Author's Note: Tis' the damn season folks :'D [Taylor Title Ref sjhdnejchf]. But like FR I need to get a Christmas one-shot done, so I thought, why not do it now? I really hope you're reading this right now, that means I've succeeded and posted an actual one-shot since June of this year and I apologize inspiration hasn't stricken me all too hard on these one-shots lately. So anyways, enjoy folks! ❄️

~The Greatest Gift of All~

"With that said, let the Holiday Extravaganza begin!" Poppy exclaimed to a crowd of cheering Trolls, pulling on a rope which triggered massive party poppers to blast Holiday colored confetti into the crowd.

After Poppy finished her opening party announcement, the Trolls below started to walk away and enjoy the party, talking to others, eating snacks, etc. As soon as Poppy saw Trolls weren't looking, she dashed behind the mushroom to hide.

"Trolly-moly, this is a disaster!" Poppy panicked. Now, you may wonder, why is this a disaster? It seems like a completely perfect and find party! Well, it is. But not for Poppy, let's rewind.

~A Week Earlier...~

In Pop Village, Poppy was sitting on a bench with Branch. They were holding hands and chatting the afternoon away with zero cares. Every time Poppy looked in Branch's eyes, she saw a familiar spark that she only saw whenever he interacted with her. She found it absolutely beautiful.

She found herself completely losing a grip of reality as she zoned out, glancing at him with a lovestruck face as he continued to ramble on. She'd completely been submerged in her own universe, in her mind, with just her and Branch, where they could be together forever.

Poppy sighed with happiness as she continued to look at Branch as he talked. She zoned out so much to the point where she didn't even notice him stop talking and smile back at her as well. She couldn't help these things she did, she just loved him too much.

Suddenly, Poppy snapped back to reality when she heard Branch speak.

"It's crazy that the Secret Holiday Gift Swap you hosted last year is almost a year old! Can you believe that?" Branch asked, with a bright smile on his face. He looked out into the distance as he thought about how quickly time had flown by.

"Yeah, it is really crazy. But that was no doubt one of the best days of my life..." Poppy murmured with a smile, her eyes sparkling as her mind brought back to her various memories from the day.

"I agree... I still feel bad about what I gave you though, I feel like my gift was rushed and crap-" Branch thought, his ears drooping at the thought of his gift not being good enough coming back around to him once again.

Poppy's smile quickly faded when she heard Branch speak. It even turned to a frown. She scooted closer to Branch, and took his hand in hers, causing him to look her in the eyes.

Once again, Poppy smiled just a little, "Branchie, there's no need to feel bad. I loved you scrapbook so much! There was so much heartfelt meaning behind it, and I truly appreciate it. Not other troll in the whole universe could replicate your scrapbook in a better way. It shows our adventures and happy moments together, and I will forever cherish them, and your scrapbook."

"You, you really feel that way..?" Branch murmured shyly, still holding her gaze. Poppy smiled brightly and nodded, nuzzling him and causing him to smile again and giggle a little.

Branch let go of her hand and instead wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a close and tight hug, sighing with happiness. Poppy's ears perked a little when Branch hugged her, and she gladly hugged him back, closing her eyes.

As they hugged, Poppy couldn't help but keep thinking back on what she just said to Branch. With her whole heart, Poppy thought that Branch's gift truly was perfect, but what about hers? Hell, she didn't even give him something he could physically touch!

Poppy opened her eyes again as her ears drooped, but Branch didn't see because he was still busy hugging her and enjoying her sweet embrace. The more she thought about it, the more she felt bad. And the more she wanted to make up for it.

Poppy felt Branch shift a little bit, and quickly changed her facial expression so he didn't see that she was upset. When Branch let go, he placed both his hands in hers with a bright smile. Poppy tried to smile back, but it faded to a frown with no control.

Branch immediately became worried, "Is everything okay, Pops? [He gasps] !!! Was it something I said earlier? Because if it was I'm so so sorry!"

Poppy giggled, "No, no! It's nothing..." Her facial expression feel flat once again, but she still held his gaze. "I'm going to go to my pod, Love you!" Poppy said quickly.

Poppy leaned in and gave Branch a quick kiss. Then, she sat up and ran away to her pod. Branch couldn't help but frown as she left, he couldn't help but feel like he'd done something to upset her. But he didn't know what.

❄️🎄❄️

When Poppy made it back to her pod, she immediately ran to a desk in her pod and sat down at it. She pulled out a bunch of her scrapbooking supplies from a small bin and laid them out in front of her.

