request for my other oneshots book if you wanna check that out, but be warned, it's a gay ship and it'll probably suck. So enjoy this one in the meantime! Hopefully.

Branch's POV

"Rosie, please come here. Please don't jump on me, you're gonna step on my-OW!" I roll over, seeing her giggle.

"That was funny! Do it again, Daddy!"

"I swear to god, you'll be a sadist when you grow up," I mutter under my breath before speaking in my normal voice. "No, that hurts. Here, jump on the bed instead. Jump on that instead of me."

"Hey, Daddy, when will Mama get back?"

"It's barely been five minutes. Is this gonna end up like the other time, where you want me to tell you a story?"

"Yeah, let's do that!"

I groan and run a hand down my face. "Fine. You want the same story again?" 

"No, I want a different one! I want the story of you and Mama's first date."

"Aight, fine, but remember, this is gonna be a long one. Settle in. So it started about a day after our adventure."

*FLASHBACK*

I'm just there in my bunker, gathering my things. King Peppy said that now that there was peace, we were moving back to the Troll Tree. I had my supplies ready to build a similar bunker. There's no way I'd be living in a pod. At least not in a long time. It'd remind me too much of...that.

"Now to get my weapons," I say to myself before a voice interrupts me.

"HIII!!!"

Then the little glitter shitter comes in with a wide-ass grin on his face. "Hey!"

"You? How'd you get in here? Why are you in here?"

"To help yoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooouuuu!" He sang in his usual annoying autotune voice. Then I'm met with a blast of glitter in my face.

"Okay, first, shut up. Second, there's this new thing. It's called knocking. Third, was it really necessary to shoot your ass glitter into my face? It's disgusting. Fourth, help me with what?" I raise an eyebrow and stuff a few tools into my bag.

"Help you get with Poppy! You both confessed, now it's time for the date!"

"Oh my god. Are you serious?"

"Yes!" He laughs, completely oblivious to my tone.

"Well then, too bad, it's not happening." Immediately, his smile disappears. I bet he wasn't expecting that response.

"Why not? I need Broppy to sail!"

"What the fuck is Broppy? Second, she didn't 'confess'. Those are just the lyrics of the song, she doesn't mean it. And even if she did, she meant it in a platonic way, declaring I'm now her friend," I choke a little at the last word, because it still hurts to have to accept it.

"What are you talking about? She loves you, she hugged you several times! She danced with you! She held hands with you!"

"If you remember correctly, she does that to everyone." Unamused, I start shoving him back to the entrance. "Go away. Remember, we're moving back to the Troll Tree. Go pack your things instead of shoving your nose into something that doesn't involve you." He starts squirming and wriggling, trying to free himself from me, in a surprisingly strong way. Like, I could barely keep a grasp on him. He's slippery as hell. I somehow managed to get him back up and shove him back outside, remembering to lock the doors so he didn't get back in.

"Don't go against me on this, Branch! She wants you!"

"Yeah, she wants me just like Bergens wanna eat your glittery ass. I'm positive on it!" I roll my eyes again and just continue gathering my weapons. I've barely finished putting away the first one before there's a knock interrupting me.

"I SAID GO AWAY!!!" I yell as loud as I can, hoping he'd finally get the message.

"Branch?" Wait, that's a female voice. OH SHIT, IT'S POPPY!

Dropping everything on the floor, I rush up the elevator and open the trapdoor.

"Oh, hey Poppy. Sorry, I thought you were someone else." I step out, still catching my breath. She just giggles and god, it's adorable as hell.

"Who was with you that made you yell like that?"

"Uh, the glitter guy...the one that shits out the glitter."

"Oh, Guy Diamond. Yeah, he's a handful." She laughs again, a bit of hair falling in her face. Every muscle in my body is straining to prevent me from pushing it back. "So what were you guys talking about for you to end up like this?"

"O-Oh, nothin'. He was just being an ass..." I look away, praying that she wouldn't see how red I was. She just had to remind me of that 'question'. I quickly changed the subject. "I had to kick his ass out so I could continue packing as King Peppy said."

