Lost Opportunity

chapter 20

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
Poppy was acting... weird. Well, weirder than normal. The normally, happy go-lucky, go with the flow troll was on edge.

"Do you think this is safe?" Poppy asked as John and Branch stood on top of Rhonda, attempting to clean her back. They were using brooms with tough brussels to attack at the scum and grime that had accumulated on top of the armadillo bus. Soap was flying around in big sud clumps.

John gave Branch a sideways glance. It wasn't like they were doing extreme sports. Heck, they were only about two feet off the ground. Even if one of them fell, the likelihood that they would get hurt is slim to none. Branch, however, seemed enamored by his fiance's worries.

"We're fine. We're being careful." Just as the words left his mouth, Branch slipped on a random soapy spot. John quickly steadied him with his hand.

Poppy gave an uncomfortable smile. "You're not giving me a whole lot of confidence."

John returned to deeply scrubbing at Rhonda's back. She purred in response and John could hear her tongue lapping at the treat he had placed in front of her to distract her. "We're almost done, Poppyseed." John reassured her.

Poppy wrung her hands nervously. "Okay. Just be careful."

"We are, " Branch said sweetly. He went back to scrubbing alongside JD and Poppy watched on anxiously. John didn't know what had the Queen so worked up, but it was starting to make him nervous. He whistled, getting his son's attention. Branch snapped his head up.

"Hey," John nodded in his future daughter-in-law's direction. "Why don't you take off? I've got the rest of this."

Branch gave him a concerned look. "But--"

John cut him off with a whisper, "I don't know what's got her all riled up, but I think you should check on her."

"Poppy?" Branch looked down at the Queen who gave him an anxious thumbs up. Branch returned it with a slightly forced smile. He looked back at John. "She's fine."

John shook his head. "No, B. She's acting weird." He started to lightly push Branch towards the ladder they had propped up against Rhonda. "Go on."

Branch sighed and rolled his eyes. "You guys are too much." He muttered as he carefully lowered himself down the ladder.

"Oh! Are you done?" Poppy asked, a genuine smile appearing on her face.

"Yeah," JD called down. "I can handle the rest." The Queen looked relieved and hurried over to her fiance. She examined him for anything wrong before grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the bunker.

"Come on, Branch." Poppy urged. "You can show me that puzzle you were working on!"

Puzzle? John didn't know much about Poppy, but he did know she was anything but patient. He doubted she had the mental focus to watch Branch work on a puzzle. That only confirmed it for John, she was acting weird.

He just hoped that Branch was able to figure out why soon.

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More weird things kept happening. Poppy was acting high strung, nervously circling around Branch constantly. Branch didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong. He just allowed Poppy to fawn over his every move and over analyze everything he encountered.

John didn't get it. They had never acted like this before. But, John thought, Branch had been a clingy baby. Maybe they're just getting used to being engaged.