Broppy: Baby On Board

Chapter 1: Feeling Sick

Branch was sleeping in his bed far beneath the surface, safe in his bunker when he finally awoke. He yawned a bit before getting up and ready for the day ahead. He always needed a little extra time in the morning to be ready and functional, especially if he was going to be assisting Poppy with her Queenly duties.

Thinking about the love of his life always made him smile happily. He couldn't help it, he was so lucky to have her.

This fueled him to rush things a bit in order to go see her but once he stepped in front of the mirror, he noticed something off about his hair. It seemed a bit thicker... bouncier maybe, and shinier than normal.

Branch wondered why but... he shrugged it off and fixed the mess that it was until he was satisfied. Not a hair out of place. He then proceeded to brush his teeth and put on his clothes. Once he deemed himself ready he finally made his way into the kitchen where Floyd was making some coffee.

"Oh, good morning branch." Floyd happily spoke.

"Good—" Branch didn't get to finish when the smell of the coffee hit him and made him instantly feel ill. He covered his mouth in an attempt to hold back.

Floyd on the other hand became worried since his brother stopped mid sentence and even became a bit pale in the face. "Branch, are you—"

Branch had to quickly run over to the garbage bin and retched out basically nothing since he hadn't eaten or drank anything yet.

"Branch!" Floyd rushed over to his side and placed a hand on his back. "Are you okay?!" He was so concerned that he didn't see his other brothers walk in.

"What's going on?" John Dory asked before smirking at the scene. "Mr. Clean got sick? What was all that hullabaloo about never getting—"

"Can it John Dory." Clay quickly shut the oldest up by whacking him with a pillow before going over to Branch's side.

"Hey hey, I was only kidding." John Dory spoke as he caught the pillow before it fell, knowing Branch would be mad if it fell on the floor. Perhaps trying to lighten the mood wasn't the best time right now. He too walked over to stand by the youngest's side.

Branch gagged a few more times before the nausea passed. That's when a glass of water was presented to him from Floyd. He thanked his brother as he chugged it down.

"Woah, easy Branch... don't drink so fast." Clay warned him.

"You don't want to get sick again." Floyd added.

"Maybe you should go back and lie down a little longer?" John suggested while Clay and Floyd agreed.

Branch was about to comply until he remembered- "No, I promised Poppy I would help her today. She accidentally took on too many tasks and begged me."

"But you're sick, maybe Viva can— oh..." Floyd had almost forgotten that she and Clay were going on a date today.

"We can call it off, there will be other chances in the future." Clay knew Viva herself would cancel if she found out.

"Wait! I have an idea!" John Dory got all their attention before anyone else could speak. "Why don't I go and help Poppy, branch stays here with Floyd and then Clay can go out on his date!"

"What?! No way! Not happening!" Branch didn't want to deal with the aftermath of the chaos that would ensue. He didn't even want to imagine it. He quickly shook the thoughts out of his head before speaking again. "I'm going and that's final. No more talking." He grumpily stated as he left his brothers to go brush his teeth again.

"Aww man, I never get to have any fun..." John pouted as he hugged the pillow tightly.

Floyd just sighed a little as he whispered. "Do you ever think he will rely on us a little?"

"Hard to say... we abandoned him for a long time. Maybe one day..." Clay wasn't sure.

A few moments later, they all heard the lift and off Branch went.

"Do you think we should follow him to make sure he is alright? He didn't even eat breakfast." John didn't want to because he knew Branch would be livid if he found out.

"Actually, that's a good idea. We can go together." Floyd was all for it.

"I'm going too." Clay insisted. Even if he went on his date, he would be too worried about Branch and so would Viva if she found out.

"Alright, but we have to be extremely careful. Especially you, John Dory." Floyd pointed at him while Clay nodded.

"Wha— Me?" John pointed at himself in disbelief.

"Yes you, you're the clumsiest one out of us all." Clay glared at him. "So you will stay the furthest back."

John looked offended as he was about to object but realized it would be futile so he instead obliged since this was about looking after their youngest after all. "Uhh, fine. But only this once."

The two were impressed that John agreed so quickly but maybe that was a good thing. They needed to get a move on since Branch had already left the bunker and so they did the same.

***

Branch was grumbling to himself as he walked up to Poppy's pod. Before knocking he took a few deep breaths to calm himself so he wouldn't appear annoyed in front of his girlfriend. Not two seconds later something grabbed his arm, yanked him inside, and pinned him against the wall before he left lips on his.

Poppy then broke the kiss as she tightly hugged Branch and he did the same back. She was just so excited to see him, she couldn't help herself.

"A little warning next time, I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest." Branch chuckled a little.

Poppy giggled as she felt his heart racing from how close they were but she was sure Branch could feel hers as well. "Sorry, I just really needed this. It's been a while."

"It's been exactly one day." Branch huffed a small laugh before he was kissed once more and then let go.

"That's still too long." Poppy laughed as she quickly gathered some things that she needed. "So, how was your morning? Did you eat?"

Branch would rather not talk about it. "It was fine. As usual."

Poppy then turned to look at him which made him look slightly nervous since she could read him like a book.

That's when she finally noticed that something seemed off. As she got closer, Branch backed up until his back was against the wall and she had him pinned once more.

"Branch, are you not telling me something?" Poppy asked but got no response as he tried to look everywhere but at her which was suspicious. She looked him over before noticing.... She reached up and gently touched his hair which seemed-. "Are you using something for your hair? It feels softer." She touched it a little more when she stopped after noticing he seemed to shutter from the touch.

Branch quickly snapped out of it while agreeing and adding to what she said since it seemed like the perfect lie. "Yea, Bruce gave me some stuff to try, do you like it?" He gave her a nervous toothy smile.

Poppy in return gave him a quizzical look before finally letting it go for now. Maybe he was just nervous about what she might think? Honestly though- "I love it!" She did love the way his hair felt. She thought as she heard a ding and immediately gave Branch another hug. She didn't fully let him go though, she held his hand as they left the pod and went into one of their montages of different songs and mashups.