"Oh yeah! What color is your pod going to be?"

I give her a confused look. "I'm not going to have a pod. I'm gonna build a second bunker by the Troll Tree. 

"But why not? You're happy now, aren't you?"

Well yeah, but I could be happier.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna be all smiley. Old habits take a bit to break, especially some that I've been doing for basically my whole life. Hell, this-" I gesture to my skin. "Is still something I'm not used to. It's gonna take a while to adapt."

"Oh. Well, it doesn't matter, I'll still be here for you!" She smiles brightly and hugs me, and it makes me wanna smile too. I hug her back, enjoying it until I get cockblocked.

"BROPPY!"

We both turn and sure enough, Glitter Shitter is there along with the rest of her friends.

"See! I told you!"

"Told them what?" Poppy lets go of me and look up at them.

"That you're-"

"No, no, no, no, he didn't tell them anything." I specifically look at him, giving him a look that says "say it and I'll stab you."

"Nothing, I'll tell you guys later." He understood my silent message. Good.

"Alright then...see you later!" She gives me another quick hug and bounces over to them, talking about how they're gonna decorate their new pods. Except for Glitter Shitter, of course. He just gives me a "told you"  look and walks off smirking.

"Tch."

I just shove my hands in my pockets and go back to my work. Soon enough, I'm done, with a few hours to spare. The mood to go outside hits me.

"I wanna go outside, dammit." I throw on a blue t-shirt and some black shorts and make my way towards my elevator when I hear someone knocking.

I bet it's him again. I bet he wants to get on my nerves again. At least he actually took my advice and knocked this time.

I look out the trapdoor but see no one. Confused, I open the door and instead get a shot of glitter in my eyes again.

"Fucking hell," I grunt and rub the glitter out of my eyes. When I finally get my vision back, all that's in front of me is a scrapbook. Weird. I open it up and a huge scrapbook Poppy pops up.

"Hey, Branch! Meet me at my pod!"

That's it? No reason behind? That's weird. Is he behind this?

I pick it up and fold it into my shirt pocket and set off, wondering what it is that she wants from me. Maybe he told her what he was telling me? I hope not, I don't need her coming to my bunker and asking me all sorts of questions.

I trudge through the forest and eventually into the village, seeing barely any light or anybody anywhere. It's completely devoid of anything. Like everyone is hiding. Soon enough I'm there, in front of her pod, seeing a bit of light coming out. There was talking as well...I could hear her voice. And someone else's. I contemplated eavesdropping, but then the door opened and someone started talking.

"So yeah. Oh, I also wanted to show you two scrapbooks I made with someone, but I ended up accidentally dropping one somewhere near Branch's bunker, but I can show you this one!" Then there was the sound of glitter being shot out, then a voice.

"Hey Poppy! I'm coming to meet you soon!"

"Huh? But that looks like...Branch?"

"No! I didn't do that!" I yell out without a second thought. But seeing the smirk on his face made me realize what I just did.

I jumped the gun! I got too caught up! Dammit! That bastard!

"Branch, what are you doing here?"

"Yeah Branch, what are you doing here?" The bastard smirks like the ass he is, probably thinking that he won.

"Because this bastard is trying to trick you! He left an identical one at my bunker!" I pull it out, showing her it.

"Guy Diamond, why are you doing this?" We both stare at him wanting answers.

"Let Branch answer, he's the one who is responsible for all this." Then he just flies away with his hair, leaving me all along with her.

"Get back here!" I go to follow him, but Poppy grabs onto my arm to prevent me.

"Don't bother; he's not gonna come back. Instead, why don't you tell me? Did it have something to do with why you were yelling when I came by?"

I swear to god, one day I'm gonna end up killing him. Jail sounds like heaven compared to having him in my life.

"I-I already told you, he was just being an ass." I look away, praying that it was dark enough to hide my face. Then I remembered it was only 6 pm. Dammit.

"You think I'd believe that?" Poppy places her hands on her hips, more serious than I've ever seen her.