"Alright, you can do this! You've just gotta try again to come up with the best gift for the bestest boyfriend in all of Trolls Kingdom! Sure, it may have seemed hard last year, but you've gotten to know him better now! Now, it should be easy!" Poppy spoke to herself with determination, picking up her scrapbooking scissors and placing them in her hands.

•••

Hours had passed, and nearly every single idea she'd had either ended up in Branch disappointed, or him breaking up with her. All of the ideas she'd come up with were either too lame or too crazy, at least she thought. Surely he'd think so too. Probably.

"Gah! Poppy, you stupid Troll! Why can't you even do a single thing right! You need to come up with the perfect gift for Branch! After all, it would be great to make up for your failure to do so last year! Think! Darn you! Think!" Poppy cursed to herself, placing her hands on her head with frustration as she stared at the piles of useless gift ideas.

Poppy sighed and rested her head on her desk. When she did, she faced the wall; specifically the wall which had pictures hung on it. When she saw the photos, she stood up and walked over to them. The main one was the picture of when she'd kissed Branch on the cheek after the gift-swap.

The rest of the photos she'd had with him were various dates, sleepovers, or even just silly little selfies they'd taken with each other in their free time. Poppy blushed and smiled at each and every one of them.

But then, as soon as she knew it, the smile of hers started to turn more sad as she looked down at the scrapbook Branch had given her. She gently picked it up, examining it once more like she did all the time.

She flipped through all of the pages he'd put in the book, smiling, sometimes giggling, sometimes daydreaming, and sometimes sadly smiling. Branch had put so much love and time into the gift to the point where she felt like an idiot for not giving him a single thing like he did for her.

The more she looked through his scrapbook, the worse she felt. But, she couldn't help but continue to look through it and travel back in time in her mind. When she reached the end, she closed the scrapbook gently with tears threatening to escape her eyes.

"He put all of his time into a loving scrapbook for you, and all you do for him back is say things? What kind of Troll are you?!" Poppy scolded herself. Poppy laid down on her bed with a sad sigh as she blinked back the tears, struggling to admit the fact that she wouldn't have a gift for Branch.

Ever.

~Present...~

Poppy trembled with nervousness and fear as she stared into the winter forest, which was dark, yet dimly lit up with strands of hanging holiday lights. Seeing them brought Poppy back to the gift swap, and then her lack of a gift, and then she panicked once again.

"Pops? Where'd you go? I saw you run away from the mushroom! Is everything okay?" Poppy heard a familiar voice call out to her. It was her Boyfriend, Branch.

'Crap.' She thought, 'I can't talk to him now, or I'll have to tell him that I couldn't come up with a gift, again!'

In a panic, Poppy ran off into the woods, dodging around trees and other obstacles. As she ran and ran, she really thought she was getting some where, that was, until she crashed into someone.

Both Poppy and the other Troll got knocked back, and both groaned in pain.

"Oww..." Poppy winced, sitting back up in the snow, then suddenly she started to frantically apologize, letting it sink in that she'd just completely ran into some Troll. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!! I didn't mean to run into you!"

"No, no it's okay! I'm sorry I ran into you!" The other Troll replied. Poppy snapped back to reality and started to figure out who this Troll she'd just ran into was. It was Branch. When she saw him, Poppy gasped.

When Branch noticed it was Poppy, he too gasped, "Pops?! What are you doing? And why were you running around in such a panic and a hurry?! Is everything okay..?" Branch helped Poppy up, taking both her hands in his afterwards.

Poppy hesitated for a while, her heart racing with anxiety and the constant though of Branch breaking up with her, and her failure to give him a holiday gift once again. She just wanted to make up for it.

But, Poppy couldn't hold it in anymore. She sighed and admitted, "No, I'm not..."

"What's troubling you, Popifer? You can tell me anything..." Branch told her softly with complete understanding. He even met her gaze to show her he was listening to what she had to say.

"Well... You remember how, I didn't get you a gift for the Gift Swap last year..?" Poppy asked.

"Yeah, I do..? What about it?"

"Well, when we were having our afternoon conversation in Pop Village, I couldn't help but think back to that moment, and how much I messed up by failing to give you a gift."

Branch frowned at what Poppy had said, he didn't want her to feel like she'd messed up about it. It didn't even matter to him, all that mattered was that Poppy was with him the whole time, and he got to be with her forever.