"Yes?" I say, still looking away. She huffs and grabs my arm again, dragging me inside. It feels like I'm too weak to do anything. The only thing I can do right now is just let her pull me towards her couch. Poppy just sits beside me, and I can't tell if she knows how nervous she's making me.

"So are you ready to say the truth now?"

No, but then again, I doubt I'll ever be. Might as well say it now. After all, you only live once.

"Fine. I...I l-like you, Poppy, so..." I just trail off, biting down on my index finger. I brace myself for a scoff or laughter.

Well, the reaction was laughter, it was more of playful laughter than mocking laughter.

"That? That's what you're worried about?"

Well yeah, isn't that obvious? It might seem small to you, but it's a huge one for me.

"Yeah. That's what he was bugging me about earlier. He wanted to set us up on a date."

"Really?" She laughs again, and it's cute as hell. "Alright. Maybe not when it's this late."

"What are you talking about? It's barely 6 pm. Second, you're agreeing to this?"

"Yeah! Isn't it obvious?"

No, frankly, it isn't.

"No."

She shakes her head. "Do I need to say it verbally?"

OH SHIT. I KNOW WHAT SHE MEANS.

"W-Wait, are you saying that..."

"Yep!" She beams brightly, a smile so bright it should've come with sunglasses.

"A-Are you serious?!" This is too much to process. Holy shit!

"Yeah! How about tomorrow at 12? Near your bunker!"

"W-Wait, slow down. Since when? How? Why?"

She smiles widely again. She's been smiling a lot during this conversation. It's kinda weird. Not in a bad way, but not in a good way. It's honestly starting to creep me out just a teeny, tiny bit.

"Since our adventure, and it happened when you first sang to me. I thought it was pretty clear when I started singing with you. Wasn't it?"

"Not really," I say, mentally cursing myself for not seeing this sooner. "I just thought you were repeating the lyrics. After all, it doesn't seem plausible for you to like me too after a life of me ignoring you. Not to mention all those scrapbooks I destroyed."

"Yeah, I know. I saw them when I first came into your bunker.

Shit.

"Yeah, sorry about that. A-Anyway, I should probably be heading out now." I stand up and start heading towards the door.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow. At 12."

"Got it. I'll remember." I let out an awkward laugh, closing the door.

That's all you say! Come on. That's the worst thing I've ever heard. Real smooth. Nice job. Ah, fuck it, it's already over. I should focus on what's really important. Our date!

I still can't believe it. I'm going on a date with Poppy! I'm freaking out and-oh shit, I think I'm feeling an anxiety attack.

I ran back to my bunker, still trying to process all the events that happened today. I need to plan out for tomorrow. I need to choose what song I could sing, what food to bring, what to wear, what-

"HI!" Then something tackles me and starts shaking me. "See, I told you! She wanted you!"

"You..." I growl. "You bastard! You think that you can act all happy after doing something like this?"

"Yes! I did my job, and now I'm gonna help you plan out the date! I'll tell you all about her so you know what to do!"

I take in a breath to speak but don't when I realize he's right for once. Sure, I like her, but we barely talked during all these years. And even when we did, all I got to know is how insanely happy she constantly is.

"Aight, fine, cause you're right for once in your life. What does she like to do? Any activities? Besides scrapbooking."

He just grins and says, "Hold on, this has got to be in the right place! Come on!" He starts running back to the bunker, mentioning for me to follow him. At least it didn't take too long to get back; due to the fact, I was already halfway there. I undo the locks, jumping in, Guy following me. I sit on my bed, with a notebook and a pencil in hand.

"Aight, I'm all ears."

"Okay, so some of her favorite things to do playing games, singing and dancing, of course, walking around places like gardens and parks, basically just happy stuff."

"Aight...so would it be good if I sang her a song, played some physical game like...tag, I don't know, and then ate ice cream with her while walking around?"

"Yeah! Poppy loves ice cream! She also likes to eat things like sandwiches, pies, eggs, sausage rolls, and chicken drumsticks."

"So finger foods?"

"If that's what they're called, then yeah."

"What should I sing to her?" I grab my notebook from my desk.

"Let me see them. I'll decide."

"Fine, but don't judge me." I give him the notebook, seeing him flip through the pages.

"Damn, these are really good."

"I guess...I mean, these are all a few years old, so I don't really know."

"Oh! This one! Do this one!" He points to one, one I labeled "Love Someone."

"Aight," I say. "I think that's the actual date covered. Now I need to decide what to wear."

"Honestly, with what you're wearing right now, I think we're done." I glance down at my t-shirt and shorts.

"This? Really?"

"Yeah. It makes you look sexy! Like you're some kind of hot model!" I cringe a little.

"Aight, fine, but never say that again. It's weird, even for you."

"It's true, but okay. I think we're done here! See you tomorrow! Good luck!" With that, he starts heading back to the elevator and pulls the lever, lifting himself up. I hear him walk out and then the elevator comes back down, but just to be sure, I go up there myself and make sure he's actually gone. He is. Good.

Aight, so I need to set an alarm for tomorrow in order to have enough time to prepare lunch, the song, shower, and get myself ready. I need to practice the song first, so that when I sing it tomorrow, I know when to sing each part, along with actually practicing it on my guitar.

The rest of the night was spent preparing for everything, to the point where I can't remember when I fell asleep. All I know is I ended up with a rude awakening with my phone screaming right in my ear.

"Okay, okay, I'm awake!" I shut it off, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes. Turns out I was still in my clothes from the night before. Looks like I fell asleep on my desk while practicing the song. I take a look at the time. Wait-I OVERSLEPT!! IT'S FUCKING 10 AM ALREADY!

I rush into the bathroom, shoving myself into the shower and basically pour the entire bottle of soap all over me. Scrubbing as hard as I can and then drying myself with two different towels. I grab my comb and start brushing my hair, ripping a few out in the process. It hurts but I can't do anything about it. I put on a clean version of the shirt-I bought two pairs, don't judge-and the same shorts and ran to the kitchen. I had decided on sandwiches with chicken fingers for lunch. I throw four slices of bread into the toaster and slam mayonnaise, cheese, turkey, lettuce, and the other supplies onto the counter. Thankfully it didn't take too much time and I was able to finish with ten minutes to spare. I pack up the rest of my stuff and jump onto the elevator, seemingly in a rush as well. It jumped up to the top quickly and I immediately opened the door. I'm just in time. Poppy's right there, heading towards me.

"Hi, Branch!" She beams. She's in a dress similar to her usual one, one that's a darker blue and green and longer.

"Hey." Thank god I got out in time.

"What's that?" She points to the guitar strapped behind my back.

"Huh? Oh. You'll see," I say, trying to act confident. "So, shall we go?" I offer my arm, to which she laughs and takes it.

"So where are we going?"

"It's a field I found a few years ago. It's a pretty place, wide, has a lot of grass and butterflies, and it's alongside a lake. Ideal for a first date, if you ask me."

"Really? You don't say? So what are we waiting for! Come on!" She starts running forward, nearly making me trip in the process.

"Aight, but wait. You don't even know where it is. Come here." I start running, feeling her start to run as well. It seems like she doesn't like the taste of her own medicine.

"You couldn't slow down?"

I shake my head. "You didn't wait. Why should I?"

"Because you're supposed to be a gentleman, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but we should be on equal terms, shouldn't we?"

"Alright, fair enough." She smiles, slowing down, causing me to slow down as well. I smile back, savoring each moment until a big rock decides it wants me to look like a fool. I just stare up at her, seeing her laugh and laugh without showing any signs of stopping.

"Yeah yeah, I know, I'm an idiot."

"Yeah, but you're my idiot," Poppy laughs again, oblivious to my grape face. Since when was she so...smooth? Is that the right word? Flirty? I don't know. Maybe some of her friends helped her prepare just like Guy helped me.

"Y-Yeah, but only if you promise to do the same for me," I say, standing back up.

"Yeah, I promise!" Giggling, she grabs my hand and starts walking again. "Are we close?"