"Then, I went back to my pod and tried endlessly for hours to come up with possibly another gift, since I know you better after all. But still, I couldn't come up with anything! And now I feel like an idiot because I couldn't give you something you could at least hold! I mean, you gave me an amazing scrapbook which I read to myself everyday, but I've left you with nothing!"

Tears started to rush down Poppy's cheeks as she placed her face into her hands, taking them away from Branch's. Branch felt his heart shatter, seeing Poppy this upset. He didn't know if this would make her feel any better, but it was worth a shot.

Gently, Branch placed his hand underneath Poppy's chin so they he could lift her face to meet his gaze. When Poppy felt him do this, she sniffled and wiped her eyes with a frown on her face, making eye contact with him.

"Poppy... You remember what I said during the gift swap..?" Branch said. Poppy tried to recall what he'd meant, and what he'd said specifically.

' Y'know; The thing I like most about the holidays, is just being together...; With You. '

When Poppy remembered what he said, she nodded. She knew he said that's the thing he enjoyed most, but she still couldn't help but feel like she failed him for not giving him anything.

"Well, I just want you to know one thing. I was telling you, that I didn't need an actually gift that I could hold in my hands. And I don't need one now, you don't have to go through the trouble to ' make up for it '."

"I know! But still..." Poppy trailed off.

"Love, listen to me. You are the absolute most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. I don't care; gift or not. All I care about is that you're here with me, forever. I just want to be there for you, and hope that you're there for me. I don't care if you've left me without a gift, because you are my gift, Queen Poppy. The greatest gift of all."

Poppy's eyes cleared up as she sniffled once more, "A-Are you serious..?"

Branch smiled softly, "Of course I am. I love you more than any other Troll in this world, and I'd give anything to be with you all the time. I don't need any little thing one could fit into a gift. Because you're love for me is more than enough."

A smile started to form on Poppy's face as she started to feel less upset about the gift she was unable to give him, "I love you too, Branch. And thank you, so much. You mean the world to me."

"And you mean the whole world to me." Just then, after Branch had spoken, he brought Poppy into a gentle hug. It started to bring back to him that familiar feeling, and he smiled happily.

Poppy sighed and closed her eyes, fully giving into her Boyfriends embrace and hugging him back tighter than ever, but not to the point where it could hurt him.

After a few minutes of silence and hugging, Branch pulled away just a little. But, he still kept his arms around her. He met Poppy's gaze once again with a soft loving smile, and she smiled back.

Then, Branch thought of something and added, "Y'know, you may not have given me an item to hold, but I have you. Well that is, if you're okay with that, and stuff..." He rambled on, feeling like he was sounding awkward.

Poppy just giggled and said, "Yeah, of course it's okay. I mean, I hug you all the time, and I love it when you hug me! So why not?"

Branch smiled, seeing that little happy sparkle in his eyes. He stood by what he said. Poppy was all he needed during the holidays. He didn't care if he received no gifts. If Poppy was there, it didn't matter. He appreciated her too much to care about anything else.

Poppy and Branch both lost themselves as they proceeded to gaze into each other's eyes with carefree and loving smiles on their faces. In the moment, both Trolls slowly started to draw closer and closer to each other, and give each other a loving kiss.

This. This was what both Trolls loved. This feeling of walking on clouds. Above all of the worlds problems. All they cared about in the moment was each other, and nothing else that could happen. It was moments like these where they felt like they could truly be free to be themselves.

After a good while, lost in the kiss, Poppy and Branch pulled away, blushing out of their minds; yet uncontrollably smiling. Their smiles only grew wider as they looked at each other, to the point where it almost hurt.

Suddenly, both Trolls perked up as they heard the sounds of a musical melody in the background, coming from the party. Both turned their heads toward the party and noticed that Trolls we're going to dance.

"Well, looks like that Trolls are going to start dancing. Say, would you care to dance with me, Popifer?" Branch asked with a smirk on his face, holding out his hand to Poppy.

Poppy giggled and nodded, taking Branch's hand in hers, "I'd love to." Quickly, both Trolls ran hand in hand back to the holiday party, where they were to dance and party the rest of the night's cares away.

Note: AHHH I FINISHED A ONE-SHOT!! I'm sorry it's so bad. It's goofy in a bad way like I find it so weird but I just had to write something 💀 I hope y'all like it at least? And have a great day/afternoon/night! Bye!

-STZD [December 5th, 2022]