"Yeah," I say. "It's just up ahead." I point forwards and sure enough, the field comes into view.

"Wow! You really weren't kidding. This really is a pretty place!"

"Just like you," I say, seeing her turn a bit red at my comment.

"Do you really have to say things like that?" She's me now, red as hell.

"What? Can I not say the truth?" I raise an eyebrow and smirk, enjoying her reaction.

"Maybe."

I just laugh and take out the food. "Aight. Here, I prepared a meal. I had some suggestions, so I hope you like it." I reach in and take out a few sandwiches, a salad with some dressing, Scotch eggs, sausage rolls, among similar foods.

"Did Guy tell you my favorite foods?"

"Yeah," I mumble, picking a sandwich up and handing it to her. There's a small "thanks" and we both just eat in silence until I try to make small talk.

"I remember I found this field a few years ago when I was out collecting supplies."

"How'd you discover it? Was it on accident, or was it like you were walking and it was suddenly in front of you?"

"Well, it was kind of both. I think I was about 17 and was in the trees looking for stronger sticks in order to have supports for a few things, as well as smaller ones for fire. I was on one of them when it broke and I fell face-first onto the ground. Then I just look up and boom! It's right in front of me. I stayed for a bit after, and that's how I discovered the lake. I had a feeling someone would eventually find this place, so I carved a path for walking, made a deep end for the older Trolls and a shallower end for the younger ones. And I was right; a year later you made me attend some kind of pool party here."

"Oh yeah! I remember that! You were all grumpy and angry and kept insisting that the kids should stay in the shallow end because one could drown."

"Because it's true! The sand there is very slippery! If someone slipped, they would have gone underneath the water and have the risk of drowning or accidentally inhaling or choking on the water!"

Poppy shakes her head. "Still, that reaction you had was a bit too much. You were yelling and yelling for them to either have something to hold on or get out.

I just shrug. "You know what they say: it's all fun and games until someone irreversibly contorts a spine!"

"Branch, the only person who I heard say that is you."

"Still. It's true." I shove the last piece of my second sandwich into my mouth, seeing Poppy was finished with her meal too. "You finished?"

"Yeah. I ate most of mine while you were rambling on and on as you pleased."

"So what do you wanna do now?"

Poppy points at the guitar and says, "What you were planning to do with that."

"Oh, aight then." I pick it up, stepping back a few feet. I started strumming out the intro, making sure my voice wasn't raspy or anything. "I wrote this a few years ago. It might seem a bit short, and it's not much, but it's full of emotion. My emotions."

There are days

I wake up and I pinch myself

You're with me, not someone else

And I'm scared, yeah I'm still scared

That it's all a dream

'Cause you still look perfect as days go by

Even the worst ones, you make me smile

I'd stop the world if it gave us time

'Cause when you love someone

You open up your heart

When you love someone

You make room

If you love someone

And you're not afraid to lose 'em

You probably never loved someone like I do

You probably never loved someone like I do

When you say

You love the way I make you feel

Everything becomes so real

Don't be scared, no, don't be scared

'Cause you're all I need

And you still look perfect as days go by

Even the worst ones, you make me smile

I'd stop the world if it gave us time

'Cause when you love someone

You open up your heart

When you love someone

You make room

If you love someone

And you're not afraid to lose 'em

You probably never loved someone like I do

You probably never loved someone like I do

All my life

I thought it'd be hard to find

The one 'til I found you

And I find it bittersweet

'Cause you gave me something to lose

But when you love someone

You open up your heart

When you love someone

You make room

If you love someone

And you're not afraid to lose 'em

You probably never loved someone like I do

You probably never loved someone like I do

You probably never loved someone like I do...

The last part just kind of drags on, seeing that she was still as hell. Like, completely still. Then she starts clapping.

"What? Was it too much?" I give a little side smile and go back to where she's sitting.

"Maybe. It was really beautiful."

"Just like you." I say, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, feeling her lean against me. Too into the moment, I place a kiss on her cheek. Her eyes widen, before I'm suddenly tackled. Feeling bold, I pull her down and kiss her. I just move my lips around clumsily, due to being inexperienced, but it felt perfect, which is all that matters.  She pulls away soon, laying down on top of me.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

*END OF FLASHBACK*

I kinda trail off at the end, seeing that Rosie was a little too into the song. She really does take after Poppy.

"That was an amazing song, Daddy! I bet Mama loved it!"

"Yeah," I mumble. "I remember she pretty much had the same reaction you did. I'm pretty sure she was crying too. Anyways, that concluded our date, and then we went back home. About a year later, we were married and a few months after that, we had you. Peppy was really cautious when I went to ask for permission. I guess he was still sensitive about the whole Creek thing."

"So if you didn't save Mama, Creek would've been my daddy?"

I nod.

"Ew, I wouldn't want that."

"Yeah. I wouldn't want that either. I don't think your mom would as well."

"Would as well what?"

I look up and Poppy is there in the doorway, looking quite tired. Yet still cute.

"Mama!" Rosie squeals, jumping into her arms for a hug. "Daddy told me all about your first date!"

"Oh really? Poppy raises an eyebrow. I give her a 'Don't worry, I left out the cursing and all the other stuff'. "Cool. Maybe we should give Daddy a break. I feel like he's tired."

"Yeah, but you look more tired than I am." I look at the clock. 8pm. "Here. You go freshen up. I'll get Rosie ready for bed." I pick her up, heading towards her bedroom. I helped her change into her pajamas, despite her whining that she wasn't tired. I shook my head and carried her into the bathroom while Poppy entered the other one. I instruct her to brush her teeth and go to bed after. She nods, and I hastily seize the opportunity to go check on Poppy. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she says, leaning onto the wall. "It felt like my dad wanted me to stay there forever."

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he was. We don't really see him more than once every few months. He just misses you."

"Just me? I bet he misses you too." She giggles.

"Considering he made me do a bunch of tests when we told him we were dating to 'prove I was worthy', I dunno. Maybe. Or maybe he just misses Rosie and has to accept me as well cause we're a package deal."

"Actually, that sounds more like him. You're probably right."

"Probably? I think the correct term is 'always'. I flash her a grin and get a light smack as a reward.

"Nope. It's probably. Like when you thought that I would laugh when you said you liked me."

"Hey! I had a reason for that!"

"No you didn't."

Shaking my head, I change into a white t-shirt and boxers. "Maybe for you, but for me, it felt like I was gonna die when I admitted I liked you. Up until that moment, it felt like you only saw me as a friend. I'm glad you didn't think. I got lucky as hell."

"Really? What do you mean by that?"

I smile and bring her into my arms. "I mean, I'm lucky cause I have the most beautiful person known to exist as my wife. I even once considered thanking Peppy for making you. Cause I love you."

"I love you too." She pecks my cheek, hugging me back.

"We should probably be getting sleep. Rosie will probably want to make us go to the field so she can see for herself what it looks like."

"Yeah," Poppy giggles. I let out a chuckle, heading into our room. I lay on my side, her following me. "Hey, if Rosie does make us go there again, I want to recreate that day. Can we?"

"Sure. You want me to remake the food and sing the song again?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay. You're lucky I still remember the lyrics and the recipe. So if you want to avoid sleeping through the song, then I suggest we get some sleep."

"Alright. Night."

"Night."

With that, she closes her eyes, almost immediately falling asleep. Guess I was right about her being tired. I tuck one of my hands behind my pillow, the other pulling her against me, and close my eyes as well. I think back to the year I wrote the song. I guess past me was right. If you love someone, and you're not afraid to lose them, you'll probably never love someone like I do.

And there you go! I know, no need to tell me this sucked, but it's the best I can do. The ending is horrible, the title is horrible, everything is horrible because my brain is drained of any creativity. So, sorry for this piece of trash. Also, you tell me: which would be better, first person point of view or third person point of view. Up next is a vampire AU, so be prepared to see some kinky stuff. So until next time! Have a nice night/day!